Category Archives: Miscellaneous

Stuff That Makes Me Happy

As I’m writing this Lar and her bf are flying across the Atlantic to Scotland – my favorite place on earth. They’ll be meeting up with friends and staying in a cottage on the west coast north of Glasgow and finishing their trip in Edinburgh. Not only am I insanely jealous, I also already miss Lar like crazy.

To distract myself I’ve decided to focus on some fun stuff.

1.) AsianCajun playlist on Songza!
Songza is like Pandora and every social media site all rolled into one. You can create a playlist and then friends can add their own songs to it.  Listen to the AsianCajuns Songza Playlist and add your favorites to our hodge podge of songs. I’m obsessed with this site and listen to it at work all the time now.

2.) New Ann Taylor Concept Store in Atlanta
In honor of the store opening, our Atlanta readers will receive a 20% discount at the new Lenox mall store when they say “There’s a new Ann in town” at checkout. The deal ends on Sept. 5. Make sure you get over there – I’ll be visiting tomorrow!

3.) Atlanta Bocce Ball!
The inaugural season of the Atlanta Bocce League starts Sept. 15 and continues every Wednesday night at Piedmont Park. It’s a co-ed league with league bars and drink specials every week. On top of all that, Whynatte and Esperanza, two of our favorite local companies, are league partners.

4.)Imogene + Willie
I’m trying to figure out when I can make a special trip to Nashville just to check out Imogene + Willie. The store sells the designers’ premium denim (they suggest washing denim in the tub or a creek) and other lovely Americana items, like vintage cowboy boots, in a beautifully retro-fitted gas station. I love the videos on their website including this one:

The Weekend Haps

Things have been a bit crazy the past few days for Lar and me – a wedding, a funeral, a trip to Montana, and family visiting from Maryland. I have a couple of outfit posts in the works, but for now, here’s a few fun photos from the past week:


A close up of my Toms near an okra plant at Stone Mountain Park.


It doesn’t get more AsianCajun than this: Cafe du Monde chicory coffee sold at a Doraville Asian market.


Our friends’ wedding reception was at Cafe Alsace – one of the sweetest restaurants in downtown Decatur.


Dexin looked gorgeous as a bride, but my bf (who took this photo) was more interested in the French beer at Cafe Alsace, which turned out to taste like a watery Belgium.


We took our aunts out for tea at Dr. Bombay’s in Candler Park.


Dr. Bombay’s might not have the most elegant tea setting, but I love its bird-cage and book-filled interior.

Lar is on her way to Scotland in two days – I’m so jealous! Let’s hope British Airways doesn’t go on strike!

Little Black Dress Experiment: Day 20

Hello dear readers! We’re glad you all enjoyed our travel guide on Glamour.com. As I mentioned in the previous post, Lar and I have been crazy busy, which means we haven’t been able to blog as much, which means we’ve been cranky. But you know what’s helped? Your comments and the chance to participate in the Little Black Dress Experiment.

Dresses gifted by Ann Taylor. For other outfit details, see the full post here.

For the month of August, style bloggers from around the country have been showing off how to style this gorgeous Ann Taylor dress (psst! the link gets you a coupon) and we were invited to represent Atlanta – woot, woot! Click here to check out our post and the other 19 stylish girls that have participated.

FYI to our Atlanta fashionista readers: a new Ann Taylor concept store is opening up in Lenox. We’re going to explore it soon and will let you know all about it.

AsianCajuns Glamour Guide

A couple of weeks ago the lovely people behind Glamour.com’s Smitten blog asked us to write up an Atlanta travel guide. Lar and I love doing anything that helps show off our adopted home city. Check out the write up here.

On a side note, we’ve been slammed with work and family stuff this week, but we’ll be trying to post as often as possible. In the mean time let us know what you think of our guide and when you’ll be coming for a visit!

Inspired by Annie Hall

I won’t go into the title of this post too much because, really, who isn’t inspired by Annie Hall? This outfit is an updated Annie Hall look sans hat. Actually it really came about because I’m so sick of wearing skirts to work. I miss pants and blazers and black tights, but we have at least another two months of hot summer weather in Atlanta.


Outfit details: Zara shirt, H&M vest, recycled CD necklace made by my talented friend Lena, McQueen for Target pants, shoes from Eviva boutique and a Saddleback bag.

I’m completely in love with my Saddleback satchel gifted to me through the Little Black Dress experiment. It’s probably the best quality bag I’ve ever owned and so well made that I’ll still be using it in 50 years.

Speaking of the LBD experiment (we mentioned it before here), Lar and I will be showing off our, um, styling skills with our little black dresses on the 20th. Check out how other bloggers around the nation have cleverly styled the same Ann Taylor dress here.

And because I couldn’t resist, here’s a photo of Boo Radley in mid-tail wag and his full-on Ewok look:

Monograms: Not Just for Preppy People

A couple of weeks ago, one of the owners of Simply Bags contacted us about sending two monogrammed beach bags. Usually I’m a little hesitant about embroidered initials, but I had just read about monograms on a Garance Dore’s post (her blog is my fashion bible). I mean if Carine Roitfeld is getting her Lanvin bag monogrammed (see below), can’t I do it on a beach bag? I went with “Lar” instead of my initials because I’m not C.R. and because my initials are the acronym for bad cholesterol (LDL).


Polka-dot shorts from Asos.com, quarter holder necklace from Snoozer Looser, black tank from who knows where, croc friends on location at Heliotrope.

And this (above) is how you’ll usually find me when I carry my “monogram” tote, surrounded by googly-eyed crocodiles.

ps- Are you guys having a good beginning of the week? Apologies for not responding to your sweet comments, work is still using up most of my time and brain power. I’ll be back in business by the end of the week!

Say Yes to The Dress ATL Style

Last week Lar and I were invited to a little shindig to celebrate the premier Atlanta season of TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress – at least we thought it was little. We realized our mistake when we pulled up to the party location in downtown Atlanta, saw the red carpet and the 800 plus guests – most of them dressed to the nines (think prom gowns, professional updos and dapper suits).

We hadn’t heard of Say Yes before, but after experiencing the party and hearing from our friends about how they’re obsessed with the show, we realized that somehow we’ve totally missed the boat on the show AND the whole wedding business in general. Just as a disclaimer, Lar and I aren’t really wedding girls. We get super excited if a close friend is getting married, but apart from the obvious, we don’t really know what it takes to put on a wedding.

Luckily, there are plenty of talented wedding experts out there – like Lori Allen, owner of Bridals by Lori Atlanta.

That’s Lori on the left in the photo above during the party. Bridals by Lori is one of the largest wedding salons in the nation, which also makes it the perfect spot to film a reality show following soon-to-be brides around while they find THE dress like this one:

No, silly, I’m not talking about Lar’s Paul Gaultier for Target dress, I’m talking about the gorgeous bridal gown on the 10 ft model. Eat your heart out Chelsea Clinton! (Actually, I loved Chelsea’s dress, but that’s a hole ‘nother blog post)

Here’s my WTF-how-did-everyone-get-so-dressed-up-for-a-6:30 p.m.-party-on-a-weekday-? look:

I’m wearing a dress Lar gave me for my birthday from Ramona West.

Apart from the gorgeous dresses and giddy vibe, the best thing about the evening was the jars of candy and cupcake-covered tables. Lar helped herself to a big ol’ bag of M&Ms and chocolate covered raisins.

Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta premiered last Friday. Seeing as I don’t have cable I asked my bf to DVR the show for me. I can’t wait to check it out and see what all the fuss is about.

Boo Radley Remedy

I’ve been having a couple of stressful weeks at work. I come home wanting to stick my head in a bucket full of margarita every night. Seeing as there is no tequila in the house, the desired results of the proposed head dunking are ineffectual.

I have another solution:

Mr. Boo Radley.

Hat from Walgreens, gauzy tank from a small boutique in Baltimore, skirt from Asos, thrifted sunnies, second-hand fringe pouch (thanks, Aunt Mare!), shoes are Frye, Boo from Atlanta Pet Rescue.

So About Camping.

Cath and I are not what you would call outdoorsy. At all. Bugs scare us, we hate being dirty, and quiet, rural camp grounds give us the heebie jeebies. I go camping because I have a group of wonderful friends who (unfathomably) enjoy just that sort of thing, and they make it look easy! Made-from-scratch tortillas over a camp fire? No problem! Getting a tent up in a matter of minutes- in the rain? Piece of cake! Bear fighting skills. Covered. (This has not been tested, but I’m 97% sure this is true).

So I thought I would share with you what I’m good at when camping: what to wear. See below for evidence:

Shopbop

1) Even non-outdoorsy types like myself know that layers are key. The more scarves and ponchos the better! Particularly in the dead of summer. Keep it breezy with a pair of short shorts. Mosquitoes become distracted and disoriented amongst wool and will therefor spare your legs. Oh and for godsakes do NOT take off a layer even if you get toasty. It ruins The Look.

Shopbop

2) Don’t listen to those softies well-seasoned campers. Heels are a must. This adds height to your stature and deters bear attacks (fact: bears are notoriously fearful of tall women. I wear stilts when hiking.). Also, keep the midriff exposed. Bears find it depressing when comparing your abs of steal to their hibernation flab. Seriously, they’ll spend the rest of the season far from you, and in front of a pond looking at their reflection wishing they could loose just 20 lbs more.

Camp fire tip (see photo for details): want to wow those friends who make homemade brownies over an open flame? Try roasted PBR can, brings them to their knees every time.


Shopbop

3) No showers? No problem! Hit the bottled Evian to keep your hair photo-ready. This is not only great for your hair but pretty good for the environment too, especially if you just leave the empty bottles (say 10-15 per wash) at your camp site when you leave. Keep your sunglasses on whilst washing for better results.

To re-cap: layers (except on your legs), heels, midriffs, water bottles. You can now survive any outdoor adventure fashionably!

In all seriousness, I wish I could look like this when I camp, but I’m afraid not all the Shopbop in the world could make up for a lack of a shower and sleeping on gravel. I usually tend to wear what I call my ugly pants (North Face zip-offs), cut-offs, and tees. Hence the lack of photos from this past weekend’s outing. Next time I’ll bring my hair and make-up people with me.

Kind of Rolan Mouret-ish

First of all, thank you to everyone for voting for us in Atlanta Magazine’s Head to Toe contest. Having such amazing support from the blogging community is one of the things that really keeps us going.

Now, on to some fashion/style/outfit talk. I’m always on the hunt for Rolan Mouret/Black Halo/ Victoria Beckham-inspired dresses (read: cheap knock-offs) that I can wear to  work. I love the lady-like lines and the fact that I can just thrown on a dress and look pulled together.

Outfit details: Cassius sunglasses, necklace from Vacation, Zara jersey dress, shoes from the Banana Republic outlet.

I swear I didn’t smear Vaseline on the lens of my phone camera – it just needs cleaning, which I didn’t realize until I pulled these photos up on the computer – eesh!

Lar got me this necklace a while back at Vacation, one of our favorite Atlanta shopping spots, and I love it. It’s got a kind of Flinestones feel to it but somehow it works with this dress.

Hope you are all having a great weekend! Lar is away camping. I don’t envy her, but I’m sure she’ll have some fun photos to share when she gets back.