I'm back in LA trick...decorating a toddler room

Wow, these past couple of months have been crazy- We've officially left San Francisco and the nastiness behind. We are back in our home in the valley in LA patiently waiting the arrival of baby #2 and getting settled in. Mod Toddler Ainslie, graduated from sleeping with us to her sleeping in her own bed in her own room. Funny, when it all happened, I lost a LOT of closet space to her so there was plenty of purging. For weeks, I heard the "Hoarders" soundtrack as I went from room to room in my house. I got rid a bunch of clothes, and STUFF- I thought I got rid of the extra "STUFF" when I moved out of the house and to SF but nope- I was on the boarder of Hoarder-ess:)
Decorating Ainslie's room was a lot of fun. We had to buy her a "big girl bed" and we couldn't resist getting her the entire matching set at IKEA complete with book case and hanging display case. Who'da thunk you could spend $500 plus on a twin bed at IKEA? We certainly didn't-

I'm a big fan of Paul Frank and Julius the Monkey so, I couldn't pass up getting her this cute bedding, all from Target- We also have the matching towels for Mommy and Daddy. I love me some Paul Frank!

When my parents moved out of the family home I grew up in , I had my Dad bring over some of my things I collected as a kid and when I was on tour. I had tons of dolls, and toys for the one day IF I had a daughter. Well, the one day is HERE and she is now enjoying the collections that I acquired. Among my fabulous collection is MUFFY Bear and her ridiculous amount of clothes, shoes and accessories. She's still a little young to enjoy it all but Muffy is displayed in her room.


One of my favorite purchases for the room was a dresser I got on Craigslist. I needed a dresser that wasn't too big and it needed to be tall. It had to blend into her room as well as fit in a tiny corner of the room. Just my luck I was person number 13 to call for the dresser. He wasn't gonna sell it to me but after I told him that I needed him to drop it off to my house, I was 7 months pregnant at the time, it was raining AND my husband just had knee surgery, he sold it to me for $35! the original price was only $10! but the crazy thing was when I got it to my house , I was pleasantly surprised that it was made with solid wood and it was in great shape. All we needed to do was hook it up with the right drawer pulls to make it work for her room. I mean, where do you get a solid wood dresser for $35 bucks? So awesome! I am so happy with that purchase!

The Hubby and I decided that one of our traditions will be making "Muny" dolls for Ainslie for every birthday. I think it's a cool way to commerate the birthday and when she's old enough to appreciate it, The dolls will be a cool collection of something We made for her. Here's a pic of Ainslie at 1 and Ainslie at 2 years old along with her very own action figures- All displayed above her bed.

Here's what Ainslie looked like at 2 this year's birthday celebration at Disneyland



Since Ainslie's bed faces the door. I thought it would be cool to get one of those wall decals to cover the white blank space she had going on the bottom part of the bookcase/ bed frame. I got this LOVE decal from Etsy. Etsy is pretty awesome if you're looking for something unique- It was the perfect addition for that blank space!



Now that I'm in my last weeks of pregnancy, it seems as if it's a mad dash to get stuff done. I'm still in the process of putting together new Baby's room and it feels as if every day I have more and more craft ideas that I'd like to do before he gets here. It's just a little more difficult now that I have a rambunctious and inquisitive 2 year old running around. The great thing is most of the things we put in the new baby's room we had in the storage. It was stuff that was from old apartments, that didn't quite work with the house at the time or was just the wrong color scheme. Now since we have a boy, all the miscellaneous things I had tucked away in my storage room became hidden "treasures". See, sometimes it pays to "Hoard".

Mod Jewelry

Ok, I was obsessed for a year with Project Runway 7's finalist, Mila Hermanovski.


She was always rocking black and white clothes on the show- Betty Paige bangs and all- I just loved her styles. One thing you should know about me is when I obsess about something ( especially when it comes to something I can try to DIY) I get it done ( Well ok, eventually) My last obsession was with Mila's Mod style necklace. It was big, and bold and oh so very awesome. I had to have it!

I obsessed about it for a whole year- I just had to find me resources and I did! After trying to find out where I was going to get my materials for my project here in SF, I got it done.

It came out an almost perfect replica of hers. Now, on to my latest joy- Making my own 60's inspired necklaces.. stay tuned!

M.I.A.

Wow it's been a long while since I've posted anything- It's not fair, I check up on all my cyber friends stalking their sites and knowing what's going on with their lives as I neglect my own. Updates:
I spent from April to June back in Los Angeles doing a show. It pretty much kicked my butt since I worked and stayed there with my now 2 year old daughter. The Hubby had to stay back in SF while he did his show. It was nice to be finally working again on a project that was pretty much my own.


It was a hard couple of months because as soon as I came back to LA, I found out that I was expecting again!
So here we are the end of July and the beginning of December, we will be expecting a new member of the family - a little BOY!
I believe my little nuclear family is complete now and after he's born, the shop will be officially closed.


Living back in LA was great- It was so nice to get away from the grossness and craziness of SF. Ainslie and I spent the start of our summer there- Swimming , hanging out with friends and enjoying the Southern California weather. The Mod Baby ( now toddler) also celebrated her 2nd birthday there too- Complete with a birthday party at Farrell's , Yo Gabba Gabba cake and her first trip to Disneyland!


Our time in SF is now coming to an end and we are moving back to LA in 5 weeks! It's gonna be so sweet to come back to our house and all my treasures I've put into storage for the year and change we spent here. You have no idea the hell we've been through living in the PAP house but you can imagine the happiness we are feeling knowing that we're coming back to our own place and in a couple months of us getting settled in, with a new baby boy!

Dedicated to the Pizzie

Last week we went on our family vacation to Hawaii. It was fantastic till Thursday when we got back from Kona and the P et Hotel called to tell us that one of our beloved babies had passed away. Skylar, ( who also goes by several alias) was one of the Pugs we adopted . I fell in love with her immediately. She was smaller than most puggies, more wrinkly, and the closest thing I could imagine a bulldog and a pug would possibly look like if it were the perfect mix. We adopted her along with her daughter, Penelope on Valentines Day 2004. When we got her, the given name for her was" Cutie Pie" and Penelope's original name was Peanut Butter. I had to change those names right away because I believe that if your dog has a dumb name, then they would live up to it - So, I decided to name her Skylar and her daughter, Penelope. The first week of having them was a little tough. We already had our original two, Diva and Bijoux and then we brought home 2 more to join our clan. I'm sure it stressed out the other girls and it didn't help that when I brought Skylar and Penelope home, that Skylar would mark everything! She was female and she would mark! Peed on the bed, on the washer, the, curtains, and on the other girls too. She was quite the handful. We never knew how old both her and Penni were when we got them. We just knew that Skylar had to be older than Diva and Penni was the baby. I even recall a time when my husband said, " Maybe we should give them back to pug rescue-" and I remember crying and telling him, " Someone already gave up on them- I don't want to be the second people to do that to them". So long story short, they both became a HUGE part of our family. My husband and I will forever be known as those "crazy people with 4 dogs". It's been this way since we adopted them.

Skylar's life included the move into our very own home, a cross country drive and living a year in Chicago, the birth of our first baby and a move to San Francisco. She lived in 7 different homes with us, and had a great second life being one of our girls.
Since we moved to San Francisco, we had to put her in diapers. She was getting old and she and Ainslie had the diaper thing in common. We noticed that she started having mini seizures when she would sleep but then two seconds later she'd lick the air and look at us like everything thing was fine. She was our little Princess and the best cuddler.
When the Pet Hotel called us last week to tell us the news I was pretty devastated. They did a doggie autopsy and they said that she died of natural causes which made me feel a little better. They also said that they guessed she was 13 or 14 years old - And that's a pretty long life for a pug! The manager at the Pet Hotel also mentioned that when she passed in her sleep she was surrounded by all of her sisters. That was also comforting to know.
I remember saying goodbye to our girls right before we left them at camp and I wanted to give her one last kiss before she went off - but she was already out the door and off to play.
I'd like to think she's in a better place but when I look at our girls and see there's one less, it still hurts my heart terribly. Ainslie is now at the age where she's aware that one is missing and she calls out for her which doesn't make things easier. She was also able to pick them all out by name which is a big accomplishment for a 1 1/2 year old. Even some of the people we know can tell all our girls a part. Skylar went by many names.. here's some
-Pie Pie
-Nizzie
-Pee Pie
-SS Pizzer Kanizzer
-Nizzle
-Pizzie
- The Pizzer

When Jesse sent me the award for the list of 10 things that made me happy, I wanted to add this:

Why Skylar made me happy for the 6 years we had her.

-Her little face,
-her wrinkles
-her kimodo dragon breath,
-the two white nails she had and the black ones on her little meaty paws
-The grump bump she showed when she was mad
-Her loud snores
- her funny "Mif, Mif" bark
- her uber soft fur
- her cuddles
- the spirit fingers I had to use when I called out for her

We will miss you Nizzie and we were so happy that you were a part of our family. You were our baby before we had a human one to call our own and you'll always be our girl!

10 things that make me happy

Mod Diva's "10 things that make her Happy" list-

1) Being Ainslie's Mommy
2) Finding the "One" and being married to my best friend
3) All my girls ( my pugs)
4) Singing loud
5) My MCM in the valley and all my treasures in it
6) Laughing and hearing my friends laugh
7)Going to the flea market and looking and finding treasures
8)Hearing my baby girl's laugh
9)Pug snores
10) Hawaii and my Ohana there

Thanks Jesse!

I miss you LA and I love my new MACs

Last week the little Miss and I were back home in LA for the week. While we were there we had to take a few pics and of course I had to tweak them with my new MAC. I love how you can go to the I-photo and instantly change the pics to look more retro. Here's a couple of my faves from the LA -our latest discovery is the Monster Park in San Gabriel. Funny thing is that I discovered this park while watching Yo Gabba Gabba with Ainslie and I thought.. WOW, that place has PHOTO SHOOT written all over it! So I promised that when we got back to LA, we'd get the time to go over there with her very best pal, Dylan and his Mommy and Daddy. The Monster park was built in 1964 and is so awesome... I will most def be coming back with her when she's in a better mood!


Ainslie with the red Dolphin

Me and my girl...

The Little Miss in all her glory

OMG Shoes!

Well hello Gorgeous!
It's been a long while since I've posted anything. Life has been BANANAS since my daughter discovered that she can walk and now she can RUN! So you can imagine I have my hands full with taking care of the little Miss. I haven't been able to tackle a whole lot of BIG projects lately. As much as I'd like to paint this and that... My toddler has other plans for her Mommy.
Well, my latest obsession is my DIY shoes. The first pair I made was inspired by The Jeffrey Campbell Tick that I was desperately looking for since October but were sold out everywhere( trust, I looked and called EVERYWHERE). My obsession got so deep that I went and stalked their representative when he brought out the newest styles to the San Francisco Nordstrom. I even got Ty's # so I could keep tabs on when the shoe would come out . Well, I couldn't wait any longer for the shoe and I decided to make my own. It took me about 3 weeks to finishn( I would have been done earlier but you know.. I have a toddler now), about 400 upholstery tacks and a couple of hours of frustration but the end result was so worth it. The Jeffrey Campbell Tick retails for $170. I made mine for a fraction of the cost. Checkity Check it out..
Here's the real deal. My inspiration, the Jeffrey Campbell Tick


Here's my version... Very Rocker Chic, Very KISS! Gene Simmons would think you raided his closet!

Breakdowns:
The Tick Boot I made:
Boot was $38.00 from Amiclubwear.com
I painted the wedge black with acrylic paint since it was natural rubber color when I got it
I bought about $20 worth of upholstery nails from Lowes
You need a long nose pliers to cut some of the tacks to make them fit unto the wedge heel
Most of the tacks needed some Gorilla Glue or Hot glue to keep them onto the wedge. Most of them just get pushed into the rubber of the wedge.
I believe I spent about $60 total for this project. You might want to keep some of the extra tacks just in case you have some "casualties" Then you just rock'em out! Trust you'll get a LOT of looks with these boots!


I also was stalking a pair of kicks on Ebay for my husband but they were made in Korea and they didn't have his size. I loved the design. I ended up NOT getting him the shoes but I was still obsessed on the design and I decided to make a pair for myself. This one was pretty easy and it only took me a day to finish.
Here's the inspiration:HOMME New Mens Stud High Top retails for $115.00 from Korea

Here's my version :

Breakdown of the rocker kick:
The Hi-top was from Forever21 $21.00
You'll need 2 yards of belting from Jo-Annes
Some studs from studsandspikes.com
I got a a snap kit and a grommet kit from Jo-annes
The hardest part of the project was adding the heavy duty snaps but lucky for me I have my Husband to help me.
Make sure you singe the ends of the belting so the ends don't frey.
See those square studs.. they are actually mini binder clips i got in the scrap booking section.
Now these are some MAJOR kicks! Trust, if you rock these out.. You'll get some major attention and best of all you can say, " Yeah, I made these myself!" Jammmmmmmmm!!
Happy New Year Lovelies!
Mod Diva