{ when kelly } met kelly

during my recent trip to california, i stopped off in los angeles for a handful of meetings ~ chief among these being a tête-à-tête with a personal role model, kelly wearstler.

i was beyond honored to be given this meeting; to spend a morning with one of my heroes was to have a number of wishes instantly granted! still, i was nervous. it can be disenchanting to meet an idol; what if they don't live up to your expectations of awesomeness?! but kelly was every bit the kind of woman i strive to be: modest, un-jaded, excited by her life, genuinely passionate about her work, and truly living her dreams.

showing me around her design studio, she seemed as much a kid in a candy store as i was! every item in every über-organized drawer was something she'd personally selected or approved because it absolutely inspired and delighted her. as she walked me through her new clothing and jewelry collections, it was clear that she is not one to rest on her laurels, and continues to set and achieve new goals for herself every day. in short, kelly wearstler is a bigger inspiration to me now than ever before!!








{ 3rd image via my vibe my life // all others by me }

{ the object is } to look as chic as you can

"you're gonna be an old woman some day.... don't worry about it!"

so much to love in this video. by advanced style for nowness.

{ still loving }

style icon kelly wearstler's blog. it's only gotten better since the last time i mentioned it ~ i especially love when she posts pics of herself at work (in ridiculously glam outfits, of course!). and did you see the feature on her amazing office in the march/april issue of lonny mag?! adore it all.



{ images via my vibe my life }

{ the new moodboard }

VIBE TRAYS. i can't tell you how much i'm loving this peek into kelly wearstler's creative process!!



{ top: vibe tray for a living room in miami // middle: vibe tray for a dining room in manhattan // bottom: vibe tray for a bedroom in kuwait // all images via my vibe my life }

{ goldwyn girl }

loved these photographs (by tommy ton) of vintage historian/collector, writer, filmmaker and jewelry designer liz goldwyn (a multi-hyphenate after my own heart!), as seen last week on nowness.com // more HERE.

{ heat wave }

kelly wearstler is my biggest interior design icon, and half the reason i booked it to miami for art basel was that i was offered a room in a friend's suite, at one of her boutique hotel projects, the tides. i couldn't pass up an opportunity to spend a few days immersed in her work! it did not disappoint:







{ images via google + tidessouthbeach.com }

{ apfel addict }

the obsession only grows. { images via vogue pelle }

{ never say goodbye } the legacy of liberace

as i mentioned yesterday, i had a game-changing, borderline-religious experience while visiting las vegas. no, i didn't get married. nor did i hit the jackpot. i didn't even go all fear & loathing. instead, i dragged my dear friend and vacation-mate cleo (who just started a blog!!), and our beleaguered boyfriends to the liberace museum. it was incredible.
for those of you who are not familiar with his legacy, liberace (pronounced liber-ah-chee) was a famous pianist, known for his over-the-top showmanship, a longstanding career on the vegas strip, and for being the highest paid entertainer in the world from the 1950s-70s.

from the looks of things, most of that money was reinvested into his wardrobe (a solid choice, in this case). apparently, he once single-handedly saved swarovski (the crystal company) from bankruptcy. an american hero, obviously:

but back to the museum. instead of being housed in a gaudy, glittering castle on the strip (as the lib's legacy so clearly deserves), it's nestled in some seedy suburban strip mall, next to the creepily-windowless good times bar (which offers 'recession specials' and opens at 8am! yikes.).

{ i wore: my most vegas-worthy, self-titled 'elvis sunnies' by devi kroell for vogue eyewear (last seen HERE), the glamourai necklace, s2vs shirt, betsey johnson dress, coach bag, lamb shoes }

luckily, this lousy locale belies the awe-inspiring splendor of what hides inside:

{ indeed, we have just seen a disco-ball rolls royce ("boy, it really stops traffic when i shop at safeway!"), a pink feather cape (with train!) and a swarovski crystal-encrusted piano with lucite lid & matching bench. OMG. }

perhaps my favorite thing about the self-described "one-man disneyland"? his intense dedication to finger-bling...


...though the details in all his attire were truly breathtaking. i mean:





like the man himself says in this video, "look me over! i didn't get dressed like this to go unnoticed." amen, mister.

if ever you find yourself visiting vegas, please make time for a trip to this hidden gem!

{ commander in chic }

all of the fur-pouf surprises and vintage-y jewels in the new j.crew look book have me pining extra hard for the arrival of fall. it's my favorite season to dress for! and yet there's still so long to wait.



if you've not yet watched the behind-the-scenes video from this shoot (it's certainly made its way around the internets already), please do so now. then, click over to fashionista to read 'the five keys to (j.crew creative director) jenna lyons' success.' what an inspiration she is ~ a true fashion role model!