New Adventures

I've just returned from my trip with my family - it was great! We visited the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Salt Lake City, and Mt. Rushmore. Now that I'm back, I can pack and get everything ready for college. Xuewei and I have decided that we'll put blogging on hold while we're in school, to give us more time to transition to the new environment. As a parting message, here's one last outfit post, from earlier this summer. I've been making friendship bracelets nonstop - it's so fun and rewarding when you can wear your own creations. I get my designs from friendship-bracelets.net. 

Outfit details: Shirt: American Eagle / Shorts: LOFT / Necklace: DIY / Bracelets: DIY / Sandals: Merrell

The top bracelet was made by my friend. I made the bottom two bracelets.

It's been a great experience writing this blog and I hope to continue blogging in the future. 

Have a lovely day!

Copycat

With this outfit, I was a copycat...I found an outfit I liked on Pinterest and put my own spin on it! 

Here's the original outfit: 

Image from gochicorgohome.com

I liked how the white shirt, gray sweater, brown belt and tan shoes didn't compete with the cuffed bright green pants. When I saw this pin, my mind immediately imagined a similar outfit. Here's my take: 

Outfit details: Sweater: Abercrombie and Fitch / Shirt: Gap / Pants: Gap / Shoes: Sperry / Belt: Vintage / Headband: LOFT / Necklace: Gifted 

I like how the outfit turned out. I added a bejeweled headband for a personal touch. This is my favorite headband - it matches almost everything. 

Another little piece of inspiration found on Pinterest for your day:

So true! Have an amazing day. 

Pinstripes with a Bow

This outfit was sweet and comfortable - I played up the volume of the boyfriend shirt with skinny white pants. My favorite part about these shirts is the fit - I feel like I'm wearing pajamas! I added a bright green bow to complete the preppy look and my blue handmade necklace for some sparkle. 

Outfit details: Shirt: Gap / Pants: American Eagle / Shoes: TOMs / Necklace: DIY 

Have a beautiful day! 

Colorblocking

I wore this colorblocked outfit recently for a Mother's Day lunch with my family. We went out to a local Chinese restaurant. I wanted to style a pair of statement earrings and I decided to match them to a bright colored outfit. I debated whether I wanted to wear the belt and decided to in the end because it helped transition the shirt and the skirt. It also matches my sandals, which are super comfortable. I believe comfort is most important when it comes to shoes. I don't care how good a pair of shoes looks, if I'm in pain, I don't want to wear them! 

Outfit details: Blouse: Mine via TJMaxx / Belt: LOFT / Skirt: H&M / Purse: BCBGeneration / Sandals: Franco Sarto via Lord and Taylor / Earrings: Lord and Taylor 

Here's a closer look at the earrings. 

I love how they combine all my favorite colors. 

Have a wonderful day! 

The Art of Layering: Pattern Play

I wore this outfit on a day when the weather was simply wonderful - not too hot or cold, and a slight breeze...It was one of those days where you can close your eyes, relax, and release all your thoughts. 

For a day like this, I wanted to wear something relaxed and comfortable. I chose this grey floral dress and added a printed belt to define my waist. On top of the dress, I added a green cardigan. The patterns in the dress and belt work together because they are both understated. If I'm mixing patterns, I try to keep only one as the focus. In this outfit, the dress is the focus, and the belt, which has thin stripes, is an accent pice. The green color in the belt and cardigan bring everything together. I kept all other accessories neutral - you can't see them in this photo, but I'm wearing these silver glitter TOMs.

Outfit details: Cardigan: Abercrombie and Fitch / Dress: Gap / Belt: LOFT / Shoes: TOMs

In this photo is my friend Victoria Elizabeth. I love her outfit! The dress, cardigan and belt combination is so great for spring, when it can be chilly in the morning but warm in the afternoon! 

I hope you have a pleasant spring day! 

Spring Green

By now, you've probably noticed that I like the color green...

Green is one of my favorite colors, as this cardigan can attest! My outfit matched the wreath on my door. Very springy and lovely! I chose this lace dress and green cardigan because the weather was so fantastic, and added the leather belt to pull it all together. The necklace was a mini DIY project - I took a LOFT hair tie that had a cute turquoise and gold embellishment and cut it to remove the embellishment. I never used that hair tie, but I thought the charm would make a great pendant necklace. Then I attached it onto a long chain from another necklace and created my one-of-a-kind necklace.

Outfit details: Dress: Lush via Nordstrom / Cardigan: Abercrombie and Fitch / Necklace: DIY / Belt: Vintage / Shoes: Sperry / Sunglasses: Google / Earrings: Urban Outfitters / Purse: Secondhand Vera Bradley

A closer look at the necklace...

I had this bag on but I took it off when the photos were being taken by my friend Liana! 

Photo from Wanelo.com

It was hard to see my earrings but I found this photo of them online. I like how dainty they are - I'm all about the little details! 

Hope you're having a lovely day. 

Balancing Act

This outfit was an experiment in balancing the masculine and the feminine. My style tends to sit on the fence - neither super feminine nor very masculine. Simply put, I wear what makes me feel comfortable, so that may be plaid shirts or lace dresses. In putting together this outfit, I thought about ways to balance out the boyfriend jeans, brown leather belt, and boat shoes with the floral blouse, grass green sweater, and bow clip. In the end, I created an outfit that's sweet and simple. 

Outfit details: Sweater: Abercrombie and Fitch / Blouse: Abercrombie and Fitch / Cami: Gap / Jeans: American Eagle / Belt: Vintage (gift from mom) / Shoes: Sperry / Earrings: Museum of Native American History / Necklace: Gifted

Hair: Parted on the side, Dutch braided, and clipped. This bow clip is one of my favorite hair accessories. It adds a touch of prep to any outfit! 

Here's a nice quote on balance - so true. 

Hope you're finding your own balance, whether it's in style, or in life!

Pop of Color

This outfit is black, white and grey...with a little pop of some Spring green! Making the green color the focus of the outfit, I kept everything else neutral. There's a tiny bit of green in my hair - my crystal hair clip peeking through the braid. This is the same braid hairstyle I featured here. The necklace and top both belonged to my mom, but she gave them to me :) She has amazing taste and I think she has been a huge influence on me as I develop my own personal style. 

Outfit details: Top: LOFT / Sweater: Gap / Jeans: Gap / Boots: Luxury Rebel / Necklace: Gifted / Earrings: Anthropologie

Hope you're having a wonderful day. It's starting to finally feel like Spring! 

I just love this quote so much.

Bohemian

Rather than my usual more preppy-casual look, this time I went for a more bohemian style, featuring a handmade bracelet. I made this bracelet in 6th grade, but I still wear it from time to time. I usually don't like to wear bracelets, but this one matched so well with my shirt that I had to put it on. The gold bracelet is a gift from my mother, from a long time ago too - I don't even remember when she gave it to me! I usually like to keep my old jewelry and I tend not to purchase new jewelry for myself because I'm quite picky about what kind of jewelry I wear. Thankfully, people love giving me jewelry for gifts  :) 

Outfit details: Shirt: Truth via TJMaxx / Tank (worn underneath): American Eagle / Leggings: Aerie / Boots: Luxury Rebel / Necklace: Kiosk at Disneyland / Bracelets: DIY and gifted / Earrings: Urban Outfitters 

Unlike Xuewei, who likes neon, I tend to gravitate toward more earth tones. This outfit is a great example of that. I also find that the black leggings and black boots combination works well for my tall figure. Tunics are hard to find, so you can imagine how happy I was to find this at TJMaxx. I really like the selection of casual tops at TJMaxx. 

This hairstyle worked with hair that had a little bit of texture from it. I made braids on each side to highlight these pretty chandelier earrings! 

Detailed picture of the earrings and bracelets I wore with this outfit.

I tried something the other day while I was on a jog - I tried to spread a good feeling by smiling and saying good afternoon or hello to every person I passed. I visited an old friend and had a chat. On the way home, I talked to the crossing guards at my elementary/middle school (it was combined) who I remembered from when I attended that school. It made me feel really amazing to greet people and hope that I passed on some positivity to them. Try this out today or tomorrow and see how it makes you feel! 

Wishing for Spring

I wore this outfit last week when I was wishing wistfully for Spring to arrive. Although the pretty snowflakes and snow-covered streets of winter are lovely, I always find myself looking forward to warmer weather, skirts, and sun around the beginning of March. This outfit and all its bright colors was my way of telling Spring to come a little sooner :) 

Outfit details: Shirt: Ann Taylor LOFT / Jeans: Gap / Boots: Nine West / Belt: Ann Taylor LOFT / Scarf: Vintage / Earrings: Anthropologie 

This scarf was not a vintage flea market find - it used to be my mom's! I have never worn it but I decided to wear it with the jeans and the belt because the colors matched well. Like my last outfit, there was color coordination without going overboard. The colors were light and vibrant, but my boots made it winter-appropriate. 

Hairstyle: 2 inch sections braided on each side, clipped back with a small black clip. My friend pointed out to me that the way I clipped it made the different strands of the braid separate nicely - that was completely unintentional, but really interesting! I usually like to wear my hair half-up half-down: it keeps my hair out of my face, and it also balances out my face shape. A lot of times I read magazines that offer tips on what kind of clothes or hairstyles to wear, but I usually need to try things out first. It's all about understanding how something works with your own proportions. 

I've got my fingers crossed for better weather in the next few weeks!