lil’ packs

The clever fanny pack of the 80’s has rebirthed into something ‘hip’ and cool (well, at least I think so).

Selena first clued me in to Kucoon, an LA based clothing/accessory brand.  She came over one afternoon wearing this extremely hip, AND functional belt.  It seemed so fresh & new.  Not only was the leather belt rather eye-catching with it’s aged look and great hardware, but it had a detachable mini purse.  Of course, I quickly gave in and bought one a few weeks later.  

This is when my fascination grew with the evolved fanny pack.

I became obsessed.  Wanting to wear one while I ran, to the grocery store, at a bar, even to work.  It’s so nice to not have a full blown purse wrapped around your shoulder and so easily lost or stolen if you mindlessly put it down for a few seconds.  The fanny pack is effortless.

Here is the one from Kucoon:

And one I made for running/cycling:

The purple one became a little too stretched out after multiple uses.  And, even though I loved the comfortable, wide band, it bounced a lot while in action.  Hence, below is version 2.  It’s more of a true fanny pack:

I am truly sold now!  Reflective (zipper garage), waterproof (lined with waterproof fabric), stable, adjustable (easy clip with adjustors at the back).  Fancy.  But, don’t worry, I would only wear the orange one while sweating it out.  

Of course, there are more fashionable types:

From LoveJulesLeather.  How can you not ‘fanny pack’?  (yes, it’s now a verb)

Manos

Here’s an update from the post about my knitting session last weekend on Spartina.  I finished it!  My friend comes to San Diego in a week and I cannot wait to give it to her.

The yarns have a cool story—the brand of yarn is Manos del Uruguay. There is no website, so I’ll recap what is on the hangtag.  Manos de Uruguay means ‘The Hands of Uruguay’. It is a non-profit organization which assembles over 400 artisans throughout Uruguay. They aim to bring economic and social opportunities to rural women. The yarn is handspun and dyed over wood fires.  Lovely!!  and it’s wool!

wanted

Printed pants.

This week’s project!  I would like some in both skinny and wide legs.  Here’s my inspiration:

Image via 4thandbleeker.

Elizabeth & James, image via SincerelyJules.

Balmain.

Versus printed pants, image via net-a-porter.

Alexander Wang, image via manrepeller.

ahhh!  Cannot remember whose these are, or where they are from…oh, and I love the pink tips.  Something I have been dying to do for a while.  Mine would be more subtle, but my hairdresser actually suggested I do this MYSELF, and to go for a ‘cotton candy’ color from Manic Panic.  One day I will be so brave.  It’s just hair, after all.

MSGM, image via honestlywtf.

…mine will be floral until I find another great fabric down here (in San Diego) in the ‘not so cool/abundant selection’ of fabrics.

life aquatic

Jennifer Sarkilahti jewelry, image via Honestly WTF.

sailing buttons, image via ??.

Journal, Journal. Out in space.

Oh, here I am. I was looking for myself.

It’s amazing to me. To think that I can get lost by just living the days, and how quickly they start to mesh together. Before I can blink twice a month floats by. Frustration sets in. I wonder what I have been doing with myself. Oh, work. & some fun, but mostly work. But, I don’t even have any true responsibilities in the evenings…oh, work.

Most of my friends would tell you (in front of me, no less), that I put too much effort into work, but I like to think of it as being a diligent, tireless hard-worker. But when I truly think about it…isn’t 8 hours honestly enough of my life to give up every day? On top of ‘the daily 8’, there’s the commute time, the getting ready time, the unwinding time once you finally get home. What are we left with? And by the way, I know there are a LOT of people out there whom work more than I can even compare to being known for.

Maybe I just seem less motivated these days with the daylight still coming up short. I want so badly to want to do fun evening projects. My least favorite mood is when I feel I am wasting precious hours away into nothingness. I have always been one to stay busy.

Anyway, tonight I dug deep and found my inner light again, hanging on, just waiting for me to re-ignite it into a ball of fire. I forced myself out into the newly cramped garage (stuffed with our new paddleboards—topic of discussion reserved for later this weekend—) to finish a project started back in October.

Within 5 minutes of Stella’s (my Grandmother’s hand-me-down sewing machine) zinging motor I drifted into lala creation land. And just like that I was mindlessly making something ‘old and never to be worn again’ into something I cannot wait to wear. Not only that, but I begin the game of my continually rotating & evolving list of must-do’s in my head. EXCITING! Now really, I was only feeling sorry for myself. Excuse that.

Workspace of memories—Stella, the amazing sewing machine. You can see the original buttonhole attachment box and instruction manual on my shelf. Also, there is a photo of my grandparents on the board, upper left. The canister set is a hand-me-down from Barrett’s grandparents. I love the color and pattern.

This original Singer toolkit box houses additional parts and feet. The trim on the front edge is in debossed copper.

So, this is the project I continued tonight. It was a longsleeve lace shirt which I cut up, re-attached the sleeves, added sweater insets from an old sweater I don’t wear anymore, and I am also crocheting a binding at the sleeve hem:

If I only had the strength to stay up for 2 more hours.

It’s good to be here.

Pencil thin skirts have been getting my attention for the past few weeks and I have been contemplating just making one.  Lucky me, I found 2 yesterday that were decently priced!  Yeah!  No need to whip one up….now I can focus my time on Christmas present making instead.  I have stacks of ‘presents to be’ in the “studio” (a.k.a. garage).

above:  Unknown skirt, via honestlywtf; Zara skirt, via honestlywtf; Unknown skirt, via thesartorialist; Unknown skirt, via thesartorialist; Unknown skirt, via sincerelyjules; Gap skirt, via sincerelyjules.  Sorry for all the ‘unknowns’ :)

like no other

Everyone D.I.Y.’s in some form or another. For me, it’s a necessity to individualize and customize almost everything I buy.  Sometimes an item gets transformed before I will even wear it (you may be thinking…then why buy it in the first place?), and other times I just get tired of something and must re-purpose it instead of throwing it away.

In this case, my boots (below) suddenly felt too tall.  They made me look squatty, and I am loving this shorter/cropped boot height.  There you have it, a brand new pair of boots that I will now wear more often!

before.

after.

More D.I.Y. to come…

diy skirt

My sister made this beautiful tulle skirt for her daughter, Ava.  It was adorable on Thanksgiving Day.

Jenny attached strips of tulle to an elastic hairband, shown above.  What a great idea!  Ava is wearing the skirt over leggings to complete the outfit.

lo and behold

A good friend of mine, Heidi recently did a post including a ‘shoutout’ to her hometown…so I thought…”What a great idea!” as I passed by this AMAZING, new & cool shoe store in our hood.  It’s called eloS on Adams Ave., nestled between Blind Lady Ale House, a.k.a. BLAH, and Rosie O’Grady’s.  

What was it about this place?  …I don’t know if it was the modernly simple, wood-worked interior, or the most amazing men’s shoes I have seen in a loooong time, or just the plain fact that my hood now had a rad shoe boutique.  Either way, I was tickled to know that a new pair of shoes were in my (& my favorite man next to me) near future.  For some reason, I have fancied over old work boots (imagine 1930’s lace-ups) the past 10 years, and would love to see my guy wearing some.  The first pairs of soles I gravitated to were these:

…just cool.

And the women’s shoes are just as quaint, but sexy at the same time.  Modified heels, buttons and straps—everything a girl wants.

A few weeks ago, while in Boulder, I picked these up for myself……which are reminiscent of the boots at eloS.  The ones I purchased above are actually Dr. Marten’s!!  I always wanted a pair growing up, but did not go that route.  Finally, I gave in.  You can never go wrong with these.  Super soft leather, ‘worn & weathered’, wrapped in a rubber sole.  They are great to pair with a feminine, lightweight blouse.

While we are on the shoe subject, if anyone see’s these HOT numbers walking around, please tackle the person and ship to me right away.  I will pay in advance…

I don’t know whom makes these mysterious cowboy booties, I randomly found them on-line  ;*(  

If anyone knows, please share.

the great outdoors

Being in San Diego, we do not get to witness the alarming fall color palette which some parts of our country offer.  I was lucky enough to make it out to Boulder, CO recently and view the lifecycle of the outdoor seasons and explore the many trails and hikes there are to offer.  

*The fashion photos below each image are grouped in fall-ish color inspirations of the outdoor images on my trip.

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Mt. Sanitas hike, Boulder.

Hannah Murray, star on Skins, one of my favorite series, images via treehousetrunkshow.

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The aspens, Breckenridge.

On left:  image via becauseimaddicted.  On right:  Shakuhachi mary jane’s via sincerelyjules.

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And my favorite color, ‘bloody mary’, roadside at Pearl St. mall in Boulder, CO.  This one was a Bacon Bourbon Bloody, and was as good as it sounds.

On left:  Hannah Murray, star on Skins, images via treehousetrunkshow.  On right:  Jane Aldridge from seaofshoes.

my own little sweater(s)

My grey ‘summer’ sweater.

My heathered beige wintery sweater.

These 2 pieces are the current faves in the civil battle of my tiny closet.  The grey ‘summer’ sweater is a recent accomplishment and I love the relaxed fit over a skinny tank or bandeau.  It’s great with wide legs or skinny’s, boots and flats.  I can even wear it inside out for more of the knit texture to be exposed.  I purposely knit it haphazardly for an uneven, funky style.  I have to say, once I focused on this sweater, it went quite quickly, but I did start it about 2 years ago!

The heathered sweater is so fun to wear.  It fits big, so again, a relaxed, drapey look that layers over any top—woven or knit, skinny or loose.  It’s a wool blend yarn that my Mom bought me for my birthday about 7? years ago.  This one took about a year to complete, and was my first adventure into wearable knitting.  The cables are a fun & challenging detail.  The main texture on the body is called ‘seed stitch’.

There are so many beautiful sweaters out there and the fun part is that they are not limited to the wintery, fireside nights.  

the ‘girl’ comes out

It’s been too long.  Since I blogged, you know?  It’s like having a thing that you have wanted to do for days, and keep thinking about it, but it never happens.  Then, when you finally sit down and do it….ahhhh.  A release.  Even if no one is reading, I am still collecting my thoughts for myself.  That is what counts.  Trying to come up with topics when every day seems the same, is tough.  It’s such a contrast…While on our trip to Catalina there was much excitement, every minute, every day.  Now, it seems as though the days blend together at work, and I am a zombie at home.  I purposefully make myself plan things in the evening so that I do NOT focus on work at home.  Projects (why do I like SO many things??) and ‘Barrett-time’ help with that.  I have also been internet searching and trying to sift out my ‘thing’ for the blog.  I am considering having certain days designated to specific topics—cheesy themes such as, Totally Tuesday—i.e. fashion topic; Dwelling Wednesdays—i.e. home topics; Thursday Textures—i.e. knit&crochet; Surf-Sail Saturdays—you get it.  Just thoughts.  

Even though it IS Wednesday, I am going to go ahead and break my above noted 1st rule and speak about Totally Tuesday.  :)  Just because I can.  

I can’t help but recap some of the web photos I have been hoarding - these happen to be all about paillettes & shiny little objects.  They are very girly, and I really cannot imagine myself in this ‘glam bling-bling look’, yet neither can I ignore it.  When something seems to be staring you in the face what would you do?

Bling car coat, image via Dora’s fur.

Scale tank, image via SeaOfShoes.

Translucent paillettes, image via HonestlyWTF.

Bionic paillettes, image via ModeNewslicious.

I have always felt there was plenty of tomboy in my style, being such a sporty spice girl.  But, wait…Is the ‘girly girl’ coming for a visit?  I find myself gravitating to this outfit—simply because I can mix my favorite boyish cut-offfs with shine…& of course, the booties are already in my closet, a fave which I find automatically lengthen my stride and add the ultimate feminine prowess.

Image via Dora’s fur.

resisting temptation

Beautiful in so many ways.  Not sure if ths yarn is metallic, but I love the idea.

Texture.

Above sweaters by Olivier Theyskens for Theory, images via fashiontoast.

over analyzing disorder

Ziploc-it-bag via streetpeeper.

My girlfriend and I were laughing the other day about how we can so easily over analyze daily tasks and inhibit decision-making.  Even worse is that we get caught up in this at work so often that it tends to overflow into our personal lives.  Bummer.  Sometimes, things are best left with a ‘go for it’ attitude.  When I came across this image I felt it summed everything up perfectly - just do what you need to do.  This guy needed a bag, so he went for the cupboard and recycled what he already had.  SO simple.  Not saying I’m gonna do it…

now…please!

I have recently found a few projects on my wishlist, unfortunately, I just don’t know when I will get to them.  There are TOO many things fighting in my brain to obtain the ‘Top of the List’ status.  Eventually, one will win…which will it be?

Lumiere sweater, image via Sincerely Jules.

Adorable sweater dress…with hood!  by Isabel Marant, image via Style.com.

Sophisticated & funky fringe by Isabel Marant, image via Style.com.

Fall is here (at least for today, in SoCal) and the weather makes me want to curl up on the couch and knit!