Met Ball 2012: Fashion Event of the Year

I always love the annual Costume Institute Gala, otherwise known at the Met Ball, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. It's the one night where fashion, celebrities, designers and models collide. No surprise, since the event is sponsored by Vogue, that it is the fashion event of the year. The clothes are amazing, from straight off the runway looks to custom designed dresses for the stars by the designers. The fashion is so much more couture and adventurous than say the typical awards show, like this years Oscars, which was so safe and predictable. This year's theme was "Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations," so not surprisingly, there were a lot of great looks from Prada, including on queen Anna Wintour herself. For me, Givenchy was the other standout on the red carpet, loved Rooney Mara's dress and Beyonce definitely wins for most dramatic. A couple of my favorite / most striking looks of the evening.

Carey Mulligan in Prada, Gwyneth Paltrow in Prada, Florence Welch in Alexander McQueen. Images from style.com

Renee Zellweger in Pucci, Rihanna in Tom Ford and Rooney Mara in Givenchy. Images from style.com

Anna Wintour in Prada, Lily Collins in Valentino, Elizabeth Banks in Mary Katrantzou (not my favorite Mary look ever, but I'm just happy that she's represented on the red carpet). Images from style.com, fashionista.com

Beyonce in Givenchy. If this isn't rocking haute couture, I don't know what is. Images from fashionista.com

Wolf in Sheep's Clothing Review: A Southern Food Pop-Up in Venice

Chicken cracklins, hot pepper vinegar. Can't go wrong with fried chicken skin!

 Wednesday night, we had a really nice meal at Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, a pop-up restaurant on Abbott Kinney in the Capri space close to Venice Blvd. The food is Southern-inspired small plates, with such classics such as fried green tomatoes, black eyed peas, biscuits, fried oysters etc. Since we don't get Southern food pretty much at all in Los Angeles, it was definitely a refreshing and fun change of pace. Favorites were the cavatelli pasta with lamb bolognese, butter biscuit with pimento cheese and soft shell crab with almonds and brown butter. Everything was good though. I didn't look at the wine list, but they have a nice selection of beers, which the guys ordered. Service was friendly and we waited about 40 minutes for a table of 3 on a Wednesday night at 8pm. I highly recommend going before the pop-up ends at the end of June.

Kale salad, sheep cheese, pink lady apple, date, walnut vinaigrette. Refreshing salad, I should try this at home

Fried green tomatoes, buttermilk dressing, chow chow

Butter biscuit, pimento cheese, honey butter, black berry. Such an awesome flaky, buttery biscuit. Loved all the toppings for the biscuits too

Yum, pimento cheese

Cavatelli pasta, lamb bolognese, parmesan, bread crumbs

Quail, corn bread, smoked maple, arugula. Loved the crispy bottom on the corn bread from the cast iron dish

Soft shell crab, almonds, brown butter. Really loved this dish; perfectly fried crab, with crunchy almonds, some pickled onions, over soft buttery polenta / grits (?)

Hanger steak, fried oysters, oyster mushrooms, onion jam, cress

Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
1616 Abbott Kinney Blvd (in the Capri space)
Venice, CA

Stiletto Envy

Isabel Marant Rea Sandals. Image from barneys.com

It's been ages since I've worn stilettos, not to mention bought stilettos, but I can't help but fall in love with these gorgeous Isabel Marant Rea sandals from her spring collection. Believe it or not, these are the "practical" version with the ~3" heel; she also has a version with a ~5" heel. So pretty, but I will be admiring from afar for now as I shouldn't splurge on such impractical things these days.

From the S/S 2012 runway show. I love how she pairs the shoes with everything from jeans, to shorts, to dresses. Images from style.com

Dinner at Wurstkuche Venice

A lovely Sunday evening meal. Particularly loved the fries, perfect!

DVF for babyGap Purchases

My mom and I were able to pick up our favorite colorful whimsical pieces from the Diane von Furstenberg for babyGap for almost 50% off in store last week. Patience definitely pays off, the collection at full price was quite expensive for baby clothes that will only be worn for a few months, but at half off, a much better value. The little dress has always been my favorite out of the DVF entire collection, and she'll be able to wear the embroidered bodysuit and colorful leggings all the time. First Marc Jacobs, now Diane von Furstenberg, starting early...

Farmshop Brunch

Hello spring! Frittata with asparagus, pea shoots and ricotta

Honestly, it's not easy to find a place for an impromptu good meal in Santa Monica / Venice without long waits or some planning ahead of time. Last Friday night, K. and I decided to venture out for dinner, just the two of us, which is a rare occasion, as usually we cook at home. We first tried Abbott Kinney but were soon discouraged by the quoted 2 hour waits at Gjelina and Tasting Kitchen. We ended up at Ado, seated on a misty balcony on a rather cool night, but fortunately got moved inside by the time we ordered and had a wonderful meal. Brunch / lunch is another tricky meal; most places are also packed at peak time. Our default now is Farmshop in the Brentwood Country Mart, which is conveniently walking distance from our place. We always have to wait, particularly on weekends, but usually it's no more than a 20 minute wait and there are plenty of shops around to pass the time at. Food, while not cheap, is always fresh and tasty. Plus, then we can have Sweet Rose Creamery for dessert!

Chicken liver mousse

Smoked trout deviled eggs

Poached chicken salad

Tri-tip steak sandwich

Dungeness crab omelet

Bohemian Malibu Sunset

A Winter Kate kimono dress in vintage grey silk that's been sitting around in my closet for over a year now. Perfect for hanging around El Matador beach in Malibu at Sunset. Can't wait for the weather to warm up soon so that I can wear my regular comfortable dresses for these remaining weeks.