Vegas vacation

I spent this last week visiting my sister in Las Vegas with my dad and a few of his friends from work. I had a really great time! I've been going through some personal hardships and it was really good to be around a few of the people who know, love and support me most.
Here's a few pics:

It rained on Saturday!

We went to this old school MC's,
Alice had a hankering for the cheddar soup and salad bar...

This is the new hotel lobby and check in counter at the oldest hotel in Las Vegas:
The Golden Gate on Fremont street.
My extremely talented sister is the lead designer!!

Hoover Dam

 Valley of Fire

"Beehive" rock formations

All in all it was a great trip. When I lived there I was 19, and although I've been back a few times to visit since then, I was really able to go to a few haunts I'd always wanted to visit but never had the opportunity to as a 'youth'.
I'm already planning my next trip, so everyone start saving now so you an come with me! I promise it won't be disappointing ;)

NYFW

I love fashion. If you know me, you more than likely already know this, but if you didn't, now you do. It's kind of funny, since I wear sweats most days, but as an art form, I adore fashion. I also have a huge amount of respect for designers, and have no problem whatsoever falling in love with clothes. and shoes. Wear-ability is chiefly what I look for in clothing design, although I loves me some Haute Couture and think of it as being in the same realm as fine art.

So having said that, New York Fashion Week (which is actually 8 days of events spanning Feb. 9-16 this year) just wrapped up, and I'd like to share my favorite runway shows from the ready to wear collections. (Click on the designer name to view the runway show from this year. courtesy of Style.com)
Derek Lam was my #1 favorite. I LOVE what he's doing with leather and proportions.
Number #2 would have to be a tie between J Crew, which, try as I might to be 'edgier', is still my favorite 'basic' brand, the entire collection is so my style right now. 2.2 would have to be Chris Benz. Every look was like 'bam! ~ bam! ~ bam!' like 'Mad Men' meets Gwen Stefani, So good... I also LOVED Michael Kors. He basically hit all my usual buttons, so to speak. (plaid? check. lace? check. leather? check. chunky knits? check. 20s and 40s inspired gowns? check.) Nanette Lepore was amazing, her play with color and textures really made me smile, and Marchesa was just wonderful. If I hadn't already gotten married (and had the money) #13 (in the slide show) would have been everything...
The rest of my favorites were a bit harder to quantify. Rachel Zoe had an amazing collection this year, I love what she does with layers, and her designs are just, in a word:classic.  Preen, Rachel Roy, and the Row were expertly cut and tailored on the edge of a knife, so so SO terrifically chic. Tory Burch was so cute, very 'Blair Waldorf'.
I really liked Victoria Beckham! I really like how she used the boots/socks through the whole show, very cute. That's definitely a look I can get on board with this season. I really liked J Mendel also, although nothing really surprised me there, it was all very lovely. I liked Marc by Marc Jacobs too. The way he plays with masculine/feminine has always intrigued me. I didn't love the metallic bits, but I loved the boots. I also liked Rodarte. I'm not loving the whole, military style exposed pocket thing, or the hand print stuff, but LOVED the shoes! I had to look at the collection twice because I was so taken with them the first time around.
Badgley Mischka and the gowns at Jenny Packham and Vivienne Tam were exquisite,  they make me wish I had a fancy event to go to. *sigh*
No one does draping like Doo.Ri, and she did not disappoint this year either. Her sweaters and gowns are amazing! I'm kind of excited for her Macy's collection too... Tracy Reese was so 'of the moment' with the mix of media, and Y3 for 'Adidas' was both unconventional (as usual) and super comfy looking, there were definitely some pieces I'm going to be trolling for in the near future...
Cynthia Rowley was an interesting one for me. I'd have to go thirdsies on that one. a third of it I loved, a third of it was 'meh' and a third of it I really didn't like at all. The third of it I loved, I really, really love though, which is funny, because the third I don't like, I really, really don't like, (she did some 'inside bits on the outside' thing that I'm not a fan of) and that's unusual for me, especially since I love Cynthia Rowley full stop usually... 
One that surprised me was Sharon Wauchob's designs for Edun! The colors! The patterns! Everything! It was so 'right now' Blown away...
  
Until next year, New York...

reading rainbow

I like all books. I'm not kidding. I could read *just* about anything and find something I appreciate about it (even if it's just that it's over) and I'm a firm believer that the book is ALWAYS better than the movie/show. I recently read several books in anticipation of the movie(s) or show and I'm so glad I did!

I totally recommend reading all three 'millennium' series books before watching 'girl with the dragon tattoo'. They are so captivating that they are an incredibly quick read, although, they did take me a bit longer than usual since I don't speak Swedish, like, at all, the names hung me up a bit...

EVERYONE should read all three 'hunger games books' I mean, it's 'young adult' fiction, and there's less than 1000 pages all together I think...(although, there aren't a lot of movies coming out in the near future that I'm MORE stoked for!)

   I'm also powering through the 'a song of ice and fire' series as best I can, before I embark on the 'game of thrones' HBO series (i know, i know, it's AMAZING... and I'll get to it ;))

my favorites from YouTube

I'm kinda new on the YouTube train, and definitely have no desire to contribute, but there's some funny stuff out there. I had to pause or re-watch  these ones because I was laughing so hard. In case you haven't seen them yet, here are a few of my favorites...

the title of this one has a swear, but the rest is clean

shit girls say

this one has swears and adult content, no nakedness tho, sorry...

jenna marbles

this one has a few swears too

stevie ryan

and this one, I just thought was so freaking cute, and clever (totally clean)

marcell the shell with shoes on

I hope you enjoyed those as much as I did! :)

full disclosure: I'm a dorky fan girl

Breaking dawn part one comes out this weekend!!! I originally read the Twilight series because I'd found out that my youngest sister was reading it. I had heard some buzz about it (this was before I was aware of a movie deal) and I wanted to be sure my sister (who was like, 11 at the time) wasn't being inducted into some weird teen vampire cult. TOO LATE! The books we're an easy enough read, and I appreciated the earnest style that she writes in (the critics I know find it tedious but whatever) I also liked her unique take on the whole vampire lore (this was before true blood, vampire diaries, etc) and by the time I got to the last book, I was sold. (in all truth, that last book is a total guilty pleasure of mine now, I could read it over and over, I totally stole it from my sister!)
suffice to say, once the movies came out, the 12 year old girl in me was all giddy, and fortunately for me, I'm not the only one in my circle(s) that agrees. I'll be seeing it tonight with my mom, and tomorrow for a matinee with fellow fan girls friends. Tonight we'll be having dinner at a ridiculously fabulous restaurant, and tomorrow will be at big picture, which serves drinks (helloooo bloody Mary!!)
I have to admit, I"m pretty jazzed...