If it makes you happy, wear it!

Hope you enjoyed your Valentine’s Day, whether single or in a relationship! I actually love Valentine’s Day. A lot of people think I love the holiday because I’ve been in a relationship for a few years now, but I’ve actually loved it since I was younger.

As a young girl I watched wedding shows sometimes more than cartoons…I know, weird right. I was the student who wanted to give Valentine’s candy and cards to all of my classmates growing up. I just always loved the idea of love.

I know some people believe that Valentine’s Day is just a superficial and commercialized holiday, but I see it as a special day to go all out for your signifcant other in a different way than the other 364 days of the year.

And if you are single, practicing self-love and taking yourself on a date that makes you feel beautiful, confident, and happy is also a perfect way to spend Valentine’s Day.

Yesterday, Shawn and I actually had a very lowkey Valentine’s Day. It was a rainy LA day so we decided to stay in and catch up on all of our tv shows, which was fun and relaxing.

I only left my apartment to take the pictures you see in this post and then went back to the comfort of my bed, blankets, and snacks.

A few days ago I was trying so hard to figure out what to wear on Valentine’s Day just in case we went out somewhere. I was thinking about buying a pink skirt or a cute red dress to wear, but I honestly wasn’t feeling pink or red this year for the holiday.

I felt like every year I aimed for something pink, red, or white in my outfit to match the usual theme of the holiday, so I switched it up this time for a less bright and less girly look and I loved it.

Don’t get so tied up on themes or what other people are wearing, wear what makes you happy. For my non-traditional Valentine’s Day outfit, I decided to wear navy and black!

I wore a navy blazer from H&M and paired it with a black Topshop bralette, black FashionNova jeans, and black dress shoes from Nordstrom Rack. I felt like this outfit was sexy enough for the lovey dovey holiday while still being simple and stylish.

As I mentioned earlier, it was a rainy day, so I was excited to add my umbrella to my outfit. My umbrella has pink and white polka dots on it, which added a nice pop of color to my Valentine’s Day look.

If dresses make you happy, wear them. If crop tops make you happy, wear them. If you don’t feel comfortable in shorts and they make you unhappy, don’t wear them.

Anybody can wear anything that makes them feel confident and happy. All bodies are good bodies!

Have a lovely weekend!! 🙂

#OOTD

Hey hey!

This #ootd is actually from my birthday which was November 18th, but life has been a little busy since then with Thanksgiving and flying back home to Maryland from LA to visit my family! 🙂

I don’t have many pictures from visiting my family because I was trying to focus on spending time with everyone and staying disconnected from social media as much as I could.

I did however take a lot of pictures on my birthday so I hope you like my outfit pictured throughout this post!

This dress was actually given to me by one of my previous coworkers…thanks Kelly! It fits great and it is super flattering.

I got my blue heels from Macys last year for my birthday and I thought that it would be a cool tradition to wear them every year on my birthday until I forget or outgrow them lol.

On my birthday, Shawn and I just went to the movies and out to eat at a restaurant called Sizzler. Have any of you eaten there before? It was yummy!

I am blessed to see another year and sorry for the late post showcasing this outfit, but let me know in the comments below if you like it! Enjoy your week lovelies!

Acknowledge your Glow Up!

Happy Thursday lovelies, I hope your week has been great so far.

It’s Day 29 of Motivational March and if you follow me on Instagram at Coralbuttons, you already know what the goal for today is, but if not here it is: Acknowledge your Glow Up! (Hence the title 😄)

If you don’t know what I mean by that, no worries, I’ll explain!

I posted the picture above on IG to show how I changed over the last four years and to acknowledge my glow up. Urban dictionary defines the term “glow up” as: “To go from the bottom to the top to the point of disbelief. An incredible transformation.”

Not saying I was at rock bottom in 2014, but I wasn’t as healthy or confident then. I just big chopped and that was the shortest my hair had ever been so I was adjusting to that and I was in college stressed about everything.

My style was still evolving and changing and my eating habits weren’t the best. This year, I’m happier, more positive and healthier.

My confidence is boosted because I practice self-love and self-care a lot more. “Positive” is a word that comes out of my mouth on the regular because I surround myself around positive people, do things beneficial for my life, relationship, and career, and make sure to take time to just sit and be happy.

In four years, I graduated college, continued my relationship with my highschool sweetheart and moved across the country from Baltimore to Los Angeles. It’s not about bragging about your accomplishments, it’s about recognizing how much you’ve grown!

Take time to acknowledge your glow up today. You are amazing!

Green is my color for 2018!

Happy Friday lovelies!

Hope you had a great week and I hope you are still going strong with Motivational March. I’ve recently fallen in love with the color green and noticed that a lot of the clothes I’ve been purchasing have been green!

My friends and coworkers tell me that shades of green such as olive and emerald look great on me, so I am starting to embrace the color. Be prepared to see a lot of green on my blog this year!

For the outfit featured in this post, I paired a green crop top from Forever 21 with a pair of black, ribbed knit flare pants from Topshop.

I love Topshop because their clothes are super trendy and comfortable. These pants have a lot of stretch in them and makes my legs and booty look great. To finish off my green look, I wore lime hightop converses.

I would consider this look sporty chic with a dash of cozy. Do you have a color set for your 2018 wardrobe?

And I didn’t forget today’s goal for day 16 of Motivational March: work towards breaking a bad habit and starting a new good habit!

Tell me what bad habit you are breaking and replacing with a good habit and your color for 2018 in the comments below!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

A Pep Talk with Yourself

I felt like dressing up a bit today so I went with this professional-chic look.

I paired a black pinstripe blazer with a black fit and flare dress, and black booties. Yes, it’s a lot of black but is still chic and simple.

I prefered keeping the blazer unbuttoned to show off the dress more. These ankle booties are definitely on trend for fall this year along with embroidered booties and thigh high boots.

Todays outfit made me think of the quote, “dress for the job you want, not the job you have.”

With a huge change coming at the end of this month, I’ve been thinking a lot about goals and what I want to achieve in life.

Wearing this outfit made me feel empowered, strong, and like I can achieve anything I set my mind too.

Every once in a while you have to have a pep talk with yourself to get you motivated and inspired again. I hope this read made you want to chase after your goals full force.

Happy Hump Day!

 

Paris Fashion Week Inspired Photoshoot

In honor of Paris Fashion Week (pfw), since I can’t physically be there i had my own pfw inspired photoshoot.

It’s still warm for Fall here in Baltimore so I went with a summery look under a jacket that is perfect for Fall weather.

My crop top is from an online designer named Rhiverxx. The shirt says Melanin Goddess which I love because it embraces my love for being a beautiful, strong, black woman.

The croptop is lightweight and has a racerback. I also love it because, as you may not notice from the pictures, I can go braless while wearing it!

Paired with my top I wore black shorts with a white floral print. I purchased them from Forever 21 on sale for only like 5 bucks!! A great deal if I do say so myself.

The sandals that I am wearing are from Payless, an affordable store with some stylish shoes!

The duster/bomber jacket is from the lovely Zendaya’s clothing line, Daya by Zendaya. This rose gold color was definitely on trend this summer so I wouldn’t be surprised to see it make its way into fall clothing as well.

Since I was channeling paris fashion week vibes, I tried out a few different poses and angles and I think the shoot turned out quite well.

Sometimes you have to imagine yourself in the environment you eventually want to be in at some point in your life. Just because you couldn’t make something happen this year doesn’t mean give up on your dreams or goals.

I’ll be at Paris Fashion Week one day, whether modeling clothes, being a stylist for the models, hosting the backstage action or the show itself, or maybe being one of the designers. I may not be exactly sure where I will end up, but I know my future is bright.

Keep envisioning yourself where you want to be. Live life to the fullest. I believe in you!

Enjoy your Sunday lovelies!

Fashionable & Fun Photoshoot. Enjoy the Sunshine!

The spring days in Baltimore have been beautiful! Since it was warm and sunny this past Sunday I decided to do a fun photoshoot.

Right after church Shawn (my boyfriend for all of my new readers ^-^) and I went to a casual and simple locations and the pics are below:

I really loved this photoshoot because it was untraditional and not constructed. I just wanted to let loose and embrace the sunshine.

From the very start of 2017, I’ve been trying to focus a lot on my goals for the future, especially a few big ones I have for this year alone.

Sometimes spending so much time planning and preparing can get overwhelming and stressful. That’s why I felt that this photoshoot was so meaningful.

I wasn’t stressed or worried about what tasks I need to do in the next week. I was just outside in the moment and enjoying the sun.

Take some time this week to just step outside and feel the sun in your face. Your goals and plans will still be there, let loose and have some fun!

7 Inspiring Images and Quotes for Black History Month

It’s Day 6 of Black History Month, so I decided to touch on a few inspiring images and quotes showcasing black pride! It is so important to see positive role models and examples of people like you doing what you sometimes feel is the impossible.

1) Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, & Taraji P. Henson as the leading ladies in “Hidden Figures”

2) “Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly.”
—Langston Hughes

3) Chance the Rapper Modeling for “Thanks Obama” Fashion Line

4) “Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.”
—Booker T. Washington

5) Disney Channel will be showcasing inspiring African American stories for Black History Month

6) 5th Grade Teacher, Barry White, has a personalized handshake for each of his students

7) “We all have dreams. In order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline and effort.”
—Jesse Owens, African American world record-setting Olympic athlete

Bonus:

Me! Rocking a dashiki and headwrap ❤