Lovely Findings

I'm going to introduce a new section to my blog, called Lovely Findings. I've come across some great sites online lately and I wanted to share them with you! 

Found these free downloadable desktop wallpapers recently...aren't they gorgeous? I'm currently using the "You got this" one. It's a great affirmation to keep me motivated and positive!

This site is surprisingly accurate...if you put in your birthday, it tells you some major traits of others born on that date! You can also check relationships with other people. I don't completely believe in these, but I find them fun to read and ponder about! 

I've been meditating everyday for the past few months and it has been great for me. I feel more calm and less anxious. I like to meditate twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening, before bed. I found this website and its guided meditations have worked wonders. If you're new to meditation, I would recommend giving this a try!

I hope you enjoy these suggestions. Have a beautiful day.

Camp Style and Swiss Miss Braids

A typical day at camp for me begins with deciding how to wear my hair. This is usually dependent on the weather forecast for the day. Today's forecast was a high of 82 degrees and sunny. That meant an updo! I decided on this style by The Beauty Department, but also found online in many places. The Beauty Department has a great tutorial. I modified it by making a side part in the front and Dutch braiding the first two inches of hair behind my hairline. I have some short hairs by my hairline and the little front braid helps keep them out of the way. The shirt says Summer Super Stars, the name of the camp. 

Outfit details: Shirt: Old camp shirt / Shorts: American Eagle / Sandals: Merrell / Earrings: Anthropologie 

Here's some inspiration for your day.

In high school, I changed my mindset. I learned to enjoy the process of the events in a day, instead of always focusing on the destination. That's really helping me feel more fulfilled each day. I hope you're having a wonderful day. 

Recipe of the Week: Watermelon Feta Salad

This week's recipe features a summertime staple in my house - watermelon. Always refreshing and always delicious, we love watermelon here. I decided to mix it up and add feta cheese, cucumber, and tomato. 



Ingredients:
1 cup watermelon
1/2 cup tomato
1 cup cucumber
1/2 cup feta cheese
2 tablespoons chia seeds
2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon thyme 

Recipe:
Chop watermelon, tomato, and cucumber into small pieces. Mix together with feta cheese. In a separate bowl, combine Greek yogurt, thyme, and olive oil for dressing. Combine with the salad and sprinkle chia seeds on top. 

I enjoyed the mix of sweet and savory flavors in this summery salad. The colors look great together too. Salads are so easy to make - I can take almost any combination of fruits and vegetables and mix them together. Great for lunch or snacks! 

Have a fabulous and fun weekend.

There's Always a First Time for Everything

With this outfit, worn to a picnic last weekend, I debuted my first maxidress! So I've worn long dresses before, for prom, but those have been on the formal side - this is a casual maxi dress that I'm loving. One of my favorite parts is the sheer skirt. There's a black skirt underneath a sheer panel covered with brilliant blooms. I love the colors of this dress - they're what initially drew me to it when I spotted it at TJ Maxx. 

Since I started working at summer camp, I've gotten a lot more creative with my hairstyles. I spend time poring over hair tutorials online and in magazines, trying to figure out the best ways to keep my hair off my neck and out of my face for work. One technique I've discovered is braiding and pinning or clipping my hair up into buns. This is one of my favorite updos, and it's deceptively simple and foolproof. I've written out the steps below!

Outfit details: Dress: W118 by Walter Baker via TJ Maxx / Sandals: Franco Sarto / Earrings: Shop in China / Sunglasses: Target 

Hair Tutorial: Braided Side Bun

Make a deep part to one side. Separate 2 inches of hair in the front. Begin Dutch braiding hair, starting from the part, toward the other side of the head. Keep the braid close to the hairline. 

 When you get to the side of the head above the ear, begin to gather more hair into the Dutch braid. When you get past the ear, gather up the remainder of the hair into a braid and continue to work around the head until you get to the other ear. Continue to braid until you have a side braid. 

 Tie off the braid with a small elastic (I used black ones because my hair is black, but you can use clear ones as well). Twist the braid up toward the front of the head and insert a bobby pin to secure. Continue twisting the braid around and tuck the end of the braid behind the first part of the braid that was twisted upward. Add more bobby pins until the bun feels secure. 

Good luck with the hairstyle! I'm so glad last week's heat wave has passed. I'll still be trying new hairstyles and showing them on the blog. I'm looking forward to the next few weeks of milder summer weather - lovely!

Have a great day.

Duke Farms

Recently, my family and I went to the Duke Farms in Hillsborough, NJ. It was great to be able to share a meal with my grandparents, parents and brother followed by some amazing natural beauty. Here are some of my favorite shots from the gardens. Aren't the flowers and plants just gorgeous? Nature is one of my favorite sources of inspiration. Enjoy :)

Have a splendid day! 

Recipe of the Week: Stuffed Caprese Bites

This week's recipe is stuffed caprese bites, which are essentially bites of pizza dough stuffed with mozzarella, basil, and tomato. They were easy to make, and were devoured within minutes. It helped to pop the pizza dough in the freezer for 10 minutes before making the bites, which helped make it more pliable. I found the recipe here.  

Fresh out of the oven! 

They tasted divine drizzled with balsamic vinegar. 

I loved how they were melty and soft. I'll definitely be making this recipe again soon!

Hope you're having a lovely week. The first half of summer camp is over, and I'm ready for the second half! Enjoy your weekend. 

Three Braided Buns

Today's post is a hair tutorial inspired by this look, found here. I wore it for an awards ceremony for an essay contest about women in science. It was very warm that day, so it was important for me to keep my hair up and out of the way. My hair right now is the perfect medium length to try all sorts of hairstyles - one of my favorite styles for camp has been a braided side bun (tutorial coming soon!). 

Here's a photo of the hairstyle. I like how all the braids played up the texture of my hair nicely! Having hair that is all the same color, it can sometimes be hard to achieve dimension. Braiding is one of my favorite techniques to create more texture. 

And here's the photo of me at the awards ceremony.

Outfit details: Dress: Lush via Nordstrom / Wedges: Franco Sarto via T. J. Maxx / Earrings: Urban Outfitters 

I went with a summery look with the cream lace dress (one of my favorite dresses - it's so versatile!), nude wedges. I accessorized the otherwise neutral-toned outfit with gold and jade earrings. 

A heat wave is hitting my town right now, making it very warm - wherever you are, please stay cool! Have a fantastic day. 

Recipe of the Week: Caprese Salad

This week's recipe is caprese salad, something I've never made before! Since I got my basil plant, I've been looking up recipes that include basil. I found this one, which immediately drew my attention because the photos are amazing! It was fun to make and tasted exquisite. At home, I usually eat Chinese food cooked by my talented grandmother, but I'm always welcome to trying new tastes. It felt great to be able to eat something I had grown and nurtured myself! 

The vibrant colors looked awesome together, like the colors on the Italian flag. As my middle school Italian teacher would say, delizioso!

Have a fabulous day.

Summer Changes and Garden

After a long year of school, it's summertime! This summer, I'm a camp counselor at a summer camp for gifted and talented children. As such, I'll be dressed in a camp shirt and comfortable shorts, so not exactly style blog material. Not to worry - I will still be documenting outfits for weekend events and style tips. I'll be posting more recipes now that I have more time on my hands to try out new ingredients and work on my garden. Yes, that's right! I have a gorgeous little garden. Here's some photos that were taken a month ago. I have pepper, tomato, basil, Chinese onion and eggplant. I've used some of the basil already and it tastes so good fresh! 

My dad and I built the garden together by the shade of a tree in our backyard. It's nice because it still gets a lot of sun and while I'm working, I can retreat to the shade. We bought a 4 x 4 foot box and put in some garden soil. We added posts in each of the four corners and wrapped chicken wire around them to help keep out animals. Two pieces of chicken wire meet together in some of the corners so that the "gate" can be pulled aside so I can work on the garden. It's been pretty warm lately so I haven't had a chance to work on it, but I'm definitely looking forward to helping my dad in the future. He knows a lot more about gardening than I do, but I'm always happy to learn something new. 

I'll keep you posted on the progress of my garden! Hope you're having a lovely day. 

Recipe of the Week: Tropical Salad

This week's recipe is a tropical salad! I found different recipes online for an avocado mango salad and avocado strawberry so I thought, why not combine them into one? This fruit salad is a little unexpected and tasty! 

Ingredients
1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 ripe Hass avocado, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 orange
1 teaspoon canola oil
4 strawberries
Black sesame seeds
1/8 cup roasted coconut chips (I used these from Trader Joe's but shredded coconut would also work)
Salt to taste

To make: I used this recipe and added the orange slices, black sesame seeds, and strawberries. 

Delicious. Best shared!

Hope you're having a lovely day.

Chopped

On the day of prom, my hairstylist took one look at my long locks and said, "I'm going to have to cut some of this if you don't want to be waiting here for hours while your hair curls!" I was thinking about getting a haircut to help me cope with the hot and humid days of summer, but I wanted to keep the length for prom. But since I was getting a side bun anyway, I thought, why not? It's time for a change. I hadn't gotten my hair cut in more than a year! Here's the end result...

This photo was taken at my senior luncheon a few weeks ago. 

And here's a clearer picture of the outfit I was wearing for the luncheon:

This photo was taken at an awards breakfast for a scholarship I received earlier that month. I liked the outfit so much it had to be repeated!

Outfit details: Dress: Darling via T.J. Maxx / Belt: Store in China / Necklace: Forever 21 / Sandals: Franco Sarto 

I love how this necklace, a gift from one of my best friends, matches everything - it's the perfect accessory to dress up or down any outfit. This dress was an amazing bargain find at T.J. Maxx. I love the retro yet elegant fit and the timeless floral pattern. The colors suit my skin tone well! 

It's been fun finding ways to style my shorter (and undeniably more comfortable in the summer) hair. Sometimes, a little change is necessary. 

Hope you're having a fantastic day! Happy Fourth of July :)