Birthday Braggery: I Have The Greatest Friends and Family EVER

Sorry I've been a little MIA as of late, but I have been celebrating a lot (soooo much cake)! I had my birthday last Saturday, my dad's was last Monday, and my mom's was today so there have been lots of gift giving and receiving! Since I'm the luckiest girl on earth, I got all kinds of cool stuff from my friends and family. They know what's up! My mom and I have a little shopping trip the Friday before my name-day and I picked up a few (too many) cool things! Commence photo-collage!

 Started off the blessed week with some much-needed Trader Joe's sale-flowers to lighten the mood 

My mom and I went to World Market where I found this sweet bag for $22! I've been looking for something like it, but have found that some similar bags can cost a chunk of change. This was an ultimate find! (I apologize for my messy room and poor-quality selfie)

Went a little shoe insane here! I don't know if Toms are cool or uncool, all I know is that they have some really cool prints (hello, palm trees!) and I love them so all the haters can take a frickin' number. The Vans are also really cool. They're like a sunwashed coral color and look like they belong on the inside of a watermelon! I really likes the blue and white pair because they are almost shibori-like and serape printed flats have been on my must-get-eventually list for quite some time. Quadruple shoe-score!

I was kicked-in-the-butt-by-love by these tops from H&M's new Concious collection. They're partially made from recycled materials and are super soft and silky. Great for summer time sweat problems (people have them!). They come in these great earthy tones that are richly pigmented and look great with lots of cool accessories! I was afraid this blouse would make me look like Jerry Seinfeld and his Puffy Shirt, but it looked really good when I wore it out for my birthday dinner with my friends!

 

I also picked up two tank tops from the same collection, one in orange and this creamy colored one. I can't wait to pair it with some cut-off shorts and sandals once it gets a little warmer out. Great for nights out when you know it's going to be hot (no pit stains!). 

Not super exciting, but still really cool are these Andy Warhol sticky notes that I picked up at World Market. That place is like a dream come true. It has stationary, it has candles, it has jewelry, it has beer, it has English chocolate; what more could you want?! I am always using post-its and these sticky notes were just too cute to pass by!

And last, but not least, my friends spoiled me rotten with some really cool stuff! I got a custom painting with all of my favorite colors, a book all about shibori dying techniques, a loaded Starbucks card for my iced caramel "Ralph Machiattos", and a protein powder that has COFFEE IN IT to keep me hyped and ripped at the gym! But, the best present of all was getting to hang out with them all night, eating Mexican food, quoting Team America, and just shooting the shit. Because really, what more do you need?!

I had a great birthday, but it wouldn't have been a fraction as good as it was if I didn't have the great friends and family I have to celebrate it with. Those are really the greatest gifts of all! If you're special day is coming up, or if you just feel like celebrating, hit up your friends and enjoy what you've already got! Happy Sunday, everyone!

Shibori Fever: Almond Surfboards Women's Collection

Almond Surfboards Women's Collection by elbonner on Polyvore

A few months ago, I stumbled upon a little company called Almond Surfboards and Design completely by accident while getting lost in the seemingly infinite universe called Instagram. What I saw were a lot of beautiful, retro-shaped surfboards, some really cool vintage-modern mens clothes, and all things southern California.I was bought, hook, line, and sinker! My only qualm was that I wished they had some cool stuff for the ladies. I figured maybe I could just settle my urges by buying all that stuff for my boyfriend's birthday, but after checking their blog about two weeks ago, the heavens opened up and bestowed upon me a killer women's collection!!!

Now, I wrote a post last fall about my adventures in shibori tie-dying (traditional Japanese dying with indigo), and since my initial experience with it, I have done it again on two different occasion. My most recent one, I made some sweet pillow cases, a whole bunch of napkins, a few more dish towels, and a scarf for my mom. I love the deep dark blue you get from the indigo and trying out all the different tying patterns. When I realized Almond's women's collection was based on shibori, I nearly lost it, like "in 1999 seeing the Backstreet Boys" lost it. I would mug a tiny grandma for that surfboard too. I don't even care who knows it; look at it! The collection is comprised of blue, creamy, breezy pieces that are super simple so they can either be dressed up with accessories or they can be very subdued. Think along the lines of silk shift dresses, peasant tops, and drapey tanks. The collection also include some cool Almond logo t-shirt and sweatshirts. 

The piece de resistance is the silk shibori wrap (pictured on the bottom left) that is a deep indigo blue with an amazing circle pattern printed on the back. I'm also in love with the shibori elbow-patch sweatshirt. Ok, I'm just in love with all of it! If you're looking to inject your wardrobe with come California cool, head on over the Almond's website and take a look at what they have to offer. It will be worth it!

Proof that I love shibori so much, I sleep with it.

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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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