You know what launch parties are?

Stressful.

You worry about the guest list and the food and the drinks and the gift bags and the decor and will anybody come and what if it rains and what if it's too hot and what if it's too cold and yaaaaaargh.

It's officially fall, woo! To celebrate the arrival of my favorite season, I worked with RG partner Ecco Domani to put together what might be the most amazing giveaway ever (I mean seriously: an iPad and a J.Crew tote? And other stuff??).

If you’re the (very) lucky winner, you’ll be going home with a special curated package consisting of everything you need to step up your autumnal style. The prize includes:

• J. Crew Uptown Tote Bag in Camel
• White iPad Mini
• Dior Nailpolish in Grege
• Jayson Home Wine Rack
• Jayson Home Wine Carafe.

(Total retail value $600.)

glam | camp

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If I've seemed a little distracted over the past few months - slow to answer emails, maybe posting a little less - allow me to (finally!) present the reason why.

 In search of tattoo inspiration? Wes Lang's work (that's his book on my piano, pictured above) is a good place to start.

 Love this dusty-rose polish for fall (and love the name, P.Y.T.).

 Last night I had a conversation about Donald Trump with my friend, and for real: I need someone to explain to me in human terms why the fact that he's running for president is not a joke. Because it seems like a joke to me, so I'm having trouble taking seriously the (apparently very real) threat that this man could one day have the job of speaking on behalf of my country. (Donald Trump Thinks Vaccines Cause Autism, Which Should Probably Preclude A Person From Becoming President, via Mommyish.)

Everyone talks about the Monterey Aquarium. Or everyone around here, at least. I've been putting off going because the prices are honestly kind of ludicrous - $40 per adult and $25 per child, so you're looking at over a hundred bucks for a family of three - but since we had a few hours to kill in between watching my dad race at Laguna Seca (more on that later) and dinnertime, and since I'm actually kind of okay with ludicrous ticket prices at museums and such because the money goes towards supporting the institution...we went.

It is amazing and worth every cent.

First of all: how did I not know how cute Monterey is? Adorable shops and adorable restaurants and adorable basically everything. We ended up getting an okay sushi lunch from a restaurant on the Marina (the kind of place where you pay for the view rather than the food) and an okay American-style dinner at a restaurant near my dad's hotel, but I saw a lot of extremely enticing spots as we drove around - so if anyone has recommendations for our next visit, would love to hear them.