Crushing on Coral

Posted in Accessories, Beauty, Fashion by C.

Crushing on Coral ATG FINAL

It took nearly three decades, but I finally deduced that my favorite color is purple. For years, whenever someone would ask me what my favorite color is, I’d say, “I don’t really have a favorite color.” And though it’s not rocket science to figure it out, I started paying more attention to myself, putting two and two together when it seemed my eye was always drawn to any hue in the purple family.

Case and point: when I moved into my apartment, the first thing I did was decidedly paint my walls a soft lilac, with one big accent wall coated in a deep heather purple for dramatic effect. Many of the dishes in the kitchen are purple. My bedspread is lavender and the lampshades on my nightstand are orchid. The iPod I bought years ago (when you might call me more “color fickle” ) is purple. And the color of choice when it came time to purchase a case for my new Kindle is…you guessed it…purple. Let me preface that my apartment doesn’t look like Barney the Dinosaur’s crib, I do try to balance out all that purple love with lots of golds and browns to keep things from becoming too overwhelming.

Though I think I’ll stick with purple as my official favorite color (since it took so long to make up my mind), I’m currently crushing on corals as we gear up for summer at the moment. Last year, mint green was all the rage in the fashion world and though it has staying power, there’s something about coral that I find to be an equal competitor, if not taking a slight advantage. It’s a shade that looks uniformly amazing on the palest of skin tones, to the darkest of complexions. It represents all the things that I love about this time of year. Coral is fresh, bright and unbashfully playful.

Unlike those early days when I had a crush on a boy but could never quite bring myself to tell him so, I’m telling the world all about my new crush. I just hope my currently relationship with “the color purple” (pun intended) doesn’t get too jealous.

Sources/Links

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Stay in Touch: Facebook | Twitter | Bloglovin‘

26Feb2014

What I’m Lovin’ Right Now

Posted in Accessories, Beauty, Beverages, Books, Health by C.

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You wouldn’t know it by looking out the window at our trademark California sunshine as I write this, but a storm is vastly approaching the City of Angels. By the time you read this, we’ll be in the mist of an actual (and very much-needed) rain storm for the next 5 straight days. In “LA speak” this means alternating between downpour then drizzling, on and off, just before the next random heat wave. Not usually one to get too excited at the prospect of rain (especially when I prefer to be wrapped up in a soft blanket at home watching movies all day and not sitting in traffic heading to work) I know that this particular storm is a godsend to our ongoing drought emergency. Looking ahead to an upcoming long weekend on my end, it looks like I’ll be spending the last days of February primarily indoors. It’s prompted me to think about small pleasures on a rainy day: a good book, a warm beverage, things to do to pass the time, and a fun umbrella to have handy when you do brave the outdoors.

Here are a few things I’m lovin’ right now to guide us through the rain and to the rainbow, until our trademark sunshine joins us again. xx

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rainy day footwear – Knee Length Cozy Socks

rainy day mani inspiration – Suzi and the 7 Dusseldorfs by OPI | Amazon

rainy day protection – Bumble Umbrella | Target

rainy day neck wear – The Nellie Knit Scarf | Grace & Lace

rainy day chocolate fix – Homemade Hot Chocolate | heart.love.weddings.

rainy day self-care – Why and How to Take a Detox Bath | Healthy Living How To

rainy day read – Think on These Things by Jiddu Krishnamurti | Amazon

rainy day organization inspiration – 52 Meticulous Organizing Tips for the OCD Person in You | Buzzfeed

Stay in Touch: Facebook | Twitter | Bloglovin‘

20Nov2013

What I’m Lovin’ Right Now

Posted in Accessories, Books, Fashion by C.

A few random things bringing a smile to my face at this particular moment and interestingly, that thing we call “love” open and closes my short list today. When I saw Frida Kahlo’s quote on an otherwise blah day, she kinda blew my mind with these 12 words.

And speaking of love – if you’re looking for a good Thanksgiving weekend read to lose yourself in something else besides turkey and pie, check out Falling into You, then the sequel, Falling into Us by Jasinda Wilder. I can’t recall know how I stumbled upon these books and I don’t really read much of this genre (other than 50 Shades, because hey, who hasn’t at this point?), but I couldn’t put either book down. Jasinda Wilder has a way with stories. I read Falling into You this summer (insert a handful of other books in between) and I’m just now finishing up the second. Wow! Alert: they’re “steamy!” though not pushing 50 Shades territory…and much better written.

Insert my “Carrie Bradshaw-esque” voice here: “I couldn’t help but wonder…do people actually have relationships like Colt and Nell; Jason and Becca?”

A girl can dream.

Here’s what i’m lovin’ right now…

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Frida Kahlo kinda just blew my mind | ellafrancessanders.com

Blueberry and Jam Buttermilk Coffee Cake with Buttery Vanilla Glaze | averiecooks.com

Black Rutilated Quartz Gold Necklace | Friedasophie on etsy.com

Studio M Moto Jacket | macys.com

Falling into Us | amazon.com

21Aug2013

What I’m Lovin’ Right Now

Posted in Accessories, Beauty, Fashion, Home Decor by C.

Blend

Face mapping to determine what’s happening. How the location of a blemish tells you what may be going awry inside. Full article here.
TESLA – Natural crystal quartz geometric hexagon pendant edged in gold from ArrowandEra.
Oprah.com’s 11 Sunday Gloom Breakers.
How To Winged Eye Liner Tutorial.
Furbish Studio’s Penelope Lamp.
Red velvet ice cream eye candy. Yum!
Bear Traps Roma Booties.

15Aug2013

DIY: Simple Gold & Swarovski Bead Necklace

Posted in Accessories, DIY by C.

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About 4 years ago, I took up a new hobby in jewelry making and fell in love immediately. Once you pick up the basics, you’d be surprised at how often you find yourself eyeing a set of earrings in a department store, but saying to yourself that you could easily replicate them yourself for half the cost. I will admit that this can become an expensive hobby if you start working with high quality materials. This, combined with the amount of time it can take to make a single piece – I now have a much greater understanding of why jewelry is often so expensive.

Normally, my jewelry making projects are earring themed, though I have often used what I have learned to repair pieces that I would have otherwise gotten rid of. Recently, I’ve been wanting to add a delicate gold necklace to my collection and came across the perfect inspiration on Cupcakes and Cashmere.

I loved the design. The use of a short row of stones to add a bit of drama to such a simple necklace was a great idea and starting point for what I wanted to do. However, the design used on C&C was much longer in length and didn’t have a clasp because it was long enough to simply slip over your head. I wanted a necklace that was much shorter, had a clasp, and wanted to alter the design of the stones – opting for small Swarovski Elements Crystal Bicone beads in a unique pattern over the ombre effect used on Cupcakes and Cashmere.

I used very inexpensive materials, all purchased at Michael’s for crafting my piece. I loved how it turned out so much that I will eventually swap the chain that I used for something of higher quality that will last longer and maintain a better brilliance.

You can read the full “How To: Delicate Necklace” to get the details on the inspiration for my design.

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19Jun2013

|| What I’m Lovin’ Right Now ||

Posted in Accessories, Beauty, Food, Home Decor, Inspiration, Travel by C.

With the official start to summer only 2 short days away, I’ve been excited at all the fun to come. I can’t say that I have an absolute favorite time of year, because I’m usually ready for the change in season at the exact time the new season joins us (and this can’t ring more true right now). While fall and winter both have their unique traits and celebrations, I’m NOT a fan of being cold. At all. So if I had to pick, there’s something about summer that makes me happiest. Perhaps it’s because I’m a California girl through and through. I love sunshine, warm weather (if we can keep it around circa 80-85 degrees), the beach, long days, 4th of July, outdoor movies, the Hollywood Bowl, sundresses, sunnies, sandals, fruity cocktails and iced lattes. So the plan this particular summer season would be to channel as much of what you see in the picture above for the next 3 months.

love & light,

Candice

here’s what i’m lovin’ right now

|| Kate Spade’s Alyx sunglasses featured on Keiko Lynn’s blog last week. WANT. ||

|| These 14k Gold Peach Wire Wrapped Earrings from Diamblond’s Etsy Shop. ||

|| Homemade Frozen Strawberry Lemonade // Recipe here. ||

|| Ryan Gosling’s very wise and very true words. || 7b04ce5c55ab76db9a3211a4637a4614

|| Vintage inspired door knobs as curtain tie-backs // Details here. ||

|| Revlon’s Plum Seduction Nail Polish (currently on my toes and perfect for summer!). ||

|| What’s inspiring me to want to drop everything and take a summer adventure.||

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|| Mushroom, Asparagus + Prosciutto Pizza with Balsamic Glaze // Recipe here. ||

*click photos for image sources.

5Jun2013

|| What I’m Lovin’ Right Now ||

Posted in Accessories, Beauty, Fashion, Food, Handbags, Inspiration, Travel by C.

“Two things define you. Your patience when you have nothing, and your attitude when you have everything.” – unknown

On a rather ordinary day when I was desperately trying to get something done but not seeing the results that I wanted, this quote popped up in my Facebook news feed…at just the right time. I instantly took a deep breath and told myself to just “keep going, keep trying, have patience.” I think what is often disappointing when trying to build anything is when you feel like you’re making this great big effort, but not seeing it actualized as quickly as you would like. It’s especially frustrating when you see others already in the realm of the type of success you’re after, and then it spirals downhill from there. So today, I thought I would share these 17 words from an unknown source, but words that recently made all the difference in my day.

Since I know I can’t be alone in this: be patient, if you too, are struggling with anything today. Just keep going and do the best you can. Since persistence and patience are usually the factors that ultimately drive you to success, it’s only a matter of time. And when you do get there and have everything you’ve ever wanted – be mindful – your attitude defines you as much as your patience once did.

love & light,

Candice

here’s what i’m lovin’ right now

|| Nikki Montoya Jewelry // Mayan Necklace.||

||Cupshakes = Cupcakes Blended with a Milkshake.||

|| Madewell’s Transport Tote in English Saddle.||

||Infinity scarves with shorts.||

||Alternate uses for your muffin pan // Lemon infused ice cubes (great for summer) & Pancake bites.||

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|| Makeup.com’s How to Cover Up Acne Scars.||

||I’ll see you someday soon, Paris.||

*click photos for image sources.

22May2013

|| What I’m Lovin’ Right Now ||

Posted in Accessories, Breakfast, DIY, Food, Home Decor, Inspiration, Treats by C.

Collage

As a gal who had a birthday recently, I was bummed that I didn’t come up with the awesome idea myself to incorporate my love of donuts into the celebration! Now that I think about it, I haven’t even had a big birthday cake, donut-inspired or otherwise, on my actual birthday since I was a kid. But don’t feel sorry for me, I make it a point to enjoy frosted covered carbs more often than I probably should – and this is a year-round phenomenon. When stumbling across this super cool concept, I looked up other donut cakes (oh, the joys of being unproductive on Pinterest) and made a collage of ideas before instantly experiencing the worst donut craving of my life. (It was a rough half hour!) Suffice to say, I’ve decided what I want to see next year on my birthday (candles and all) and it fits somewhere in the range above to give you a visual reference. Who says birthday cakes are just for kids? I’m going with the argument that if they are, I’m one at heart…and that counts. So there!

here’s what i’m lovin’ right now

|| Everything about this room…even though I tend to lean more toward dark, dramatic spaces.||

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||Looking ahead to better things c/o C.S. Lewis.|| cbdc5f2d0bad0e9bfe514e19424c0917

500944ea09c7dbd8be01060f8b21741e || Essentials for a relaxing Saturday afternoon.||

||An awesome DIY storage solution for small bathrooms. All you need is a “shadow box” from a craft store, some paint, and nails. Full details here.||

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9c909be3d0525fdc601759f9a721cb90 ||Coralia Leets’ White Drusy Stone Post Earrings. Details here.||

||Maple Bacon Pancakes from blogger, Laicie, over at A Thousand Threads. Yummy details here.||

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17May2013

Highlights

Posted in Accessories, Breakfast, Film, Food by C.

It’s my first week back into the “real world” after a short break. It’s been pretty chaotic getting back into the swing of things, but as the week comes to a close I’m beginning to find my stride again. When I think about the highlights of my life lately, I think about how much one can accomplish if you just put one foot in front of the other and get it done. By nature, this is equal parts easy and difficult for me to do. I very much have the personality that I like to meet any challenge and won’t back down until it’s to my satisfaction, but there are those times I let procrastination settle in – particularly when it’s something I don’t feel like dealing with anyway. For example?

…My air-conditioning. Since I moved into my own place (away from the constant breeze of west side living), my A/C has been deciding to work properly only when it feels like it. The problem is that I’ve been letting it behave that way for a year. I finally got to a place after a 100 degree preview last weekend of what’s to come and decided that it was time to address it with my landlord once and for all. Of course, when they came to test it to see what the trouble was, it worked swimmingly (don’t you hate when that happens?). Despite this, I told myself I was not going to accept it any longer, even if it meant having to press the issue. I was now in a space to deal with it and when I’m in that space, nothing can stop me (blu-hu-ha-ha-ha!). I marched downstairs and told my landlord with a polite, but firm tone that I wanted it replaced. They changed it the next day. Mission accomplished.

On a different note, you might have noticed a little make-over to All that Glitters this week. Thanks to my friend Tonya over at Budget and the Beach, I’ve been thinking a lot about our recent lunch where the talk was all about blogging. More to come as I develop a new creative and visual approach to my site. I’m so excited to share my ideas with you!

A few other smiles that made my week (that interestingly involved breakfast food on two occasions)?

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{The BEST pancakes I think I’ve ever had from Du-Par’s on 3rd street.}

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{Cranberry Orange Muffin and an Intelligentsia iced latte from Graffiti made my Sunday morning as we made our way to see Iron Man 3. It was an enthusiastic 2 thumbs up…for the muffin, the latte, and the flick!}

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{Enjoying a thoughtful handmade birthday present.}

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{May’s Birchbox is here!}

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{A super cool belated birthday card from a friend.}

Have a great weekend! Star Trek Into Darkness – TONIGHT! xx

1May2013

|| What I’m Lovin’ Right Now ||

Posted in Accessories, Books, Fashion, Film, Food, Fun, Treats by C.

Happy May! Sweeter (and cheaper) fruit, BBQs, birthdays, and blockbuster flicks are here! Of course, I’ll maintain my film school cred and squeeze in a good indie here and there, but this time of year brings big budget movies and I’m not ashamed to say that I totally buy into them (well, sometimes). While I’m very much looking forward to Richard Linklater’s return to Jesse and Celine’s romantic journey in Before Midnight; I’m beyond stoked for Iron Man 3 this weekend, Star Trek: Into Darkness a few weeks later, and my personal CANNOT-wait-to-find-my-booty-in-a-theater-seat-cradling-the-largest-tub-of-popcorn-ever: Fast & Furious 6 (yes, you read that right!). Memorial day weekend is going to rule!

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. The perks of spring conditions and impending summer life bring me to what should be an important reminder to all of us: sunscreen. I thought I would kick-off May’s love fest with a little video I came across discussing 5 myths about sunscreen and SPF protection. Apparently, that expiration date I keep ignoring on my can of Aveeno sunscreen sitting in my cabinet right now is legit. So while I’ll be tossing that out, now having yet another excuse to hit Target (and walk out with 6 other random things I really didn’t need)…

here’s what i’m lovin’ right now

|| 5 Surprising Myths About Sunscreen and SPF. ||