Celebratory Weekend
This past weekend was a once in a life time celebration for my family – My baby brother, who happens to be the only male cousin, celebrated his recent engagement. He and his adorable fiance drove (drove!!!) up from Albuquerque for a week in California which ended with three days of non-stop celebrating in San Francisco.
The festivities began Friday night with our longtime tradition, dinner at our favorite North Beach spot, Don Pistos. The chips & salsa are amazing and we always gorge ourselves on them long before the food ever arrives, the tacos and seafood specials never disappoint, and their sangria is top-notch. Which is very important in a restaurant.
Ceviche tacos, carne asada, fried calamari, fish tacos, wine & sangria, and unpictured (eaten too quickly…) veggie tacos for me.
After leaving dinner, totally stuffed as always, we walked past Washington Square Park and headed to another fun North Beach spot, the always lively brewery Rogue which has great outdoor tables and a huge beer list.
I’m always exhausted on Friday nights, the week always seems to come crashing down on me riiight around 7pm, so I made my life easier and just threw on a little black dress and some killer gold jewelry for our Friday night out.
V-Neck Dress – Mink (from the North Beach boutique Annabella’s), Heeled Sandals – Ralph Lauren, Lariat Necklace – Vendome (from the Sasha Maks Vintage Jewelry Trunk Show), Bracelets – JewelMint & Vintage, and Ring – BCBG {Click on the hyperlinks above to visit sites where you can find similar pieces}
For the main event on Saturday the rest of our family joined us for brunch and bottomless mimosas at a little hole in the wall bar/restaurant in North Beach called Tiernan’s Irish Pub.
And yes, I ate sweet potato fries for brunch. Completely worth it.
Most of our extended family departed after brunch wrapped up, so those of us who remained walked over to the beach at Ghirardelli Square for some celebratory bubbly and a toast with a killer view.
Fashion highlight? Realizing Sean had been wearing my little pink running socks from Victoria’s Secret with his new Banana Republic dress shoes all day…
And what did I wear for this fabulous event you ask?
Zara Zara Zara
Striped Blouse – Zara, Royal Blue Shorts – Zara, Shoes – MaddenGirl, and Zebra Print Aviators – Piperlime {You can shop similar pieces on ASOS Style Finder or click on the hyperlinks above to visit websites where you can find similar pieces}
In conclusion, it was an amazing, sentimental, crazy fun weekend, and now I feel like I need to sleep for a week to recover. 🙂
How was your weekend?
July 12, 2012 | Categories: Fashion, Fitness, Food | Tags: animal print, Annabella's, Asos Fashion Finder, Asos.com, Aviator sunglasses, aviators, Bar hopping, Bay Area, BCBG, BCBG Ring, bling, blue & white, blue & white stripes, blue shorts, Bottomless mimosas, bottomlesss mimosas, brunch, Button down, Champagne toast, Coco, Engagement celebration, Engagement Party, engagement ring, Fashion, Fitness, Food, Fort Mason, ghirardelli square, Heeled sandals, Jameson, Jean Vendome, Jean Vendome jewelry, JewelMint, Lariat, LBD, Little Black Dress, Madden Girl, MaddenGirl, Mimosa brunch, Mink, Neutral heels, North Beach, Northern California, Nude heels, paloma picasso, pink socks, Purple heels, Purple shoes, Ralph Lauren, Ralph Lauren Shoes, RewardStyle, Rogue, Rogue Brewery, San Francisco, San Francisco Bay, San Francisco Fashion, San Francisco shopping, San Francisco Street Style, Sasha Maks, Sasha Maks Vintage Jewelry, Saturday Brunch, stacking, Striped blouse, Sweet potato fries, The Factory, Tiernan, Tiernan's, Tiernan's Irish Pub, Tiffany's, V-Neck Dress, Vendome, Vendome lariat, veuve clicquot, vintage bracelets, vintage gold jewelry, vintage jewelry, Washington Square Park, Zara, Zara Blouse, Zara shorts, zebra print, zebra print aviators, Zebra print sunglasses, Zipper shorts | 1 Comment
Weekend Wonderland
I have to admit that I look forward to family events like a little kid on Christmas Eve, and luckily for me this past weekend was my dear Auntie’s birthday party.
The Queen’s Jubilee celebration if you will.
Oh what a night.
We celebrated with a stylish catered dinner party in her beautiful backyard which turned out to be a mini family reunion with champagne toasts & heartfelt speeches, pink nail polish comparisons, pets, pets, pets. Oh, and an enthusiastic dance party on the patio.
When the camera came out my cousins made jokes about needing to smile and look their best for pictures since they could end up on this blog. They kept shouting “blog” instead of “cheese.”
Gotta love having such an accepting & supportive family!
As it turned out all of the cousins all wore dresses to the event. From left to right: an embroidered cream strapless midi-length dress, a brightly patterned one-shouldered dress belted at the waist, and a sweet purple sundress paired with a white lace jacket.
And pink toenail polish.
Quite the stylish group of ladies if we do say so ourselves. 🙂
I wore a black & white floral Anthropologie top tucked into a black pleated Zara mini skirt, a cropped Aqua blazer, patent leather Oxford booties, and tons of gold necklaces & bracelets.
Do you like to be social over the weekends or just kick back and relax at home? If you enjoy the occasional outing, do you like to get dressed up or take advantage of being away from work to relax your personal style?
June 30, 2012 | Categories: Fashion, Fitness, Food, MCLV Style | Tags: All-black, Anthropologie, Aqua, Basic black, Bay Area, black & white florals, Bloomingdales, Champagne, Champagne toast, Chunky jewelry, chunky necklace, Cream lace coat, cropped blazer, Evening looks, Fashion, Fitness, Food, garden party, layering necklaces, Los Altos, Northern California, one-shouldered dress, Pink Nail Polish, platforms, sandals, stacking bracelets, Steve Madden, strapless sundress, Summer clothes, Summer fashion, Summer Party, sun dress, Toe Nail Polish, Vintage cocktail ring, vintage gold jewelry, warm weather clothes, warm weather fashion, Zara | 2 Comments
Summary Saturday
I’m going to take a page out of the fabulous Fashion On Top‘s book blog and make today’s post a summary of what’s happened over the last week on the blog and the other various social media outlets that I post on.
New Blog Posts:
- MCLV Style: Pleats & Peplums
- 2013 Resort Collections
- Sasha Maks Vintage Jewelry Trunk Show
- Looks of the Week
- Links You’ll Love
- Chanel’s Little Black Jacket
- May Round-Up
Are you subscribed to the blog and receiving an email when a new post is published? If not, click the SUBSCRIBE ME button on the right hand side of the screen.
Instagram:
Food – While I don’t photograph all of my food or even all of the new recipes that I try, sometimes a meal is just too tasty or too fun to pass up a photo-op. Here are a couple shots that passed the test this week.
SERIOUS munching over here! #Shakti #indianfood #vegan #glutenfree
Snacking. #rawrevolution #synergy #healthysnacks
#cantstopeating #vegan #glutenfree
Fashion – When I can remember I’ll snap a picture of my accessories, handbag, or even my outfit for the day. Most of my Instagram updates are my jewelry though, since its the easiest to capture solo.
Wearing a new dress always makes my day! #sanfrancisco @Zara
Hello lover! @ninewest #fashion #sanfrancisco
Time to switch wallets! @CHANEL @Longchamp_US @HenriBendel #Fendi #Goyard @veneta_bottega
Misc – What I’m best at capturing are all of the random things that happen throughout the day. The frustrations that everyone can relate to as well as the little “I love my life” moments. From outing in San Francisco & weekends away to shopping adventures & meals out on the town to my crazy cats & amazing friends, family, and boyfriend.
“@project_zen SO glad that I moved a block from this spa!!! #massage #spoilingmyself
I ❤ crazy busy days & To Do lists! #stayorganized #busyday #ilovemylife
You can follow me on instagram @moicontrelavie.
- Love this – I say yes to manners!!! Ladies First—Still Relevant or Hopelessly Outdated?
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Absolutely MAD for the Jason Wu Resort 2013 collection. Don’t think I can live without this! Jason Wu Resort 2013 Look

- Wise words to start the day. “Fashion can be bought. Style one must possess.” – Edna Woolman
- Do you love lingerie? Me too! The Art of Lingerie
- BCBG Summer Sale – My go-to for work dresses and great accessories. Check it out!
- Man Repeller, Rebecca Minkoff & Hilary Rhoda – I’ve officially lost track of how many times I’ve watched this! Call Us, Maybe?
- Check out my Asos Fashion Finder look! Parks & Recreation – You can shop the pieces on Asos.com
- Sex vs Sensuality. Men vs Women. Check out supermodel Anja Rubik for 25 Magazine (Formerly Viva) Anja Rubik: Lets Talk About Sex
- Need more Cannes? Watch the Cannes Film Festival edition of Garance Dore’s Pardon My French or read The French Riviera – The 2012 Cannes Film Festival
- “Life is short…buy the shoes.” Words of wisdom









Lookbook – You can see my Lookbook looks here, you can FAN me to get an email update when I post a new look, or you can HYPE my looks if you like them!
June 16, 2012 | Categories: Fashion, Fitness, Food, MCLV Style | Tags: "Call Me Maybe" music video remake, 2012 Cannes Film Festival, 2012 New Years Resolutions, 25 Magazine, Anja Rubic, BCBG, Belle Maison, Biryani, Bon Appetit, Book party, Bottega Veneta, brights, Call Me Maybe, Call Us, Cannes Film Festival, cat, Champagne toast, Chanel, Chanel beauty, Chanel makeup, Chanel's Little Black Jacket, cute cat, Daal, Dairy-free, Dress Manequine, edamame, Elle, Elle Champagne Flutes, Erotica, ethnic prints, Facebook, Fashion Book, Fashion Book Party, Fashion Magazine, Fashion On Top, Fashion show, Fendi, Followgram, Garance Dore, Givenchy Purse, Givenchy Resort 2013 Collection, Gluten-free, Gluten-Free Cookie Dough Truffles, Gluten-Free Food, Golden beets, Goyard, Heeled sandals, Henri Bendel, Hilary Rhoda, Indian food, inspiration, Instagram, Jason Wu, Jason Wu Resort 2013 Collection, Jourdan Dunn, June goals, Karl Lagerfeld, Karlie Kloss, Kayture, kitten heels, Kristina Bazan, Ladies First—Still Relevant or Hopelessly Outdated?, Larabar, Late afternoon, Let's Talk About Sex, Links You'll Love, Little Black Jacket, Liz Cherkasova, Longchamp, Lookbook.nu, looks of the week, Love Grown, Low heels, Magazines, Manners, Massage, May Goals, Maybe?, Men vs Women, Mini skirt, Model fashion, Model street style, Models Being models, motivation, Neutral heels, Neutral sandals, Nine West, No Cookie Cookie, Nude sandals, Pardon My French, Patterns, Peplum, Pinterest, planner, Planning, plastic furniture, pleats, prints, Project Zen, Reading materials, Rebecca Minkoff, red quinoa salad, Resort Collections, Resort wear, Retro, Runway show, San Francisco Fashion, San Francisco Spa, San Francisco Street Style, San Francisco style, Sasha Maks, Sasha Maks Vintage Jewelry, Saturday Summary, Sensuality, Sex, Sex vs Sensuality, Shakti, Song of Style, Spa, Staying organized, Stripes, Summer dressing, Summer style, Super Vegan Meal, Swedish massage, The Man Repeller, The Wannabe Chef, To Do Lists, trunk show, Twitter, vegan food, veganism, Vegetarian, Veggie Curry, Vintage designer jewelry, Viva, Viva Fashion Magazine, Vogue, Vogue Magazine, Wallet, wallets, Wheat Free, White living room, William Norwich, Women's Health, Wrap dress, You Are Wonderful, Zara | 2 Comments