Let's get philosophical... Philosophical...

...and I may go, to places I have never been to, just to find
the deepest desires in my mind...

Hi friends!

Life in San Diego has been busy busy! I've been working 40 hour weeks (ha ha yes, I know... like the rest of society lol but I'm used to working only 3 or 4 days lol :P and at a busy store like the one I'm at, it can be extremely draining) and in the little spare time that I actually have, we've been using it to look for furniture to finish off our place. Our place is pretty much fully furnished besides a few decorative items I'd like to have. I will post pictures in about a month or so after I have some people over so you guys will just have to come and see for yourself!

I had the day off today and spent the day getting my oil changed and cooking dinner. I also got to catch up on a two episodes of Once Upon a Time (so addicting!). After the bf got home we watched the Katy Perry movie. Pretty good although my expectations were a little high so I was a little disappointed. They did a much better job with the Justin Bieber movie (yes... I watched that movie lol). It was a bit of a sad movie and reminded me of a time when I was going through similar emotions. I can't even imagine having to put on a brave face to put on an entire concert when you're breaking down on the inside. I've always been a hopeless romantic and extremely emotional and I just remembered times when I would be holding back tears in class, which was especially bad when you sat in the front row.

I think of those times to remind myself of how far I've come and how I'm in such a better place now. Everyone in their own way will go through things that test them, push them to their limits and at times it'll feel like life is going in a downward spiral but it's up to us to take back control of our lives. Giving up is easy. It's picking up the pieces and deciding what to do afterwards that's hard. One of my favorite quotes is from Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail." I truly believe that if you can find a way to get over that obstacle, whatever it may be, it will not only make you a stronger person but a better human being. I was talking to my manager the other day and she said something that really touched my heart. She said, "We will do our best to help each other be better human beings." It just made me think that if everyone thought this way, the world would be a much better place.

I got all philosophical on ya'lls all of a sudden haha. Thanks for listening to me ramble on lol. Hope everyone is ready for the weekend! Let's finish this week off right! Love and miss you all!



Currently Listening to: (lyrics featured as caption of photo)

Concert: the xx

October 13th, 2012

the xx with special guests 2:54 and John Talabot @ Hollywood Forever

2:54

john talabot

fin

Such an amazing concert and the venue just made it all the more serene. The Hollywood Forever Cemetery is so beautiful. We paid the extra $20 to park inside the venue and it's definitely worth it. You don't have to wait in line to get in and you could go back to the car to get whatever you want. They don't let you in until 6pm so we drove around the block and just parked until it was 6pm. Blankets recommended (one to sit on and another to snuggle with :)) since it did get cold after the sun went down despite it still being fricken hot in LA at this time of the year.

I recorded a bunch of little clips from the concert so once I piece them all together, I'll post it here. I'm still trying to get a hang of using the Mac programs. 

San Diego

I am now up and running in San Diego! I've been without internet for the past 2 weeks and it's so nice to finally have internet again! I've been seriously taking the internet for granted all this time. I'll be back to regular posting soon but first I have to get back on schedule with all my finances. Paying bills without internet is not the deal especially when your credit card just expired. All my auto payments thru my credit card were rejected so I have to fix all that stuff too. Let me tell ya... super fun stuff.

So far working and living in San Diego hasn't been much different than being in LA besides the fact that we have our own place and I'm working in a far busier store. We're pretty much done decorating our place with a few things that don't need immediately so we'd like to take our time looking for them (i.e. night stands, coffee table, side tables, etc). Other than that, we're pretty much all settled in.

I'm hoping I'll have some new posts for ya'lls soon! Love and miss ya'lls! Talk to you guys soon!

Blank Canvas

We've finally found a place and have started moving in! Been super busy with work and finding new furniture, etc so I haven't really had time to blog much. It's definitely hectic decorating this blank canvas in such a short time span but I can't wait to turn this house into a home :). Hopefully we'll have the place presentable soon and we can have everyone over. Once we get settled in, you'll be hearing more from me! Hope to talk/see to ya'lls soon! Much love. xoxo

Fall/Winter 2012 Fashion

To even talk about Fall right now is just crazy because the seasons are so screwed up in Socal (our Summer literally didn't start until the end of July and we're pretty much in the 90's to 100's up until Halloween, thankfully it has cooled down a little) but Fall is right around the corner for the rest of the country! I went crazy shopping recently for Fall/Winter clothes so I thought I do a blog post featuring some of the stuff I got and some of the biggest trends I saw while shopping.

1. Leather

Leather leather leather! I'm usually not a big fan of real leather because it smells a little weird to me but since I can't really afford real leather anyways, faux leather it is! This season is all about the traditional black leather in every which way you can wear it (pants, shorts, skirt, jacket) as well as colored leather, especially in burgundy (aka "oxblood"), one of the biggest colors this season. 

bloomingdales - doma leather jacket

I was so in love with this leather jacket when I first saw it in this video but I really can't justify a $628 piece of clothing so I decided to find a more affordable alternative. Since I already have a black leather jacket and a white leather jacket (both of them faux leather of course lol), and burgundy is such a big color this season, I opted for a leather jacket in that color. I found this bomber jacket at Forever21 for only $24.80! Score! I've paired it with a hounds-tooth (I've been seeing this print everywhere!) chiffon shirt also from Forever21. Throw on a pair of black faux leather leggings and some booties and you're ready for a night out on the town.

forever 21 faux leather bomber jacker - $24.80

2. Military

Anything from camo to just an overall more structured look, military is back in. Look for structured coats and button detailing. I'm not a huge fan of military stuff, especially the camo, so I opted for a regular cargo/utility jacket (F21 - $24.50). I also have a military shirt (random boutique) with button detailing I plan on bringing back out. 

forever 21(link similar; maybe it's only in stores right now?) - $24.50

random boutique - old

forever 21 (from last winter) - $19.80

3. Colors: Blues, Burgundy, Hunter Green, and other Jewel Tones

I've never been a huge fan of any of these colors (I'm more of a black, white and grey girl) but the recent boom in colored denim has made stepping out of my color comfort zone a lot easier. During the Nordstrom Anniversary sale a couple of weeks ago I got myself a pair of hunter green jeggings. The quality on them isn't as nice as I had hoped since they were from Nordstrom but the color was an exact match of what I had wanted so I decided to keep them. 

Pairing black and blue together is another trend this season so look for a blue top that you can pair over black leather leggings or black jeans, creating a color block effect.

my obsession with colored denim
old navy rockstar super skinny jeans in creme camel (link) - $24.46 on sale
american eagle jeggings in blue
nordstrom fire skinny stretch jeans in green (sz 3 juniors)
forever 21 jeggings in red - $19.80

Word of warning on the Old Navy Rockstar Super Skinny Jeans: Old Navy is pretty infamous for their vanity sizing so when I first ordered this pair online, I opted for the size 00 Petite. After receiving it and not being able to even put 1 leg in, I opted for the size 6 Petite. Now that I've been wearing them a couple of times (and also maybe because I have no ass), the crotch area and ass area is a bit saggy although the waist and thigh area fit me fine. I would just take that into consideration and maybe size down one size when ordering online. The jeans themselves are super soft so I highly recommend them, it's just that I probably ordered the wrong size.

I just purchased another pair of colored denim in burgundy from AE so we'll see how well that pair fits when it comes in. It took me so long to get this post up that I ended up getting the pair of pants already. I would highly recommend these to anyone looking for a pair of burgundy pants. They are super stretchy and feel like a second skin. I only purchase items online that can be returned in stores just because I don't like having to go to the post-office, etc and AE.com has a great return policy so I feel particularly safe buying stuff with them especially during the Labor Day sales with free shipping. 

american eagle knit jegging in 4 short (link) - $27.97 on sale (orig. $39.95)

4. Prints

Animal and reptile prints are still booming. Polka-dots are definitely another essential this season. 

forever 21 poodle sweater - $19.80
old navy heart sweater (link) - $17.46 on sale (orig. 24.94)
nordstrom juniors frenchie bow sweater in cream (i saw this still available in stores on sale for $13.99)
old navy polka-dot sweater in camel (same style as the heart sweater)- $17.46 on sale (orig. 24.94)

target jeggings in snow leopard (link) - $20 on sale (orig. 22.99)
(FYI the material is very rough. I've already washed this and it still feels extremely stiff :/.)

5. Lace

I absolutely love lace but I have super sensitive skin so I'm really particular about what lace items I purchase. I saw two items from Forever21 I just had to purchase. First is this lace peplum blouse. Super versatile because you can pair it with virtually any colored denim depending on the look you want. Pair it with some pink skinnies for a fun and flirty look or pair it with those leather leggings for a more vampy look. 

I also bought this baseball-esque sweater with lace details all over the front. You can dress it down during the weekends over some jeans or dress it up with a pair of slacks for work. 

Hope everyone enjoyed this post! Happy Monday and have a great week lovers!

Currently listening to... while shopping:



Want more? Here's a one-stop shop of my favorite resources for Fall/Winter Fashion 2012:

• Bloomingdales - It's On (link)
• Nordstrom - Fall's Top 10 (link)
• R29 - 30 Fall Wardrobe Essentials (link)
• Who What Wear - F/W '12 Trend Guide (link)

note: all photos taken with canon t3i

Qwirkle-ing with Friends

Aug. 26, 2012: After getting confirmation of my transfer from both parties, I was a mixture of emotions: happy that I'll finally be able to see Tony on a daily basis but sad that after 2 years of being back in LA, I'd be leaving those closest to me once again. On the bright side, San Diego is only 2 hrs away and it's a much more appealing place to visit than Stockton lol. On Sunday, we were all free and decided to take advantage of, possibly, one of our last chances to get together before my move down. 

Our meal (not pictured) consisted of Kyochon wings supplied by Gerald (oh, how the spicy wings were so delicious yet tear/sniffles inducing!) and BBQ wings cooked by Chef Grigsby (with some salad as well). 

qwirkle + vino

keeping score

team pj (pearl & jenn) ftw!

westside qwirkle lol

Twas a super fun night of games, food and friends. Can't wait to have these parties in SD!

Last Hurrah

About a month ago Tanya and Jason came for a visit. My pass was expiring the next week so we decided to kill 2 birds with one stone and met up at Disneyland. I had been raving about the Racers ride so we waited until about 10pm (park closed at 11pm that day) and we waited maybe 45 minutes! Love the racers ride!

radiator springs

"it's a real ferrari!"

on racers!

brunch buffet at the storyteller's cafe in the grand californian

Happy Labor Day lovers!