dino + muse: vintage, acid wash, and leather

photography by ash waters  

Some days it is hard to remember that you need to just stop. You get into this mindset of always moving, always going, always doing... We abuse our bodies and our minds without event acknowledging it. I am so guilty of this. I am sure you are just as guilty as I am because there are so few people in the world who have truly achieved the utopian idea of balance. We take on projects and responsibilities as though we are invincible and seem to always forget that we are merely human...
This year, I have been trying to be more conscious of myself and my thoughts, but often times I feel as though that is a dangerous place to be. We get lost in our thoughts so easily, and our minds get carried away... I just want to find a little bit of solace in my surroundings. To find a little bit of joy wherever I can, without any preconceived notions about what should and shouldn't be.
So for this post, without any real thoughts about what it would be or how it was going to turn out... I found a new friend. It's just me, being eclectic, being fun, being dorky with my friend, the green dinosaur. After I saw the results of the first image for the first time I thought how it looked like it should be an album cover... it was cheeky, it was funny, and very odd. So either I'm extremely short, or this piñata is extremely tall... Which one is it? By the way, the tights that I have on from Baroque are the softest tights I have ever slipped on in my life!

top: vintage s/s button down // acid wash jacket c/o banggood

bottom: zipper faux leather skirt by h&m // embellished tights SOLD OUT (similar) c/o baroque

shoes: chunky platform heels by forever21

accessories: sunglasses c/o zeroUV // chain clutch by moschino c/o reebonz

leather and houndstooth, a study in black & white

The weather has been extremely strange here lately. It has been an extremely dry winter. There is no snow on the mountains, it only rained for a few days in November, and though it's been pretty warm during the days, it dips down to the 50s at night. I guess that is something for me to get used to now that I technically live in the inland area outside of LA. I really do miss LA... all the wonderful foods, the easy access to anything and everything that I could possibly need... my friends! I feel so isolated here and geographically, I feel completely misplaced. It's been several months now since I moved, and moved again, and yet I am still not used to it. I'm starting to embrace it more now, but there are things that I will never be able to find in LA out here.
It's funny... I remember when I went on vacations with my family, my parents were absolutely determined to find a Chinatown of some sort no matter what city we were in (and they always did). For the life of me, I couldn't understand why they didn't want to explore more of what each city had to bring. It wasn't until I got older that I realized what it was - it was comfort. Despite all of the changes around you, the changes that happen to you both physically and mentally, there is always one thing that you can count on to make everything okay - food. I get it now more than ever because now that I live at least half an hour away from all things Asian, finding some sort of comfort only comes from my kitchen. Recently though, a large Asian supermarket chain opened up its doors near me and I cannot even begin to describe to you the overwhelming excitement and relief that I experienced when the sign first appeared. I need that comfort, just like my parents did, that despite the swirling of life around them... there was always the food.

Layers have been my best friend lately, and even more so, black and white. It's been very hard for me to incorporate color into my outfits, so I make due with small splashes of colors in my accessories or lipstick. For this outfit, I tucked in my 10th tribe tank into my leather circle skirt. The contrast between the muscle tank cut and the circle skirt bring a little more femininity into the look. I then layered it with my super soft houndstooth vest which brings on another layer of interest, and finished the look off with a double breasted cardigan. It's a really simple outfit, but the contrast from not only the textures, but also the stripes and the houndstooth really make this look pop. For a little color, I am sporting my favorite red lipstick by MAC in Just a Bite and a thrifted red clutch to match.
Also, in case you don't follow me on Facebook or Instagram (which you should!), you might have just realized that I finally got my hair done! I chopped off about 6 inches and had it recolored. My poor hair needs some processing break.

top: printed flag tank, c/o 10thtribe
outer: houndstooth vest, yesstyle (similar) // double breasted cardigan, forever21 (similar)
bottom: leather circle skirt, h&m (similar here & here)
shoes: nude ankle strap heels, forever21
accessories: sunglasses, c/o zerouv SOLD OUT (similar) // rings, forever21 // clutch, thrifted

photo credit: ash waters

my tribal heart: the reality

For the past several months, I have felt as though I lost my voice. With life pulling me in so many different directions, I couldn't seem to find the "time" to keep up with my blog. Though I had been going through my apprehensions about continuing this blog, it seems as though my heart is really set on it. My blog's one year anniversary was in September, which meant that because I had only purchased my domain for one year, it was about to expire. I chose not to do anything about it, and had actually thought that my blog, or at least www.lepetitmuse.com no longer existed after September. Little did I know that Go Daddy was quite the sneaky company and had automatically renewed my domain. It wasn't until November that I had realized what had happened...
When I got my new phone, I had lost access to all of my email accounts. Because I had changed my passwords so many times, I could not for the life of me remember how to log into any of my accounts other than my work one (go figure!). Though I mostly don't mind not receiving emails, a lot of the ones that I did receive for my blog were gracious reminders from new readers or followers. I missed all of that... and for that, I truly am sorry. It was only last week when I managed to log into my account again, and after sifting through all of the junk, an overwhelming sense of guilt came over me. I hadn't touched my blog since the beginning of September. It was then that I also decided to log into my instagram for the first time in a very long time as well. Seeing all of my blogger friends continuing to look fabulous and be beautiful made me reminisce about the friendships that I built and thus let fall the wayside. Again, I'm sorry for that...

With all that all of the personal trials and tribulations that I have been through in the past months, with all of the stresses, I thought it would be fitting that I bare myself a little more than I have before. I still don't quite feel like myself... feel as though I have gotten much older in the few months, but here it is: I will not let life defeat me. When I didn't post, I did feel as though something was missing so I will do my best to fight to make sure this continues even if it is once a month! So here's to a new beginning. This is a new post to move me into a new year. A post to put the past behind me and to move forward... Happy new year everyone, and I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season! P.S. - I think it's finally time for me to chop off my hair! I'm starting to feel as though its extremely disproportionate to my short stature now. :P

photo credit ash waters

top: native american print poncho, urban outfitters // black dress by H&M, thrifted
shoes: cut out ankle booties by zara
accessories: black bag, thrifted // agot necklace, gifted