lace tees

I stumbled upon this website at work today and I fell in love with the coral super distressed tee.

The more I browse the website, the more I realized that the name sounded awfully familiar. I realized that Diana Eng was on my favorite season of Project Runway! I loved Daniel Vosavic and Chloe's Fashion Week collection. I was even given a signed copy of Danny V's coffee table book from a good friend (It said, Zon, Thanks for always rooting for me, Danny V) for Christmas! I think I may have to watch a few episodes now on Netflix. Remember the shenanigans of Santino and Andre? Hands down, best season of Project Runway!

Celine Box Bag

I'm not a huge handbag fiend, I can probably count the number of bags I have on one hand. Of the bags that I have, they are all brightly colored and slouchy. This was pointed out by a guy friend so it really must be very obvious. I keep seeing the Celine Box bag on style blogs and I think it's time to break out of my bag mold. I don't know what it is about this bag but I have the urge to say that I NEED it.







Since I have the extra money to afford a Celine bag nor can I stomach the price tag of one, I'll just have to keep hunting on ebay for a similar vintage equivalent.

Airbnb

I love traveling and I used to love hotels just as much as I love traveling. It wasn't until summer my freshman year in high school that my love for hotels started to waver. I lived in a hotel for about a month while my family hunted for a house. Living in a hotel for longer than a week started to have it's downfall. No kitchen which meant eating out everyday, we had to do laundry in the laundermat and worst of all, we were essentially living out of our bags the entire time.

I stumbled upon Airbnb about 2 years ago and for my national trips, I've been booking on Airbnb. I have yet to book an international stay but they have some pretty swanky (and very resonably priced apartments!) So far I don't have a single complaint. Some places do ask for a sercurity deposit (but for some reason, I've never had to pay one) and a moderately priced cleaning fee (some don't since I'm actually staying in someone's apartment). I start my search with the location/date of my visit and then I click the whole house/apartment to myself. I don't know know how I feel about just renting a room quite yet. Maybe eventually I'll give that a shot. I pay less than I normally would for a hotel, I have a kitchen (laundry too if I need it) and best of all, wifi and a parking spot! This was the view of the apartment I recently rented in Portland:

I loved it so much that I even looked up the price of an availble unit in the same building. I can actually afford it which makes moving to Portland very tempting.
More pictures of the lovely studio here.

While the apartments are as luxurious as some hotels, it's definitely nice to have some extra cash in the pocket. Plus it makes pretending to be a local much easier!

Grilled Cheese Grill

Even though Portland is not that far from Seattle, I find it hard to stray from the gems I've already discovered. One of the gems is the Grilled Cheese Grill (which has now branched out into a second location-The Double Decker Bus!).






When I first found this place, I was too full having just polished off a slice of pie and chai at the Random Order House. It was too interesting of a place for me to drive by and not stop in. This time around, I arrived on an empty stomach. I really like the interior. They transformed the bus into a little restaurant. Each table comes with a box of Trivial Pursuit so we can quiz each other while we relive our childhood. Half the bus is booths and the other half is "bar" seating. There's a pretty fun mural painted on the ceiling but due to the time of night, it was hard to photograph.





I think it's hard to mess up on grilled cheese and while they do have a few fancier sandwiches on the menu, patrons are really mostly paying for the ambiance. And the fact that they are open until 2:30 am, a good drunken snack!

HH at Smith's

Sometimes after a long day at work, I just want to meet up with a good friend and catch up over some fries. I can never say no to fries. Especially if they are smothered in gravy and cheese curds. Poutine is hard to find in Seattle and Smith's is one of the few places that as this artery clogging treat on the menu.


This is the first time I've been to Smith's with the windows wide open. Finally summer has arrived in Seattle!

my favorite combo as of late

I recently added a sparkley gold topcoat (Deborah Lippman Boom Boom Pow) to my growing nail polish collection. I've been adding it to all my manicures because 1) I spent $20 (!? when did I become that person?) on it and 2) a little sparkle adds a little bit of fun in my everyday life.

I also never realized how hard it is to take a good picture of my own hand! Sorry that only my pinkie is in focus. Base pinkish nude color is by Sally Hansen.

4th of July

I hope everyone had a relaxing long weekend! 4th of July was never a holiday that I celebrated while growing up but I get why it's a big deal. This year, I kept it low key and stayed at home to enjoy the fireworks. If you look real close, you can see the space needle. Best of all, I didn't have to fight traffic getting home :)

Ballard

I had to drop my car off to get an oil change today and I decided to take a walk through Ballard instead of waiting in dealership. Since I normally don't go to Ballard to browse, I discovered so many cute little boutiques! I had no idea there was a Dolce Vita store in Seattle! Everything in the store was 25% off and I found a really great pair of flat sandals for only $45 but I decided to put it down (though I may go back for it tomorrow...) Since it was a fairly slow day in the neighborhood, I was able to chat with many of the store owners and ask if I could take pictures inside.






I found a really great mid century modern furniture store but the owner didn't want me to take pictures :(

This little paperie was hidden inside a candle/jewerly store. I loved all the party invites and decorations they had inside



Then I went to Flour bakery and got myself a macaron and a sparkling lemonade. I spent the rest of the afternoon reading my Rick Steves Paris guide (!! Paris!!)