Tintic Blanket Wear

This is an update to the last post, but deserves one all it's own.. It's too good! I was not joking around when I said that my aunt Karen made AMAZING blanket coats in the 90's! Kacie was kind enough to scan these amazing photos.. Here she is modeling for the lookbook...

Rachel and Lori modeling the variety of colors and lengths..

Aunt Kelly rocking an awesome 90's perm with her red smocking jacket version..

Best for last.. Grampa Bill looking tres chic. Like a real John Wayne in his coat.. (HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAMPA BILL!!)

Fashion is not just a job for us McDonell's.. It's running through our veins!! haha. Love you guys so much!! Kacie, THANKS SO MUCH for scanning these amazing pictures for me!! Love them!!!

Pendelton Coats are back!

Blanket Coats have been making their way back into fashion over the past couple years, but when I saw this new collab between Pendleton and Opening Ceremony, it gave me a total 90's flashback!! My Aunt Karen had a company called Tintic Blanket Wear and she used Pendleton fabrics to make coats and blazers in all these super amazing bright colors and patterns... I think for my like 12th birthday she gave me a teal aztec printed vest that I would rock on top of my oversized denim shirt! J'adore the 90's style!! lol.. I'm trying to get my cousin Kacie to send me pictures from their catalog, for which she was the model! I loved it and was super impressed!! Do you guys have any of those coats left that need a new owner? If so send them my way ;)) hehe. xoxo

photos from refinery 29..

Coco Avant Chanel- MUST SEE

Alysson and I got to go see an early screening of Coco Avant Chanel a few weeks ago at the Sony building with our bestie Kelly.. It comes out in September and I highly recommend that everyone should see it- Chanel lovers and film lovers alike.. I love a good fashion film and have watched probably every documentary about Chanel up to this point, but this is not a fashion movie- it is Avant Chanel afterall, and really shows her life before Paris and her love affairs with two dashing french men... Audrey Tatou was brilliant and all I want to wear now are nautical stripes!! J'adore!

Watch extended trailor HERE.

Idea, Pencil & Paper

Hi Loved Ones!! Everyone, please take a minute or two to check out Alysson's brand new website. It has all of his videos and sketches and an adorable bio that we wrote together..  **Also, once you're there, click on miscellaneous to see his new blog. click click click!!!

www.ideapencilandpaper.com

We have some exciting news! We found out a few weeks ago that Alysson has enough credits to graduate this year-- a whole year early!!!! We are beyond excited.. He already has an internship lined up at one of his favorite motion graphics firms that will begin right when his classes end in a month from now. I'm so proud of him and can't wait to see all the cool stuff he'll be working on!! If his website is any clue, then his future is bright!!! xoxoxoxo

iheartnyc

"Everyone who lives in New York City says the same thing. It’s a harsh city, a city that can grab you, a city that’ll spit you out, a city that grips you, a city that’ll wear you down. Lots of people spent their first years here in tears.

But most of them just couldn’t leave. The energy is too insistent, the parties too crazy, the work too hard. And the dreams have no measure."

-Garance Dore

Dress like Coraline!

Did anyone else go see Coraline this weekend?!? We saw it Sunday in 3D (recommended) and loved it!! It's very beautiful and inspiring.. I think Alysson's head was going to explode! I admit that like usual, I was caught up in the "costumes" throughout the movie, though these were tiny clothes created for a precocious pre-teen claymation girl. She is quite a dresser and the whole time I was thinking Where did she get that amazing captain's hat!?? I searched my favorite online sources and put together 2 looks channeling our new friend Coraline's edge... in a grown up human way of course :)


LOVE Coraline's captain hat and yellow rain jacket, perfect for stomping through the rainy garden mud.. Her friend Wybie had some cool clothes too but that's anotha post...
HUMAN VERSION:

leather greek fisherman's cap from The Executive Shop, butterfly hair clips and yellow wellies from Asos, striped gloves and clear umbrella from Urban Outfitters, rain trench from JCrew

The outfit her "other mother" gives to her is tre adorable..
HUMAN VERSION:

rhinestone star earrings, one shoulder star top and blue ankle booties from Asos; star sweaters all from ebay, black skinny pants from Urban, black ankle booties with blue studs by Sigerson Morrisson for Target; nail polish in "opening night" and "skinny jeans" by OPI for Sephora.

Go See it now!! xxooxxoo

Spring Hair..

hi all! my hair is finally almost long enough to do these sweet heidi braids for spring. I love the messy look, it's so romantic!.. it's also good to keep my hair out of my way-- seriously i don't know what to do with all this long hair and i'm scared i'll get bored and chop it off again! (don't worry, alysson has already nixed that idea..) It took forevs to grow out my bangs, so i'm going to let them be long for now and just pull them back in a sweet little braid...




Nicole Richie's grecian braids were the inspiration for my wedding hair..

I love how these french braids look wrapping around the face.. un problemo.. Along with whistling and knitting, french-braiding is just not a skill that I've managed to pick up over the years.. i can use all the help i can get...........
Any tips on how to do a quick, easy french braid???

Spring Forward

welcome to my spring wish list.. I have to say, i'm always on the hunt for a bargain so being a "recessionista" actually suits me quite well! the pictures below are from my fave go-to online stores where i can almost always find the things i'm looking for (and more) at super steals.. Now if the weather would only bend to my every command and warm up already! I'm ready for spring!!!
First up.. FLORAL PRINTS!! they are blossoming up all over the place, from ditsy florals to liberty's to wild colorful abstract prints.. I love to see a sweet little floral piece mixed with black while it's still cold and then with bare legs and boots for spring/summer.... pics from asos, target and ebay.SHREDDED DENIM will be a new staple in my spring wardrobe.. i've already taken my seam ripper to a few pairs of my old jeans and am living in them--with tights underneath for now.. I love super faded out vintage looking bell bottoms and bleached skinnies. pics from abercrombie, la garconne, oak nyc, and acne jeans.
WASHED LEATHER pieces are really making a statement in nuetral colors (also want to note that there are actually some great looking faux leather jackets out there for those of you with that preference). i think a tan or white leather moto jacket is totally "the new black" for spring.. i want to layer one over everything! pics from william rast, urban outfitters, acne jeans. i tend to believe that a girl can never have too many boots.. I spent all fall looking for the perfect ankle boot and then absurdly found 6 pairs at once. well, what could i do? for spring I think the sexy slouchy boot shape paired with dresses looks fresh.. pics from nine west, asos, isabel marant via style.com and ann demuelemeester via seaofshoes.

and finally.. anything in LACE or that LACES-UP seems to really be getting my heart rate going lately.. i love black gothic lace, and for spring light creamy romantic colors will be making an appearance for sure.. well, knowing me, it will probably stay black! pics from hot topic, asos, whowhatweardaily, forever21, target.

what are you all shopping for this spring???

Good Reads

Here are a few great blogs that I've been digging lately...

1. Ok, who knew that Gwenyth Paltrow had her own blog?? Hurry click over to GOOP and sign up immediately for her newsletter. She sends out emails with delicious recipes, hotel and restaraunt suggestions, clothing recommendations and pictures of her wearing the pieces! Martha Stewart better watch her back! I have to admit I wasn't a huge fan before and thought she was a big snob, but now??... J'ADORE!!!
   
2. Sea of Shoes & Atlantis Home -- Mother and daughter, Judy & Jane Aldrige are a quite fabulous duo, with fabulous blogs to match.. Coming out of a small town in Texas, you wouldn't necessarily imagine finding people with such refined taste, let alone a whole family of uber stylish.. (actually I think Texas may have more to offer than I think-- have any of you been to Dallas or Austin lately?? i heard the art/music scene is great).. Jane blogs about shoes, clothes and art, while Judy mostly shares pictures of inspiring home design and her remodeling projects-- their home is beyond gorgeous by the way.. I'm taking notes ladies...
   
3. The Selby -- Todd Selby is a photographer who shoots artists, designers, stylists, and celebrities in their homes. He gets many of the shots published in magazines, but posts the rest of the pictures and behind the scenes interviews on his blog. Maybe I'm just nosy, but I find it fascinating to see the way creative people live and how they decorate their own spaces..


4. Cup of Jo-- I just found her blog yesterday and me thinks me loves already.. She writes about all sorts of fun things from home design, to new hair styles to celebrities. She also writes a blog for Glamour.com called Smitten about love & romance, it's quirky and cute. She is getting married and gives lots of cute inspiration and awesome photographs (reminds me of Veronica's photos..) Super cute!


5. Last but not least, My Daily Style is written by Spanish fashionista M*.. This girl takes being fashionably pregnant to a whole nother level - She makes it looks so easy and chic! I swear I want to dress just like her but without the baby growing inside! haha not yet anyways.. But for you pregnant girls, she is a great inspiration!

I have tons of other blogs i check up on daily (mostly fashion related which doesn't help my online shopping habits..) But I thought these 6 would be interesting to share.

What blogs are you reading right now??? xxooo

got MLK?

Not only was I super happy & surprised to find out that we get 1/2 day off Friday and Monday off work for Martin Luther King Day, but i've been I've been so excited and looking forward to the Inaguration for months!! I think it's pretty incredible that Obama becomes the first African American President in history the day after MLK's birthday. I have dreams of the great things to come for our country. The pride is overwhelming.

What are you all doing for the long weekend?? xxoo

JUST MARRIED!!!

We are now officially Mr. and Mrs. Castro!!


We had the best day of our lives yesterday. It was everything we ever dreamed of with great thanks to our families for all their help love and support, Nicole & Joel for giving us their beautiful house for the reception and to Kedma & Adna for organizing and designing everything, and our best friends for being amazing and loving and giving their never ending support. Thank you to all who were there, and we missed everyone who couldn't make it!

We are off to Brazil tomorrow and will have many many pics to post when we get back! For now, go to the McDonell Family blog and/or Hess Family blog (on list to the left) to see some more pictures/slideshows of the wedding!

I love you my husband!!!!!!

Even Cooler!!!

Aly's video is up on Complex's website!!!!! (It's the Nas video)

CHECK IT OUT

*Warning: There is some adult content on the Complex website.

Wanna See Something Cool?

Idea, Pencil & Paper

Alysson's new website!!

Eating My Words

Hi All,
I need to make a funny confession, and offer some advice based on my previous post about "shady shopping secrets".. Advice #1-- DO NOT ATTEMPT PICS in the dressing-rooms at Kitson in LA!!

Let me explain... Up til now in my career of shopping, I had yet to get caught taking secret pics in the dressing room (which always surprised me greatly)..... That all came to a crash and burn halt during our LA shopping trip last month while shopping at Kitson.. My boss handed me a shirt to take in the dressing room to "try on" and take a picture because she liked the graphic technique but it wasn't worth buying for $100 bucks or whatever... So I was in there snapping away, and through the slit in the curtain I see the sales girl running up and she pulls open the curtain and yells "You can't take pictures in here!!" So playing dumb, I was like "What oh really? Ok, sorry I'll stop.." And I thought it would end there... But nooo, she ran over and got the security guard who came over and told me I had to leave the store.. So at that point (and now reading back through this), I felt like a complete criminal--> because they treated me like I was a big huge shoplifter like Winona! I mean seriously, I worked in retail for years and people always wanted to take pictures in the dressing rooms to show their friends.. But anyways, they wouldn't let me buy anything, and the manager came over and demanded to see my camera, and I said nope because it's my property, and he told me I was "really creepy and weird for taking pics of myself" and needed to leave the store pronto. Ha! The nerve.. Maybe it felt even worse/more humiliating because there was no way I could fake that I didn't speak english or the native tongue like i would if I was in another country! I felt like a total shopping pariah the rest of the day and was convinced they had called all the stores on the street to warn them about us! aaah, the backlash..
The event turned out to be the highlight of our trip (once we got over the embarrassment of being walked out of the store) and we laughed about it for days. But after thinking about it a lot I realized it could have been worse and I need to be more respectful and careful! I understand that they have to protect their merchandise and their store, but I still don't think they needed to be so mean about it!
One bright side to the humiliation is that Kitson is actually my LEAST FAVORITE store in the world (well, tied with Walmart whose bad lighting and messy displays give me major anxiety) so being officially banned from the store is actually kind of a perk. I won't have to go in there on the next LA trip which is a good thing! No more Paris Hilton brand jeans, and pretentious sales workers that make me wanna puke. (Now I'm just being immature).....
I wanted to share my funny/humiliating story because admitting all my inner most embarrassing moments is somehow very liberating and humbling to me. It sucks getting caught and having people call you a freak! It's like the bad feeling in your stomach you get when your caught doing something you shouldn't (like using someone else creamer in the office fridge) or talking about someone who is standing right behind you! haha... well, maybe that's worse!

Does anyone else have an embarrassing situation you wanna share??? xoxo

Abc with a capitol A-MAZING...

Hi All! I mentioned in the my post below that Aly had gotten some big praise for his video projects and was asked to show this one at the Art Director's Club of New York. 

So here it is, the ABC's of What I Wanted To Be.

**Also, see updates to the below post with more pictures!! xoxo

Life Keeps Passing Me By..

Hi All!! Sorry I've been totally missing in action lately... I have almost completely dropped off the face of Blogger Planet, and I'm determined to get back in the game, but I have been completely overwhelmed with life and the days are flying by so fast that I feel like I'm missing out on so much! I have been so busy the past few months to the point of near meltdown status, but a lot of great fun things have happened too. With everything going on, I haven't had time to do my usual blog posting/reading at lunch time.. Shocking, as it's usually my favorite escape during the day.

I worked on this post for a while to try to cover all the things that have happened since my last post in March! And I have a feeling it may be a while until my next post, so this one is long and lengthy to hold myself over ;)


1. Went to California twice: 

1a. Once in April for work: 

(i got to sneek some fun in there too.. Got to stay with Mikala all weekend and hang with all my friends and fam!)

1b. Once with Alysson in May for Kedma's wedding:
What a dress!! She was a gorgeous bride. It was a super fun event and the dancing went on all night long. I really admire Kedma. She has married an amazing man, Paul, and now combined with her 2 kiddos, she has 5 total! I am so lucky to be marrying into such a great family!
 
 



*While we were there, we worked on our wedding plans...
 
(this is Heritage Park, location of the ceremony!)

*We also got to have a super fun BBQ at Pop's and Mary's house with Carne Asada galore and Wii Guitar Hero action.

2. In March my cutest baba sis Claire came to town for the weekend:



3. At the end of April my Mom and Alysson's Mom Marluce came to town for a major fun Mom Weekend:

Hung out in Dumbo.. Sup Manhattan Bridge


Ate our fave Gyu Kaku..


Saw all the sights.


Walked over the Brooklyn Bridge.


Played b-ball in our basement gym.


Danced Rave style at Fuerza Bruta.


4. Kelly & Zak Erwin and the Mueller clan came to New York for one day during their trip to Boston! They did great navigating their way around the city and even made time to take a snooze on the grass in central park. Like locals already... Sadly they were so tired by the time we met up for dinner in Chinatown, that we forgot to take any pictures!

5. Officially joined the long hair club for women--My hair is now 3" below my collar bone.

6. Had surgery to remove a benign tumor in my left breast... All is good now, no worries. Here's the scoop: Finding a lump in my breast last year was very scary and stressful. I had a sonogram and biopsy that showed it was benign tumor called a Fibroid Adanoma, which is apparently common in young women. They said it would be fine unless it started growing bigger. After it doubled in size within 6 months, the doctors needed to remove it. I'm very grateful that it's all over now and everything was benign so I have nothing else to worry about.

7. Designed Spring 09... I was a couple days late because of certain reasons listed above.

8. Celebrated Kelly's 27Th birthday 3 nights in a row last weekend and there is another party tonight! Happy Birthday Kels!!! We Love you!!


Alysson Updates:

1. The week after our Mom's were here, Alysson finished his Spring semester and started an internship at Alien Kung Fu, a motion graphics firm in Soho run by some young fun guys. They have already put Alysson in charge of designing and animating TV spots for FX channel, MTV2 and Comedy Central. He is having a blast there! One of his bosses is a sky-diving instructor, so we are seriously considering doing it. haaaha, scary..

2. During school Alysson gained an award for special recognition for his video "The ABC's of What I wanted to Be" and was asked to show it at the prestigious Art Director's Club of New York.

3. He designed and hand made his portfolio and several books which are beautiful and could easily be sold in art stores. Word on the street is that all his teachers were totally blown away by his final projects!

4. Alysson designed our wedding invites that are being printed now, so cute! And he is busy working on a video project for Complex Magazine online.

5. He is gorgeous as ever and I'm so proud of him and all his accomplishments..


Hopefully that wasn't as overwhelming to read this as it was to write it, (it took me a couple weeks to complete this post!!). There are so many exciting things happening in our lives this year and I wish I could just slow down the tape to make sure I capture it all. I think once we get through the wedding and honeymoon (In Brazil!), life will be much simpler.. Except by that time Alysson will have started back at school and will be busier than ever. So, scratch that notion of a simple life! I guess this is what we asked for ;)
Love you all! Miss you millions!! xoxoxoxoxoxo