sipping Gran Centenario plata on the rocks

Today was my dear friend Clifford's going away party. He was accepted into the MFA program at an art school in Los Angeles. Mahalo, Newark, CA. Aloha, L.A.

He is my kindred spirit in the visual arts. We first met in Color Photography, Fall 2005, at SJSU. I was also lucky to have him as the bridesman at my wedding.

Today was also one of those rare days that I put on contacts. Wearing contacts means I have to wear sunglasses.

pullover: H&M.....jeans: Bitten by SJP, Steve & Barry's.....shoes: Chuck Taylor hi-tops
sunglasses: ???.....right-hand ring: Tiffany & Co.
necklace: silverjewelryclub.com.....bracelet: Wet Seal

My beloved "rose" ring, which is almost six years old.

Silver garnet pendant on a 16" silver chain.

I own two versions of this bracelet: black and brown.

I ditched those sunglasses on the drive over to Newark because they kept pinching my skull.

My best friend Em was also at the party, and she said she had also bought the same pullover at H&M a while back.

Lots of good food was had at the party. Clifford's dad made fried rice. His friend made nacho casserole. There was spinach dip and potato salad. And my fave food group was there, too. Booze. I had 2 cups of Clifford's delicious sangria and 3 margaritas.

Yeah, I'm a bit of a lush.

As a matter of fact, I'm drinking tequila the proper way right now.

a late morning walk

Brian and I did our usual downtown San Jose walk, despite the heat.

t-shirt: Fossil Store.....jeans: Bitten by SJP, Steve & Barry's.....Nike sneakers: Kohls

See this nifty little pouch? It's actually called a Shoe Pouch, and it does an awesome job of keeping my Nike+ sensor attached to my shoe. This pouch + these shoes bought on sale at Kohls = way cheaper than buying actual Nike+ shoes.

We walked to Starbucks for iced teas, then off to SJSU, walked all over campus, then back home. A grand total of 3.60 miles.

Three pics from our walk.

Public art next to the Parkside Hall on Park Avenue.

The fountains at Cesar Chavez Park.

A view of the dome at city hall, as seen on San Fernando Street.

violet + teal

I do own a few cardigans that are not black.

cardigan: Loehmann's.....top: Nordstrom Rack.....skirt: Ross
shoes: Payless.....necklace: self-assembled

'Our Lady of Guadalupe' charm on a brass chain.

Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood

The shoes in this post were not what I originally picked for the outfit. I had on a pair of flats this morning, and as soon as I got into work, I changed into these heels.

Yes, I keep shoes at work. Hidden away in a bottom file cabinet in the back office are two pairs of back-up shoes. My (new) manager thought it was kinda funny that I have a shoe stash, so I told her that I'm like Mr. Rogers---I have my outside shoes and I have my inside shoes. Well, not really. It's just nice having back-up shoes.

And oops, I forgot to change out of the heels when I left work.

cardigan: Nordstrom Rack.....top: Ross.....black skirt: Ross
shoes: Aerosoles.....right-hand ring: hsn.com

silver and cz, baby!

I have a small collection of silver rings purchased off hsn.com. And, yes, that is hsn as in Home Shopping Network. I don't buy rings right as I see them on tv. I just wait a few months and buy them on clearance on the website. Me = so not an impulse shopper.

July 15, 2009 - hangover day

Because I was so drunk yesterday night, I couldn't drive home. Dorena (my hero) let me pass out at her place. This morning, I woke up rather early so I wouldn't have to deal with traffic getting home.

Once I got home, because I was both drowsy and hungover, I was a lot lazier than usual in picking my work outfit. Yep, I wore the same skirt as yesterday. I just threw it in the dryer for ten minutes, and it was fine. And it kinda helps that I was at a centre* in San Ramon yesterday and my coworker Maria was at our home centre in Pleasanton.

cardigan: PacSun.....top: Target.....skirt: Ross
shoes: Payless.....necklace: self-assembled

This acrylic/base metal pendant was purchased at the same time as yesterday's ladybug charm. That's also the same kind of chain as yesterday's necklace.


*I used the British spelling because the company we work for is based out of the UK.

July 14, 2009 - San Ramon and "Bruno"

Tuesday was spent attending a training seminar in San Ramon, a town that's only 7 miles away from where I do work, Pleasanton. It was pretty cool meeting the West region big wig and finally having a face to match with a name seen only in corporate memos.

baggy sweater: Nordstrom....top: Ross.....black skirt: Ross
shoes: Payless.....necklace: self-assembled

I was inspired to make a necklace from this post over at Work With What You've Got. Last Sunday, I went to Michaels and lucked out in finding a ladybug charm. I heart ladybugs. And the chain is a 42-inch Figaro folded in half.

When I got home, my awesome friend Dorena called me and warned me not to go to the Tori Amos show that night. We decided to go see Bruno instead.

I changed into a comfier outfit. Sort of.

same top from earlier.....jeans: Bitten by SJP, Steve & Barry's
shoes: Chucks.....bracelet: Wet Seal.....same necklace from earlier

To prepare for the 7:45p showing, we each downed 2 bottles of Red Stripe at her place and then picked up some Blue Moon Belgian ale at 7-11. And thanks to Dorena's trusty Adidas bag, we snuck the Blue Moons into the theatre.

Bruno was friggen awesome! But I do think my extreme beer buzz made the movie much more funnier than it really was.

the cubicle dweller in her environment

This morning, right as I walked from the parking garage to the workplace, I saw a wild turkey. And of course, it ran away from me as I followed it to take a pic.

If you look over at my profile, yes, that is also a wild turkey. I love these cool birds.

My coworker Maria kindly took these pics. Thank goodness, she understands the importance of journaling outfits.

black cardigan: Nordstrom Rack.....teal top: Ross.....black skirt: Ross
ballet flats: Payless.....bracelet: my sister's stash of 1980s jewelry
necklace: Tiffany & Co.

What do you do when life leaves you four really black bananas on your kitchen counter? Make banana bread, of course!

I used the America's Test Kitchen recipe for banana bread and made them into muffins.

first post.

An explanation of the blog's name: My name is Leina, pronounced "lay-nah". Back in seventh grade, a classmate nicknamed me "Lane Wayne", after "Dwayne Wayne" on A Different World. Oh, and get this, I'm also a fan of the Wayne's World movies.

Bada bing, a blog title was born.

I've been meaning to start a clothing blog for a few months, but my mind was kept busy with wedding planning. Now that the honeymoon is over, I've been kinda idle.

Well, anyway, Brian and I had some errands to run before going on a walk. Despite the 80-something degree weather, what did I choose to wear? A sweater and a black skirt.

pullover: H&M.....black skirt: Ross.....shoes: good ol' reliable Chuck Taylors
purse: Dooney & Bourke.....watch: Walt Disney World.....bracelet: Wet Seal



Oh why not? My wedding set.

When we go on walks, it's usually around downtown San Jose, up and down the numbered and the San/Santa streets. Today, we drifted off for a bit and visited, what I call, the "afterthought" statue that's at Pellier Park on Julian Street. Behold, the Thomas Fallon statue.

I call it the "afterthought" statue because, right after it arrived from Italy, it was locked away in a storage facility in Oakland back in 1989. The statue finally got to see the light of day in 2002. The spot where it's at is kind of sad for a monument of this grandeur. The poor statue stares at Highway 87 all day long.