Kaoru Marie

Do you ever get so close to finishing a garment, but you don't finish it....and then you wear it anyway? Yeah, I've done that. Twice. With the same garment. I made this McCalls 6696 shirt dress back in late 2014. I admittedly totally blatantly copied Mary of Idle Fancy . I saw her version and immediately bought the fabric. No shame. None at all. It looks amazing on her. I wanted to have it. And now I do have it. I wanted to make the dress with sleeves, but I didn't have enough time to modify the sleeves. I was scrambling to get the dress done in time to wear to a friend's baby's baptism, so I just threw on a cardigan. " I'll work out the sleeves later ", I said to myself. That was back in December. Then earlier this week I discovered all of my work pants were too wrinkly for me to feel comfortable wearing. I'm not above wearing slightly wrinkled pants to work since I sit all day, but even I have my limits. I was too lazy to iron any of t...

Happy Fourth of July Weekend, Fellow Americans!!!! Hope you have a wonderful holiday tomorrow and hopefully you have today off to enjoy doing whatever pleases you. We have a friend in town this weekend who is staying with us tonight and then with another friend tomorrow. We have a lot of eating planned this weekend as we take him to our favorite restaurants. My current plant-based diet will be on Holiday this weekend. But I gotta say, I haven't been missing meat or desserts this week and this is coming from someone who is probably addicted to sugar (candy). My husband told me about some ridiculous dessert he had the other night and I was like, "meh....not interested, that shit's so bad for you." Here are some articles and fun tidbits I read this week. Enjoy! 1. I always think it's odd when Eastern Cultures build structures that are so Western looking, and vice-versa. So I was totally weirded out when I came across this article that highlighted some global c...

I almost declined testing Heather's newest pattern for Closet Case Files , the Sallie Jumpsuit/Maxi , because it looked sooooooo farrrrrrrr outside my comfort zone. Jumpsuit? Excuse me, what? Long, flowy dress? Hmmm, don't think I've ever spotted one in my closet. But I took a chance and accepted. It wasn't that I didn't like the line drawings or concept. It just it didn't seem like me. And it didn't seem like me because I had always, always, always stayed away from those styles. But if what if they were for me? As I contemplated what to respond to Heather, I put myself in my private fantasy version of " What Not to Wear ". I could hear myself telling Stacy and Clinton, " but I never wear maxi dresses! I'm short, I can't wear them ." I could almost feel Stacy rolling her eyes as she forced several maxi styles in my hands and pushed me into the dressing room. Out I appeared in a long, flowy and ridiculously comfortable knit...

Hello, hello, Happy Monday ;) How was your weekend? I meant to do a lot of cleaning since we have a friend arriving this coming Friday, but of course that didn't happen. Instead I did a lot of fun me-stuff. The highlight of my weekend was that I had my first volunteer shift with Found Animals,  at one of their adoption/retail locations. My first shift was a training session with their on-site kitten foster program. Apparently it's "kitten season" right now so there are tons of kittens that need taking care of so they can eventually get up to "adoption-ready" status. And then I got home and couldn't believe how enormous my own cat is! I decided to do a mid-year check-in of the goals I set for myself this year. I enjoy doing a mid-year check-in so I can remember what I've done so far and what I need to "work" (or rather, focus) on. If you recall my 2015 Goals, (I sure don't so I doubt you do; here's the link to that blog post ),...

This photo was taken a couple years ago. I came across this little guy chilling on the corner directly outside my apartment, when I went out to go for a walk. I quickly ran inside to get my camera because I didn't think anyone was going to believe me that a raccoon was just quietly sitting in the gutter in Hollywood! Several months later I almost came face to face with another raccoon when I was walking to the bus stop early one morning. I quickly ran across the street and was so paranoid the raccoon was going to chase me. Can I outrun a raccoon? I never want to find out. 1. I bring up my Hollywood Raccoon Stories because this week I came across an Instagram account of a PET RACCOON!!!!! I couldn't stop watching every single video clip. My husband was less than enthused when I kept texting him links to the videos. His exact quote: "This lady is teaching her 'pet' basically everything it'll need to survive after it kills her and eats her face". ...

After my initial attempt to spruce up my patio with succulents, I decided to go all out and start growing vegetables. I've been enamored for years with the gardens Pookie and Schnookie of Interchangeable Parts grow year after year. They're so lucky to have so much open land on their property! Let's see if I can have even a tenth of their success. Here's what I've planted so far. Everything, except for the basil and "curry" plants, was started from seeds. Most of the plants were started in a little Jiffy "Greenhouse" kit, but a couple things were planted directly in pots or the garden bed. The tomato plants have been growing the best so far. I think you're technically only supposed to have one plant per pot, but ehhhhhh.... Next up are green onions. They look so feeble. I'm always concerned about knocking over those teeny tiny stalks whenever I water. I don't have high hopes for them so wish them luck! The sweet bell p...

We did it you guys! Another workweek down! :)))))) June is my second favorite month of the year because it's my Birthday month and the start of summer. Here are a handful of things that caught me eye this week. 1. I read the NY Times Part 1 expose on nail salons when it first came out, but I only just read Part 2 this week. Then I fell down the rabbit hole of nail salon articles. Then I started wondering if my current nail polish is slowly killing me. { Perfect Nails, Poisoned Workers // NY Times} { Where to Get an Ethical Manicure in NYC // Racked} 2. I'm not much of a "let's recreate vintage everything" person, but this line of vintage make-up available at Sephora has such stunning packaging. I'm tempted to buy lipstick or a compact from the line just so I can carry something that pretty in my purse. { Besame Cosmetics // Sephora} 3. Honey and cream iced espresso drink recipe. I made it the other evening as soon as I got home from work and it...