Travel to Austin

Austin, TX

Recently I got to experience Austin for the first time and it coincided with the week they had their coldest weather of the year.  It was below 30 degrees and definitely the dead of winter.  Being the total tourists, my partner Daniel and I still walked all over the city center, biked through a few of the trails and spent our time outdoors as if it were 72 degrees and sunshine.  The clouds never broke through which made it feel like the same time everyday. There were no leaves on trees, it rained a couple of the days and sprinkled for the rest.  By the end of our trip I must be honest and say that yes, we would live there. The people were wonderful, the food extraordinary and navigating our way around was efficient.  The windchill cannot damper the personality and charm this great town has to offer. 

Here are my top 10 highlights. 

The JW Marriott

The JW Marriott was just two weeks new upon our arrival.  Excellent service, essentially 2-4 blocks from most anywhere in downtown and the current hotspot bars and restaurants are housed in their lobby.  They have a fitness center and gorgeous 5th floor pool overlooking half of the downtown and the Colorado River.  

http://www.jwmarriottaustin.com

Lamberts Restaurant

Lamberts is part upscale restaurant, and part live music venue. The food is unbelievable, we had the fried green tomato appetizer with crab louie served on top which was a highlight.  My personal favorite was what is considered a Texas staple, Frito Pie.  It is traditionally chili and cheese served over a bed of Frito's, but here they switch out the chili for pulled pork.  It isn't on the restaurant menu but they will still prepare it for you.  This was my favorite BBQ dish of the entire trip.  Their sauce was tangy and perfectly sweet to complement any meat.  They also give you options of three different house BBQ's varying from mild to spicy.  Reservations recommended.  

http://www.lambertsaustin.com

Sixth Street

Sixth Street is the lifeline of the city and what gives this place  the title "Live Music Capital of the World". There is something for everyone in terms of music selection and whether you're looking for a dive bar to listen to some old fashioned rock n' roll, or more of a jazzy ambience.  This area is easy to explore considering everything is walking distance.  You can check out a few clubs before you decide on one to hunker down into.  This street is the home to SXSW and no trip would be complete without a visit.  

http://6street.com

Congress Bridge

The Congress "Bat" Bridge is gorgeous to walk across any time of day.  When you stand at the south side looking north, you can clearly see the historical Capitol Building.  It makes for a great photo of the skyline.  In warmer months, it is home to 1.5 million bats that come out at dusk everyday and fly out into the city.  The bats were vacationing in Mexico on our trip there so we missed one of the key rituals, which is standing on the bridge while the bats ascend out into the downtown.  

Bat Bridge website

SoCo

SoCo is the most charming neighborhood and is short for South of Congress. It is a melting pot of antique shops, food trucks, clothing boutiques, restaurants and bars.  I highly recommend perusing it for a few hours and then stopping at Guero's for a tex-mex snack of nachos or queso flambeado to gain back some strength.  'Hey Cupcake' is one of the more popular dessert food trucks, and though I am not a fan of cupcakes, I did buy a couple to take back to the hotel, because they are moist and the frosting isn't too sugary.  The only depressing thing about walking around this area is seeing late 80's, early 90's items in some of the antique stores... when did my high school digital alarm clock become a novelty?

http://www.austintexas.org/listings/south-congress-ave-soco-/4359/

San Jose Hotel

San Jose Hotel is right at the start of the SoCo district and is where you can find us on our next venture out to Austin.  They are charming mid-century bungalows that are reminiscent of a movie set.  We got to walk around the property and it is very representative of the atmosphere and flavor of Austin. 

 http://www.sanjosehotel.com/hotel/

The Contemporary Museum

The Contemporary Museum has two locations and this review is for the downtown spot.  It's manageable size only requires that you carve out an hour or so to see any exhibit they are offering.  It won't dominate your day, but it will enhance your Austin experience.  On our visit it was the 'Boombox Perspective' and the selection with its musical aspect made perfect sense.  

http://www.thecontemporaryaustin.org

Austin B-Cycle

Austin B-Cycle is this city's answer to Citibikes and are readily available throughout the downtown and hotspots.  They are equipped with a basket so you can bring back any medium sized shopping items.  It's a bargain at only 8 dollars for the day and there are numerous pick up and drop off locations everywhere.  There are also many park trails and river trails so you can take in the outdoors, which even in the cold of winter was beautiful. 

https://austin.bcycle.com 

Jo's Coffee

Jo's Coffeeshop has the best coffee we had in the city.  It had enough kick to get your day going and they serve another Texas staple- the breakfast taco.  California has the breakfast burrito, now I have had the breakfast taco and Im obsessed with both.  Jo's had a few selections to pick from and they wrap it in foil for those on the go.  They are the perfect light breakfast starter.  

http://joscoffee.com

OCH

Oil Can Harry's is a must if you are into dancing and a drag show.  The music selection is a nice mix of pop hits and not overdone with all the electronic music that isn't really danceable.  They have their schedule of performances on their website and most of the nights have themes.  It is great people watching and any fan of "RuPaul's Drag Race" can regularly see one of the current or previous castmates here.  

http://www.oilcanharrys.com

Year of the Blonde

Year of the Blonde

Hairdressers have a new tool in our arsenal and it is called Olaplex.  It has helped us go blonder than ever before while minimizing the damage that can happen as a result.  It is a two part process and requires only 5-10 minutes extra time in the salon.  The results yielded have been impressive for me.  My goal is to always create beautiful hair while maintaing the utmost health to the hair fiber.  This will definitely be the Year of the Blonde!

Travel to Cambria, CA 2014

Weekend Getaway to Cambria, CA

Cambria is a tucked away, cute, little seaside town along the Pacific Coast Highway.  From Los Angeles it is about 3 hours north, 4 if you take the coast.  I have visited before more as a stopover to other coastal destinations, but never really gave it a fair visit all to its own.  My partner and I had the opportunity to join my Mom out in Cambria to celebrate a Mother's Day weekend retreat and being the busybodies we are, we really got to cover a lot of territory.  So here's my 'Must List' for Cambria!

Sow's Ear

Our weekend started with this quaint restaurant on Main Street.  It has the most adorable tiny pig decorations, hence the name, and it felt like walking into your grandma's cabin home that she has been cooking in all day.  It is cozy and inviting, and your dinner starts off with the most amazing moist bread served to you in a terra-cotta pot.  I am all about comfort foods so I ordered Chicken dumplings after we shared the appetizer plate of Mac 'n Cheese.  They had to wheel me out of there by the end of our dinner.  Note to city folk: we had the latest reservation of the night at 8pm.  This town quiets down pretty early but that makes it all the more relaxing.  

http://thesowsear.com

Moonstone Beach

  

Named after the stones that used to wash up on shore, I'm not sure if they still do to this day but nonetheless, this beach is gorgeous.  It has a boardwalk thats more New England style than the ones we are used to down in southern california, and that only adds to the charm. It is literally wooden boards that you walk on and it is flanked in that beachy ground cover with those pretty little miniature pink flowers.   I love how the wind hardly ever stops coming in from off the shore, creating beautiful choppy waves and windswept looking trees all along the way.  

San Simeon Hearst Castle

 

Hearst Castle is a big draw in the Cambria area, and rightfully so.  It is our smaller scale west coast version of Versailles and offers a not so distant peek into history and Hollywood's Golden era.  William Randolph Hearst's opulence and love of art are clearly on display. There are a number of different selections of tours depending on what you are interested in seeing.  We booked the evening tour which recreates a 1933 party that Hearst commonly threw and invited many of that days biggest stars.  There are even people there in full character recreating a walls eye view for us as spectators.  The tour was unique and introspective to a side of Hearst I hadn't heard as much about.  That particular tour is only offered in Spring and Fall as it was already getting pretty warm in some of those villas due to the fact that air conditioning hadn't been invented at that time yet.  There is also a new tour called the "Hollywood VIP tour" that for the price of $100 per person gets you your own personal guide, and the opportunity to visit practically every room in the house.  Definitely something I would be interested in next time I go. 

http://hearstcastle.org

Shops on Main Street

Tourism is the business in Cambria and for that reason Main Street has everything from coffee shops, to  old school diners and art galleries.  You can spend a major portion of your day (and wallet) just cruising along.  There's something for the entire family, kids stores, culinary centric, and gardening nurseries.  The brick work, wooden cottages and two lane street make it easy to imagine what the town was like during its original inception.  

The Olallieberry 

The olallieberry is the grandchild of the raspberry, the dewberry and the blackberry and tastes similar to a boysenberry.  It grows predominantly in California and especially near Cambria.  They are served in many of the dishes from pies, to vinegars and chocolates.  We came home with a medium sized container of jam and actually just finished the last of it today.  It was perfect served on multigrain toast!  

Garden Inspiration

Fairy gardens have become more and more popular and Cambria is one of those towns that you would expect to find them throughout all the cottage homes and of course those garden shops I mentioned before.  The pictures seen here are from one of those boutiques called Spellbound's backyard.  A good quarter of their yard was decked out in a fairy village featuring walkways, bridges and even Hogwart's Castle.  Super cute!  Some of the other nurseries sell rare succulent varieties and unique Artist renditions of pottery that you can bring back with you to remember your trip.  

San Simeon Pines

I didn't get to stay here but definitely checked it out and will be doing so next time I am here.  The cabins have their own fireplaces, and are right across the water.   They have croquet in the front lawn area as well as a mini golf and larger golf course access.  It's the perfect spot for simple access to the beach and boardwalk, and looks like a smaller version of the place featured in 'Dirty Dancing'.  Nobody puts baby in the corner here!

http://www.sspines.com

White Water Inn 

Located right next door to San Simeon Pines on Moonstone Beach Dr. is the White Water Inn.  It has a view of the water as well in most of the rooms and the upgraded rooms feature their own jacuzzis right on the patio.  Perfect for going out to watch the stars at night, that you don't get to see as much if you live in well lit areas.  The sounds of the ocean and the cool breeze make it easy to stay in and really relax for while longer than you normally might.  

http://www.whitewaterinn.com/index.html

Robin's restaurant 

Located right off Main St. on Burton Dr. this indoor outdoor restaurant has a great varied diverse selection.  Dishes are prepared and displayed beautifully and the flavors match the presentation.  It's hard to pick just one or two things so I recommend sharing and doing tapas style so that you can try a few different plates.  A definite must try if you're only there for lunch or dinner.  

http://www.robinsrestaurant.com/home

Day trip to Paso Robles 

My partner and my mom are wine connoisseurs and I am the DD and photographer.  Paso has some offerings for the non drinker.  There are some wineries that do honey tastings, oil tastings and that serve food and live music.  The drive over from Cambria is worth it all on its own, the rolling hills, groves of trees and the farm homes are pure bliss to take in.  And for any budding photographers, it is a great place to go be distracted.  

Thanks for reading and until next week, happy travels!

The Villa Photoshoot

The Villa in San Juan Capistrano Photoshoot

The Villa is a charming historical building in the heart of downtown San Juan Capistrano.  If you like Ramos House Cafe then you will love the aesthetic that the Villa provides. Here is a glimpse of it from a photoshoot in the venue.  

Hair // Mucio Vidales @ Brush Salon 949-496-8800

Makeup // Parie Rezaie @ freelance artist

Photography // Russell Fowler 

Wedding Dresses // Amy Michelson @  www.amymichelson.com

Venue // The Villa @ thevillasjc.com

The Met Ball Red Carpet

The Met Gala 2014

I miss the days when it was called the Costume Institute Gala, since it serves as a fundraiser for the Met and specifically the Costume Institute.  For whatever reasons, the name of the event was changed and it could just be my imagination but the outfits have gotten more true red carpet and less costume-y.  I personally favor the avant-garde looks fro its history and the fact that there is a correlating theme just adds to the creativity options.  I've always looked forward to seeing the looks in Vogue magazine following the event, and since launching my weekly blog post, I have been looking forward to reviewing the looks!  And here they are, in a best and worst how to showdown. 

How to, and how not to wear a ball gown. My best dressed of the night goes to Karolina Kurkova.  She looks like a walking art piece, her dress is so decadent and perfect I can't take my eyes off of it.  This is exactly what I would expect to see worn to an event that celebrates fashion and the Arts.  Sandra Lee's souffle of an outfit deflates and becomes too costume-y. The color is off, the fabric is wrinkled and it sadly looks like a second hand prom dress from 1989.  

How to rock a train. Sarah Jessica Parker channels 'Carrie Bradshaw' in this fun number.  I'm a sucker for a cinched waist and a tousled updo.  This is how you wear a lavish fabric.  Katie Holmes drowns in her yellow frock making her look frumpy.  The combination of poufy neckline with a gathered bodice to fullness again makes it look amateur.  

How to and how not to do a silhouette. Beyoncé kills it in this slinky dramatic dress.  I love the peekaboo openings, the see through pops to keep you looking and the hair and makeup make it one of the best looks of the night.  Kate Upton... why?  Celebrated for her curves, she does nothing here to showcase them with the way this dress explodes at the bottom.  It ages her and that head piece is just awful.  

How to choose a neckline.  I love both of these dresses and the opulence is so fitting for this type of event.  The color of Liu Wen's dress is just a bit more standout and the neckline is so much more interesting and just catapults the gown into stellar territory.  I have to give credit to Sarah Silverman for giving us a completely different look and this is so close to being great, but the neckline doesn't fit the splendor of the design.  

How to fashionista.  Part of being one to watch on the red carpet is a blend of attitude, taking risks and pushing the envelope. Anna Wintour's reputation precedes her and she surprises us with something much more colorful and cheery.  It almost has a graffiti feel to it and is considerably edgy compared to what you'd expect from a classic lady.  Lupita N'yongo misses the mark in this flapper disaster.  There's a lot going on here with the feather, beads, headband but I admire the attempt made.  

How to be bright.  I am such a sucker for bold colors and both of these ladies give some excitment on the red carpet.  Emma Stone wins me over in this pink on pink with a peep toe.  And Olivia Munn's yellow Hayworth-esque gown is sultry.  My only distraction in both cases is the hair.  Both styles feel like a mismatch to the dresses and leave me wanting more.  Go big or go home when it comes to being bold!

 

How to go metallic.  Rosie Huntington-Whitely looks ready for battle in her armored dress, very gladiator and with the shoes even more so.  She annihilates Kristen Stewart's mess of a dress.  It looks as though the designer had a few too many ideas and ran out of time in the sewing room.  

How to Lavender.  Nicole Richie keeps it simple and cool with her sleek gown.  So much movement and interest, and it keeps the focus on her pale violet hair.  Rashida Jones does herself no favors and needs to fire her stylist.  This dress is so wrong in proportion and confusing... why the cornflower blue extra ruffle, why the hemline?  No, no, no!

How to be Architectural.  When geometry, design and construction are executed perfectly it is breathtaking, as seen here on Greta Gerwig.  It is strong while maintaining softness and its timelessness has a place in every decade past and yet to come.  I cannot say the same for Kristen Wiig.  The halter is great but the black hole inspired Saturn ring thing is misshapen and doesn't make sense. 

How to Scale.  Both of these ladies hit the mark working interesting designs on the red carpet.  Marion Cotillard finishes off her classic look with a beautifully styled hair hat and those bright lips are superb!  Naomi Watts dons the mermaid ombre look, but if I could just see something a little softer with the hair instead of the combover and a brighter eye color or lipstick.  

How to Barbie.  Reese Witherspoon goes full Marilyn meets Grace Kelly and it is gorgeous!  Perfect hair that is coifed to look almost plastic and the makeup with a slight dewy quality finished the 'doll' look.  Emmy Rossum goes Tropical Barbie and while it isn't totes terrible, it isn't memorable either. 

How to be famous for marketing sex.  Dita Von Teese gives burlesque realness and stays true to her persona with the flawless hair and makeup.  The cream gown with red accents keep your eye dazzled and appear as if she's shimmying even in a still portrait.  Kim Kardashian goes for a silk sheet with a belt instead of the bedspread she wore to last year's event. (see here)  What can we expect from her next year? A dust ruffle perhaps?

How to Black & White.  Charlize Theron rarely disappoints on the red carpet and seen here in exquisite lines, she retains her Hollywood royalty title.  The jacket at first seemed to belong to Sean Penn and I would have left it behind personally but all in all she looks great.  Cara Delevingne goes B&W as well but wearing a seatbelt strap as a top and high-waters, its a total miss.  If you're going to go pants, go jumpsuit chic and keep it classy, but I just think this is way casual for this event.  

Thanks for reading this week's post!  Stay tuned in the next couple weeks when we review the Cannes Film Festival red carpet!  If you are interested in staying updated when I launch a blog post, please join my mailing list by scrolling to the top right area and enter your email address  in the box below the archives to be prompted and not miss any articles!  

Take Care,