Clothes Exchange

Ladies, do you find yourself constantly complementing your friends and wishing you could raid their closets? Perhaps it's the other way around, are your friends constantly complementing you and asking you were you shop? Or maybe you're just a shop-a-holic like in the case of Michelle and I and are in desperate need to get rid of old clothes and accessories to make room for new clothes and accessories. Well, here's a fabulous suggestion: Clothing Exchange Party! It's not just a fun excuse to get together with your girlfriends, it's also a fantastic opportunity to score some goodies for FREE!

So here is how it works: Pick a date for the event. Sort through your clothes, set apart the "never wear", "too old" and "doesn't fit" items and ask your friends to do the same. (please make sure the clothes you are planning on giving away is laundered and ironed/steamed) Then everyone gets together with their unwanted goods and you can either neatly hang the clothes up, a la boutique, or lay them out on tables (depending on how much room you have to work with). Point is you want to make it look appealing and not have people feel like they are sorting through someone's laundry.

We have attended a couple of these and normally they are organized by garments: Dresses in one area, skirts in another, pants, blouses, coats, jewelry, shoes, you get the idea. (I have heard of parties taking it a step further and even organizing by size) It is also helpful to have a designated room or space, equipped with a mirror, available for anyone who wishes to try things on.

Everyone tries to offer to bring snacks, appetizers, finger foods and the sort. Keep in mind, you will most likely be trying things on, so it's probably not the best idea to have a full blown dinner. And of course no girl's party is complete without dranks!

Cotton Candy Martinis

The girlier the better!

Once all guests have arrived and are settled in, it is time to shop! Now, we normally don't set any rules because everyone is very respectful and courteous of each other. However depending on your particular group or preference, you may choose to have ladies pick in turns or only allow them to take equal to the amount of items they brought.

If you're the host, it is a good idea to have some shopping bags handy or simply re-use the ones guests used to bring their clothes in.

At the end of the event, there are bound to be left over items, which normally the host or a volunteer will gather and donate to Goodwill or another second hand store of their choice.

Now, we were just so excited about our finds from the last exchange party we attended that we wanted to share with all:

We hope this has inspired you to throw a clothing exchange party of your own.

:) 

Love,

Lesli and Michelle

Music Monday

"Got no need for the fancy things

All the attention that it brings

Tell me no, I say yes, I was chosen

and i will deliver the explosion"

I am ready to tackle the week and who better to get me pumped on this Monday than Santigold (formerly Santogold)? If you have never heard this fierce ensemble before, you are missing out.  

Santi White, the vibrant front woman, and her super talented gang produce such innovative music. Fusing punk, reggae, grime and indie rock with electro... I mean, really, does that not have fun and good times written all over it?

As I was thinking of why I wanted my pick for this week's music Monday to be Santigold, I tried to decide what my favorite song would be if I had to choose. Honestly, this was the first time I just could not pick! I am crazy about so many of their songs, some a little less than others, but for the most part I love them the same!

However, if I had to turn someone on to Santigold, I guess I would start with "L.E.S. Artistes". Only because it's the song that really put them on the map and was even named the #2 single of the year in 2008 by Rolling Stone! Definitely note worthy! "Lights Out", "Shove It", "Creator", "You'll Find A Way" and the list goes on and on! Including covers of other artists songs... Seriously, CHECK THEM OUT!

 I am even more excited because they just released their new album "Master Of My Make-Belive" earlier this year. I have only had the chance to listen to a few songs off of it, but what I've heard so far, I like. I feel it is one that will grow on me quickly

-Lesli

My pick this week is the song Adversity by Beach Fossils.

I discovered this band after listening to a random Soundcloud of their song Youth on Tumblr.

This is another band with a Lo-Fi/Shoegaze/Surf Pop sound somewhat similar to that of Wild Nothing's, so that's probably a hint to why I loved them so much.

Although this band has often been said to have a 'summery' feel, I don't think so.

I've had their EP What a pleasure for a few months now but hadn't gotten a chance to listen to it.

Now I can say that it really is a pleasure to listen to this EP.
My absolute favorite track on it is Adversity.
Even if this track had no words in it I would love it simply because of the music.

The guitar in this song is just beautiful.
To see what I mean, have yourself a listen:

Side note:

Isn't Dustin Payseur adorable?!

-Michelle

Music Monday

Lesli:

My artist pick for this Music Monday needs no introduction, it is none other than the extraordinary Florence + The Machine.

I am such a big fan of Ms. Welch and friends and had the awesome privilege of seeing them live back in October of this year and may I say they did not disappoint. The talent behind this lady is so incredible. Her voice was just breathtaking in person which is so refreshing nowadays in the era of studio manufactured artists who sound bloody awful live.

It is very difficult to pick a favorite song by Florence + The Machine (there are so many good ones), however I must resort back to the one that made me fall head over heels in love with them: Swimming.

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, I fell asleep listening to Pandora and was awoken by my sub-conscience when this song came on, instantly becoming captivated by it's beauty. I recognized Florence's voice but had never heard this particular song. I had to have it! Next day I purchased it on Amazon.com off of Lungs: The B-Sides and was one very happy girl.

Some of my other favorites off the Lungs LP include: Cosmic Love, of course, Howl, Drumming, Falling and My Boy Builds Coffins.

Off of Ceremonials: Heartlines, What The Water Gave Me and Only If For A Night

Ms. Welch also inspires me fashion wise. She has a very ethereal style, with lots of gorgeous flowy dresses and the wrap around braid hair do inspired me to give it a try on my own hair, however it did not come out as successful as hers (with more practice I am sure I will eventually nail it).

"Because falling's not the problem, when I'm falling I'm at peace

It's only when I hit the ground it causes all the grief"

Michelle:

My pick for this week is Wild Nothing.

Jack Tatum - vocals, guitars, bass guitar, various instruments

I first heard of Wild Nothing on Urban Outfitters 2011 Pitchfork compilation which featured the EP Golden Haze. I instantly fell in love with the track.

Deciding to hear more of Wild Nothing, I looked up their album Gemini on Youtube. The first song that came up was Living in Dreams. Upon reading comments I noticed that a few people mentioned that they sounded a bit like The Smiths.This immediately peeked my interest (I am a HUGE  Smiths fan).
I must say, although I personally didn't see the correlation between the two, I did really like what I heard. I went along and bought the album off iTunes.

I loved that album to pieces. Seriously, it was on repeat the whole fall/winter of 2011.
A few of my favorite songs off Gemini are: Summer Holidays, Pessimist, O Lilac, The Witching Hour, Chinatown, and Our Composition Book.

Earlier this year there was word on Tumblr that Wild Nothing was coming out with their second album Nocturne in August. When the release date came up, I was very excited but also hesitant to hear it. I thought maybe they would change their sound and I would hate it. So, I previewed the whole album on Spotify.

The first track that caught my attention was Only Heather. I knew right then and there that I even if I didn't like the rest of the tracks, that one would  make up for it.

Eventually I  bought  Nocturne and it grew on me. Now I love it equally if not a little more than I did Gemini. I love the whole thing so much that I don't have a favorite song because they're all so good!

If I had to choose though, I think I'd say Paradise.

We hope you enjoyed this weeks Music Monday! 

L.A. Road Trip

Our latest adventure brings us to the City of Angels.

"Why have we traveled so far?" You may ask.

The reason is Cirque Du Soleil's show Iris, currently at the Dolby Theater on Hollywood Boulevard.

Michelle had already seen the show, but didn't mind going again, and I had been wanting to see it for some time now. So, we packed up the fam and set out.

It had been overcast pretty much all day and the clouds threatened rain. "Oh no, rain and Los Angeles traffic?!" Not to worry, Michelle and I gots this! We decided to cat nap for most of the 2 hour ride. Being Los Angeles road trip veterans, we have pretty much seen everything there is to see along the way: Camp Pendleton, Power Plant (a.k.a. the boobs), Disneyland, Downtown L.A. etc.

We arrive with some time to kill before the show. Since the show was at the Dolby Theater on the Boulevard of Broken Dreams we decided to walk down to Grauman's Chinese Theater and check out the characters, walk of fame stars and such. For as many times as I have been here, being obsessed with old Hollywood, I still get giddy to see the stars, hand and foot prints of the actors I have grown to love so much!

Hollywood High

Marilyn Monroe and  Jane Russell

After having spent some time wandering about, we decided to grab a bite before the show. With lots of yummy options, we settled on Johnny Rockets. Can't go wrong with chocolate malts and burgers, right? American staples.

Finally, show time! *insert jazz hands here* The Dolby Theater is spectacular. It exceeded my expectations by far! As tempted as we all were to take out our cameras and snap away, there were signs stating it was not allowed and believe me, they weren't kidding. A lady next to us was almost tackled by security and ushers for trying.

The show delivered, as most Cirque shows do. The theme was Hollywood in a very fun, glamorous and accurate portrayal. As always though, I feel I am much more entertained by the clowns than anything else. Sad, but true. The French female mime was adorable. We managed to congratulate and take a photo with her after the show. She was such a good sport!

Michelle and I with Ekaterina Pirogovskaya

After leaving the Dolby Theater we emerged back on to Hollywood blvd to light rain. No one having an umbrella, this is how we improvised:

Now, back to San Diego! Michelle and I tucked ourselves away in the back of the car, shoes off, feet crossed, sharing ear phones and iPhone, blasting Lana Del Rey and singing along. Until Michelle got thirsty (from all the awesome singing) and I got hungry. 

We stopped at Carls Jr/Green Burrito and these are the shenanigans that took place. 

Main reason why we should never be allowed in public together, especially at late hours of the night.

A special thanks to the cashier for putting up with our obnoxiousness. I guess she didn't really have much choice. This was also when Michelle revealed her true stingy feelings. I suggested we share her enormous fountain drink and she refused and said it was due to me being a "soda vacuum"! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, a SODA VACUUM! How dare she! In a public fast food restaurant, at 11 pm and in front of all 0 customers! After which, I appropriately stuck my head under the fountain drink machine and proceeded to drink directly from it to show her what a real soda vacuum looked like. No, not really, just did it for pretend-sies.

What can I say, always a guaranteed crazy time when were together. Plenty more adventures to come folks, so stick around.

The Nail Files

As promised, we are discussing nails! Yay! Well, kinda...
So, Lesli and I got together to try out some new designs on our nails.

Lesli chose a chevron pattern for hers and I chose a two-toned French manicure. 

It was Lesli's first time attempting a chevron pattern and my second time tackling the French manicure (my first attempt was a major FAIL, so I decided give it another shot). 

We would like to share our discoveries, tips and tricks for getting it right.

There's been a pin floating around Pinterest that caught both Lesli's and my attention. 

Using Pam cooking spray to make your manicure smudge proof instantly! 

Sounded too good to be true, so we decided to give it a try and find out if it really worked.

We headed out to our local 99 cent store and were able to find a cooking spray similar to Pam, but for only $1... SCORE! 

Along with the cooking spray we bought reinforcement labels for my French tips.

Once home, we started on our manicures.

These were the results:

Y'know the good'ole saying, "it's a lot harder than it looks"? Both Lesli and I give major kuddos to all the girls on pinterest pulling off these nail designs successfully on themselves. It's not impossible to achieve, but definitely requires tons of practice, time and patience.
It was definitely a learning experience for us, here are the things we would have done differently.

Lesli: For my chevron stripes, I started by going layer by layer, in taped off sections and learned at the end it would have been much easier to just do my two main colors first and THEN paint the chevron stripe to tie it all in together

Michelle: To do a French tip using reinforcement labels you MUST let the base polish completely dry. Reinforcement labels are very very sticky and can peel off all the polish if they are not dry. This was actually the reason my first attempt failed so badly. This time was a bit more successful but if I do it again, I'll most likely wait a few hours for the polish to completely dry and then do the tips with the labels.

As for the cooking spray trick, it definitely works. Not going to lie, leaves your hands and what ever surface your working on super greasy, but nothing soap can't wash off, right? So, totally worth it.

We would for sure still recommend a little dry time as it is not as instantaneous as one would hope, but really does cut the dry time in half if not more!

Next manicures should be a bigger success.

Music Monday

Gather round boys and girls because today is Music Monday! Lesli and I are going to share with you our music obsession of the week.

Michelle:

Megan James (Vocals) and Corin Roddick (Instrumentals)

This week I had to go with Purity Ring's new album Shrines. I kid you not, this album has been and will be on repeat for a while. It's pure amazingness. 
If you aren't familiar with Purity Ring already, they are a Canadian electro-pop duo from Montreal. 
Shrines is their debut album and was released in July of this year. I like the whole album but of course, everyone has their favorite songs and 'Obedear' is mine. 
The combination of Megan's sweet voice mixed with the dark synthy-electro music is just perfect.
 If you don't believe me, have a listen:

Lesli:

Lykke Li is my artist pick for todays Music Monday. 

I am really into "Jerome" off of her Wounded Rhymes LP. 

I was introduced to Lykke Li a few years back via The Twilight Saga: New Moon soundtrack. 

Regardless of how I feel about the books and movies, I must admit, the soundtracks have provided 

countless eclectic indie bands and musicians, most of which are pretty fantastic. 

Going along with the overall mood of the book and movie, the songs featured on the soundtrack 

are of a much darker tone. Lykke Li's "Possibility" instantly hooked me. I found the combination 

of her child-like tone of voice and dramatic piano very somber and haunting.

As described by Wikipedia, "her music often blends elements of pop, indie rock and electronic;

various instruments can also be found in her songs, including violins,synthesizers,tambourines,

trumpets, saxophones and cellos". Some songs have a retro sound to them which 

is another reason why I am a big fan. Take for example the intro to "Youth Knows No Pain"

also off of the Wounded Rhymes LP.

Michelle prefers Lykke Li's debut album Youth Novel, which I also love, but personally have

obsessed over more songs on the Wounded Rhymes LP.

In the end, we are both fans of Ms. Lykke Li for her edgy lyrics and captivating music style.

Definitely on my to see live list. 

"Come and get down, come and get down, make amends, make a vow"

Black Friday Haul I

Yes, we were THOSE people you have read about and seen on the news, waiting in line for stores to open at midnight on 'Black Friday' (minus the weapons, trampling and only a little shoving). For us however, it was more about the experience than the deals. We love to shop, then throw in saving a few bucks and it was a done deal!

We decided to go pretty much on a whim. Michelle was a Black Friday virgin (home girl had on 4" heeled boots and was expecting to last all night shopping in them), and I had only gone Black Friday shopping once before. We had no game plan, just did a very general search on the Internet and paid for our rookie mistakes. We had no interest in the electronics and appliances everyone was hyped up about. We were going for clothes and beauty products. That being said, our first two stops were a bust: Target and Kohls.

After waisting time wandering amongst the masses at Kohls and Target, plus making a quick pit stop back at my place to switch out Michelle's high heeled boots for my Havaianas, we headed to the mall, where we should have started in the first place.

Both Michelle and I being very big fans of H & M had made it our top priority. The store had been open already when we arrived, however they were only allowing a few people in at a time. When we saw how ridiculously long the line was, we decided I would stay and hold our spot while Michelle ran around the rest of the mall (in my chanclas) to get the scoop on the other stores.

Finally making it inside H & M felt amazing. Compared to their normal prices, you can definitely say they had deals. Select clothing for as little as $5? Don't mind if I do! Unfortunately, most of the insanely low priced items had already been snatched up by the time we got in. Even so, we managed to snag a few items as shown below.

Another store on our radar was the ever popular Forever 21. They had not advertised any to die for deals on-line, but we figured we were there already, so why not stop in to look and good thing we did. We raided the sale section only to find out when we got to the register there was an additional 50% off the sale items... SCORE!

These are a few of our finds:

Scarf: H&M, Cream  Cardigan: H&M

Knit Cream Pullover: H&M

Mint Cardigan: H&M

Burgundy Cardigan: H&M, Black and White Panel Skirt: Forever 21 

Mustard Beret: H&M

Hot Pink Ridged Scarf: H&M

Leopard Mary Janes: Forever 21, Cream Polka Dot Stockings: Forever 21

Black Gloves: H&M

Needless to say, we will be much better prepared for next year, should we decide to go again.