Obsessed: Floral and Red Lips

I know what you guys are thinking...my face doesn't match my chest...and you're right! No, it's not my make-up, I am just different colors all over my body...seriously! LOL.

If you've read my old blog post about Lupus or already know about Lupus or even if you have never heard of it, Lupus is an autoimmune disease. One of the things I must stray away from is the sun! I can get really really sick in the sun, so I avoid it when I can.

My face (and arms/hands) are tanned from all the driving I do for work (I'm a field-based social worker). My feet are tanned from all the walking I do from my car and to my patients' homes. Since my work is conservative in dress code, my chest is always concealed. 

Now that's all out of the way, let' get to the stars of this post!

These are my current favorites and obsessions:

• Floral kimono - F21, $14.90
• Floral sunnies - Ross, $4.99
• Rimmel Provocalips, Play With Fire - Target, $7.49 

I have an upcoming post on the Rimmel Provocalips so stay tuned.

So far, the floral on floral with the red lips is my absolute favorite! I can't wait to wear them together again. LOL

Do you ever find outfit combos that you always wear together and don't seem to work paired with anything else? This is who I feel about this trio ;)

<3<3<3

OOTD: Being Bold(er), Being Me

I had an adventure day with one of my best friends and her toddler last Monday. For my outfit, I was feeling "different." I wanted to wear something out of my element. I wanted to put a style together that I've always wanted to do, but wasn't so gutsy to pull off. My best friend is very retro, very vintage, very hipster, very feminine, very indie, very hippy, very eclectic all combined into one. She's such an inspiration because she rocks everything she wears with such confidence. She's just bold and stands out in a crowd and is very secure with being herself. She's awesome!

Whenever I hang out with her, I am inspired to be more bold and step it up a notch with my wardrobe or makeup. I'd love to be as bold as she is, but part of me gets insecure about standing out. I've always played it "safe" and have always been so "mainstream" because it was easier. I knew that part of me wanted to express myself in bolder looks, but I was too timid to let it loose. Because of her, I'm learning to be more comfortable in my skin and in my style. 

you don't have to tell me. i know they're a bit blurry. oops =/

This is what I wore to the park which is funny because I spent the day with a toddler at a park, going to Costco getting "everything-on-it jumbo hot dogs" wearing basically all white. That just sounds like a recipe for stains and getting dirty! Somehow I walked away stain free!

Here is my outfit in detail (and sans blur):

Front:

It's a sheer two-toned sleeveless blouse with gold buttons for detailing

Back:

The upper two thirds is a beautiful lace of flowers

Gold buttons

Lace back

Close up of my pants

Top: Papaya Clothing

Pants: Leggings that my aunt gave me when I was in the Philippines

Shoes: JCPenny

Sunglasses: Marshalls

Earrings: Charlotte Russe

Lipstick: NYX

I'm sorry I forgot to take a picture of my makeup close up. My makeup was very pinup girl-esque. My best friend, who's amazing at makeup, even gave me kudos for being "on point" with my makeup. And those words coming from her was definitely a compliment and validation! 

This was also the first time I ever worn a red lip! I've always been so insecure about wearing a red lip, thinking it didn't suit me, thinking I could never pull it off. But this day, I decided to stop over thinking and just do it. 

Anything can look good on you if you feel good in it. 

This is something I hope to continue on no matter how insecure or how doubtful of myself I get at times.

I will do me. 

<3<3<3

Sunnies Haul for a Sunshine Day

Aloha! 

It's about time I bought some new sunnies! I broke two of my favorites and just couldn't find anything half as amazing to replace them. Read about their tragic deaths here.

Last Friday, I went to a Marshalls two blocks from work and came across these two sunnies. They are similar to one of my favorite sunnies that broke. The new ones aren't as dark as I prefer, but I do really like the fit.

This pair is by Betsy Johnson. It was only $9.99. It has gun metal colored pyramid studs on each  temple. It has one little pink heart on the very tip.

I love the bug-eye look as you can see. I do wish it was tinted darker. Although it looks like you can't see my eyes, in face-to-face, you can. I prefer when you can't see my eyes. #mysterious or #hiding

This brand is called Marilyn Monroe. I'm not sure why but I am positive she didn't have a sunglasses line. This pair was also $9.99. The frame is a dark brown tortoise shell. It has a brassy colored metallic detailing with a blend of raised dots and subtle gold crystals. 
That little squiggle by the hinge is a replica of her autograph.

This is a behind-the-scenes shot of a selfie. I took this picture with my computer, not my phone. I title this photo  "My poor imitation of the Marilyn Monroe pout." 
I love how poor lighting makes me look tanned. YESSSSS

I snapped this shot and played around with the summer filter on one of my iPhone apps. I really like how it turned out.

The summery-ness of this photo made me happy and the first song that came to mind was "Sunshine Day."  Enjoy <3

<3<3<3

OOTD: Birthday Week!

It's official! My birthday week is here :) I will be 28 on May 23 :) Time flies. Sometimes it feels like I just turned 21. Wow, can we rewind time, please? Life is passing by way too fast!

May is filled with a long list of birthdays. Ben's birthday is on the 22nd. My mom's, my good friend, and my best friend's brother's birthday is on the 24th. My best friend's birthday is the 31st. My sorority little sister's is on the 30th.  It's non-stop celebration in May :)

Last night, I took Ben out for his birthday dinner to Malbec Argentinian Cuisine in Pasadena, CA. It's a very nice and elegant place where you would need a reservation on a Saturday night. I don't go to places like this often, but for special occasions, we all deserve a treat ;)

Here's what I wore:

I wore this maxi dress that I bought on CLEARANCE (yay!) at JC Penny two years ago. It is by Ruby Rox. 

Pink blazer is from Marshalls. I bought it for $4.99. What a steal!

I had my H&M green sunglasses. I know they don't really match, but I broke 2 of my black sunnies a while ago and I haven't found any that I've liked. The deaths of those sunnies were traumatic!! One was slammed in my car door and the other got caught onto something and I yanked it way too hard...and that is why I don't buy expensive sunnies.

My purse is the Merona Ostrich Flap Crossbody from Target. I love it! It was also used in the Nickelodeon TV show Instant Mom. My purse hit the small screen! HEHE :)

(Left: Instant Mom. Right: Me)

  

My earrings are from Forever 21. Black center stone with gold all around with crystals within in the gold. 

Necklace is also from Forever 21.

My Style & Co watch is gold from Macy's. 

My bracelet is a brown shiny jade from Chinatown.

My flip flops are from Mossimo from Target. They were $12.99. Nine West sells this exact style for $40. Who got the better bargain? I DID. These flip flops are black and gold and they match my earrings!

My nails as you can see are confused. The colors and designs are different on each hand and on each foot. I recently purchased this nail tool set so I was playing around with it.

Our food!

I ordered the rib eye. I'm not a heavy meat eater so when I eat something like this, I have to prepare myself. Vegetarian pre- and post-heavy meat meal. It was really good though :)

Ben ordered the skirt steak. He loved it as well :)

Funny Story:
During my meal, I was getting so hot. I did not understand why. I look around and noticed the restaurant started to become full so I figured it was just body heat. I ended up taking off my pink blazer and putting it on the back of my chair. I  was seated by a marble counter with a glass window. At the end of my meal, I realized that behind that glass window was the bread toaster! HAHA. Explains my heat flashes throughout my meal.

But that's not all! Before we left, I went to the ladies room to wash my hands. I came back, grabbed my blazer and left. When we arrived to the dessert shop, I got out of the car and saw a brown cloth on my chair. I was so confused.

I had accidentally stolen the napkin from the snazzy restaurant. I must have grabbed it along with my blazer. OOPS. Sorry, Malbec!!

Well, I guess I shall consider it a birthday present from the restaurant? -__- 


<3<3<3