Ogle & Obsess: Valentine's Day Diamond-Encrusted Cadeaux!

Ooh la la!  As you can see, I'm excited about the upcoming Jour D'Amour!  Well, to wet the gift-receiving appetite of my girly readers, I've curated a lovely list of gifts that I (or many other girls, for that matter) wouldn't mind receiving.

We all know diamonds are one of many best friends of girls (my best friends also include dark chocolates, flowers delivered to the office, red velvet with cream cheese frosting, stuffed animals, and home cooked meals that require me to use my hands).  Don't worry random boys that stumble onto my site, none of these bear any resemblance to an engagement ring (in appearance or cost!) so, breathe easy...but they are still quite costly...

One more disclaimer is that I will never recommend that someone gift heart-shaped diamonds for Valentine's Day (or for any occasion, for that matter) and I will also never recommend "love" engraved jewelry.  It's so cheesy!  There are so many excellent jewelry designers out there.  Not to say that "love" or "amour" jewelry can't be cute and have lots of meaning, but on Valentine's Day, it's so cliche.  Let's hope our men can be a little more original (and will dig deep into their pockets for these...!).

Let's start with the earlobes.  They are such a wonderful canvas for bling.

These Julieri studs are gorgeous- a pretty mix of black and white diamonds against rose gold.  These are making me so giddy...so obsessed.

If something a little more dramatic is your taste, then these occasion earrings by Jude Frances are probably going to drive you nuts.  The touch of coral is such a nice burst of color.

Necklaces are probably my favorite thing to obsess about and there are plenty of diamond adorned options out there.  Like these...!

Zoe Chicco is a brand that I love because of how dainty and delicate the designs are.  This rose necklace is the perfect amount of romance for Valentine's Day without being a cheesy heart necklace.

For something that's a little more personal but not just your average initial necklace, Mauri Pioppo does these cute ones called "Love Letter" that have a small diamond in the center to mark the initial.

Moving down to the wrists, I'm going to continue to Ogle the Cartier Love Bracelet, but if that doesn't happen, these next few bracelets are pretty awesome, too.

If you're looking to decorate your wrists, there are some dressy and casual options to suggested to your beau.  Let's start with this more casual Scosha bracelet.

If you want something a little more decadent and sweet, this Finn bracelet makes me want to fall out of my chair.  So delicate!

If you're getting nervous about the pieces I posted above, let me warn you, below this line is RINGS.  Yes, a RINGS.  Calm down!  I already said no engagement rings, but I HAD to post these because they're pretty and I like showing you pretty things.


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This one is from Jordan Scott. I'm in love with turquoise right now and this ring is beautiful and not too over-the-top.  It has simple diamond and yellow gold accents around the turquoise stone.  It has kind of a Loree Rodkin feel, but it's a little less medieval and a much cheaper.  Also, maxandchloe.com has a Valentine's Day promo going on right now that will get you an extra 20% off (code: VDAY20MC).

If you liked the Jordan Scott ring and you're into the Loree Rodkin jewelry style, Hari Jewels has a pretty version as well.  Not turquoise, so it's not for me, but hey, that doesn't mean that it's not for you!

Here's hoping you get something a little sparkly on the designated day of love!  If these all look a little expensive, it's because they are.  Don't fret!  A more affordable Valentine's Day list is coming your way- stay tuned.

Ogle Intensely: Fausto Puglisi, colorful shock to my system!

It all started when I was on pinterest and I saw this:

This is so much color (almost color overload) considering my normal wardrobe which consists mostly of black, white, grey, and more black...maybe an occasion pink or red.  BUT THIS DRESS, oh my goodness, it's so full of color and life and FLUORO (read: fluorescent)!  And now I can't find this dress on any sites to buy!  Not that I could afford it right now, but it would give me something to work towards!

A little further digging into this designer and I was able to find out that this Italian designer is a serial color splasher.  It's everywhere in his dresses!  I've had a really hard time finding sites online that carry this brand- Luisaviaroma and Farfetch being a couple of them.  The usage of color blocking here is certainly inspiring and I've definitely seen a few dresses out there by other designers that do a good color block as well (don't worry, a post about that is coming soon), but none as halting as this dress.

After a brief trip to Bloomingdale's yesterday, I'm almost scared to continue talking up and promoting the fluoro colors for the spring, because they're freaking EVERYWHERE.  I doubt the fact that they're everywhere will stop me from getting a pair of lime green jeans, though.  Get ready, World!

  

Obsess: Aussie Only: Karla Spetic

I know, I know, I know...I said I'm done with cut outs.  But THEN, I saw this dress.

How lovely is this?  This dress is by designer Karla Spetic.  I love how the cuts are in unique places, right near the armpits.  A little reminiscent of the cool cut outs that Cushnie et Ochs had, but Karla Spetic's designs follow a more demure, modern, and clean cut sentiment.  I like that the cut outs aren't your run-of-the-mill midsection revealers!  There are a few other pieces on her online shop that I was DYING over:

Amazing skirt.  Oh and I LOVE these shoes.  They're a little bit like a thinner version of the Pierre Hardy ones from Spring 2011.

Aaahh this top!  Don't even get me started about how I feel about color blocking.  I'm going to be all over this ish in the spring. 

I love this whole look, but I mostly love how it's bringing back the short sleeve button-up.  Frankly speaking, it's hardly a sleeve, but I'm not really going to get technical about it because I just love it.  

To my dismay, I haven't found a US stockist for this brand.  Can someone (Net-A-Porter, ShopBop, Ssense, ANYONE) please start to stock it??  That lime green, those pants, the cut outs.  I want to touch.

Obsess: Are you for Scuba? YES.

I read/browse/drool over tons of blogs a day and one that I really love is Into the Gloss written by Emily Weiss (yes! from The Hills!).  Her blog has awesome coverage of the fashion industry- namely its beauty trends and influencers.  Beyond that, her site is really well designed and the photography on it is enough to keep me sucked in for hours.  The other day when I was catching up on her blog posts, I saw this picture from her trip to Jamaica:

I love this Lisa Marie Fernandez suit for a couple reasons.  1) It's a one piece which is out of my usual comfort zone.  My dad always told me that going of outside your confort zone meant pushing oneself forward in life.  It meant progress.  I'll take his advice and apply it here.  Thanks, Dad!  2) IT'S SO SCUBA!  While I've kind of been afraid of this trend, I think I'm going to fully embrace it this spring.  It's so sleek and polished.

Lisa Marie Fernandez has a bunch of amazing swimwear that can double up as regular streetwear.  Here are some of my favorites:

This is like the one that Emily is sporting above but it's just straight black.  I would love to rock this with a plush Manoush mini and some Giuseppe Zanotti strappy heels.

I love this white structured suit.  Also very wearable as a top!  How about paired with a sexy maxi skirt from Mason by Michelle Mason and some chunky sandals by See by Chloe.

I also discovered this Lisa Marie Fernandez skirt on the Outnet.  How awesome would this look with a crispy white shirt from Equipment and some tough booties like these Alexander Wang ones. UGH DYING. SO GOOD.

Even Alexander Wang is into the trend!  Some pieces from his 2012 Resort line are totally SCUBA!  Like this one:

Loving this trend as much as I am??  Well I did find one Ownable piece from ShopNastyGal:

This might be a tough trend to pull off, but I think it's so fresh.  I love it!  Maybe one of these pieces- scuba or not- will find it's way into my closet!

Own: Some Lucky Red for the New Year

As American as I may be now, I was raised in a Chinese household and I fight every day to try to keep my culture alive on my own.  I don't ever still wish I was living at home (though I love both my parents a ton!), but I  do wish that I had a mini version of my mom in my pocket to remind me of traditional Chinese things (like how to order the dishes I love at Chinese restaurants and how to make that wine chicken that I love so much) so that I could continue to make it a strong influence in my life.

Alas...I'm young and impressionable and sometimes I can feel parts of my culture slipping away...so sad.  BUT I always remember Chinese New Year and it's a tradition every year to wear red on Chinese New Year because it's supposed to bring you luck (which I need boatloads of on a daily basis)!  Red isn't my favorite color, but I think there are lots of ways out there to make it work.

 

Wear it mixed in with a print!  I love this American Retro dress.  Wearable with maybe a lacy black top underneath and simple enough that you can dress it up with some chunky jewelry like this Eddie Borgo necklace (MORE TURQUOISE <3 <3).

Since it's cold outside, put on a cardigan.  A fuzzy one.

Go Merlot!  While it's not bright-popping red, it's still red (kind of...).  I love this LA Made cowl neck maxi dress.

Paired with some great earrings.  Like these feathery ones!

Make it sheer!  Now THIS is what I call red.  Whatever bra you wear underneath, make sure it's a sexy OPAQUE one.  You don't want a nipple slip on New Years!

Wouldn't be complete without something Hello Kitty.  Like this bracelet.  Ahhh she's even winking here!

All affordable and all very red!  Happy Chinese New Year to you all!  Here's to the year of the Dragon.  Oh yeah and happy Friday (might mean more to some of you than Chinese New Year!).

Obsess: Golden Globes a la Heidi Klum

It's been ages since I watched an award show and the Golden Globes was no exception.  I didn't watch a moment of it- nope, not even the pre-show red carpet coverage.  

The next day, I was scrolling through my google reader and was totally halted by Heidi Klum's look!

I wish I'd watched the red carpet coverage just to see Heidi come strolling down in this gown.  She's gotten some heat for not being dressed up enough for the Golden Globes (some people said she looked a little too "Hamptons-y"), but Heidi's seemingly effortless and simple look did a bang up job of showing everyone how all you really need is a fresh face and some killer accessories and you can make a blah dress something to really stare at (it also doesn't hurt to look like Heidi Klum).  Heidi's in Calvin Klein and her beautiful turquoise and diamond jewels are from Lorraine Schwartz

What's that I smell?  A spring trend??  Nudes and stones!  Yessssssssss!  I love it I love it I love it- or wait, I'm OBSESSED with it.

Last year in May, I posted about designer Raoul and I had actually posted this image as a favorite:

I still think this is so pretty!  I'm going to hold onto these nude tones as inspiration for my spring wardrobe!  Net-a-porter also just shared with me in their "What's New" email these two pieces from Tibi.

While this top doesn't have the same split back that Heidi is sporting, I think that paired with this skirt, you're totally getting that effortless, nude tone look.

Now for the fun part- the epic necklaces.  I have never seen a necklace like the Lorraine Schwartz that Heidi has on.  Never.  But, when I think about awesomely giant bib necklaces, I think of Dannijo.  So here's a version of their turquoise bib.

 If you want something with a little more color, here's option 2:

If you want more turquoise, then try this option from Kenneth Jay Lane

So so prettyyy!  Well now I have even more to look for when the weather is warmer.  Or better yet!  For when I go on vacation!  Wham!  Bam! Yippee!...there's that coffee kicking in.

Own: Adorable Jewels by Vinca

Are any of you guys on Fab.com?  If not, you should join it.  I know-I know-I know, there are SO many of these timed sale sites out there, but the cool thing about Fab is that they have a trending board (very reminiscent of Pinterest.com) so you can see what's trending- what people are buying, liking and sharing.

Anyway, I discovered the brand Vinca on that site.  SO glad I did.  The jewelry is fun and whimsical and isn't an investment at all.  I think these would make great gifts if you have nieces with newly pierced ears or girlfriends (like me!) that LOVE animals and anything cute.

Adorable Bear rings!  They are so cute!  They look like they're just peeking out to say hello.  The neon ones are only on Fab.com, but the glitter one you can get here.

Mirrored bunny stud earrings available here and here

I LOVE THIS.  How wonderfully weird is it?  SO WEIRD!  Available on Fab.com

Moustaches continue to be all the rage.  Get some for your earlobes here and on sale at Fab.com

Prices are mostly below $20.  The Moustache studs are on Fab.com for only $6!  Talk about cheap...forget about getting them as gifts for others- for $6 you can afford to treat yourself once (maybe even twice if you like them that much).

Own: Ballerina Brunch Inspiration UPDATE!

UPDATE!  Here are some of the photos from our brunch!  The apartment that we had the brunch in was amazingly designed- everything in it was so warm, inviting and LUSH.  MY GOD.  I wanted to chain myself to the steampipe and never leave.  Anyway, don't let me go on.  Here are some pics!

And our beautiful photographer <3

There are a few really popular things to do in New York City when you want to catch up with friends:

1) Drink.

2) Drink.

3) Eat.

I don't know about you guys, but sometimes that gets damn boring.  Isn't there more to life than drinking and eating (eating, no, but drinking, probably yes)??  A friend of mine finally threw up her arms and agreed with me and has started to do these series of brunches- I know, I know, it still involves eating, but stick with me for a second here.

My friend is an amazingly talented photographer.  She throws a themed brunch and has everyone arrive ready to be paparazzi-ed.   All her friends are gorgeous subjects (I'm HONORED to be included in this group!) and they become the focus of her work.  I think the idea is brilliant!

This weekend, she'll be hosting a ballerina brunch!  I'll be attending!  She sent out a few images to us so that we would have an idea of what she found as inspiration for this brunch:

Beautiful, right?  Now, what am I going to wear to this fancy brunch??

How about these very Ownable items:

Of course, an American Apparel onesie is in order.  Probably one of the few times that this will make sense. 

This light blue skirt from Free People is the right kind of delicate!

This lace top from Free People is PERFECT!! (Looks like I really am going to have to hit up Free People)

Need some cheap ballerina flats?  Asos has got you covered even if you aren't going to a fancy ballerina brunch. AND only $37!

I would love for my hair to look like this...but alas this might be the impossible for me to do with just my own two hands.

Maybe I'll add a little toughness to my ballerina duds with this vegan leather vest...so many ideas floating around in my head!

I'm very excited to get all dolled up in frilly lace, paint my cheeks a rosy pink, and prance around like a prima ballerina.  Best possible Saturday plans- ever.