BLACK-N-BLUE

Image via David Pringle for Society 6

So, it's hard to believe, but our lease for our first LA place is almost up! And our tenant in Brooklyn wants to renew for another year! So we've decided to move into a fab little apartment (yeah, yeah, yeah...I know I was all "I WANT SPAAAAAACE" when we got here, but now "I WANT CHEAPPPPPER RENT!"). 

So, we're moving into this killer new apt building in Glendale called the Icis (you know, like the Earl of Grantham's dog!???). 

Needless to say, I'm pretty darn excited about taking on a new design project, and I've decided I want this new joint to be a little jewelbox of B-O-L-D. 

Like, the minute the door opens, I want your ass standing there, jaw on the ground, and the first words out of your mouth to be "WHOA."

And so I've decided I want to paint the whole main living area--dining, kitchen, and living room--black. Or dark inky/navy blue. I can't decide. And basically I have a ping pong game in my brain every day when I think about it. 

CONTINUE READING

SPELLING IS FUN

I'm guessing someone out there might have "work on my spelling and grammar" on their 2014 resolution list? Well, whoever you are, this one is for you!

My design bud, Brian Patrick Flynn, was nice enough to alert me to the fact that I've been spelling my name for allllll these years.

Whenever I go into Starbucks and order my drink, I often get asked if I spell it with a "C or a K?" Just for funzies, next time maybe I'll say: "actually, I spell it with a "a, i, w, c AND a k" and just stand there and laugh as they look at me like I'm a serial killer. 

WHO GIVES A SHIT: HOW DO YOU GUYS SHOP

Follow @chichiromeoandme on Insta for more adorable photos like the one above.

OK, so as I've mentioned, I'm completely obsessed with the Marshalls/TJ Maxx/Home Goods trifecta of big box awesomeness. And now I live within 38 seconds of a Marshalls, so yeah: #winning. 

Anyway, I don't have the budget to buy everything I see and love when I'm shopping, BUT, I've started to more and more practice the art of "buy it and see how you feel later." 

For instance, the other day I saw this kickass purse at Marhall's that I was in love with. Some leather, calf hair leopardy number that was just dead sexy. The tag said the retail price was $499, and M dawgs was selling it for $199. I put the bag in my cart and continued to aimlessly shop around for all the other shit I didn't need but ended up buying anyway.

But then right before I checked out I had this whole "HELLO MS. THANG, YOU DON'T NEED A RANDOM $200 PURSE RIGHT NOW FOR NO REASON" convo in my head and I put the purse back. 

Then I went home for the night and for the next 12 hours thought about one thing and one thing only: THAT MOTHERFUCKING LEATHER CALF HAIR LEOPARDY PURSE. 

I had to have it. 

So I go back the next morn and I'm there at 9:42, 12 minutes after Marshalls opened. I hightailed it straight over to the purse section, exactly where I left the bag the night before, and it was gone baby gone.  

So I think I've decided that I just *have* to practice the whole "buy now, decide later" approach like it's my job. I just can't handle the regret, otherwise. 

Sidenote: When you *do* see something you like at a store, but you can't or don't want to buy it at that exact moment, do you "hide" it somewhere in the store? Like with a purse, I might put it all the way at the back of a rack, with totally cheap-o/lame-o purses thinking that anyone who liked THOSE purses, would have no interest in my purse. Or with clothes, I'll totally bring stuff to a different rack (like put a shirt into the sweaters) and try to bury it as best I can. 

Basically, I'm an insane person.

How do you guys shop?

A Flying Tip That's Changed My Life

This one is so damn simple, and has seriously just made flying so much more enjoyable for me. True confessions: this discovery was borne out of the fact that no matter how hard we prepare, within approx 20 mins of take-off, my husband is always like "I'm bored." We can bring books, magazines, be sitting in front of a TV with 30+ channels, it doesn't matter. 

So here's what I do: as soon as the pilot is like "our flying time is going to be 5 hours and 30 minutes" I pull out my iPhone, go to the timer and set it for 5 hours and 30 mins. Then, as soon as we take off, I hit "start" (NOTE: I know we're supposed to turn electronic devices off, but I always just put mine on airplane mode and then fake it when the flight attendant walks by. I LIVE ON THE EDGE.

Ok, you might be thinking: now what? This is so stupid! I hate you!

Here's why this is such magic. Because with time zones, and tail winds, and CNN channels that might be set to mountain time, eventhough you just flew from someplace set to Pacific Time, I find it's often impossible to figure out when exactly you're going to land and how much time is left in your flight. True, I'm bad at math, but still. Shit get's confusing. 

So, once my clock is set, I like to play this game where we hold off as looooooooong as possible before looking at the remaining time. But then once you do, you know exactly how much time is remaining in your flight. You know if you have time to read Us Weekly, In Touch AND Star, or just Us Weekly. You know if you have time to annoy the people next to you and make them get up so you can go to the bathroom or if you should just sit there and hold it. You know if you have time to order the meat lovers box, or just sit there like a chump with your granola bar from Cibo.

Anyway, try it, ppl! It's really amaze.

CAL-IF-FOR-NUUUUUH (SUNG TO THE TUNE OF THE OC THEME SONG)

Ok, ppl. I'm here! I made it!

And I kind of feel like I just got dropped off from my maximum security prison cell (with no window) into the swimming pool of the Beverly Hills Hotel. THIS PLACE IS MOTHERFUCKING PARADISE! WHAT WAS I THINKING SLUMMING IT IN NYC ALL THOSE YEARS!?

All of you LA people have cracked the Da Vinci Code, or know "The Secret" or are just plain way the hell smarter than everyone else on planet Earth. Because right now I'm feeling like I can't even believe that I just got onto a plane on Sat and landed here in la la...and now just have this amazing, fantabulous, big time baller life. 

Case in point, shine your peepers on some of my Instagrams this week. Here is a quick list of the shit that has gone down in like only 3 days:  

• We live in this kickass, adorable, spanish house in the hills of Studio City. Sure when I lived here 13 years ago the idea of living in the 818 was akin to social suicide, but times have changed. And now the valley is, dare I say it, kind of cool. Ish at least. And if there is ANY part of the valley that can get away with even associating itself with the word "cool" without getting punched in the dick, Studio City is it. I know I promised up and down that I would never start another blog, but as a sidenote, Studio City seems to have nada in the way of cool blogs, so maaaaaaaaybe. But so far, I'm loving the shit out of it here. 
• Ollie flew on a plane and made it here...and he didn't die and I didn't die.
• I got a car. Holy shit, I OWN A CAR. Well, lease one, actually, but still: maje! Watch out drivers of Los Angeles. And I can just talk to my car and tell it to do shit. Like there is this little button on the steering wheel and when you press it, it goes beep and then you say shit like: "Call Ninedaves" and beep boop beep bop, two seconds later it's just making the phonecall for me. I live in LA now, ppl...I ain't got time for shit like dialing phones.
• I have a washer...and a dryer. They wash and dry my things for free!
• And a garage! I can store stuff in there. You know, in case I run out of space in my house...that is 3.5 times the size of my apartment. Not counting our deck. Anyone want to store some shit? No problemo! I've got space to share! Just kidding! IT'S ALL MINE!
• I went shopping at the beautiful supermarket (and yes, I know calling Ralph's "beautiful" is as ridiculous as calling the valley "cool" but stick with me for a moment). We bought 15 bags of shit and I didn't have to carry any of it! I just loaded it into cart, then into my swanky car, drove it back up to my swanky house, and then had ENOUGH ROOM ON MY KITCHEN COUNTERS TO PUT ALL THAT SHIT DOWN! And enough room in my fridge! Oh, and if I didn't have enough room, we have another refrigerator in the garage to put shit in. No big whoop (I.E. BIGGEST FUCKING WHOOP IN THE HISTORY OF ALL WHOOPS). 
• I have a beautiful deck, with a beautiful view, where I can sit in a pillowed chair, stare at mountains and surf on the internet. Basically, my deck is my new office. THIS IS THE KIND OF PARADISE THAT THEY WROTE ABOUT IN THE BIBLE. 
• I could fit like...uhm...5 people in my bathroom comfortably. Why would I want to fit 5 people in there, you might be wondering? That is none of your business! I just wanted you to know that it was an option, yo!
• I live 11 minutes away from my bestie cuz Meri, and like 10 mins away from my bestie bro Ted, and I live within walkind distance of Marshalls! And within a few mins of every other major big box store that I'm obvz completely and totally obsessed with. 
• I can eat In-n-Out whenever I damn well please.
• I'M SO BLOWN AWAY BY ALL THIS SHIT, I CANNNNN'T STOP USING CAPS. HELP ME STOP USING CAPS. I WANT TO PUNCH MYSELF IN THE FACE SO HARD.