Mission San Juan Capistrano

Hello, all! I am so sorry for my lack of posting! It has been quite the busy summer but I am hoping I will get the chance to post more often. Anyway, I decided to visit Mission San Juan Capistrano before summer comes to an end. I wanted to wear something cute, fun, and comfortable and knew this Free People romper would be perfect for the occasion. I will admit that I was very anti-rompers before: being 5'1 I felt that they would make me look younger and that they would fit awkwardly. I am glad FP proved me wrong! It's made of a beautiful cotton crochet with an open back that gives it a boho-chic feel to it and it falls effortlessly, almost dress-like. For our trip visiting Californian history, I wanted to keep it more simple so I wore minimal jewelry and simple shoes and then topped it off with a bowler hat. This isn't a romper that'll go away in the fall, on the contrary, I can't wait to layer it and style it for chillier days. Stay tuned for that!

xo
A.

Romper & Crochet Canvas Bowler: Free People
Purse: vintage 1960s--ebay
Sunglasses: American Apparel
Camera: Fujifilm Instax 8
Lipstick: Lime Crime

Happy Independence Day

Happy Fourth of July! It is nice and hot today in Southern California and I am lucky enough to be spending it at the pool and BBQ; pretty typical, I know. I hope you all spend today cooling off and eating a copious amount of hot dogs! And if you're on the East Coast, keep safe from Hurricane Arthur.
As far as Fourth of July outfits go: don't over do it. Dressing in stars and stripes is cute when you're in grade school but now as an adult opt for chic options. An all white outfit perhaps with a pop of red shoes or accessories is a fun and easy way to show patriotism. Plus, it'll be items you can easily wear all summer long in different combinations; as opposed to buying a Fourth of July t-shirt you can only wear once a year. Have fun with it, but remember a little red, white, and blue will go a long way.

Have fun, everyone!

(Outfit details below)

White dress, floral water resistant dress & sunglasses: American Apparel
Polka Dotted belt: thrifted
Red shoes: Prabal Gurung for Target
Sun hat: bought at Coachella

Hello, June

I definitely did not plan on taking this month-long hiatus, but it's summer and it feels so great to get started again! It's been absolutely beautiful in Southern California; a little bit of June gloom in the morning, but the sun shines through the afternoon making it easy for any attire. I keep my summer outfits similar every year: casual, simple and sweet. My outfit for this post reflects something I could wear to the park for a casual stroll but more put together than sweatpants and a t-shirt; it's also something I could very easily use to go to a nice lunch. For this season I look to the beach for inspiration by wearing neutral colors such as blues, sandy browns, white and sometimes when I feel a little more adventurous I'll throw in a pop of a color like pink, which also happens to be my go-to summer nail polish and lip color. For this particular look I added a black beaded necklace to add a little bit of boldness.

I also featured my Lokai bracelet that I am very excited to share with all of you! Lokai bracelets have a white and a black bead on opposite sides. The black bead contains sand from the Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth. The white bead contains water from Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. Together they bring the message, " Sometimes you've hit a low, stay hopeful. Sometimes you're on top of the world, stay humble."

Links Below:

Shorts & Sunglasses: American Apparel
Blouse: H&M
Sandals:Victoria's Secret
Bracelet: My Lokai
Necklace: Thrifted

Born Free Africa

Hello, everyone! In honor of Mother's Day, I decided to write about Born Free Africa. Born Free is a private sector led initiative to end mother-to-child HIV transmission. With just a one pill a day children born to mother's with HIV have the opportunity to live a healthy life. They will be born free. With the collaboration of Vogue, Shopbop, 22 top fashion designers and original prints by artist Wangechi Mutu all proceeds will go directly to Born Free. The designers are all mothers who support Born Free's mission and have created something beautiful for such a great cause. All items can be bought through Shopbop's website and if you have Amazon Prime you can use that for shipping and get it in two days! :D My favorite part about this is that it's women helping other women and I love that; girl power <3 

PS. I love you, Mom! Happy Mother's day :]
xo
A.

The Purse features is a Céline tote bag that has been sold out, sorry lovies. But Shopbop has many other great items to choose from! Hurry before they're gone!

#I'm4zero

Top: H&M Bottoms: Easy Jean by American Apparel Shoes:  Franco Sarto

Earth Day

Henry David Thoreau, William Blake, along with many other great authors, poets and philosophers of our time have spoken about the importance of connecting with nature. It's a part of our world and should be a part of us and our decision making. In the efforts to combine two of my favorite things (nature and fashion), I came up with a list of a few eco-friendly fashion brands:

-Study NY

-Alabama Chanin

-American Apparel

-Stella McCartney

-Honest By.

-VogueVert

-EDUN

-People Tree

etc.

**Earth Day should be an everyday thing. It's the only home we have after all.

"Nature never did betray the heart that loved her" (William Wordsworth)

Shorts: American Apparel
Shoes: Madden Girl by Steve Madden
Bracelet & floral headband: made by me
Purse: San Diego Zoo gift shop

001

Living in Southern California can be quite the challenge when trying to decide what to wear, especially in the spring when it is not too warm or too cold. What I love about this dress is that it is much warmer than it looks and the mini turtleneck helps keep me warm as well. A tip is to wear something you can layer up comfortably. I paired this dress with a denim jacket and wedges but I could easily wear a cardigan under the denim jacket and tights to keep warmer and even add a fun scarf if it gets really cold. I am queen of having extra clothes in my car because "you never know if you'll need it." Yesterday, for example, it rained for a good 10 minutes and then it stopped. And today it was perfectly sunny: Typical & unpredictable Southern California.

Dress & Shoes: H&M
Necklace: Steinmart
Denim Jacket: Levi's

First Day of Spring

To me, Spring is the start of a new year; new beginnings, creations, and the perfect time to start something fresh. For myself, it is this blog. For those of you who follow my tumblr, a special shout-out for being so patient, and for those of you just stopping by, here is a little overview of what this blog will contain: FASHION...my personal take on style, outfits of the day and since I am a student on a budget, hints and tips for exactly that. 

Welcome fashion loves and join me on this fashion train of a ride :]

Spring fever outfit 

I am wearing a vintage 1970's skirt which I cut shorter and the top is American Apparel