a Handsome latte | Nicely making deliciousness at Myrtle (Will knew him in Venice, what a small world) | bean perfection | almond flour pancakes w/banana + citrus, scrambled eggs w/ sweet potato + spinach + avocado | fluff | Barnsdall Park trees | the Great Lawn | gratuitous lens flare on the Hollyhock House | lovely hill

Kicked off the weekend with an awe-inspiring volunteer orientation at 826LA – I’m so amazed at all that they do, followed by deliciousness at Mohawk Bend before heading to the Myrtle Valentines shindig where my Seattle girl heart was stolen by the perfect latte from Handsome Coffee. The rest of the weekend was a blur of relaxing and Harry Potter watching and we wrapped things up with a sunset visit to Barnsdall, where I obviously had more than enough photo ops. It was such a gorgeous, clear weekend and the park was a perfect end to a great weekend.

Bits Of My Weekend is a post from: For Me, For You

1. Brian tweeted about this fantastic film blog, I Love Hot Dogs (best name ever?) and I’ve been devouring every post since last night. I love the mix of very underground films I’ve never heard of and great mainstream films. Plus, a reoccurring feature on film typography is great.
2. Craftcation Conference is a three day indie business & DIY workshop conference in Ventura next month that sounds pretty great, is anyone going?
3. I cannot wait to get my hands on the new Plant Journal. The spreads Natalie posted (via Anabela) have this plant lady slightly giddy. I hear it will be at Opening Ceremony LA in a few weeks.
4. I’m not normally drawn to really colorful design work lately, but this identity design for the Swedish pharmacy chain Vårdapoteket by Stockholm Design Lab I spotted on Design Work Life has been stuck in my head for days. Feeling so inspired to do something colorful now.

bonus for my LA readers: Myrtle is having a fun Valentines Day party tomorrow!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Will started a new job this week, his first 9-5 in years, so we’re settling into this new routine where weekends will be much more cherished.

Friday Bits is a post from: For Me, For You

somewhere along the lightrail trip from SeaTac to downtown, my first time taking it, I loved it | the Italian room at SAM | pot pie at Local 360 | interior of Local 360 | shop cat on 1st ave | breakfast at Andrea’s – Audrey and Rick

I just got my film back from Seattle and while I’ve been posting film as Wordless posts lately, I’m not feeling like being wordless with them. I really love this roll, it’s soft and dark, it captured that Seattle haze and light so perfectly. Most of our trip was a bit dark, cold and rainy with a few breaks of sunshine, and I think the mood can be felt in these. I hadn’t shot a roll of black and white film in Seattle since I was in college taking photo classes, and I know now that when I visit during clouds and rain, black and white is the way to go.

Canon A-1, Fuji Neopan SS

Seattle on Film: Part 1 is a post from: For Me, For You

I thought it was time for an update to my original beauty post from a year ago. I’ve really become more of a tried and true kind of person with the products I use, but a huge difference in my life from a year ago is my financial situation – starting your own business means that splurging on fancy products at Sephora will make you feel guilty for weeks – so they better either be totally worth it (hello, Clarisonic) or you need to find cheaper alternatives. I haven’t found a lot of cheaper alternatives so far, but some.

1. Sephora Lush Flush Lip & Cheek Stain – last year I was using Benetint, the $30 bottle that made my cheeks perfectly rosy. But that bottle of liquid gold was the most expensive beauty product I used, so I tried the Sephora cheek stain and never looked back. It’s only $12 and seriously lasts forever- since the summer I’ve only replaced it once and I use it every single day on my cheeks. It’s terrible as a lip stain for me, but so was Benetint. I also really like that it’s a gel, which is easier to apply and less messy than liquid. I use Pinot.

2. Organix Coconut Milk Weightless Mousse – a lot of you have asked me what I use for my hair, and my position on hair products hasn’t changed much since last year – my hair is so “normal” I’m not loyal to anything and don’t care about hair products much. However, my new haircut requires some styling product or I look like I belong on Three’s Company. So far I love this mousse because it smells amazing and isn’t too crunchy or sticky – plus it’s affordable and I can get it at the drug store. I run it through my damp hair, scrunch and then let it air dry.

3. Burt’s Bees Tinted Lip Balm – I know a lot of people have been singing the praises of this lip balm for a while, but I finally tried it and love it. I have it in Tiger Lily and it’s just a tiny bit of peachy color and shine on my lips for every day use. Also an affordable drug store buy.

4. Clarisonic Mia – OK, this is the splurge. You’ve probably heard a lot of people talking about this, and for good reason. It’s a miracle worker for me. I use it once a night with my Boscia face wash and my skin has never been clearer, my pores smaller, or my skin softer. Like any beauty product it’s not for everyone, but if you break out or your face peels, try the sensitive brushes before giving up. I have relatively sensitive skin and I haven’t needed them, however.

5. Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock – This is my latest cheaper version discovery. I was never one to wear SPF every day on my face, but since moving to LA and all this cancer business, I don’t leave the house without it. But I have super oily skin and it’s hard to find one that doesn’t feel greasy. I was using Boscia, which is fantastic for those of us with oily skin, but it’s only SPF 15 and not affordable. I tried some other pricey options at Sephora before finally realizing that I should try out some drug store options. This Neutrogena sunblock is the absolute best – it goes on like a moisturizer but immediately absorbs and you don’t even know it’s there. It also doesn’t smell like sunblock one bit. $10 miracle.

Phew! Ok, that’s it. So, any new products you guys are using? Any cheaper alternatives you’ve switched to that you love? I could talk beauty products forever, it’s one of the few things I’m quite “girly” about.

Weekly Goods: Beauty Products is a post from: For Me, For You

First up, somehow the new First Aid Kit album, The Lion’s Roar, came out quietly two weeks ago (at least quietly to me) that I was patiently waiting for, thinking I still had months to go. I literally just downloaded it and I’m already in love. I really want to be best friends with these girls, can someone make that happen?

Elise posted about a photo shoot she worked on with singer Alva Leigh. Something about those pretty photos told me there was a pretty voice behind it as well, so I checked out the songs on her facebook page and wowza, she is a talented lady. My favorite song is the first one – Ordinary Day – her voice is so clear and pure, I could listen to it all day. I hope the photo shoot means an album is on its way.

Just discovered the beauty Lianne La Havas and listened to her album Lost & Found over and over this weekend. She reminds me a bit of Corinne Bailey Rae, but a bit more smoky in the voice. I love this Take Away Show with her, the look on the guy’s face when he hears her sing at 2:55 is priceless!

And lastly, you’ve probably heard it by now, but I realized that I forgot to include a song on my best of 2011 mix. How could I forget this Mazzy Star single “Common Burn” from their upcoming album? It’s so incredibly beautiful, I can’t wait for it to come out and possibly see them at Coachella. How often do 90′s comebacks make you this excited?

Weekly Music is a post from: For Me, For You

I have a fun post up over on the Etsy blog about Valentines Day gifts! I put so much work into the post that it makes me laugh thinking about how psycho I was while trying to finish it before we left for vacation, to the point that I told Will to go take a walk so he would not be in the same room as me so I could concentrate. HOW ROMANTIC! But seriously, it’s a goodie, so go check it out.

Etsy Blog Guest Post is a post from: For Me, For You

Packaging | Seattle goodies | the LA Municipal Art Gallery + peach fuzz, growing back | breakfast | two cats, hanging out | pretty chicken on our walk | purple carrots | dinner | moving photo (somehow I forgot about these): stamping (music in the background is Sharon Van Etten and because you ladies are so predictable with your questions, my nail polish is Topshop’s “Big Smoke” [thanks Anabela!])

I’ll start with the fact that Will surprised me by showing me a side of his old spontaneous and adventurous side on Friday night but you can’t laugh at what it was: he asked me if I wanted to go to some bars. We were eating dinner and I was like, “What? Like, tonight? And drink alcohol?” Because I’m not even entirely sure we’ve ever really done that in LA as it’s hard, but not too hard in our neighborhood (as long as you are OK with wearing sensible shoes), but for obvious reasons we hadn’t tried that out yet. And it was expensive and not that trilling and we were home by 10, but we got out, had fun, and came home and drank copious amounts of water like the adults that we are and slept like babies. And I thought to myself, “Hey! We’re still young people, who knew?” I feel one million years older than I am.

I realize while reflecting on what happened this weekend that big decisions were made and delicious food was eaten. I’m trying to refrain from telling those of you in cold winter weather right now that it was 80 degrees all weekend, but I can’t. Because being back from Seattle makes me want to hug LA and all its nasty, warm glory.

Note: I’m trying out not using Flickr so I’m trying to caption images better that you can see when you hover over the image or my captions at the bottom.

ps. thank you for such a successful shop update! If you missed it, fear not, there are still some necklaces left. Plus, shop updates are every month now.

Bits Of My Weekend is a post from: For Me, For You

Though our Seattle trip this week was a tad on the stressful side, I feel refreshed and re-energized to get things done and even managed to catch up a bit on the internet yesterday, so here’s a little Friday Bits! Thank you so much for the comments about the new shop and necklaces, it means so much. See you Sunday? It’s a big update so if you forget and think you’ve missed out, chances are you haven’t, so check back.

1. MCMC Love perfume + an Odette arrow ring for $99 = an awesome combination and deal.
2. This is kind of random, but recently I purchased a pair of Madewell widelegger jeans on sale in their Glendale store for $20 (originally $130!). They are so ridiculously comfortable and are the perfect wide leg/flare. I had them hemmed for $9, so all together a sweet deal. They’re also on sale on their website for a bit more (still a good deal) so I thought I’d pass this gem of knowledge on. Two things I love about them are that they are a bit snug in the thighs for a more flattering fit, and the denim is super soft and light, so they don’t feel really heavy to walk in.
3. The LA Food Swap sounds so genius. I’ve been intrigued since Natalie mentioned it before the holidays. You bring your homemade, homegrown, and foraged creations and swap them with other local people. Thinking about doing it with some friends though I have no idea what I should swap! I do make a mean hummus…
4. A lot of people asked me if I’d share where we went when we were in Seattle for recommendations, but I have to admit that whenever we go the goal is not to explore new things as it’s always a family trip, and this one was even more so because it was such a short trip. I didn’t even get to see any of my friends besides Andrea. But! I did go to Local 360 for the first time and it was fantastic. Delicious comfort food in a cozy rustic setting with big wooden booths, homemade cola and dim lighting – I was really impressed and would recommend it. The mac and cheese! Dang.

Have a great weekend!

Friday Bits is a post from: For Me, For You

The next shop update will be this Sunday, January 29th at 10am PST/1pm EST. Not only will there be brand new necklaces – including the clay beaded necklaces and a newly redesigned brass drops – but the shop is completely redesigned! I’ve been slowly working on this for ages and am launching this just in the nick of time before January comes to a close. The new shop is easier to navigate with larger photos and includes a slideshow with a lookbook. Plus, I finally redesigned my packaging as I thought it was high time.

Let’s talk about the new brass drops, as it’s my #1 best seller and I don’t want anyone to be worried about the change. The necklace has a new chain that’s now solid brass rather than plated steel, so the finish will last longer. I also hand oxidize each chain to get it to that perfect antique-like color that isn’t too shiny, but the more delicate chain does lend to a bit more of a classier look to the necklace. It’s still a perfect everyday necklace, but I think it dresses up a bit more than before. For the first time in years I’m raising the price just a little bit because the cost of the new materials is higher and takes much more time to create.

The ceramic woven necklaces now use the same chain as the new brass drops, and I shorted the chain just a bit* so that it hits on the breast plate a bit higher to show the colors off better. I’m experimenting with a few of them using brass beads as well and being a bit more dainty. (* The exception is H & I, which are leftover from the last update before I shut the shop down, fyi.)

Lastly, I’m retiring my signature classic woven necklace. It was what started it all, but interest in the other necklaces is higher these days and I’m ready to move on. If enough people are bummed out about this I’ll reconsider, but for now this feels right.

I hope you guys like the new shop – please let me know if you run into any issues! I’ll send out a reminder about Sunday’s update to my newsletter subscribers tomorrow.

Shop Update Heads Up + New Shop is a post from: For Me, For You

Hello! Andrea here. I’m excited to contribute to weekly goods today while Kate is in Seattle. Lucky for me, I got to hang with her and Will yesterday!

1. To get me through this gray winter: a bright red Clare Vivier Clutch. – 2.  An updated houndstooth scarf for the perfect touch of pattern – 3. Is it too early to be thinking about sandals? – 4. Insanely Detailed typographic paintings of  MAPS by Paula Scher. – 5. A lovely but functional salt and pepper cellar; I dig those tiny spoons.

Weekly Goods is a post from: For Me, For You