blog shop update!

I finally got around to posting some new items on Shop MDR! There are lots of great outerwear pieces, knits, and tops/dresses to wear for the holidays.

Send me an email to shopmdr@gmail.com if you're interested and make sure to follow me on twitter if you want to be in on the latest blog shop updates!

click here to find me on twitter!

fall flavor

Pumpkin pie at one of my favorite places to eat, Urth Caffe Santa Monica






Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I'll be spending my Thanksgiving holiday with my lil'sis and Meeko making/eating pumpkin pie, taking a few much appreciated days off of work (yay for mini vacations!), and braving the tourist shopping crowds on madness NYC Black Friday (say hi if you see a cranky old lady standing in the corner wearing sneakers and sweatpants because that will be me ☺).

I hope everyone has a delicious meal and is enjoying time with family and loved ones.

gros bisous ♡♡

redondo beach

Redondo beach on a deserted Monday afternoon: eating freshly shucked oysters and steamed crab, bird watching on the pier, sitting on a bench looking out at the ocean view, discussing all the possibilities of the next years of our lives, soaking in the happiness of living in the moment.
























































Outfit details: T by Alex Wang shirt, Chloé dress and platform shoes, Of Two Minds suede jacket.




August 21, 1853

Have you really not noticed, then, that here of all places, in this private, personal solitude that surrounds me, I have turned to you? All the memories of my youth speak to me as I walk, just as the sea shells crunch under my feet on the beach. The crash of every wave awakens far-distant reverberations within me.

I hear the rumble of bygone days, and in my mind the whole endless series of old passions surges forward like the billows. I remember my spasms, my sorrows, gusts of desire that whistled like wind in the rigging, and vast vague longings that swirled in the dark like a flock of wild gulls in a storm cloud.

On whom should I lean, if not on you? My weary mind turns for refreshment to the thought of you as a dusty traveler might sink onto a soft and grassy bank.

- Gustave Flaubert to his wife Louise Colet

tu me manques ♥

spitz in little tokyo

Wandering around Little Tokyo after a delicious meal of street cart french fries and salad at Spitz. This area reminded me somewhat of New York's East Village if only for the random smattering of Japanese ramen and yakitori spots.

Outfit details: Helmut Lang knitted hooded vest, Of Two Minds suede jacket, H&M long-sleeve knitted dress, Phi boots, Chanel 2.55

sunset on santa monica pier

November 2, 1856

I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious - your heart, your soul. Beauty one could get to know and fall in love with in one hour and cease to love it as speedily; but the soul one must learn to know. Believe me, nothing on earth is given without labour, even love, the most beautiful and natural of feelings.

- Count Leo Tolstoy to Valeria Arsenev

little next door

Earlier this year, I enjoyed a beautiful dinner at the The Little Door, which is the sister restaurant that's situated alongside this café, Little Next Door. I promised myself the next time I got a chance, I would try this café and it really didn't disappoint! Both The Little Door and Little Next Door have quickly become two of my favorites places to eat in LA.








The boy wearing his favorite Burberry leather moto jacket.

Outfit details: Helmut Lang leather jacket, T by Alex Wang black pocket tee, vintage silk skirt, my favorite Phi boots, Alexander McQueen silk leopard scarf

Trio of deli salads: roasted quinoa, marinated baby artichokes, and green lentils

Grilled calamari salad with roasted bell peppers, shaved fennel, black olives on spinach and lemon caper dressing. This dish was so refreshingly light and perfect for a late afternoon lunch. I could see myself ordering this at least once a week if I lived close by.


Socca frites with aioli - this was surprisingly delicious! It's hard to explain what this tastes like... I thought it would be similar to chickpea fries but this was definitely different from any other french fry type side I've ever had. Apparently socca is very common in some areas of France? The waiter who was adorably so french, told me he grew up eating socca. We ended up asking for a side of harissa to use as our dipping sauce but I would highly recommend socca frites if you want to try something new!


Roast beef french dip sandwich on a baguette with horseradish mustard dip. The boy loved this sandwich - usually a sandwich like this would be served with some sort of au jus but this came with a thick, tangy dipping sauce. Of course we sort of ended up dipping our socca frites in the sauce too.


Pistachio and caramel macaron






Market fresh lemon cream tart - order this! It is SO good. Light, fluffy, and decadent. Just the right way to end this meal alongside a strong latte.

Naked, you are simple as a hand,
smooth, earthy, small...transparent, round.
You have moon lines and apple paths;
Naked, you are slender as the wheat.

Naked, Cuban blue midnight is your color,
Naked, I trace the stars and vines in your hair;
Naked, you are spacious and yellow
As a summer's wholeness in a golden church.

Naked, you are tiny as your fingernail;
Subtle and curved in the rose-colored dawn
And you withdraw to the underground world

As if down a long tunnel of clothing and of chores:
your clear light dims, gets dressed, drops its leaves,
And becomes a naked hand again.

-pablo neruda