In T minus seven hours, we are off to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico! And though I am packed, I am vastly unprepared. As in we’ve booked tickets and know where we are staying, but have no clue about the rest. A little mystery is fun right? If you have any tips or recommendations, please send them my way! You can follow along on our adventures through Mexico by following me on Instagram (bussbuss). My Instagrams will also automatically appear right here on the BussBuss blog. And, you can also follow Fred Baby’s amazing Instagram photos here (fred_baby_13).

In the meantime, this is what I wish was in my suitcase:

 1. A big floppy hat for keeping rays at bay.

2. A candy striped clutch for stashing chicletes.

3. Festive pants for frolicking on the cobblestone streets.

4. A little ear candy.

5. A peppy new case for my phone for snapping pics of Mexico on the fly.

p.s. Oh, and one of these. Adios for now, my darling muchachos xx!

While apartment-hunting this weekend, we knocked on our possible-future-neighbor’s door to say hi and ask a few questions. A sunshiney Brazilian girl answered and laying at her feet was the cutest thing I’ve ever laid eyes on (other than my niece, of course): a Whoodle.

We were flabbergasted. It literally looked like Alfred come to life (you remember Alfred, right?). It turns out his name was Pisco, which means Wink in Portugese (how cute is that!?)… What in the world is a Whoodle?

A Whoodle is a mix between a Wheaten Terrier and a Poodle. They should really call it a Swoodle because once you see one, you will swoon.

I’ve never really wanted a dog (in my adult life, that is). Until I met Pisco. I wish I had snapped a pic, but these give you an inkling of how insanely adorable he was. Those eyes! Pisco simply laid on the rug by the door, smiling with his eyes, but never barking. He seemed perfectly content and calm. And, if you believe everything you read on the Internet, it seems Whoodles do indeed have perfect personalities.

Have you ever seen a Whoodle? Do you now want one as much as I do? I am in love…

p.s. Speaking of pooches, have you heard of Dog Vacay? It’s a brilliant new website I learned about at an LA start-up conference last week and is basically like Homeaway for dogs! Genius. If you have a dog and occasionally travel, check it out. Likewise, if you love dogs and are interested in earning extra income by watching dogs while their owners are away, check it out!

After happy hour at Nic’s Beverly Hills with my fashion blogger pal Deniz of Le Fashion Monster, we were craving something sweet. Pinkberry was closed, so we popped in to Harajuku Crepe. I love their Japanese-style crepes, which are folded into cone-like shapes. You pick your own toppings (I chose Nutella, bananas, strawberries, and whipped cream!) and can even add ice cream, if you wish.

Check it out for your next fix:

Harajuku Crepe
9405 S. Santa Monica Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

It’s no secret that I love LA. After having dated more than my fair share of cities and small towns, I really appreciate all of LA’s charms and quirks and can officially say it’s not just a crush, it’s love.

And summer in LA is the best. So I thought it might be fun if I shared some of my favorite summer-in-LA activities — in case you are visiting LA this summer or already live here and are looking to make the most of summer in LA  – beginning with one of the most unique: picnic and a movie at Hollywood Forever.

Hollywood Forever is a cemetery, where some of Hollywood’s biggest celebrities and luminaries have been laid to rest (Jayne Mansfield, Rudolph Valentino, Douglas Fairbanks, John Huston, among others). In fact, Paramount Studios was built on the back half of the original Hollywood Cemetery (and is still there today).

Each summer, Cinespia screens old movies, from classics (Hitchcock, Hepburn) to comedies (Raising Arizona, The Jerk). Everyone brings their own picnic and then watches a film, which is projected against the side of a building in the cemetery. Sounds weird, right? Maybe even a little creepy. I get it. But it’s a blast. An evening under the stars, amongst the stars if you will.

We held our second Picnic Club outing (this was our first) here on Saturday and it was awesome. We watched Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train among towering palm trees, the glow of Griffith Park Observatory in the background (this time, a few fireworks were set off over the Observatory, making the experience even more memorable).

Silence of the Lambs is next (pack some fava beans and a nice Chianti, if you dare), followed by Sabrina on May 26th. I’m sad to miss it, as we’ll be in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and San Antonio, Texas (more on that later!), but if you go, please give Audrey my best, daaahling xx.

Hollywood Forever
6000 Santa Monica Blvd (at Gower)
Los Angeles, CA
Calendar & tickets here

Tip: This has become a very popular event, so I recommend buying your tickets and parking passes online ahead of time.

[Photos by BussBuss]

Last night I attended a fun Shop N’ Style event at  Ted Baker hosted by the fabulous Sydne Summer. It was a warm night in LA, so I decided to dress the part with a sleeveless polka dot dress and vintage (and vintage-inspired) accessories.

In fact, confession: I adore the show Hart of Dixie. You too? And it must influence me more than I think because once I saw these photos, I thought I do declare, that’s something Lemon might wear. (Pop quiz: Whose wardrobe do you love more, Lemon’s or Zoe’s? A: I love both, but am always blown away by the vintage ladylike charm of Lemon Breland’s wardrobe. Which, is kind of funny, considering I was a total tomboy growing up!)

I spruced up my polka dot dress with pink wedges (which you’ve witnessed me flamingo-ing in before), a bright orange vintage bag I picked up in Palm Springs last week, polka dot nails, an arm party and a vintage owl brooch and ring I also found on vintage shopping voyages in Palm Springs. I really do love that place and hope to have a weekend house there someday…

The event was filled with stylish, talented people (stylists and bloggers galore), the fashion was flawless and inspiring (both on the mannequins and the guests), and best of all, I won a $500 shopping spree to Ted Baker! I can’t wait to share what I spend it on xx. If you’d like to see more pictures from the event, check out the photos on Sydne Style.

Here is what I wore: Dress: Lulu’s (old, but similar ‘Cowl of the Wild Dress’ here ); Shoes: Rosalie wedge from Sole Society;  Bracelet: Anya Designs necklace as bracelet (similar); Cuff: Kristen McCloud; Bag: Vintage from Revivals in Palm Springs; Ring: Vintage from Revivals in Palm Springs; Owl Brooch on Belt: Vintage  from Bon Vivant in Palm Springs. Palm Springs, Palm Springs, Palm Springs!

I had a blast at the Ted Baker event tonight. I met so many stylish, talented people and won a $500 shopping spree! Yowzas. Here is what I wore.

Cute summer shoes that will add six inches to my height and won’t cost me an arm and a leg foot? Sign me up. I spied these darling summer platforms and wedges and about died when I saw how much — or rather how little — they cost  (just $58 each).

Which are your faves? I’m digging the lips and stars.

You can shop them all here.

Today I popped into one of my favorite little shops in Beverly Hills, A.Sweet. They’ve combined two things I love best: candy and fashion. Pretty genius, right? In addition to nostalgic candy favorites like candy cigarettes and Jelly Beans, you’ll find sweet designer lines like Paper Crown (by Lauren Conrad) and Mr. Kate (Cheerios rings anyone?). It’s the perfect place to treat yourself or to find a gift for a friend.

You can check it out here:

253 South Beverly Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90212

Tip: If you haven’t filled up on candy, Pink Berry and FroYo Life are just a hop, skip and a jump away.

See, candy is good for you. It fuels the brain.

Somebody tell Oz. Candy = brain food. You heard it here first.

Do you have a sweet tooth? I sure do. Just ask Fred Baby what I’m like without sugar. Quel beast!

I picked up these treats at A.sweeT. today. Truth be told, I mostly chose them for their pretty colors (otherwise I would have walked out with a bag full of chocolate — that’s pronounced shock-o-lot, naturally). Wouldn’t you love for your wardrobe to look like this, or is that just me?

While getting ready for Cinco de Mayo dinner, I decided to re-paint my nails. Though I had quite a few fun colors to choose from, it’s this sunny yellow I love best right now so I decided to just stick with that.  But I thought it would be fun to add a little twist.

Earlier in the day, we were at Paper Source, where I picked up a few metallic pens for writing notes and cards. The pens were lying next to the polish on my coffee table and that’s when inspiration struck: Why not polka-dot my nails?!

 If you’d like to polka-dot your nails, here’s the quick how-to:

1. Paint your nails (I used two coats of Sally Hansen Mellow Yellow) and let dry thoroughly.

2. Using a Sakura Gelly Roll gold metallic pen, press firmly yet gently to create each dot.

That’s it!  I’m looking forward to trying this again with mint polish and the silver pen I picked up too. You can find the pens for $1.49 each at Paper Source or pick up a 10-pack of multiple colors here.

Do you have any favorite nail polishes, patterns or color combinations these days?

Happy Monday, my dears. I don’t know about you, but yesterday I was all out of sorts. It may have had something to do with the previous evening’s antics which included almost being killed by a flying little person while Chris Brown celebrated his birthday mere inches away… but more on that later never. Only in LA… I digress. When I get out of sorts like that, a few things have been known to help: Watching old Audrey Hepburn films, reading a new book, and baking.

Which brings us to this Finnish Pancake. I’d first spotted this recipe on Pinterest (are you on Pinterest? So addictive. You can find me here under bussbuss). It looked so pretty and tasty and simple, I couldn’t resist trying it. I had most of the ingredients on hand and just had to pick up some berries at Whole Foods across the street. I would have gone with raspberries (as the recipe suggests) or blueberries (my favorite), but at $7/pint (when did prices get so insane?), the on-sale strawberries it was.

Back home, I gathered my ingredients and then not-so-quickly realized that I was missing a few things. Like a measuring cup. And measuring spoons. And a baking dish. And a mixing bowl. Not to mention parchment paper. Oh, and a microwave in which to melt the butter (turns out you can just use the stovetop, but you knew that, right?). I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but baking is one of those finicky things where precise measurements tend to matter.

Ah well, I figured how much can you mess up flour, milk, butter and sugar?

In lieu of a baking dish, I used an 8 1/2-inch stainless steel pan lined with foil, and just kind of eyeballed the ingredients and hoped for the best. The recipe warned not to make it “too thick,” but I’d already poured the entire mixture into my smaller-than-suggested pan.

There was no turning back. And in LA, you fake it ’til you make it, right? And by make it, I mean make your Finnish Baked Pancake.

As the aromas began to waft from the kitchen, I wondered if I had made a mistake. Shouldn’t I have just skipped back over to the store to buy a measuring cup (ours, along with most of our cooking supplies, still sits in storage)? Why didn’t I just pony up the extra few bucks for the raspberries or blueberries? How did I almost have my teeth knocked out by a flying little person? That would have made it quite difficult to eat — and eating is one of my favorite pastimes.

Fortunately, luck was on my side. In the end, because I inadvertently made the pancake too thick, I ended up baking it for twice the cooking time (about 40-50 minutes). And you know what? It was good. Rather than being more like a Dutch or Finnish pancake (think funnel cake), the results were more like a quiche: eggy and thick and gooey and warm. With the strawberries, it felt like a breakfast version of Strawberry Shortcake. In fact, it would make a great brunch dish, served alongside some bubbly.

Sometimes happy accidents work out. And sometimes they involve painful hangovers and flying little people and Chris Brown. If that’s the case, make this instead. And take a long shower.

You can find the original recipe for Finnish Baked Raspberry Pancake here or try what I made using the recipe below:

Finnish Baked Strawberry Pancake

2 cups milk

2 eggs

1 cup flour

1/4 cup melted butter

2 Tbsp sugar

A pinch of salt

½ tsp vanilla

Topping:  fresh strawberries and some sugar

Pre-heat oven to 400 F. Using a wooden spoon, quickly mix everything in a bowl (except the strawberries and sugar for topping) until well combined (about 2 mins). (If you find yourself without a mixing bowl and a microwave, do what I did and melt your butter in a large pot. Once melted, remove the pot from the heat and then use that as your bowl. As Martha would say, it’s one less dish to dirty.) Pour the mixture into an oven-safe skillet (mine was 8 1/2 inches) or baking dish lined with parchment paper or foil (rub the foil with butter first to prevent sticking – though mine still did stick some). Sprinkle some sliced strawberries and sugar on top. Bake for about 40 min or until brown. Remove from oven and add a few more sliced strawberries and a sprinkle of sugar on top. Eat at once! (This does reheat nicely the next day, too. But go ahead and eat it all now – you never know when you might come this close to the end.)

[Photos by BussBuss taken with Instagram]

What’s for dinner? It’s a constant question in our household and one that normally ends with takeout. In an attempt to cook more, I’m always on the hunt for ideas on what to make for dinner. You too? So when I spotted this recipe, I was sold. And then I remembered this recipe, too. I decided to combine them in a way that best worked for us. Be warned: This is a hearty dish, best served when craving comfort food.

Spaghetti With Gruyere, Bacon & Egg  (serves 2)

- Add 1/2 lb. spaghetti & a pinch of salt to boiling water. Cook according to package directions.

- Fry 2 strips of bacon in a pan. Once crispy, remove from pan and place on paper towel. Tear cut bacon into bacon bits.  Add bacon to pasta.

- Fry 2 eggs. Cover and set aside.

- Drain pasta, reserving a cup or two of pasta water. Return pasta to pot and add in grated gruyere while stirring (add some of the pasta water to help melt the cheese).

- Place pasta into individual serving bowls, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with coarse sea salt and pepper to taste, and top with egg. Add a few slices of shaved gruyere, if you’re so inclined.

Enjoy!