Tweed-y

Free People lace crop top  |  Banana Republic flared jacquard skirt  |  Free People Jackson crossbody

Mixed it up with a tweed skirt for a lunch out with my blogger babes! I got to spend time with Jo, Christine, and Nica today for a little vegan lunch and shopping.

: @jessicaswu
: @jemappellemoi

On the Marina

Wildfox tee  |  Madewell skinny ankle jeans  |  Madewell flatforms (similar)  |  Free People double layer rosary

Spending my day out on the Long Beach Marina soaking up the sun (under 80 SPF) and enjoying a light brunch in my new Wildfox tee. On the last Friday of July, I went out to the Wildfox monthly sample sale in LA with fellow blogger gals Jo of Cosmic Barbies and Amy of Vagabond Youth and Moon Riverr. Hanging out with other bloggers is wickedly fun. Common interests include near obsessive instagramming, time spent photographing each other's #ootds (yes I used a hashtag and a parentheses within a parentheses), snapping photos of our food until it's no longer hot, and shopping 'til we be dropping. Gotta say, I love my blogger gals.

: @jessicaswu
: @jemappellemoi

Lomography Winner

photos taken from that'schic.net

I'm going to attempt to come off as poised... but in all honesty, I squealed like a baby when I receive Rachel's e-mail that I won her lomography giveaway.  I'm still pretty shell-shocked, completely honored, and so excited! I'm especially pleased because Rachel rarely does giveaways, so I'm elated to have won. The lomography I'm going to be receiving is a Diana F+ Quing Hua, which has a gorgeous blue on white porcelain print and retails for $99 (If any of you are interested in picking one up for yourself!). I'm going to be receiving the Diana F+ Quing Hua complete set, which retails for about $454. I couldn't have picked a better lomography than if I had chose it myself– gorgeous colors, vintage Chinese inspiration, and hands-on skills required). I've always been intrigued by lomography cameras and how they work, so I'm beyond ecstatic to have won the giveaway. I'll also be receiving some tips and tricks on how to work this baby. There will definitely be an ensuing post about the photos I'll be taking with the lomography camera.

Check out the lomography site and all their amazing cameras. They have so many different designs and camera styles, and they even feature handpicked and popular photos taken by lomography cameras.

Coffee Cup Cafe

I've been working a lot this summer, usually from Monday to Friday, and sometimes you just need a break from the norm to jazz things up again. My eating habits have become quite monotonous as of late: yogurt or cereal for breakfast, cold turkey sandwiches or chicken mozzarella paninis (I bring a panini maker to work), sliced peaches or strawberries as a mid-day snack, and rice with protein and veggies for dinner. So this past Friday, my mom and I decided to take a spontaneous trip to Long Beach and hit up this mom and pop place called The Coffee Cup Cafe for brunch. I initially heard about this place from That's Chic when she did her Tasty Tuesday post. Her egg white, spinach, mushroom, spicy sausage scramble looked sooooo delicious that there was not doubt in my mind what to order once I got there. The shop was quiant and the staff was immensely cheerful and friendly. Our waiter was super nice and willing to help us choose our orders. We ordered the Baja Burrito (a breakfast burrito favorite), Veggie Scramble with egg whites, spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, and country potatoes, and a single slice of French Toast. Their French Toast is amazing... It was sweet and mouthwatering; I especially loved that you could order it in one, two, three slices, or in a full order. Love the options! The veggie scramble was as good as it looked, which was amazing. It even tasted good the next day. The burrito was delicious, but definitely share! It was enormous! Also especially tasty with the green verde salsa.

It was pretty genius to place two boutiques right next to the Coffee Cup Cafe, while I waited for a table, I went into Twig & Willow. It was a store filled with unique pieces from various brands. But it's highlight was their selection of jewelry made of gold, silver, and precious stones from a wide variety of brands. I loved one of their initial circle charm gold necklaces.

Long Beach is a great city for good eats and quirky shopping. I started college on Monday, and it's been an astounding and eye-opening experience so far. There's a ton of freedom on a college campus, not to mention tons of places to eat (three Starbucks baby! and a Cha for Tea across the street :D). My favorite place on campus... The Student Recreation and Wellness Center. It's the school's new gym that has an indoor track, a pool, a rock wall, basketball court, volleyball court, a raquetball court, tennis court, and numerous workout/cardio machines. It's my favorite part of campus :) I'm there every day.

I've always harbored a love for Rilakkuma, the Japanese bear, so on a recent shopping trip to Rowland Heights with my Aunt Robie and cousin Cayli (they are becoming a lovely routine), I got myself a Rilakkuma plush from Takashima Gift Store! Lately, I've been bringing Rilakkuma with me everywhere. So naturally, he came along with us to Coffee Cup Cafe. Rowland Heights shopping trip post coming soon!

Lastly, I received my UO trap ring on Monday. It was the highlight of my day! It fits perfectly, and I adore the versatility of it. I can wear it a ton of different ways on my fingers. Post on my new beloved ring coming up!

I've got LOTS of posts coming up, so stay tuned ;)

Guilty Pleasures

When I'm beat and tired at the end of the day and I need a pick-me-up, I go straight to my blog roll. Some of my favorite blogs to check out include fashiontoast (my very first fashion blog discovery), songofstyle, late afternoon, color me nana, natalie off duty, fascinationdrop, cupcakesandcashmere, I've got a lust for life, thatschic, and Emboite (food blog!).

One of my guilty pleasures is checking out this girl Mint's blog. She's based in SF and has the most unique style and I adore her review of asian beauty products, it really helps me get around when I'm shopping for beauty products at Marukai market. She's having an amazing giveaway full of false lashes, nail polishes, cute eyelash cases, colored lenses, and an HK key topper, so check it out!