A Tourist in My Own City

One of the perks of being a teacher is getting a full week off for Thanksgiving. Usually my husband and I take a short trip somewhere right before the holiday, but this year we are staying home. I can't complain because sometimes it's nice to just stay close to home and take some day trips, especially when you live in Los Angeles. With a growing list of things I want to do and explore, vacation time will definitely give me the opportunity to be a tourist in my own city!

When I travel places, I always like to bring DSLR camera because I never know what I will want to take pictures of. Speaking of cameras, this awesome silver camera bag from Charming Charlie is one of my favorite bags in my collection! Between my camera handbag and my souvenir Italy tee, I do kind of look like a tourist, although I'm definitely not in Italy, as you can see from the backdrop! These photos were actually taken in the Arts District of Los Angeles where colorful and graffiti walls are plentiful and make for some great photos for tourists and locals alike.

Tee: J. Crew similar here
Jeans: Old Navy boyfriend jeans here
Shoes: J. Crew "Gemma" flats similar here
Bag: Charming Charlie "Take a pic" bag here
Earrings: c/o Happiness Boutique here
Sunglasses: Celine

A New Wall and a New Denim Dress

As you know, I am always on the lookout for fun and colorful walls in the Los Angeles area or wherever my travels happen to take me. Well, there's a new wall in town and I couldn't be more excited! This new wall is located at the Institute of Contemporary Art, which is a new museum that just popped up in Los Angeles' Downtown Arts District.

I think my favorite thing about the wall is that it's not just a wall, as it also has a colorful bench that is painted to match the wall. Luckily, the paint on the bench didn't come off on my dress or bag! Speaking of my dress, in this post I am debuting my new denim dress from Banana Republic. It's not really new, though, as I actually bought it over the summer but this is my first time wearing it. While it's no longer available online, below you will find some other versatile denim dress options that are perfect for fall or perfect for sitting next to a very colorful wall!

On a final note, I think these Abstract Kitty flats from Charlotte Olympia might be my favorite shoes ever! Although they were a bit of a splurge, they were totally worth it! My husband always pokes fun at both the shoes and their price tag whenever I wear them, but clearly they are fabulous. My only regret is not getting them in the two other colors they came in. They turned out to be the perfect accessory for this wall and for walking around the Arts District in Los Angeles!

Dress: Banana Republic similar denim shift here
Shoes: Charlotte Olympia Abstract Kitty similar here
Bag: Louis Vuitton budget version here
Earrings: Charming Charlie here
Sunglasses:  Celine here

Pretty in Pink

I have been waiting for so long to wear this obmre printed pink skirt! Given that I was going to the Museum of Ice Cream in Los Angeles, it only made sense that I debut this skirt at that time, given its sorbet array of colors! Have no fear, though: I will have many more pictures chronicling my ice cream odyssey at the museum in a later post on this blog, but for now I just want to give this skirt the spotlight!

In order to really let this skirt shine, I decided to pair it with a simple, classic white shirt. It would also look great with a myriad of other colors from yellow to khaki, the latter being how it is styled on the J. Crew website. I also opted for these light pink loafers. I'm going to confess that I have developed a little bit of loafer fever as of late! From velvet to suede, I want them all! I'm grateful to Gucci for bringing back the loafer, as clearly the shoes I have on, which are actually from ASOS, are a fantastic dupe for the Gucci ones!

Last of all, how perfect is this pink wall? It gives that infamous pink Paul Smith wall a run for its money! Unfortunately, this wall is largely covered with graffiti now, so it was difficult to find some parts that were purely pink. I know what you might be thinking: maybe the graffiti could have given some street cred to my ensemble? Well, perhaps that's true, but I wanted to go for the pure, unadulterated pink that's as pretty as strawberry ice cream, so I did! Speaking of which, stay tuned next week for my epic photo odyssey of The Museum of Ice Cream!

Skirt: J. Crew pleated ombre skirt here
Tee: Target here
Shoes: ASOS similar pink loafers here
Bag: Louis Vuitton similar budget version here
Earrings: Charming Charlies "Austin"  here
Sunglasses: Celine here

Donut You Love This Hat?

First, I would like to give a big shout out to the nice people working at the Long Beach Big Five Sporting Goods store for making this post possible! You see, I had to do an outfit change in order to do this post, but this area had no public restrooms whatsoever. I went in to Big Five and looked sad like I really needed to go to the bathroom and they gladly let me use the employee restroom. They probably thought it was weird when I came out in a different outfit but maybe no one noticed! Also, I give props to my husband for not only holding my hat while I was inside, but for wearing it. He texted me this when I was in the restroom: "When you come outside, I'll be the man on the corner across from Chuck E. Cheese's wearing the pink woman's donut hat!" Sure enough, when I went outside he was indeed there wearing the hat!

So, speaking of hats, I absolutely love this hat from Charming Charlie. Unfortunately, it is now sold out but they do have a similar one with confetti that is equally adorable. The rainbow colored sprinkles on its brim add a colorful pop to any ensemble, plus I'll definitely be wearing it on National Donut Day. (It also looked great with what my husband was wearing too!) Another thing that I love is this new wall that just went up a few months ago in Long Beach. Move over West Hollywood, Long Beach is now becoming the epicenter for amazing, colorful walls!

Shirt: J. Crew button front ruffle top here
Jeans: J. Crew similar here
Hat: Charming Charlie similar style here
Bag: H&M similar gold clutch here
Shoes: J. Crew similar here
Sunglasses: Celine here
Necklace: J. Crew similar colorful necklace here

Just a T-Shirt and a Skirt

For me, summer is now over and I'm officially back to school and teaching! What does that mean for my blog? Well, I'll probably be writing many of my posts, like this one, late at night while I'm half asleep, although I did that a lot during the summer too so you might not notice too much of a difference! Much like my students, I am prone to procrastination. If I was more organized with my time, I would write them in advance. (There's that pesky procrastination thing again!)

Although this is an outfit that I wore during my last days of summer, it is very much representative of what I tend to wear on a daily basis to school, sans earrings because I don't want my students to get the impression that I'm too fun! Anyway, nothing beats a cute skirt and a simple T-shirt; it's an easy outfit to throw together that's comfy and cute. It really is perfect for when you procrastinate and don't plan your outfits ahead of time!

Skirt: J. Crew tie-front skirt in rainbow gingham here
Tee: Target/Merona here
Bag: Clare V. leopard foldover clutch here
Shoes: J. Crew Gemma flats similar yellow suede flats
Earrings: Charming Charlie here
Sunglasses: Celine

Smile and Say Cheese!

One of my favorite things about wearing quirky pieces like this camera bag is the reaction I know I will inevitably get from my husband and his family. For example, I know that my husband will always harp on how impractical my choices are. I wore this outfit, complete with the camera bag, out to lunch with him last weekend. When he asked me to put his wallet in my bag, I showed him that I could only throw in a few credit cards, my driver license and some makeup into the bag. I also demonstrated that my iPhone 6 Plus was about an inch too big to fit as well. To this, he sarcastically and rhetorically asked, "Who would have thought that a bag that looks like a camera would be so impractical?"

After our lunch, we stopped to see my husband's grandmother and after assessing how big and seemingly painful my earrings were, she moved on to looking at my bag. (A side note: these earrings really are heavy, but I think my ear muscles have been built up over the last year to the point where they can withstand the weight!) Anyway, upon seeing the bag, she thought that it was an actual camera! I tried to explain to her that it was a bag by opening it up and showing her the inside, to which she asked, "So it doesn't take pictures? It just scares people?" I didn't realize that a metallic camera bag was scary, but my husband and his grandmother clearly disagreed. Regardless, the three of us had a good laugh over the comment!

Shirt: J. Crew Postcard print ruffle blouse here and here
Pants: J. Crew white "Toothpick" jeans here and here
Shoes: Ralph Lauren similar red espadrilles here
Bag: Charming Charlie similar here, expensive version here, budget clutch version here
Earrings: J. Crew beaded oval earrings here
Sunglasses: Celine