ON WEDNESDAY I went to Pasadena with my friends. We worked at American Apparel together and we still hang out a lot, which I love. I miss working with them. We walked around Urban Outfitters and Paper Source and the Container Store trying to get our holiday gifts and trimming, and then I took 'em to The Loved One where we looked through all the pretty vintage finds, and I actually came across a version of my wedding dress by Josie of Frances Baker, along with some pieces from her most recent line. Her clothes are all so lovely! Check out her blog here. You can see a little bit of my wedding dress poking out in front of the brown and gold dress in the photo below. I really love Pasadena. It's definitely on my list of places I'd like to live in southern California.

Afterward, we went to a restaurant called Abricott. It's this super cute little asian-french fusion restaurant with really great quirky decor like framed pictures and a private dining room that was set up like a perfect little home library. My friends Cindy and Karlee had been planning to take me there for my 30th birthday back in October but it didn't work out. I got a pork belly banh mi that was amazing, although a bit expensive compared to Lee's. Johnny didn't like the leftover half I brought home to him, and I think it was because of the added ingredient of kimchi, which I surprisingly liked as an unconventional addition. Add some fries with sriracha and I'm set.

I'm almost done with all my holiday shopping. Now I just have to worry about wrapping. I've got all the trimmings and wrapping papers, but I just need to sit down and do it. I do love wrapping gifts, but I've just been so busy with work and writing lately-- mostly work; I wish it was mostly writing and/or reading. I think I'll try and get it all done tomorrow. 

What about you all? Any fun plans for the days before/during/after Christmas?

What I'm wearing:
wool trench - ASOS
floral dress and black suede booties - c/o Nectar Clothing
opaque tights - American Apparel
red beanie - Krochet Kids

These next photos are from an Instagram installation at the UO in Pasadena. It wasn't finished yet but Karlee and I commandeered it anyway.

Lastly, I've told you about a photo shoot I was a part of, right? Well here's the behind the scenes video for the Fall 2012 shoot I did for Nectar Clothing! You can see more at their website, but I'll post more photos up later!