Stare empty at a wall and make it try to sing along...carry on, I carry on.

I did it again! I moved! 5th time in a year--but I'm here to stay. No more being a nomad.

Mom and I below during the move-in process. There was no way I could have done it alone...

Phone pictures will hardly do this place justice. For someone who was previously living in small studios and guest houses- Having a real 'home' with actual rooms and a real kitchen is a big deal! It's a whole new and exciting concept to me to have a living space that I enjoying 'dressing'. I think I might even be loving 'dressing' my home more than myself...for now at least. Every thing so far has been found on craigslist, garage/estate sales, flea markets and vintage stores, gifted, or thrifted. I've refurbished and repainted most items.... I'll soon post better pictures of everything and the whole place. For once, I'm finding myself more prone to spending money on decor and furniture than new clothing. And purchasing home magazines instead of fashion magazines...whaaaat?! I never thought I'd see the day that I get more thrilled walking into Bed Bath & Beyond than into a clothing boutique. 

The best addition to my new home/life has been Polly! My new 8 week year old kitten, rescued and given to me last week by a wonderful client. She's named after my ridiculous and ever growing Betsey Johnson Polly heel collection...naturally.

Again- cell phone pictures don't do anything justice. But the little lady has big blue eyes and pretty grey fur. She adapted quickly and is the most lovable little ball of energy and companion. She purrs constantly, loves to cuddle while sleeping, and wakes me up with kisses.

Since last posting I popped into Austin for a quick less than 72 hour trip. I managed to squeeze in lots of good conversations and lunch with my dear friend Crawford... I layed out by the pool and enjoyed my backyard that I had missed so much, saw my best friend Jennifer, had a great night with my "sex and the city" ladies, and hosted a wonderful party honoring a terrific former teacher and friend- Ms. Vowell. 

But as of lately--for the first time in the last year, life has been rather routine. Most weeks are filled with lots and lots of working and plenty of time enjoying this beautiful, soon to be fall weather. I haven't used my air conditioner even once since living here.

I'll be returning back to Austin for a few days next month for my 8th Austin City Limits music festival... And then, we'll see what Fall has in store! 

xo.

Drunk on the wine of love for thee...Love all, serve all, and create no sorrow.

Holy toledo, I've lived here over a year now! 

Some days it feels as though I just moved here a month ago, other days if seems like I've been here for years and years.  I couldn't be any more pleased with my decision to move to Los Angeles. And I'm confident in my decision of making a commitment to stay in this city for many more years to come. I move into my condo in just 10 days, and began the tedious packing process this morning. I can't wait to renovate, decorate, and make the place my own. After moving from guest house to guest house throughout the past year, it'll be a pleasant change to finally have a permanent living situation that is entirely my own. It's a cute little condo that I know I will be really happy in. I'm so eager to live, create, dream, grow and settle there. 

The past three months- since I last updated have been a whirlwind. Two weeks into April I found myself back in Austin, sleeping at the edge of a hospital bed next to my dad who had had a heart attack. I left work, packed, drove, and jumped on the next flight to Austin within an hour of finding out. I extended my stay day after day as complications continued to arise and flew home once everything stabilized, he was comfortable at home, and I had some peace of mind. Situations like that really awaken you; helping you to realize that there are so many un-expectancies that life can throw at you at any time, remind you to appreciate your life, loved ones, and to never take anything for granted.  

May was spent continuing searching for a condo, re-connecting/getting back in touch with old friends from Austin, filming a reality tv-show, and becoming best friends with the gym. At the end of May my dear dear friend Jennifer came to visit me. She was the first to jump on a plane when I moved to LA and helped me get settled in and comfortable. Here she was again-a year later, ready to celebrate our birthdays and my one year anniversary of moving here :) We had an absolute blast and such a memorable week. 

A few days after Jen left my parents drove out to Los Angeles. The condo search was extremely exhausting for my parents and I... They were in California for almost a month- spending half of the time here in LA, and the remainder up in San Francisco with my Grandma. I took a spontaneous road trip to SF for a quick 48 hours to see the three of them. San Francisco has always been one of my favorite places to go and I've been lucky to experience the city with 3 different friends on separate occasions over the past few years. This time I explored on my own! 

I've been working working working like crazy, still assistant managing my lovely "pink palace"...I'm so grateful to work somewhere that I don't mind spending more time at than I spend at my own home. I think I'll always be somewhat of a work-a-holic, perfectionist, and not be able to leave until every little thing is finished. 

But when I'm not styling our clients in layered dresses, sparkly heels, lots of jewels and making them bust out a few ridiculous dance moves with me, twirl around, and feel amazing... I've been enjoying kickboxing, yoga on the beach, vintage shopping, late nights with friends, collecting home decorating inspiration, dreaming up ideas of things I want to do/accomplish, and making plans to execute those ideas and make those dreams happen.... Here's to another amazing, exciting, and eventful year in Los Angeles.   

xox.

grow some big feet, holes in history is where you'll find me..

I have never forgotten about this blog, and am constantly full of thoughts and things to write about- I'm just simply lazy and make up excuses to not sit down and write, when in reality I have more than enough time to update now and then. I don't know who, if anyone (besides my mother...) even reads this. But anyway, I'm sitting here listening to the Where The Wild Things Are soundtrack, eating terrible (and cold) brown rice and tofu, ready and eager to being the month of April. It's hard to believe that at the end of April I will have lived in this city for 10 months. I celebrated my 9 month "anniversary" last week with an old friend of mine (who thank god recently moved to Los Angeles..) at a lovely italian restaurant- Micheli's.. It is a true gem in the midst of the craziness in Hollywood that we stumbled upon while roaming aimlessly.

Near the end of my last year in highschool, while everyone was working away on college essays and trading congratulations with one another when the acceptance letters began to roll in- I told everyone I was moving to Los Angeles just to "take a year off."  Those that know me well knew just as well as I did that a year wasn't all it was going to be. That year has almost come to an end, and I can confidently say there will be many more "years off" to come. And regardless of conflicting thoughts and opinions on my decision, I'm certain it's the best one for me. Based on often comments and questions- I'm beginning to think that a lot of people thought I just came to California, got on a sailboat and spend everyday drinking fruity mixed drinks and whale watching or something and eventually would make my way to college or back to Texas. However, I'll be staying here in LA. Austin will always be my 'home town'- but Los Angeles is now my home. I've had quite the successful past nine months and have made the commitment to live here long term and continue the success. I'm very fortunate and thankful to my parents who have given me the opportunity to now say that in the next few months or so I'll own a small house or condo here. It's an exciting and big step! It'll be nice to have somewhere so permanent to live in, a sense of stability if you will... 

While it might be nice to watch the waves, sea life, and sip pina colodas while basking in the sun everyday (no really...I'm convinced a handful of people think that's all I'm out here to do) I in fact still work full time at Betsey Johnson and am going on my fourth year with the company, happily growing and developing with it.  I have a love for styling, for the company and Betsey herself, my wonderful clients, fellow staff, and an even deeper love and passion for helping young girls and woman of all ages feel beautiful and bring a little bit of joy to others. I'm still dabbling in side styling projects for tv, print, and film and hope to continue to have those opportunities!

This city is magical. I'm convinced that at times there's fairy dust or something sprinkled down on it. It never fails to amaze me how on a clear day I can look to the west and see the ocean, and turn my head to the east and see snow capped mountains. It's on my days off from work that I appreciate the city and the energy and inspiration that it projects the most- I have time to drive around and explore, people watch, and take in each moment..whether it be the sound of waves crashing against the rocks while a drum circle forms on the beach as the sun sets, the echos of laughter in the canyons, the tranquility of free yoga in the park, the hustling of those rushing around grand central station and downtown, the lights and billboards on Sunset Blvd, the smell of the food and flowers surrounding Aroma and Urth Cafe, the amazing and detailed architecture, live music being played from roof tops and venues, or the tourists in awe of the sights in Hollywood.  I can't begin to describe the amount of growing and learning I've done in the past nine months while living out here alone. I've gained a new perspective on life, it's complexities and luxuries, new insight on myself and my purpose, opinions and desires. I've come to learn about myself, my faults, my strengths, and while it continues to be an interesting journey, there's no doubt that it will be a rewarding one. This is a city of dreams and dreamers, and I'm one of them.

Above is the view from a hiking trail- Runyon Canyon. I frequently go there to walk and jog...it kicks my ass every time. 

Today I went and sat at the bench Tom claims to be his 'favorite spot' in 500 days of summer. The picture above is the view from it...

xoxo

It's been almost four months since I've revisited this blog. It's neat to re read and skim through older entries and see my perception of this city grow and develop over time. As of the other day, I've lived in Los Angeles for seven months... and what a seven months it has been. But the amount of months is merely just a number to me..it's the number of experiences, downfalls, opportunities and the things that I have seen in seven months that blows me away. Since the last time I wrote, I visited home for the first time to attend my 7th Austin City Limits Music Festival...

And while it rained the whole time and I left Austin terribly sick- it was an incredible weekend spent surrounded with good music and great people. I returned back to Los Angeles refreshed, revived, ready and eager to go back to work and continue my life in LA!

A few weeks after my trip to Austin, my two dear friends Allison and Kelly flew out to spend a long weekend with me...

That weekend we rode bikes from Venice to Santa Monica, explored the Hollywood sign and the Sunset strip, went to the infamous hair salon that Britney Spears shaved her head at, shopped and ate a lot, laughed a lot, danced a lot and some how all ended up with new ear piercing and I got a second tattoo.. It was a weekend to remember!

It was a few weeks later that I decided to move from my little guest house in Hollywood to an area in the hills outside of Santa Monica called Brentwood. This quaint place was closer work, had a view of the ocean, and a lovely small town and friendly feel. So, the month of November was spent packing and transporting my stuff from one side of the city to the other. I have no idea how I moved everything from Texas to California in my little car in 2 days...but yet it took me almost two weeks to get every thing moved just down to the coast. Buuuut long story short-I lived there a few months and then ended up moving again.. Long story. Anyway, I fell in love with a little studio guest house in Beverly Hills over looking the whole city and canyon which is where I live now.

Above is a picture that my mom took of me leaving my new place...I haven't had a chance to take any pictures but will be sure to post some tomorrow! The studio is lovely though. While it's a much smaller space than I was previously living in, my furniture fits in nicely and It has a homey, comfortable feel. It's so nice to actually look forward to coming to home in the evening and to feel as though you never want to leave.

The parties and people i've seen and met make me giggle and keep me entertained... I never thought i'd be actually living this "dream" that I had all of my life. And I never thought I'd go from looking at hollywood stars in OK magazine to looking at them from across the room, ha! I can't wait to have more time to write about about the events of the past months... I wish I had the time and energy to recap on my first Christmas by myself, my trip for New Years in Austin, and more about the things I've been doing, work, people, and places I've gone but I'm exhausted and want nothing more to finish my dinner, watch a sappy lifetime movie and go to sleep. One of these days I'll post about the more lighter and happy things, my new friends, pictures of this beautiful city, and further discussion of some of the lessons and things I've learned since I moved out here on my own....oyvey.

xoxox

Once again, i've failed terribly at updating this. I've been so so so busy this past month. I began working at Betsey Johnson once again. When I first moved out here I was unable to transfer from my Austin Betsey store to one in LA due to payroll hours and scheduling. However, this past month some shifts opened back up and I'm back with the lovely company again. The week that I was re-hired was also Betsey's birthday week. She made the trip out here to LA and celebrated at our Melrose location!

Betsey's party was so fabulous and she was as sweet and cute as ever! Then on the side of working at Betsey, I'm still doing freelance assistant styling work. Which has all been falling into place quite well. It's amazing how networking and marketing yourself really can work and how the people you meet and connect with really impact future jobs and work relationships.

I'll get a nice and much needed break from Los Angeles at the beginning of October when I go back to Austin for a few days for the Austin City Limits music festival :)

I'll get better about updating soon. xox.

High above the sea of cars..

I really need to get into the habit of writing here instead of letting so many days/weeks pass by and then not being able to remember what has happened since I last posted. I suppose it's just a matter of finding the time to sit down and dedicate time to writing everything out. These past two weeks have been nothing less than crazy and terribly busy. So, here are some pictures to quickly re cap a little bit of it all. 

I love my little store but work has been so overwhelming and has seemed to have taken over my life and all of my time lately.

When I haven't been left too tired after work I have made it out to see a few shows and to explore the city at night. Here's Shwayze performing at the Roxy and following that is a not even half way decent pictures of the city lit up at night taken from the top of the hills.

Here a few shots from down at Venice beach one afternoon. I love it there- so many cool people, beautiful scenery and a lot of culture, diversity and countless photo opportunities.

The one day this past week that I did have off from work at the store- I spent working as an assistant/intern stylist on the set of a photoshoot for a celebrity/singers new album cover. Such a wonderful and exciting opportunity- filled with lots of hard work but plenty of fun and I learned a lot! Being on set certainly reassured me that this is what I'm out here in Los Angeles to pursue and to achieve. Here I am at 7:30 in the morning ready and anxious to head out to the studio to be there by our call time.

The other evening I went to Museum Row. Literally,  a row of Museums on a main street near my house. It was so interesting and I left feeling a little more inspired and intelligent. Soon, I'll post pictures from that day and go into more detail about what life in the big city has entailed for me lately. Now, it's time to get ready for another day at work! This morning I woke up and went for a run to the near by YogurtPlanet for breakfast and hours later am still in gross running clothes..eww. 

This is what I see every day from the parking lot at work. 

xoxo.