Pemberley Rose

I'm 24 now!

2013-02-13T22:42:00.000-08:00

I spent most of my 24th birthday at work today, from 8 in the morning to a little after 6 in the evening. But before you say anything, it wasn't anywhere near as depressing as it probably sounds! I'm lucky enough to have gotten a job at the same company where my best friend Faustina works. We work in different departments, but I've met some really nice people in my own department (including my supervisor and his manager).

When I walked into the office this morning, the first thing I noticed were all the pink and green balloons. I'm not even joking when I say that there were probably about ten balloons - give or take a few - taped around my cubicle. I have my coworker and new friend Tania to thank for that. :) In addition to the pink and green balloons was a cake with a mylar balloon attached and a bouquet of flowers with even more balloons attached to it. There was a Post-it note from Faustina by the cake and I assumed that the flowers were from her too.

The very first thing I did after clocking in was call her on her extension. This is how our conversation went:

Me: "Faustina!"

Faustina: "Happy Birthday, BestFriend! Did you see your cake?"

Me: "Yes! OMG, thank you for the cake and the flowers!"

Faustina: "Flowers? What flowers?

Me: "Wait, you're not the one who left these for me?"

Faustina: "No...I'm pretty sure those are from Andrew."

Now before I continue the story, allow me to fill you in: Andrew is another one of my coworkers. We met at this party back in December. He then accompanied my newly single self to this party for New Year's Eve. And just because I feel like being coy, that's all I have to say about that for now. ;)

Anyway, I wasn't sure if Andrew had arrived at the office yet, so I texted him. Now this is how our conversation went:

Me: "Thank you for the flowers!"
Andrew: "You got them today?! They were supposed to be delivered tomorrow. I'm kinda bummed out. I had a birthday set of flowers and then the Valentine's set of flowers."
Me: "Awww really? I only got one. Either way, thank you!"

Now here's the funny part: those flowers that I found on my desk weren't from him. They were from Tania. And apparently we both accidentally ruined his surprise. Oops!

My cubicle was so bright and cheerful and festive that I couldn't help but smile every time I'd come back from a break. Also, it attracted so much attention that I got "Happy Birthday!" greetings from just about everyone who walked by, including coworkers whom I hadn't even introduced myself to yet. Oh and throughout all of this, I managed to stay productive too. Haha.

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and even though I'll be at work most of the day again, I can't wait to see what the day will bring.

Gossip Girl Inspired Party Invitation

2013-02-03T13:43:00.000-08:00

My 24th birthday is in exactly ten days. Rather than spending time freaking out over the fact that I'm going to be in my mid-20s (EEK!!!), I spent some time designing this invitation for a celebratory dinner that following Saturday. This design was inspired by one of my favorite TV shows, "Gossip Girl." I miss Blair and Chuck dearly and it was actually while re-watching the entire series on Netflix that I came up with the idea for this invitation. I figured that just because I live in suburban Orange County doesn't mean that I can't add a bit of Upper East Side style to my life. ;)

Once again, just because I'm poor and slightly lazy, I won't be printing and mailing these out. I'll just be posting these on Facebook and maybe sending a text or two (in true GG fashion!)

The inspiration:

Scenes from the Season, Part 4

2013-01-06T17:13:00.000-08:00

And now for the final installment of my "Scenes from the Season" series: New Year's Eve!

I will admit that prior to this year, I never cared much for New Year's Eve - at least not as a celebratory holiday. As far back as I can remember, I've always stayed home (usually in my pajamas) and just watched the ball drop on TV with my parents. While there is certainly nothing wrong with staying at home, I've always wanted to actually go out and celebrate and ring in the new year with friends. Read: attend an amazing party. So when Faustina asked if I wanted to attend a masquerade ball themed party on New Year's Eve, I said "YES!" with pretty much no questions asked.

Let's talk about our dresses, shall we? Just like the dress from Faustina's company holiday party, my dress was a last minute purchase. In fact, so was Faustina's. When I say "last minute," I literally mean last minute. As in, we went shopping for our dresses just a couple of hours before we were supposed to start getting ready. Also, I was the last customer at Windsor before the store closed at 7 pm. (Faustina found her lovely black and blue high-low dress from Wet Seal.) While I definitely do not recommend putting off special occasion dress shopping 'til the last minute, there was something thrilling about this experience.

Now I can't decide if I like this dress the best or if I like my holiday party dress more. While I have become more adventurous when it comes to sheer and formfitting clothing, this dress was a little sexier than anything I thought I could ever wear. The bodice is completely sheer lace save for the padding on the front, which eliminated the need for a bra. Also, the back of this dress is open. I won't even get started on how the tight peplum skirt accentuated my hips. Despite being a bit out of my comfort zone, the moment I tried this dress on, I knew it was the one.

We got dolled up at Faustina's friend Roxanne's house. I've said it before and I will say it again: getting ready for a special occasion/night out is half the fun.

I really hate to sound boastful, but I was having such an amazing hair and face day on New Year's Eve. I did my hair and makeup pretty much the same way as I did for the company holiday party: soft, imperfect waves + subtle smokey eyes and red glossy lips. This might just be my new signature look.

Faustina, Roxanne, and I took quite a bit of time getting ready for this party. Beauty does take time, after all. I'm surprised that Roxanne's husband Daniel and Faustina's friend/my date for the evening Andrew had waited so patiently for us. We ended up arriving late to the party and we missed the buffet and the performances that were scheduled for that night. We still arrived with plenty of time to spare to dance and people watch before the countdown. Afterwards, we had a very late dinner/early breakfast at IHOP.

Oh and by the way, this is Andrew. :)

Scenes from the Season, Part 3

2013-01-06T16:09:00.000-08:00

Yup, you guessed it. These are pictures from the Ugly Sweater Party! As much as I enjoyed the more formal Christmas parties with my family, this casual house party at Faustina's house was probably my favorite memory of this past holiday season. (With the possible exception of New Year's Eve!)

I absolutely loved how Faustina and I ended up coordinating our ridiculously tacky sweaters. Plastic ornaments for me; gift bows for her. :) We had so much fun putting together these sweaters and just planning the entire party. By the way, we are epic procrastinators. We bought all of the food and drinks literally about an hour before our first guests showed up. Our party was such a success that we definitely plan on making this a new tradition.

I wish I had remembered to take more pictures with my friends that night. (Too many White Russians and other miscellaneous cocktails - oops!) Here I am with my gorgeous friend Melissa. Notice her festive Christmas earrings. LOVE!

And this is my other best friend Mike. Yes, Faustina and I did give him a hard time for not wearing an ugly sweater. It worked out alright thought because I ended up stuffing some of my shed pink feathers into his shirt pocket. Haha.

Scenes from the Season, Part 2

2013-01-06T15:36:00.001-08:00

These are just a few snapshots from my family's Christmas party and Christmas Eve. I already miss getting dressed up for holiday parties.

Scenes from the Season, Part 1

2013-01-02T16:39:00.000-08:00

Hello all! I thought I would begin 2013 by sharing pictures from this past December's festivities. Part one of this series includes pictures of what Faustina and I wore for her company's holiday party about three weeks ago.

Let me start by saying that this dress was a last minute purchase. The date of the party (which took place in a nice hotel in Huntington Beach) sneaked up on me pretty quickly and I still didn't have anything to wear the morning of. By some miracle, I managed to find this fabulous dress at Windsor just a couple of hours before Faustina and I were scheduled to check into our hotel room. I love love LOVE this dress. I love the sequins and the dramatic high-low silhouette and how festive it looked even without any jewelry. I'm already trying to think of other occasions in which I could wear this again.

By the way, please excuse the mess in the background (evidence of our pre- and post-gaming)!

Another highlight of last month was finally finding the perfect shade of brown for my hair. I absolutely adore my medium chocolate brown hair and how it makes my pale winter skin glow. I don't know if I ever want to go back to my natural black hair again. :)

Here's a good photo of Faustina and I wearing our fabulous party dresses. Although I consider getting ready for a special occasion half the fun, the company party itself was also a blast. I met a lot of Faustina's coworkers and definitely enjoyed mingling with different people. We both woke up with terrible hangovers the next morning - the result of too many free drink tickets, I suppose - but overall this party was a great start to the holiday season.

Ugly Sweater Party Invitation

2012-12-05T17:51:00.000-08:00

I designed this invitation for the Ugly Sweater Party that Faustina and I are throwing the Thursday after Christmas. I am obviously not a graphic designer, but I thought it would be fun to design something to post on our Facebook event page. Since our holiday party is in that awkward time in between Christmas and New Year's Eve, I wanted to steer away from the traditional red and green. However, I felt that hot pink, teal, and gold would look just as festive.

If Faustina and I weren't so poor (haha), we would have wanted to actually print these out and send them to our guests. I imagine these invitations would have looked pretty nice in black envelopes with black and white patterned liners. Oh, and gold sequins too.

Our party is a little over three weeks away and I'm already excited! UPDATE: pictures from the party posted now!

My Christmas Wish List

2012-12-03T13:49:00.001-08:00

1) Chloé Gift Set

2) Too Faced Shadow Bon Bons

3) a box of French macarons

4) What Would Audrey Do?

5) Lollia Hand Cream in "Breathe"

Not pictured: I would also be thrilled to receive gift cards to Sephora, Forever 21, or Starbucks!

It's official; there are only three weeks left until Christmas Eve. Yay! A few people have asked me what's on my wish list this year. Instead of responding with the usual "Um...I don't know", I thought it'd be fun to share this list of things I've had my eye on. I certainly don't expect to receive all of these things, but I thought I'd share this list with the world anyway.

So what's on your wish list? I would love to know what you're all wanting to receive for the holidays! :)

November Recap

2012-12-02T18:06:00.000-08:00

It's funny how quickly time flies now that I'm older. (Haha. I sound like an old lady, don't I?) It seems like it was just yesterday I was putting together my October Recap post. I mentioned before that November is probably my favorite month of the year. Even though I didn't take the time to blog about these events as they happened, here they are: the highlights of my November!

Yes, Election Day. While I do care about politics (I'm a proud Democrat, by the way), I was beyond relieved when this day was over. For one thing, I despised watching political ads on TV and listening to them on the radio. I also hated logging on to Facebook and seeing pointless debates going back and forth between people who hardly knew what they were talking about. Despite the extreme annoyance that Election Day brought upon me, I was quite happy with the results. I promise I won't get any more political than this on my blog, but I do support President Obama. :)

I know what you must be thinking: "But Gayle! Breast Cancer Awareness Month was in October!" I know, I know. Despite being a month late, I couldn't resist these fabulous pink items from Target. I purchased this adorable glittery pink clutch/wallet, a Revlon Kissable Balm Stain in "Smitten", and a Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in "Berry Smoothie." The lip butters are my absolute favorite drug store makeup items ever. I own 5 or 6 of them - yes, I'm just a little bit obsessed. Haha. I think I'm wearing "Raspberry Pie" in this photo.

This lakeside date was one of my favorite moments of November. One day, I sat down with Lucas and said something to the effect of, "You know, a lot of our friends do things like work out together and stuff. You and I eat and sit on the couch watching TV." He responded by suggesting we take a walk around the lake and watch the sunset. (Who said couch potatoes can't be romantic?)

Another awesome November memory is from when Faustina and I - along with some friends old and new - had dinner and went dancing in Downtown Fullerton. I don't want to brag, but I'd also say that this was the night I perfected my new signature "going out" hairstyle: loose curls pinned to one side. Interestingly though, I have my hair in the exact same style in my profile picture. My hair just happens to be long enough now to make this style not look like an updo.

This month's Disneyland trip was quite interesting. Everything was already decorated for the holidays, which was the good news. The bad news was that we went a couple of days before Thanksgiving. It was so crowded that we only went on two rides before we decided to go home. And here's something else that's kind of random: We saw Mitt Romney. Lucas and I joked that this was the first time we ever saw a famous person at Disneyland and it wasn't even anyone cool.

Thanksgiving! I'll be brief here since I already have a Thanksgiving Style Post. I will say this though: It's already the first week of December and I still want more turkey and crescent rolls and pumpkin pie!

Speaking of food, feast your eyes on this glorious display of meat! Faustina had free tickets to The Laugh Factory in Long Beach. After watching a very funny show with her, we were starving. It was already around 11:30-ish by the time the show ended, but we still managed to find great food at a Korean BBQ restaurant that stayed open until 1 AM. Note the picture on the bottom right. Yes, those are giant slabs of bacon.

We celebrated the last night of November by having dinner at a Turkish restaurant and going to a club in Anaheim. (I hope you don't think that all I do is eat and dance!) I recently rediscovered this high waisted peplum pencil skirt in my closet and it has quickly become my new favorite wardrobe staple. For this night of dancing, I paired this fairly conservative skirt with a sheer lace top and a black lace bra. I'm thinking that this outfit would also be great for family parties too if I wore a tank top instead of just a bra under the lace. ;)

Style Post - Thanksgiving 2012 Edition

2012-11-23T13:47:00.000-08:00

It seems as though every time I take an unintentionally long break from blogging, my very next post begins with an apology to all of my readers for abandoning all of you for so long. This post, of course, is no different. So once again, I'm sorry that I haven't been updating this blog as often as I should. I hope you all still find me interesting and I sincerely thank all of you who have stuck around. ;)

That being said, let's move on to this mini-Style Post, shall we?

This is what I wore this year for Thanksgiving. Both of my parents usually work on Thanksgiving and this year was no different. Luke's grandparents are always kind enough to invite me over for dinner for major holidays and other little "just because" get-togethers.

So about this dress...Have you ever fallen head over heels in love with something - whether it's a dress or a piece of jewelry, or anything really - that's out of your price range? Did you ever repeatedly "visit" this item, wishing and yearning and hoping that maybe one day it would go on sale? As obsessive as that may sound, that's exactly what I did with this bird print dress from Anthropologie. Starting at the beginning of last summer, every time I went into the store, I couldn't help but admire this feminine and playful dress. I never actually tried it on though because I knew that doing so would have made me want this unobtainable dress even more. (And yes, I am quite aware of how crazy that makes me sound.) To make a long story short, I finally found this dress on sale around the beginning of October. There were only three left in the store - a 0, 6, and 12. I usually wear a size 6, but I discovered that this dress runs a little large once I finally tried it on. Such a small problem seemed rather trivial to me, considering how much I LOVED it. And the rest, they say, is history.

Does my hair look any different from you, apart from being longer? Lately, I've been obsessed with trying to find the perfect shade of chocolate brown to dye my naturally black hair. Right now, my hair is a dark mahogany brown. I plan on going lighter until I find the perfect brunette shade for me. Wish me luck!

Speaking of the perfect shade, this is what my nails look like this week. Revlon Teak Rose is officially my favorite nail polish color ever. Remember this post from last year? I know that Revlon also makes a lipstick in this color, but I can't seem to find it anywhere. :(

To add a little bit more playfulness to my Thanksgiving outfit, I wore this cute little bee ring. As much as I love sparkly jewelry, I can never resist whimsical pieces like this.

And just for good measure, here's a detail photo of my bird print dress. LOVE!

Outfit Details:

Bird Print Dress: Anthropologie. Navy Ruffled Cardigan: Abercrombie and Fitch. Black Flats: Report. Bee Ring: Claire's.

October Recap

2012-11-05T17:29:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! Before I begin blogging about the wonderful parts of November (which is probably my favorite month ever), I thought I'd share a little recap of what I did this October. It was a busy and eventful month full of pumpkins and Disneyland and DIY Halloween costumes. Looking back on all of these Instagram photos makes me remember exactly why I love fall so much. Enjoy!

I couldn't resist taking these pictures at the grocery store while Lucas and I were looking for pumpkins to carve. Although we both got traditional orange pumpkins, I loved the idea of gilding a white pumpkin with gold spray paint or gold leaf like these white pumpkins I took a picture of at Anthropologie. Maybe I'll use this idea next year. Also, I really loved the rich fall colors I saw in the grocery store's floral section. These pinkish-plum mums looked amazing with the preserved oak leaf wreaths that were also for sale. Gorgeous!

These were the pumpkins that we carved later that night. The happy and goofy looking pumpkin was mine, the scary looking one was Lucas', and the cat was one that his brother Zack carved. We made a huge mess on the dining room table, but it was definitely worth it for three awesome jack o'lanterns and tons of toasted pumpkin seeds.

Because Lucas and I are Disney Annual Pass Holders, we try to go to Disneyland and California Adventure as often as we can (usually once a month). Disneyland looked incredible last month. There were pumpkins, orange banners, and oak leaf and Indian corn swags everywhere, as well as characters dressed in fall outfits. My absolute favorite part was the Haunted Mansion. The ride was completely redone with A Nightmare Before Christmas theme, which I honestly liked better than the original ride. I haven't been back to Disneyland yet, but I really hope that they keep the ride this way up until Christmas.

Here's my "enchanted" costume from my last post. I mentioned in that post that the headband that came with the original costume was pretty ugly. I still love the new headband that I sewed together with leaves from Michaels and I've been thinking about making more of them in different colors, just for fun. Do you think I could pull off wearing one of these headbands during non-Halloween time if I made them smaller?

This is what I wore on the actual day of Halloween. I know what you're thinking: THREE Halloween costumes?! I agree that having three costumes in one year is a bit excessive, but I didn't have to purchase anything extra to put together this witch costume. I used my own top and long tulle skirt to make a basic dress and the huge witch hat is a Halloween decoration from my house. I love love love the glittery gold pumpkin on it too.

And that's it. I'd love to know how your Octobers were, my dear followers. Let me know in your comments. :)

Style Post - Halloween 2012 Edition

2012-10-30T00:37:00.000-07:00

"Over hill, over dale,

Thorough bush, thorough brier,

Over park, over pale,

Thorough flood, thorough fire,

I do wander everywhere."

-A Midsummer Night's Dream, William Shakespeare

I can't help but think of A Midsummer Night's Dream every time I see photos of myself in this leafy ensemble. Wearing this made me feel like a fairy queen or a forest goddess. (My boyfriend said I could be the Jolly Green Giant's wife - ha!) Whatever you want to call this costume, it will definitely become one of my all time favorites.

For this costume, I started with the "Mother Nature" dress from Halloween City. There was only one left and it had a torn strap. However, it was on clearance and I really loved the color and the ombre detail on the bottom. I could tell that this dress had potential.

This costume came with a really ugly and cheap-looking headband with leaves that didn't even match the dress. At first, I thought of just ditching the headband and wearing a gold necklace as a headpiece instead, but then I thought...why not just make my own? I went to Michaels with the dress on hand to try and find leaves that would match better with the fabric. Lo and behold, I found the perfect floral spray...in the Christmas section of all places! These green leaves were originally part of a spray of sparkly, bright green poinsettias. I took apart the flowers and with the help of my grandma and her sewing machine, crafted a whole new headband for my costume.

After completing my leafy headband, I still had plenty of leaves left over. In order to make my dress look more like a costume and not just like a normal dress, I added leaves to the bodice and skirt.

Faustina and I went out in our costumes not just for a Halloween party on Saturday night, but also for dinner before with some girlfriends. I sneaked off into our hosts' bathroom a few times just to take these pictures. This photo is a little hazy because of the fog machines. Also, I am kind of sad that I don't have any full length pictures of my costume. The dress is about knee length and I wore gold Grecian style sandals.

Let's talk about my hair and makeup now, shall we? I was originally planning on wearing my hair up, but then I realized that having my hair down in messy waves would look more natural and fairy-like.

As for my makeup, I was inspired by this and this. I love experimenting with theatrical style makeup, mostly because it's very rare that I get to do it. I just realized that I can easily adopt this look for every day - as long as I keep the color on my lids only, of course.

I honestly don't mean to brag, but I am amazed by how flawless my skin looks in these photos, especially because my skin is far from it. Not to worry - I'll be sure to do reviews on my new favorite makeup products soon!

I'm sorry about the weird colors in this picture. I took this detail photo of my eye makeup in my bathroom, which has terrible lighting. (I'm not this pale!) I'm definitely not a makeup expert, so I can't promise to offer any tutorials on this blog. However, if I come up with any other creative ideas, I'll definitely share them with all of you!

An Arabian Princess and a Referee

2012-10-27T01:21:00.000-07:00

Somehow, during this busy yet pleasant month of October, I completely forgot to share pictures of my first Halloween costume and Faustina's as well. We went to a costume party on October 5th (I know, so early!) Obviously, neither of us really had that much time to think of - let alone put together - anything super creative. Luckily, we managed to find these costumes at a Halloween store two days before the party.

My best friend, of course, looks gorgeous. I was actually surprised by how much I loved my costume too. This is definitely the greatest amount of skin I've ever shown in a costume (or anywhere other than a pool). I'm not going to lie...I felt pretty sexy. ;)

My favorite part about Halloween is actually not the dressing up part, but rather the opportunity to try unique makeup looks that I never would any other time of the year. While it definitely wasn't anywhere near as dramatic as my Black Swan makeup from last year, I really liked this Arabian inspired look I created. Even more so than the makeup, I thought the sheer purple veil really made this outfit.

You don't really think that's it, do you? As I've mentioned, these were our first costumes. Faustina and I are going to another Halloween party tomorrow night and I will definitely share pictures of those costumes as well. Until then, have a lovely weekend!

Style Post 10.19.12

2012-10-19T19:14:00.000-07:00

Let's talk about contrast, shall we? I usually only wear this sparkly statement necklace with dresses or dressy blouses, but today I was in the mood to add a little something special to my simple chambray and chiffon outfit. Isn't it funny how style decisions made on a whim can sometimes result in new favorite outfit combinations? Before now, I never would have thought to pair a chunky statement necklace with such a simple top.

While we're on the subject of contrast, I'll admit that I never thought I could wear pale pink and pale blue together - at least not without looking like I was attending a baby shower. I do rather like this combination of colors.

As you can see, my bangs have fully grown out. I've been wearing my hair off my face for the past month now, but I still haven't decided if I want to have bangs again. (I'd love to hear all of your opinions!)

This is what I wore this afternoon to go shopping. I plan on wearing this outfit tonight as well to go out for my mom's birthday dinner. :)

Outfit Details:

Chambray Shirt: Fire Los Angeles. Gray Cami: Aeropostale. Pink Skirt: Free People. Statement Necklace: Sequin. Jelly Flats: Steve Madden. Bag: Juicy Couture.

San Diego Zoo

2012-10-13T22:32:00.001-07:00

If you've seen my Facebook or Twitter updates, I'm sure you'd know by now that our road trip to Sequoia National Park was a complete failure. I can't really explain exactly what happened (at least not in technical terms), but on Monday morning, something in Luke's car broke while he was changing the oil, causing tons of oil to squirt out all over him and his parking space. Yikes. He did end up fixing the problem, but we didn't want to risk having to get towed all the way from Fresno, nor did we want to have to drive my gas-guzzling SUV. Luckily, we were able to cancel our hotel reservations. I'm not going to lie; we were pretty disappointed that we had to cancel our trip. However, we didn't let this little hiccup ruin our week. We simply took another look at our "Places to Go" list and decided to take a second trip down to San Diego the next day. This time, we spent the afternoon at the zoo.

We couldn't have picked a more perfect day to visit the zoo. San Diego always has perfect weather. It was a warm but not too warm 75 degrees and sunny. I did remember to wear comfortable clothes and shoes for the day, but I completely forgot to apply sunscreen. The result? I am now sporting a mild sunburn. Oops.

How adorable is this panda? There was a really long line just to get into the panda exhibit, but it was worth it. I could have spent hours watching this guy nom nom nom on his bamboo.

This huge grizzly bear reminded me of my own humongous teddy bear, Bubba. Are you sensing a pattern? Three out of six of my animal pictures are of bears, my favorite animals. :)

Did you know that the San Diego Zoo also has a petting zoo with farm animals? Since Luke and I didn't get a chance to go to the Orange County Fair this past summer, I jumped at the chance to visit the sheep and goats. This cute little guy was following me around the pen.

After hours of uphill walking around the zoo, Luke and I were STARVING. Yes, I know that all that walking was a good workout. And yes, I know that eating a huge BBQ pulled pork sandwich completely undid all of that hard work. And no, I did not feel guilty afterwards. (I probably should have, but this sandwich was literally too delicious for me to care about calories!) This was just our second visit, but Phil's BBQ has become one my favorite parts of San Diego.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention this: we drove past the San Diego Natural History Museum on our way to the zoo. We've added the museum to our list of places to go in the future. :)

The Forest

2012-10-07T23:31:00.000-07:00

Dear followers,

I have an announcement to make: my boyfriend Lucas and I are going on a mini vacation to Sequoia National Park! I am super excited because we both love nature - especially the forest! (I alluded to that in my last post.) Anyway, we're leaving in the morning, but I promise I'll be back on Wednesday with plenty of photos to share with all of you. In the meantime, I'll try to post updates and previews on Facebook or Twitter whenever I can get a cell phone signal.

Now if you'll excuse me, I actually have to start packing. See you soon! :)

xoxo Gayle

Wordless Wednesday - "Where I Want to Be"

2012-10-03T15:09:00.000-07:00

via Tumblr.

10 Things I Love About Fall

2012-10-02T13:59:00.000-07:00

Now that October has begun, I thought I'd share this with all of you: ten of my favorite things about fall. (My favorite season!) What are you favorite parts about fall? Oh, and for the record, I still envy those of you who live in a part of the U.S. with gorgeous leaf colors and real fall temperatures. :)

The Boyfriend's Birthday + A Mini Style Post

2012-09-16T00:40:00.000-07:00

As much as I dislike complaints about the weather (Does anyone else get annoyed by weather-related status updates on Facebook?), I just have to say it: It's been ~~as hot as~~ hotter than balls. These past couple of days have been at least 100 degrees midday. In fact, it's past midnight as I'm writing this post and it's still about 80 degrees outside. Yikes. In fact, it was so hot that I didn't even want to stand outside in the sun for too long taking pictures. I hope this one will suffice:

Yesterday was Luke's 27th birthday. He took this picture of me right before we left to have dinner at this grandparents' house. A few notes about this outfit: 1) This was as dressed up as I wanted to be considering how ridiculously hot it was, 2) It's really hard to tell from this photo but my necklace matches my bag almost perfectly. It's a bee pendant and my bag is covered with bees, and 3) Obviously my shoes don't match my skirt at all. However, I love how aqua and red look together, which is enough for me to justify my different colored shoes. :)

Another fashion trend that I've fully embraced lately are stacked bracelets. I've been amazed by how girls on Instagram get so creative with their colorful "arm parties" and I just had to join in on the fun. I will take any excuse to pile on the sparkle.

And here's the birthday boy, wearing the exact same shirt that I got him for his birthday last year. I should also mention that it was his older brother Jerod's birthday as well. By the way, in case you're curious, that isn't cake. It's Boston cream pie - yum!

Here are Luke and Jerod (with their grandma in the background) blowing out their candles. None of us actually had any pie afterwards because we were still stuffed from the amazing homemade mac and cheese dinner that we had about an hour before.

Anyway...that's all, my dear readers. Sorry to cut this short but it is late and I'm pretty tired. Have a lovely Sunday!

Outfit Details:

Black Lace Trimmed Cami: V1 Couture. Aqua Skirt: Vince Camuto. Red Flats: Zigisoho. Bee Pendant Necklace: Betsey Johnson. Embellished Friendship Bracelets: Charlotte Russe. Crystal Bracelets: Forever 21. Bee Purse: Dooney & Burke.

Wordless Wednesday - "Beautiful"

2012-09-05T20:35:00.001-07:00

via Tumblr.

Style Post 9.4.12

2012-09-04T23:30:00.000-07:00

I've always believed that dressing up can make even the most ordinary days feel more special. Today was just another one of those ordinary late summer afternoons. I spent the day running errands and having lunch with my mom, grandma, and brother. Afterwards, I went over to Luke's house and we ended up being lazy together, just watching the Angels beat the A's on TV. To be honest, I probably could have gotten away with just wearing a tank top and his basketball shorts - which I have at least two pairs of at home. Instead, I decided to wear this unique bright pink top and my favorite little black shorts.

I found this fabulous pink top on sale at Anthropologie. (SCORE!) I love love love the twisted v-neckline and how this neat little detail is repeated with the twisted waistband. I am especially fond of the color. Even though it looks neon in these photos, this top is actually more of a raspberry pink color in real life.

Do you like how I paired this super bright outfit with a pale pastel pink bag? It was totally unintentional. I took longer than I intended doing my makeup and I didn't have time to transfer my wallet, phone, and other necessities into another purse. You know what though? I really liked how these two colors looked together. Here's another example of how great bright and pastel colors can look together.

This photo is another one of those "happy accidents." I tried to take a picture of my Juicy Couture charm bracelet, but it ended up completely out of focus. Instead, all of the focus was on my neckline (and a bit of boobage, haha). I love how this photo ended up highlighting my favorite part of this top.

Outfit Details:
Bright Pink Top: Rio Rao (Anthropologie). Black Shorts: Charlotte Russe. Pale Pink Bag: Juicy Couture. Black Flats: Report. Charm Bracelet: Juicy Couture. Crystal Bracelets: Forever 21.

Inspired by Pink Wedding Gowns

2012-09-03T12:16:00.002-07:00

Although I am neither engaged nor planning to be for a while (I'm only 23. That's still considered young, right?), I love looking through wedding blogs and admiring other ladies' choices of gowns, bridesmaids' dresses, flowers, hair ideas, and other lovely little details. My friend Ruth calls this "wedding stalking" and I definitely agree. However, I think a prettier way to phrase it would be "gathering inspiration for that special someday." Haha, no. I like "wedding stalking" better.

Anyway, I have fallen in love with the idea of wearing a blush or rose colored gown for my special someday. Not only is pale pink incredibly romantic, but I honestly can't imagine any skin tone that this color wouldn't flatter. Imagine the styling possibilities too: an all white bouquet bursting with beautiful peonies or garden roses for an ultra romantic look, anemones and little black dresses for your bridesmaids for sophisticated contrast, and even deep red or burgundy accents for a Valentine's Day wedding. Are you convinced yet? Here are some more gorgeous pale pink wedding gowns for you to admire:

Left: This pastel ombre dress is unique yet classy with its simple silhouette. (source)
Right: Gorgeous as it is, this dress would also look lovely with sparkly accessories. (source)

Left: Not quite ready to embrace pink? This dress is more of an oatmeal color. (source)
Right: I'm not a huge fan of the neckline, but the sequin flowers are stunning. (source)

Left: Elegant gown in a lovely shade of pink. I love the 3/4 sleeves too. (source)
Right: This pink gown is the ultimate princess dress. (source)

Left: Look closely. This ruffly dress has sheer and sparkly illusion sleeves! (source)

Right: This is my dream dress! Ivory with a few touches of pink. (source)

Way back in May, Lucas and I had a chat about what our future wedding would be like. He said what I'm sure any girl would love to hear: "We can do whatever you want. As long as you're happy." But then he quickly added, "But no pink!" I suppose we'll just have to see about that when the time comes. ;) Until then, I am perfectly happy with my wedding stalking.

Would you wear a pink wedding gown?

Vote for GSROC!

2012-09-02T16:06:00.000-07:00

source

Dear followers,

I would like to take some time off of regular fashion/lifestyle blogging to share a cause that is very dear to me. I am a volunteer for German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County (GSROC), a non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing German Shepherds and finding them new, loving homes. We are a 100% volunteer-run organization that has no paid staff and no government support. Click here to learn more about our mission.

We are currently entered in Projects for Paws, a contest sponsored by The Animal Rescue Site and Petfinder.com. The grand prize is $3000 grant, which will definitely help us in our efforts to save more lives and help with the costs of running the rescue.

I ask that you please take a moment and vote for 'FUREVER' HOME, the GSROC entry. There is no registration required and it really just takes a few seconds. The contest ends on 9/17/12 and I will be forever grateful if you vote for us daily. Also, please feel free to share this post. Thank you again, my amazing followers. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your Sunday.

xoxo Gayle

August Recap

2012-09-01T22:27:00.003-07:00

Happy first day of September, dear followers! I don't know about you, but September has always been an exciting time for me. There was always the anticipation of starting school again and the promise of cooler weather. I do (kind of) miss being in school, but I know there are still exciting times ahead...and of course, job hunting. For now, I'd like to share all of my favorite August memories. Enjoy!

Beach day with Lucas. Believe it or not, this day was the first time we had gone to the beach together in two years. I know, we're not the typical Southern Californians. I am really glad we went on this day about three weeks ago because the weather couldn't have been more perfect. We started the day off by having lunch on the sand at Newport Beach, but we left right after because it was way too crowded. Afterwards, we drove down the Pacific Coast Highway and found the most perfect little beach in Corona Del Mar. It was quite a long and exhausting walk to get down there (see the middle photo), but the crystal blue water and endless sunshine were worth the hike. Oh and by the way, I almost lost my bikini top while trying to swim under a wave. Even with that embarrassing moment, this beach day was amazing.

Several days later, Lucas and I decided to go on a nighttime adventure. We usually just go on short walks or bike rides, but on that night, he drove us to Laguna Beach. We drove past a eclectic town full of art galleries, gay bars, and little boutiques and ended up in a very nice neighborhood with very expensive houses and a private beach. Is there anything more romantic and magical than walking along the beach at night? I think not. It was so dark that we couldn't tell where the sky and ocean met. I am pretty bummed that it was too dark to take any pictures that night. Still, I figured it was worth sharing this story with all of you. :)

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned before that one of my favorite places to shop is the Irvine Spectrum. About a week ago, I had lunch at The Cheesecake Factory with my mom, grandma, and brother. I have a few favorite dishes from that restaurant, but on that day, I was in the mood to try something new. I ordered the Moroccan Chicken which is now my new favorite. Seriously. It was grilled spiced chicken breasts with couscous, asparagus, onions, tomatoes, and almonds. I ate every last bite and my taste buds were singing the entire time. After having lunch, my mom and I went shopping at one of our favorite stores, Anthropologie. Even if I can't afford half of the things in that store, I always love exploring every nook and cranny. I like imagining how I'd decorate my future house with mismatched plates hanging on the wall and whimsical touches like this tassel light fixture. Isn't that chameleon dessert plate the cutest thing ever? I use mismatched plates and bowls to store and display all of my jewelry. I'm thinking that maybe I want to add this plate to my collection.

Oh yes, and discovering a new bakery that sells French macarons was another highlight of August! I remember how excited I was when I discovered that other local bakery that sold macarons. (See this post.) This new bakery is in the middle of a very busy Asian shopping and dining center so I was surprised that they actually sold macarons too. I love how these are slightly bigger and have more filling than the other ones I got before. I also really love the packaging that these little lovelies come in. This purple box is almost as pretty as the famous Ladurée box! I still have this box and I have no idea what I should use it for - I don't know, maybe a pencil case? - but for now, I am content with having it sitting pretty on my desk.

My mom's favorite bakery is also in that shopping center. 85 Degrees is almost always ridiculously crowded. I remember one evening we waited in line for over half an hour just to get inside the bakery! They don't sell my precious macarons here, but they do have several savory buns and other types of bread. My mom purchased three orders of their Brioche, which is delicious with jam or just by itself. After stocking up on fresh bread and other baked goods, we had a quick sushi lunch. Pictured here are two of my favorites from that revolving sushi place: seared mackerel and fried sweet potatoes.

A few days ago, I ran some errands at Target and Rite Aid. I came home with these four lovely shades of pastel green and pink nail polish. (In case it isn't obvious yet, can you tell that pale green and pink are my favorite colors in the world?) I had a really hard time deciding which combination of pastel and sparkle to try first. After all, who can choose between two favorite colors? In the end, I ended up painting my nails with my new pink Essie nail polishes. I used "Sugar Daddy" as a base and topped it with "A Cut Above." I must say that so far, I am really impressed by Essie nail polishes. I'm not sure why, but almost all of the pastel nail polishes I own tend to bubble. I'm happy to report that my nails were bubble free!

To conclude an amazing month of August, I went to a Angels game with my boyfriend, mom, and brother. I've lost count of how many games Lucas and I have attended, but it was my mom and brother's first game. We had AMAZING seats. Like, almost in foul ball territory amazing. I don't remember what the score was that night. I want to say 9-2, but whatever it was, YAY! The Angels won. I know I've been complaining about the heat and wishing that fall would just get here already, but to be honest I'm really going to miss summer mostly because of baseball season.

By the way, I hope you don't think I look too creepy in the bottom right photo. Why yes, I was posing with a huge picture of Dan Haren. And yes, I was wearing a t-shirt with his name and number on it. Creepy? Yeah, maybe just a little. Haha. The best part was that my wonderful boyfriend took this photo. He told me that the next time we go to the mall, he's going to do the same thing with a picture of a Victoria's Secret model. I told him that somehow that would be a whole lot creepier than what I was doing. ;)

So that's it! Those were some of the best moments of August for me. How has your summer been?

Pixel Me Pretty

2012-08-19T18:59:00.000-07:00

My life in photos 8.06.12 - 8.19.12. See more of my Instagram photos here.

Hello, dear readers! I'm sorry that my blogging has been rather sporadic lately. I have no real excuse other than I've been enjoying my summer, but haven't been taking enough pictures to document it. Oops! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy my latest round of Instagram photos anyway.

My parents decided that they wanted to eat Filipino food one day, so we drove up to Cerritos to try Salo Salo Grill. I have a confession: I don't really like Filipino food that much, even though it is the food of my people. Haha. Still, this little restaurant did have some yummy dishes.

My order came with some kind of egg drop soup. I know that this picture probably doesn't make it look very appetizing, but it was pretty good. I enjoyed the mushrooms in this soup.

This was the combo plate that I ordered: chicken, pork, and shrimp skewers, mussels, egg rolls, and rice. It was all delicious and I ended up eating everything but one or two egg rolls.

Oh, and here's something that totally brightened up my day. My friend Gaby sent me a letter in response to the letter I sent her. She received her letter just fine. I on the other hand...well, I think the picture speaks for itself. It arrived looking just like this, complete with an apology from the US Postal Service. If you can recall, this isn't my first piece of mail that has arrived looking like this. Remember this postcard? On the bright side, even though the entire envelope was literally torn in half, Gaby folded the letter in a way that left about 90% of the text intact. Yay!

Here's my Starbucks cup (with my name spelled correctly again!) from yesterday's shopping trip at the Spectrum. It was a Mocha Cookie Crumble, which was perfectly yummy and indulgent. I was a little disappointed though because the Starbucks by my house makes this drink with chocolate whipped cream!

Every time I'm at the Spectrum, I always have to pop into Anthropologie and admire pretty much everything in the store. This bed made my heart flutter. Isn't it gorgeous? It reminds me of a gypsy wagon or a super fancy Bedouin tent.