Woot! More LA love! What can I say except… lookit my tan! MUAHAHAHA! This is a result of hours and hours of baking under the desert sun in Palm Springs. I’m hoping it will take quite some time to fade away. I know I know… I’m getting older and I shouldn’t bake myself like I did in my younger days and I should slather on about 50 layers of sunblock but I just can’t help it. I love that bronze glow that my half Filipino side so graciously allows me to have when I tan. One of the many fun things about being a mutt. In the winter, I can rock that pale Chinese thing and in the summer, I can rock that brown Filipino thing. SCORE! High five to never getting sunburn. Wheeeeee! So I didn’t quite know how to title this post and since I didn’t want to think too hard, I am calling it “Straight Up” due to the fact that I haven’t done my hair this straight in a while and actually take photos of it. Can you see all my split ends? Sexxxxayyyy. I am long due for a trim and also freshen up my color. A lot of people have been asking me on hair tips and how I curl my hair. I would say the first step is to get a great hair cut. One with lots of shattered layers so that when you curl it, it will cascade really pretty. Also make sure you frame your face to how you part your hair. Then pretty much all I do is use my 2 inch hot tools iron and curl in sections away from my face. Easy peasy. It also helps if your hair is damaged like mine. LOL. I find that damaged hair holds curls a lot better. I am unfortunate and I do not have that silky asian hair where it looks like I just got out of a Pantene commercial. My hair takes work and most days it’s just gross. My hair is coarse and has some weirdo waves to it so I usually have to flat iron it straight like this or curl it for it to look presentable when it’s down. But I’m so glad I tricked all of you to think I have such amazing hair. Hahaha. I am no beauty expert so I never really give out tips since I stalk other blogs for this stuff myself. It takes a lot for me to really recommend anything. With that said… here is my one BIG recommendation if you are in the market for a flat iron. Babyliss Pro Nano Titanium Ultra Thin 1″ Iron. This is hands down the BEST flat iron I’ve ever used. It smoothes out my ish so fast and it always comes out feeling silky. Definitely give it a try!
These are photos of me inside LA Chapter which is the restaurant inside the ACE hotel in Downtown LA. Good LAWD they have good drinks and food. We were told that we needed to eat at LA Chapter by the hotel staff because Chef Ken Addington (creator of Brooklyn’s Five Leaves) was in the kitchen that particular day so I was sure to have one amazing meal. And yes, I sure did. LA Chapter is everything I love in a restaurant. Beautiful interior and exterior and every inch of space makes you feel at home and comfortable. The food is mind-blowing in that you can taste how fresh everything is. There is nothing pretentious about the menu and the price point is affordable. No one is trying to re-invent anything here to the point of nonrecognition or to prove that they can think so far outside the box. Just plain, simple, and well thought out dishes using fresh local ingredients while playfully twisting different flavors into dishes you can relate to. I was fortunate enough to try a new item on their menu that the Chef had placed there early that morning. It was an open faced salmon sandwich and it blew me away. I once had a salmon tartine in Paris that was probably one of the best things I have ever had and this dish definitely took me back to that moment. Although the flavors and preparation was different, I can clearly say it is right up there with my Parisian salmon tartine experience. But they don’t stop at the food. The drinks have just as much thought and care put into them. I am boozin’ on the North Haverbrook here and I could have had me a whole pitcher of it. Also the bar and decor of the entire space is awesome! The tiles, the tables, the chairs, the everythings… me looooooove. Actually this whole damn hotel is pretty effing amazing. Having stayed at the ACE hotel in Palm Springs, there were clear similarities between the two and also glaring differences. Both locations had a very hip, eclectic, and vintage feel, but unlike the desert style and the motif of a really cool run down motel at the Palm Springs location, the LA hotel exudes a funky sophistication with it’s striking tiling, custom furnishings, brass gold hardware, stone facade, preserved parapets, and just its overall cool vibe. It was a perfect marriage of old preserved stonework and modern quirkiness. And omg the staff. Both locations exceeded my expectations in service. Everyone was so welcoming and genuinely would strike up conversations with us at random encounters. And of course Wrigley was greeted so warmly everywhere. I absolutely cannot WAIT to go back!
// trench – ASTR // top – urban outfitters // shorts – lovers + friends // shoes – saint laurent // bag – givenchy antigona small // sunnies – house of harlow // necklaces – gorjana, thanks to monica rich kosann, cartier // bracelet – hermes // belt – asos //
// replicate the look //
