For the Girl you Love.

The-Steele-Maiden-Cheap-Monday-Gifts-for-the-Girl-you-Love

The final installation of my Cheap Monday Valentine’s Gift Guides focuses on presents for the Girl you Love (you can catch the first 2 parts here and here in case you missed them).  While tradition seems to dictate what you’re supposed to give that special lady come February 14th, I say – catch her off guard…

Think your only options are lingerie, diamond rings and flowers?  You can do better.  Here’s a few jumping off points.

Nest: Sure lingerie is great.  But what about a beautifully illustrated Taschen coffee table book of classic Pin-Ups?  It’s still cheeky but in a less obvious way.  If you really want to go all out, find a favorite pin up and buy her a matching look.

Dressed: So it’s not an engagement ring.  Are you really going to let that stop you from buying her jewelry until then?  This set of infinity rings from Gorjana are simple, classic and do not equal 3 months salary.  Diamonds may be forever, but rose gold is huge right now.  And that should count for something.  

The Rest:  She’ll expect the flowers.  But she will never see this bark wrapped vase coming.  You can have it personalized with your initials – imitating the ever romantic ‘names carved in a tree’ move.  Just don’t blame me if she wants flowers all the time now so she has an excuse to keep the vase out.  

Weekend Flashback.

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After countless hours spent working on the re-design of the blog (and the learning of the coding behind it) last weekend, I have to admit that it was nice to turn off the computer this weekend.  Mainly because taking a day or so away always leaves me excited to return with lots of new ideas.  In my off hours this weekend, I enjoyed the perks of living in Los Angeles (and having a friend who works in film) with a night out in Hollywood all dressed up with the boy, and continued my Valentine’s celebration with a few simple homemade decorations.  Oh, and we did our taxes and about 6 loads of laundry.  Life isn’t always so glamourous.        

Layering 101.

As a former East Coaster, I like to think I know a thing or two about how to stay warm and still maintain a bit of style.  Although Southern California is blessed with Spring-like temperatures even in February, I’ve heard that in my former city of New York there’s been a real need for some layers lately… 


The best advice, is to start with a solid base and build up in thin layers.  Also, pay attention to sleeve lengths (here I went from a sleeveless dress to a short sleeve sweater, then a full sleeve), because that bunching feeling in the arms of your jacket is the absolute worst.  Also, I like to mix neutral layers in between more contrasting ones to break things up (so a tan cashmere and goes with anything denim sit between the spicy orange and polka dot pattern).  Oh, and never underestimate a good pair of thick tights.

Tulle Coat
Vintage Sweater
Ruche Dress
Merino Tights
DV by Dolce Vita Boots (similar here)

Sweet Nothings.

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Homemade cards are kinda my thing.  I’ve always loved making little paper collages and pairing them with a few simple words (I guess it’s no surprise I ended up blogging?).  So needless to say, Valentine’s Day is basically my high holy day of card making… 

The great thing here is that there are no rules.  I literally had all of this stuff just crammed into my closet, so the fun is in how you mix and match things.  Sure you can go all out and buy fancy papers and decorations, but a little bit of resourcefulness goes a long way.  Rip pages out of magazines, crumple up your tissue paper to give it a pretty wrinkled effect, even cut a picture from a beautiful book (before you lose it on this one – I own 2 of these books, one for enjoying in full and one for clipping as I wish).  I find the more layers and textures you can add the better the end result.  And inside? Keep it short and sweet and let the card (and perhaps your love this Valentine’s Day) make the statement.  
The-Steele-Maiden-Sweet-Nothings

The-Steele-Maiden-Sweet-Nothings

The-Steele-Maiden-Sweet-Nothings

Touchdown Style.

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While I like to think that I have many interests, football is decidedly not one of them.  But since it’s only once a year (and the commercials are pretty good) I usually give in to the Superbowl.  This past weekend, I put my own spin on the game for an afternoon walk around Marina Del Rey…

If I’m going to wear a football t-shirt (or any casual t-shirt for that matter) I like to pair it with its complete opposites.  In this case, a sparkly gold skirt (that’s actually a dress) and a statement necklace.  Plus a swipe of pink lipstick for good measure.  

PS. Apparently this is what ‘bad weather’ looks like in southern California in winter (it was overcast and slightly windy) so the boy and I had the park and Marina to ourselves.  Make your own sunshine people.

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The-Steele-Maiden-Touchdown-Style
The-Steele-Maiden-Touchdown-Style




Forever 21 T-shirt (old, similar here)
Thrifted Dress
Necklace (my own design)
Deux Lux Bag (old, similar here)
Zara Ankle Boots (old, similar here)