Masculin féminin

Love the contrast of boyish short hair and ultra-feminine flower corsages. Beautiful balance. :)

*image from myvintagevogue

vacation pics

Some Fuji Instax Mini shots from Palm Springs last week...Someday I'll buy a new scanner for my instant film stuff. :/

Both of these were taken in Palm Canyon.

Ace Hotel Palm Springs review

Over Christmas, Coop and I stayed at The Ace Hotel in Palm Springs. It was overall an extremely positive experience - the laid-back vibe suited our style perfectly! Food at the diner was really tasty, drinks were fun and yummy, customer service great, the beds were comfy, and the fridge was well-stocked with goodies (as was the rest of the room!). Oh, and the record player and striped robes? Awesome. :)

Only a few things I'd change:

1) Our room's "private" patio with fireplace? Not so private. The second floor can see everything. Bummer.

2) Our fireplace was kind of buggy. Wouldn't turn on first night, and you don't have control over the fire strength. Not enough to stay warm at night in winter.

3) The free bike rentals that come with your stay? The bikes were never available. :( They need to provide enough to suit most guests, or limit the time each guest can use their bike. I think they do the latter, but don't enforce it. As a result, bikes just sat in front of our room unused most of the weekend because some guests had checked them out and never returned them.

A few things to note if you are staying at The Ace:
- Be sure to request a room far away from the public pool. Music starts blaring from the speakers early there and goes until late. Luckily, I knew this going into things, so we requested a quiet room.

- Be sure to check out the vintage photo booth right next to the reception area. So much fun!

Let me reiterate though, we had a great time at The Ace and would definitely go back! I think we'd like to go in the spring or fall though so we can get some quality pool time without getting roasted. :)

Yay vacation!

frenzy

Oh dear, this week before x-mas = nuts. Too much going on! What say we all save an evening this week for a cup of tea, quiet contemplation, and painting our nails? :)

*image from kaitlynmeanspure

snowflakes

Had a fun little crafty Saturday with my two girl friends - we made these snowflakes. We were actually attempting to make some last week but our folding was all wrong, so I was very thankful that Design*Sponge read my mind and posted that project. We ended up ditching doilies for silver tissue paper though - it was just much easier to cut and ended up looking wintery and airy.

BTW, just bought a new Fuji Instax Mini and it is the cutest lil camera - I can't wait to take it to Palm Springs! My first picture with it is this shot of one of my snowflakes in the window. :)

palm springs

I'm headed to Palm Springs soon and can't wait to relax for a little while. If anyone has any recommendations for things to do I'm all ears!

*image from danske

jolly

Dear, oh, dear. I've got the holiday spirit bad. I don't think I'm the only one either - this economic & political climate has a lot of us grasping for something jolly and festive, no? My mom put up Christmas lights before Thanksgiving for goodness sakes!

Playing 15th century Christmas carols at my desk every day is probably a little overkill, but I'll take my kicks where I can get 'em. :)