After living all of these years in Manhattan without a local Target (I do not count the Brooklyn Target because it is crazy picked over and does not offer me the pleasurable Target experience I am looking for), I am finally able to claim a local Target store as my very own here in LA. The idea of being able to purchase all of the things I need to set up my new house from a Target store is thrilling to me because in New York, I always had to sort of piece together items from various drugstores and try to carry all of the things home strapped to my baby stroller. Now, like all normal citizens of this great country, I can DRIVE to Target, park in a lot, and literally take home whatever item I want without having to negotiate how I am going to carry it, strap it to my stroller, or fit it in a cab. This is a joy for me! I did my initial Targeting today and bought all of those household necessities that I get such a pleasure out of picking up. I love shopping, in all of its forms, and therefore am equally excited to buy dishwashing detergent cubes and new mascara. I tried to keep my total low so I did very little personal shopping, although I did purchase a new tank top from the Go International line by Jovovich Hawk. I had previously purchased a cute sun dress from them and am also loving this new tank that has patchwork decorative fabric on the yolk. It is super cute and very Cali, and as I piece together my wardrobe to attempt to Californicate it, this tank top will be a perfect piece to wear with jeans and flip flops.

This morning I went to The Grove in LA, a Disney-like outdoor shopping center in West Hollywood. It has dancing water fountains like the Bellagio in Las Vegas and a double decker trolley that chugs around the circumference of the center, carrying Asian tourists and families with children alike. One of the main draws to this center is the terrific Nordstrom, loaded with designer goodies. It is a smallish store, but it has an abundance of high-end merchandise that only select Nordstrom stores carry. Their shoe department is particularly awesome, and it is upon its shiny tables that I believe I may have found a Reva replacement and a perfect sandal. First, the Tory Burch section had an amazing brown ballet flat with off-white rope detail. It is called the Sterling Ballet Flat, and it appears to be a nice answer to the Reva because it is comfy enough for everyday but really different with the rope detail. See the Sterling here. I also found a pair of Coach sandals that I thought were very special. I am not a huge fan of Coach because I feel like the brand is too “mall-y”, meaning its wares can be found in every mall in America. But I do have to admit to really loving their Sari sandal. See the Sari here. I think this could be cute with everything this summer, especially in the burnt red color. I am putting both of these on my shopping list.

When Tory Burch first introduced her Reva flat, that multi-colored ballet flat with the chunky gold emblem on the toe that has been forever knocked off, I was desperate to find a pair in my size. They were sold out everywhere- and I mean everywhere. I eventually bought a  pair in lemon yellow on eBay from a seller in the Bronx who shipped them to me in a busted up Nike shoe box and tied them with a rubber band (hmmmm….) but at any rate, this lemon yellow flat was one of the best shoe purchases ever. I could make the shoe look good with almost any outfit. You could wear it with any color really, like navy, red. and of course black. The Reva itself was perfect, hence the insane frenzy to purchase them, but the color was also stand out and I got so many complements on them. I am looking for something this dynamic for spring- a standout shoe that can be worn with everything but is a little bit quirky and different. The TRB Reva is somewhat passe these days, and I feel like all of her shoes with the gold emblem are sort of over as well. I found a terific pair of gold gladiator sandals with chunky studs on them this past weekend but they bared too much of my feet to be an everyday staple. At any rate, I am on the hunt for the next Reva, wherever she may be.

So much has been happening this week that I have barely had a moment to sit down and write a new post. I was inspired to write today after pondering a question my sister asked me earlier in the week. She wanted to know if it was OK for her to wear cowboy boots. I immediately responded with a firm “no”, and we moved on to other topics of conversation. I have been thinking about her question and my response for the week mainly because I have, in my closet, a pair of awesome cowboy boots that I purchased almost 3 years ago. They are rugged brown, soft leather, and almost flat to the ground They are not traditional cowboy boots in that sense, more of a fashion cowboy boot. I literally wore them all the time when cowboy boots were hot. The could be dressed up with a nice sweater or dressed down with a simple t-shirt. I have really been mourning the loss of them in my day to day wardrobe but simply cannot bring myself to wear them for the exact reason I told my sister she should not. Cowboy boots are one of those perennial pendulum fashion items. They are in, they are out, they are in again. It is great to have a pair in the closet for those seasons when the peasant and prairie looks are all the rage. Then they need to be hidden away when the put-together girly girl look is popular. That is where we stand this season. Everything is feminine and polished and these cowboy boots are just wrong right now. But I do feel for my sister during these seasons because I miss having my fashion cowboy boots in rotation every day.

I have been suffering through wearing 2 pairs of jeans that are okay but just not great. I bought them both at Loehman’s earlier in the season and got them tailored to fit. The first, a pair of dark blue J Brand Jeans, are great on the legs but maybe a hair too short. The second pair, by Earnest Sewn, is too tapered at the ankle and too gaping at the waist. I felt it was beyond time to treat myself to a great new pair of jeans that fit me well. I headed to Nordstrom and purchased the first pair of Seven bootcut jeans I tried on. They fit perfectly and were just the right shade of washed dark blue. Sevens are excellent standby jeans, they work for day and night and always look great on almost everyone. I need to find a great little top to pair with them for a night out. That is my next challenge.

I have about 2 weeks before my house in LA will be officially ready for us to move in. During this interim period, I am in North Carolina doing all the things I love best about NC. This includes seeing my best friends, enjoying massive Target shopping, taking numerous trips to the mall, and visiting Ulta, which I revealed in a prior post that I just do not like all that much. On a search for some new foundation (if you can’t already tell, I am constantly on the hunt for new foundation) I purchased Smashbox Photo Finish primer and their new Healthy FX foundation. I may be the sole woman in the world who feels this way, but the primer foundation combo is almost too natural. The primer feels like it is 100% silicone so it creates this illusion of smooth skin that feels almost greasy, but not. Paired with the foundation, you achieve this double layer of smoothness that is so sheer and feels so false, I had to wash it off of my face. I can see how someone who doesn’t like foundation may really enjoy the look and feel of this combo but I actually enjoy the look and feel of foundation and simply need something a bit thicker with more coverage. The good news was that Ulta let me return both the primer and foundation- no questions asked.

I felt the need to post again about my latest fashion dilemma- moving West. We hunted for a place to live all weekend and ended up spending a good amount of time at this adorable park in Santa Monica so my daughter could run off the energy she was most decidedly not expending while strapped tightly in her car seat all weekend. The park visit literally filled me with a sense of anxiety I haven’t experienced in quite some time. It was 75 degrees outside and I was dressed in a cute pair of new J. Crew cropped pants and a matching light blue polo. This outfit would be my spring/summer uniform in New York. However, at the children’s park in Santa Monica, it was far too preppy and altogether wrong. Adorably chic and laid back moms filled the park. They all had this terrific long touseled hair and great little slide sandals. They were wearing adorably breezy sundresses. They were completey undone and looking fabulous (and somewhat tan.) I was so out of my element. In New York, you are bundled in a coat 70% of the year so you rarely see someone’s top to bottom outfit. Also, most moms are in a some state of work wear, unless it is the weekend, but most mothers here are much more refined in their dressing, even on weekends. I love this laid back Cali thing but I am petrified at how much it is going to cost me to rework my entire closet and try to become this new, fabulous-looking West Coast mommy.

I just checked out my makeup bag, and it appears that their has been a Dior cosmetics explosion inside. This may have something to do with several fabulous new Dior cosmetics products I purchased this weekend while back in LA house-hunting. To follow, some detail on the products and why I am so psyched. 1) Diorshow Mascara in Blackout: an amazing inky black mascara that makes my lashes look lush and almost fake. I love this! 2) Dior Addict High Shine Lipstick in Beige-A-Porter, a pink-y brown shimmery sheer lipstick that is a wonderful shade for daytime. 3)Dior Glossy liner in Beige, a perfect complement to the lipstick. It seals the lip-color without being too dark or matte. 4) Dior Bronze Essential Bronzing Powder in Healthy Look, a shimmery beige-pink that imparts the best healthy glow. I am totally in love with my new products. I feel fresh and summery with the perfect pop of black lashes.

As you know by now, I am not monogamous to one brand. I have to constantly switch it up, much to the detriment of my skin and ongoing acne spot situation. So it stands to reason that, after seeing some new cute Drew Barrymore advertising for Cover Girl,  I would use Covergirl’s new Trublend this weekend, a bottle that I had purchased about a month ago. I decided I liked the wear and the smooth way the foundation went on when applied with my fingers. My issue was the shade. I had gone far to fair, I think, which I have a tendency to do, and I needed to repurchase a deeper shade in order to secure this product as a new fave. So, of course, I raced to the drugstore yesterday and got a new bottle in the shade “Medium Light.” I like this shade. It is sort of golden beige, so you have a sunkissed look, but it blends in very seamlessly so there is no obvious “base face.” I applied a little bit of the Mercier finishing powder and bronzer on top, and I had a face that was more spring sunshine that winter frost. See the product here.