The Littlest Blue Dress

A periwinkle blue babe of a dress for summer

Today is a holiday, and there's not much on anyone else's mind but enjoying the summer kickoff celebrations, so I'll keep this post short. Short much like the length of this dress. Yes, this periwinkle blue babe of a dress is quite possibly the littlest one I own, but damn if I don't love it. What it lacks in fabric, it makes up for in attitude.

It's the kind of dress you wear when it's summer, you're 25, in a new city and you want to feel like you have not a care in the world...

It's the kind of dress you wear when it's summer, you're 25, in a new city and you want to feel like you have not a care in the world, if only for a brief moment, because in actuality, you have a lot of cares. So many cares that you often feel like you just want to go back home where things were easier. But, then you stop, breathe and realize that none of those things matter once you put on a dress like this.

Tobi provided the Rebel Front Tie Skater Dress for review, but as always, opinions are all my own and not influenced by the brand. 

Love List #7

I can't lie—this week was a tough one. But, as soon as I think about the few bumps I had, I remind myself of some of my highlights and can't help but be grateful. I always tells my friends that for every up, there has to be a down. Life is balance, and looking over these small moments, the scale starts tipping in my favor. 

1. Our small garden in front of the house is in full bloom, so I picked one of these pretty pink ones (no idea what it is) for my bedroom. 

2. After work, a friend and I walked to this food truck and I spent most of my time obsessing over the neon sign.

3. The weather was bee-yoo-tiful this week, so I took some extra long walks with Millie, and something about this strip in my neighborhood reminded of me of when I would take walks in L.A. 

4. I'm trying to be good about not spending too much money on eating out and eating better foods, so I made this quick and summery fruit salad to take to work for breakfast. It's just three fruits, but was so good.

5. And perhaps the highlight of the week was this shoot I did with Bustle for #BustleBikiniBody—I can't wait to show it to you all! 

BITE ME! 🍩 Had tons of summer time fun with @bustle/ @bustlestudios with so many gorgeous babes for #bustlebikinibody 👙But can I have this floatie, please?

A photo posted by Audrey W. (@lululinden) on May 23, 2016 at 4:28pm PDT

Here's to a great weekend!  

To Culotte or Not To Culotte

How do you really feel about these billowy pant-skirt things?

At some point in our lives or another, we all become hypocrites—saying one thing, but bold-facedly doing another. It may come in the form of advice we give our friends and don't ourselves follow, or as the high expectations we have of others that we couldn't possibly uphold. For me, it came in a much simpler form: wearing (and liking) culottes.

...But when I saw these and decided to try them on to, you know, just see what they looked like, my mind had already started changing.

These culottes should've never been in my closet or on my body for all the anti-culotte hate speech I was spewing a year ago. For one, they were pants that looked so badly like they wanted to be a skirt. "Just commit to one, already," I thought. Oh, and the wideness of them. My hips, passed down from woman to woman in my family, were not getting a good feeling about being in cropped wide leg trousers.

I could credit the comfort that comes with age, the wisdom that comes with experience or the inspiration of being in a city where people wear whatever the hell they want, but when I saw these and decided to try them on to, you know, just see what they looked like, my mind had already started changing. And then I saw myself in them. The shift in opinion was immediate. Sold. So, call me a hypocrite or a flip flopper. It don't bother me none.

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Late Girl's Guide: Pan Seared Lamb Chops & Veggies

A one pan meal that's easier than it looks

I haven't shared a recipe with you all in a while, and that's because, quite simply, I haven't been cooking as much as I'd like. With my new job, though, I have a true lunch hour.  Now, I get to unwind and enjoy something I've made for myself as opposed to a quick grab n' go from the corner shop.

One of my first meals back in the kitchen was this one-pan comfort meal. It's a great meat-and-potatoes recipe that is filling and flavorful. I felt quite accomplished when I opened this in our break cafe and got a few compliments.

Ingredients

Lamb Chops
Potatoes
Carrots
Butter
Garlic + Onion + Thyme
Seasoned Salt + Pepper

Steps

1. Clean and chop veggies. Season with spice blend.
2. In pan, put butter, garlic, onion and thyme. As it begins to sizzle, throw in potatoes, followed by carrots. Cook on high heat until veggies are easily speared and edges start browning. 

3. Lower heat and push veggies to outer edges of the pan. Place chops in the center and cook on each side for 3-4 minutes or as desired.
4. Plate when everything in the pan  seared and caramelized. Enjoy!

Tip: To speed up cooking time, steam veggies in the microwave until half cooked. Then, finish the cooking searing process in the pan.

This recipe is about managing cook time. Potatoes will take the longest to cook, and the lamb the least, so throw them in the pan accordingly. 

THE LATE GIRL'S GUIDE IS A SERIES OF QUICK, SIMPLE RECIPES AND HOW-TOS FOR THE GIRL WISHING SHE HAD JUST 15 MORE MINUTES.

Hold Up

A summer dress brought to you by Lemonade

While I would need a whole other post to really get into detail as to why Beyoncé's latest release, the now oft quoted Lemonade, is a masterpiece, what I can go on about is her video for "Hold Up," and how it has completely influenced what my summer of 2016 will look like. Case in point, this dress.

It's the perfect shade of mustardy yellow, has the right amount of ruffle and moves like the wind, which will come in handy when I do finally get to dance through the streets tearing apart the city.

If you haven't seen the video (because you live on the moon), see it here.  All I'm saying is, if I ever have to take a bat to a car, I can only hope to make it look that good. Though she is on a path of revenge fueled destruction, she's twirling in the streets, dancing on top of cars and, quite honestly, looking like she's having a blast. Basically, it's what I want my summer to be.

When I found this Forever 21 dress, I knew I was one step closer to that goal. It's the perfect shade of mustardy yellow, has the right amount of ruffle and moves like the wind, which will come in handy when I do finally get to dance through the streets tearing apart the city. Bat optional.

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Forever 21 provided this dress for review, but as always, opinions are all my own and not influenced by the brand. 

Love List #6

A round up of the little things that made me smile this week

1) After waiting forever to get Mindy Kaling's second book, I ordered it online and read it on the subway in less than a week. She's a "best friend in my head," and she gets a little more personal in this book. My favorite chapters are the one about her and B.J. Novak  and “Perfect Courtship in My Alternate Life.” 

A photo posted by Glamour Magazine (@glamourmag) on May 12, 2016 at 9:03am PDT

2) I don't need an more reasons to hate men (okay, maybe not hate), but this story about how Kevin Smiths' daughter almost got kidnapped by some creeps really got me heated. Here he writes about what he did to make her feel better and why men really do suck.

3) I picked this stunner of a necklace from Happiness Boutique and it's so gorgeous I could wear it all day. It's my most ornate piece of jewelry. Use code lululinden for 10% off! 

4) This week I started my new position at The Nest, The Knot's lifestyle sister site for couples. It been such an exciting experience so far because it's been a dream of mine to work at a magazine (well, this is a site, but same concept. It is 2016 after all) my entire life. 

5) How To Actually Spend A Day In Brooklyn on Domino.com gave me a bit of the exploration bug for my neighborhood. I can forget how diverse New York can be, and how many options there are right around my corner. It's a great read for Brooklynites looking to explore as well as tourists to the area. 

Perfect Date Night Outfit

You know, minus the whole dating part

I've flipped through many a magazine with headlines like "The Hottest Date Night Dresses for Spring" and "What To Wear On Your First Date So He Loves You Forever," so for a while during my ill-informed youth I thought that dating would require a stressful level of thought about wardrobe. 

Cool, fun and flirty were burned into my 16-year-old brain in preparation for dating. 

From those years I gathered this information on what a date night outfit required: it had to be fun. It had to be flirty. It had to show your favorite assets. But wait, don't show too much now girl. Did I mention flirty? And cool. Show how cool you are. They love that.  Cool, fun, and flirty were burned into my 16-year-old brain in preparation for dating.

So, it would seem that now, as a 25-year-old who is purposefully not dating, all my hours of research was for naught. Except, no. In what world am I only those things for the sake of a date? I will be cool, I will be fun, and if I damn well please, I will be flirty. And I will be all of those things even if my only date for the day is with my laptop and cup of coffee. 

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Let's Talk K-Beauty Sheet Masks

Yes, it looks crazy, but does it work?

There's a never ending list of things we put on our skin in the hopes of looking like a fresh faced baby angel when we go on about our day. To my regimen, I've added these Sheet Masks that make me look a little bit like a serial killer.

"...Hydrated skin will always look more youthful, but I don't use these as miracle workers."

I've found that their main benefit, for me anyway, is moisture. The ones I've tried here both have Hyaluronic Acid, which main purpose is to retain moisture, leaving my skin supple and dewy. My makeup looks noticeably better after these masks because of how it smooths the surface of my skin.

As far as anti-aging and detoxing, well, hydrated skin will always look more youthful, but I don't use these as miracle workers. They're more of an instant pick me up for dull, dry skin. I found myself loving these more during winter for that very reason.

Real Life Magic

The right flared denim can be a kind of magic, no?

Fun fact, you guys: it's May. Don't ask me how that happened because I honestly don't know. What I do know, though, is that there's some kind of magic buzzing around this month like an electric current, and I can't wait to see what all comes of it.

So, you see it's hard for me not to see magic in the world. How else could I explain such a perfect thing happening?

For starters, my best friend in the whole wide world, no exaggeration, is moving to New York this week. In an unplanned series of events, his new career moved him to the city. So, you see, it's hard for me not to see magic in the world. How else could I explain such a perfect thing happening?

And, if this can happen, what can't? I'm open to the wonderfulness of the world, whether it be a small bit of joy (like finding a pair of fantastic flared jeans ) or a grand happening. And here's to some of that wonderfulness heading your way, too.

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