Winter Wonderland @ Mammoth Lakes, CA

We took a spontaneous trip to Mammoth Lakes this past weekend and when I found out a few feet of fluffy snow was awaiting us, I knew I had to pack my Bernie winter dress. I was a little hesitant at first since I wasn’t sure if the weather would be too cold for a dress (even for a few minutes to snap some pics), but I packed it anyway knowing it may be my only chance for beautiful scenery that matched my dress. Thankfully, the weather ended up being sunny and perfect! It wasn’t cold at all, but my feet did get a little cold since I almost fell a few times trying to balance in the snow. Packing this outfit (dress, petticoat, shoes) took up almost half of my luggage space, but it was so worth it. The backdrop was just beautiful! I wore the dress with my Sammy Snow Dog Erstwilder brooch and cream heels from Modcloth.

Outfit Details:

Dress: Bernie Dexter
Brooch: Erstwilder

Cardigan: Sidecca

Petticoat: Leg Avenue
Tights: Unique Vintage
Shoes: Modcloth

I’m officially in week 5 of Semester 1 of my occupational therapy master's program. It’s going great so far; I'm enjoying all my classes. Going back to school after working for 3 years has definitely been a huge adjustment, but I’m happy to be transitioning from a research-oriented job to a more clinical one. The program is about 2.5 years and, God willing, I'll be graduating in May 2018. I’m excited to see what God has in store for me as I start this new chapter :).

Valentine's Day is coming up! Does anyone have plans? My boyfriend and I just celebrated our 6 year dating anniversary and because it always falls so close to V-day, we don’t usually do anything big. But it’s a great excuse to dress up of course! I'm not sure what I'll be wearing yet, but I'm certain there will be lots of red and hearts involved :).

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

Unique Vintage #iamunique Campaign!

In honor of Unique Vintage's #iamunique campaign, today's post is going to be about my personal style and how it has evolved over the years. A few years ago I probably would have had trouble answering the question, "what makes you unique?". That's because I realize how much my style today contributes to who I am. Before I got more invested in fashion, I’d always had a "hidden" knack for vintage-inspired style (hidden because I didn't know what the style I liked was called). During college I was way too focused on school to worry about what I was wearing. Jeans and a t-shirt were perfectly fine most days. What’s kind of funny is that my college roommate was a model; she had a lot of clothes and was very invested in fashion. I didn’t care much for it back then but maybe her morning outfit rituals subconsciously influenced my eventual interest in fashion!

My going-out outfits weren’t clothes I necessarily loved but bought anyway because they were currently trending. On one occasion 5 years ago, I saw what I thought was the cutest polka dot dress at H&M. I fell in love with it immediately and bought it even though it was different from mainstream style. At the time I didn’t know it was called a swing dress or that it was vintage style, I just loved the fact that the skirt would twirl when I spun. I wore it once to a daytime birthday and put it away for years. Now I realize that the dress is the only piece of clothing from my former wardrobe that falls in line with my current style. So, I feel like I have always loved vintage-inspired clothing but never fully embraced it until recently. Below is a picture of me wearing it back in 2009!

Three years ago I discovered stores and online boutiques that specialize in or carry vintage-inspired clothing, which was also around the time I graduated and started working (to you know, fund my new fashion hobby...). Slowly over time my wardrobe transformed with fit-and-flare dresses, novelty print tops and skirts, and vintage style shoes. Today, the way I dress has become a part of my identity. I feel like how I dress isn't "the norm" and I like that it's different. I love any occasion to dress up; whether it’s a casual outing with friends, a fancy date night, or just to run errands. My interest in fashion has helped me to embrace the style I really love and made me more confident in how I look and present myself to other people. It doesn't matter who you are and what your style is, as long as how you dress makes you feel good about yourself. And I think this is what makes us all unique in our own way :).

UV is one of the stores I discovered in my fashion-makeover journey and it has quickly become one of my favorite places to buy vintage-inspired clothing. I own a few things from them that I treasure dearly. I'm lucky to live driving-distance to their Burbank Boutique so I've been able to drop into the actual store a few times, too! Also, I was so excited a few weeks ago when I got chosen as one of the lucky winners on their Instagram contest (and I never win contests, haha...thanks UV<3)! I got to pick an Erstwilder brooch to keep, and being the owner of a maltipoo, I went with Paige the Prancing Poodle. I love how all of their brooches come with a little story in the packaging! Below are a few recent pictures of the H&M dress styled differently (many years later) and also a picture of me wearing the Poodle brooch on my doggy's 5th birthday :).

Critters on Bikes

I knew I had to have this orange Knitted Dove gingham dress the moment I saw it! It has the cutest print at the hem: owls and squirrels sitting on bicycles. I wore it a few days ago and paired it with my "Grouchy Bear" Erstwilder brooch; a bear riding a bicycle couldn't have been a better match for this dress!

I discovered Erstwilder a few months ago when I saw other bloggers wearing cute little critter brooches with their outfits. I was lucky to get my first Erstwilder brooch, Paige the Prancing Poodle, as one of the winners on Unique Vintage's giveaway contest on Instagram (thanks UV <3)!!! I loved my poodle brooch and ended up purchasing a few more from an Australian eBay seller. My collection has slowly been growing since :).

I initially took these photos at a park close to where I live. It was the first time I went by myself with a tripod and used the camera's 10-second timer feature. It's one thing when you're with someone else and they're taking pictures of you, but it's a whole other thing when you're by yourself setting up the camera, clicking the shutter button, and running to pose in front of it. I have to say it got pretty awkward at times with people staring as they passed by. I didn't get too many nice shots at the park (plus it wasn't the best time of the day for ideal lighting) so I just had my sister take some with my iPhone later... so much easier and faster too! I commend all you ladies who take outfit pictures by yourselves...

Outfit Details:  Brooch: Erstwilder
Dress: Knitted Dove
Cardigan: Unique Vintage
Petticoat: Leg Avenue
Shoes: Loly in the Sky
Hat: Kaitlyn Bag: Michael Kors

Summer is fast approaching, which means applications to grad schools are opening up soon! That is probably the part about summer I'm least looking forward to. Anyone have any fun summer plans in the works?

An Apple A Day...

It's good to be back! After my last post, I went on an un-announced haitus from posting on here (I HAVE been posting somewhat regularly on my Instagram and Style Gallery accounts, though!). So, what have I been up to these past few months? Well, in a nutshell, work and classes. We've had some major holidays like Valentine's Day and Easter in the past few months so there's been family gatherings, church events, and friends/boyfriend outings mixed in there. For the most part I've been balancing two classes, two part-time jobs, and volunteering once a week. It's been pretty manageable actually; I think what drains me the most is the commute! I live about 20 miles from West Los Angeles, where I work. It not so bad distance-wise, it's the frequent stop-and-go traffic that makes it a little daunting sometimes. So a lot of my day is spent driving. Thankfully my playlist of Christian music makes the drive more enjoyable :).

I have a back-log of photos that I'll be sharing over the next few weeks! I want to start with an outfit I wore back in February for Valentine's Day and also a few days ago on Monday. I didn't have my usual Monday class since it was spring break this week (and Edwin took the day off from work) so we spent it together with lunch and a relaxing visit to a local park. It was a much needed break! 

Below is the outfit from Valentine's Day:

This dress was my third Bernie Dexter purchase in the Veronique cut. I've mentioned before how much I love this cut, and the print on this one was way too lovely to pass up (which BD print isn't lovely?!). It features a valley/forest scene with a running stream and cute details like a boat, bridge, and even a tiny squirrel! And, how cute is this apple bag by Nila Anthony? I'd been looking for a new red purse for a while now, and when I came across this one I knew I had to have it. It's red, so it goes with so many outfits! And I always get compliments on it :).

These last two pictures were taken this past Monday. My outfit is generally the same as above, except I wore a woven sunhat and my blue BAIT Ida heels instead of hair flowers and red pumps.

 Outfit Details:

Dress: Bernie Dexter (different cut)

Cardigan: ModCloth

Purse: Nila Anthony via Unique Vintage (on sale!)

Red pumps: Aldo // Blue Spectators: BAIT Footwear (similar)

Hair flowers: Hand-made // Sunhat: ModCloth

I hope everyone has been doing well! I can't wait to catch up on my reading list this weekend and see what you've been up to :).