Wild Women Weekend

WOHOO!!

It's my Spring Break so I grabbed my dearest friend visiting from wintery Wisconsin,

put the top down on my car and went looking for some sunshine :)

Had to go no further than lovely Ventura for some sun and fun.

First time I have really explored Ventura and it was great!

Saw historical buildings and mission,

The Taj Cafe, 574 E. Main, Ventura thetajcafeventura.com/‎

Ate too much Indian food at lunch,

Gave an amazing gigantic ancient tree a hug,

 Strolled down Main Street into numerous unique boutiques and resale stores,

And the next morning it was on to…

If you've never been to Ojai I'm sad for you.

Beautiful downtown with lovely architecture, sights, galleries, boutiques, restaurants, etc.

Saw lots of art,

Enamel Spiritile by Houston Llew http://www.artonawhim.com

bought some art at Human Arts Gallery…

took a hop scotch break,

Porch Gallery, 310 E. Matilija St., Ojai, CA http://www.porchgalleryojai.com

chanced upon the delightful Porch Gallery in the gorgeous and historic Montgomery house.

Barbie: An American Icon was the exhibit at the Porch Gallery 

and you just assume the images are photographs but, are actually amazing oil paintings 

by Judy Ragagli

And on the front lawn of the Porch Gallery was an interactive exhibit that has people participating all over the country.

Everyone finishes the sentence Before I die I want to…

My dear friend of 30 + years and I are not quite the AWBAs we were when we met but,

whatever!

Good weather, good friends, good times; priceless.

If You Care What Actors Wear

Made my annual pilgrimage to FIDM Museum & Galleries in LA for their 

22nd Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibit

Translation: a gallery of the costumes from 22 top grossing films in 2014

Man of Steel; designer James Acheson & Michael Wilkinson
photo uploaded from www.tyrannyofstyle.com

There are comic book costumes,

Hunger Games: Catching Fire, designer Trish Summerville
photo uploaded from www.tyrannyofstyle.com 

there are fantasy costumes,

Thor: The Dark World, designer Wendy Partridge
photo uploaded from www.tyrannyofstyle.com

there are fictional costumes,

Romeo and Juliet, designer Carlo Poggioli
photo uploaded from www.tyrannyofstyle.com

there are costumes from literature,

The Invisible Woman, designer Michael O'Connor
photo uploaded from www.tyrannyofstyle.com

there are historical costumes,

The Great Gatsby, designer Catherine Martin
photo uploaded from www.tyrannyofstyle.com

and there are the costumes that won the 2014 Academy Award for best costumes!

And as we drove away from Los Angeles there is this fabulous billboard…

a possible 2015 best costume contender ?

March 23, 2014

Finally made it back to Palm Springs where everything is warm and wonderful.

A beautiful day with my beautiful hubster.

…and Marilyn is still wearing the same dress

March 21, 2014

Once again it is Friday and that means I have to take my fashion field trip class on an outing.

My incredible shrinking class ( from 27 students to 8 ) met up at an amazing high-end consignment store in Corona del Mar for a fascinating presentation on the resale fashion business.

An amazing $60,000 printer applying all colors in one pass onto canvas shoes

And next we traveled to a small print shop that can custom print just about anything for anybody.

One of the more unique items printed only at this shop are sneakers called Zipz that have a canvas top that can be unzipped from the rubber bottom. Thus tops are exchangeable.

Two very different businesses with two very passionate proprietors.

Interesting and educational.

March 20, 2014

Gilding the Lily is located at 305 N. Harbor Blvd Suite 101, Fullerton, CA, 92832

 One of my most favorite people in the world is visiting from a frozen tundra called Wisconsin.

We met in downtown Fullerton at an amazing little shop named 

Gilding the Lily 

Don't judge a store by its square footage…

Guilding the Lily is a small store but,

PACKED full of surprises in every nook, shelf, drawer, box, cupboard;

it is a fabulous treasure hunt !

The proprietor, Nancy Jamar seems to love all things vintage 

and her collection of one-of-a-kind objects is mind boggling!!

Jewelry, buttons, ribbons, feathers, paper goods, decorative items, 

AND

vintage hats :)

Did I already mention the vintage hats…

My BFF and I never pass up a great photo op

and these hats were all so glorious we could not resist.

Luckily the shop owner and my friend are also BFFs.

And after oohhing and aahhhing over this lovely hat 

my friend secretly purchased it and gifted it to me at lunch.

A dear gift from a dear one.

March 19, 2014

Love how a jacket can instantly make an outfit look more serious.

Originally just had on printed t-shirt and loafers but, was so casual I had to change it up.

Accessory Close-up

Favorite leather sandals by Lucky
Bangle bling
Tiny gold knot earrings by Kate Spade

But who cared what I wore because my favorite wacky students came to class completely costumed.

No reason, just love to dress outrageously and even their eyes were wearing strange colored contacts !

March 18, 2014

OMG! 

Shocked this picture isn't blurry because before class I met a friend for coffee and 

had THREE expresso shots in my Carmel Macchiato.

I was buzzing on caffeine...

Accessory Close-up

Various bracelet bling
Tiny earrings
Leather and cloth sandals ( that I LOVE )
Great color combo scarf I sewed into a circle :)