San Francisco

I'm on a business trip in San Francisco at the moment.  I grew up in the city, and haven't been back for a while.  My parents moved away since I went away to college so I don't really get to come back to SF very often anymore. 

When I got in yesterday, it was actually hot and sunny here!  That almost never happens in this usually foggy city!  I think the heat wave from LA made its way here, because it was like almost 100 degrees.  And what happened to the traffic here?!  My taxi ride from the airport to downtown was so quick.  I do love that most of the cabs here are hybrids though.  Why do the cabs in LA insist on being tankers?  I actually had a huge van cab picking me up from my place in LA.  It turned out to be the most unpleasant ride too, because the driver refused to turn on the AC (I think it was like 110 degrees out), and kept lecturing me about why I should be a Republican and how great Sarah Palin is.  Wtf?  I'm not really into politics, and I don't really identify myself with any political parties.  But I also don't appreciate crazy right wing comments from a dumb taxi driver while being locked up in his sauna of a van.  AND must disagree about Sarah Palin - I've heard her talk, and she is a nut job!  I decided to keep my mouth shut though for fear that he would take me somewhere and kill me. 

Anyway, it's good to be back in SF and seeing old friends besides getting work stuff over with.  But seriously, aside from nicer taxi drivers, this city has so many weirdos!  Last night I was hanging out at the W Hotel bar with a friend from high school, and random guys kept sitting down at our table and saying crazy things!  We got some dude standing over our table and literally stared for 5 minutes straight without saying a word.  Creepy!  We got a guy who came over and said something about us having pretty hair, and literally petted us.  We got this really bitter guy who sat down and asked us if we were just going to sit there all night and see how many other guys would come over to talk to us.  When we stared at him speechlessly, he walked away really angry.  And even when we were leaving, these guys told us we couldn't leave because we had to go party with them.  Ahhhh now I remember how it was like in this city!  LOL!  I mean don't get me wrong, LA has plenty of weirdos that hit on girls all the time as well.  But just not quite the same way.

Oh today when a friend dropped me off at my hotel after dinner, I ran into a ugly tranny with a bad botox job in a Halloween costume (sailer?), who told a group of business men standing nearby that I was the whore they were waiting for, and that I cost about $20 an hour.  Ugh, I totally forgot that this is considered "normal" in this city as well.  You know how sometimes certain things remind you of a place you've been to?  Well ugly trannies just remind me of San Francisco (and pretty trannies that look indistinguishable from women remind me of Thailand).  And San Francisco reminds me of home.  What can I say, I grew up in an interesting place!

I wish I could stay longer and have more leisure time to spend in the city and visit old hang out places, but I have to leave tomorrow straight after my business engagements.  I think it would be interesting to move back here one day.  My perspective of the city is pretty much from being a kid and teenager.  I don't know any "hot spots" of the city, since I wasn't ever old enough to go anywhere.  So it would be a completely new experience to live here as an adult.  Though if I did move back, I'm sure I would get tired of the interesting personalities here very fast and won't find them entertaining anymore!

On a side note, I took my Lululemon Bon Voyage duffel as a carry on of course.  It's freaking awesome!  I took my lap top in it too, along with all the knick knacks.  I'm SO glad I bought this bag! 

DEXTER Season Premier Tonight!

I'm so excited about the Dexter season premier!  It makes my True Blood withdrawal just a little easier to bear!

I swear I have Showtime just for this show.  Well maybe Californication too which I find hilarious.  But yeah, I've been waiting anxiously to see what they have cooking up for us this season! 

(Spoiler alert if you haven't seen the last season!!!)

Especially since how they ended the last season with Dexter's wife being murdered.  Yikes!  I heard that the actress that plays his wife is returning this season though.  But I did see her as the lead actress on the new ABC show, Superhero Family or something?  So, one can deduce she doesn't have much air time on Dexter.  Who knows though, Dexter's dad who has been dead ever since the first episode, has been in pretty much every episode anyways.

So I can't wait to see what happens tonight!  This is one of my favorite shows.  I never thought I would like a show about a serial killer when I first heard about it, but I love the smart and witty writing, especially Dexter's dialogues with himself.  He cracks me up!  It's interesting to be kind of inside the mind of a serial killer.  I do find his sister's character annoying though, but I put up with her because the rest of the show is so good!  Can't believe they are married in real life.  Gross.  Lol. 

Ahhh I'm so glad I have DirecTV so I can watch it at East Coast time.  =)

Steve Madden Luxe Zeal Bootie

I went to see The Town today, which was very good.  There is a DSW in the same shopping structure as the theater, so I went to try stuff on afterwards.  I had no intention of buying anything, but when I put the Steve Madden Luxe Zeal Bootie on, I fell in love. The price is pretty good on these too, at $79.95.

I actually think today was the first time I've tried on this bootie style that's been very trendy for a while now.  I always thought they were kind of impractical before.  Like where would I wear them to?  And with what kind of outfit?  Since I'm older and more mature now (hehe), I don't really go clubbing anymore.  These do have a little hooch factor.  But I love the criss cross zipper look with blue piping, and the distressed leather look.

So I will figure out later what to wear them with.  They are super hot on, and sooo comfortable!  I mean much more comfortable than they look.  The material is very soft, and there's padding on the sole.  I think I could stand all day in these!  I think that I could wear these to work as well, with pants of course.  So only the front part of the shoes would show, which looks like good old black peep toe pumps.  Nobody else has to know what's under the pant leg!  Oh I could only imagine what reactions I would get from all the old men at my work if I wore these with a skirt!  Probably get sent home right away. 

Or get a raise??  Hehe

I only saw the black ones at the store, but when I was looking for them online, I see that they also come in taupe with orange zipper piping.  How cute too!  Now I want them as well.  Hmmm... I definitely don't need TWO pairs of the same shoes when I can't even figure out what to wear with the one pair I got.  But I'm really loving the taupe color.  Though black is probably more versatile.  I'm so indecisive!

Yummy Shake Recipe

I had the best shake at the 101 coffee shop in Hollywood.  So I've been copying it.  It sounds like a weird combo of ingredients, but so so good!

It consists of peanut butter, honey and vanilla ice cream!  It's funny that my boyfriend is a huge fan of peanut butter, I mean like the biggest ever, and he thought the ingredients sounded kinda weird so he didn't go for this shake when we were at the coffee shop.  I like peanut butter, but am not crazy about it.  But for some reason I decided to give it a try.  Probably because I was intrigued!  It turned out to be the best shake ever!  He agrees too, and deeply regretted not ordering it hehe.

It's very easy to recreate too.  I eyeball everything so I don't know the exact measurement.  I just take a couple spoonfuls of creamy peanut butter, add some vanilla almond milk (my current obsession), a few tablespoons of honey, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Add some ice, blend everything together, and that's it!  To be honest you don't really taste the honey, so it probably would taste the same even if you just used peanut butter and vanilla ice cream.  I guess this is a high cal drink.  But at least peanut butter and honey have beneficial nutritional value, if you don't go overboard with the excess calories.  Can't really say the same about vanilla ice cream though lol.  But hey, I will never lose the ability to enjoy some ice cream once in a while!

Make Up For Ever Aqua Smoky Lash Mascara

I'm kind of a mascara junkie.  But I've been less than impressed with my last mascara purchase - the Shu Uemura Precise Volume Mascara.  The name is totally misleading as it does not volumize whatsoever.  Every morning I was literally sitting there putting on at least 10 coats and it barely showed.  However, I do love my Laura Mercier Waterproof Mascara because it's so dark and goes on very thick so I'd only need to apply one coat for wear during the day.  Saves a lot of time!  The only thing about that is that it does get a bit clumpy if I apply more than one coat, and then it looks like a 5 year old did my makeup.  Oh and it's very hard to take off, even with my beloved Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil which usually works like magic.

So I was chatting with a girl at Sephora the other day about my mascara issues, and had mentioned that I used to use the Dior Show mascara years ago, and liked it but it dries out way too fast.  She said that that was what most people's complaints are about Dior mascaras, and that if I liked that one, I would probably like the Make Up For Ever Aqua Smoky Lash mascara.  It's $22, couple bucks cheaper than the Dior Show, and couple bucks more than the Laura Mercier mascara.  I decided to give it a try.

I got the waterproof version, because I only buy waterproof mascara.  I don't care what the advertisements say, I've never had a non-waterproof mascara not run on me by the end of the day.  I've been using it for a couple days, and quite like it.  It's definitely a huge improvement from the Shu Uemura one I was using lately.  It's not quite as dark as the Laura Mercier one, but it's definitely noticeable and it's the perfect amount for work.  One coat is plenty, but if I wanted to build it up, I can put multiple coats on and it still doesn't clump my lashes.  It's overall a more natural and less dramatic look than my Laura Mercier mascara.  But it's still eye-opening.  I also feel like this mascara keeps my lashes really soft, unlike most mascaras which tend to harden the lashes.  It stays on all day long without running, and I can take it off pretty easily with my cleansing oil without having to pull on my lashes.  Me likie!

So I think that I will stick with this one for the day time for sure.  Maybe get a replacement Laura Mercier mascara for going out at night, and I'll be all set!  Pretty good stuff... makes me a pretty happy camper!

New iPod Nano!

I've been so tempted to get the new iPod Nano since I saw the redesign on the product notification emails from Apple.  So yesterday I played with it at the store and pulled the trigger!  The 8g one costs $149 and the 16g costs $179.  So for $30 more, you get twice as much space.  Kind of a no brainer.  It is soooooooo cute!!  And so little!

They've made them touch screen like the iPhone and iPod Touch, with different "apps".  Of course it doesn't have wifi or an app store so you can't go download new apps.  It comes with things like the player, playlist, artists, photos, radio, pod casts, and the fitness program that you can track your time and distance.  Operating it is very similar to my iPhone.  The only thing it took a little getting used to was swiping to the right to go backwards instead of pressing the home button like on my iPhone.  You can also use two fingers to twist and rotate the home screen to whichever direction you want.  Pretty cool stuff!

It comes with a clip on the back which is very useful for clipping to clothes while running or just walking around doing stuff.  It's so lightweight and small, you would never need a clunky arm band to hold it.  It's such an improvement from the prior versions!

The box it comes in is even super cute.  It looks like a jewelry box!  I love how well Apple packages their stuff using minimum space and cords.  You literally take it home and don't need to waste any time setting it up.

Look how small it is!

I liked pretty much all the colors it came in.  But was mainly deciding between blue and pink (I decided that was too girly).  And maybe the red one which I guess a portion of the proceed goes to fighting cancer or something.  It's a bright and very striking red.  But I ended up with blue because it's more neutral, and I always like blue.  Very excited to start using this to go out running vs. taking my big ol' iPhone with me! I just hope I don't lose it!

Lululemon Run: Inspire Jacket - On My Wishlist!

I went to the Lululemon store today to see what new goodies they had, which was not much.  I did see the Run: Fast shorts in non-black colors marked down to $34 which I would have grabbed in an instant but none in size 4 of course.  Grrrr!!!!!  I really hope that they will make more colors of these shorts, but it may not be likely since it's already on sale.  Maybe I need to make a trip to the Santa Monica store soon as they typically have more stuff in stock, so I can stock up!

But I tried on the cute Run: Inspire jacket which I loved! The store I went to only had purple and black.  So I tried on purple, but the pink one online is cute too.

I'm not usually interested in wind breaker style jackets, but I loved the fit of the Inspire jacket.  I tried on my normal size 4 just for kicks because I was bored, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't baggy and shapeless like I would have expected.  It fits really well in the upper arms / chest area.  I find most Lululemon jackets to have a bit excess material in that region so I was really happy with the fit of this one.  Though I don't think anyone with bigger than a B cup, or someone who wanted to layer something underneath it, would be able to zip it up since it was rather fitted.  Worked pretty well for me though.  The rest of the body was fitted but not tight, though the lower back poofed out a little on me but I could kind of pat it down.  The length was great.  I like the look of the front zipper off to the side.  I thought it looked really cute with it zipper up to the point where the model in the above pic has it, or zipped up even more.  The jacket had a lot of details, like the cuffins were so soft and warm, and it comes with a watch hole on the left arm.  It has reflective stripes, stowable hood, and fairly large front and back pockets with music storage.  It was just such a cute and functional jacket!  I really wanted to buy it, but I just would never need something like this in LA.  We don't really have rain or wind, there's really almost no seasonal changes here.  So unless I plan to go camping a lot in the mountains or something (and I don't), I would never be able to use a water-proof, wind-resistant jacket like this.  So, hopefully this jacket doesn't sell well here and gets marked down enough for me to not feel bad picking it up.  Hehe.  So now it is on my wish list!

Hiking to the Hollywood Sign

I've lived in LA for 5 years now, but today was my first time hiking up to the Hollywood sign!  My boyfriend's mom is in town from Denver this weekend, and I guess you always tend to do more touristy things when you have visitors no matter what city you live in. 

This hike was a lot longer than I thought it would be.  Up and down took us about 3 hours.  But it was a nice day and we were able to enjoy the view along the way.  I can't believe some douche thought it would be a good idea to build luxury houses up there and ruin the view of the Hollywood sign.  Thank God Hef (heart him) came up with the last million dollars to buy the land back to give to the city and saved the sign!  You would think the sign would be a historic landmark that can't be touched.  It's really as famous and recognizable of a landmark as any in the world! 

I was surprised that there weren't too many hikers out today.  It was a really nice day, in the mid 80s in Hollywood.  I know Runyon Canyon (another hike in the Hollywood Hills) is always packed no matter what.  You'd literally be lined up to go up these steep narrow uphill parts.  But hey I'm not complaining.  We got the whole thing to ourselves pretty much.  The hike itself though long, was not all that tough.  Maybe the past few months of my regular uphill running has trained me to be better at combating those hills.  However, my calves and feet are a little bit sore.  There were some people on horses too which would be kind of fun as well.  Though my last horse back riding experience in Costa Rica has kind of scarred me - I think I got a stupid horse because it kept walking on the very edge of the trails and walking into fences, trees and brushes.  Ugh, I got so many scratches on my legs from that ride.

They fenced off the sign so you can't actually go touch it or anything.  And I guess there's also motion sensors and helicopters patrolling the area.  If you hopped over the fence, you'd be in big trouble.  The view up there was great, but today was a little foggy or smoggy?

Hey Ho

A water dam?  Never knew this existed until today

The thing that kind of sucks about this hike though, is that you never get to see the sign straight on because the roads are so curvy.  Maybe there was another trail that had a more frontal view of it, but we couldn't find it.  Oh well!  

This was taken at probably the best view of the sign along the way.  I played with it a little to give it an old Hollywood effect.  Sort've.  

Finally I can now say that I've been up close and personal to the Hollywood sign!  Glad I did it today!

Crest Pro-Health Mouth Wash Sucks!!! Stay away from this product!!!

Ugh. So I just got back from my dentist for the 3rd or 4th time in the past 3 months, and found out that the Crest Pro-Health mouth wash I've started using recently is actually staining my teeth!

Long story short, I got a deep cleaning about 3 months ago, which was right around the time I started using Crest Pro Health. About 2 months and half a bottle of this mouth wash later, I started noticing big stains around my gum lines and in between my teeth. I have never had stains like this before so I thought maybe it was due to the deep cleaning. Maybe I drank tea or coffee right afterwards and the stains stuck or something. Or maybe it was because I was getting old! So I went back to my dentist about a month ago who scraped them off. Luckily, they came off very easily according to her. Then, two weeks after, the stains were back! Just as brown and big as the last time! So then I knew something was wrong since I use the Sonicare toothbrush, I floss religiously, and I don't drink coffee very much at all and I don't smoke. I drink tea or red wine occassionally but I have really pretty much stopped completely because I thought they were the cause of the stains.

So today I went for another cleaning, and I told my dentist about this problem. She gave me her suspicious look for a few seconds. Then she asked me if I used mouth wash. I told her yes, she then asked what brand. When I said Crest, she immediately asked if it was Crest Pro-Health.  I couldn't remember at the time, but she said by the looks and the extremely unnatural rate of the stains, it must be.  She said that Crest Pro Health contains something called cetylpyridinium chloride that is fluoride intensive which tends to cause stains. Huh? I thought fluoride was good for the teeth. But I guess EXCESS fluoride causes spots of fluorapatite in the hydroxyapatite enamle (stains)... I don't completely understand, but the point is that they caused my teeth to stain and turn yellow. Argh!!! She says that I should dilute it with water. Maybe use half mouth wash and half water. During the cleaning, she kept exclaiming that she couldn't believe how stained my teeth were from the time she cleaned them a month ago. She said it should never happen unless I was a heavy smoker or coffee drinker. And she also said that she couldn't even imagine how bad the stains would be if I didn't use Sonicare toothbrush.

After I got back from the dentist I googled Crest Pro Health. OMG there are a million sites/blogs/reviews out there talking about how this stuff stains your teeth! I can't believe it! My boyfriend says his teeth have been stained too since he started using this mouth wash, and he's been using it for even longer than I have. So forget about diluting it, I'm SOOO throwing that shit away (of course I just bought 2 gigantic bottles of it from Costco)! I just can't believe that this product is on the market! Some people have said that it takes from a month up to a few months for the stains to go away after you stop using it. So I'm really annoyed. My dentist did such a great job scraping them off today. I can't believe there's a possibility the stains will come back after a few weeks even if I stop using it. I'm just so pissed right now, because I thought I was doing a good thing for myself to use mouth wash daily. I never would have thought that a product that is supposed to help your oral health would actually stain your teeth! Apparently some people also have lost sense of taste from using it as well. I don't think it's happened to me but I've only used half a bottle. I can't imagine what would have happened if I continued to use it. Like what if my dentist didn't know about it and I kept on using it thinking it would help the stain situation!  I'm breaking out a cold sweat thinking about that possibility.

How does Crest make such a great product for staining teeth anyways?? I mean, they did an EXCELLENT job.

I guess Listerine is still safe to use. But I don't know if I'm brave enough to use mouth wash again. I think I'm scarred for life. =(

Eat Pray Love - Meh

I jumped on the bandwagon and read Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert which was recently made into a motion picture starring Julia Roberts.  I picked it up because I heard good reviews about it.  Well, by "heard", I mean I saw some friends' updates on Facebook about how thankful they are for this book.  They are the same friends that constantly post about how things have been so horrible in their lives but no matter because they have faith in God.  Blah blah.  I don't have anything against any religion or personal beliefs at all, but I find the people who post stuff like that suspicious.  Should've known not to trust them.  Let's just say I now think we should no longer be friends.  Or I should hide their feeds at the least.

I always like to read travel books, and since this book takes you to 3 countries, I thought that I'd find it interesting.  But after a few pages in, wow is this author self-absorbed!  I know it's a weird thing to say about an autobiography of sort.  The book is about her search for God or some kind of higher power, so naturally it is about her personal struggles and findings.  But even knowing that, she still comes off as a pretty vain individual, I don't even know how that's possible.  She tries to sound cute and funny but whatever story she was describing always circles back to her and she found every opportunity to show how much she'd done in her life, how many places she traveled to, how easy it is for her to make friends, and how she always manages to get a boyfriend.

***The following may be a spoiler if you plan to read the book.  But I'd suggest borrowing it from a friend if you must.

At the beginning of the book, she recounts a period of her life during which she was so depressed and was crying every night in her bathroom because of her failing marriage, amongst other things.  Oh, but she won't tell you why because it's personal.  Wtf?  You have to give your readers SOMETHING.  That was about 10 pages in.  Then she talks about how things got so bad that she moved out of her house and immediately started living with some yogi named David who she was madly in love with.  Ok, so we can pretty much assume that she cheated on her husband.  Her husband was so upset about whatever happened that we are not supposed to know, that he refused to sign the divorce papers, even when she offered him every financial asset that *she* provided during their marriage, she was quick to point that out.  She's so upset and depressed, and this dragged on for years, as well as for page after page after page!

Finally, things were not going well with David, but he did introduce her to his guru in India which gave her the idea to go there and live in an ashram.  But she didn't leave until her publisher offered her a huge advance for writing this book.  Even then, before she goes to India, she had to make a pit stop in Italy for a few months to indulge herself.  Ok, Italy has many religious ties.  However, she doesn't visit one single church or museum or anything to experience the culture.  All she did was eat pasta and gelato and gained 23 pounds.  But she also quickly pointed out that most of that weight were supposed to be gained because she was underweight from her years of depression.  Spirituality through gelato, I guess?!  She was also learning Italian, and had hot Italian twin brothers as language exchange partners.  She really wanted to kiss one of them, but she had always had one boyfriend after another her whole life since high school and decided to impose celibacy on herself.  But she was also constantly think about about David, and her ex-husband.  I was so bored at this point and was pretty much skimping through the pages.

Finally she got to India, but she didn't talk about India at all!  It was all "me, me, me".  She made some friends there, but all her conversations with them involved: how do I quiet my mind so I can meditate, what went wrong with the ex-hubby, is David my soulmate, etc. etc.  Seriously is this what one thinks about while searching for God?  No wonder she didn't make much progress the entire time she was there.  The passage in India felt like reading something written by a teenage girl.

At last, she arrived at Bali.  Must admit this was my favorite part of the book.  Because she actually did write some things about Balinese culture and people.  Though I felt her vision of the "Balinese culture" was very skewed and probably not the true representation.  Here again, she was supposed to be learning spirituality from a medicine man.  He was an old man who spent all his days curing all these poor villagers of different ailments, sometimes didn't even have time to eat, but at the end of his days she made him teach her how to find God, meditate, and be happy.  No consideration for the poor old man.  That really annoyed me.

Then she made a good Balinese friend who was so poor that she was about to become homeless with her 4 children.  So the author did a very nice thing and asked her friends and family to donate money to the Balinese woman to buy her a house.  After getting the money, all of a sudden this Balinese woman was portrayed as a con artist because she wasn't planning to buy a house before the author left Bali - the time frame was only a month or so and even she admitted that real estate is very tricky in Bali.  So the author and her Brazilian lover (she is now no longer celibate - in fact she was having so much sex that she got a urinary track infection... LOL!  By the way she is 35, not 15) decided to trick the Balinese woman by making up some story about taking the money back, so that she would hurry up and buy a house.  LOL!  This was comical.  I didn't understand why the woman had to buy a house before the author left Bali.  It wasn't a pre-existing condition for giving her the money, so why not let her take her time. 

Ugh, anyway, at the end of the book, I thought that she really didn't advance much as far as finding God.  In fact, it just proved her own point that she ended up with a man.  I can see the whole cycle repeating itself when her relationship with the Brazilian goes downhill.  The whole time I read this book I was hoping she would have more insightful things to say.  I guess maybe I'm just jealous because I wish I could get $200k advance and go travel for a year, but I really think that I would actually take the time out to learn more about the places I go to and people I meet. 

I wouldn't say this is the worst book ever, but it was rather disappointing.  When I was reading it on the train ride to and from work, I was kind of embarrassed and consciously hid the book cover, lol.  I respect the author's personal problems she faced, but she sounded like someone I would want to stay far away from in real life before she drowns all her problems on me.  I picture her as someone who pretends to listen to you when you have a "conversation" with her, but always reverts back to talking about herself.  It's too bad because the premise behind this book is great, I just wish it wasn't so painful to read!  I'm annoyed that I helped fund this venture.

Blast from the Past & A Wish for Lululemon

After being underwhelmed with my latest Run: Inspire pullover from Lululemon, and at the request of a very cool fellow blogger, I've decided to post about possibly the prettiest running top I've ever seen - the Run: Spirit Pullover that came out in winter last year. 

It's a mid-layer running pullover made from tech fleece.  It's very soft and warm on (a little too warm for the climate here!), but it's got these pretty reflective whimsical details all over the back and the sleeves that give the top a very feminine look.  It's the quintessential combination of style and function.

I also think the strategically placed black panels on the back flatters the rear!  When the front zipper is completely zipped up, it covers most of my neck.  I can see how this would be a very nice feature to have in colder weather, but I've never zipped it up when I've taken it out running before.  It feels a little tight to me when I zip it up and kind of pulls on my neck a little.  So I think that if you have it zipped up, you probably also should put the hood on to give the neck a little more breathing room.  

The hood on this pullover is a pretty snug fit.  Though I've never worn the hood while running, I believe that the snugness would definitely prevent it from falling off mid-run.  There is a pony tail hole on the hood - very good idea for someone like me with long hair!  I remember this was a huge selling feature when I bought it at the store, but I think I look like I'm going scuba diving when I have the hood on.

The only minor complaint I have about this top is the seam that separates the shoulder piece and the sleeves.  It kind of feels and looks like it's sliding off the shoulders, and I think I have broad shoulders.  But the cut makes them look even broader.  I would be happier if the shoulder and sleeves were one connecting piece of fabric, at least on top.  But the rest of the pretty details trumps this issue by far!

Too bad the only times I can wear this here in LA is during the coldest of the winter nights, when it's like 45 degrees out (gasp!).  But last winter I wore it all the time to and from the gym, or even running errands.  I remember getting tons of compliments everywhere I went and people wanted to know where it was from.   But I only wore it out running maybe 2 or 3 times and got too hot.  =(

BUT, I am still very glad I bought it.  I was pretty hesitant at first because it was like $120 or something, which is quite pricey.  It didn't stop me from wanting to get the power purple one as well though.  But I couldn't find it in my size anywhere which in hind sight is probably for the best since I can't get that much use out of it.

I'm wearing the matching Run: Passion crop here which just happen to be one of my favorite crops from Lululemon as well.  I think they are meant to match the Spirit pullover, but not sure.  

Now my wish for an ultimate running top would be something like the Run: Brisk with the pretty features of the Spirit.  

I'm trying to show the bright yellow (faded zap?) ring around the thumb hole, but it didn't turn out so well on the pic

The Brisk is a tighter fit than the Spirit.  It is made of running luon, with some mesh panels on the sides for breath-ability.  It doesn't have the crazy seams and lines like the current Inspire pullover.  It's simple and functional.  I love the collar, and the pretty ruching detail on the back which is the only decorative detail of the top.  It's overall a very clean look.  I would be so happy if Lululemon could just stick some of those pretty reflective stickers from the Spirit pullover to the Brisk, and add a zipper pocket on the back, and maybe the black panels on the back bottom (don't care so much for a hood), then I would buy every single one!

Cesare Paciotti Crystal Embellished Pump

I am in shoe heaven right now because my Cesare Paciotti shoes from Gilt just got here!  I think Cesare Paciotti makes such cute shoes.  Not all are wearable for me of course, some are just too "Euro trash" looking hehe.  But hey I can appreciate it anyway.  At least they are bold and different!  But at $700+ a pair, can't really buy every pair I want, unfortunately!  Thankfully Gilt had them for about $250 a pair so that was much more acceptable.  Most of the Cesare Paciotti shoes sold out within a minute!  Not even exaggerating.  I was so surprised I was able to get a pair!  I got these Crystal Embellished Pump, for $259, down from $880.  I also had a $100 credit from Gilt, so it was quite the deal.

I just love these... they are gorgeous!  First of, I'm in love with red bottom sole on any shoe.  But I really love the decorative crystal details on these.  They look so nice in person too.  Very striking, yet not too "out there" because of the combination of black as well as white crystals.  The way they catch the light gives the shoes a very elegant look.

The rest of the shoes are black suede, which reminds me that I need to go get some spray or something before I can wear these out and about.  Suede is so high maintenance!

According to Gilt, these run about a size small so I got a size up.  While I agree they do run small, I think half a size up would have been perfect.  These are just a little bit loose on me.  But I guess it's nothing a good Dr. Scholl's won't fix.  They are 4.5 inch heels, with a hidden platform, so maybe Dr. Scholl's is a good idea regardless!

Some other shoes from Cesare Paciotti... very different!

I definitely wouldn't mind having some of these spunky shoes for fun.  Though I really don't *need* more shoes since I have a full closet dedicated to them with over 100 pairs... I guess the correct word for it is an "addict".

REPORT Signature "Charles" Sandal

My latest Ruelala purchase arrived today - the REPORT Signature Charles Sandal.  I was so excited when I saw these shoes on Ruelala last week, because I'd been looking for a pair of neutral colored sandals in this intertwined style or whatever you call it for a while now, but just never saw anything I liked enough.  I almost bought a pair of Charles David sandals in a somewhat similar style a couple weeks ago but at the last minute decided I didn't like them enough to pay $250 or whatever it was.  Now I'm glad I didn't buy them because I got these REPORT Signature ones for only $49, down from $220.  Hehe.  I think these are super cute, especially for the price! 

I like the two toned look, and I like how the heels are a little chunkier vs. a thin stiletto style - They are pretty high, I don't want to twist my ankle as I walk.  They are made of all leather straps and sole, but the champagne colored criss cross ruched straps are fabric, with subtle gold glitter accent on it.  I was actually afraid that the glitter would make these shoes look too "clubby", but they are a very subtle shimmer in person.

I think the picture makes them look way shinier, probably due to whatever lighting they used.  

The gold-tone hardware looks pretty nice with the whole ensemble.  It's funny, I'm not normally a gold person, but I think the gold hardware works really well with the shoes.  Makes them look more expensive.  I guess for $220 original price, they really shouldn't look "cheap".

This back zipper is kind of problematic for me though.  Just from walking around at home, the top of the heel where the zipper ends kind of rubs against my feet.  I can already feel a cut or blister coming.  Ugh.  I guess I have to break them in though.  I thought they would be comfortable too, because the soles are padded, and I got half a size up to be a little more roomy.  I'm very comfortable in heels and wear them everyday so the height is not a problem here, I think they are 4.5 inch.  I just hope that the back heel will soften a little bit after I wear them a few times.  Or I guess I will have to try not walking so much when I wear them.  Lol.  They sure will look cute with a bunch of outfits - dresses, pants, shorts, during the day, at night, to work, to a party, etc.  Still very excited to give them a try!

On a side note, these shoes also come in all black.  And the other day I saw that Express had started selling shoes online only.  I clicked on the link, and low and behold, I see the exact same design!

REPORT Signature

Express"Shimmer Wrap Heeled Sandals"

I know a lot of shoe companies take each other's designs, but the Express price point isn't even that cheap - they are selling for $98.  Maybe it's the photo, but the fabric used in the Express shoes doesn't look as nice.