5 Quotes That Will Uplift Your Day

Hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday so far! For day six of Motivational March my tip is: Find a few quotes that speak to you in your current situation.

No matter what life is throwing at you right now, understand that you will make it. Stay strong, focused, and motivated!

Below are 5 quotes that will uplift your day!

1) “Your bounce back is always going to be greater than your setback.” – Jeannie Mai, Stylist, TV personality & Host

My tip: You may feel knocked down by whatever challenges you are facing right now, but just know that once you get back on your feet, you will be stronger than ever.

2) “I don’t know what my path is yet, I’m just walking on it.” – Olivia Newton-John, Singer-Songwriter

My tip: You may be confused about what path is the correct one to take in life and that is ok. Just take life a day at a time and remember that baby steps are still steps!

3) “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” – C.S. Lewis, Writer

My tip: Don’t focus so much on the past. You can remember it and grow from it, but realize that you have a whole future in front of you that you can make amazing.

4) “A ship is always safe at shore, but that’s not what it’s built for.” – Albert Einstein, Theoretical Physicist

My tip: Go for it! It’s easy to play it safe, but that’s not what’s best. Get out of your comfort zone, embrace the changes, and you will soon realize your new space is way better than your safe space.

5) “Surround yourself with only people  who are going to lift you higher.” – Oprah Winfrey, Media Executive, TV Host & Producer, Philanthropist

My tip: I see this quote as a reminder to have positive and uplifting people around you. You want to grow with like-minded and supportive people. Negative energy has no place around you.

Have a great day and remember, you got this!

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!! 🙂

“Year of Yes” by Shonda Rhimes – Book Review

Hey hey! Can you believe that we are almost through the first month of 2019? I hope you are still sticking to your resolutions if you made them or are working on achieving your goals daily.

One of the tasks on my 2019 goal list was to read more books and I’m starting the year off great because I just finished my first one: “Year of Yes: How to Dance it Out, Stand in the Sun, and Be Your Own Person.” 10/10 rating!

This book is like a rollercoaster you won’t want to stop riding. Every page is full of Shonda Rhimes personal stories, guarenteed to keep you entertained from start to finish. She offers honest and humbling advice from the problems she faced over the years and shows readers how she overcame them.

This book actually came to be because Shonda’s sister Delorse said six words to her “you never say yes to anything.” Those 6 words sparked a fire in Shonda’s soul and made her realize that her sister was absolutely correct. She vowed to say “yes” to everything for a year. “Yes” to every event, “yes” to every interview, “yes” to every guest appearance or photoshoot, literally “yes” to everything that took her out of her comfort zone or scared her.

Throughout the book you see that her “Year of Yes” was extremely challenging. She actually had to say yes to speaking at her alma mater Dartmouth College and she did an amazing job! Her Dartmouth speech is in her book and online as well, I definitely suggest checking it out. She had to say “yes” to spending more time with her kids and not letting work or events become more important than quality time with her babies. She had to say “yes” to a healthier lifestyle in order to reach the weight she wanted to be.

Throughout the book you saw her growth from start to finish. We see her having mini panic attacks and struggle to say “yes” to things, but we also see her overcome these obstacles and that’s what really inspired me. She didn’t give up during her “Year of Yes” and she also realizes that saying “yes” to one thing sometimes means saying “no” to negative things and negative people.

Sometimes when she was feeling sad or stressed out and needed a confident boost, she would strike a Wonder Woman pose to make herself feel powerful and like she can conquer anything she sets out to do. It may seem strange to break out into a random pose, but try it, trust me it works!

In the book, we also see how important it is to surround yourself with good people or your “ride or dies” as Shonda calls them. Those people who will pick you up when you are doing veal practice (Shonda’s term for laying motionless on the couch lol) and who will keep motivating you to continue your “Year of Yes.” You have to surround yourself with people who support you, want the best for you, and will help you reach your goals. She admits that she couldn’t be the amazing and talented woman she is today if it wasn’t for a lot of help from others.

Few of my favorite quotes from the book:

1) “Don’t let what he wants eclipse what you need. He is very dreamy,” she says. “But he is not the sun. You are.” “

2) “I am not lucky. You know what I am? I am smart, I am talented, I take advantage of the opportunities that come my way and I work really, really hard. Don’t call me lucky. Call me a badass.”

3) “You don’t want a baby? Don’t have one. I don’t want to get married? I won’t. You want to live alone? Enjoy it. You want to love someone? Love someone. Don’t apologize. Don’t explain. Don’t ever feel less than.”

4) “Happiness comes from living as you need to, as you want to. As your inner voice tells you to. Happiness comes from being who you actually are instead of who you think you are supposed to be.”

5) “Saying yes . . . saying yes is courage. Saying yes is the sun. Saying yes is life.”

As her “Year of Yes” is coming to a close she realizes that saying “yes” isn’t as hard as she thought it was. Reading about her growth during just one year of saying “yes” and doing things that made her uncomfortable truly made me self reflect and think about areas of my life where I may need to say “yes” more or “no” more to negative people and things.

I had so much fun reading this book because it was like Shonda Rhimes and I were holding a conversation with each other and she was my mentor and role model telling me I can make it, learn from the things she’s been through, and keep moving forward.

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 💐

Merry Christmas!

I hope that you are enjoying your day with your friends and family!

This time can be joyous and full of fun and laughter and it can also be hard for some people who can’t be with their families or don’t have any family to spend time with.

I just wanted to let you know that you are strong and loved! Even if you are alone on Christmas today or not feeling the best, brighter and better days are coming.

Take a walk, start reading a book that you’ve been wanting to read, jot down some inspirational notes in your journal, or say a few reasons why you are thankful today. Clearing your mind and taking some time to do something beneficial for yourself will make you feel better.

I just wanted to drop some holiday motivation for you lovelies today. Stay beautiful and happy holidays!

Visiting the Love Wall in Beverly Hills

Valentine’s Day is almost here so I recently went to Beverly Hills to get a pic in front of the super artistic and gorgeous Love Wall.

The wall makes for a perfect backdrop for a Valentine’s themed post. To visit the wall, I wore a cropped Topshop sweater paired with highwaist jeans from ASOS. I completed the outfit with sparkly TOMS.

I love that there is so much street art scattered all throughout LA. I hope to share some more pics in front of creative street drawings in the future!

Sometimes holidays make people feel lonely and sad because they either don’t have anyone to celebrate with, the holiday brings up bad memories, or a multitude of other reasons.

I’m here to tell you about a little mantra that helps me get through rough times that I learned from a Youtuber and that is Positive Mental Attitude.

Repeat that a few times and it will help you get into a better and happier mindset. So if you are alone on Valentine’s Day or in a long distance relationship remember to stay strong and focus on the positives in your life currently. Have a good day!

 

Last month of 2017!

It’s December! The last month of 2017 has arrived. Can you believe it?

This month I am focusing on self love and care. As the year comes to a close and holiday season approaches everything can seem overwhelming.

Take time this month to reflect on the positive things that happened to you this year. If you didn’t meet all the goals you wanted to meet this year that’s ok because next year you can push harder, work faster, and you can get it done.

Don’t give up on yourself and don’t hesitate to take time out each day or each week this month to meditate and reflect on 2017.

In this post, you’ve seen 2 new pieces in my wardrobe! I purchased these items as a self care moment, I’ve been working hard and haven’t shopped in a while so I decided to splurge a bit.

The 2 new items are my Topshop denim jacket and lavender Asos pants! I paired the jacket and pants with a mesh vneck top by Lycra, and my go to comfy black TOMS.

Make time this month to do something you love and enjoy because self love and care is important and should be practiced every day.

Ways to practice self love and care:

1) Meditate with music or in silence

2) Try a new activity to expand your horizons (yoga, hiking, acting classes)

3) Treat yourself to a spa day

4) Shopping trip

5) Watch a childhood movie you loved watching growing up

6) Write a list of 10 things you love about yourself or 10 things you are good at

7) Drink more water

8) Say positive affirmations everyday (I am intelligent, creative, etc)

Hope you use some or all of these tips this month. Take care lovelies!

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!

 

New Look, Most Complimented Item, and a Word of Advice

Is there one item in your closet that seems to get an outstanding amount of compliments? I know there has to be at least one piece that does every time you wear it!

For me, that’s this blouse that I purchased in South Korea over 3 years ago. Its lightweight, sleeveless, sheer and the collar is accented with gold triangles to give it an
elegant touch.

I paired this blouse, with pink joggers, and black lace TOMS. Overall, I would consider this more of a dress down look for me, simple and chic, with a dash of sportiness. Also, in case you haven’t noticed from the pictures, I have another new hairstyle!

This style is called feed-in braids, because the hairstylist “feeds-in” or blends my natural hair with the fake hair to create this gorgeous look. What do you think about it and would you try this look out?

Now, this post isn’t to brag about my shirt or hairstyle, it simply came to fruition based on a thought I had yesterday when I wore this shirt to work and everyone seemed to ask where I got it from, how much it cost, etc. It is one of my favorite pieces because it is one of the few items I have in my closet that I purchased overseas.

The important information I would love for you to grasp from this post is don’t let your clothes be the only definition of what makes you you. Don’t hide behind fancy clothes or an outlandish style in order to hide your true self.

Having an unique sense of style isn’t a problem, I love my eclectic style. But I also know that when I dress down in a t shirt and leggings, I am still beautiful, strong, and I should still feel like myself.

Don’t let your clothing mask your true self; let your clothing speak volumes and add to the beauty and great personality that is already there. Hope that this encouraged you on this lovely Hump Day. Enjoy the rest of your week lovelies!