Wintry Wardrobe

Yes, it's another cop-out[fit] post. I have a bunch of food pics on the back burner. We shall see when I finally get to them. This is what happens when I don't like a restaurant, or I don't like the pictures I took. I delay.

So you get the cop-out[fit] post.

OUTFIT 1:
Coach wool overcoat, Banana Republic black tee, Kasil jeans, Stuart Weitzman kitten heels, Tarina Tarantino necklace, Paul Frank bag.

I'm generally not a fan of Coach bags. Ok, I'll be honest. I quite dislike almost all of them, and I hate anything splashed with all the damn C logos. However, I do own two Coach items: (1) a plain black leather briefcase that I use when I go to court and (2) this coat.

I got this coat several years ago on a whim when I went to the outlet store. I'd gone inside to escape the cold while Mr. Monkey was at Brooks Brothers. I blame that arctic day for this coat; the cashier cut off the tags for me, and I wore it right out of the store.

I'm glad I got it, despite the billions of stupid Cs on the inner lining. It's long, sturdy, warm, and durable, even if it's not particularly interesting. The only things of note are the silver turnlock at the collar, which you can sort of see here, and leather trim on the collar and pockets. I wear it a lot. It's very practical.

OUTFIT 2:
Vintage silk Mandarin jacket, Banana Republic gray swing blouse, 575 jeans, Manolo Blahnik sequined flats.

It was a slightly warmer day, so I pulled out this shiny little thing. And it's really little -- too little for me to actually button up. Why? I got it from Mr. Monkey's late mother, who was much tinier than I am.

When Mr. Monkey's father sold their large home to move into a smaller condo, he told my sister-in-law and me that we could take whatever we wanted from our late mother-in-law's extensive closet before he donated everything else to charity. You'd think that there would've been quite a tussle between us for the luxury loot, but it turns out we have vastly different taste and both left with exactly what we wanted.

I came away with a bunch of bags, but this Mandarin silk jacket was one of only two pieces of clothing I pilfered. It has no labels, and there is something simple and luxurious about it. It is even reversible -- the inside is a brilliant turquoise. I sometimes wear that on the outside with a little black dress.

OUTFIT 3:
Andrew Marc wool coat, yet another boring Banana Republic top (have you noticed a trend yet?), Ann Taylor herringbone pencil skirt, Cole Haan Nike Air light bronze ballet flats, Louis Vuitton Monogram Vernis Rosewood Avenue bag.

I wear white after Labor Day! And carry a white bag! Technically, the coat is cream, and the bag is "Perle," but who am I kidding? I might be ok, though, because the archaic rule purportedly applies only to things below the waist (i.e., pants, skirts, shoes). The jury is out, however, on the bag. It could be a violation. What do you think? I am going to say my bag is "winter white."

The shoes were one of the items I scored while shopping in Vegas. I love love love them. I've had bad experiences with Cole Haan in the past (with Cole Haan Nike Airs, no less), but these shoes have definitely changed my mind. I feel like I could run in them. Adorable and comfortable. It should be noted that, this time around, I got my Cole Haan shoes in a half size bigger than I usually wear. Perhaps this is why my old Cole Haans were no bueno.

Who knew I could write so much about my clothes? Don't worry. Your regularly scheduled food talk shall return soon.

Rain Dance

Remember my Kate Spade rain shoes? I finally wore them! In the rain!

Left: Banana Republic cotton argyle sweater, Banana Republic charcoal wool skirt, Kate Spade Kerry rubber ballet flats.

Right: Gap wool coat, Paul Frank umbrella, trusty Prada bag hanging in the background.

Love love love these shoes. They worked perfectly in the rain, although it's a bit hard to walk quickly in them. But, really, if it's raining, it's probably not such a good idea to walk so quickly anyway.

And a bonus pic for you -- sometimes I actually look like a responsible adult.

Anne Klein pinstriped wool suit, Ann Taylor tee, Ann Taylor kitten heels.

Ugh. So boring. Responsibility and adulthood suck.

Case Closed

Glam presented me with the cutest little thing last week -- a Paul Frank cell phone case!

It turns out she'd found it in a discount bin for just $2.13! Amazing! I already have a Paul Frank case for my iPhone, but I knew exactly how I was going to use Glam's thoughtful little gift.


Perfect fit!

The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades

A week ago, when Mr. Monkey was surfing the 'Net, he asked, "Hey, do you want some sunglasses?" I said, "Sure."

These came yesterday.






They're pretty freakin' huge, but I have a big head in more ways than one. I asked Mr. Monkey to take some pics of my makeup-less mug. He insisted that I crouch in the sliver of sun that was hitting our balcony.

"Because they're sunglasses!" Silly boy.

Very French Toast

********THIS RESTAURANT IS NOW CLOSED.********

We walked to our neighborhood haunt Angelique Cafe this morning for a late 11:30 breakfast. I love sitting outside there. I like to pretend I'm in Paris instead of dingy downtown L.A.

After perusing the menu, I was going to order the eggs benedict, and Mr. Monkey planned to get a ham and cheese crepe.

Our hopes were dashed, however, when our server informed us that the cafe had run out of both hollandaise and crepes. I was really sad, but I quickly turned my frown upside down.

I got my usual marocainne omelet ($8.95), which has merguez sausage and ratatouille in it. Always solid and enjoyable.

Mr. Monkey's side of homemade breakfast sausages ($3.95) were to die for -- beautifully charred and bursting with juiciness.

The real star today, though, was the French toast ($10.95) that Mr. Monkey selected. It's a good thing we always trade midway. French baguettes perfectly egged up and pan fried, swimming in a sinful melange of syrup and strawberry sauce, accompanied by fresh strawberries and bananas, and dusted with confectioner's sugar -- incredible!

We enjoyed every single bite. Of everything.


Good ol' Monsieur Julius witnessed our gluttony.

At least we walked to and from the cafe.

On an unrelated note, I am absolutely loving this new point-and-shoot. So perfect for stuff like this!

The Joy of Doing Nothing

I love lazy days.
I love waking up to Mr. Monkey bringing breakfast to me.
I love that breakfast is a greasy mess from Carl's Jr.
I love sitting on a chaise lounge in an air-conditioned loft.
I love watching back-to-back episodes of America's Best Dance Crew.
I love pretending that I can dance while watching ABDC.
I love that Mr. Monkey accuses me of liking a crew "because they are Asian."
I love that Mr. Monkey is right.
I love being logged onto the Internet for hours at a time.
I love exiting my home just to get a tasty snack.
I love cup o' joy's proximity to home.


I love bright colors.

I love getting three boba drinks for just two people.

I love my Paul Frank John Deere bag.

I love driving around aimlessly and laughing with Mr. Monkey.
I love watching baseball in Spanish.
I love ordering take-out.
I love days without plans or responsibilities.

Small Paul Extravaganza

So you all know that I went to Small Fries' christening on Saturday, but what did I bring for the little guy? Traditional christening gifts were foreign to me. As a non-Christian, I didn't feel comfortable giving anything with a cross on it.

I decided to stick to something very familiar and near and dear to my heart.

Ta-da!

Closer up.



I also picked up gifts for Mr. Monkey's cousin's daughter to make up for our embarrassing empty-handedness at the barbecue.

Closer up.

It is fun to spread my Monkey love to others.

I bought a little something for myself, too.

It was half off (i.e., $11), and I debuted it on Sunday at Open Sesame.

Girls on Film

I haven't had a girls-only weekend since my bachelorette weekend, so this weekend was a welcome diversion, especially in between two tough workweeks. It was only fitting that we went to San Diego, just like I had two years ago for my bachelorette weekend.

Several girls had gone down to San Diego on Friday, and a few of us joined them Saturday. My Saturday started out with a trip to Albertson's with tater and CBB for bottled water. $3.99 for 24 bottles of Crystal Geyser! Score!

The rug sale outside was most intriguing. I really wanted CBB to crouch down to pretend to be a cheetah, but tater's mimicking of the woman was the best I could do.

The very thoughtful CBB did, however, take this opportunity to give me the cutest little belated birthday gift -- a Paul Frank key cap! I love that she understands that I don't like just any monkey. Some people can't seem to get this into their puny little heads. I like Julius! No other monkey will do! Thank you, CBB! I love it!

When we arrived at Hotel Solamar, we were greeted with personalized goodie bags made by a few of our OC friends. Inside these bags were candy, a muffin, and a personalized tumbler. So cute and perfect for our weekend!

Hotel Solamar was pretty cool. I liked our room very much.

After we got settled a bit, we headed out to the pool to hang out with the girls who were already there.

We dined on a bunch of tasty goodies in our cabana.

Pool activities varied. Some were active.

Some were not.

Some defied classification.

Pool time was followed by short naps, chilling out with magazines, and/or chatting. Room 406 was having a nice quiet little afternoon until it was attacked by a bunch of wild animals!

Hotel Solamar has interesting bathrobes, to say the least. I was laughing so hard during all of this! Eventually, we Room 406ers put on our animal-print robes, too, and we took a group picture with Katie's tripod cam.

Then it was time to get ready to go out.

I'm not really sure why, but everyone in this room wanted a photo with me.

In the hall, on the way to the elevator, we saw the Grossest. Sight. Ever.

We waited in the lobby for some laggers.

Then we headed to an Irish pub for grub.

Dinnertime is fun with these girls!

Cat and LYB were particularly expressive. Why? "It's my thing!"

Outside the restaurant, we convinced a hapless pedestrian to take our picture.

10Years and APK were delighted to discover the Philippine Library Museum.

The Gaslamp District is great because you can walk everywhere.

Altitude Sky Bar and Garden Lounge was our first destination.

It had a great view...

...fun bartenders who made delicious drinks...

...popped collars...

...iPod commercial-like screens...

...and good times!

When we got outside, Young Love was accosted by a tall woman who was ecstatic to run into another tall woman.

Funny enough, the weird tall woman was accompanied by a short friend, so that short friend and our very own Mrs50% jumped into the photo, too. Hilarious.

Next stop was the Hard Rock rooftop.

We were intrigued by this girl's failure to commit to her daring fashion choice. If you're going to wear a plunging neckline, do it. Don't wear a crappy white cotton racerback underneath it.

Mrs50% had a blast dancing on our little mattress.

But she was dejected when she was told she couldn't.

No mattress-dancing notwithstanding, more good times ensued.

Post-Hard Rock, some of us went for late-night eats, and some of us opted for more late-night festivities. It's not hard to guess which group I joined.

Maryjane's Coffee Shop was exactly what our late-night-eats group needed.

Here's the Piggy Group in our hotel lobby after the late-night foodfest.

The Piggy Group then further split up into the Sleepy Group and Go-Out-for-More-Fun Group. Can you guess which group I opted for this time?

My dear roommates and I retired to Room 406 for a good night's rest; we were the lightweights who went to bed at 2:00 a.m. So began our happy title of Drama-Free Zone. The heaviest discussion we had that night was whether we were night or morning showerers, and then we created the Clean Bed and the Dirty Bed. (I was in the Clean Bed, in case you were wondering.)

I woke up around 9:45 a.m. briefly and then went back to sleep and then woke up again not long after around 10ish. Everyone was still asleep when I went to take my second shower. I'm weird like that. Near the end of my shower, I got a knock on the bathroom door, telling me to come out. When I came out, we had visitors! We all had a good time chatting, laughing, and drinking much needed bottled water before we all got ready for the day.

A few girls had left earlier that morning (without saying goodbye to Room 406 -- for shame!), but the rest of us had our last meal together in San Diego at Broadway Taco Company.

My carnitas and carne asada tacos really hit the spot, and the carne asada fries across the table from me were pretty damn good morning-after treats, too. The only things that would've made lunch even better were (1) air conditioning and (2) no crazy old lady poking us in our backs, asking whether or not we were "staying here," whatever that meant.

Bellies filled and bodies hydrated, we bid each other adieu and headed back home to reality. I'm so weak-sauce that I'm totally tired now, but I'm elated I got to spend time with these girls before my crazy workweek begins again.

Awesome weekend. To those who couldn't make it, I missed you. To those who did make it, thanks for getting me out of my rut. I really needed this. Hugs to all!