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!! 🙂

Find Fun Walls

Hey hey! Hope your week is going well. Today I will be showcasing an outfit and giving a tip I learned that can help take your pictures to the next level.

My tip: find fun walls that make your outfit and picture stand out.

Walls come in all shapes and sizes. There’s the traditional stone and brick walls, but there are also walls that are colorful and highly decorated. I love finding walls that compliment my outfit.

 

LA has a lot of cool street art throughout the city so it’s easy to find a patterned wall to use as a background. I actually found this wall on the side of a parking garage near Melrose. I chose this wall because the red and black pattern on it was bright and looked edgy.

I wore a striped button up shirt from FashionNova that I knotted in the front and black Topshop pants. To finish off my look, I wore teal, velvet heels.

I like versatile outfits and pieces that I can rewear multiple ways. If I throw on some flats with this outfit it works for a casual, everyday look. If I button up my shirt and throw on a blazer, it’s a professional look.

What pieces do you have in your closet that you love to rewear? Where are some good picture locations in your city? Let me know in the comments below and enjoy the rest of your week!

Floral Maxi Dress and Marley Twists

Hey hey! Today I wanted to showcase a new dress and a new hairstyle. As I mentioned in my last post here, I love dresses!

Maxi dresses, like the floral one I am wearing above, are so stylish along with being super comfortable. You can wear maxi dresses and flats for a casual, errand day or pair it with heels for a chic, brunch outfit.

I decided to pair mine with flats for a more casual look. This floral maxi was a great deal at Nordstrom Rack for only $12!

I love shopping at the Rack because the deals are so great and it helps that I get an employee discount too. My flats are from Nordstrom, my only issue with them are that they get dirty so quick because they are white. During the summer time, I definitely plan on wearing this dress with cute sandals.

On this past Monday, I decided to do my hair. I love red hair on me. I’ve even considered dying my natural hair red because I love it so much, but that will happen later in life.

I’ve done red braids before, but this was my first time doing red twists. Besides how they look, the main difference between braids and twists are how many pieces of hair you use. To form a braid, you use three strands of hair and to form a twist you use two strands of hair.

Once I get a video camera, I will showcase how I do my protective styles (braids and twists). Be warned, it is time-consuming. These twists took me 8 hours to do, but once you get the hang of it its fun and definitely worth while.

My twists allow me to give my natural hair a break and it’s a cute, new hairstyle. What’s your go to dress style? What hairstyle are you currently rocking? Let me know in the comments below!

And I will leave you with this quote my boyfriend and I came up with today as inspiration to help you get through your week:

Flowers bloom even in darkness. So even if you feel like there is no light in your life right now, you can still bloom in your dark place. You are a flower 💐

Rocking a Topshop Hoodie Dress and Vans for a Casual Slay

Hey hey! I hope your week has been fun and productive so far. It’s been a chilly and rainy few days here in LA, so after work I’ve been staying warm and cozy inside my apartment, doing yoga, catching up on a few of my favorite podcasts, and reading.

When it gets chilly in LA is definitely nothing compared to chilly in Baltimore, but i still try to dress appropriate for the weather. LA chilly is around 50ish degrees and requires a light jacket or sweater.

Some of the LA natives would call 50ish degrees cold but thats because they never felt 20 degree Baltimore or east coast weather lol.

I love dresses more than any article of clothing. Anytime i get to wear one I will. I recently found a great deal on this topshop hoodie dress.

Right when i saw it I knew I had to have it in my closet. It comes in a dusty rose pink color and the bright red color I purchased. I purchased it in red because I actually don’t own a lot of red and I loved how bright it was. I love having a colorful wardrobe!

Now some might say that this dress is outside my normal dress attire and they would be correct. My dresses are normally fit and flare, bodycon, or maxi dresses. Having it be so different from what I already own is one of the main reasons I wanted to buy it.

I paired this dress with gray and white checkerboard Vans that have red roses on them. The red in the shoes popped along with the red dress. I wanted this look to be casual, but still stylish as well. Buying a dress that is super comfortable and cute is a great find! Throw on some boots or heels with this dress and you have a cute brunch outfit or party outfit.

Aside from loving dresses, I also love fun walls! That’s why I was so excited when I found this wall near my job. The wall is green plants in a wooden pot fixture in the shape of arrows. I didn’t realize how cool the wall looked with my outfit until I saw the pics.

Visit my Instagram page @coralbuttons to see more pictures and to get some style inspo. Let me know in the comments below if you would rock a hoodie dress and if you would wear it more casual, dressed up, or both. Have a lovely rest of your week!

Shrinkage 101

Hey everyone! Welcome to Shrinkage 101 class. Today’s lesson will teach you about what shrinkage is and how to manage it.

1) What is shrinkage?

When your wet hair starts to decrease in length as you hair dries. Your curls/kinks get tighter and usually more defined.

Dry hair

Wet hair

2) Is shrinkage good or bad?

Shrinkage shows how elastic and bouncy your hair is and shows how tough your hair is against breakage. So it’s a good thing!

3) How do i control shrinkage?

There are 2 main ways to control shrinkage: straigthening and stretching. The straightening method is when you use a blowdryer or flat iron to straighten your curls, which adds length to you hair. This usually requires heat to be applied to the hair, which I try to avoid.

That’s why I prefer the stretching method; which is elongating your hair by using a specific hairstyle or hair tool. Hair tools you can use are curlformers, rollersets, and flexirods which are all items that curls your kinky hair.

Hairstyles you can do include the pineapple method, which is similar to a ponytail and the twistout/braidout method in which you twist or braid you hair, when wet, to help elongate your curls. My twistout is shown below.

4) Enjoy your hair!

Do what works best for you and your hair. What works for one 4c chica may not work for you. Also, drink a lot of water to keep your body and hair nourished!

Hope this mini hair lesson was fun and informative. Have a great rest of your week lovelies!

Visiting the LA Zoo

Happy Saturday! Hope you are enjoying your weekend so far.

As you all know I am trying to explore my new state more so I decided to take a trip to the LA Zoo.

I saw flamingos in shades of white and pink, of course. Most of them were sunbathing, swimming, or sleeping.

I also saw adorable little meerkats. They were super active. They were wrestling each other and running all over the exhibit.

This zebra was actually eating the grass and leaves nearby the railing so I was able to get pretty close to it.

I also discovered an animal I never saw before called a gerenuk. It looks like a long neck deer and I thought it was a cutie.

The highlight of my zoo trip was feeding Philip the giraffe! I never fed a giraffe before so I was a little nervous, but also very excited. Philip was a sweetie and was super hungry.

I saw more animals than the ones pictured here, but these were a few of my faves. There were also a lot of animals I didn’t get to see, but that just means I have to come back again!

If you are ever in the LA area I reccomend taking a trip to the LA Zoo. You can make it a family affair or a day date, either way, you will have a great time.

Smorgasburg LA!

Last Sunday I decided to take a trip to a place here in LA that I’ve been wanting to visit for some time called Smorgasburg!

If you are like what in the world is that, let me explain. Smorgasburg is held every Sunday in downtown LA from 10 am to 4 pm. A bunch of local shopping, food, and drink vendors set up tents to sell their amazing food or awesome merchandise.

Attending Smorgasburg is also a great date idea! It’s lowkey, fun, and you get to try out new food and drinks.

I found out about Smorgasburg on Instagram when I saw numerous pictures showing delicious looking desserts and drinks and I knew I had to visit. I love all things shrimp so I knew I had to stop by the Shrimp Daddy booth to get a meal and I’m so happy I did.

The meal left me speechless. Take a look at it below:

I ordered a pineapple boat which is grilled shrimp, mac salad, rice with curry paste, and pineapple chunks served in half a pineapple. The plating is beautiful and it tastes delicious. I definitely reccomend trying it out if you attend Smorgasburg.

To finish off my meal I got a yummy, mango ice cream cone from Wanderlust creamery. I give it a 10/10!

I decided to wear a dressy casual look to the event. I paired a black and white polka dot, crop top from H&M with skinny jeans from Topshop, and black heels from Nordstrom Rack.

I also rocked a sporty fannypack from FashionNova. What do you think of my #LOTD #OOTD? Let me know in the comments below. Also tell me if you’ve visited Smorgasburg and have a fave food spot or plan to go, I want to go again!

Have a great rest of your weekend!

One year LA Anniversary!

Just four days ago was my 1 year anniversary of moving to LA. It’s crazy to think that I’ve already been living here for a full year. It really flew by! This post is going to be a timeline of a few of my favorite LA moments over this past year. Enjoy!

Moving to LA – 10/22/17

Visiting Echo Park – 10/31/17

Visiting The Grove – 11/3/17

First birthday in LA – 11/18/17

First holiday season in LA – 12/8/17

New year, new look – 1/1/18

First rainy day in LA – 1/8/18

Visiting Griffith Observatory – 1/16/18

Visiting the Love Wall in Beverly Hills – 2/8/18

First Valentine’s Day in LA/Visiting the Natural History Museum – 2/14/18

Attending my first wedding – 4/21/18

Celebrating my 6 year Anniversary – 4/25/18

Visiting Santa Monica – 5/4/18

Visiting La Brea Tar Pits – 6/6/18

Attending Janelle Monae concert – 6/28/18

Visiting Manhattan Beach – 7/10/18

Visiting Little Tokyo – 7/24/18

Visiting the Beverly Hills Sign – 8/9/18

Hiking to the Secret Swing in Elysian Park – 8/23/18

Visiting Universal Citywalk – 9/27/18

The adventure continues – 10/2618

Hope you enjoyed traveling through time with me and I look forward to bringing you all on many more journeys! Have a lovely weekend!

Dresses are my fave!

One clothing item I could wear forever are dresses! They are so easy to wear and have a style for every occasion. Want to go for a walk, but still look cute, wear a sundress. If you are going to a party, wear a cocktail dress. Attending a black tie wedding, a fit and flare gown will look gorgeous!

Any event you need to attend, you can wear a dress for that occasion. I wore the dress pictured in this post is for a dinner date with my boyfriend Shawn. I wanted to wear something flattering, but also fun. The bold pattern on my dress, paired with the pop of orange makes this a stylish look. The best part of this dress is that it has pockets!

All my ladies know that we love when dresses have pockets, it makes the outfit 10 times better 🙂

I actually recieved this dress as a gift from one of my former coworkers so I’m not sure how much it cost. The shoes I paired with the dress are white BP flats from Nordstrom that cost around $20. 

What’s a clothing item you could wear forever and never get tired of? Maybe it’s a dress for you to or maybe it’s button up shirts; let me know in the comments below. And don’t forget to relax and stop and smell the flowers often!l

California Crop Top

Can you believe that September is almost over and in a few days it will be the first day of fall!? It’s crazy because in LA it still feels like summertime.

It’s been consistently in the 80’s or high 70’s these days. That’s why the outfit shown below is perfect for a sunny, September day.

I wore a blue crop top with the word California on it, adorbly decorated with flowers and butterflies. I paired my crop top with denim cut-off shorts and yellow Vans to accent the flowers in my top.

My top is $15 from Topshop, my shorts were $20 from Forever 21 and my Vans were a gift!

I recently realized that I don’t smile often in my pictures, so I made the decision to smile during every photosession from now on. I can have more serious photos taken as well, but I want to make sure I get a few smiling shots in the mix since it is outside of my comfort zone.

I love my smile, but for some reason I just don’t feel like I photograph well when I’m smiling, so I want to break down that wall I have on myself and challenge myself to embrace my smile more in pictures.

I posted the pictures featured in this post on IG @coralbuttons, so if you follow me you saw my caption saying: “Smile more, #lifeisgood” and it’s true so smile and make the most out of your day everybody!

Is there something you want to improve on when it comes to your style or your photos? Let me know in the comments below!