Paula

This is my bestie Paula, or as some like to call her; P, Peeb, Pb, Peen (am I missing any?)
I call her many of these nicknames, but I won't call her my therapist, 'cause then I might have to start paying her. ;) This girl has helped me through some ROUGH times.  I'm not quite certain that I can live without her.  The pictures here are enough to prove she is beautiful in every way.

Paula is an avid hiker.  She and her husband Matt are now into peak bagging.  Hiking with these two is not for the weak.  I've experienced near death by hiking with them on several occasions.

*cough* Mt. Baldy *cough* *cough* Zuma Canyon *cough*

I didn't think I'd be coming back alive from Baldy, and I was pretty sure we'd be spending the night in the seemingly endless Zuma Canyon.  

You know those occasions where you think you're probably going to die but you don't, and then you laugh about it later?  Well, let's just say that Paula, Matt and I have pleeeenty to laugh about.

I'm completely inspired by vintage things.  I grew up in a 1940s style house in L.A.  My mother collected antiques.  I guess it runs in the family.  I want people to wear their own clothes for my pictures, because I feel their clothes reflect their personality.  But if they have any vintage clothing, I encourage them to dress up in it.  Anyway, I was rummaging through Paula's closet to find out what the heck we were going to dress her in for the shoot, and we came across a vintage green tiki print blouse that was her grandmother's.  The rest of the outfit came together in my mind instantly. We shot at the Culver Hotel (possibly illegally).  Word to the wise- do NOT go there after happy hour, or you will quickly become broke.  Cheers!

Hiking babe pics:

Dress+  Style Express (aka The Hoochie Store)

Shoes+ Thrifted

Classy Peeb pics:

Blouse+  Grandmother's

Belt+ Thrifted

Skirt+ JC Penny

Shoes+ Nordstrom

What do you think of this?

I think I am going to change the name of my blog.  It's early enough, right?  Eventually the copy on the side by my profile pic will be in the title....eventually. 

Time to get crackin'.

Thai Style

In the 1950s, Jim Thompson, an American businessman and former U.S. military intelligence officer fell in love.  But it wasn't what you'd think. The love was so compelling that as soon as he could he left everything he had behind (including his wife). 

No,  he didn't fall for another woman, he fell for another country;  a little place in Asia called Thailand.

Upon arriving, I too quickly fell in love with Thailand, and heard the country calling to me to take up permanent residence. However, for Mr. Thompson and I, the appeal of Thailand is probably rooted in different reasons.

One of the best and most appealing things about Thailand?  THE STYLE.  Thai people have great style and great clothes. And did I mention prices?  They are a STEAL! I think my suitcase was twice as heavy with clothes on the way back.  

Needless to say, I made out like a bandit, and here are some choice outfits I brought back with me...

 

 I found this vintage dress in a thrift store.  The thrift store didn't have any dressing rooms, but I fell in love with the dress and decided that I'd buy it anyway.  Afterall, it was only THREE DOLLARS...and by the way, it fits perfectly :)

 

 I don't think you can find skirts and blouses like this in the U.S.  I could be wrong.  This is more akin to my style, and I saw A LOT of clothing like this in Thailand, which made me really excited.

The shirt here was thrifted, and I love ruffles and lace on the front of this skirt.

I totally had a photoshoot fail.  I bought these awesome jelly shoes in Thailand, but forgot to bring them to the shoot.  I would have worn them with that last outfit.  As it is, both of the pairs of shoes shown in these photos are made by Steve Madden.

Oh yeah, major photo cred and general awesomeness cred to my girl Rachelle N!

Have a great weekend :)

Friends

I'm not gonna lie.  I have MAJOR friend pride.  
I have friends that are cool and smart and HOT.
Not only that, they help me out whenever I need it, including with this blog!  
You might see pictures of them here one day and wonder who they are, so I may as well introduce them to you now.  Here is my first friend introduction :)

Meet Rachelle!  She is the best!  I've known her since I was 5.  She is a fabulous dancer, and kicks ass as a lawyer for the less fortunate.  Oh yeah, she is a GREAT photographer.  I could not have done my upcoming post without her.

  

Taking Note

I really wanted to try to post some cool stuff soon, and I was going to work on it today, but I fell asleep as soon as I got home from work, and I JUST woke up!! I think I'm still a bit jet lagged.

In the meantime, here are some observations that I made about Thailand while I was there:

•Thai people are the badasses of travel

•Thai ants are smaller than American ants

•B.Y.O.T.P.

•A Thai size small is smaller than an American size small

•If you ever want to see a mother and father and baby on a motorcycle almost crash into another mother and father and baby on a motorcycle...visit Thailand.

•You WILL have your bottled water in a plastic bag, and you WILL have a straw!