bucket list: DTLA

as I was heading to my other must see spot on my DTLA adventure, I had a super deja vu feeling, and realized that I was right in the middle of one of my favorite movies. remember the park bench from 500 Days of Summer that was tom's favorite view of LA? you're looking at it. the park (Angel's Knoll) has unfortunately closed due to budget cuts (some suit thinks it should be turned into a sky scraper - cue eye roll), but if you walk down the Angel's Flight railway/stairs (another randomly cool thing I stumbled upon), the park is to the right. being from boston, a city where old and new combine so seamlessly wherever you look, I love finding pockets like this. I snapped a quick picture, almost slipping and tumbling down a giant concrete trench in front of a gaggle of homeless people, checked out the originally restored cars from 1901, and headed on my way.

the point for my trek away from the museum was to see the bradbury building, an obsession of mine for years. I love old architecture, and this building is a serious gem that is still fully functioning as an office building (including the original cage door elevator). thankfully, visitors are allowed into the lobby of the building during office hours, so I poked my head in for a few fan girl minutes, snapped some pictures, and headed on my way. so much attention to detail- they just don't make building like they used to. unfortunately for fans of the building, there is a security guard on duty who makes sure you don't go any higher than the first floor landing. I'm sure the view from the top looking down is amazing, but even from the bottom I loved it.

 

the last stop on my DTLA adventure was a total happy accident. I had a bit of time to kill before I headed home, and realized that I was right around the corner from the last bookstore - a place that I had read about for a while, but never made it to. I love putzing around a traditional bookstore, and this place takes that love to another level. used books for dirt cheap, new releases, records, vintage books, artist studios, and a labyrinth of rare book combine in an insanely cool downtown space. I could have spent hours pursuing the shelves, and checking out the art work. definitely a must see, we all have to work to keep cool and unique spaces like this alive in a world that is slowly and surely killing off bookstores in favor of amazon and online shopping.

have you paid a visit to any of these locations?

xx, marissa

let's get serious for a minute...

a huge piece of my life since january has been working on the campaign of a candidate who I find not only strong and brilliant, but also compassionate and genuine; two things her biggest critics would never associate with her. now I am by no means saying that she is perfect, no person is. and if we're taking political candidates, candidates for the job of being commander in chief, no candidate in history has ever been (or will ever be) perfect. being the opinionated and headstrong gal that I am, I've always been a fan of hillary, and looked up to her as a role model for the strength and oomph that I hoped to possess as a woman (sharing the same birthday certainly didn't hurt). I will be the first to admit that I didn't believe she was the right person for the job in 2008, barak's message of hope and change resonated with me, and I am proud of being a piece of his victory. but now, she is more than ready. her position as secretary of state, combined with her work as the senator of new york, women and children's rights champion, lawyer, and actively involved first lady have given her that. we have two of the most polarizing options in history for who will lead our country, and one has me (and many other citizens of the world) scared for our future. even if in your soul you hate hillary, whether it be any of the hundreds of reason that both republicans & democrats throw at her, a presidency and country under donald trump is not a promising place if you are a woman, person of color, LGBTQ, child, immigrant, parent, college graduate with student loan debt, person with a mental illness, muslim, small business owner, addict, working class person, or veteran. and even if you don't fall into any of those demographics, think about the people you love (mothers, sisters, friends, wives, girlfriends, neighbors, coworkers, mentors, family members, etc.) that do. november 8th is the day that we as a country decided what kind of a world we want to live in, what kind of message we want to send out to the rest of the world, and to our children. and today, the final presidential debate, is the last chance we have to formally see the type of candidate both hillary clinton and donald trump are.

please, watch the debate, educate yourself on the candidates and issues (biases/preconceived notions/personality opinions aside), and register to vote. the fate of the country and world rely on it, literally.

xx, marissa

cheap date: the broad

as part of my art history minor in college, I spent a good chunk of time at the ICA in boston and fell head over heels for the museum. contemporary art had always been my favorite, so museums focusing on it are always on the top of my list. I had heard of the broad when I first moved to LA, but for some reason never made the trek out there. with my newfound fun-employment until I head back to boston in a few short weeks I've made it my mission to cross as many things off my LA bucket list and finally paid it a visit. the first thing I realized (and loved) was that it is a free museum- hello cheap free date! museums can be seriously pricey, so it's nice that this museum is all about educating and engaging over profiting. however, since it is free, you have to reserve tickets in advance or risk heading down there and waiting in line without getting in. one exhibit/instillation in particular (the infinity room) has been an obsession of mine for years, and requires a separate reservation of it's own. the day I happened to go to the museum, the reservations unfortunatley were full for the day. if you go on a day when reservations are full, there is a standby line that you can wait in, but there is no guarantee you'll get in/how long you'll be waiting. luckily for me a whole slew of reservations were no shows, so I only waited maybe 5 minutes before I was able to go in. the infinity room is unlike anything I've ever seen or experienced. the closest thing I could compare it to is standing inside of a galaxy, and since space is my favorite, I was over the moon (pun intended). I was expecting to share the experience with the other museum goers in line, but was seriously pleasantly surprised when I realized it was one on one. best minute in a long time.

the museum releases the tickets in monthly batches the first week of every month, and they fill up fairly quickly. if you can make it work, a week day is easier to visit and you don't have the same weekend crowds that make museum going not as fun (in my opinion). it's a great collection, but not a giant museum- so take that into consideration when planning your day. there are quite a few museums in the vicinity of the broad, so make a museum day of it, or bop around DTLA and explore. I decided to do the latter, and crossed a few more things off my LA bucket list. more on that later :)

have you visited the broad or scored tickets to the infinity room? what's your favorite part?

xx, marissa

decisions, decisions: warby parker

as a kid with perfect vision who wanted glasses bad, I had some serious eyeglass envy (ditto for braces- so weird). fast forward a few years into the future, after the genius idea to read in the dark because I could, and this girl's perfect vision was no more. I was finally able to pick out a pair of glasses at the optometrist, and didn't realize the small fortune my mother was forking over for my new specs. once insurance, copays, and all that jazz became my responsibility (#adulting) getting new pair of glasses lost it's luster. that is, until I found warby parker. not only do they make it super simple to find the perfect pair for you (go online and choose your favorite 5 pairs to try & have them shipped for free!), have amazing styles to choose from (everything from classically traditional to trendy to downright funky), and are ridiculously affordable ($95 for everything- including shipping!), but they have a 1 for 1 program that provides a pair of glasses to people in need (think toms but for glasses). who doesn't love that!?

the style that I've been sporting for a bit, and love, is the winston in antique shale fade. since I have a larger round/heart shaped face, I like to choose glasses (both eye & sun) that have a more rectangular shape to balance everything out. I used to only wear black/tortoise, but decided to step out of my comfort zone and gave the two tone a chance. that's the best part of the try at home aspect of warby parker- you can choose safe glasses you know will look good, and throw a fun pair or two in. even though I love my winstons, I feel like it's time to incorporate another pair into the mix- which is totally possible to do since they're so affordable! I love being able to use glasses as an accessory, not just a  necessity.

as you can see, the three I'm loving are definitely similar- but each has a little somethin' somethin' that makes them special. the first style- the winston in cognac tortoise and citron is the same shape as the style that I currently have and love, but I love the tortoise (my favorite with dark hair) and the lighter edge. to me they seem a bit less like an accessory, and will blend with whatever I'm wearing a bit better than the faded version. I also like that they're a bit different without the metal detailing on the sides and seem a teeny bit narrower through the bridge. the second pair, the huxley in tennessee whiskey, is tiptoeing into the clear glasses trend that I love/aren't quite sure I'm cool enough to pull off (#storyofmylife). since the majority of the frame is tortoise, it seems like the perfect combination of classic and cool. the last pair, the beckett in saddle sage, are similar to my current pair, with the two tone look, but add green (my favorite color) for a fun little pop.

which pair is your favorite? have you ever used warby parker before?

xx, marissa

this or that: micellar water

I've blogged about my love for the bioderma micellar water before (check out that here), so I was excited to see garnier launch their drugstore version, micellar cleansing water. I'll admit- I was a bit skeptical if it would be as amazing as my beloved bioderma, but decided to give it a try. it's clear from the pink packaging that garnier wasn't messing around creating a dupe, but whatevs, I love a good dupe. (fyi there is another version for waterproof makeup remover that has blue packaging that is super oily and nothing like bioderma- be warned!) even though bioderma is much easier to get your hands on now (beautylish is my go-to, but amazon carries it as well for $$$), nothing beats being able to pop into a drugstore and picking up a bottle when you're running low. the garnier version is available at pretty much any drugstore, big box stores like target/etc, and online which is a major plus. the price point is also significantly cheaper ($7 - $8), which is nice since it is a product that you will be going through and repurchasing more regularly than your moisturizer or eye cream.

I used both versions on their own cotton pad and let them soak on my lash line and lids to break up the makeup, before wiggling and wiping it away (my preferred method). I love micellar water's ability to remove makeup without having to rub and cause damage to the delicate eye area, which is why I've repurchased the bioderma time and time again. the garnier version definitely removed the majority of my makeup in the first swipe, but my eyeliner (I've blogged about it's budgeproofness here) was still going strong. I was able to remove it completely by going back in with a q-tip soaked in the garnier, but was bummed that it didn't break the eyeliner down as easily as the bioderma. using micellar water to clean up any mistakes or smudged lower lash line is another favorite use, and the bioderma cap has an opening that is the perfect size of a q-tip. it makes it super easy to not waste any product/make a mess with the opening. the garnier top had a much smaller hole that made it a bit more challenging to get the perfect amount on the q-tip, and definitely isn't waste/mess proof. the garnier also specifically says that there is no need to rinse, but I found that I felt the product leaving a little something behind on my skin that I didn't love. I always rinse after using bioderma (there is no instruction saying that you don't need to) just because I like my skin to be fully clean, but even before rinsing I've never felt the residue I felt with the garnier.

the garnier version is definitely a solid micellar water. if I had never tried/fallen in love with bioderma than I would for sure integrate this into my daily skincare routine (I recently spotted it in my mom's medicine cabinet on a trip home #heygirl), but I've been to the promise land and know how good a product can be. if you're interested in trying a micellar water, and don't want to order online/deal with shipping/invest in a bit more expensive of a product- give the garnier version a try! but between the two- bioderma is hands down the winner.

have you ever used either of these micellar waters? which one is your favorite?

xx, marissa

hot spots: vintage faves

I was never one for vintage shopping before I moved to LA. of course every town and city has it's fair share of vintage clothing stores, but it took moving to a city like LA where the vintage shopping is seriously off the chain (yes, I really just used that term. it's seriously that good) to finally get me hooked. maybe it's because there are so many fashionable ladies and gents squeezed into one place, the vibes of old hollywood, or the industry that requires clothing from any decade or any style- but there's something in the water and I have made the most of it while living here. 

my best friend, and resident LA tour guide, is the one that got me hooked. she would bust out random pieces from her wardrobe, something that you weren't going to find at the mall or hanging in nordstrom, and name drop the same vintage spots over and over again. she would roll her eyes when I would be squeamish and grossed out, but once I made my first score, she knew she had a convert. 

gotta have it- this small shop is right across the street from the infamous venice lighted letters and is where I made my first serious vintage purchase. we had spent the day on the boardwalk, and popped in to check out their collection of vintage t-shirts (you can never have enough super soft vintage tees) when I saw it, the most amazingly ridiculous beige shearling-esque coat that had been on the floor for all of 5 minutes. the thing with vintage shopping, and the lesson I learned right quick that day, is if you see something you like (even if you're not 100% sure you want it), grab now and decide later. I could feel the eyes of every girl in the store glaring me as I hemmed and hawed over the coat; was it "too much", would I ever wear it, who needs a shearling coat in los angeles. thankfully the coat came home with me, and while it's definitely one of the most ridiculous things in my wardrobe, it's also one of my favorites.

american vintage (westwood) & american vintage (melrose)- love both of these locations, but they have different vibes, depending on what you're looking for. westwood has UCLA super close by, so there's a bit more of a college look to some of the things that they bring in, where as melrose is a lot more interesting/out there pieces. in westwood I found the coolest pair of levi's with amazing vintage barbie fabric covering the back pockets that were unfortunately too small to take home, but scooped up a fabulous dress from the 60's made in laguna beach that has become my go-to beach cover-up. on melrose I found an amazing rebecca minkoff that I had lusted after the season before, but never invested in, for almost 60% off retail and was in perfect condition.

wasteland- is my best friends go-to for amazing deals on denim. a lot of their pieces are super current, and in great condition. I have had great luck with vintage tee's, and found an amazing vintage celtics t-shirt from the 70's that I gifted to my nephew for christmas last year, and a vintage tank top from a st. patrick's day marathon in Ireland that I've rocked during my own st. patty's day celebrations.

melrose trading post- while this isn't a brick and mortar store, the collection of vendors selling vintage goods at this amazing flea market every sunday on melrose is a must see. besides my kate hudson "almost famous" coat, the coolest and prized possession of my vintage wardrobe came from here. there is a vendor who deals solely with vintage sports memorabilia/jerseys and it was my mission one day to find something boston related to take home. I found cool celtics jerseys, and patriots tees, but the red sox are the team that is nearest and dearest to my heart. the gentleman running the booth heard me bummed about nothing red sox, and pulled out the most amazing satin starter jacket that literally made me gasp. I find any occasion to wear it, and there is nothing that makes me feel cooler when I slip it on. can't wait to rock that in boston where I know it will be fully appreciated. there are tons of vendors there selling everything from vintage clothes and jewelry to furniture and home decor. even if vintage isn't your thing- melrose has something for everyone or is a fun place to spend a sunday poking around.

it's a wrap- this store is a mix of vintage and 'newish' pieces from movies and television shows that wardrobe and stylists sell after production is over. the store is organized by show or movie, so if there's a certain character that you like their style and are the same size as, you are in luck. their jewelry selection (that they keep up by the cash wrap) is definitely worth taking  peak at, I've found great (and brand new) house of harlow pieces, and fun costume pieces for super cheap. around halloween they completely transform the store into a mecca of halloween costumes since everything is movie/tv grade costumes. if you're looking for a group to dress up together, you're in luck since most outfits have multiples for filming.

what are your favorite places for vintage gems? any super special diamonds in the rough that you've added to your wardrobe?

xx, marissa