Pretty City & SHAPE

Remember last week when I was giving away tickets to the Pretty City and SHAPE event here? Well I was able to attend and had the best time ever over-indulging in sweets and taking full advantage of beauty services like having my eyebrows threaded, a mini massage, putting feather extensions in my hair (!), and even had my Chakra read! That's right all that and a great goodie bag to take home! Loves it...

Just to reaffirm I'm not the only crazed fashion addict out there, do any of you ever check out these events? If so, what's the best beauty or fashion event you've ever been to?

 And just in case you hadn't heard all the ruckus.... the San Francisco Giants are playing Game 1 of the World Series today. They have a special place in my heart needless to say. Go Giants!!!

 Yup that's my sis and her bf at one of the winning games, so adorable!

ending the night in the powder room

Occasional girls night out are mandatory to keep you sane, but stepping out with my sister is in a whole other category- it's like painting the town red and then some! We started off the night at a beautiful benefit for breast cancer, mingled with the likes of San Francisco socialites, meet an American Idol winner, and got hit on by a persistent creepy doctor who we heard "likes his girls young"....ewww!

We then met and dragged along a random lady (wtf?) with us to the Starlight room, where we got down on the dance floor! And continued the party in the powder room, where we stayed for about thirty minutes- I think we were trying to stay away from the random lady! From there it was clear we needed to rush over to good old Gold Dust Lounge and decided it was a great idea to have one last drink before we ran to catch the last train (again wtf?); where we met some British pilots. All in all, it was the most random fun I've had in a long time!

I think we had just as much fun on the train ride home as we did all night! Check out tidbits from our night below....

p.s first time I wore my JC Cheetah wedges, and they are every bit as comfy as they are hot!!!

p.s.s GO GIANTS!!!!!!!!!

Tucker

{Tucker for Target dress, Elle boots, Chanel shades}

Its always fun to go shoe shopping, even more so when you go with your sister and you happen to leave the store with the same pair of shoes! We both purchased the same pair of lace up booties shown above. She looked great in them along with her super hot Tucker dress- the cognac boots went perfect with the tiny fall flowers on her dress!

night at the theater

 

I'm kinda loving this deer in the headlights look....

{VS dress, jacket purchased in NYC, Chinese Laundry pumps circa 2008, Fabricated [Los Angeles] earring, vintage Bottega Venetta hobo}

This is what I wore for a live theater performance last week. I wanted to keep it elegant, yet still maintain an edge. So what do you add to a beautiful silk off the shoulder dress to play up its features? Well leopard pumps, a leather sleeved jacket with oversize collar, and a single startling blue feather earring of course! It just wouldn't be me if it wasn't over the top people.

I've recently been very much into leopard printed shoes as you can tell here, but as long as I can remember feather earrings have been a beautiful boho vibe I have always wanted to pull off. Well I never quite found my perfect feather earrings, they were too short, not full enough or just ugly. But ever since the girls over at Fabricated [Los Angeles] sent over this Blue Sword Feather earring I have been smitten. The color is the best part, its actually quite beautiful without being so abrasive, and I love that it is a single piece- two of these just might be over the top!

Free Tickets to SF beauty sample sale!

Hello lovelies! I am attending a fabulous beauty sample sale soiree hosted by PrettyCity.com and SHAPE magazine this Wednesday in San Francisco, with cocktails, mini beauty treatments, shopping and goodie bags. The girls over at PrettyCity were kind enough to offer ten free tickets (a $30 value each) for my San Francisco BrandHabit readers (not only do I independently blog, but I moonlight as a Fashion Editor for BrandHabit.com!). All you have to do is Follow me on Google Friend, or bloglovin' and leave a comment telling me what beauty product you can't live without! Please include your name and email, so I can contact you if you win. Hope to see you there! Click here for more info on the event.

xo Carlina

Friday Foot Fetish

{Jeffery Campbell Mariel Wedge Sandals}

It seems like every Friday I say the same three words- "It's finally here!". Can you blame me? After a long, particularly rough week at the office, the only things I can seem to wrap my head around are: how my last five minutes of work can't arrive fast enough, what kind of cocktail I'll pour myself at the end of the day, and my brand new fierce footwear! The arrival of these cheetah-print hair calf wedge sandals has definitely put my ghastly work week in the past.  I'm looking forward to trolling the streets at my new model height this weekend!

I have been on the hunt for a pair of leopard flats of all things, when these just happened to go on sale at Shopbop! I'm usually not one to spend so much on shoes, but I knew if I didn't get them I would regret it (I got the last pair in my size!!). The buttery soft red leather inside is perfection, and the hair calf pattern is not only super hot right now, but I can totally see myself pulling these shoes out of the closet for seasons to come.

It might be overkill to pair these wedges with my leopard fur-- and yes I thought about it. How would you wear these shoes?

inspired ladies

 {pics from Song of Style, The Sartorialist, FabSugar, Inside AmLul's Closet, and Sincerely Jules}

Inspiration for me comes in all shapes and sizes, but as of late I've been taking stylish notes from super bloggers (term coined by Roxy from My Cup of Te) worldwide. Sheer chiffon heather gray skirts floating from a tough-as-nails motorcycle jacket, chunky fringe-y wraps, leather shorts, old money Birkin bags, uniquely wrapped turbans, mustard coats with maroon lips, and silky maxi skirts (notice this is the same one I wore here) all make up my fall wish list. Seeing these images of celebs, and day to day fashion aficionado's somehow make the outfits all the more doable. I think I'll try to recreate pic #5 this weekend. Where do you get your style inspiration from?

Alexa for Madewell

Alexa Chung never fails to disappoint. From the quirky cool London girl vibe she oozes in her day to day outfits, to the night time party looks she concocts, to the drawing board for other designers, there's no denying she has got something special. Her enviable style sense has garnered major street cred from the House of Mulberry naming a bag after her, and now fashion phenomenon Madewell has us pining for her designs.

The crushed velvet shorts, whimsical peter pan collars, and long school-marm-made-cool skirts will no doubt leave a multitude of doppelgänger Alexa's running around town.

 

L word

Went to a launch party for the Real L Word wines and meet reality star Rose Garcia. Had a fun time trying new wines, and chatting up other journalists in the room. Rose was actually an hour and twenty minutes late to her own event, so of course we were all gossiping about how unprofessional and D-list of her to do so! But in the end we struck up a conversation with the 'diva' and got a few pictures. She was actually very nice, I asked her what she was wearing (I was feeling very E! celeb correspondent on the red carpet), she said BCBG.
Not only was it a good time but a portion of the proceeds went to benefit the GSA Network (Gay-Straight Alliance Network)--I'm all about helping, the fact that it was actually a fun event made it that much sweeter!

{F21 skirt and jacket, Lauren Conrad for Kohl's top, fur stole, vintage clutch, Steve Madden Mary Jane platforms, SaSa hoops)

It's been a while since I threw on an outfit that I completely loved, and no matter how much my bf was giving me the 'you look like your 50' eye, I wasn't budging. I was feeling sexy, elegant and extremely feminine- which I usually don't do on purpose! My ensemble was a mish mash of watching too many episodes of Mad Men, and Abbey Lee in Paris during Fashion Week--it's all about the maxi skirt, and I plan to wear this trend out!

 By the way this was a recent mani I DIY'd. Its a light pink base, with iridescent black french tips. Trying out new takes on an old classic. I think I might be experimenting a lot more with my nails this season. Anybody else do their own mani's out there? Have any good color suggestions I should pair up?

Boho Chic

I have admired Nicole Richie from afar since her lifestyle changes many years back- post 'The Simple Life'. I remember emulating her style choices--even before skinny jeans and leggings were in, and after. She always had a certain flair about her that sort of seemed effortless, yet put together. She's got that 70's lovechild meets modern day maven thing going on and I like it.

What do you guys think, blond or brunette? I think she looks good in any color she rocks, but I'm partial to the bob and the fringe. Either way she is killing it in that leopard hat--I kinda want!

Never again Nicole!