Removing Marley Twists

Happy Monday! Start your week off with a smile and stay positive. You can make it!

Today I wanted to share my Marley Twist takedown process. What you need: scissors, your braids/twists, and an hour or less!

It’s a super easy process, check it out below:

1) Cut your twists about halfway down making sure to not cut too high in order to avoid cutting your real hair

2) Take out twists by pulling two strands apart which in turn untwists them. They unravel naturally!

3) You then are back to your natural hair!

Stay tuned, I will soon be posting a braid/twist install process with more pictures and maybe even a video. 🙂

Have a great week!

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!

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!

Be Happy!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Today is Day 4 of Motivational March and my goals for today were simply be happy and smile often.

Somtimes we get too caught up in the negative or superficial aspects of our lives and we don’t appreciate the simple things.

I recently purchased this Topshop shirt that has rainbow stripes and the words “Be Happy” on it.

This was a great investment for me because it’s a reminder that everything is going to be ok and that I need to take things one day at a time.

I paired my shirt with simple black leggings and teal Vince Camuto chunky heels.

Let my #ootd be an inspiration to you this week. Be Happy!

Stay tuned for more Motivational March posts and let me know in the comments below if you are down to take the challenge as well.

Cherry Top and Distressed Jeans

Happy Monday! Hope your week is off to a great start.

Today, I wanted to showcase an outfit that I’m really excited about. This look is so special because this is the first time I’ve worn distressed jeans.

Growing up my mom and granny said there wasn’t a point in buying jeans with rips because I can make them holey myself, which is actually a great point when you think about it.

But with distressed jeans trending, along with the frayed/unfinished hem jeans look on the rise I had to invest in at least one cute pair.

It helped that these jeans were a $17 steal online at ASOS. I paired my jeans with a button up shirt from Topshop.

I love love love this top. It’s funny because I don’t even like cherries, but the shirt was too cute to pass up and it was on sale! To complete the look, I wore red mules, also by Topshop.

I will be getting a lot of use out of my new button-up and distressed jeans all spring and summer long. What fashion trend are you currently rocking or staying far away from?

Leave a comment below with your answer to the question and any thoughts on my look. Enjoy the rest of your day!

First birthday living in Los Angeles!

My big goal for 2017 has finally been revealed on Coral Buttons…moving to Los Angeles!

Moving to LA has been the “big goal of 2017” I’ve hinted at on the blog many times before. I’ve been living in LA for almost a month now and I felt that my first birthday celebration here would be a great post to start my weekly posts again with.

I turned 23 yesterday and I went to the movies and out to eat with my boyfriend, Shawn then relaxed for the rest of the day. I wore a sparkly corset back dress with velvet teal (my fave color) heels!

Yesterday, I also thought about all the goals and tasks I accomplished in just 23 years. Sometimes it is easy to get discouraged and compare yourself to others who may seem like they are doing better than you financially, career-wise, etc.

You have to take a step back and look at everything you’ve done and you will realize you are doing a better than you think.

So thats what I did, so here is a top 5 list of accomplishments I should be proud to have achieved in 23 years:

1) Traveled to Kauai, Hawaii and Seoul, South Korea

2) Been in a happy and healthy relationship for almost 6 years

3) Graduated high school and college (a semester early)

4) Big chopped and now have healthy natural hair

5) Moved to Los Angeles of course!

Now it’s your turn! Take a look back over the years and write a list of what you are proud of yourself for achieving. This will boost your confidence and help you realize you are on the right track.

I’m already excited for my next birthday to see what I achieved in one year! Happy Sunday lovelies.

Outfit details: Dress from Windsor and Shoes from Macys!

Hair Spotlight: Lemonade Braids

Happy Hump Day lovelies!!!

Today, I am showcasing a new protective style perfect for when your natural hair needs a break!

Side braids, also know as lemonade braids (thanks to Queen Bey), are a simple, but fierce style. Lemonade braids add a touch of sophistication and edge to any look.

Depending on whichever side is your “good side” or how you are use to wearing your hair, let that determine which side is slicked back and which side the braids will fall on. I am right handed and consider my right side my “good side,” so that’s the way I wanted my braids to fall.

Upkeep for the braids are simple; wrap them up in a scarf or bonnet at night and unwrap in the morning. Piece of cake!..Which I kind of want a piece of now after mentioning it 🙂

I unfortunately felt stuck with my natural hair so to get out of my hair funk, I tried this look and loved it!

It is okay to not be in love with your hair every moment, just make sure you take care of it and it will flourish. Sometimes all you need is a new look to make you appreciate the hair God blessed you with.

Having natural hair requires a lot of trial and error. Some products may work for your mom and best friend, but does absolutely nothing for your hair and that’s okay because you will find something that definitely works for you.

My “hair funks” or feeling stuck and powerless because I am not sure what to do with my hair usually goes away pretty quickly. I’ve been natural for going on 4 years and it is still a learning process.

But do I regret going natural or want to go back to the creamy crack, never!! Being natural is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. So love your short fro, long curly hair, kinky bush, or long lemonade braids. Embrace it baby ❤

P.S. This is my favorite picture out of the group…super dramatic super edgy

Talk to you all again soon!!!

Love,

Tati

New Growth Post

It’s a warm winter day in Baltimore today! I hope everyone is enjoying the weather where they are or at least staying as warm as possible!

Today’s post focuses on natural hair ❤ I have been natural for almost 2 years now and it is one of the best decisions I made for my hair!

It is healthier, thicker, and longer than ever before. Below you will see shots of my 4c fro ❤

 

If you would like to see the different stages of my hair growth head over to this blog post discussing my Natural Hair Journey.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! ❤