BE BEAUTIFUL

"Beauty is the acceptance of your true self and the illuminance of that confidence from within."

- 27 year old me

Beauty surrounds us but it is ultimately limited by the eyes of the beholder. We constantly filter what we see and never take it as it is. Our feelings, our emotions, and our experiences transform reality into a story. Perhaps that is why I love photography so much. It feels so powerful to be able to pause a moment in time and to make it your own. I've created a separate section for my photography called #cwhatic as a tab on the top of the page and I invite you to come see what I see. I hope each picture I share speaks to you and tells you something. That is my goal in photography. To capture a piece of beauty at a time and to remind the world how beautiful it actually is.

HOT WINTER DAYS

• Dress: Express similar here (black version) and here ~$30 (on sale)
• Necklace: Francesca's Boutique ~$10 (on sale)
• Shoes: American Rag ~$30 (on sale last year)
• Bag: Chanel $2900

These hot winter days confuse me. Lately, I've been taking advantage of San Diego's hot winter days and basking in the sun every chance I get. Although I have been digging back into my summer stash for clothes, I still find myself sticking to the warm winter hues and of course the trending, yet classic, black and white.

CITY GIRL

• Jacket: H&M $39.95 (now on sale for $20)
• Scarf: a little boutique in Carmel
• Sweater: Roxy
• Booties: Seychelles Full Speed Bootie $99.95 (although I bought these on sale a few months back)
• Bag: Chanel $2900 (I can't seem to find this one online, but I picked up this beauty in Portland at a Nordstrom)

While visiting Portland, I realized how much I miss the cold. There's just something about walking on the streets all bundled up with a cup of hot latte in your hands that feels so right. Every time I put on my boots and step foot onto that sturdy concrete, the streets seem to transform into my runway. It doesn't help that their coffee is so darn good either. I will always be a city girl at heart.

#SELFIE

• Top: Good hYOUman sweater (bought from Kitson but for some reason, I can't find the exact item online. It is this sweater, but this print. Hope that helps.) $78
• Leggings: handmade with love by my momma (priceless)
• Beanie: Free People $78 (new)
• Booties: Seychelles Full Speed Bootie $99.95 (although I bought these on sale a few months back)
• Necklace: Rebecca Minkoff $78 

So another obstacle I've encountered with blogging is my perfectionism. Gee, I guess one can learn a lot about themselves blogging. I tend to always strive for the best picture for my posts but then that requires finding a good spot with good lighting and finding time to look for that good spot with good lighting. And not to mention trying to convince my boyfriend with his fancy camera to find time to take shots of me. It's a process, for sure. I realized though that the blog has been missing out on a lot of good outfits because of this. OOTDs can't wait for photoshoots. So I've resorted to #selflies.

BIA (Back in Action)

Why hello there.. yes, I am back from being MIA. I can blame it on the holidays. I can blame it on traveling. I can blame it on never having time. But no, I will be honest. I am horrible at going through with projects. It's a new year and one big resolution of mine is to stick with it. I am the kind of gal that gets intrigued easily and will start a dozen new projects at once without going through with all of them.. or perhaps any of them. I will get light bulbs of ideas and be totally enthusiastic about it one day and the next day, I would get distracted by another light bulb idea. ADD much? One of my weaknesses I realized was that I seem to always lose track of what I started. There's just so many things I want to do and learn that I tend to pick up too many new projects and never give enough attention and focus to one. Blogging has been a stop and go for me for a while now.  However, I am determined to keep a green light ahead this time around. And so here I am, sticking with it!

PS - Thank you for sticking with me you ninja readers. I can't see you, but I know you're there somehwere :)