J.Crew Eye Candy

I occasionally check out www.jcrew.com just to window shop the new items. The accessories in the fall preview section are especially eye-catching this season.


L to R: Italian Calfskin Jamie bag ($495), Spectator Mary Jane peep-toe heels ($228) & Crystal Spangle cuff bracelet ($150).

Juliet patent-leather midheels ($198) & two-toned shoes (price not available).
Satin fleur clutch ($98) & Lulu leather peep toes ($198).
The exorbitant prices should explain why I only window shop J.Crew and never buy anything.

Sorry for the tiny pictures. We've used up our photobucket bandwidth for the month and I'm too frugal to pay for an upgrade. Any suggestions on a better, free photo hosting site, fellow bloggers?

CL

Day Trip to

This past month has been so busy that, not only have I not had much time to blog, but I've fallen far behind on posting images that I've taken from the beginning of the summer. Since this week is turning out to be as hectic as the previous three, it's a good opportunity for me to publish some old posts that I've been meaning to put on the blog for the past two months (including this post you're reading now).

Athens, GA is the quintessential college town and a perfect day trip from Atlanta. It has great, independently-owned shops and restaurants that are usually cheaper than their Atlanta equivalents and the city is home to an amazing music scene.



Agora (pictured above and below) is my absolute favorite shop. With over 50 different vintage dealers, I could spend a whole afternoon in there without getting bored. Hell would have frozen over the day I leave Agora empty-handed.



On my most recent trip to Agora I purchased a white 70s dress with black detailing, a cylindrical black and silver ring, and a pair of pink wayfarers for Lauren.



Every time I go to Athens I end up visiting with my boyfriend. He loves the coffee shops, but hates shopping (can't blame him). So, before the summer is up, I'm determined to take Lauren over to Athens for the day so we can do some serious shopping, coffee drinking, eating and music listening.

CL

Parish Atlanta

Parish (as in Louisianian county, not an ecclesiastical district) has become one of the most popular places to eat in Atlanta this summer. It's a restaurant/market that serves New Orleans inspired dishes and pastries. Being part Cajun, Lauren and I felt it was our duty to check out the place, so we dragged some friends with us one Sunday morning for the restaurant's deliciously rich brunch. The best part was the complimentary beignets - just like our mom makes them (from the Cafe du Monde beignet mixture).

Lauren has a huge sweet tooth. After a very filling brunch in the restaurant she promptly visited the market on the ground floor and order some more coffee and pastries.


The whole establishment reminds me of what an Anthropologie store would look like if it turned into a cafe: crumbling, exposed-brick walls, chic furniture, lots of greenery, quirky gifts, and antique signs.


I love how someone kissed the bum of the statue located in the middle of restaurant. And no organic market would be complete without its own reusable tote.


CL

Lovely Lucy

I ended my subscription to Bazaar two years ago because I found it a little too conservative for my taste. It seems like every issue has the same photo shoot with conservative, beige, designer suits. I picked up the latest issue at the airport this past weekend and was pleasantly surprised to find this great Olympic-themed spread with Lucy Liu. It's all a bit fantastical and silly, but that's what makes it so great.







CL

Happy Weekend!

We're off to Akron this weekend for our cousin's wedding! Hope you all have a terrific one!

Love,
The AsianCajuns

p.s. What do we think of the new logo and blog header? Yea or Nay?

Blue, Yellow, Tan

The necklace Cath is wearing is a birthday present from yours truly. I loved it the moment I saw it sitting in the display cabinet at Vacation. It's hand-painted by a local artist (Vacation doubles as a thrift boutique and gallery), and just happens to be the perfect size and the chain is the perfect length.

Hat, Minnetonka; Sunnies, errr Cath where are they from? Dress, AA; belt, vintage; necklace, Vacation; shoes, payless.

LL

Trés Chic, non?

Sunglass: Target, Blouse: F21, Skirt: American Apparel, Shoes: Eviva in Decatur



I love, love this top that Cath got from F21 just the other day (hmmm... pangs of envy! I'm regretting my decision to put myself on a budget).
This is the type of outfit you wear strolling down the street, large sunglasses in place, with a croissant in one hand and a café in the other, whilst staring at the latest in a Tiffany's widow. Or while plowing through another grueling Monday at the office. Well, a girl can dream.
Holly Golightly would approve me thinks.

LL

Atlanta News: Zara

According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, Zara will be opening a second location in Atlanta at Perimeter Mall.


The first location opened last year in Lenox Mall. It's not as extensive as the Zaras in Europe, but they have some great pieces for work. According to the article, the company is supposedly looking for a third location. I hope they open up in Midtown - someplace that isn't a mall!

Image from www.zara.com

CL

Good Things*

Really the title of this post should be something like "Things that make us happy when our weekend has been crappy." But that seems too wordy and I don't like rhymes.

The short of it is my car broke down at an incredibly inopportune moment Saturday evening resulting in a number of mishaps (held up a wedding, got caught in the pouring rain waiting for AAA and missed June Shin's party at Drew Lewis). So we AsianCajuns had a not-too-pleasant weekend. To cheer Lauren and me up, I decided to blog about a few things we've been enjoying recently:

The Celebrity Perfumery: The Handy Craft Guide to Smelling Like the Stars
For anyone who's ever wanted to capture the essence of Robert Downey Jr.'s recent Iron Man success or the magical aura of J.K. Rowling, this is the blog for you! One of my favorite entries/perfumes is the Juno/Ellen Page inspired Who Cares: de parfum (see image below). Ingredients include dusty record stores, Cheez Whiz, Pop Rocks and stale linens.




Favorite books that inspire a favorite movie
Lauren and I were never big fans of The Catcher in the Rye, but we love Salinger's novels about the Glass family - especially Franny and Zooey. So even without the fantastic sets and soundtrack, The Royal Tenenbaums would still be one of our all time favorite movies (I know I just made film buffs everywhere cringe).

New Shoes
Kind of self-explanatory, but here are the basics: Biviel black sandals found on the sales rack at Eviva in downtown Decatur.



It's Always Sunny on Hulu.com
We might not have a TV, but Lauren and I make up for it by watching and re-watching all 32 episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia online. It's not quite as sophisticated as Arrested Development, but it's equally as brilliant and hilarious.



Sujean Rim Illustrations
We've been big fans of Daily Candy for years, but never stopped to think about the person behind all of its clever illustrations until recently.


The House of Eliott
A BBC TV series that we became hooked on when it aired on PBS in the early 1990s. Lauren just discovered that our local library has most of the show on DVD and we've spent the past few weekends drooling over the 1920s costumes.


Images from www.bn.com, www.fxnetworks.com, www.allposters.com, www.sujeanrim.com, www.thecelebrityperfumery.com.

*Not necessarily Martha approved.

CL

Inspired by the Ting Tings

This is my Vacation shirt (have I mentioned how much I lurve that store?): oversized plaid in blue, yellow, white and red. Cinch it with a black belt, slip on black leggings underneath and perch on 4.5 inch heels- voilà!

ps- The Ting Tings inspired the background.

top, Vacation; bangels, H&M; leggings, Tarjay; shoes, MaxStudio

LL

My Favorite Kind of Arithmetic

Etro's colors

+ Alexander Wang's simplicity

(+ a minimal/nonexistent budget)

=

Le Cheap Lauren

I know it's super simplified. Next time I might try a few more embellishments a la Etro, but this worked for me the first go 'round. I think my math teachers of yore would be proud! Okay, well, maybe confused. I encourage this kind of math, and unlike calculus or algebra, I want to do more!

Alright, class, what designers would you mix?

Tee, AA; skirt, H&M (many moons ago); Shoes, Jessica Simpson (I know, I cringed at the name too, but who can resist that big elastic strap? They feel like Flamenco shoes- ole!).

LL

Thank You!

Dearest Loveliest Commenters/Bloggers extradordinaire,

Thanks so much for all the birthday wishes! Your comments made our day- nay- our week!

We apologize for the slight lull in blogging this past week. Another vicious, week-long cold attacked Cath (and on her birthday too- harumph!) and my boyfriend whisked me away to the lovely mountains of northern Georgia as a beautifully, romantic bday present (and bought me Guitar Hero for my DS- swoon). We caught a glimpse of the ATL Pride parade today too! Did any of you locals get a chance to see it all?

Here are some quick outfit pics on our birthday. I look less than enthused, but that's just my morning face (charming, non?). Cath looks cute as a button, even while battling belligerent germs.





For those of you who haven't yet seen Cath's post below on Sweet Bird of Youth, here is some additional persuasion to pick up the movie:

LL

ps- Em, the brand of my vegan purse is Melie Bianco. Hope you find one you love- I use my constantly.

pps- We haven't had a chance this week to follow our favorite pass time: being inspired by our fellow fashion bloggers! We'll be back full force this week, and look forward to it!

Fashion Inspiration: Sweet Bird of Youth

Lauren and I are big fans of Tennessee Williams - especially if one of his characters is played by Paul Newman. That's why we rented the 1961 film version of Sweet Bird of Youth. Geraldine Page's great outfits were an added bonus.



My absolute favorite outfit is this drape-y, beige dress:


I tried to get some screen captures that show-off the great cut and movement of the dress. It's so flattering and moves so naturally - I would love to have something even half as nice.


Although her outfits aren't as modern as Page's, Shirley Knight also wears some fantastic outfits:


The fashion in this film didn't excite me quite as much as Serpico, but it's still well worth a look!

CL

PS: Thank you to everyone for the lovely birthday wishes!!!

An AsianCajun Birthday

It's our birthday today! We plan to ring in this next quarter of a century in good form. By which we mean we'll be appropriately attired and share photos promptly.

psst- it's also fellow fashionista Yiqin's birthday of Qin at the Disco! Happy Birthday, Qin!

LL