I know there are some high-fashion devotees here, but rarely do we San Diegans wear heels or traipse around in splashy dresses for brunch like I sometimes would in New York. Just after moving here and obersving my surroundings, I finally bought T-shirts after years of blouses and “tops.” All that to say, San Diego’s dress code is much like our attitude m.o.: laid-back and oh-so-relaxed. Not a bad thing, but sometimes I miss the fun of fashion.
So that’s why meeting someone who says “Eff you” to the status quo is so refreshing. And that’s why I was instantly hooked to Lauren Winget and her style blog, La Petite Winget. In Lauren’s world, neon reigns supreme, patterns are meant to be mixed, and paying full price for something you can make yourself (or with the help of an expert tailor) is just silly. I recently met Lauren at a blogger event, and I must say, girl’s got an unabashed, bold, playful style—and a great sense of humor about it all. For example, she fully cops to wearing little boy suit pants.
Today she talks horses, grilling, and two ridiculously cool pieces she designed with said tailor:
I told myself I wouldn’t do it, but I chopped most of my hair off yet again. The first time was back in 2007, during my senior year of college. I was going for a Victoria Beckham-inspired graduated bob—trust me, it was trendy at the time—and I loved it, except for the fact that it required frequent trimmings and was a mother to grow out once I was over it. (By the way, I’d get my trims at an Aveda school—very cost-effective!)
For the last few months, I had been kicking around the idea of lobbing it off, and it got to a point last week where it just had to be done. Last night I did it—with inspiration from here and here—and it’s like a weight’s been lifted. Sure, I’ll hate growing it out when the time comes and I’ll look 12 when I don’t style it properly, but I just needed to rid myself of the physical and emotional baggage.
It just doesn’t make sense to join a gym when, like us, you live near Balboa Park, a sprawling, 1,2oo-acre park in the middle of the city, where museums, cultural centers, and rose gardens mingle amongst dog parks, archery courses, lawn bowling, and miles of trails. For a city without a lot of traditional attractions, Balboa Park makes for a pretty impressive sight, whether you’re a tourist or not.
I remember the first time Eaman and I walked around Balboa Park after moving here—I was basically giddy. I couldn’t believe that all this beautifully manicured space was at our disposal whenever we wanted. And since I’m a sucker for Spanish-style architecture and bougainvillea, this place has become a fast favorite.
The Park hosts tons of events throughout the year, including free yoga on Sundays, free outdoor movies in the summer, and multicultural programs at the International Houses, but I love it most at quieter times—during my morning runs, walking with Teddy in the evening*, or picnic-ing in one of the many, many grassy areas.
I really needed to get more fellas in this series. And I got us a good one today! Meet Brandon Matzek, a marketing professional by day and food blogger by night. What first grabbed me were Brandon’s images, with their photo studio-esque lighting and expert styling. What grabbed me after was how professional his posts are, and how he expands on them through his Instagram feed, where we learn about the stories, emotion, and love behind the cooking. We also learn about some great new restaurants. True story: I found out about the excellent Mexican wrestling-themed eatery Lucha Libre through his Insta!
I finally met Brandon in person this week at a blogger event, and I can confirm he’s as nice as he is talented. Oh, and he’s a Jersey native like me. Win, win, win! Today Brandon chats about what’s been on his breakfast menu for the last year, his mom’s homemade tomato sauce, and his summer treat of choice.
My daily life involves a lot of writing, whether it’s for this blog or for magazine freelancing, but I recently realized that I’ve never talked about the root of my writing, which is actually reading. Writing takes practice, sure, but reading is what makes me better, hones my skills, and quite honestly, teaches me new words.
No snobbery here: I think magazines can be just as inspiring as books. (Though I do think of all that’s out there, it doesn’t get more smart and inventive than New York Magazine.) But for today’s post, I wanted to share the scoop on my recent book reads. The following are new in the grand scheme of things, but I actually read these after all the buzz. Life gets in the way, I fall asleep within minutes of picking up my Kindle before bed, and sometimes I really just want to watch Real Housewives. For all those other times, here’s what’s on my virtual bookshelf:
Wedding season continues! I spent the weekend in Oklahoma for Eaman’s sister’s wedding, and it was our first Persian one (for Eaman, too!). The celebration was an intimate ceremony and party held at his family’s home, and filled with traditions, dancing, and more food than you could imagine, including my favorite chocolate cake from the local bakery, La Baguette.
The above right picture shows the sofreh, an elaborate spread for the ceremony, known as the aghd. It’s decorated with flowers, candles, foods, the Koran, and more. The sofreh and the whole wedding itself was quite the DIY affair. As soon as I arrived Thursday night, we were working on flower arrangements, fruit baskets, and other details. It might sound like a lot of work, but I loved being able to flex my brain in a new and creative way.
It was also all a welcome distraction from a bit of a slump I’ve been going through. Work has been hard, I’m still adjusting to working from home after being in an office the last three months, and Teddy has been a mischievous, horribly misbehaved runt. Eaman was gone the whole week, so Teddy was all mine. And he yanked me during leash walks, wouldn’t listen to me at the dog park, and worst of all, randomly ran away at the dog beach which is totally unlike him. I actually had to jump in someone’s ATV to catch him. It was a nightmare.
But all of that was muted when I took Teddy in for a routine vaccination and found out he’s lost eight pounds in a very short period of time. He has been sick on and off since February with stomach issues, and we can’t seem to find a solution. We’re now waiting for some tests results that’ll hopefully shed light on the root cause.
The stress all just became a little too much, and on Tuesday I just melted into the carpet and had a good cry. (Teddy seemed to sense something was wrong and gave me a nice lick on the face.) Those tears were a long time coming, and it felt good to have that release.
I’m still working on fixing the slump, but the weekend was a good excuse to force negative thoughts out and put a smile on my face. Persian dancing will do that to you.
Onwards and upwards, as I’m trying to tell myself!
San Diego is a city of transplants. Sure, there are many whom are born, raised, and never left, but more often than not, I meet people who end up in our sunny city for a job, for a relationship, or for the simple life. And we transplants tend to gravitate towards each other. For example, my neighbor/friend, who moved to San Diego from Chicago via Albuquerque, introduced me to Annie D’Souza, a community manager and blogger, who recently moved to SD from Minneapolis. I’ve had dinner with Annie, chatted over coffee with Annie, and celebrated the New Year with Annie, but best of all, I received a rubber costume horse’s head from Annie. (Don’t ask. It was a Secret Santa thing.)
Like me, Annie balances multiple gigs—including a contributing editor role at Brit + Co.!—with her blog, Worthy Pause, which chronicles her adventures in Paleo cooking and general life musings. Because she seems to do it all so well, I’ve turned to her on more than one occasion for guidance and motivation. Today I turned to her for a different reason—to ask her about her rituals, and as it turns out, this San Diego newbie has carved out quite the routine in her new city.
Remember that simple, sort of blasé two-tier shelf I had Instragammed in April? Well, I finally got around to giving it some TLC, and here’s the end result! Thanks to everyone who chimed in with ideas. In the end I went with a white metal frame—à la Maggie‘s suggestion—and dark wood shelving because there is something so crisp and modern about a rich brown against a white frame.
