Astral Boutique's blog

Dress Up

I figured this would be the last snow (and in fact it all melted an hour later!) so it was also the last chance to wear my new-to-me "Nordic" winter dress:

What would I ever do without my head kerchief?

Thanks to Lynda for the dress!

Dress Up

My new favorite dress- done up 90s style with my "Bjork" hair (actually it's my "I'm making ringlets" prepwork, but I like it as a hairstyle too)!

Doing my best Bjork faces:

(Chain earrings by me)

Thanks to the wonderful Lynda for the dress!

 

Cat Power

Lately my camera-shy Mouchie has been letting me actually take photos of him. I haven't been able to capture a happy/kittenish expression yet- it's more like warily tolerant- but hey, it's a huge step in the Professional Cat Modeling direction!

with Sugatroll:

Meow meow!

 

Dress Up

The volatile Spring weather keeps going from "sweater" to "t-shirt".... so I still have time to wear this awesome fuzzy 80s sweater that my friend Winter lent me!

Striiiiiiiiiiipes!

(Necklaces by me)

Tortilla Pie

I can't believe it's taken me this long to find out about Tortilla Pie. I mean, I've had tortillas in my fridge for only, oh, I don't know- a few decades? But I never thought to layer them with veggies and beans and bake them. 

Sugatroll found the recipe here, and I admit I had to taste the finished product to become a believer. The tortillas actually remind me of phyllo dough (which is waaaaay too complex for me to ever make)! It really is much more like a pie than a burrito or quesadilla.... a brand new frontier for the tortilla, really. 

You could vary the recipe with any ingredients that you have on hand, and top it with sour cream or salsa if that's your thing. Yum!

 

Dress Up

Going to run some errands around town on the first lovely warm day in ages... no jacket or a cardigan needed!

Outfit: all thrifted/ Naked Lady party scores except for the hat, which was a gift from my bestie back in college (the kind of object of power that is handed from person to person!) and the lapis lazuli necklace, which was a gift from the Sugar Troll:

 

Dress Up

Going record shopping with the Sugar Troll... 

NaNa Poleclimber boots: thrifted (brand new!); Rasputins Record Store t-shirt: a hand-me-down from my friend Angela from when she used to work there; 50s beaded cardigan: thrifted; blue velvet Stetson hat: thrifted; Sugar Troll's polka dot hoodie: American Apparel 

I Heart Etsy- Abigail at Gray Day Studio!

Abigail at Gray Day Studio on Etsy was gifted this shirt from my shop by a friend- it's so cute on her!

Abigail's shop launched two months ago, and she has such a neat selection of photography and handmade items. Here are some of my favorites:

You can visit Gray Day Studio here. (-:

All Dressed Up And Somewhere To Go

I am notorious for slacking on "personal style" photos for this blog- forgive me, I don't have a camera phone!- but lately a number of friends sent me these photos of myself out and about at various events:

New Year's Eve, with Bluebird and Leonna

At a wedding reception, inside a really cool, really old Oddfellow's Hall in downtown Grass Valley (thank you Automne for gifting me this amazing blue velvet 60s minidress!)

Another wedding- it's unseasonably cold out (this photo was taken in the summer, but I just got it), so I had to bundle up in my giant coat! Standing with me is my hubby and the internationally known author/herbalist Kathi Keville.

St. Patrick's Day, toasting my ancestors with the help of a little whiskey and my pal Bluebird

Dancing in the streets of Nevada City with the crew of Lasher Keen and Faun Fables- this is us trying to decide where to eat. (We went with Thai- a good choice!)

 

 

Daydreaming, Korean Style

Whenever I used to go down to Midtown Sacramento, I loved to spend an hour looking at magazines at the magazine shop/candy shop off of J Street. Last time I was there, it was gone- I wonder if it's folks like me who made the place go under, getting our grubby fingers all over the cool international fashion magazines that we could never afford to buy...?

Enter Pinterest. I heard about Pinterest a long time ago but never joined (for fear of having "one more thing" to do online), but I have to tell you, I am finally on board and I love it. I love organizing my "boards", but I also love how easy it is to search for things that I am interested in. (If you need an invite, just leave a comment below and I can send one to your e-mail address- your e-mail address is hidden from the public, but is visible to me). It has come to act as a virtual "magazine shop" for me, and it's really inspiring me to learn about photographers and designers that I like. I have been part of the worlds of fashion blogging, Flickr, Tumblr, etc. for several years now, but this is the best way I've ever found to connect with my visual interests online!

Lately, I've been discovering, via Pinterest,  this whole world of Korean fashion that I didn't even know existed. Here are some of the amazing images I've come across lately (sources noted if available)

Hyun Yi Lee for Vogue Korea

Vogue Korea

Vogue Girl Korea

Vogue Korea

"Faceless Flowers" Vogue Korea

Paolo Roversi / Vogue Korea June 2007

"Spring Breeze": Han Hye-Jin Wears White by Lee Gun-Ho for Vogue Korea

Vogue Girl Korea

Vogue Korea

Vogue Korea

Vogue Korea

Love love love the colors, the textures, the patterns, and the sense of play here!