eggrolls for flowers: bianca's blog

WE MOVED

missed me? i know...i missed me too...REGARDLESS i felt some winds of change, so I moved bloggies, i'm leaving this one up for archives, but change your bianca bookmarks to:

AVANTBLARGH.BLOGSPOT.COM

hope to see you there lovelies! :D

xoxo

Bianca

i havent been up to blogging recently, i'm not sure why. perhaps its because of the recent turn of events in the world. maybe its stress. maybe its natural indifference and overall anhedonia. hopefully i will return, but if u miss me you can always find me on twitter & tumblr..

cosmic dress: motel rocks (via nastygalvintage), knee highs: h&m, cardigan: target

love u much, take care of yourself.....(i'll still be lurking the land of the net, i just might lose a presence here. maybe in the summer i will return rejuvenated & anew)

home for your feet...

I've slowly been getting out of my funk, its taking longer than usual. I think it slightly has to do with cabin fever. NEEDS TO GET OUTS DA HAUUS, i might go exploring today. 'Tis tuesday and the MCA has its free day today...we'll see, i'm not dressed for the museum. Do you still "get dressed" to go places these days? I do, maybe its my french and/or southern upbringing, but some places you don't go looking like a hot mess, and a mess of hotness I am today. So i think I'll make an effort to go to the Art Institute on Thursday...

Music has definitely been my vice this week. Music and films. I rarely take time for myself to do absolutely nothing. I always feel like I'm working, whether it be personal projects or at work work. I rarely have time to paint my nails. So I took time to watch Whip It again. I really like that movie. It made me cry. Movies about mother daughter relationships always make me cry because as much as your mom makes you outraged, you'd do anything for her.

Not all has been "bad" or "sad" or "meh" I did get new shoes. I really needed new shoes, desperately. The steve madden combat boots i have had are dying dying.

They have wholes in the bottom, and etc. They aren't talking but something happened to the bottom where it makes my arch of my right foot numb. IDK...so new shoes it is!

Luckily I found these bastards at UO for $20, not bad for real suede, they are one of my favorite colours (oatmeal) and have that tomboyish look. They did have them in magenta which the old me would have liked but this new me was like "too loud" and I want something to go with all my coordinates. I cannot wait to wear them with my knee highs scrunched down (sorta like this look in VIVI 3/2011)

I need to suede prep them before I really wear them, so in the meantime I've been wearing another pair of torn boots that don't at least hurt my feet. I hope these new ones will last until the big snow fall of 2012. I want some really nice leather boots, but I don't have enough money to drop for it right now, so these are a great shoe for the meantime, and they are kinda springy as well. I think so.... (my mom would disagree.....)

ps. i believe its time of a new mixtape. full of beach house cause beach house is perfect escaping music.

throw some balls...

not sure why i have been feeling this way all sunday. but i've been feeling crazy anxious. have you ever felt just unbelievable anxious, for no reason at all. like you forgot something. but you know you havent. like a compressed feeling in your chest, like you feel like crawling into a ball and sobbing all day under the sheets of your bed like a little child? thats me today i'm not really sure why i felt that way so my best friend figured we should go bowling. throwing stuff might make us all feel better. and it did for a while....

it was fun and strange being around "the bowling crowd" ... looking at exasperated parents, tween lovers and really serious older men via the big lebowski. regardless i reccomend it as a great a cheap (americana) outlet--its like 3 dollars... it helped calm my nerves even though i'm a terrible bowler....like i got a 36...heh..

I feel blurry today....

(b4 i put on leggings and socks because i was going to be cold and bending over...)

dress thifted & remade by me ♥//sweater forever old//thigh highs american apparel

this whole week has been off beat for me, i've missed my bus and been late everyday, i missed an important meeting and i felt awkward in all my clothes...nothing seemed right, but hopefully next week will be better....i am a natural optimist (not looking forward to this "springing ahead" ordeal next week...ugh day light savings...UGH)

Oscar Farty

Every year, I have an oscar party, I've been having them since I was a wee one....

Nothing big just a few poo poo platters and some friends. It's always at my parents house because my mom is the one who started the tradition. I hope to always have them. Sometimes we dress up but this year I just stuck with an am appy dress (not pictured) I was feeling lazy & it was thunderstorming..so i felt like blaaah cooold...meeeeh

I made everything you see (mostly vegetarian because of my doing though I did make some hot wings for the kids) I even have my own oscar made from one of those figure drawing statues. Now its a hipster oscar....you love it.

some where complaining that this was the whitest oscars in 10 years, and not because of anne hathaway's pasty-ness but that not one black person was nominated. I bothers me at the same some it doesn't. I wish that we didn't always have to point out the "lucky-black-person" to be invited to the oscars but that we could all be seen as people. At the same time I realize that there are actors and actresses that are black that could have easily played some of the roles that were nominated such as michelle williams's character in blue valentine or mark ruffalo's character in the kids are all right. Keep in mind though not too many asians or latinos were honored as well, except for javier bardem (racism is an equal opportunity) sure it is/was black history month but you shouldn't have to feel obligated to just nominate black people for the sake of a crappy ignorable month were we recognize the same black historians on the shortest month year after year.

in the end I hope to never be seen as "the black vote" or "the black peoples choice" as a "black artist" or "black actor" I just want to be seen as a person, yes I'm black, get over it, i have... we never take the time to say "oh, but this was made by a white artist" "oooooh..good for her..."

lets just stop....(and yes, do put more black people in the media, and no they don't need to be a sassy overweight woman sidekick....we are just like white people I swear....)

----

on a light note...the kings speech one...and no black people, but that would have just been historically inaccurate..haha! Unless its the Tyler Perry version...

been had

did you read the news today? Borders is going out of biznezz, and I couldn't care less. Well let me restate that. Sure I am sad that "reading" isn't as popular as is used to be, and yes even though I find myself conflicted towards books being replaced by technology, thus saving paper and trees but killing a wonderful moldy smelling medium. Plus, sure I do care about people losing their jobs and being unable to support themselves through grad school (bad stereotype....i kno theres REAL ppl who work at borders who support their families..:P) At the end of the day, I would be more upset to see small independent book stores fall through the cracks than mega big boxes like borders who tried to put them out of business in the first place.

And don't get me started on "seattles best" we all realize thats just starbucks in disguise right?

Regardless, I am excited to say adieu to borders because its because the one dwntwn is being replaced by a TOPSHOP (it will be the only other one in the US besides NYC!!), and I have been haunting the website and writing down my faves. But I noticed a trend on the the early spring banner they had on their site, and it got me thinking....

I been had green hair! Before it was...cool. (haha...oh hipster me...DX) I did it back in 2k8-2k9 and now I'm thinking should I do it again?

In the tumblverse I am bombarded with pictures of grungy model-esque girls with green locks and I am tempted to re green myself. Just a few pieces I could tuck away if need be. I love the look! I love how its unexpected compared to pink or red. Its not flattering that it is flattering...here is my inspo....

whattaya think? should I green the fro?

pantone 179

I just got a new wallet NO WORRIES, it was part of the deal on my spending list. There were things I could buy on this spending freeze besides new mascara and carrots.

I really needed a new wallet so i'm excited. I got it on friday & I just started using it monday AND IM IN LOVE, its more like a mans wallet than a cute silly girl wallet with all forum and no function ( frank lloyd wright gently weeps) I suppose its because its unisex. The colour is super SICK it label said brick so its not quite orange and not quite red. The stitching detail is to die for, because its so mixed matched and fun like yours truly. Plus, did i mention that is marc by marc jacobs?

I also just got this orange orange lippy by cover girl (needed mascara it was buy one get one :P) It's supposed to be silk infused and makes you lips nicer. I think ive noticed a difference especially with this winter skin. Although I always put carmex on before lipstick so it could be that. Its such a fun and on trend colour, I saw this piece in the feb issue of SOUP and I immediately wanted orange lipstick. Its a surprising colour but, it works!

happy belated birthday president lincoln

dress>>zara, sweater>>moms studio, necklace>>f21, stockings>>idk

i'm not surprised that he and my brother are both lanky, tall, and wise (my brothers bday is this weekend)

hope you all enjoying you vday, whether it be with the one u lvoe

or hitting up presidential sales...

if your bored, check out this hot labor of love, its the reason why ive been MIA

see u soon ♥

imaginary money

this spending freeze hasn't been too difficult i must say. I thought it might have been harder but i think a lot of it comes from enjoying grocery shopping (lol) AND having imaginary money...

by imaginary money I DO NOT MEAN credit....like credit cards, we all know those will bite you in the booty later. No i mean gift cards and store credit...haha

this weekend I enjoyed a lil bit of shopping on store credit because I returned the christmas cards I did not use and a gift i decided to return (after my holiday spirit had died and i remember how crappy this person is) at anthropologie...I kept the money from the gift because it was like 40 dollars BUT i did use the credit from the christmas cards (because the money was already spent) on FUNNY THINGS XD (a mug with my intial on it (yes my name begins with "x") and cute little pom pom barrets! (shown in the last picture)) I also rushed to sephora because I got an email about getting this hello kitty perfume as a free gift! (SO CUTE SO CUTE) I love that the anthropologie and sephora are at the same mall, I also ran by zara which is also in this same mall (a new mall they just built in chicago where ice skating used to be like 15 yrs ago!) Zara was having a massive SALE & i was tempted by all the red signs that said 9.99!! But it was like piles of unfolded tshirts i was ....

a. too lazy to shuffle through them all..thats THEIR job

b. nothing seemed too appealing....maybe it was the layout, maybe its because i never wear tshirts

all in all i think i did pretty good and didn't spend a REAL DIME (again) haha!

I already LOVE this hello kitty perfume, but i only wear a drop of it when i go out with friends. I don't know why I suddenly love hello kitty again, with the vintage suitcase and all (in my other post which i found at the thrift store for 1 dollar! over christmas break.) I really like vintage 1970s-80s kitty. And what can I say she's so cute! PLUS this perfume smells almost exactly like Coco Madmosielle by Chanel! And it was FREEEEE *in theory* (that chanel perfume is my ultimate perfume!) I might have to go buy it soon before they ditch the label when kitty gets boring again....[ i also saw this cute little girl with her mom gushing over all the hello kitty stuff at sephora, she reminded me of me and my mom and our shopping escapades in the city when i was a kid :') ] The hello kitty juices where just on sale at the grocery store for a dollar, i always pack my lunch so i got those instead of the usual capri sun~

I also exchanged an old comic for 3 other comics and 2 dollars back (pictured above)! (oh power of returns!) I decided that the one comic was too expensive and too much like written by a weebo, this is why i save almost all my receipts because I am the master of buyers remorse.

Finally I got some macaroons! I felt like i deserved them darnit!Today I walked to work in the snow for 2 miles (trying to use a less stressful route *fail* ) and passed this pastry shop thats supposed to have the best macaroons in the city! I used a gift card i got from my dad on them *thanks paw!* I can't wait to try them with some tea tonite. I also bought some toiletries i needed some sponges and a new face towel, and I bought the lashes again with the gift card :P I wanted to try lashes again since everyone makes them look so tempting!

*******

oooooh I love shopping when its basically free! sometimes when i get the urge i just look for stuff to return..and i stretch out gift cards people get for me for months at a time. (in fact the clinique make up shown i just got from a macys gift card i got for my bday)

anyway i think its cookie time! pray that my apartment doesn't blow away! so far the storm has already blown off some roofs by my apartment o_o and the newspaper catagorized the section of the city that i live in as "the end of days..."

bring it on snowmaggedon...

zakka zakka

Like many young women who have their own apartments, i want to ZAKKA THE MESS out of it. Zakka really fits my style of loving strange/vintage/modern/japanese things. Its like if Ikea exploded into a japanese thrift store that focuses on western style. (like Grimore) I've been downloading Zakka books all day and been slowly zakka-fying my house. Take a look:

Most of the stuff I find is either from Ikea, vintage/antique shops, gifts and just keeping my eyes peeled for cute stuff. But almost nothing I own to decorate is over like 5-10 dollars (unless its a storage unit), I like to search and find it cheap versus spending all my money on a look i might get tired of. I REALLY want to get like a wooden children's play house/ cooking stove thing. I saw one on Jenny's retro zakka post I think I saw some at Aldi, yes, ALDI, for like 30 bucks.

That WAS around christmas so maybe they will have them again around easter...here's hoping. I think it will make a super sweet book case. Because I LURV BOOKS, and I'm definitely going to stock up on comic books in march when c2e2 gets here (NERD ALERT) But honestly, I used to love faux food as a kid! I think it will not only be a super awesome decoration choice, but a nice reminder of my youth.

I think I'm going to go soak in bath, have a zakka inspired brunch, run to the comic book store, & enjoy the rest of my sundae, so i leave you with some takka takka, because it rhymes with zakka zakka...

i hope you enjoyed exploring my home :D...

I tried but....

I tried to do one of those "30 days" things in the japanese magazine when you have like 12-15 pieces of clothing and you have to challenge yourself on how you will wear those pieces. I had it all set, picked out my pieces was ready to go...

I was inspired by Chikakos 30 day in the Feb issue of Vivi....

but I only made it a week! haha! It DID made me apperciate my wardrobe more, and prevented me from shopping BUT it also made me feel like I was wasting the clothes I owned. SO it was fun for like a minuet but then I stopped..HAHA, but I will show you what I got through so far...

on the first day (middle bottom cord) I went to go see tanlines in concert @ the metro..THEY RAWKED there was like 30+/- people there in the entire concert hall so it was like a total dance-a-thon! Going was a promotional ticket for seeing yeasayer. They are awesome, adorable, and TOTALLY WORTH IT...

interested in getting into them? might I suggest...real life..? They are like dscvry meets yeasayer..a little weird, a little techno pop.

(three days in a row, whattaya know!)

sir save-a-lot

(haha you didn't think i was coming back today DID YOU?....ye of little faith [dont blame ya] ..)

like many of you I'm in the same paddy wagon with trying to $AVE MONEY, and theres many reasons why...

REASON ONE:

kinda DONE with fall/winter fashion, i got all my perks (velvet/oatmeals/bodycon), i DO WANT some Pendleton inspired navajo/aztec prints...

he's a cutie FO SHO...pendleton for OC

BUT i dont NEED a new wardrobe (saving for spring) like jenny im TIRED of having pity clothes. Stuff i held on too because "well remember when i was in my rockabilly/gyaru/vintage/hipster/ironic phase?" or "my ___ bought me that.." or "i saved for that and NEVER wore it" I need to clean it OUT, i want to have pieces I LOVE concise my wardrobe no more FLUFF!! I don't really have anything worth selling, but hey...maaaaybe....well see (like i need ANOTHER project)

but long story short, no more "retail therapy" or buying cause "twas on sale!" i really stopped the sale shopping last year but the retail therapy is an evil bitch....

REASON TWO:

as i stated yesterday I'll be going to NYC for an internship/job/forever...starting in June...so I'll need money to live, rent, food, fun...NY ain't cheap. never said it was...plus pretty sure the shopping there will definitely be sublime...

REASON THREE:

so one christmas gift i forgot to mention was a little something something from my mom...i'll give you a picture clue....

well i hope you guessed it and if not IM GOING TO LONDON PARIS FOR HOLIDAY IN THE SUMMER, some of you may have remember me mentioning this b4, but i thought plans feel through, but they did not! all expense paid, JUST need monies for SHOPPING FOOD ETC, which really means $AVE $AVE $AVE my @$$ off because if i don't i'll regret it :D IM SO EXCITED!!! any tips :D (ive only been to mexico )

--------ANYWAY----------

i realized MORE than shopping, whats really been eating my salary is food....I go out for food almost everyday for lunch or dinner or sometimes both! luckily i have been VERY diligent about packing a lunch and cooking my meals ...aka...less time online. But its been well worth it+ converting to the vegetarian side its been fast to whip up a meal! Im certain ive lost weight, and Its fun to experiment with different meals. I'm saving like 50-100 bucks a week! I'm limiting myself to only spend when necessary (groceries/toiletress/etc)...i did buy two books recently...heh....

and like once a week my friends and I will go to the movies but we usually divide the cost/have movie passes/etc etc that that usually runs me $8 a month...got to have some leniancy in saving or your sure to break...however, we HAVE been getting together making a pizza and watching misfits on the computer...thats like SUPER CHEAP...and fun!

Going for walks also helps with shopping urges, especially to realize you're not missing ANYTHING... I also instead of impluse buy, if i see something i like i wait a few days b4 purchasing..i'll either forget or if I NEED IT by the time i get back it might be on sale....PLUS PLUS i begged my brother (whose an industrial designer) to give me a thermos he made! now i bring tea with me everyday which helps with the starbucks urges! (another 20 bucks a week SAVED)

plus anybody notice that u shop less when its just TOO COLD to leave the house...:D

REASON FOUR:

its always good to save especially when crap happens! or you want to do something FUN, its like aren't you GLAD we did something fun! versus "im broke spent all my cash on a sweater i wore ONCE"

BUT I WONT PRETEND TO BE PERFECT, i did buy some things (i also got lots of giftcards so technically my dad bought some things for me too HAHA!) Just some books to go along with resolutions and this super cool british magazine that focuses on black fashionistas! and a super cool little comic, by a little ole girlie named veronica, support her! GIT IT, REED IT!

I'm super stoked to start that Haruki Murakami book, but I'm currently re-reading works by Ana Castillo! By the By, anybody else love indie bookstores? they are so much sweeter than borders (no offense borders...:/) I want to disappear all mori girl style inside them! hee hee!

+ all images besides coordinates WERE STOLEN from my tumblr, which were obviously stolen from somewhere else...:)