Totally Selfish Birthday Wants!

Birthday Wants! by elbonner featuring a black nail polish

I don't care if it's childish or even a bit selfish: I love my birthday! It is the one day out of the year that I try to have some real balls-to-the-wall fun that is centered around the joyous fact that I was born. I find a lot of joy in celebrating other people's birthday too; getting them gifts, going out on the town, acting like a kid again, and just being around the people that you love. That and the cake, always the cake. I hadn't really thought about what I really wanted for my birthday, and even if I don't get one thing that's on this list, I don't care because I still had fun making it. I just like making collages, okay! This might even be a good idea-collective for someone else's special day, you know, for the beach-lover in your life! I may be getting closer to my thirties, but I still have a good time on my birthday! Come on, April 19th!

L-R
 Shibori Designs and Techniques by Mandy Southan
Surf Photography of the 1960s and 1970s by LeRoy Grannis
The Bobber for GoPro Hero 3
Cleobella Mexicana Wallet 
The New Black Ombre Nail Polish Set in Wave
RockaBella Jewels Shark Tooth Earrings 
Free People "Knobbly Minimal Ear Cuff"
Goldfish Kiss "Aloha Print Life" Mug- Society6
Ecote Orange Mochila Bag- Urban Outfitters
Raen Optics "Lenox" Glasses in Matte Brindle

Birthdays are important days. Not just for partying down and eating whatever you want, but for appreciating yourself. Even if you don't do a lot of celebrating, give yourself one special day out of the other 364 to celebrate you! Birthdays Rule!!

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The Things They Carried: What's In My Bag!

Who cares, right? You would think so, but people friggin' love these types of things. I know I watch YouTube videos of people showing me what's in their purse. It's a weird, voyeuristic view into the mundane things we chose to carry with us at all times that are eerily similar, but oh-so different! I had a sexy beach photo shoot with the contents of my bag today which was only destroyed three times by the wind. Here's the end result!

The Bag

Vegan Slouchy Tote- Free People

The Contents (L-R)

 iPhone with case from Society6

A Book (currently The Code by Shaun Thompson)

Cameron Hawaii Aloha mini clutch

People Towel reusable napkin

Fossil wallet

Rio change purse I got from Macy's last year

Yu-Be skin cream

Clinique Chubby stick

Shea Butter stick

Sun Bum Pink Guava spf30 lip balm

Burts Bees Pink Grapefruit Lip Balm

Bigelow "I Love Lemon" tea bags

Keys

Samudra + Brooklyn Hawaii "Pupukea" clutch

If you couldn't tell, my bag seems to be made up on lots of little bags inside of one bag in a vain attempt at organization. I love my bag, though. It holds everything and would be great for school/work. It's big enough to hold a laptop or a change of clothes and it even reverses to a beautiful royal blue color once summer rolls around! I like using the Samudra clutch when I don't feel like carrying a big bag and want something a little more festive!

Well, those are the secrets of my purse. I hope that interesting in any way. If not, I have certainly wasted my time and yours. Anywho, it's nice out so I'm out of here! Adios!

Ear Candy: Free People

Ear Candy: Free People by elbonner featuring Free People

Ear candy may sound like a weird wax fetish, but that's totally NOT what I was going for. I'm talking about all the beautiful earrings and ear-related jewelry that's been coming out recently. The pieces I've been eyeballing the most come from Free People, and man are they out of this world! They have a new collection of really beautiful ear cuffs by jewelry designer, Knobbly, that I'm so in love with. They manage to be very delicate, but make a cool statement at the same time. My absolute favorite is the rose gold hammered cuff pictured below:

 The color blends in to make it not such an in-your-face piece, but is still really different and super cool. 

Free People also has a lot of really cute stud sets that are good for those with multiple ear-piercings or if you just want a bunch of cute new earrings. This little set is my favorite, mostly because of the triangle studs:

I went without wearing earrings for a very long time. I wasn't into the super intricate chandelier earrings that were popular for a few years and I just never thought to buy earrings. After getting some really cute one from the BF for Christmas, I've gotten back into earrings and now all these beautiful pieces are coming out to taunt me! If you've got the spare cash lying around or want to get a special someone a special gift, have a looksie at some of these pieces from Free People. They will not disappoint!

All Pieces Available at Free People

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Outfit Inspo: Bring On The Warmth

Bring On The Warmth by elbonner featuring beach wall art

Had a decently warm day today, though it felt like it was way too windy for my tastes. It seems as though the weather has turned the corner and is getting to where it should be instead of 34 and raining all the time. In celebration of breaking into the low 70's, I made a little outfit to celebrate. Really simple, with some fun embellishments that scream "simply summer". I'm just hoping it gets a lot warmer by my birthday! Have a good weekend, everyone!

T-Shirt: Rag & Bone
Shorts: One Teaspoon
Earrings: Free People
Necklace: Free People
Perfume: Saffron James
Nail Polish: Essie
Sunscreen: Shiseido
Lip Balm: Clinique
Clutch: Samudra
Shoes: Vans

Fringe Benefits

Fringe Benefits by elbonner featuring hobo handbags

Call me Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman, but I effing love fringe bags. Oh my god, I can't get enough of them. They are perfect for fall, summer, winter, whatever; they always give your outfits a laid-back easy feeling without being boring. This winter, I'm feeling the whole "wear everything that looks like a Mexican Blanket" thing and fringe bags only make that look better. I am in love with the first bag shown from Spell and the Gypsy Collective. If it was $100 I could maybe justify getting it after some serious penny pinching, but for now I can just look at it and dream. My only real beef with fringe bags is that all the really good ones that don't look cheapy are sooo friggin expensive!! Come on people, I needs my fringe! Anywho, if you want a cool new bag that is a little more interesting than your usual satchel or shoulder bag, go for some fringy stuff to connect with your inner Walker Texas Ranger!

L-R

Spell and the Gypsy Collective for Free People
Cut N' Paste for Free People
Cleobella
Mango 
Urban Outfitters 
Free People

Hippie Crap: Tie-Dyeing With Indigo

Two weekends ago I did something I haven't done since I was a Girl Scout; I tie-dyed stuff! Now, this wasn't your typical tie-dye, this was indigo done the old fashioned way. No bottles of Rit Dye this time, everything would be a beautiful deep blue, a little more sophisticated than your run-of-the-mill, Grateful Dead-esque tie-dye. Indigo dye doesn't turn blue until it hits the air, the lime-green mixture oxidizes and turns a deep blue. Because it's a natural dye it take a lot of dipping and re-dipping to get a deeper shade of blue. I dipped each of my pieces four times, waiting 30 minutes between each dipping to let the color develop. To be honest, I wish I had dipped it at least three more times because some of the pieces didn't get as blue as I wanted them,but everything came out really nice! I did four tea towels, one t-shirt, and two scarves and the kit I bought from Amazon came with everything you need (other than a 5 gallon bucket) to dye. It even came with rubber bands and a booklet with design ideas/how-to's that helped me create some cool stuff!

Dyeing with indigo (known traditionally as "Shibori") is super fun, but VERY VERY MESSY! I recommend wearing an outfit you don't mind getting messy, doing the dying on something you don't mind being blue forever, with big rubber dish-gloves, outside where it's alright if things get splattered. It can be a fun thing to do on your fire escape or balcony, just make sure you put down a drop cloth or something. This stuff went everywhere. It also stained my sink when I pour the dye out when I was finished, but It came out with about an hour of hardcore bleaching (flush it down the toilet!). 

Even though the process is a bit time-consuming and messy, it was totally worth it. I'm planning on doing this again to make Christmas presents and any white cotton fabric will do.You can make pillow cases, shirts, scarves, even bedspreads with cool shibori patterns, all with a little $14 kit! I highly recommend it for a lazy weekend! Dye away, everyone!

Get The Kit HERE!

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Autumn Wants: More Summer!!

Autumn Wants: More Summer!! by elbonner featuring a brown purse

Sometimes you just want to be straight forward with what you want. For me, this is one of those days. I spent a lovely weekend outside, in swimming pools, running beachy trails, and soaking up the last precious days of summer and all I can say is I'm not ready for it to end! The ocean is my ultimate love and the winter time makes it cold, gray, and hard to deal with. I'll still make a few trips to just sit and eat a sandwich between running errands, but all I want to do is jump in. Even with a wetsuit on, these nips could chisel diamonds on a winter beach trip. To replace one vice with another, I've made a little collage of stuff I want that seems as though designed by the big man himself to keep summer going on a little longer.

Raen Optics "Lenox" Sunglasses: Yes, I already have Wayfarers, but these are just so cool! They are a lot chunkier than traditional Wayfarers which is what I'm feeling at the moment. A vintage shape, with some modern heft!

Penny Skateboards Pastel Collection: Yes, I'm fully into adulthood and yes, I still want to cruise down the street like a Venice beach rat! I mean, just look at that thing! Too cute to pass up. If I wasn't such a chicken, I'd buy that bad boy and skate everywhere my almost 30 year-old heart desired!

Baggu Surf Sling: I NEED this thing. My arm is just long enough for my tiny, fat fingers to grip the edge of my fat longboard for dear life whilst simultaneously walking it to my car and giving my carpal tunnel. This sling would make it waaaaaay easier for me to get from point A to point Beach.

Rip Curl Beach Glass Sweater: If I'm going to have to wear sweaters, at least let is look like this! Viva la ombre!!

Free People Dreamweaver Crossbody: For when I get into my overly tribal-printed, super fringy stage of fall, this bag would really complete the look!

VOYA Lazy Days: It's Irish seaweed, cut right off the coast of Sligo, freeze dried within a few hours, and packaged into the coolest bath treatment known to man. This literal netted bag of seaweed is meant to rehydrate in a tub of hot water which you then submerge yourself in for a silky smooth, mineral-rich bath of awesomeness. It can be used at least three times as long as you let it dry out between uses. If you crave the sea, but can't stand the cold water, opt for a little seaweed fun in you own tub!

Toms Tiger Print Classics: After watching Katy Perry's Roar video, I saw these shoes and immediately wanted them. Animal prints work so well with almost any outfit or print and I love tiger stripes because they are pretty rare (move over, leopard!). 

Surf 80's by Jeff Divine: Sometimes, it's just nice to sit and look at pretty pictures, especially if you're having a hardcore, neon-encrusted beach craving. I love looking at picture books like this whilst curled up on the sofa with my softest blankey during a rainy day so I can escape the 57 degree hell I know is just outside my window.

I hope you liked the list of crap I want at the moment. Maybe it's similar to some crap that you want at the moment, let us revel in the crap that we want! Happy week-beginning!!