Category Archives: Miscellaneous

13 December 2012

Smilebooth Christmas Card

Troy and I are officially that couple. We get Christmas cards made with our dogs.  .  . Yep. To be fair, I had to beg Troy to do this so I’m completely to blame for the cheesiness. I just couldn’t help myself. When I heard that Smilebooth was going to set up shop at the Decatur Wag-a-lot for a day I put on my Skip ‘n Whistle Tacky Christmas Sweater Tee, grabbed the dogs (and Troy) and headed on over.

I’d like to lie and say that the process was easy, but Toby (he’s the black and white one) was so freaked out that Troy had to use all of his strength just to keep him on the table. The good news is that the Smilebooth and Wag-a-lot folks were so helpful that we finally got a winner:

This was one of our first attempts (below). I was trying to hold Toby up, but I have weak arms he was too scared to look at the camera. So Troy ended up holding Toby during the 10 minute shoot while Wheatie, our laid-back Golden Doodle, was perfectly content to sit there as long as he was given a constant supply of treats.

Are you guys familiar with Smilebooth? I swear that this is not a sponsored post. I just love their photos, creative backgrounds and super easy setups.

At Wag-a-lot the Smilebooth camera was set up in the wash room:

Please, feel free to go ahead and judge me. Five years ago I would have totally judged the current me for being so dog obsessed.

What can I say? I love my dogs and will shamelessly show people photos of my dogs on my phone like parents do with their kids. I think a dog Christmas card is just one more piece of evidence that I’m not nearly as cool as I think I am. Who knows where I’ll be in five years. . . crazy cat lady, perhaps?

________________________

Dearest Lar,

Less than two more days and we’ll be together – woohoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It’s pretty amazing to think that you haven’t been home for a year and a half! I can’t wait for you to see Toby – you won’t even recognize him. Apart from when he’s getting photos taken, he really has calmed down since he adopted you guys over two years ago. I just got him washed today and Wag-a-lot put a cute red bandanna with a green bow on him. I’m hoping he won’t chew it off before you get home.

I don’t know how I’m going to sleep tonight or tomorrow night. I’m too excited. I hope you’re able to get some sleep on the plane!

xoxo, Cath

 

Category: Cath's Style, Decatur/Atlanta
15 Comments
11 December 2012

A Little Bit of Vintage Glamour

Reason #326 why I love having this blog: I get to hang out with other bloggers (My Style Vita, The Fashion Lush and Yoga in Heels) and get dressed up for events like Whiskey Park’s Vintage Hollywood Glamour evening this past Saturday.

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know that I was going to wear this dress. At the last minute, I completely changed my mind. I totally forgot I had this beautiful Betsey Johnson dress that my cousin gave me and Lar over ten years ago. It has the perfect vintage Hollywood Glamour look:


Betsey Johnson dress • Club Monaco necklace • Kenneth Jay Lane cuff • gloves from a local beauty supply store • BCBG heels • faux fur H&M stole

Apologies for the iPhone camera photos. After I save up for a new computer, I’ll get myself a decent point and shoot. On the other hand, if I used a better camera, my face would look much more shiny in these photos. So the grainy-ness is really a benefit!

Word of advice: don’t wear a fur stole and gloves when attending an indoor event – especially polyester gloves – you’ll start sweating the minute you walk through the door.

My wonderful friend, Lena, and her dashing bf, Sre, made the night even more fun by joining me at Whiskey Park. They pulled their outfits together in a few hours at a couple of local thrift stores. I’m so impressed!

We rounded out the evening by pigging out at Chinese Buddha at 1 a.m. It was wonderful.

___________

Dearest Lar,

I wish you were in town for this event. I bet you would have come up with an amazing outfit – especially if you were able to pull together a prohibition party outfit for less than $30.

Do you remember the Betsey Johnson dress? Isn’t it gorgeous? I’ve kept it all these years because it looks so pretty hanging in my closet.

Also, I get to see you in less than 3 days!!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!! Best. Christmas. Present. Ever!

xoxo,

Cath

Category: Cath's Style, Decatur/Atlanta
16 Comments
9 December 2012

The Harrods Pamper Hamper

This Pamper Hamper from Harrods is perhaps one of the nicest things I’ve ever received as a blogger. It’s one of their luxury chocolate hampers: Harrods champagne, milk chocolate pink and white truffles, a Lardurée candle and rose perfume. I imagine this is the sort of thing Marie Antoinette would pack for her strolls around the grounds of Versailles. Who needs sandwiches and crudité when you can have champagne and chocolate?

Ladies and (especially) Gents, if you are still searching for the perfect present for your significant others or mothers (and have a cool £150 to spare), I highly recommend this most pampered of hampers. I feel down-right decadent eating chocolate and cream and tippling bubbles, whilst I smell of roses. Even in my wee Scottish flat with teeny windows, this basket of goodies makes me feel like a French queen in a palace — all without the fear of servant revolts and a potential beheading. That’s having your cake and eating it too.


Photo courtesy of Harrods

——

Dear Cath,

Oh my goodness, Kitcath, I sooo wish you were here to share this basket of amazingness with me. I still think it’s so funny you thought getting a hamper meant getting a laundry basket – tehehehe! Best laundry day ever, huh? Would you like me to bring the pink truffles home with me? Nom nom nom.

I’m currently smelling of the Ladurée rose perfume because I feel so fancy using that atomizer. I’m never had one, have you? I feel so glamourous and la-ti-da-y.

Still the best prezie of all is yet to come. . . SIX DAYS until I see you!!!!!

xoxoxoxo,

Lar

 

Category: Lar's Style
18 Comments
7 December 2012

TGIF Link Love


If you’re in Atlanta this weekend, make sure to come to Whiskey Park at the W in midtown. Jessica, Teodora, Donna and I are hosting a vintage-Hollywood-glamour-themed evening. I think I’m going to wear this outfit, but I have no idea how to do my hair. I wish I could do something like this.

• The Little Black Dress has been around for 5,000 years.

• Did you hear about the Chanel fashion show in a Scottish castle this week? It wasn’t far from Edinburgh. I think Lar’s invite must have gotten lost in the mail.

• Campbell’s soup that hipsters can get behind.

• Beautiful dip dye beads.

• The Honey Badger cocktail

• The countdown for the second season of Girls has begun!

• Lar mentioned that H&M is taking the most steps toward more ethical consuming than other fast fashion chain, and now they’ve taken one more step (in the right direction): recycle your old clothes at H&M starting in February — woohoo!

• If you still aren’t convinced that  garment workers’ rights should be something you need to worry about, read this article from yesterday’s New York Times about last month’s factory fire in Bangladesh.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Category: Decatur/Atlanta, TGIF Link Love
6 Comments
4 December 2012

A 2012 Ethical Check-In

I Bought Less
I’ve been struggling with my ethical fashion dilemmas all of 2012 (I wrote about it here, here, here, here and here: so much angst!). I haven’t been anti-consumerist, but when I shop I’ve tried to be much more conscientious about what and how much I buy. Roughly 60% of my 2012 purchases have been at charity shops.

I Stayed Away From Most Fast Fashion Meccas
I’ve stopped going to many of the high street stores that promote fast fashion (Topshop, Urban Outfitters, Zara). I still go to H&M because they’ve done the most ground work trying to create better work environments and pushing a more conscious clothing line — and sometimes you need a black blazer in a red hot hurry and you come up empty when thrifting. But I never go in and just buy things because they look fun and sparkly (not that it isn’t tempting, but I try to block out the “buy me, buy me, I’m shiny” voices). I plan out what I need and why I need it — and usually make space for it in my (very teeny) wardrobe (that I share with Matteo) by giving something else away to the charity shops.

I Stalked Ethical Sources Online and Still Didn’t Buy Much
I’ve tried to consistently shop ethical sources on line, but they are usually out of my budget or I can’t find exactly what I’m looking for even if the ethics and the price are right. People Tree* are one of my favorite online ethical shops to browse, but I only have one piece by them: this lovely madras shirt in this post. I love it to bits: hand-woven and hand-sewn — it’s one of the best-made and best-fitting items in  my closet. It’s also one of the most expensive shirts I’ve ever bought. Originally it was £65/$105, though I bought it on sale at £35/$56. That’s about ten times more than I pay for my charity-shop duds, and I know that’s out of a lot of people’s price range. But I was able to swing that because 1) it was on sale and 2) I’ve been spending a whole lot less money on clothes by shopping at charity shops and cutting down my shopping habit in general.

What About You, Lovely Readers?
Have you guys made an effort to curb your consumerism? I’m in no way critical or judging you if you haven’t. I really do think just keeping a dialog going really helps. There isn’t an easy and fast solution to these problems, but discussing them makes them less daunting, doesn’t it?

*People Tree is not a sponsor, and even though I can’t afford to buy all my clothing from them — I wish I could! They are the bees knees when it comes to ethical, more affordable clothing.

—–

Dear Cath,

Hope your exam is going well (sending good luck vibes at this very moment!)! I really can’t wait until next Friday — already I feel like jumping around every time I think about touching down in the ATL!!! Either these next 10 days are going to be the longest days ever — or they will just fly by.

SEE YOU SOOOON!

xoxoxox,

Lar

Category: Lar's Style
13 Comments
2 December 2012

Prohibition Party

Matt and I are counting down the days until we are back in the states for the holidays (12 DAYS!!!). As excited as we are to be back home, we dislike the idea of missing the holiday high jinx on this side of the pond, so we are trying to cram in some Edinburgh festivities before we take off: German Christmas marketing (glüwein!), St. Andrew’s Day fireworks, mince pies. and prohibition parties!

Prohibition themed parties aren’t particularly Scottish (obvs), but they are a lovely excuse for drinking delicious cocktails and putting on fancy dress (Americanos, “fancy dress” means “costumes” in British speak — I used to think that it meant “ballgowns and coat tails”). Our hostess with the mostest (see her pouring “tea” in her fox stole in the photos above), served us Earl Gray gin and tonics and mulled wine. in teetotaler teacups.

p.s. I’m quite proud because I picked up my fancy dress outfit for a mere £15 at the local charity shops: shoes, dress, and two necklaces for $24 = more money for gin tea!

—–

Dear Cath,

I don’t think we’ve ever done 1920s costumes before, have we? I really feel like that era was very unfriendly to short people: drop waist lines and yards of fabric. It totally makes up for it with the sparkle, glamor and general bright young thing-iness of it all though, doesn’t it?

12 days. I can’t get my head around that. Probably by the time you read this it will 11! Then 10. then single digits! Eeeeeek! So excited!!!!

xoxoxox,

Lar

p.s. I’m wearing Meme’s pearl choker — remember that one? The shiny “pearly” bits are wearing off, but I love it still.

 

Category: Lar's Style
13 Comments
30 November 2012

TGIF Link Love

Me and some amazing fellow Atlanta fashion/style/beauty bloggers at the Lenox Mall Club Monaco grand opening a few weeks ago. Left to right: Jessica of My Style Vita, Cathy of Poor Little It Girl, Ashley of Witty and Pretty and Mattie of Mattiologie – a me.
Photo by Ben Rose

• Ever since I made this pom pom holiday garland last weekend, I’ve gone a little pom pom crazy. I’m thinking of making this pom pom bag charm.

• These fashion posters by Garance are going on my Christmas wish list.

• Put a tree on it.

• The perfect holiday stationary.

• Has anyone read Grace Coddington’s memoir yet? I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy. Listen to her interview on Fresh Air here.

• I need this for my iPhone. I think it will get me out of bed so much better than my boring phone alarm.

• Getting inspired for the holiday season!

• Like AsianCajuns on Facebook. I promise that Lar and I are getting better at updating it!

• A couple of us Atlanta style bloggers are hosting Vintage Saturday at Whiskey Park next Saturday, Dec. 8. Stay tuned for more info.

Category: TGIF Link Love
4 Comments
28 November 2012

Club Monaco British Goodness

Lar might have stayed in a British manor house last week, but I got to hang out with the Bloomsbury group at their Charleston house in Sussex. Ha! Jealous, Lar?

Ah, who am I kidding? I haven’t left this country in months (I hear a little violin playing somewhere.).

Well, I might not be having adventures in the isles of Scotland, but I’ve had the pleasure of exploring Club Monaco’s fall line of clothing for the past few months. Remember this post where I played dress up? Well, I got another chance to check some of the newer items earlier this week.

I immediately fell in love with all the patterns, which is unusual for me because I tend stay away from patterns – and color, for that matter. The designs in the Fine Print line seem so British-vintage to me. So I decided to cut and paste photos of myself from my most recent Club Monaco dress up session into photos of the Charleston Farmhouse – a wonderfully British house that was once home to Virginia Woolf and other members of the Bloomsbury set.

Lar pointed out that the Micaila Dress I’m wearing below is actually much more in the style of William Morris than Bloomsbury, but I think it goes nicely with the hand painted mantel (and wallpaper, furniture and rug) in the farmhouse’s garden room.

It’s the perfect dress for strolling in the garden. I brought my Ally Hat along with me just in case of rain.

Here I am checking out the books in one of the dressing rooms. . .

This gorgeous red skirt is on sale! Even the painted guys on the screen are impressed.

I’m wearing these Schutz pumps in all of the photos. I love the two tone snake skin design. Did I mentioned that they’re also on sale? They even look good with the all-time-favorite Elisa Pant and Hilda Silk Shirt. Also, look, I’m floating!

So there you have it! I miss my twin so much I’m having delusions of visiting the UK just by taking a trip to the mall! Fortunately Lar is coming home in less than 20 days, which hopefully means you won’t get a post from me pretending to have tea with the queen.

_________________

Dearest Lar,

Someday we’ll make it to Sussex and take a tour of Charleston together. Until then, I’ll keep cutting and pasting photos of myself into photos of the rooms. Next time I come to Scotland we’ll have to rent the Saddell House together.maybe in the summer 🙂

xoxo, Cath

 

Category: Cath's Style, Decatur/Atlanta
9 Comments
24 November 2012

Just Like Downton Abbey

They don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in the UK for obvious reasons, and Matt and I spent last year’s turkey day eating Mexican food and pretending we weren’t missing our families. We totally made up for the lameness of last year by acting like the Granthams (minus the downstairs staff). We rented a manor house (that comfortably sleeps 13) on the west coast of Scotland for a few days and lived like lairds and ladies (lords and ladies that cook and clean for themselves, mind you).

How? Just check out the Landmark Trust properties website, choose a castle, estate, tower that suits your fancy and book away. What’s incredible to me is that the rates are totally reasonable and our chosen house (Saddell House — click to see more pics) was huge, warm (for an old Scottish house), incredibly clean and had amazing showers (again, something you wouldn’t expect even in a refurbished house from 1774).

Just take a gander at all this loveliness:

Apart from exploring the house and the surrounding estate (including a castle, abbey, beach and hills), we spent much of our get-away eating delicious food (thank you, Sara!), watching movies, making s’mores in front of the fireplace, and drinking copious amounts of mulled wine and gin and tonics in tea cups:

This is not a sponsored post:
The Landmark Trust have no idea about AsianCajuns. I found out about them because my smarty friend Sara (the lady in the blue shoes in the photo above) found out about holidaying with Landmark Trust, and we decided to book a massive house for Thanksgiving (not celebrated on these green isles — so rates were even cheaper during Thanksgiving week). It was just £500 for four nights, and there were just five of us — the house had enough beds for 13 people. Amazing, non?

——–

Dear Cath,

Isn’t Saddell House awesome?! The whole time I was thinking about how all those house museums that we went to growing up are newer than this place. And remember how we used to always dream of living in one?! All the secret passages, basements, attics, expansive grounds, big rooms — Saddell had all of it.

We are hoping to explore more Landmark sites around the country this year, but we definitely want everyone to come over some time so we can meet up at one and stay for a week. A shooting party (rah-di-rah-di), without the shooting and just the eating and walking and dozing on feather-down couches in front of crackling fires.

Hope you had a wonderful turkey day. Miss you ever so much!!!

xoxox,

Lar

p.s. JUST 20 days!!! See you sooon!!!

 

Category: Edinburgh
18 Comments
23 November 2012

Post-Turkey Link Love: Mary Kay Andrews

This post title could also be I GOT TO DESIGN THE COVER FOR A NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR!!!! But I didn’t want to put you off with a title in screaming caps and too many exclamation points — but that’s how I feel! (Exclamation point, exclamation point, exclamation point!!!!).

More importantly, Fatal Fruitcake also happens to be a delicious short story to get you in the holiday spirit. And if you are like Cath and I, instead of braving the mass consumerism happening in stores today, we prefer to contentedly rub our post-turkey consumption bellies and curl up on the couch with a good book.

To get your hands on a copy of this short story, you can get the ebook version on amazon.com. For you local Atlantans, you’ll see copies at your local book stores. Mary Kay Andrews is donating part of the profits to the Red Cross in aide of those hit by Hurricane Sandy.

Hope you guys had a lovely Turkey day! Let me know if you read the story — I wanted fruitcake after, which I think is not the lesson I was supposed to learn.

 

Category: General AsianCajuns Info, TGIF Link Love
7 Comments