The Desert

Playing: Meet Me in California-Plain White T's
Reading: "It's OK Not to Play" by Krista

For my birthday yesterday, I seriously thought I was going to stay cooped up in my house, working on all my homework given to me by my lovely teachers, but I decided last minute to go on an adventure in the desert. Luckily, Sophie was able to join me. On our way there, we stopped off at a KFC in Banning to have all you can eat friend chicken like the health nuts we are. Aren't we the most awkward friends, when it comes to taking photos?

Somewhere in between Banning and Yucca Valley, we drove past a wind farm, which is one of my favorite things about the desert. I find them to be very beautiful and I enjoy looking at them quite a bit. The weather was a bit odd, since it was super sunny one minute and stormy the next, but it allowed me to take some pretty awesome photos.

When we got into Yucca Valley, Sophie and I goofed around and took tons of photos. I love hanging out with Sophie because we never do something that people would think teenagers would consider fun. We're on a hunt to enjoy everything the world has to offer us and we're on a quest for beauty. When the sky is immense and the scenery is beautiful, what else can we do other than pretend we're Brandon Flowers? For some reason, I really like the idea of doing the Brandon Flower pose all the time.

Actually, the main reason why I took Sophie out to the desert was to visit Noah Purifoy's Outdoor Desert Museum, but I'm having trouble limiting how many photos I want to share with you, so we explored the museum before we explored Yucca Valley. We went to a lot of antique stores, vintage stores, and charity shops in the search for something beautiful, but we didn't end up buying anything. There was a group of photos from the 1940s and 1950s that I wanted to buy, but they were averaging $3 each, so I skipped on them.

Before we headed home, Sophie and I photographed a lovely sunset since sunsets are always prettier in the desert. We found a zine that introduced the surrounding area, so Sophie and I are thinking of making an exploration zine for our school. Not sure how my peers will react to that, but it's not for them; it's for my personal happiness and enjoyment in life. I'll show you the museum we went to later on. Please stay tuned for that! Tomorrow I'm building a catapult with Justin and Hoho before I head off to the last Jack's Mannequin concert at the El Rey Theatre. It'll be my fifth time seeing Andrew McMahon and my second time seeing him for my birthday. It'll be bittersweet, watching him perform as Jack's Mannequin for the last time.

"How Do You Spell Gabbana?"

Playing: Time to Pretend-MGMT
Reading: 100 Years of Fashion Illustration by Cally Blackman

I'm not going to lie; I've been feeling rather happy lately, which is odd for me, since I'm rarely happy when school is in session. I feel great for a multitude of reasons such as writing three stories for the school newspaper, doing multiple drawings for the school newspaper, making time to read art books, meeting some new people, finding someone that has near identical music taste to me, and getting a little gift from my mum. Lately, my mum has been finding it difficult to use her bigger bags, so she's been giving me full ownership over them, not just borrowing rights.

My mum just gave me her 20th anniversary Dolce and Gabbana purse that I never knew she even owned. She figured she hadn't used it in years, so why not give it to me. Plus, she knows how much I adore lace and Dolce and Gabbana, so this purse is literally the perfect combo. Not to mention, the little coin purse attached to the side is just so adorable.

The purse is lined with cheetah print silk and is in amazing condition. My mum doesn't take very good care of all her designer goods, so it really shocked me, when I saw how little damage was done to the bag. It's just such a gorgeous bag and I'm looking forward to using it around town. Plus, it's about time I expanded outside of just using my Burberry purses and cross body bags. I must seem so materialistic, but let me pretend I'm Madonna for a few seconds.

Over the weekend, I wore this outfit to do some errands and go grocery shopping, so I know I'm vastly overdressed, but it made me happy to wear around my top hat and look tall in heels. I'm wearing a San Diego Hat Company top hat, a Vince Camuto blazer, an American Vintage dress, a FullTilt bandeau, Merona tights, Chloe heels, a Coach purse, and Alexander McQueen sunglasses. I know I look super bitchy in this photo, but trust me, I am capable of being friendly and smiling.

But when I do end up smiling, I look derpy as proven by this photo. My legs look rather short in this photo, which is odd because my legs are actually quite a bit longer than my torso. I'm wearing a Marc by Marc Jacobs jacket, a Marc Jacobs necklace, an Ann Taylor LOFT shirt, Mango jeans, and Alexander Wang shoes. These shoes kill my feet and cut up my ankles, but I still wear them because they're lovely. My English teacher told the class that if she could marry a pair of shoes, these would be the pair for her. The boys in my English class think I'm a shoe hoarder now. For that reason, I think I'll have a hard time getting married. That's why I need a boy that likes dressing well (and likes the same music as me and will sit with me and watch Food Network, Comedy Central, and History Channel). Is that really too much to ask for? Yes, yes it is.

Feed the Consumer

Playing: First Date-blink-182
Reading: Jewels of the Tsars: The Romanovs and Imperial Russia by Prince Michael of Greece

I know it looks like all I do is buy clothes and by now, you must think my wardrobe takes up a whole apartment Anna Dello Russo style, but I promise you my wardrobe really isn't as big as it seems. Only my purse and shoe collections are getting out of hand. Anyways, I really need to work on wearing tops that aren't just t-shirts, so here's my attempt at it. I love the Swiss dot pattern of the button up top and the hounds tooth print sweater reminds me of a sweater Gwen Stefani once wore, so I had to get that too. Both of these are from the Gap.

I also bought some tights from the Gap that way I could wear dresses during the winter and possibly bring my shorts into winter territory. The pointelle dot tights are more like sweater tights, while the other ones are quite sheer. I found the blue pin at a vintage shop that claimed to specialize in vintage St. John jewelry and they claimed it was St. John, but there's no mark on it saying it is. For the price I got it at, I really don't mind if it's not St. John.

This pair of shorts from Zara ranks pretty darn high on my list of genius pieces of clothing. From the front, it looks like an asymmetrical skirt and from the back, it looks like a pair of tailored black shorts. I need to take it to a tailor to fix a bad seam, but I'm so excited I got them. They'll be perfect for my trip to Paris! I'm already planning extra chic outfits for my trip! The fingerless gloves were supposed to be for my Boy George costume, but since I didn't use them, I'm thinking of returning them.

And what did I tell you? My shoe collection is getting out of hand. Please welcome, my fifth pair of oxfords from H&M. They were really inexpensive, so I don't mind too much that I bought them, but I really need to get my brown oxfords one day. Every time I go oxford shopping, I tell myself I'm getting a brown pair, but I never end up buying a brown pair. These oxfords have a once inch platform, so it gives me some extra height and from the top, they look completely tame, but from the side, you get a great look at the pastel, neon green soles. They're actually super comfortable and I'm hoping I can wear these during my trip to New York. I'm sorry if all of you are getting bored with my clothing posts. If so, let me know.

This is Halloween

Playing: Just Like Heaven-The Cure
Reading: Fashion Illustrations By Fashion Designers by Laird Borrelli

Hilary as a cat and me as the Cheshire Cat

Halloween, Christmas, and New Years have to be my absolute favorite holidays. For obvious reasons, Halloween ranks pretty high on my list. I love to get dressed up, I love Tim Burton appreciation season, and I love running around at night. This one guy in my English class hates Halloween, so I had to explain to him that Halloween is the start of Tim Burton time and he told me he hates Tim Burton and that Burton is just a psycho, so I'm considering defriending him on Facebook.

Me with Victoria, the communist witch, and Chad dressed as Sheldon

It didn't feel like Halloween for me until I went out trick or treating like the five-year-old that I am, since no one dressed up at school other than me and a few poor boys that I forcibly dressed up as a cat. I started off the night with Hilary, Sarah, and Victoria, but then we met up with Evelyn, Chad, Simonne, and Jen. We ran around an elementary school's field and playground for awhile, but then it started to smell like someone was smoking pot, so we left. After a half hour or so, Victoria, Sarah, Hilary, and I separated from the other group and just walked around, acting like teenagers for once.

We started off by dancing around, acting like idiots, to some music that Sarah had recorded of her school's orchestra. Hilary refused to dance, so Victoria and I had to pull her along as Sarah photographed us like the paparazzi that she is. I like how happy I look in this picture and how embarrassed Hilary looks.

Sarah as Pacman and me

Then Sarah and I ran out into the middle of a deserted street and started dancing and jumping together. The other two were laughing at us as they photographed us. We spent a lot of time jumping and screaming at each other, now that I think about it.

Finally, we ended the night by acting like we were part of some bad film from the 80s, maybe early 90s. Look at how angsty and misunderstood we are. I have to thank Sarah for always being willing to do stupid things with me and for taking artsy photos with me. Oh, and for always telling me random facts that I'll never use and for reading my blog all the time and for going on adventures with me and for...If I keep this list going on, it might take a year or two, so I'll stop now. HOW WAS YOUR HALLOWEEN? What did you do?

PS I was going to go as Boy George, but I ran out of time to do my hair. And thanks Sarah for the last three photos!