Bloomington, Indiana

Who would have thought I would be visiting Bloomington, Indiana - one of the smallest cities in the world. Not really, but compared to LA it is. Chris has been in grad school for a year now and I have visited twice already. This time, it was a longer stay but saw less of the city compared to the first time around. 

Bloomington is a college town.  It's filled with students and professors wherever you go.  Indiana University is very very proud of their school. I can't tell you exactly how big the campus is but it is the most gorgeous college campus I have ever seen. It really makes USC look not so great. There are plenty of coffee shops around where you can be productive or just have a chat with a friend over a nice iced latte. You can't really depend on Yelp to help you find the good places to eat. Give each place a try.  Some of my favorites were DATS, Bub's Burgers & Ice Cream, The Chocolate Moose, & the best best one of all....BUFFA LOUIES!!!!! Loved their wings and the sauce was GREAT. 

Aside from their food, Bloomington has a small winery several miles away off of the highway, Oliver Winery.  For just $5, you get 8 tasting and honestly, by the end of the day, we got way more than 8 because no one was counting.  You pay and they give you a token.  You hand them your token at the actual bar and the tastings begin. Oh wait! Don't forget to stop by the cheese section and pick out some deliciously tasting gouda and salami to go with your wine!!!  At the end of your tasting, you can buy a bottle of wine and take it outside to enjoy while basking in the greenery. 

Leaving Bloomington is bittersweet. I'll miss the small town, how little traffic there is, and most of all, Chris. It was really nice being able to spend time with him.  I loved making dinner for him, him making dinner for me, & just being able to relax with each other at the end of the night with Grey's Anatomy on. Even though he has the worst mattress for my back, I wake up happy because he's right next to me.  I am dreading the thought of moving here after I get my RN license, but being in this nice, cozy apartment with him is KINDA worth it.  I guess we'll just have to make weekly trips to Oliver Winery to make up for the large amount of boredom I'll be in. 

Style : Stripes & Blue

Stripes and summer go together like mango and tajin on a warm day! 

Crop top: Marshalls // Skirt: Brandy Melville // Necklace: Forever 21

I really like accessorizing! But I always forget to...For some reason, I look in the mirror with my outfit and think I look okay to walk out the door without a small necklace or a couple of bracelets on my arm.  I really need to get into that habit! But if I do, it just means more money spent on jewlery. HA! 

We had a mini photoshoot session in my room during Chris' going-away party.  Yep, he's leaving TODAY and I'm pretty bummed.  I'm not as sad as I should be because it's really not hitting me yet.  I can bet you a dime that after a day passes by, I'll be crying in my little corner.  

So for his party, I decided to have a relaxed look.  It's hot. Asians don't like to turn on the A/C even when it's like muggy and stuffy in the house. I DON'T UNDERSTAND!!!! 

 If you've read my last post on statement necklaces, I mentioned that they are my favorite accessories as of right now.  Of course, I'd love to get my hands on these from Aldo, but I can't justify spending that much on a necklace.  This one from Forever 21 is great and it's the perfect length to be able to pair with many different blouses! Did I mention it's super affordable? :) They make my life so much easier because it's a STATEMENT and I really don't have to wear any other accessory besides maybe a simple bracelet.  They're super stylish and can totally be versatile! 

Beauty : Summer Essentials

It's already the end of July but the warm weather will continue here in Southern California!

1. Real Technique Sponge // 2. Lush Cupcake Mask // 3. Sun Bum Sunscreen // 4. Benefit Porefessional // 5. Tarte Amazonian clay BB tinted moisturizer // 6. Fresh Sugar Tinted Lip

To be honest, I like summer (hence, "like") but I don't love it.  I'm not a fan of it.  Sure, we get to take beach trips and the days seem much longer but at the end of the day, I hate the stickiness and mugginess! Summer days are ALWAYS too hot to put on a pound of makeup.  I already sweat off half my makeup after I step outside for about 5 minutes.  Literally.....but these great beauty essentials are my faves to use for a hot day! I love to keep it light and so these gems make it possible for my makeup to last! 

First things first, the Benefit Porefessional primer has got to be the best thing ever for my oily skin and huge pores.  On some days, if I'm just going out to bowling or a quick dinner, I will put use this along with the Tarte Amazonian Clay Foundation (can you tell I'm a fan of Tarte Amazonian Clay? ;)) for a light coverage.  If I need sun protection during the day, I most often resort to Tarte Tinted Mosturizer for a little SPF.  I also LOVE Fresh's Sugar Tinted Lip balms for a little color and SPF as well! 

Although I enjoy using my Urban Decay Optical Blurring brush to apply liquid foundation, I do love the sponge much more.  The Real Technique version of the beauty blender is much more affordable! 

When I'm spending a long day in the sun, I like to spray my body with Sun Bum! It smells "coconutty" and reminds me of paradise :) 

At the end of the day, I like to do a face mask! Lush made a special mask just for oily skin and it's super chocolatey!!! Who wouldn't want to smudge a huge chunk of chocolate on their face?! It's every girl's dream! Well...mines at least....

I hope you enjoyed this small section on the summer-going-into-fall essentials! Californians cannot get enough of the sun and we gotta tame that oily skin and runny makeup! Hehhh 

Organization : Non-Slip Hangers

Easiest way to organize your closet! 

Ever looked into your closet and thought "I have nothing to wear..." I had that same problem.  A messy closet gives the illusion that you have absolutely no clothes because all you see is clutter.  You just resort to wearing the same pair of leggings that you've already worn and thrown into the hamper the day before.  

Fear no more, organize your closet with non-slip hangers! They're life-changing.  Ok fine, I won't be that dramatic.  It just made my closet soooo much nicer to look at.  Most importantly, I'm able to hang up cardigans and blouses that were always slipping off of my plastic hangers before.  This pack of 35 from Costco is very affordable and now through August 30th, it's on sale for $8.99! It's so very worth it! I'm planning on going back to buy another box :) Now to better organize my closet, I'm thinking of buying finger clips so that I can hang my bottoms.  All I'm missing from my closet is a Burberry trench coat...Hehhh ;)

Some more non-slip hangers: 

Container store (19.99) - Pack of 34, includes finger clips so you can hang bottoms

Joy Mangano (Target) (19.99) - Pack of 34, includes finger clips

Bed, Bath, & Beyond  (12.99) - Comes with just 1 but ideal for suits, has a sophisticated look with a non-slip wooden bar

Drink : Banana Almond Butter Smoothie

An easy quick and healthy smoothie that will satisfy your stomach in the morning! 

For a year and a half now, I've been making (or trying to make) myself a healthy breakfast every morning.  I feel really good getting up early and making myself some oatmeal with fresh fruits and pairing it with a cup of coffee.  But it gets super repetitive and I'm getting bored! During my month-long winter break of 2013, I had a lot of time and so I would take my time making my oatmeal.  Steel-cut is my fav but it takes SO long. It takes at LEAST 20 minutes and toward the end of that 20 minutes, you really have to stand there and stir or else all hell breaks loose.  The whole pot is ruined! Or at least the very bottom of it is burned! As soon as school started, I found myself waking up late and rushing out the door.  I knew then that I needed to switch it up a little.

Now that it's the summer, I really wanted to make a quick, refreshing breakfast.  It's not as quick as pouring cereal and milk into a bowl but it's not processed! Well.....SOME of the ingredients are.  This healthy mix of bananas, almond butter, almond milk, chia seeds, and quick oats will surely get your day to a quick start! It's so easy to put together and you can eye-ball everything. It's totally up to you!!

This smoothie will be sure to get you out the door quick and the almond butter and chia seeds will keep you satisfied with all that protein! There's also a good amount of fiber in that smoothie.  It's not the daily recommended but it's some of it :) Enjoy! 

Style : Statement Necklaces

Statement necklaces are becoming more fierce as each season go by!

From left to right, top to bottom: Aldo, Aldo, Windsor, Windsor, & BaubleBar

I'm loving statement necklaces more and more! It takes so little effort to put an outfit together! You just gotta pop one of these babies on and bam, you're set for the day.  These statement necklaces are very versatile and can be worn during the day or night.  Pair it with a white tank and sandals and you're good to go for a stroll down Melrose Ave.  During the night, wear one over your LBD and some strappy heels and you've got yourself a GNO outfit!  Probably not ideal for a date night since your beau might be a bit TOO intimidated by them. Ha! I will go Cleopatra on your ass!

Travel : New York

Last month, Chris and I traveled to New York. We had a 6AM flight and man, did that mess us up! We had our good friend, Matt, take us to the airport in the middle of the night! After an exhausting 6 hour flight, we finally arrived at JFK!! To save money, we booked a room in Queens, East Elmhurst to be exact, and stayed at the LaGuardia Plaza Hotel.  

Our day in the city actually started the next day because we were just too tired to leave our room.  We bought our first ever 7-day pass MetroCard.  Chris wanted to visit Madam Liberty and so we took our first train ride to Battery Park. I remembered feeling super exciting and anxious walking up those stairs that lead to the outside streets.  Seeing Manhattan's numerous big buildings and skyscrapers...OMG! 

Liberty Island and Ellis Island took up half of the day.  We finally saw the big Statue of Liberty (and finally not the small one from Vegas) for the first time.  Then, we proceeded to take another ferry trip to Ellis Island to learn about the immigration history of NY. THE LAND OF OPPORTUNITY.

The rest of the trip was exciting.  We spent the weekend in Rochester with Chris' friends and there, we took a trip to Niagara Falls and hopped across the border line to Canada.  I was pretty bummed we didn't get to see what Canada had to offer as we were short on time AND didn't have the car with us.  

Isn't he cute? ;)

Manhattan is such a great city and would be a wonderful place to live for a short time.  It's full of life and excitement everywhere and all the time.  The style in the city was mostly a black dress paired with a pair of black flats with a large black tote bag as their work attire. New York working women don't accessorize very much and I'm pretty sure they could spot that I was a SoCal gal with all the colors in my outfits. 

Food was delicious. Of course, we visited the Halel Guys, Shake Shack, Best Bagel and Coffee, and the Doughnut Plant.  

Sweaty & stick in Central Park

Central Park is ginormous! You can easily get lost in there.  As common as little black dresses are in the city, so are nannies! You see them all over the park with the little ones. Ohh, how nice would it be to have a settled life in Manhattan?! I can see it ;) We found a little gazebo while walking in the park and decided to stop by.  Can you tell I was super sweaty and sticky? That 90 degree weather in NY is humid and awful.  Luckily, our last day in the city was granted with a nice 80 degree weather - perfect for another last day of strolling in Central Park and a little bit of shopping in SoHo. 

Liberty Island

I packed mostly shorts and tanks. Although I did pack sandals and heels, I stayed in my Nike Free Runs for most of the trip.  We walked A LOT. Because we were limited in what we could pack, I made sure to pack a lot of neutral colors so that I could mix and match my outfits.  I'm very bad at remembering to accessorizing and I'm super terrible at it when it's super hot outside.  It's hard enough to put on clothes and the thought of adding a huge necklace on is just dreadful!! So for this trip, I decided to keep it simple. 

Writing this post makes me want to return to NY so badly! I cannot wait for the day we go back and this time, we are for sure staying in Manhattan.  Taking that 1-hour train ride to and from the city was not ideal.  I can't wait to come back and be in my natural habitat!