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!

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!

Secret Swing at Elysian Park

Happy Monday beautiful people. I hope your September is off to a great start!

Today I want to take you to a land far far away…well not really far away but moreso up in the air. I recently visited a hiking trail in Elysian Park in LA to try to find a secret swing and to my surprise I found it!

It’s called the Secret Swing because it is up a secluded hill and not many people know about it unless you did some research like I did. I really wanted to visit the swing because the view is amazing.

To visit the swing I wore a simple black maxi dress paired with floral vans. Shawn and I rode a Lyft to the bottom of the hiking trail and from there its just about a 5-7 min hike up to the swing.

I wouldn’t reccomend swinging too hard on the swing because it is very high up and there is no fence to protect you from falling. Gently sitting on it like I did will still make for a great shot.

If you are in LA and want to do an easy hike I definitely reccomend visitng Elysian Park and the Secret Swing.

Do you like the view? Would yoy be scared to sit on the swing? What do you think of my outfit? Let me know in the comments below and have a great week!

Teal Takeover

I’m excited for today’s post because I get to talk about my favorite color, teal!

In case you have no idea what teal is, it’s a gorgeous shade of blue-green.

I love teal because it looks great on literally everything. Teal clothes, jewelry, shoes, even hair, are all gorgeous.

My OOTD is a lovely, teal and floral crop top paired with teal cropped trousers and white flats. I love the sleeves of this top because it resembles the ones seen on a kimono.

This top was an affordable $17 from Nordstrom! My trousers were $20 from ASOS and have a side zipper which I love much more than the traditional front zipper and button combo.

My flats are also from Nordstrom and cost around $25. I love the bow detail on them!

Teal is just one of those colors I feel looks great on me! It’s the perfect shade to match my complexion and hair.

What’s your favorite color and how do you think it looks on you? Let me know in the comments below and have a lovely week!

Relaxing on Manhattan Beach

Hope you are enjoying your weekend!

The perks of now living in Los Angeles is that beaches are literally miles away. I visited Santa Monica pier a few months ago, you can read that blog post here and recently I decided to visit Manhattan Beach.

Manhattan Beach is fun, family friendly, and also has a pier like Santa Monica beach.

The waves were crashing, kids were giggling and playing games on the sand, and the weather was perfect, not too sunny and not too chilly.

I wore this Misguided one piece bathing suit to the beach for the first time and I loved it. It’s flattering and just the right amount of sexy.

The suit has a low-cut, V neck and it has thin straps for a little side boob action and a scoop back. The lips on the suit gave it an edgy, flirty touch.

I actually can’t swim so learning how to swim can be my excuse for going to the beach often 🙂

There’s so many beaches in California, I can’t wait to visit them all. What’s one of your favorites in LA or California?

Let me know in the comments below and tell me what you think of this Misguided one piece bathing suit! Enjoy your weekend lovelies.

The Mondrian Wall

Los Angeles is full of art! Every few blocks there’s either a wall painting, a stylish modern building, or an awesome tourist spot where you can take gorgeous photos.

Recently, I found a photo spot called the “Mondrian Wall” here in LA.The wall is on the side of an art store called, Artist & Craftsman Supply LA.

It’s super colorful and makes for a perfect photo op.

At the wall, I wore a black, ruched, bodycon dress. I decided to go with a black dress to make the colors behind me on the wall pop.

I paired my black dress with yellow Vans and Quay, cateye shades. This is a look that definitely can be dress up for a nighttime dinner or kept casual like how I wore it.

I challenge you this week to find a new photo spot in your city. You may have to walk a few blocks or drive a different route, but it will be worth it!

Visiting La Brea Tar Pits!

Hey everybody!

These past few days in LA have been scorching hot, only 90 degrees and above!

When it’s hot and sunny, it’s great weather to explore . Recently, I visited La Brea Tar Pits. The Tar Pits are a fossil excavation site along with a museum.

You learn about California’s history, prehistoric creatures, fossils, and nature. It’s interactive, family freindly, and definitely worth going to if any of the topics I mentioned previously interests you.

Pictured above is a mural showcasing the numerous animals, now extinct unfortunately, that surived and thrived before us.

My boyfriend Shawn and I, also went to a 3D movie that was playing at the museum called “Titans of the Ice Age.” I learned a lot of new fun facts; it was definitely informative and exciting.

We also walked around outside of the museum to visit the various tar pits where excavations are taking place to this day. Excavations occur when scientist and paleontologist go down into the tar pits and dig up the fossils of dinosaurs, mammals, birds, and sometimes even humans.

Path near one of the excavation sites

For this bright, sunny day I wore yellow pants that fit similarly to joggers.

I paired my yellow pants with a black, wrap top and checkered slip-on Vans. It made for a sporty chic look.

The lush flowers and trees around the museum made for a perfect backdrop.

What do you think of this look? And please visit the La Brea Tar Pits if you are in the LA area, you won’t regret it.

Have a great week lovelies!

Little Red Dress From Express

Happy Monday, hope your week is off to a great start.

Today’s featured look is a little red dress from Express. This is actually the dress I purchased for my college graduation 2 years ago and it still fits great and is in perfect condition.

I’m obsessed with the side cutout detail on this dress because it adds just the right amount of sexy. I paired this dress with my Topshop mules for a simple, sophisticated look.

I found this wooden structure in a walkway near my job and I had to get a picture in front of it. I like choosing artistic backgrounds for my pictures because i feel like the scenery is just as important as the pose and outfit.

Of course, the wooden structure allowed me to try new poses as well which was fun. What do you think of this look and background?

How important is scenery for you in your photos? Let me know in the comments below and have a great 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!