Bungalow Mondays: LIME GREEN Moment

A few weeks back my husband and I randomly decided to stop in a local thrift store. The shop had a huge 30% off EVERYTHING sign, so we figured we might as well check it out. Well it didn't take long for us to both fall in love with this incredibly amazing (and completely unnecessary) lime green Queen Anne chair.

We both wanted it, and started contemplating whether or not we could really justify the purchase. We don't have room for it where we live right now, but it's just an amazing piece and is in really great shape and is accompanied by a great price tag (sounds like a triple threat to me!). We finally just said "We want this! Even if we can't use it until we move into a house we are going to buy it and figure it out later!!"

So now we have this gorgeous chair sitting at home (which reminds me it still needs a good cleaning from me). At first we had talked about getting the chair reupholstered, but now the more and more we look at it the more bitchin we find the lime green. We have all the time in the world to figure out what we are going to do, and realstically can't even decide before we actually move, but what do you think? Are you smitten with the lime green too? :)

xox,

Bre

Flashback + Confession: Who Wears Bike Shorts?

Where to start with this one...I guess with the confession part: I have been seeing cycling shorts on some European runways for Spring 2011 and I really must admit I adore this look to pieces. The reason you might ask? It reminds me of all the bike shorts my mom used to sew for me when I was a little girl. When I was about 4 years old I remember having these wonderful turquoise bike shorts with black polka dots (and my two sisters had matching ones too) and I wore them constantly. I loved them and wish I could find pictures of me in them, but unfortunately my parents had a flooding incident awhile back and a lot of my childhood pictures went out with the water; however, the memories remain ingrained in my mind. Maybe the lack of photos from my childhood increases the nostalgia I feel from fashion itself, but I just can't help but look at bike shorts and smile and think of my beautiful momma and the many things she used to sew for me.

So hate the bike shorts if you must, but don't shun me for loving them because I will most certainly be wearing them as street wear in the months to come. I already workout in bike shorts so it's not a huge stretch for me to incorporate them into my normal weekend wear. I guess I should say right here that the right styling is incredibly important to pull off bike shorts so it's not sooo "just coming back from the gym". The use of these shorts throughout Stylein's Spring 2011 collection is the perfect example. The show was sprinkled with beautiful flowy blouses with delicate (even sheer) bike shorts. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

What do you think?

xox,

Bre

All photos from Stylein's Spring 2011 show. First and last photo courtesy of Mercedes Benz Fashion & middle photo credit to Andy Torres from Style Scrapbook

A Short Story About a Shoe

*my version*

*Balmain version*

Do you ever find a shoe so amazing you know you'll just love it forever? A couple years ago I found these beautiful black-ruffled pumps a la Carrie Bradshaw (remember the episode when Miranda's water breaks on Carrie's sexy shoes?). I've been smitten with these shoes and to say I wear them often might be an understatement. Well a couple weeks back I saw a peek at one of the shoes from Balmain's line this Fall and what do you know, it certainly looks like my black-ruffled shoes. And you can bet I did NOT pay a Balmain price for these beauties, which makes it ever more exciting.

One of those rare moments of extreme shoe-phoria. :)

Any great looks for less of your own lately?

xox,

Bre

Bungalow Mondays

Every year around this time I start cruising online (usually on redfin) looking for homes in the area. I tell myself maybe NEXT Summer we will actually be buying a house. Well this year, I actually believe myself that next Summer we will start looking for a home. We won't be in any rush, we want to make sure we buy exactly what we want, but since I'm re-excited about the prospects of a house within the next year or two I've started adding photos again to my "future home" folder I keep on my computer.

So this is just a little warning, that you may start seeing more home-inspired posts on this blog (like you used to when I first started this thing). I think I will start a weekly post called Bungalow Mondays to put the "bungalow" back in redBungalow. Hopefully you won't mind. :)

For today I'm leaving you with one of my favorite tablescapes to get my mind rolling on all things that I LOVE about a home. Hopefully you will find this inspiring too.

Hope you had a great weekend!

xox,

Bre

image courtesy of Skona Hem

To see a post of how I recreated this look for less, click through to THIS POST HERE!

Closet Series: Hat Corner

Several posts back I promised to show you my closet "solution". For many of us that live in teeny tiny apartments or urban spaces, our closets just aren't big enough for everything we need to shove in there. So in addition to my built-in closet, a month ago or so, my husband and I finally added on to our closet space by putting up a closet system along two of the walls in our bedroom. I have to say it has been quite a success. Although my shoe racks are full to the max (if I get one more pair I will be out of room again), it is nice to have a lot of our belongings out in a well-lit (thanks to my hubby's industrial light DIY!) and organized space.

Instead of making one large post of my closet, I thought it best to show it in pieces (a mini-series, if you will) so it's not so overwhelming for me to take pictures. Today I'm starting off my closet series with my hat racks. If you know me personally, or have seen my outfit posts, you know I'm a little bit quirky and I love myself a fabulous hat (especially if it is vintage). Instead of having my hats piled on top of each other in a bin (that was my old solution) we added racks so I can see them and reach them easily. I still keep my knit hats in a bin, but these hooks work wonderfully for my bulkier hats.

What do you think?

Stay tuned for the next piece, although I haven't decided yet what it will be. :)

*lace fedora*

*vintage Sonni of California hat - this is from the 1950's and I bought it in pristine condition with the original price tags still on it*

*top hooks: vintage 1940's red Neumann Endler wool bowler hat & brown Panama-style hat.

bottom hooks: fuzzy black beret & pinstripe cap (this one reminds me of my gramps because he used to wear caps like this every single day with suspenders too!)*

xox,

Bre

Wild Child

*Dolce & Gabbana Fur Miss Sicily bag*

*Balenciaga Crocodile large papier tote*

*Christian Dior Faux-Fur and Lambskin Libertine*

*VBH Pellicano bag in tiger-printed Cavallino*

*Versace crocodile hinge bag*

Lately I've been having a bit of an animal moment. While I don't own any fur (and I'm talking FAUX fur here) and not THAT much animal print...I'm really having a Faux Fur moment and have an itch to satisfy it.

Oh! And on top of the faux fur craving, if somebody could get me that gorgeous Balenciaga bag I'd think I've died and gone to heaven.

Somebody help me :)

xox,

Bre

Dim Sum Plum + Readers' Input

This stripey dress gets some major mileage. I've worn it a million times in about a million different ways (worn here as a top but also seen HERE as a full dress). I'm pretty sure I'll wear this dress to the ground long before my love for it dies.

On other topics I have a question for my readers. I've been thinking about doing a little blog makeover and had thought of adding an "outfits" tab on the top toolbar so readers can click through to browse through some of the outfits I've posted. My question to you as my reader: Is this something you would like? Do you even like my outfit posts or do you skip over them? Would you like to see them more often? As a fashion-lover, I like the idea of having a style journal with pictures of my day-to-day style and how it evolves over time (instead of just snapshots of me at parties and events). Since I like the idea of seeing my daily wear, I'd be up to post more outfit photos (maybe a few times a week), but I'm not sure if that would bore my readers (and it's still something I'm getting used to, so it feels a bit vain posting pictures of myself everyday unless other people actually want to see it). So what do you think? Your thoughts are welcome (even if you don't like the outfit posts that's fine too, just don't be TOO mean about it please). :)

Thanks for your input!

xox,

Bre

outfit credit:

Dress worn as top - H&M

Skirt - Diane Von Furstenburg

Shoes - ASOS

Sunglasses - RayBan

Handbag - vintage

Jewelry - Peugeot watch, vintage Seiko watch, and others unknown.

Nails - OPI Dim Sum Plum. I included this one just in case you were wondering where I got the name for today's post. :)

Sequoia 2010

*View from the trail to Mist Falls*

On this blog I'm usually swooning and babbling about girlie stuff: dresses, boots, shoes of all sorts, jackets I'd kill for, the perfect denim leggings, to-die-for handbags....but on this occasion I'd like to take a moment to remind you that I'm not all glam all the time. Although I love fashion and clothes to no end, I am also a big outdoor junkie at heart. So instead of fashion-talk today, I thought I'd post a few pictures from my trip to Sequoia National Park last weekend.

We had a great time relaxing with some great friends and even squeezed in a 9 mile hike one day to Mist Falls. And *wow shocker* I'm in sneakers and DIY cutoff shorts and a dirty old tank... :) Just something you'll have to deal with in these photos; I'm allowed to have my off days. So excuse my down and dirty self, and enjoy the beautiful nature pics.

Have any exciting plans coming up this weekend yourself? Have fun and be safe wherever your adventures take you.

*Laina, Nick, me, and Dan about 5 miles in to the hike*

*Mist Falls*

*My love and me*

*Back at camp*

*mmmmmm bacon!*

*Burgers are extra tasty over real mesquite charcoal*

xox,

Bre

Fall Bootie Call

*Balmain lace-up ankle boots*

UH-MAZING! I'll keep this short and just let the shoes do the talking. My little tootsies are dying for to wear some boots. I wore THESE wonderfully-priced, gray ankle booties this week and it's got my feet in an uproar for more! Ready to forego flat sandals for awhile and stomp around town in boots! Unfortunately I don't really own any heeled boots (just booties because I'm so picky about BOOTS boots) so these are my little inspiration pieces to give me the courage to hunt down some real BOOTS boots this Fall.

*Balmain Panther Suede Boot - a little on the wild side but with minimalist clothing, I think something like this could be worn wonderfully*

*Reed Krakoff Lace-Up Canvas Boots with Crocodile Trim - a bit masculine/military but I still dig them*

xox,

Bre

Fall Fever: Currently in LOVE with Balmain

*Balmain Fall 2010*

I know it's not Fall yet, but I can't help myself from perusing through the Fall collections in hopes of the months to come. It started with my excitement over the Artic women in Chanel's collection (blogged HERE) and now I'm really swooning over Balmain's collection full of metallics, exuberant detailing (I adore the brocade and beautiful prints on these jackets...reminds me of the Christian Weber blazer I adore so much worn HERE) and of course I'm a HUGE lover of all things blazers and jackets so I was spellbound by the gorgeous coats in this collection!

Designer Christophe Decarnin definitely went "Baroque 'n' roll" this season and I'm head over heels about it. I adore the strong shoulders in this collection and it reminds me that I have a couple of 80's blouses from my mom with sharp shoulders that I'm itching to throw into my Fall rotation (I'm so sentimental about everything from my mom and it feels wonderful to be able to wear a little piece of her with me).

There are a couple months to go before it actually gets chilly at all here in So Cal, but I just can't help myself I have Fall Fever. :)

Any Fall items your craving?

xox,

Bre

p.s. Oh! And of course I love the long-sleeved mini dresses for Fall! That is a great happy medium for us So. Cal girls. :) I obviously cannot afford Balmain, but I may have to attempt a DIY of these mini dresses. Now of course this means I need a place/occasion to wear it this Winter. Any suggestions?

all images courtesy of Firstview.com

Touch of (Rose) Gold

During Winter I tend to haul around an oversized bag on a day-to-day basis. The only time I seem to switch it out for a smaller bag is for a night out (for some reason a large bag just seems to agree with the somber mood of Winter). But in the Summer I've notice more often than not, I'll snatch the most important items out of my big bag (wallet, blackberry, sunglasses, chapstick) and slip them into a smaller, more playful, bag. This is one of the many whimsical bags I've been sporting around this Summer. I'm on a rose gold kick, and this bag seems to be the perfect accessory to fit that craving.

xox,

Bre

p.s. You may notice this is hanging off the post from my new closet system. I promise one day I'll take full pictures. :)