Look Book Comin' Atcha!

Okay. So. Mommy dearest sent me pictures from last weekend! Yay! Back to your regularly scheduled blogging program.

I think Newport/Orange County is one of my favorite place in California to go shopping. So of course, whenever I am there I make a point to visit a few of my favorite malls. One of my all time favorites is Fashion Island in Newport! If you haven't been there, you definitely should make a visit. It is all outdoors, which makes it doggy central. Shopping and Puppies! What more could a girl need?

I behaved myself with the shopping, and just picked up some makeup at Nordstrom that I was in desperate need of. But, while I was there I thought why not have the make-up lady try something new on me? And what have I been dying to try out, but was to scared to do on my own????

Red Lips!

Ta-da! I can honestly say this is the first time I have ever touched red lipstick....and I gotta say...I don't hate it! It is a great change of pace, and makes a big statement. But my favorite is the classic feel that red lips brings to the table. Plus, I just so happened to be wearing my red sunnies that day, so it turned out to be a pretty retro look.

Here is a peek at more of my outfit!

{Jeans: Hudsons  Top: H&M   Sunglasses: F21 }

This is one of the tops I got from my H&M excursion! I told you I would model it for you! And I know what you are thinking, and the answer is yes I am on an island in the middle of a parking lot. We were in a hurry, on our way to lunch. I wanted to get pictures in before I ate, because the way I scarf down food my red lips would be gone in two seconds flat. And so the impromptu photo shoot begun!

I am clearly not down with a variety of poses quite yet, but I think I am feeling more comfortable in front of the camera. I know I am no model, and I got a little (lot of) junk in the trunk, but I gotta work what my momma gave me! 

I know it isn't a super spectacular statement of an outfit, but I loved the look. My favorite part was the contrast of the bright white shirt and the red lips. Also, I might be obsessed with this top now, and want to wear it every day of Summer. I think you can re-wear a top every day if it is made out crochet right? That is some sort of loophole I think?

Have You Ever Danced in a Bank?

I have been uninspired lately. And my camera is in Newport (but my memory card is here), so I can't take any cool pictures. So, unfortunately, I have nothing inspiring to say today. I do apologize.

But I saw this video on I Believe in Unicorns, and it made me smile from ear-to-ear!

Seriously. Two of my favorite people in the whole wide world. I think you all know my love for all things JGL, but I also love Zooey Deschanel!

I mean, even her name is the coolest name ever! She is quirky, fashionable, a singer, and all around awesome. I have a serious girl crush on her fearless attitude! You go Zooey! (Yeah we are on a first name basis now, no big deal!)

p.s. I want blue eyes. I love the way blue eyes looks with dark hair. Never gonna happen though.

Currently...

So I had an amazing weekend with the family! I will tell you all about it at soon as I get some pictures. You see, being the genius that I am, I left my memory card in San Diego. So, I have to rely on my brother's and my mom's camera for the weekend. I am waiting to receive their fabulous pictures from the weekend. (hint hint fam!)

Anyhoo, until then, I was inspired by Kelsey and Allie's "Currently" post, and thought I would join them!

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Currently....

Current guilty pleasure: 

Shark Tank. Have you seen that show? Can you say addicting?

Current color: 

Pale pink flowey t-shirt. Perfect for Summer!

Current playlist: 

Glee! I have been singing along at the top of my lungs everyday on the way to work!

Current read: 

Water for Elephants. Well, I haven't been reading much of it lately. But what I have read so far, I like!

Current drink: 

Starbucks Double Shot Light. Mmmmmmmm.

Current food:

 I haven't eaten anything today yet.

Current favorite show: 

The League. It is a total guys show on FX, but I am kind of obsessed with it. SO funny!

Current wish list: 

New shoes and a dress for Vegas in June. Any ideas?????

Current needs: 

I dunno? I'm not sure if I need anything right now. Oh! I neeeed to get my butt in shape!

Current triumphs: 

Went back to Body Pump for the first time in 3 weeks. Holy Shmoley! I don't think I have ever been more covered in sweat. (TMI?)

Current bane of my existence: 

The alarm that goes off every morning at 6:45 a.m. I LOATHE you!

Current celebrity crush:

 JGL....if you haven't seen my post on this hunk, you definitely should.

Current indulgence:

 Peanut Butter Oreos. Um. Heavenly.

Current blessing: 

My nephew that should be here any day now! If that isn't a blessing, I don't know what is.

Current outfit: 

Hudson dark jeans. Pink flowey T-shirt. Turquoise pendant necklace. Cut-out flats. Side braid. Boom.

Current excitement: 

The baby that is going to come into our family soon! I was the baby of the family, so I never got to enjoy having a baby around. I am sooo excited!!!

Current mood:

 Sleepy. 

Current link: 

My Tumblr. (Work in progress!)

Love Love Love

I am so very excited for this weekend because I am spending Easter with my whole family! We usually celebrate Easter in Fresno with my grandparents. But, since I live in San Diego and work full-time, it has gotten harder for me make the 6 hour drive up to Fresno for a weekend.

So, driving up to Fresno for Easter was kind of out of the question this year for me. Also, my brother and his wife are expecting their baby boy NEXT MONTH (eek! Yay!), so they aren't traveling either. It looked like our family would not be together this year, which really bummed me out. Then my parents made the decision to come down to Newport to celebrate with us! Newport is only an hour away, which is completely manageable for a weekend trip!

So we will all be together and go to Church together, celebrating the holiday together. And that my friends, makes me a very happy girl. I am grateful to God that he allows us to be together so we can celebrate Him!

But what I really want to talk about today is my brother and his beautiful wife, and their little one on the way. This week has been an exciting one for them, because they have been featured on not one but TWO blogs!! This isn't surprising to me because they are gorgeous and awesome, and the cutest couple alive. I thought it would be fun for you to learn more about their amazing story, and check out these two great blogs as well!

First of all, it is about time their wedding was featured somewhere. The amazing Christy from Junebug Weddings did a great feature on Shea and Sarah's amazing wedding. It is also pretty cool to hear Sarah's thoughts about the wedding and all of it's amazing details. I could go on, but you should head on over an check out their amazing wedding! (Spoiler alert: My grandpa is wearing Converse. Awesome.)

Now onto one of my favorite shoots I have ever seen (but I may be bias!). Sarah is a beautiful and glowing mommy-to-be, and the love you can see between them brings tears to my eyes. 

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I think you all know how excited I am for the little boy on the way, but seeing these pictures brings the whole thing into perspective. There is so much love between Shea and Sarah, and they deserve nothing but joy and happiness. God has blessed them with so much, and this little boy is His greatest blessing yet. 

I am so truly happy for them, and I know they are going to be amazing parents. Their love has always been unwavering and supportive for me, and I owe them so much. Hopefully I can be the best auntie in the whole wide world, and help them whenever they need it.

And finally. This one is a tear jerker people. My brother wrote a letter to his baby boy, and framed it as a gift to Sarah. Here is a link to the letter. If you have time read it, but make sure you have tissues. 

I love you Shea and Sarah. I know you are going to be beyond perfect parents.

Ole!

So I am always on the hunt for fun, affordable things to do in San Diego. Old Town is definitely one of those things! Nick and I decided to have a Mexican adventure without even leaving our city. And what is the first thing you need to do on a Mexican adventure? Well eat of course!

{Our hacienda style restaurant. Loved the relaxed vibe. And check out that sunshine!}

 {Um. Yum.}

One of my favorite Mexican dishes is fajitas! And let me tell you, these were not disappointment. By the way, if you order fajitas make sure to NOT touch the skillet they bring out to you. Oh, you knew that? Well I didn't last year, and burnt three of my fingers! Not. Pleasant.

Then, while were eating, three men come on the patio and start serenading the customers. While I am sure some thought this was annoying, I thought it was amazing! I found myself swaying along to the spanish guitar and their beautiful songs. But I felt awkward asking them to play for me because I didn't have any cash for a tip. So, I just observed and danced from afar. 

Quite possibly my favorite part of going to Old Town is buying fresh homemade tortillas. I don't think there is anything better in the entire world than warm, freshly made tortillas. You go right up to the counter, and tell them how many you want, and they make them right there! I might have gotten six. No judgement.

Then it was time to explore, and boy did we explore. I loved looking at all the nic-nacs in the several stores. And there were several random little museums, that were free! Sure they were about wagons, but free is free people!

{Nacho Libre is one of my favorite movies of all time. If you haven't seen it, see it! I tried desperately to convince Nick to buy a mask. No dice.}

{Los Angeles & San Diego. Great combo! The place where I live and the place that is home to The Lakers!}

During our exploration, we stumbled upon this little sign...

{Candy? What? Where?!?!!?}

I'm sorry, but how are you NOT supposed to go into this store? Cousin's Candy Shop? Whose cousin, mine? I am intrigued....Oh yeah, and the whole candy thing was appealing too. After waiting in a short line, we got into the small little shop only to discover wall-to-wall goodness!

{Jellybeans galore!}

{I. Want. Everything.}

{Saltwater taffy! Divine!}

Needless to say we left with a few things. I was seriously excited about the taffy, and basically got one of every flavor (there were a lot of flavors dude), and Nick picked out two different types of fudge! We were not disappointed. I am pretty sure every flavor of taffy was better then the next, but I think my favorite was peanut butter. And the fudge. Oh the fudge. Nick got this birthday cake fudge....ummmm....amazing...

{Hat: Dodgers woo!   Top: Free People   Sunglasses: Vintage   Bag: dunno   Scarf: Dunno}

Here is kind of an outfit post. I was dressed casual because we were supposed to go to the batting cages after, but they were closed. I guess baseball wasn't in the cards for us that weekend. All in all it was a pretty amazing day taking in different culture, and also a bit of sunshine too!

Dodger Disasters.

Last weekend Nick and I decided to take in a nice Dodger game at Petco Park. Right? Wrong.

{Our first Dodger outing together. Oh pleasant memories.}

What transpired was anything but nice, or pleasant, or fun, etc. I suppose I should start from the beginning...

Ever since I have known Nick, I have know he is a HUGE Dodger fan, and a baseball player as well. While I love the Dodgers (born and raised to), I am more of a basketball gal myself. Go Lakers! Playoffs baby! Okay, I digress. Anyways he suggested that we should go to see them play while they were in town. While I don't normally have the patience (attention span) to watch a whole game on TV, I am down for a trip to see the real thing. Plus, who can say no to peanuts and hot dogs?

But my real favorite part of going to a game is seeing how happy it makes Nick when we share something that he is passionate about together. His face lights up when he is talking Dodgers, and that makes me smile more than anything else. So of course, I had to go all out! I bought a new hat AND jersey for our very first Dodger game together! 

{Making my man proud!}

All was going well, or so we thought. We went to meet up with some friends, and we all hopped the trolley over to Petco Park. I was having a great time, I think I even confessed how much fun the trolley was. (Boy would I come to regret those words.) 

{Posted up on the trolley. Can you guess which feet are his?}

The only downer were the looming clouds in the sky. I turned to Nick and said you know what is going to happen right? We are going to step one foot inside the park and it will start pouring.... From the glare I received from Nick and his friends, I knew I had said exactly what everyone didn't want to hear!

We finally made it to the park, and stepped one foot inside and....it starts pouring! Oh nooooo! I jinxed it! We get in just in time to see officials rolling the tarp over the field. Sweet. We decide to check out our seats (which were on the OPPOSITE side of the field). Soaking wet, we sit in our stadium covered (thank goodness) dry seats. After about an hour of rain and more rain, I turn to Nick and ask Can we go?   

{In our seats. Cuddling close to Nick and trying to put on a happy face.}

We decide to leave, and run in the rain to catch the next trolley. Oh gosh the trolley. It took, I kid you not,  an hour and a half to get back to my car, and two hours to get back to my house. Sitting there soaking wet, I no longer thought the trolley was fun. Not to mention the rude people sitting across from us. (More on that later.)

Here is the real kicker. We get back to my house, turn on the tv, and the Dodgers had started the game again!! I look at Nick with desperation and see pure disappointment on his face. If we would have stayed we could have seen them play. I felt horrible! And as much as he said it was okay, I still felt like the evil witch that made him leave! 

But, he still loves me! So if we can survive missing his favorite team play his favorite sport, I am pretty sure we can get through anything. Love you babe!

Moral of the story. Don't take sports too seriously (except for the Lakers). And also don't leave baseball games early. K?

Trendy Tuesdays

Nick and I went shopping on Saturday (after a crazy trip to the dog beach) and I went straight to H&M. Um. Have you been there? I die. I tried on 13 things, and I could have tried on 20 more! Their summer collection is amazing. It is called Conscious Collection, and it is the opitomy of Summer to me. I will let the ad campaign speak for itself.

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Don't they make you just want to twirl around in the sun? Maybe frolic in a field? Whatever suits your fancy. They really nailed the summer vibe.

I can tell that I am going to have a serious love affair with white this season. Not only does white compliment dark hair marvelously, but it looks great with a nice tan. I happen to have both of those things, especially during summer. H&M is really focusing on whites and neutrals for the summer. Here are a few of my favorite pieces.

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The scalloped shorts & blazer combo in the last image have haunted my dreams ever since I left the store. I need them for work this summer, I just do. I think I will have to go back and get it. What do you think?

I left with a beautiful white crochet top and a white chiffon top. I couldn't find either of them online, so I suppose I will have to model them for you. (or just take a picture of them laying on my bed. We'll see) You know when you convince yourself not to buy something, and then once you leave the store you will forget all about it? That is not the case here. I want everything I left behind. Dang you, H&M. You got me again!

Oh Heyyyy!

Hello Lovelies!

Oh my goodness gracious this has been a busy week. San Fran was pretty awesome, although I didn't get to see as much of the city as I would like because I was working the whole time. But my mommy and I are planning a possible trip up there this summer, so I will get to explore more then.

First, I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to all the amazing women who guest posted for me. I never thought that anyone would want to contribute to this little blog of mine, so I am beyond grateful!

I have so many stories to share with you from the last couple weeks/weekends that I am kinda undecided on where to start. So I thought this week I would give you a culmination of my last three AMAZING weekends! 

Two weeks ago was my Sassmafrass's (better name then sister-in-law) baby shower numero dos! This time it was ladies only, and we had a blast! I think you guys all know that my brother and his wife are expecting a baby boy next month and I couldn't be more excited. I am going to be the best auntie ever, but more importantly they are going to be beyond amazing parents!

{My beautiful mother!}

{The beautiful mommy-to-be!}

Inspired by the baby on the way, we decided to watch old home movies. My brother Bryn, still has a VHS player, so we popped that ole' tape in. Let me just say that it was truly heartwarming watching those videos. It is surreal because even though the people on the screen are you, you feel like you are watching total strangers.

Anyways, it was starting to get sentimental (birthdays, Easter, Christmas, etc.) when all of a sudden this popped on the screen:

Yes that is me. And yes I am wearing a coconut bra and grass skirt. And you better believe that I was shakin my little tail feather like nobody's business!! Needless to say we all started cracking up at the ridiculous little ham that was the 3-year-old me. Don't even get me started on that out of control lion's mane on top of my head either....

I love home movies and old pictures because it gives you a glimpse into a time in your life that you can't really remember. It shows you who you were so many years ago, and more importantly it reminds you of who you have become. So long ago I was a bossy, head strong little girl, and if you were to ask my family they would tell you not much has changed. They are right, I am head strong. I know what I want, and I go after it. So thank you, little Kai, for making me what I am today.

Here is what to expect this week:

Tuesday- Trendy Tuesday (off topic but oh well)

Wednesday- Trips Across the Border...Kinda

Thursday- Dodger Disasters

Friday- Adventures with Hudson