a goyard buffet

symptoms of the contagious and deadly goyard fever:

1) you get obsessed. you start spotting them wherever you go like a where's waldo book but in bag form. here's me spotting one and taking a spy pic when i was at a korean bbq restaurant exactly one year ago. lovely orange st. louis, you were a joy to spot....

2) then you start thinking about the bag style you want IF you were to ever get one of course. the ever popular ST. LOUIS tote is a favorite amongst both fabulous men and women. these bags are probably the most common amongst goyard fanatics and in my opinion, the most lovely and functional.

of course there are other bag styles like the saigon which can be seen carried by nicky hilton, kim kardashian, and dita von teese. the shape reminds me of a hermes kelly but the wooden handles makes me wanna wear a coconut bra while i tote it. the saigon looks extremely boxy to me and uber rigid and i'm just not a fan of the wood, leather, and canvas combination.

let's not forget the fabulous man purse, the murse, the MESSENGER BAG if you will. i'm sure women tote this, but i definitely see more men carrying it...and the design definitely lends itself to more masculine identities.

3) after you pick the bag, then you fantasize about the color you want. do you want a pop color? do you want to keep it simple? how much money do you want to spend?

black and red are the "stock" colors which means they are priced lower than the other colors for THE SAME EXACT BAG AND SIZE. so basically, the moral of that story is, you better love that color a lot for the extra $$$$ you will have to shell out. luckily, i was happy with black....but black with black trim or black with tan trim? ugh, this goyard buffet never ends....

when i modeled the st. louis at the store, it was obvious to me that the black and tan trim "popped." the contrasting trim brought your eyes to the bag and held you there whereas the black on black trim looked very one noted. let's just say, the all black bag will easily blend into your outfits. like this:

i also think this color combo is unisex and appeals to many men as well so if you mind seeing a dude toting your bag, then the black with black trim is probably too universal for you. just sayin.'

4) after figuring out the bag and the color, you get the option of personalizing your goyard! that means getting hand painted colored stripes going every which way and initials or symbols....for a few extra $$$$ of course, depending on the color and the number of letters you want.

i personally DO NOT enjoy that look. i know l.v. offers this service as well, but after reading goyard's disclaimer stating that the personalization MAY peel with use, it didn't seem like a worthwhile investment just to have something that may potentially look ratty after a period of time. so yes, i GET the idea of making a brand more personal, but i DON'T GET the peeling part especially when you're paying extra for it. that shit should stick permanently is what i'm thinking....

5) after going through steps 1-4 of this goyard fever, you come back to reality and start saving money for your first goyard! that's what i did and i am so happy with it! it is absolutely one of my favorite bags in my bagdrobe. so light, roomy, the ULTIMATE shlep bag people!

(fyi, the goyard st. louis is an easy fake to purchase. i see them all the time over the internet and for your peace of mind, i think if you want an authentic goyard, go through the boutique in s.f. or barney's...i have seen some pretty good fakes being sold through resellers claiming they were authentic when it's wasn't. buyers beware).

my gorgy goyard!

WARNING: really UGLY, huge, watermarks on my pics. i want to discourage resellers and scammers from using my authentic pics to scam. better to be safe than to unwittingly abet.

goyard was established in 1792 and is THE OLDEST parisian trunk maker. comparisons are usually made between goyard and louis vuitton because both make coated canvas bags as well as trunks...not to mention repetitive patterns and monograms. i personally prefer goyard because it's not as common and i'm definitely much more excited about the chevron pattern than the LV monogram.

i also made a 180 with my "NO to pricey canvas bags" stance. before goyard, i couldn't wrap my head around paying an exorbitant amount of money for something made out of hemp, linen, and cotton with a thick coat of shlack on it...frankly, i still can't, but i do enjoy goyard and how light it is! so effin' handy! i guess in some instances, you do eat your words...as long as i'm toting a hot bag while eating them i suppose :0

the only goyard bag of interest i had was the st. louis tote, a bag most similiar to the lv neverfull. the other goyard bag designs don't really interest me and to be honest, i still have a certain mental limit on what i want to spend on coated canvas and trust me, goyard prices are nothing to scoff at :/

pictures of st. louis totes that i got off the internet.

black and red bags are considered "stock" colors and are priced a few hundred dollars less than the orange, yellow, light blue, navy blue, green, and burgundy colors. bags that are GM (bigger) vs. PM (smaller) size are also priced differently. i originally thought i wanted the navy blue, but once i modeled it in the size that i wanted, i thought it looked really big on me. besides, i didn't think the extra cost warranted the pop color when i already have pop color bags in my bagdrobe. you should see my brain whirling away as i modeled the bags in the boutique.....

so this is what i got!

i got a black and tan st. louis goyard GM. WOOT! if you have super skinny arms, the pm size will be alright i think, as long as you don't carry much. but if you are a packer like me and tend to bring a ton of stuff: wallet, phone, dslr camera, a sweater/cardigan/scarf, and a water bottle, then the GM size is the way to go. i also like to be able to wear my bag on my shoulder so the longer handles of the GM makes it A LOT more comfortable. unfortunately, the PM sized handles were a tight fit for moi.

check out the cheap ole plastic wrapping on the handles. truth. it looks like something from chinatown. you would THINK they can wrap that part in felt or something right?!

the chevron design is my favorite part!

it's a really convenient shlep bag. roomy enough for everything and anything and hopefully, extremely durable even though i'm aware that the handles sometimes shows cracking or distress after a period of time. well, bags are meant to be used and loved....and this one, i loooooooove.

going ga ga for goyard

recently, the hubs and i went up to san francisco for his friend's wedding. unfortunately, my body decided to revolt against my plans of potential s.f. merriment so i actually ended up dealing with a cold throughout the trip. boo hoo...let's bring out the tiny orchestra with the tiny violinist playing the tiny violin.... :/

it's been YEARS since i've been back to s.f., but truthfully, it's not my favorite city. i think i'm 100% spoiled by the CONVENIENCE of los angeles...cuz seriously, traffic may be bad in el lay, but at least i can drive and park where i want to whereas getting anywhere in s.f. is a PAIN in the buttocks. ok, i know it's a public transpo kind of city, but given my less than fond memories of using public transpo for most of my high school and college life, i am 200% straight up never going to do it again unless i have to. you will have to force me with a bow and arrow hunger games style...i would rather just walk yo.

so anyways, my hubs booked a room in the hotel where the reception was to be held which OH SO HAPPENED to be in union square which OH SO HAPPENED had a goyard store within walking distance (fyi, it is the only store in north america). goyard is sold in barney's in boston and beverly hills as well as barney's and bergdorf goodman in new york, but san francisco is the only location with an actual goyard boutique. i HAD to go. bagnatic can do no less.

i was first infatuated with the goyard chevron design which strangely reminded me of m.c. escher, an artist that i really loved while growing up. it's the repeated patterns that makes it so alluring i think. methinks it visually pulls you in and puts you in a trance.

look at this fine stack of goyard luggage outside the storefront. gorgeous right? yessssss.......

a quick looksie in the store resulted in one of my quickest purchases ever...let's just say, i THOUGHT about buying something, but being there amongst the products sealed the deal for me...i definitely came home from s.f. with a cold and a goyard. not bad i say, not bad.

ballz to the face

on any given day at my work, i look pretty worn out and bleh. some might say i have a hobo-esque quality to my outfits cuz i'm not much of a "dress up for work" kinda gal. i prefer using the few extra minutes in the morning with my dogs or to slam down that snooze button on my alarm clock JUST-ONE-LAST-TIME. looking runway ready is the LAST thing on my mind. besides, my line of work and the way i work requires comfy clothes, a pony tail, and a lot of coffee...make up and all that jazz just don't work for me when i work. besides, i wouldn't know what to do with my face anyways.

but recently, i found myself in a "make up for beginners" class taught by my engagement/wedding make up artist. i really wanted to support her cuz she's so good. besides, WHY NOT?!?! at my ripe old age of eighteen :0 , i really wanted to learn how to apply more stuff on my face than just eyeliner and lipstick. anyways, the class was super informative and highly inspirational. soon afterwards, i began jocking beauty products like an obsessed freak. OBSESSED.

the first product i started obsessing about was guerlain's meteorites. there are three shades and i bought the medium one, the teint beige. i felt an unexplainable attraction to their ballz.

[informational blurb] guerlain is a french perfume house that was founded in 1828 and was recently acquired by LVMH (aka louis vuitton moet hennessy, a luxury goods monster company that controls a lot of name brands out there like louis vuitton, marc jacobs, fendi, SEPHORA, etc...). it is a rather respected perfume and make up brand because of its long history and reputation.

beautiful, beautiful packaging. the thin embossed tin container is so freaking cute! i swear i thought about it for weeks and weeks before i ended up getting it since it was rather expensive and not quite justifiable for a makeup newb. but i loved that container and those dang ballz so much.....

anyways, people use these meteorites in different ways. some use it as a highlighter, some as an all over face powder which is how i prefer to use it. i just get a super fluffy powder brush and swish it around these ballz and then brush the powder over my face after my foundation. there's a slight glowy effect and if i stare into my 10x magnifying mirror, i can see a bit of shimmer. do i look magically gorgeous? no. but it sure is fun to swish that powder brush!

[informational blurb] each ball serves a purpose to cancel out discoloration in skin tone, reflect light, or add warmth. personally, i just love the floral scent, kinda like hugging an old white grandma.

so was the price justifiable? hmmm, probably not. but i like it and there are no retail regrets with this one.

happy berfday charlie brown!!

totally dressed to party with his homemade party hat, minus the fallen bow tie.

my little beagle turned 3 yesterday. in dog years, he can legally drink and find himself a whore, but in my household, he just gets a little doggy berfday cake...a carrot/apple sauce birthday cake with cream cheese/apple sauce frosting to be exact. sounds yum enough right?

it was an easy batter and didn't take much effort, especially with my handy dandy kitchenaid mixer. 1/2 hour later, it was out of the oven and onto a rack to be cooled off while charlie and my other two dogs circled around me like vultures in the kitchen.

once frosted, i decorated the cake with a simple number 3 in carrot slivers for charlie's new age. i would have been more creative with my cake decorations if time permitted, but i had humans to feed as well. since the dogs get homemade cake, the humans got prime rib, cheesy smashed potatoes, garlic spinach, and tomato pine nuts salad with a balsamic vinaigrette for dinner. crazy yummy if i must say so myself. it IS a party after all.

after the humans ate and our bellies bulged unattractively with the grub, it was time to slice into the cake! the anticipation must have slayed my furry buddies...one by one. *wimper* charlie was so excited, he started shmeeing (this noise he makes through his nose. rather annoying actually...thank god he's cute!).

"drop it momma...please?"

he was smacking his beagle lips as i took my pics. give me a sec charlie! sheesh!

but his excitement built into an unbearable surge of energy (and defiance) because he sprung up to snatch the piece of cake out of my hands and gobbled it as quickly as he could, smacking his lips furiously as i watched in surprise. then i remembered it was his berfday after all so all was forgiven...dang dog.

of course lucy and bronx got to share in the cake eating as well and they LOVED it. ok, so i know dogs will eat anything, but i really think they were particularly excited about this cake based on their frenzied behavior after their first bites...it must be good right?! right.

it was good times and i look forward to baking many, many more berfday cakes for my sweet pups. happy birthday charlie brown!

number geek

11.11.11 all around.

pre-moon (part 1)

the ideal scenario is to go on a honeymoon AFTER the wedding, but given a lot of restrictive factors, my fiance and i opted to go on a "pre-moon" to hawai'i (already happened) and then a "mini-moon" right after the wedding to vegas (gonna happen). talk about us mooning left and right!

so let me backtrack and talk about hawai'i....oh beautiful hawai'i! we went this past april for a 5 night, 6 day stay in oahu and got us a hotel in waikiki. it was the first time for the both of us to visit this aloha state and i loved, loved, LOVED the 24/7 tropical heat. not only that, i got leid right away. woot!

since i can't swim (ever seen a pig drown?) we did a lot more beachcombing and touristy thangs rather than the swimming, sunbathing in teeny weenie bikini thang. for example, here i am, harassing a bunch of hermit crabs in north shore.

teenage mutant ninja turtle sightings at "turtle beach" in north shore.

i loved how the palm trees swayed in the wind. so relaxing.

waikiki's beaches were rather busy. my fiance jumped in the waters a couple of times to cool off, but i sat my ass on my nifty costco beach towel and ate spam musubis instead. we all relax in our own ways now don't we? :p

but my most favorite beach was hanauma bay. we got there early and was able to avoid a steady stream of people trying to pack themselves into this protected marine life conservatory.

hanauma bay is known for super clear waters and great snorkeling. i didn't want to snorkel cuz of my fear of water, but my fiance went on his own and had a ball. i surface snorkeled instead like this. hiya fishies!

i also hung out with some chicks. they didn't talk much and yes, so odd to see random chickens running about.

by noontime, hanauma bay got pretty crowded and all the sunblock from the swimmers started muddling the water making it rather hard to snorkel. so we packed up and bade adieu to this long line of people waiting to get in. would i come back again? OF COURSE. BUT, only if we get their early. it is definitely not relaxing to share a small space with tons of peeps...and the peeps kept coming.

as we drove away, we saw a ton of people gathered taking a snapshot of this scene....so i did too. do what the tourists do is what i say :0

so that's the bitchin' beaches part of my hawaiian story. the rest to be continued......