Hail Mary: Mixing Digital Prints and Colorblocking

Mary Katrantzou x Topshop dress, Prada sunglasses, Zara colorblock sandals, BCBG clutch

The start of football season (last week) and the Mary Katrantzou SS 2013 runway show Sunday at London Fashion Week inspired me to put on this Mary Katrantzou x Topshop tunic dress for a night out on the town. This heatwave is the perfect weather for this lightweight silky dress and it's the first time that I've worn these Zara turquoise and blue sandals which match perfectly with the dress.  I didn't really capture the vibrancy and details of the print, but it's a signature Mary Katrantzou digital piece of art with hydrangeas, ladybugs and an enormous pheasant. A comfortably cool outfit for a dinner out (sans baby) in Venice tonight at the Tasting Kitchen, one of my favorite restaurants on the Westside.

Post Labor Day Heatwave

September and October can be the hottest months in Southern California and it's been no exception this year. It's currently in the 90's in Santa Monica which is unbearably warm for a city where many of the houses don't even have air conditioning. It was the perfect excuse to fire up the grill, which we sadly haven't used for a year or so. We'll get good use out of it all weekend as we have friends in town from Seattle and it is way too hot to turn on the stove or use the oven. Nice excuse to sit by the pool with a (veggie) burger and a cold glass of wine.

Don't Mess with Texas

Isabel Marant Texas dress and Rio sandals. Image from style.com

While most fashion people were focused on New York Fashion Week or recovering from Fashions Night Out on Thursday, S. and I made the semiannual trek downtown to the Isabel Marant warehouse sale at the Cooper Building on Friday afternoon. All I came home with this time was the Texas dress in black. My only qualm about the dress is that it really is quite short (as were many of the looks from her Spring 2012 collection). Fortunately I don't have supermodel long legs, so it doesn't look quite as scandalously short on me as in these runway images. To further tone it down and to keep it "mommy" appropriate, I'll probably pair the dress with Betty sneakers and a similarly sporty or oversized jacket. There was quite a lot of stock at the sample sale and I tried on a lot of items, but nothing quite fit right. It's too bad since I was not five months pregnant like last time and could properly try on the clothes. I really wanted a pair of patchwork jeans but they all ran big. I was tempted by these Rio sandals, which I've loved since the runway show, and they were a great price, but I simply could not walk even a few steps in 5 inch heels; apparently I am way out of practice.We also checked out the Steven Alan sample sale going on simultaneously in the Cooper Building but came away empty handed as well.

Image from style.com.

First Rose of the Summer

Where did the summer go? It's almost September already with labor day around the corner. We usually drink Rose all summer long, but this summer, we've mostly stuck with beers because I can only fit in a glass a day because of little k, so we don't open bottles of wine as often. Beckman's 2010 Grenache Rose: a more full bodied Rose, which I prefer, though not a lot of complexity of flavor. Roses are meant to be drunk young, so this one may have lost its flavor a bit, since it has been refrigerated since last summer and probably should have been consumed then.

Classic Checkered Shirtdress and Ankle Boots

Steven Alan shirtdress, Jerome Dreyfuss chainlink leather purse (borrowed from mom), Isabel Marant Dicker Boots, Hermes reversible belt, Raybans, love gina necklace

We had a semi-business related dinner tonight which was the perfect opportunity to break out this Steven Alan shirtdress that I bought from the Steven Alan sample sale at the beginning of summer. Love that it has pockets! Just polished enough to be business appropriate, but casual enough for a Saturday night dinner.

A relaxing afternoon

A glass of Rivers Marie (my favorite pinot maker) 2009 Summa Old Vines Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir and a sleeping baby. Nice Pinot, but not my favorite from Rivers Marie. Beautiful layered nose, lots of cherry and fruit but just a little too acidic for me.

Jinya Ramen Bar: Another Westside Ramen Newcomer

I had eagerly been anticipating the opening of Jinya Ramen Bar after hearing all the raves about the Studio City location. It was under construction for quite awhile, and I finally made it last week. We ordered both the chicken broth based ramen as well as the tonkotsu based ramen. I thought it was only ok; I like the firmness of the noodles but the tonkotsu broth, while rich, wasn't particularly deep or complex. I prefer the broth and noodles of Tsujita and the broth (but not the noodles) of Yamadaya (which I visited again this week). It's nice to have all these Westside ramen options though!