Wednesday, January 27, 2016

What to Read Wednesday

Hi all! Happy hump day! I just finished reading "Open Season" (A Joe Pickett novel) by C.J. Box. I enjoyed it! It's kind of a spooky, vulgar book (what is it with me and vulgar books lately?!) but it was on the family shared kindle so I figured what the heck it looks interesting, so I downloaded it and a few days later I was done! It's full of mystery, intrigue, bad guys and betrayal. The heroes emerge in unusual ways. I recommend it for people who like mystery and appreciate a good character description. That was definitely a strength of the book for me, I felt like I got to know the characters really well, really fast. Also, it appears there is a whole series of Joe Pickett novels!! You know how much I love a good series! :)

As a side note, I really want this for a coffee table book.


Tuesday, January 26, 2016

5 Lovely Links


1. How to cultivate grit in your kids (and yourself) - great article! Read it here

2. Love this edgy/feminine look from one of my favorite blogger's clothing line

3. 2016 - Time to bring out the bomber jackets. I wish I still had my light blue puma bomber from high school... *tear*

4. These chokers - I love them all!!

5.  I love this!! Way to revolutionize filling up your own water bottle on the slopes rather than buying plastic water bottles! Plus who doesn't love a cute, collapsable, reusable water bottle that flattens in your suitcase?

Friday, January 22, 2016

Finding My Way Back

TGIF! Happy Friday everyone!! It's been a long week. (The longest short week, ever, in fact!) How are you all doing on your new year's resolutions? (In case you missed it, here is my post on what some of my New Year's Resolutions are.) I'm doing fairly well so far. One priority has been exercise, which is something I've struggled keeping up in the past. If you've been following my blog for a bit maybe you read about my general dislike of exercise here. I am grateful and happy to say that I've found my way back to my yoga practice. Yoga is something I discovered in the summer of 2010 when I was living in LA for a college internship. I was living in Westwood and having the time of my life. I started taking swimming and yoga classes at UCLA and was doing two swimming classes and two yoga classes every week. Yoga completely transformed my body and mind that summer -- I got stronger, my legs slimmed down, I felt healthy and strong, and I felt really positive about my practice. I fell off the wagon after heading back up to the Bay Area for senior year, but that's one of the things I love about yoga -- you can always find your way back to your practice. And maybe you'll find some things have stayed the same (I still don't love chair pose) and maybe you'll find some things have changed (I lost some of the flexibility in my hamstrings that I gained that summer.) But yoga is always there for us, teaching us to be kind and loving toward ourselves and others. And that is something I love about yoga.

Plus who doesn't love cute workout attire? Shop some of my fave workout and yoga themed picks below:

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Wednesday Wishlist: Valentine's Day



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Happy Wednesday! I had Monday off so this week is flying by and has been so so busy! I'm still trying to get back into my regular blogging routine. The holidays and new year totally threw me off! Anyone else still feel like they are playing catch up?? Anyway I'm super excited because Valentine's Day is coming up!! I will be spending it with friends at the Bachelorette Party of one of my oldest and dearest friends!! So I can't wait! Here are some of my favorite Valentine's Day themed items right now... pink and red and hearts everything!! I hope you all have a great rest of your day and week! 

Shop the Post:




Wednesday, January 13, 2016

What to Read Wednesday

Happy hump day babes!! I hope everyone is having a great week! My week has been a little crazy! All the students are back at school so everyone is dropping by the office for help and questions and stuff. I've also been able to do some fun things after work like yoga and a movie (we saw the new Leo movie last night) so that's been great!

I read four books over the holiday break, three of which were in a series called "The Chronos Files" by Rysa Walker. Book one "Timebound", was my favorite of the series. The other two are called "Time's Edge" and "Time's Divide." The series is definitely more "young adult" than I normally like -- the characters are dealing with high school issues like young romance which I wasn't too crazy about, but the time travel part of the books was fun and pretty interesting. As the books go on they get a little bit strange but they are definitely an easy read. There is an element of faux-religious fundamentalism (a made up religion/cult) so if that kind of thing offends you, this may not be the book series for you.

What are you reading lately?

Monday, January 11, 2016

New Year's Resolutions - 2016

Hey all! Happy Monday! It's about time I post about my New Year's Resolutions, don't you think? While I have a lot of goals for 2016, I'm not going to share them all on here because well, some of them are just more personal and/or you might not find them very interesting!

I have broken them up into a few categories:

WORK
- Be less wasteful  (bring a mug to work, print when necessary, etc.)
- Ask for a raise
- Find more ways to positively deal with stress (take a walk, take a deep breath, read a positive quote at my desk)
- Thank coworkers more often for their hard work
- Be cheery (especially in the morning)
- Bring lunch and snacks to work! (good for the environment and my budget)
- Bring treats every so often for the office to enjoy!


BLOG
- Bring back the following series: 1) LA Favorites  2) How-to  3) Tips and Tricks
- Continue to strive for aesthetically pleasing photos
- Learn to use editing software to better edit the lighting and contrast in my photos
- Make more appealing collages
- Comment daily on other people's blogs and build relationships with bloggers and brands
- Create monthly printables for my blog subscribers??
- Keep an editorial calendar
- Get a mailbox?? For blog mail

LOVE
- Go on romantic dates once a month
- Have date night once every two weeks
- Exercise together
- Express appreciation, love and kindness
 
SELF
- Keep a budget
- Save money
- Be less wasteful
- Exercise
- Enjoy life
- Seek out nature
- Read
- Practice gratitude
- Record short videos every day (video journal) detailing what happened that day  
- Explore

What are your New Year's Resolutions, if you have any?
 

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Resort 2016 Picks


Resort 2016 Picks
Is it just me or are you guys craving warm, sunny beaches and a tropical breeze, too? A pina colada in each hand wouldn't hurt either?! I'm back at work this week and it is just such a struggle getting back into the swing of things! Here is some island inspiration for you... Espadrilles of course are a must-have for spring and goodness knows I love a good palm leaf print! How cute is that little clutch though, seriously?! It would be great to throw in your beach bag for beach day essentials like phone and chapstick, or as a fun and springy makeup bag. Pom poms are also a big hit in the spring and summer months, so start browsing pom stuff now and get your fix :) PS If those booties were in my size I would totally get them, but *tear* they aren't so someone else please enjoy them for me!

Shop the Post: 


Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Pinky Promise




Sweater: Nordstrom (I'm wearing a medium and you can see it's an oversized, slouchy fit!) 
| Leggings: Rugby (old, similar here) | Ankle boots: Nordstrom (the booties I'm wearing 
are sold out but these are also super cute)

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Happy 2016 beauties!! I hope everybody had an amazing holiday season and New Year! I was supposed to go to NYC to celebrate NYE with two of my oldest and best friends but I ended up coming down with a stomach bug the night before my flight and had to stay home. (So sad to not get to see them!) But... we rang in the new year with some board games and apple juice! It was still a great time! I'll have to make it out to NYC another time!

I think 2016 will be a great year! SH and I had so much fun last weekend when I was feeling better. We flew to San Diego and went to the zoo (I love all the animals!! If you haven't been to the SD Zoo you definitely need to go because it's amazing!!) Sunday we went paintballing which was also really fun but I think I must hold my breath when I'm on the field because I always end up with a bad headache! 

Being active in the New Year makes me feel great and I hope everyone is starting off this year on the right foot. It's getting chillier here in LA and is supposed to rain all week. When it gets chilly I love to keep cozy in oversized sweaters like this light pink sweater from Nordstrom! I tend to pair oversized sweaters with leggings and booties because why not they are all so comfy! One of my favorite things about this sweater are the long arms because I can pull them over my palms for that extra cozy feeling.

I hope you're having a great start to the New Year!
 

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