J'adore Dior - 5 Color Eyeshadow Palettes

I never hide my love for Dior beauty products.  My favorite Dior product is eyeshadow, and the 5 Color Eyeshadow Palettes are an excellent way to get 5 colors in one simple palette.  Dior colors are so beautiful and the texture is creamy and highly pigmented.  From matte to shimmer, Dior shadows never look garish, cheap or chalky.  The palettes are also extremely long lasting.  Right now, I'm in love with Mystic Smokys 004.  One of my best friends, and fellow blogger, Alicia Monica, is a makeup artist and queen of the smoky eye.  She swears that any violet, purple or plum shade looks amazing on my eye, and this palette is perfect for achieving that look since the darkest color is a deep violet.

Giuseppe Zanotti - An Italian Master

I'd like to point out that virtually everything enjoyable and luxurious in our modern world was brought to us by the Italians.  Espresso, Maserati, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Loro Piana cashmere, Italian leather, amazing textiles, pasta, prosciutto, mozarella, pizza, gelato the list goes on and on - and my favorite shoe designer - Giuseppe Zanotti.  Video courtesy of Net-a-Porter.

The shoes of Giuseppe Zanotti are a mix of elegance, edge and art.  If I had to choose only one brand of shoe to wear for the rest of my life, it would be Giuseppe Zanotti.  Yes, everyone loves the red bottoms of Louboutins, and women swear by Manolo Blahnik, but my heart belongs to Zanotti.  The craftsmanship and design are gasp inducing.

My style mantra has always been quality not quantity, and this virtually applies to every category of goods that I purchase.  I would rather purchase one pair of shoes that I can wear and cherish for years than four pairs of a lesser quality that will wear out in one season.  Not to mention, lesser quality usually means knock offs, and I can't describe how much I despise knock offs - this is a whole other post on its own.  I always look for high quality leather and materials and a design that is either timeless and classic or very interesting.  Don't confuse "interesting" with tragically trendy.  Some of the lesser quality "designers", and I use the term loosely, will combine 85 fads in one shoe, and the results are well, tragic.

Thankfully, the holidays are perfect opportunities to score beautiful designs for less!  Giuseppe Zanotti now has many styles of the Fall/Winter 10-11 season on sale at 50% off!  We are barely into the winter season, so it is a perfect time to purchase these styles on sale and get an opportunity to wear them before we see the first blush of spring.

On Sale for $325
The perfect print and the most elegant heel.  Picture these with a full skirt and a chic cardigan set paired with an orangey, red lip. Or a sleek jean/blazer combo.

On Sale for $528
Perfect military inspired boot without being too literal.  Pair with a lace dress, a mini or a waxy coated jean and a textured coat or sweater.  I'm thinking all about contrasting textures with this shoe.   

On Sale for $465 
For some reason I think of winter white and chunky turquoise jewelry with this suede stunner.  It's so versatile, you can wear it with anything!

On sale for $598 - Have you seen Jane wear these on Sea of Shoes?  Perfection!  One of my all time fav blogs by the way.

If you are in need of some resort wear, or live in a tropical locale, you can also pre-order designs from Spring/Summer 11 

Pre order for $695 - The description on the website is switched with the other shoe of this material, so you may want to call to order!

Pre order for $650

Stunners

Litter SF

Summer

Perhaps it is my obsession with my Nez Perce Indian heritage that has me once again dreaming of a modern day headdress and body armor.  What I do know is it was love at first click when I discovered Litter SF on a blog about 2 years ago. Unfortunately, I just started my blog, so I am just getting around to a post dedicated to the amazingness that is Litter SF.  But you know the saying, better late than...

Every month or so, I will visit the site and browse around and think of how much I want a piece, or three or more.  I love that pieces are one of a kind and are typically made of re-purposed, vintage chains and jewelry.

I'm obsessed with every piece they make, from head jewelry to body jewelry to shoe jewelry.  I would probably go overboard and wear everything at once because that's just how I handle my obsessions, overkill.

Walk the Plank

Litter SF has been doing their thing before we witnessed body jewelry, for lack of a better term, take center stage (ahem Erin Wasson and now House of Harlow), points for originality in my book.  AND they are based out of San Francisco, one of my all-time favorite cities, AND the brains and creative genius behind Litter SF are sisters, Mackenzie Burdick and Rachael Mann. Are you in love yet?  Yeah, thought so.

Chainmail Perfection - pretty much the perfect name for this beauty

I dare you to come up with something cooler than a thumb holster

Litter SF blog  Litter SF store  Litter Twitter - it has a ring to it, doesn't it?  Litter FB

The Nez Perce Indian Grandpa Llewllyen - Part I

Photo courtesy of National Park Services

My maternal grandfather, Grandpa Llew, passed away when I was very young.  I still have very faint distant memories of watching the "Incredible Hulk" with him and cuddling on a recliner.  His plaid shirts and gorgeous bolo ties were so distinctive and different, and I lovingly remember them along with his white tee shirts and glasses.  He used to take me for walks around the neighborhood, and I still remember the sun glinting off the trees and the faint breeze as we strolled, slowly and surely, enjoying the day.  My Grandpa Llew was an interesting and very loving man, and it's one of my missions to find out more information and explore my heritage on my mom's side of the family.  This is Part I of my journey.

My grandpa Llewllyen Francis Hatfield was born in Silverdale, Washington in 1902 to Hugh Augustus Hatfield and Mary Phoebe Benbennick.  Hugh Augustus was part Nez Perce Indian and a lumberjack.  Sometime later, though I'm not sure exactly when, the Hatfield family moved from Washington to Montana and at the time they were mandated to live on an Indian reservation since they were of Indian descent.  They lived on a Blackfoot Indian reservation until they signed away their Indian rights because they were starving on the reservation.

Chief Joseph - one of the most famous Nez Perce Indians

My Grandpa Llew lived off the land as a trapper in the mountains of Montana when he was 16, and wore long braids.  He loved the West and the mountains and was responsible for teaching my Dad all about hunting and the outdoors.  To this day, my Dad wistfully recounts the stories of hunting with my Grandpa and the memories he has of him. 

Some interesting facts about Llew:
At the age of 13, Llew joined the Navy during WWI and was shipped to Hawaii, until the navy found out he was only 13 and shipped him right back!  Grandpa Llew did go on a vision quest when he was young, but we do not know what his "Wyakin" or guardian was.  The Nez Perce believe the Wyakin is an individual's personal link with nature, a spiritual guardian in animal form.  At some point in Washington, Grandpa Llew was arrested and put in the Washington Federal Penitentiary for counterfeiting.  He was also a bootlegger, but we will discuss that more in Part II of Grandpa Llewllyen.

My spiritual guardian is no doubt, a horse.  Since I was a baby, I have been obsessed with horses.  My mom told me when I was two I spotted a tiny, tiny horse on a Christmas ornament from across the room when we were shopping in Bullocks. I didn't notice anything else but the horse - not the tree, not the gifts, not the other ornaments, just the "horsey" as I called it.

Leopard Spotted Appaloosa

I have always attributed my love for horses to my Native heritage.  In my research of the Nez Perce Indian, I found that the Nez Perce tribe was responsible for breeding the best horses throughout the years.  The Appaloosa Museum claims that by the early 1700s, the Nez Perce had acquired horses and excelled at breeding them.  The breed the Nez Perce is known for is the beautiful Appaloosa.  According to the Appaloosa Musuem, The war of 1877 and the subsequent range raids resulted in the loss of the best and the sturdiest horses.  In 1937, the breeding program of the Appaloosa was resurrected.  My dream is to own an AraAppaloosa - half Arabian, half Appaloosa.

AraAppaloosa - Website

Today, the Nez Perce horse breeding program is alive and well.  They are crossing the Appaloosa with the Asian Akhal-Teke breed to produce a horse similar to the ones the Nez Perce were first known for breeding.

For more information on the Nez Perce Indian history, please click here or you may visit the Nez Perce tribal website. 

Part II of Grandpa Llew's life will be coming soon!