Marty & The Beach.

My Colorado dog's first day at a beach, ever! So, I thought I'd make a quick little video of this momentous occasion.  Other than getting sand everywhere and drinking the ocean water, I think he did really well :) We also discovered that the water's warming up now that it's spring, and it's almost time to put on a bikini! We took him to the crashing waves of Del Mar, a beach that was my first time too! Loved it Xx

Bakers Gone Wild.

Someday, I want to own a muffin shop called Jeneé’s, filled with every kind of cupcake, muffin, cake, pastry and sugary baked item imaginable. It will have an intricate muffin tree in the center.  It will be our little heaven on earth.  I don’t want to give too much away, but my friends and I have had pre-tty thorough discussions on Jeneé’s Muffin Shop...such as, how we will undoubtedly pool our enormous incomes together when we get settled in our careers to create our dream mufcakery just for the fun of it. Trust me, it’s a brilliant plan.  It’s just so sad that a place like our muffin shop doesn’t exist yet because we don’t have the funds right now, but Miss Amber Gray knows exactly what we’ve been dreaming about.  If you missed this post, I'd like to reintroduce to you the fabulous world of Amber Gray Photography.  This time, she has created a fantasy world of every girl’s dream of indulging her self so shamelessly in sugar until her hair turns cotton candy colored.  For now, it's only in our dreams, and of course Amber Gray’s camera lens…that is, until Jeneé’s becomes a reality.

Buskers & Burgers.

One of the street performers from the Flying Tortillas doing a flip over 10 people.

Didgeridoo Beatbox from Brooklyn.

If you ever come to San Diego, have a burger here... So good!

Angelique the living music box.

Spring Busker Festival at Seaport Village in San Diego, California

Awkward Monday.

New Rouge.

Lipstick from Sephora Collection in "Valentine"

It's not an umbrella...

...but it's close.  I love my new yellow hat.

Add a pop of yellow to your wardrobe for spring:

Les Copains Spring 2012

Mod Podge.

'What is this?' you say?...the result of a girls night in doing Mod Podge (a crafty glue for basically papier-mâché). Except, we used it on journals using scrap-booking paper and magazine cutouts.  It was a really great way to get to know everyone through their collages.  I wanted mine to be about fresh starts! Okay, so it's a little umm...first-timer, but I love it because it's personalized and meaningful to me!  We are also reading the book Redeeming Love, set in none-other-than California (how fitting). As a non-book-reader, I have to tell you I'm already hooked, and it's only been 3 chapters so far. That just doesn't happen, people (with the exception of Twilight).  Apparently, It's about a prostitute finding true love and so much more.  So, we shall see!

Sabo Skirt.

Sabo Skirt... I'm in love.  Check out this sweet Aussie design duo.  

Dove Girl.

Our "booth" with 4 presentation stations & the giveaway center (where I worked).

A bath full of Marbles (and headset) at one of the presentation stations.

Some lady snuck her puppy in with her purse! He popped out next to the Blackberry scanner we used to get all their info and survey the doctors.  

Of course, I got a massive craving for Dove chocolate while working as a Dove girl (the two not related btw).

If you ever have a chance to work at a Dermatology Conference, do it! I inadvertently got a 3 day job through a temp agency working as a Dove girl, and I loved it! We had so much fun handing out free samples to all the doctors, and... SCORE! I got tons of free stuff my last day. They were practically throwing this stuff away! Plus, it was the best people watching I've ever had.  We handed out 5000 bags of samples, and I'd say half of these doctors had plastic surgery gone bad. I looked up this little bad boy, and it alone was $70!!! A lot of this stuff isn't even out in stores yet... like Dove Sensitive Skin w/ nutrium moisutre Body Wash... its ahhhmazing. I definately have a new appreciation for Dove after working with them. I'm also really excited for the Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate I'll definately update you guys on my faves! Xx

Neon & Neutral.

Aldo/Coming Step

Aldo

Thread Sence

H&M 

All S/S 2012

Mega Mint.

...or as I like to say, Mega Mint!

pictures via: Clutch-polyvore, Jeans-polyvore, skirt-net-a-porter, lower platform shoes-sultry, others- weheartit/tumblr

Who Am I?

Who we are is who we chose to be.  That is a fact, my lovely friends.  I have been thinking a lot about this fact of life.  The real question in life isn't, ‘What am I here to do or have?’ It is, ‘who am I here to be?’  It’s a new start when you are in a new place, and it’s easier to change the things you don’t like about yourself.  So, I am taking the time that I have (due to lack of job at the moment) and focusing my energy on bettering myself (which is extremely eye opening and humbling).  I’ve mentioned before that I am using a book to help me simplify my life and focus on the present, rather than worrying so much on the past and future. “When I am trying to live yesterday today, it brings great pressure.  The same thing happens if I am out in the future- dreading it or trying to figure it out.” I am constantly looking for what is next, what is greater and better than what I already have, but I have found that joy cannot be found in that mindset. 

The best example for joy is childlike joy (trusting, loving, forgiving). “It is a child’s nature to trust unless he has experienced something that teaches him otherwise.”   We get so hardened by the world that we no longer love or trust or forgive.  Another thing I have been focusing (very hard) on is letting Australia go (for now).  It may come back to my life in the future, but for now I know that I need to be here in San Diego.  This really helped me and is still helping me to focus on living in the moment:  “Seek God first, desire Him more than anything else, and you will find that He will bless you with what is right for you to have.”

“If you are unhappy and have lost your joy because of something you desire but don’t have, I encourage you not to allow that desire to dominate you.  Whatever you do have, you should be in control of it and never allow it to control you.”

Lastly, I have been focusing on simplicity.  There is so much excess in our lives today. We complicate our lives in unnecessary ways.  I truly learned of my own excess when I was backpacking around Australia for a year and had to haul my life around in one suitcase.  But that one suitcase was more than enough of what I needed, and I had never been happier.  So, when I returned home, I got rid of the majority of the things that I owned because I realized I didn’t need those things to make me happy.  Simplifying your life is rejuvenating and exciting because when you finally get rid of the unnecessary stuff or activities or worries, it makes room for some incredible things to happen in your life.  For me, it was freeing.  I don’t feel tied down anymore, and I feel free as a bird to travel the world (or stay where I am). 

So, join me on my new journey here in California to become a now person.  Enjoying the simplicity in things, finding childlike joy again, and living completely in the moment with full trust that everything will work out. 

In <3 with my beautiful new dress from ASOS

Book: "Enjoying Where You Are on the Way to Where You Are Going" by Joyce Meyer

Jane by Design.

Now that I have internet again, thanks heavens, I have been catching up on all the shows I've missed in the past year.  One that I have recently become addicted to is Jane by Design (styled by Erica Dasher) on ABC Family.  It's about a high school girl who accidentally lands her dream job as a personal assistant to a fashion designer.  It's a younger (and more fun) version of the Devil Wears Prada and oh so addicting. I love this girl; she's awkward, super expressive, and still really beautiful. I especially love her style in the show.  All of her outfits look so fun & slightly remind me of the combinations The Daybook would put together (who I've always admired).  Jane is a master of mixing separates of all different textures, colors, and patterns in a way that creates a fun, unexpected silhouette.
Check it out:

{via} if you are wanting a formula on how to put together similar outfits out of your own closet, check out this website: Steal Jane Quimby's Outfits.

Love this theme song!

{via tumblr}

ps. Enter this great giveaway @ 87 Life!

Take Better Travel Photos.

So, I did something crazy.  I bought an iPhone even though I have no money anymore after my trip to Australia.  Instead of feeling guilty for buying it though, I am enjoying it to its fullest!  I got this app called FlipBoard and it creates a magazine for you from your interests and social life.  It's pretty awesome, and I found this article on how to "Take Better Travel Photos" that I loved.  It is one of my dream jobs to become a well known travel photographer.  You can tell by his photos, that this guy is the real deal, and since I intend to make my photos different and unique to all the other 3.5 billion cameras, I think that this guy is worth listening to.  So, here are his top 5 tips:

1.  When shooting people, stop using your long lens so much

2.  Start using fast, prime lenses

3.  Stop using auto exposure

4.  Start shooting more photos outside of ‘office hours’

5.  Switch to ‘back button focus’

read more & take a look at Timothy Allen's incredible travel photos

Marty Party.

Marty (party) is coming to San Diego in just a few days! 

I am so excited, he's going to be my best friend. 

I lived a year without my puppy, but I can't bear another year. 

I just hope he likes it here.  I can't wait to take him to the beach for the first time.

Couleurs & Lumière.

 Completely inspired collection by:  Sessùn.