Instagram: Beachy Keen

As you can see, we spent a lot of time at the beach this week! We tried to see Space Shuttle Endeavour fly over at Griffith Park Observatory, but there was an insane line of cars waiting to get off at the exit, so we ended up at Venice Beach instead. It was probably a lot nicer there anyway, plus it flew over us twice! You can follow me on Instagram @chrissiburn.

Rocky shore at Leo Carrillo State Beach / Our silhouettes in the sand
Waiting for Endeavour to fly over / There it is!
The crowd wasn't too big / Off-duty lifeguard stand at Santa Monica Beach
Fun new finds for my Etsy shop / Sunset at Leo Carrillo

Camping at Leo Carrillo

We went on our first California camping trip this week to Leo Carrillo, and it was beautiful!

There were some pretty big waves, and lots of surfers. I really want to learn to surf...it looks like so much fun!



Ok, so there's this weird mural in the PCH underpass you walk through to get to the beach from the campground. There are paintings of all sorts of recognizable animals: dolphins, whales, seagulls, parrots, etc. And then there's this. Apparently there are Ewoks along these shores!





We took a nice hike up a fire road where we saw lots of prickly pear cacti. The fruit was everywhere and Matt decided to pick one up only to be rewarded with fingers full of almost invisible tiny spines.



Lots of interesting wildlife to be seen: tons of hermit crabs in the tidal pools at low tide, a sea anemone, and a lizard. The campground also had so many birds. We watched a bunch of crows chase a hawk from tree to tree, and a flock of parrots was also milling around squawking.



We're in California, so of course we're eating avocados!



I wanted this to look more impressive, but the wave was actually kind of puny...



Sunset in a little cove. The lighting was beautiful and there were some people down there doing a photo shoot.





The next morning we checked out El Matador State Beach on our way home. It was high tide, so a bit more of an adventure to find dry ground! I'd like to go back at low tide and explore around the rocks. Overall, an excellent camping adventure!

I'm linking up with #YOLO Mondays and Rolled Up Pretty.

How I'd Wear It: Ruffle Dress

Whatcha Wearing?

Dress available here in my Etsy shop

Jewelry from the Hell's Kitchen Flea Market

Belt from Casablanca Vintage

Shoes from Target

I know this is a really summery look, but it's just so hot here in LA still! It's really hard to get into any kind of fall fashion groove with weather like this. Plus, I know at least a few of you are probably reading this from the southern hemisphere where you're gearing up for spring/summer right now. These rainbow wedges and white accessories are perfectly seasonal for you! I will now go back to dreaming of someday being able to wear tights and boots again...

I'm linking up with Rolled Up Pretty and Real Girl Glam.

At the Gates

Whatcha Wearing?

Vintage dress from Beacon's Closet 

Free People vest from Crossroads Trading Co

Shoes from Buffalo Exchange

Purse from H&M

Our friend submitted his documentary to Sundance yesterday. It's been a long time coming, so we went out to celebrate this milestone with sausages (veggie, for me) and German beer. Prost! Yes, I'm wearing this vest again. Don't worry, soon it will either be cool enough for cardigans, or I will accumulate a few more vests into the mix :)

I'm linking up with Real Girl Glam, The Pleated Poppy, Thrifters Anonymous, and Transatlantic Blonde.

New in the Etsy Shop

Red velvet holiday dress

Polka dot sweater dress

Emerald hibiscus dress

Black wool gauchos

Red ruffle dress

Light blue bow dress

How amazing is the emerald green color on that 60s floral shift dress? The slightly metallic gold in the print just makes it that much better too. Although I love the colors in that dress, I have to say my favorite of this bunch is the red velvet number at the top. Wouldn't it make the perfect holiday party dress? It's a bit too short-waisted on me, or I might be keeping it for myself for just that purpose! Stop on by my Etsy shop for more info on anything shown here!

I'm linking up with Magpie Monday.

Instagram: Earth, Wind, & Fire

It's been a pretty relaxing week where everything seems to be going right. Now watch, something will go horribly wrong while I'm out at estate sales today since I said that! You can follow me on Instagram @chrissiburn.

Cat getting all up in the camera's business / Kirk Douglas Theatre during a night run
Yummy salad for lunch / Matt "eating" some candy corn at Target
Pretty bow dress / Lot's of new dresses for my Etsy shop
Fire in the hills as seen from Santa Monica Beach / Sailing in the Pacific

Watercolors

Whatcha Wearing?

Vintage dress from Beacon's Closet

Vintage vest from Goodwill

Hurrache-ish shoes from Goodwill

Sunglasses from Brick Lane Market

So, I wore this dress all day while photographing new items for my Etsy shop, but when we decided to hit up happy hour, I realized the outfit needed to pack a bit more of a punch. Enter the vest. I've owned this vest for a loooong time, but rarely wear it. I'm trying to remedy that. Perhaps some of you might remember it from this outfit post last September (almost exactly a year ago!). I think it might be the eternally warm-ish weather, but California is really making me appreciate vests more. I used to go to cardigans and blazers for all my layering needs, but when it's hot out, only something sleeveless will do. I'll have to keep them on my radar as I'm thrifting new items for my shop next week.

I'm linking up with The Pleated Poppy, Two Thirty-Five Designs, Thrifters Anonymous, and #YOLO Mondays.

How I'd Wear It: Batwing Dress

Whatcha Wearing?

Maxi dress available here in my Etsy shop

Rainbow wedges from Target

Ring from Claire's

Remember Claire's Accessories at the mall? I hadn't thought about that place in a long time, but I'm positive that's where I bought this superhero-ish glitter lightning bolt ring long, long ago. It's still an awesome and totally appropriate accessory in my book!

What do you think about the pattern mixing happening here? I have to say I hesitated a bit before pairing plaid with rainbow stripes, but I think it works. Also, this is pretty much the most comfortable dress ever, and it would even be full maxi length on someone not quite so jolly green giant as me. At 5'10" it can be difficult finding maxi dresses that actually reach my ankles, let alone the ground! That's why I was so excited to find the dress I wore back in this post. It's so long that my feet disappear!

I'm linking up with Real Girl Glam and Transatlantic Blonde.

Views from the High Line

Alright, here's one last post from our travels in NYC. Last Tuesday we hit the High Line in Manhattan since Matt had never been there before. For the uninitiated, the High Line is an elevated train track that was converted into a park, in the same vein as the Promenade plantée in Paris. I know there are a few other cities that have similar elevated parks, and apparently there are some in the works in many other cities as well. Urban planning trend alert!

Matt captured some really great moments in the photos he took here. Not just the great cityscape views, but those little New York moments like a cat in the window and a businessman carrying home his new wine refrigerator. Take my word for it, it's an Emerson 12 bottle wine cooler (I made a point of zooming in to read it). For me at least, that photo captures so much about living in NYC. If you buy something, you better be prepared to haul it home!

Oh, if you want to see more of the dress I'm wearing here, take a look at this post from September 2011. This is a major staple in my wardrobe. It's the perfect, comfortable thing to throw on when nothing else seems right!

I'm linking up with Whatever Whenever Wednesday.

New in the Shop

80s Geometric Print Blouse

90s Daisy Print Dress

70s Pastel Pink Sheer Dress

80s Purple Shirtwaist Dress

Vintage Silk Fabric with Feather Pattern

70s Marimekko Dress

Pretty new things in my Etsy shop! Don't get too attached to that cute vintage Marimekko dress there...it sold already! Like, within hours of listing it. Surprising, but awesome. I really love that sheer pink dress with the subtle stripes too. Don't you think it would make a great bridesmaid dress for someone in a retro-ish wedding? So pretty for spring!

I'm linking up with Magpie Monday.