"Beverly Hills, That's Where I Want to Be, Living in Beverly Hills"

Playing: Bad Habits-General Fiasco
Reading: Raise High in the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour:An Introduction by JD Salinger

There is a song by Weezer called "Beverly Hills" that expresses the desire and the wonder that surrounds Beverly Hills. Beverly Hills is one of those places that exemplifies the Californian lifestyle so easily and you have to be there to understand what makes it so wonderful. It's the type of place that makes me want to stay in Southern California and not go halfway across the world for college. It's one of the few places that can convince me to go vegetarian (even if it is only for one meal) and that's exactly what it did last Saturday, when I ordered the Grilled Portobello Mushroom Sandwich at McCormick and Schmick'ss along with a side of the Onion Shoestring Fries. Despite the slightly burnt bun and the arugula, I enjoyed the sandwich, which came stuffed with a tomato salad and topped by a balsamic vinegar reduction.

Beverly Hills is also one of those special places that knows how to make comfort food cost three times more than it should, especially if you go to Sprinkles Ice Cream, which admittedly, I've been wanting to try for a few months now ever since one opened near me. However, the one in Newport Beach has a two hour line, so I was extremely excited when I stumbled upon it in Beverly Hills. I tried the Sprinkles Sundae with Red Velvet Ice Cream and a Salted Caramel Cupcake. The sundae is like an ice cream sandwich and halfway through, the sweetness of the sundae became overpowering and a bit sickening. Either share or go for a lighter ice cream to balance the extraordinarily sweet icing, which Sprinkles is known for.

Just a few blocks off of Santa Monica Blvd., where Sprinkles Ice Cream is located, is Rodeo Drive. Even though South Coast Plaza has almost all the stores Rodeo Drive has, there's an undeniable draw to Rodeo Drive. It might be the busloads of tourists desperate to get a photo of everything including you, or maybe it's the wide range of architecture. For me, Rodeo Drive is home to my favorite Prada store. The interior design is so cool and it's almost like a fun house with green bubbled walls, warped mirror ceilings, and panel's opacity changing along with the music.

The most wonderful thing about Los Angeles is being able to get dressed up totally over the top and not have people look at you oddly. For the most part, people like it when you're just a little eccentric here and that's one reason that I would want to move to LA. Several people took photos of my top hat and a tourist asked to take a photo of my purse, so it's all fun even if I do look a bit like Johnny Depp's Willy Wonka here. This was the first time I drove my Gucci Fiat to Los Angeles and I was hoping to park in front of the Gucci store, but all the spaces were taken. I'll just have to keep trying. I wore a San Diego Hat Company top hat, a Calvin Klein blazer, an Ann Taylor LOFT t-shirt, theory shorts, a Gucci purse, and Reed Krakoff boots.

PS Tucking in shirts is so unflattering on mes, so I think it's time to stop.

"She Dressed in White..."

Playing: Up In the Air-30 Seconds to Mars 

Reading: Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan (Pretty racist, but it's for school.)

 

Sorry for not blogging recently. Nothing of interest has been going on in my life, since I've been preoccupied with studying for APUSH, physics, and French. The APUSH test is this Wednesday and my physics final is this Monday, so hopefully after that I'll have more free time to do fun things. Last weekend, I picked up a few things I've been wanting after lunch at Tandoori Indian Cuisine. Most of the food was pretty good and the service was friendly, so I'll be back again.

I've been looking for a white blazer for awhile now and it would be nice to own a white pantsuit to wear for formal occasions instead of the same old dresses I have worn a thousand times. Also, all white outfits look so clean and perfect for warmer weather. I love the back of the sweater with the tails and the gold zipper going down it, while the blazer looks rather angular on me and I like that. Both are from Zara and I really like Zara sweaters now. I should just buy one in each color.

Other than holographic accessories, I've also liked lucite accessories for awhile, so I also bought this purse at Zara. It would have been nice to have one without color, but I don't mind the blue. It's really small, so I'm surprised that it can fit my phone and my camera. The only problem I have with clear purses is that everything inside must look perfectly organized otherwise it drives me crazy. This clear envelope is the perfect day clutch too and would make a good addition to my purse collection.

Slightly unrelated but still important, The Great Gatsby was beautiful. Muiccia Prada and Brooks Brothers did a great job with all the costumes. The movie was just what I expected from Baz Luhrmann-over the top and slightly cheesy. Other than the fact that the rap music was inappropriate for the time period, I thought the film captured the glamor and wonder that Jay Gatsby offers perfectly. However, I do understand why critics have not been liking it. Luhrmann films are just one of those things, where you either love it or hate it and I am one of those people that love all of his theatrics. (Edit-Someone mentioned that the movie failed to get you emotionally attached to the characters, which is true. In the book, I found Gatsby's life to be tragic and I hated Daisy intensely, while in the movie, most of my feelings for the characters were shaped by what I had read rather than by the movie itself.)

The title is a quote from The Great Gatsby and after reading the book four times, I'm getting really good at quoting it.

Proud to Be a Victim

Playing: The Dark Continent-Rubik
 Reading: Singer Andrew McMahon on Overcoming Cancer by Angela Haupt

On May 1, The Killers played at the Honda Center in Anaheim and I fortunately got tickets during the presale. Even though the tickets were in the nosebleed section of the arena and were very far from the stage, I thoroughly enjoyed the concert. The Felice Brothers opened for them, but truthfully, they weren't that good even for a warm up band. I really did want to like them, since they had an accordion player and a guy on the washboard and the fiddle, but they're music was really basic and the lead singer was unenthusiastic.

The Killers however were amazing and made the concert worth it. Brandon Flowers may possibly be the best lead singer out there and I loved how he kept on moving during the performance. He was interactive with the audience and this might be something I only care about, but he is super well dressed.

The Killers were one of the first bands that I've gone to see that used a lot of special effects. They had glittery confetti falling, flames, flares, and fireworks going on during the performance, but The Killers kept it to a minimal so as to not distract from their performance. It was surprising to see Brandon jump into the audience, since you would think crazy fangirls/fanboys would try to attack him. Next time, I would like to get general admission tickets that way I can get a lot closer to the band and hopefully get a selfie with Brandon. That would be ideal. Here's their set list from the night:

• Mr. Brightside
• Spaceman
• The Way it Was
• Smile Like You Mean It
• Prizefighter
• Confessions of a King
• Miss Atomic Bomb
• Human
• Somebody Told Me
•  I Think We're Alone Now
• For Reasons Unknown
• From Here On Out
• When You Wish Upon a Star
• Dustland Fairytale (Brandon said he wrote this song about his parents and how what they mean to him changes and who they are today.)
• Read My Mind
• All These Things That I've Done
• Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
• When You Were Young
• Battle Born

Since the Killers have so many good songs, I didn't get to hear everything I would've liked to hear. That only gives me more of a reason to go see them again. They delivered a strong performance and did all their hits, but it would've been nice to hear some personal favorites like "Glamorous Indie Rock and Roll" or "Under the Gun." Next time, I will be closer and I'll dress up with some friends. The Killers are definitely still one of my favorite bands and if I ever get the chance, I'd like to meet them one day.

"Watching Television, It's a Wonderful Life"

Playing: After the Fire-Andrew McMahon
 Reading: Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

This is probably the third time I have tried to type up a post, but blogger has been mean recently and refuses to upload photos, so suddenly Photobucket has become my best friend. Since you have missed out on more than a week of my life, let's get started. Two Saturdays ago, I went to the Ritz Carlton to volunteer at a debutante ball, helping the girls get dressed and such. (I wore Alexander McQueen sunglasses, a Jason Wu for Target blouse, a Jason Wu for Target skirt, a silence+noise blazer,  Reed Krakoff boots, and a Burberry Prorsum purse that shows up in too many of my outfit photos.)

Inside the Ritz, they had the loveliest decorations. I loved this floral piece hanging from the ceiling. The mixture of the glass globes and metallic flower cut outs was so pretty. I wish my camera had done a better job capturing it.

Left to Right: Sarah, Sophie, Josh, and me

Then the next Saturday, or last Saturday (whichever you prefer), I went to Sarah's birthday party and a different Sarah (picture above) brought a mermaid suit for people to try on. Apparently, her mum got it at a mermaid expo, which is something I would like to attend one day. We had a lot of fun with it, but Josh made the most fabulous mermaid out of us all. Excuse my lack of a tan. I had to get changed from a black bathing suit because my mum told me the contrast between my skin and the suit was just too much.

Left to Right: Krishan, Chelcee, Me, Clare, and Katie

After the pool party, I want home and got changed for Clare's birthday. Driving there was a bit stressful due to the traffic, but dinner at BJ's was a lot of fun. Clare is one of my closest friends and I've known her for almost five years now. We have four out of our six classes together, so we spend a lot of time teasing each other and laughing together. This is our group photo of the girls there that could speak French. Clare made me get dressed up for her party and forced me into a dress, so enjoy this photo of me in a dress. It doesn't happen often. I wore a Calvin Klein blazer, Rodarte for Target dress, and everything else I don't think you can see.

Left to Right: Shabaan, Sean, and Me

The last thing I did that I want to share is that I went to a Lakers playoffs game against the San Antonio Spurs. My dad got five tickets in row 10 from a good friend, so my dad told me I could bring along two friends if I wanted. Shabaan and Sean accompanied me and our seats were so amazing. We saw Jack Nicholson there, whose daughter was high school friends with my dad, so my dad was debating if he should say hello, but we didn't get near enough for my dad to do so. Even though the Lakers lost, it was just wonderful to get a chance to spend time with Shabaan and Sean in one of my favorite cities. By the way, I only look extra small in this photo because both of my friends are over six feet tall and I'm barely over five.

While I'm at it, this has been a good week for music. Andrew McMahon's new EP, "The Pop Underground," came out today and tomorrow I'm going to go see The Killers. Sarah (in the mermaid picture) got tickets for us to go see Panic! at the Disco with Fall Out Boy and I'm trying to get tickets to go see Weezer with some friends over summer. But seriously, tomorrow will be my first time seeing The Killers and I'm so excited. It'll be a few hours of me fan girling and wishing Brandon Flowers was closer to my age so that I could marry him. And now I leave you with this beautiful collage of the super talented and handsome Brandon Flowers to enjoy. I hope you enjoy this collage as much as I do. (I do occasionally miss the guyliner though...)

Title from The Killers' "Boots"

"You Are What You Love, Not Who Loves You"

Playing: Take You With Me-French Films
 Reading: AP U.S. History Crash Course by Larry Krieger (Less than a month left to study for the AP test!)

Between meeting Andrew McMahon and Mary Katrantzou, I've been meeting a lot of people that I never thought I would even have the chance of getting within 10 feet of. Almost two weeks ago, I went to Nordstrom to meet Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren of Viktor&Rolf. Originally, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to get myself into the Flowerbomb signing event, but luckily a salesperson I knew let me in and pushed me to the front of the line. This wasn't half as intimate as the Mary Katrantzou meet and greet, since they were pushing people through the line as quickly as possible, but I still got a chance to briefly talk to them. Rolf told me I smelled good, which was ironic, since the party was for Flowerbomb and I was wearing Acqua di Gio.

Talking about compliments, I stopped by Milk and Honey to grab a Lychee Shaken Iced Tea and the guy working there let me cut in line. Not only did I get to the front of the line, but he also upgraded the drink to a size large for free and got my drink finished before serving the other people. He told me cute girls get served first, so I thanked him and awkwardly walked away. Since Milk and Honey is one of the best places for drinks, I hope he's there again. The line is always so long and I hate waiting.

Milk and Honey is located at the Camp just like Blackmarket Bakery, which serves exceptional pastries. Their Largo Citrus Tart is so wonderfully sour and I like how buttery the pastry cup is. Plus, they also sell interesting pastries from other distributors like this Cabernet Brownie made from wine flower. They basically made flower out of left over seeds and skins from wine factories, so the flower is rich with antioxidants and high in iron. Maybe it was just me, but I definitely sensed a fruity flavor to it that I think is from the wine flower.

Just to tie everything in this post back to the title, I love designers, tea, citrus flavored foods, and making my skin look flawless. Overall, my skin is pretty smooth, but I have some freckles and my coloring makes me look like I'm blushing all the time, so I like to use some foundation, BB cream, and other concealers to make my skin look more even. The Chanel foundation and cover up make my skin look the best, but when I'm feeling lazy, I'll use the Maybelline BB cream and Lancome concealer instead. I use the Lancome moisturizer everyday under my makeup and the Chanel lipstick only when I'm not feeling lazy. My makeup routine is super basic, but I just thought I'd share the products that I like using. Have a nice day! I need to get back to reading my English novel and studying for the APUSH exam.

Title from Fall Out Boy's "Save Rock and Roll"