Laker Girls Eat Sushi

...Well at least one of them does :)

Like I mentioned earlier, the little sis is a Laker Girl. So during my Christmas holiday, while I was busy seeing how much apple pie it is physically possible to consume, she was running to the gym, working out, and running back... and also not eating pie. She is filled with an intense sense of discipline that I somehow failed to inherit... #ThanksMama

Nopa and the Trendy Tendy

My boyfriend is a foodie. Like, a foodie foodie. He keeps a running list of restaurants he's dying to try and we average about one a week. Its literally the BEST. THING. EVER! My cousin Elise and her boyfriend, Andrew, came into the city right before I left for SoCal and what better excuse to knock one off the list? Enter, NOPA.

Brekky Pizza

To quote my ever so eloquent bestie – “Brunch is life.”

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!!

I'm so excited that I was able to get a good amount of time off this year. There's truly nothing I love more than spending time with my family. Seriously, each and every one of them is perfection and a half and I am so blessed to have them in my life!

#NailedIt

Merry Christmas Eve everyone!

I can barely contain my excitement as I write this post... I fly home today and I get to see my family SO SOON! I'm the last to arrive - my brother and sister are already there, but what can I say, I like to make an entrance ;)

Fun in the Fillmore

Friday night, I had one of the most epically fun dinners of life.

Pantone Inspiration

So Pantone recently announced that "Radiant Orchid" is the color of 2014... What does this mean? I'm not really sure... But I kind of like it and it got me thinking about decorating... Being a sort of recent college grad, my budget doesn't leave a whole lot to allocate towards decorating. So my bedroom has essentially looked the same for roughly 4 years... I think that's enough of that and I'm now itching to try something new. Maybe I'll even incorporate Radiant Orchid!(?)

Carolina in the Kitchen

I've never been much of a cook... To give you some reference, I was known to start more than a few small kitchen fires and I used to make quesadillas in the toaster. Well... I would attempt to make quesadillas in the toaster... I bet the kitchen fires are making a lot more sense now, eh? Despite my (major) lack of skill, though, I really, really, really like watching the Food Network. It started in college when I would listen to the Barefoot Contessa's soothing voice to decompress from all the stress of finals. But the more I watched it, the more tips and tricks I picked up without even realizing it! The first recipe I made was a very simple bruschetta (requiring no stove OR oven use!) and it went so well, that it gave me confidence to try other recipes!

Brunch, Napa, Wedding Toast

A few months ago, a coworker wanted to set up my bestie with one of her guy friends. She insisted he was really nice and super cute, but there was one potential problem... he didn't drink. Ever. Now - I'm no big drinker, but I am Latin, and simply put, it's a part of life. I looked at my girlfriend and gave her a flat NO. She was still considering it and asked me why not. Three reasons, girlfriend: Brunch. Napa. Wedding Toast. What's Brunch without a mimosa or two? What's Napa without wine? ...Or would it be no Napa at all?? The horror! And what the heck is a wedding toast without champagne?! She quickly got my point and agreed the date would not be a good idea.

Santa Baby

There's nothing quite like the sight of a thousand Santas to really get you in the holiday spirit...

Henna and the Heebie-Jeebies

People who know me well are pretty familiar with my "obsessions".
I am very easily inclined to fixate and obsess over small things that bring me an almost unreasonable amount of joy. One of my more serious and longstanding obsessions is skincare. I have now become notorious to my nearest and dearest for the varied amount of potions I apply to my face and body on the daily. After some thought, I have determined that my highly active skincare regime is a result of two things: My Mama and the paleness that comes with being a redhead. So basically I have my mom to thank for all of it :) For as long as I can remember, she would switch out my drugstore-purchased lotion for a big ole' bottle of Dermalogica and the term "essential oils" entered my vocabulary around the end of middle school. 

Dresses and Dilemmas

With the Holiday party circuit comes the ultimate dilemma: What to Wear. I am notorious for changing my outfit a good 2-3 times before walking out the door. This is normal, right?  

All That Glitters

My newest beauty obsession is somewhat of a throwback... Glitter? On your face? ...I hear you, but listen up because this isn't the Lip Smackers/Claire's goodies that we've all been trying to forget since the 90s. Remember those glitter masks the girls at Givenchy rocked at the SS 2014 show? 

Glitter. Is. Back!

Day 1

After a year of reading blogs and thinking I had nothing of my own to write about, I saw this quote and finally felt sufficiently inspired. So here we go! I'm excited to have a place to empty my thoughts and share them with anyone who cares to come along for the ride. xo