the little things

hey guysss guess what?

so i've been exploring a bit more around my new home since i've moved out and i've actually discovered two places near by that i think i'll be frequenting during my stay up here.

one of them being the library. which is pretty awesome that it's close by and i think has a pretty good selection of books and they also have a duck pond right across the parking lot. and get this: they sell duck food! my inner child is pretty psyched about this cuz, c'mon, it's fun to feed ducks :]

the other place being miramar lake where you can go fishing, boating, hiking and other lake things. [[well except swimming but i think the reasons are pretty legit]].

i drove around the little parking lot bit of the lake and i found this set of stairs that lead down to the water [[for fishing perhaps?]] and i thought right then and there that i'd go to lake miramar for all, if not most of my photos for my blog.

i went there around 10am yesterday hoping i'd get some nice morning light [[maybe since it was already 10]] but nope. cloudy and overcast :p

but despite that, i thought it was a pretty nice day and it was a bit chilly in a way where it makes you think that colder days are right around the corner. for the most part there weren't really a lot of people at the lake when i went but a couple still passed by me while i was taking pictures. [[those pesky hikers...]] *slightly awkward*

also after the picture taking i skated a bit around the lake [[which is about 5 miles around]] and i've got to say, it was actually nice and pretty peaceful :] i'd pass a couple of joggers here and there but it was mostly just me, a nice view of the lake and a couple of bluejays here and there.

unfortunately i didn't go around the whole lake. when i came to a sign that said something like, "big decline and sharp turn ahead--caution" i was just like, "nuh uh. noo buddy i don't wanna die" lol

anyways, i'm thinking lake miramar is gonna be a place i'm gonna be going to a lot for pictures and for down time to think. [[always wanted one of those]] i think a little piece of nature near by is just what i needed :]

sweater-thrifted

jeans-pacsun

shoes-ross

ring-forever 21

time turner necklace-borders

knock knock

so i know i haven't been updating like i should have but seriously, this past month has been totally busy what with me moving out of my parents' house and school starting. it's all been a bit of a blur some of the time and i haven't really had time to take outfit shots.

but anyhoo, i have some photos from the last few weeks of my summer for you guys anyways :] [[those of you who are kind of enough to read my blog :D]]

so a couple of weeks ago i went up to LA for a family reunion on my mom's side and it pretty much ran like any other reunion. you know, eating a bunch of good semi-home cooked food, relatives saying "aww you're so big now! do you have a boyfriend?", etc.
then once me and my cousins get bored we head over to the near by park to hang out for an hour or two :]

[[yea...this is where i get the crazy from lol]]

i've actually worn this outfit several times since it's pretty easy to put together and despite the southern california heat, this dress actually kept me pretty cool :] though in retrospect, probably shouldn't have worn heels to the park. [[i couldn't walk very far the next day -_____-;]]

ANYHOO!

later on that day i also had another reunion only on my biological dad's side where i actually got to meet all of my siblings! which is a pretty big deal since this is the first time we've all pretty much been together under one roof. [[with the exception of one of my brothers who couldn't make it but other than that, we were all together :D]]

i haven't seen my brothers since i was 13 and i haven't met my eldest sister irene til that day and it was pretty funny how long we hugged when we finally met each other. everybody was all, "uhhh any day now you guys..." lol

and i got to meet all my nephews and nieces which was pretty crazy how many there were! but it was still pretty awesome since they all seemed to like me and i love me some little kids to chill with ;]

i dunno, that day was just very hallmark-y and i'm pretty glad that it all happened :]

dress-forever 21

belt-aldo

shoes-steve madden

my neighbor totoro

o, you know, just taking pictures in my closet cuz it's too hot to take pictures outside. well, that and i'm insane enough to be wearing jeans in midsummer. [[hmm did i not mention this before? meh, o well :p]]

i guess after almost three months of summer vacation i'm just tired of shorts and dresses. "le gasp!" right?? haha but all good things must come to an end and i'm just ready for cooler weather and the feel of fabric around my legs and nippy weather.

i'm a bit obsessed with this hat which is pretty uncharacteristic of me since i've never been much of hat person. i guess it has to do with having to put it on and take it off every time i enter a building and then having to hold it and yadda yadda yadda. but anyways, i just feel like this such a perfect summer hat and omg, it's made of paper! it kinda makes me a bit worrisome whenever i wear it cuz i have to make sure it doesn't get crushed or dirty since washing poses a serious challenge. though, despite all that, i have the urge to wear it everywhere and with everything. c[:

i'm kind of interested in how i'm gonna transition it into fall and then winter but a new challenge is always welcomed :]

t shirt-mitsuwa

jeans-bullhead via pacsun

sandals-report via ross

boater hat- claire's

hot july ain't good to me

i've noticed i've become a bit of a hermit/shut in these past couple of...weeks going out of my house only to hang out with friends/family or church and i haven't really been out to enjoy the beautiful southern california summers like i promised myself i would this year.

le sigh...

but i'm hoping to go to the beach again one more time hopefully with my friends before school starts. cuz y'know, i already messed up my new years resolution of not getting a tan this year. [[i was doomed from the start i shoulda known :p ]]

anyhoo, i digress. aj and i went to the park this past monday since he had the day off and we had fun hanging out, getting some vietnamese food and skateboarding. [[y'know, the usual couple-y things we always do]]

i haven't skated in what feels like forever and i tried to go skating in my new sandals which, by the way, was a bad idea since it had a bit of wedge to it and balancing just felt weird :/

i also have to get used to riding on crush, my cruiser, if i ever want to use her on campus once school starts. technically, we're not supposed to skateboard, rollerblade, bike or anything on campus but i've seen a lot of fellow classmates skating to and from classes and i've only seen one person get cited for skating on campus since he was stupid enough to do it in front of the campus police station

and as aladdin once said, "you're only in trouble if you get caught" ;)

aj told me that i'm more than welcome to use cheech, his long board, for school but seriously, that thing is almost as tall me and i don't really want to be lugging him around even though it's a lot smoother to ride on than crush :p

aj and i keep going back and forth on the whole crush vs. cheech thing and he keeps going on about how he should've gotten me a longboard instead but it's kinda too late for that since i love my cruiser very much :3 i just keep telling him that i need thicker wheels to go over sidewalk cracks better since, let's face it, no matter how cool and confident you are, it's still embarrassing when you fall and totally eat it in front of a bunch of people >:/

but whatever. whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger eh?

t shirt-hand me down

jeans-bullhead for pacsun

sandals-report

"evil eye" bracelets-mom

born and raised in a summer haze

it has been so hot here in southern california that it just makes me a bit uninspired to really dress more than a t-shirt and shorts :p

so naturally that's become my summer uniform.

usually my tee+shorts uniform just looks so blah and unpost worthy [[which is one of the reasons why i haven't really posted much :p]] that i just don't really see the point in taking pictures. well, and also i admit, i've been a bit lazy -_______-

but once in a while i'll try and put more effort in what i wear. hey, you never know where you're gonna go or who you're gonna see so you might as well look your best at least for yourself ;]

also nothing helps with style ruts than some new pieces to play with *ahem* the shoes and the hat. hahaha

i went shopping this past weekend with my mom, my auntie and yvanna and grabbed a few treasures for the new semester [[but that's for another post]]
so on monday the boyfriend and i went to the park together and he helped me take some pictures since it's been a while. we actually walked around the back where all the weeds and bushes grew wild since there was soccer practice going on at the time and i don't really like to pose for pictures with so many people around :p

aj tries so hard to take good pictures for me and every time he plays photographer for me it's always a learning process for the both of us. sometimes its a bit frustrating for the both of us because sometimes i can be a bit picky with pictures cuz of funny faces and cockatoo hair and what not and he just thinks i look beautiful no matter what, which is very sweet of him buuut it's just not what i'm looking for.

le sigh

o well, practice makes perfect yes? :]

t-shirt-target

shorts-target

shoes-report

boater hat-claire's

fun fun fun

the rest of my fourth of july pictures but since i don't really want this to be a photo dump, i'll show you some of my favorites :]

we are always running for the thrill of it

i haven't worn this dress in such a long time. i bought it around my senior year of high school and loved how versatile it was. there are seriously, endless possibilities on how to wear it and only your imagination is the limit :D [[lol now doesn't that sound cheesy?]] plus i also loved the fun print and the fact that it had elephants on it :]

this is actually one of the outfits that i wore/brought with me to the beach for fourth of july. and yes, i did say "one of the outfits i wore" meaning, there were more than one. and no, it's not cuz i'm a diva or anything of the like, it's cuz i'm actually a pretty messy person especially at the beach+little cousins/nieces and nephews running around. but this specific dress i brought just for pictures on le blog~ and i really wanted to take advantage of the lovely scenery at coronado beach and also the sand dunes at this specific part of the beach. it's one of mine and my cousins' favorite places to go play during fourth of july. my cousin yvanna and i actually took a bunch of jumping photos at the dunes and i have to say, she's a lot better at it than i am :p

fourth of july was pretty fun and kinda perfect except for a couple of mishaps [[more on that next post]] but all in all, i'd have to say it was pretty memorable :]

what about you guys? :D

dress-kariza

belt-aldo

earrings-claire's

sunglasses-borrowed