a brazen thief who walks right in

Brian and I are in the process of packing up our apartment, so there have been no outfit photos taken this past weekend. As tempted as I was to photograph myself in a big oversized men's XL sweatshirt, baggy jeans, and sneakers, I was just too busy for that.

But I'm taking a bit of a break right now to post a few of my favourite b-sides.

Garbage - "Never Be Free" - b-side to "Run Baby Run"


The Raveonettes - "Wanna Dance" - b-side to "L.A. Girls"


Kylie Minogue - "Tightrope" - b-side to "In Your Eyes"

Note: As much as I love this version, I much prefer the version of "Tightrope" that's featured as a bonus track on the Australian release of Fever.

Sheena Easton - "Fallen Angels" - b-side to "Swear"


So...What are your favourite b-sides? :)

Give me no heavenly knight, make him a devil in a fast car.

My fave combination right now: tights + ankle boots.

Case in point.

pullover: H&M.....tanktop: H&M.....skirt: Steve & Barry's
tights: Payless.....booties: Payless
purse: Dooney & Bourke

At work, a client gave Maria and me boxes of See's Candies. On those boxes were these gold elastic bows. For the heck of it, I put a bow on my head. Maria styled my hair. Totally random.

And I'm glaring at the camera in this pic whyyy?


Ah! A smile!

Earlier tonight, Brian and I had dinner at The Grill at HP Pavilion right before the Sharks vs. Blackhawks game. This was to celebrate our getting a new condo! We are spending this Thanksgiving weekend packing and clearing out the apartment.

Sadly, unfortunately, terribly, etc., the Sharks suffered a devastatingly mind-numbing loss against the Blackhawks. 2 to 7. What gives? The sugar on top was that the Sharks had given up THREE short-handed goals! Oh! The pain! I had to listen to Sheena on my iPod to get through the game. Brian and I don't leave a game early just because our team is losing because we are masochistic that way.

Here's how I looked after the game:

personalised jersey: San Jose Sharks store
hoody under jersey: San Jose Sharks store
scarf: knitted by me.....shoes: Aerosoles
Asian glow and purple lips: courtesy of a few glasses of Cinnabar "Mercury Rising" wine

Why yes, I just threw on a hoody and the jersey over my work clothes and changed into flats. I am just that lazy!

Because I love Dooney & Bourke's green tartan wool fabric.

I can't decide between this bag:

North/South Triple Zip

YT298

$43.00

L 7.5" W .5" H 8"

Two outside zip pockets

Adjustable strap

Strap drop length: 25"

or this bag:

East/West Triple Zip

YT297

$48.00

L 9.5" W .5" H 8"

Two outside zip pockets

Zipper closure

Lined

Adjustable strap

Strap drop length: 25"

Maybe I'll just buy both, but one in red. Hmmm.

Let's go, Sharks!

Saturday morning, Brian and I flew down to O.C. for a Sharks @ Ducks game.

This is how I looked loungeing about our hotel room:

youth large Sharks shirt: San Jose Sharks store.....thermal: PacSun
jeans: Steve & Barry's.....Etnies sneakers: PacSun
merino wool watch cap: Banana Republic

This is how I looked at the game that Saturday night:

teal coat: Target.....scarf: Eddie Bauer
beer: Blue Moon served with an orange slice = YUM!

The Sharks beat the Ducks, 3 to 2. What made the win even sweeter was that half of the arena was a sea of teal! I also heard that 3 charter buses full of Sharks fans made it to the game that night!

Sunday, to kill some time before catching our return flight home, we took a short detour in Huntington Beach. We had lunch at Aloha Grill on Main Street, then we walked up the street to the pier.

This is how I looked on a nice warm day at the beach:


Garbage shirt: gift.....thermal: PacSun
jeans: Steve & Barry's.....Etnies sneakers: PacSun
Rx sunglasses: LensCrafters.....purse: Dooney & Bourke

Mi amor se va en el primer tren.

I haven't been in the mood for outfit shots lately, but I still want to keep this blog going until I do get another outfit post. So, today's post is dedicated to an album I've been listening to a lot lately:
Todo Me Recuerda A Ti by Sheena Easton (1984).

**Look at how friggen FIERCE she is on the album cover!**

Yes, Sheena Easton en espanol. I don't even understand Spanish, but yet I am obsessed with this album. This goes to show how much power Sheena's supersonic soprano vocals have over me.

The concept of this album was simple: Let's introduce Sheena to Spanish-speaking countries by having her sing a greatest hits compilation kinda-sorta translated in Spanish but with a few new numbers thrown in there. Cheesy concept, but such a great album. I have to admit, her songs are awesome in Spanish. Also, her vocal quality was very substantial and solid in 1984 as opposed to the young green tone she had in 1981 and in 1982, so the re-recordings are truly lovely. And whoever coached her on how to sing the lyrics did an outstanding job.

By the way, Sheena is so bad-ass that she even won a Grammy for best Mexican-American performance for her duet "Me Gustas Tal Como Eres" with Mexican teen heart-throb Luis Miguel.

Here's the track listing and their English equivalents:
1. Telefono = "Telefone (Long Distance Affair)"
2. Todo Me Recuerda A Ti = "Almost Over You" --- My coworker Maria says this title in Spanish actually means "Everything reminds me at you" and is therefore grammatically wrong. Instead, it should have been "Todo me recuerda de ti".
3. Amame = track written specifically for album
4. La Noche Y Tu = "We've Got Tonight"
5. El Primer Tren = "Morning Train (9 to 5)"
6. Una Vez En La Vida = track written specifically for album
7. Mi Corazon Vuela Hacia Ti = "Wind Beneath My Wings" - Wait, "My heart flies toward you"?
8. Me Gustas Tal Como Eres = track written specifically for album
9. No Puedes Dejarme Asi = "Don't Leave Me This Way"
10. Brindo Por Un Amor = "You Could've Been With Me"

So, I subjected Maria to listening to this album, and, wow, she thought Sheena sounded cute singing in Spanish! And I also asked Maria to interpret the songs. Uh, whoa? What she translated didn't really match the original versions! Well, it should come as no surprise that someone had to take great liberties in re-writing the lyrics. There's no way "When you come back around / after painting the town" from "Almost Over You" would even make sense in Spanish.

Before coming across this album, I wasn't really into "Morning Train (9 to 5)". Hearing it as "El Primer Tren" made me appreciate the original English version. So, now, I just adore both songs. Here's the most random bit about the Spanish version that bothers me: Okay, so the lover in the English version works from 9 to 5, but why does the lover in the Spanish version work "nueve a seis", 9 to 6?!?! Why does he work an extra hour??

Even though the entire album as a whole is excellent, I do have my favourites. These are the songs that I can listen to on repeat over and over:
- Telefono -- This is a great New Wave synth pop song in any language.
- Todo Me Recuerda A Ti -- This version has emotions straight out of a telenovela. It is so intense!
- El Primer Tren -- This version is really cute!
- Mi Corazon Vuela Hacia Ti -- I've always wanted to hear "Wind Beneath My Wings" in Spanish, and this is such a beautiful rendition.

To close this entry, I'm going to post my fave example of a liberty taken with the Spanish version.

The closing lyrics from "Almost Over You":
When you come back around
After painting the town
You'll see I'm almost over you

The closing lyrics from "Todo Me Recuerda A Ti":
Cada paso que doy
Cada historia de amor
Incluso el aire huele de ti

The literal translation, courtesy of Maria:
Each step that I take
Each story of love
Even the air smells of you

I really love how the point of the song was completely changed from someone slowly getting over a failed relationship to someone totally obsessing over a failed relationship!

You take me for a spin until I crash into the stars.

sweater: Target.....tanktop: Wal-Mart.....skirt: Ross
shoes: Wal-Mart

My head is in a spin, my feet don't touch the ground.

I love my purple wool coat.




coat: Wal-Mart.....beanie: H&M
sweater: H&M.....skirt: Ross.....shoes: Aerosoles



Purple and teal, for real.

If this is the last dance, then save it for me, baby.

I simply adore The Raveonettes. Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo have this amazing platonic chemistry that I've never seen before. Their harmonising is beautiful, and they both are good-looking. Sune's knack for writing 1950s pop is truly awe-inspiring.

The first show I saw of theirs was at Bottom of the Hill in SF, April 2004, and I've been a true fan ever since. I've had my random fleeting short-term music obsessions, but my Raveonettes love just keeps staying strong. They always stay true to their vision of making good retro rock music, so I will always love whatever they churn out.

(By the way, Whip It On is one of the greatest albums of all time, this I swear.)

2009 was a banner year for me in terms of seeing The Raveonettes. I got to see them at Bimbo's back in January with my fabulous bff Clifford, and I got to see them again at the same venue yesterday with my best friend Em.

What I love most about seeing The Raveonettes live is that their music does sound better live. Also, I appreciate that they are a no b.s. band. They play their set straight through without very many breaks, they play their encore, and then they leave. But when they do take a breather, they thank the audience profusely. And Sune is such the bad-ass guitarist.

Here are a few pictures from yesterday night:

(Sharin always wears fabulous shoes.)

Em and I were up against the stage, right at Sharin's feet. She is one of the most beautiful people ever. Gah!!

Lazy Sunday

Earlier today, Brian and I had breakfast at 24-Hour Mini Gourmet before venturing out to Best Buy and Sears to look at refrigerators, washers and dryers.

Now, we're at home, relaxing.

hoody: Hurley via PacSun.....thermal sweater: PacSun.....jeans: Steve & Barry's
sneakers: Etnies via PacSun

Snakes on a ring.

HSN is the mother of all shopping channels, and the clearance rings section on its website is full of eye-candy....

...and some really random items such as this piece of fashion jewelry from D-List star Tori Spelling.

It's goldtone and has (no surprise!) faux turquoise. The price? $27.95, marked down from $39.95.

I've entertained the thought of purchasing it for the heck of it, but no, I'd rather wait for it to hit below $19.95. The ring in the above picture looks like cheapy costume jewelry, especially when seeing there is quite a bit of a gap between the bezel and the stone.

And that's not the only snake ring in the clearance section. How about this one?

For those who prefer "fine" jewelry, this one is 14-kt gold and has genuine green jade. For a bit of sparkle, there are tiny diamond accents. The price? $229.90, marked down from $299.90. Ouch.

One other piece caught my eye: a cheetah ring!

The cheetah is carved out of ivory-coloured cow bone and is framed in sterling silver. The ring itself is black resin. The price? $29.95, marked down from $44.95.

I've been really happy with the few rings I've ordered from hsn.com's clearance site. It is no surprise that most of them have cz stones. Hey, I love the sparkle! And after looking at the above cheesy rings, I think I'll just stick to the cz rings.

Let's talk about rings, baby.

The clearance rings section on the home shopping channel websites is my weakness.

Today's focus: GemsTV

GemsTV is the youngest of the tv shopping network bunch, yet it's getting as much viewing time as HSN for me. Why? The rings. They sure do show some fantastic rings with prices that seem to good to be true. From extravagant zultanite to inexpensive smoky quartz, this channel has it all. My friend Regina has purchased over and over from GemsTV, and she's trying to get me to dive in.

The following pics are, in my opinion, some of the highlights of the sale section at gemstv.com. Huge yet affordable rings.

These rocks would look like planets on my tiny fingers.

16-ct sky blue topaz gold ring with diamond accents - $245


17-ct amethyst silver ring - $60 - say what!?


19-ct glacier topaz white gold ring with blue diamond accents - $203


20-ct sky blue topaz white gold ring with blue sapphire accents - $245

damn right, i have my radar on you

Tonight's blog photos come to you from Brian's man cave.

dress: oldnavy.com......tights: Kohls.....ankle boots: Payless
necklace: Tiffany & Co.
bracelets: silverjewelryclub.com
right-hand ring: It's a Girl Thing!

This dress was purchased on a whim from oldnavy.com's clearance section. Thirteen-bucks and in the petite section? Sure, why not. I love the cut of this dress, especially how it cinches at my waist. This dress just looks right with tights and ankle boots.

The area I'm posing in front of still has remnants of when this den was my fangirl cave. The pictures in frames to the right of the door are of Sharin Foo and Nigella Lawson. The door has souvenir magnets and a mish-mash of days past.

My favourite chicas from the X-Men movies, but with a magnet censoring out the one I don't like.


A "Got Milk?" ad with Sarah Michelle Gellar.


Mementos from shows.

"About Leina" - installment the fourth

Today's installment: addicted to tv shopping networks.

For the longest time, I thought I was a total Food Network junkie. Then I remembered, that no, I've logged way more hours watching shopping channels.

I can kinda remember the first time I watched HSN. I was still in Catholic school, probably fifth grade or so. I had a regular tv in my bedroom with no cable connection. It had really long antennae and two dials: one for VHF and the other for UHF. HSN was one of the channels on UHF that had no static. The first time I caught HSN, they were hocking Connie Stevens skincare.

If I just want something on tv just to have that tv noise, I leave it on a tv shopping network. And I watch those channels so often that the phone numbers are burned into my projection tv. Oopsy.

The only shows I don't have any patience for are the ones for coins and watches. Talk about boring. I also don't have much patience for the low-budget channels, you know, the ones that have the camera focus on a spinning lazy susan full of rings because those hosts are way too loud and the jewelry doesn't look very appealing.

What weirds me out about tv shopping networks is that the same hosts rotate through them. Several hosts from ShopNBC are now on GemsTV. A married couple of hosts from QVC moved over to HSN. One of my fave hosts from QVC is now on ShopNBC. ShopAtHome (R.I.P) was a breeding ground of hosts for HSN and ShopNBC. Why, yes, I do pay attention to who is trying to sell me jewelry, food, cookware, tools, swords, slankets, and shower curtains.

I think the most random tv shopping network-related moment I ever experienced was geeking out when I met Leslie Blodgett at the Bare Escentuals boutique at Valley Fair Mall. It was like I was meeting a tv star. She kinda is, I guess, since she's a regular guest on QVC.

Another totally random tv shopping network-related moment was when I was forced to watch Evil Dead 2 with a group of movie theatre coworkers. I was bored out of my mind, but then I perked up in my seat when I recognised Rick Domeier from QVC!

D-List celebrities have been popping up on shopping networks, which definitely provides a lot of entertainment. My favourite so far has been Janice Dickinson. She was so loud and so fabulous. The most random crazy old ladies would call in on her shows, declaring their love for her and her random accessories.

Here is an example of a precious piece of Janice merchandise:

Talk about qualiITAY.

So, here is my list of channels, ranked in order of most hours watched, along with my favourite hosts.

1. HSN - the one that started my addiction - Colleen Lopez, Bobbi Ray Carter
2. GemsTV - Brook Roberts, Karen Connelly
3. QVC - Antonella Nester, David James, Lisa Robertson
4. ShopNBC - Daniel Green (the hot Brit!), Dave King, Lynne Schacher

Oh, one more thing: Although I have a viewing addiction to shopping channels, I most certainly am not a compulsive shopper. I've logged thousands of hours watching, yet I own a small handful of items purchased mostly from hsn. All of them purchased on clearance. If there's a cz ring that I like, I patiently wait for it to show up on the clearance section on the network's website.

And I've never called in and spoken to a host on-air. Ha!

a mixed emotion, a state of mind, infatuation of a different kind

I am deliriously happy that I can zip up my boots over my jeans.


Hey, what would I look like if I wore my only leather jacket with this?

I'd look like a bad-ass, that's what. ;) It looks like more leather jackets are in my future.

Anyway, this is how I left the apartment.

I went over to my family's place for Halloween. I volunteered to give out candy, but my mom did a way better job than me.

sweater: H&M.....tanktop: Kohls.....jeans: Charlotte Russe
trusty flats: Aerosoles

boots: Payless.com.....jacket: Wilsons Leather, a gift from Brian's mom