Swagga from another country

I've been getting most of my fashion ideas from Ebay sellers from Korea, and China. Sounds odd but lately that's where i've been finding the best knock off shoes and funky styles. My latest obsession was this purse I saw for sale by one seller in Korea but with the $40 price tag plus the$21 shipping charge, there was no way I was planning to make such a purchase on a purse that
i would only use once or twice- if that...



I mean, Hello- I got TWO kids now. And it's super rare that I even have a date night let alone get all gussied up to go out on for a night on the town. But I was OBSESSED with this bag and I had to find a way to make it on my own, in my style and in my price range.
Here's the deets:
I had to find a clutch bag . The one that I found I liked more than the original. It was smaller but it was black chain mail and at $14.50 at charlotterusse.com this one was perfect
The next was another search for the second half of what made this purse so cool. It was a 4 finger ring I found on E-bay for $1.75.
Put these two things together with some epoxy and rock it out for less than $20! Same effect and almost the same look.

I prefer mine coz it's got more bling and it was the fraction of the cost

Dig It!

My Hood-

I live in the ghetto. I love my house, I love what it looks like but, let's face it- I live in the ghetto. One thing about living in the "ghet" is that there are a few perks in my neighborhood that I can appreciate. Like my neighbor next door who has a bevy of classic cars in their driveway that are being restored to their former beauty,The sweet couple who are the first owners of their 1953 MCM who live to the right of us and the huge graffiti wall in the alley across the street. I've had my eye on that graffiti wall for some time now. My first idea came to me when we were going to do our annual Christmas card. But the whole idea got tossed aside since I just had my baby and wasn't feeling especially photograph able. Well the timing was perfect the other day and without my former photographer Phillip to take the pics, I took matters into my own hands and took the photos myself. I am still trying to figure out my SLR camera. I have a Nikon D40. It's a slow process in trying to get to know my camera. I've had it for about 2 years now and have not even bothered to crack open the instruction manual. The truth is..I actually lost the manual on my way to Hawaii last year and now with the TWO kids, my time is pretty limited. Well... I finally cracked down and read the manual online the other day and now my interest in photography has sparked up again. I got myself a year membership to Picnik.com. I love all the edits and effects you can do online and I also bought myself a new fisheye lens as well so I'll be equipped to take some funky pics too. This one is my fave. I can't believe how big my girl is . She's going to be THREE next month!
Loving being back in So-Cal. Life is Good :) Hope you're living the life where ever you are-
Cheers!

Baby Boy's Nursery

It's been almost 4 months since I gave birth to our second (and last) child, AJ. Life was so crazy adjusting to TWO kids. When he arrived, it was so close to the holidays and then BAM! It's March! His nursery was put together with a bunch of stuff we had before he was born. A left over Ikea rug we had from when we first moved to LA, some art work I made from our old apartment in Chicago, A table I made out of a vintage base drum kit I bought at the Pasadena Rose Bowl and some of the basic stuff from the original nursery I had for Ainslie.

Big Sister's chaise lounge made it back into the room and how happy I was that I recovered it in that unisex green. I was happy I got to get a few projects in to make the room his. Just like big sister, I made my own baby stats poster for him. I saw these on a website that charged people $28 to make- I got to choose my own retro font and colors, sent it out to be made poster size and I made mine for way less.

I also made him my own version of this letter monogram that I saw was being sold on Etsy for $15 to -$20 a pop. Nothing a quick trip to Jo-Ann's can do to get your crafting juices flowing.
I decided to put up another one of our old pieces of art work we had in storage up in his room. It might have been been not such a good idea since he's such a Mr. Grabby Pants but it looked so cool. The inspiration came from a restaurant the Hubs and I used to go to in NYC called, Vynl diner. Their version was made from colored pieces of laminated paper. We decided to do ours with acrylic squares and key rings- We've had this in storage for a hot second and made this way back in 2001

The pug mobile I made for Ainslie stayed in it's rightful place and I made his a rock and roll mobile above his changing table out of those ready made wood cut outs you can get at Jo-Ann's- I just hot glued some metal washers on the back to give them some weight and painted the backs black.

Since the room is so small- The layout didn't change at all. Now, the challenge is for me to finally cut the apron strings and get him into his own room and into his crib:)

My First born

You came into our lives and were the first to make us a family. You were the first one to know me as "Mama". Before we got engaged, married, before all the moves across country, before our human babies- you were here.
It all started with a walk in Central Park and a longing for a dog. It was all just an idea. We weren't supposed to have a dog in the apartment anyway. We had just started dating. Daddy just moved into my place and the idea of bringing a dog into the picture was just too crazy. But that one special day after taking that walk we went into that fancy pet store on the upper east side to look at all the puppies in the window and there you were. Bigger than all the rest of the puppies in the window. Mixed up with the tiny yorkies , maltese, and shih tzu puppies, you were in the corner, the only pug. We asked the people in the store to hold you. Daddy had never owned a dog before so when he held you for the first time he was super careful and awkward. But you were perfect. The first time we saw your cute little face and those big brown eyes we were in love. It was all meant to be. It was a giant leap for all of us to get you. Because once we got you , there was no turning back- Daddy and I had to be together because we treated you as if you were our child. " So do you want to get her Boo?" both of our chins jutted out and we shook our heads yes. We thought we got the deal of a lifetime when we found out someone already put down a deposit on you but forfeited it for some reason. We took you home that very day and you became a part of our lives.
Daddy took you to the theater to pick me up every night after my show. You were always so scared of the sewer grates, In fact, you were always a scary cat. We lied to our neighbors that we were just pet sitting when they saw you in the hallway. Daddy would always have you in his lap when he would play video games and you would be right at home between his legs.Looking back now, how we took care of you was a glimpse of how we would be as parents in the future. You were our "training child".I traveled with you on airplanes . You even flew first class with me to one of Daddy's tour stops. I always made sure that you were decked out with that rhinestone collar so you could live up to your name and you always did. One of Daddy's most embarrassing moments was when he was walking you down the street and someone asked, " What's your dog's name?" He said, " DIVA" and quickly followed it up with " My girlfriend named her". It took a minute to name you. If Daddy had it his way, your name would have been "Puppers" but I thought the name Diva suited you the best. You were such an amazing puppy. Never barked for the whole first year we had you. You were potty trained after 3 days. You set the mark on the perfect dog should be.. you were MAGICAL. We made the move out of New York and took you to LA. We had just gotten engaged and we thought it was the best time to get you a sister. We bought Bijoux to keep you company and to be best friends with. Instead, you took her in and loved her like she was your own baby. Until that one day that she finally made it on the couch when you wanted to get away from her and she jumped up and got you and then she became the annoying little sister.. but you loved her anyway.
When we got married in 2002, we were a perfect little family. A pug for both Mommy and Daddy.
We made even more room in our family when Skylar and Penelope came along and you loved on them too. You were the sweetest girl.

Everyone would use you to set the mark. One time in New York someone stopped and asked us how much to buy you from us and we told him that there was no amount of money that he could give us for you . You were just a dream.
Through every step Daddy and I had together, you were there. You stayed with me when I was pregnant with Ainslie and when we took her home, you were the first to greet the new baby.
I was so happy that you were around to see and meet both of our human children. But I will never forget that you were our first, The first baby that Daddy and I had together, the one we practiced with in New York, the first one I made up songs for, the one who did the first family hug dance with, the first one I wore in a suggly and the first one I dressed up as a baby. What a life you had. And although all of us are hurting now without you. I'm so glad that you are not hurting anymore. It was the hardest choice but we had to do right by you. After all the love you have given us, we couldn't watch you suffer just for our selfish reasons. We will always love you Diva. You have left a mark on our family's heart that can never be erased.

You're our Mahal- Our Divaster Pugarina