Taken For Granted

Photo By: Nylon Blogs

A recent post on Nylon Blogs featured this image of interesting street art. It reminded me of the chalk drawings I used to walk by every afternoon on my way to the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. Artists would be on their hands and knees for hours, perfecting religious images and art inspired by famous paintings from the Renaissance, in vain as every night the images would be washed away by street cleaners. I can't remember if I ever took photos of them, but the post made me sad about the possibility that I really only have the memory of them.

Then again, I am lucky that I will always have the memory of them... and everything else that happened that wonderful summer in Italy.

All the Rage

Photo for BCBG Max Azria

Olympic Gold medalist Nastia Lukin is the face for BCBG Max Azria's new campaign. She amazed us all in Beijing, and now she's wowing the fashion world. Can't wait to see the rest of the featured images (in store, online, and in the Lookbook).

A Very Merry (Un)Birthday!

This year, Disneyland and DisneyWorld are offering free admission to park guests on their birthdays. All you have to do is register on DisneyParks.com.

Click to Register your Birthday!

Joining the Fight Against Fakes

Ad from Harper's Bazaar

I've always been against conterfeit designer bags, but after reading an article in the January issue of Harper's Bazaar I will take an active role in making sure people I know do not support this business.

"It is estimated that up to 7 percent of our annual world trade--$600 billion worth--is counterfeit or pirated; that fakes are believed to be directly responsible for the loss of more than 750,000 American jobs; that everything from baby formula to medicine is counterfeited, with tragic results; that counterfeiters and the crime syndicates they work with deal in human trafficking, child labor, and gang warfare; and that counterfeiting is used to launder money, and the money has been linked to truly sinister deeds such as terrorism... I recall the raid I went on with Chinese police in a tenement in Guangshou and what we discovered when we walked in: two dozen sad, tired, dirty children, ages 8 to 14, making fake Dunhill, Versace, and Hugo Boss handbags on old, rusty sewing machines." (Dana Thomas for Harper's Bazaar)

So if you're thinking about purchasing something fake, stop and consider the facts. Do you want to contribute to child labor abroad? Do you want to deprive American workers who are supposed to be protected by copyright of their hard-earned reward? Get real. Buy genuine goods. Support artists. Stay classy.

To learn more about Bazaar's Fight Against Fakes, click here.

Sharing is Caring

Photo By: Miscellany of a Girl's Life

Click here to see more beautiful pictures of different places in San Francisco... or if you want new suggestions on where to eat and shop in the city.

Season's Greetings

Merry Christmas, everyone!

What Gets Me Through It

If there is anything that will never fail to excite me, it is the following:
1) a fabulous new pair of shoes
2) an unexpected compliment
3) procative young people who not only have great ideas but know how to make them a reality

What do these three have in common? They provide motivation and hope for the future. New shoes will inspire that extra boost of confidence and the promise of something new. Compliments are positive reinforcement that not only are you doing something well, but someone else notices. (And, let's be honest: Making it is all about getting people to notice you.) Proactives share passion in bettering themselves, each other, and the world around them.

As long as great minds collaborate, there is no stopping the creativity and innovation that will get them to the top. (And if you're doing that, you better wear the shoes and look the part.)



For the record, being at home with no schedule has affected my emotional health. The CW's Stylista pulled me out of my funk today, and I can't wait to get back to my life in LA. But for now, I will be working on mini-projects at home... First: unpacking. Yes, I've been home for a week, and my room still looks like I just came back from Italy.