Christmas 2016

Oh my goodness it's been a while since I've posted on here! If you're following my Instagram account @lesoleilchic, you'll notice that I occasionally post outfit pictures on there even though I haven't been posting on the blog. I am happy to say, though, that I've officially completed my first year of grad school! It's kept me very busy all year long and I finally have a somewhat extended break (5 weeks!) until the next semester begins in mid-January. It all passed by so fast. So much has happened in the past year, but I'm thankful to be where I am and I'm looking forward to what 2017 has in store.

This year for Christmas I am wearing the Renee Green Alpine dress from Lindy Bop with my Red Varah Heels from BAIT Footwear. Thankfully I got these pictures a week ago because it's been raining hard here these past few days! Which is pretty much the extent of our winter in Southern California. I just love the festive print of this dress, and how cute is the matching cropped jacket that it came with? I've really been loving the prints on Lindy Bop dresses lately.

Dress: Lindy Bop (different cut)

Heels: BAIT Footwear

Belt: Sidecca

Necklace: Forever 21

Bag and Bracelet: Kate Spade

Underskirt: Pinup Girl Clothing

Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year, a season of joy, love, and time with family. But besides the festive lights, decorations, gift-giving, and warm cozy feelings, Christmas stands for so much more; we celebrate Jesus' birth! How amazing is it that God loved us so much that He became man, came to this broken world as Jesus Christ, and died to save us from sin? I can't imagine a greater love than that!

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

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

Scaredy Cat

I've really been into gold accessories lately. I feel like the sparkly, "shimmery-ness" of gold really breaks up the solid colors of an outfit. Over the weekend I wore this super-cute kitty print dress with, you guessed it, gold accessories. I'm normally a dog person (omg-- I can never have enough of dog print ANYTHING), but this was too adorable of a dress to pass up. I mean, the kitties are at the theaters, and they are watching a scary movie! How cute is that!

My favorites are the orange kitty who is knitting, and the gray kitty eating "kitty corn" with her cute purple purse. And oh my goodness, the brown kitty closing his eyes! And the two holding each other. They are all so cute!

Outfit Details:

Dress: Retrolicious by Folter via ModCloth

Cardigan: Unique Vintage

Necklace: ModCloth

Hair Bow and Belt: Sidecca

Purse: Vintage (my mom's)

Tights: ModCloth

Shoes: ModCloth

I hope everyone has a blessed Sunday <3.

"But Jesus looked at them and said to them, 'With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'"

Matthew 19:26

California Winter

Happy Monday everyone! Last Friday, I met up with Ashley of Southern California Belle for coffee and shopping, and of course we couldn't part ways without taking some outfit photos too! I met Ashley about a year ago through a clothing swap group on Facebook-- I recognized her profile picture from ModCloth's Style Gallery, and a few weeks later we both ended up going to the Pinup Girl Clothing's yard sale and meeting each other in person there! We have hung out a few times since then and it's always been fun; she's such a sweet person with incredible style ;).

After shopping on Friday, we drove around a bit looking for a nice place to take pictures. We ended up going to this beautiful park which is close to where I live. It's crazy how much time I've spent at this park as a child, and how many of my birthdays have been held here! Now, coming here serves a whole new purpose-- a beautiful spot for outfit shots :). Anyway, the pictures from today's post are taken with Ashley's camera, so I have her to thank for them. I learned a few posing and camera tricks from her too :). I am wearing my green Closet dress (one of my first ModCloth purchases!) with a red belt and a yellow flower crown. I love the combination of these three colors and have worn them together in a different outfit before.

Outfit Details:

Dress: Closet Clothing

Belt: Sidecca

Flower Crown: Sidecca

Shoes: ModCloth

I've actually worn this dress before, with the same shoes but different accessories. One big change is that here I'm wearing tights. It's been a pretty warm winter in Southern California (unsurprisingly), and a pair of tights and a cardigan are usually all that are necessary to make my outfit "winter appropriate" for a typical winter day here :).

It's wonderful that bloggers can find and communicate with other bloggers from literally anywhere in the world, but being able to meet in person allows us to connect on a whole new level. I'm so glad Ashley and I both live in Southern California and we have the opportunity to get together once in a while!

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend!

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

2 Corinthians 4:18

Winter Wonderland

It's been a crazy two weeks! Edwin came back from San Diego for holiday vacation about two weeks ago and we've been trying to take advantage of every day together planning activities and outings with friends. I've also taken a few days off from work for the holidays. I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my family and New Year's with Edwin and a few friends. It all passed so fast! We have one more event coming up before the holidays are officially over: "Armenian Christmas" on January 6th. On the evening of January 5th, we will be going to a family friend's home for Christmas Eve dinner. There is historical background as to why Christmas Day is celebrated on January 6th in Armenia (though in America, Armenian-Americans get together for Christmas Eve dinner on both December 24th and January 5th). If you're interested, you can read more about its history and the types of dishes prepared for dinner here and here.

As mentioned in my last post, Edwin got me this b-e-a-utiful Bernie Dexter dress in the Winter Wonderland print as my Christmas gift this year. I wore it both on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I love it so much and because it's a seasonal dress, I am trying to wear it on as many occasions as possible while I can :). I'm sharing a few photos of my outfit from Christmas Day. I switched out the white belt the dress came with for a gold bow-belt to match my gold headband and shoes.

Outfit Details:

Dress: Bernie Dexter

Petticoat: Leg Avenue

Belt: Sidecca

Shoes: Qupid

Necklace: Forever 21

Cardigan (shown in some photos): Unique Vintage

It doesn't look like it, but it was SO cold the day we were taking these pictures that we would run back to the car every few minutes to warm up and come back out to take more pictures! For us Southern Californians, 35 degrees Fahrenheit is freezing... 

What did you wear on Christmas this year? I'd love to know! I hope everyone has a blessed Sunday :).

The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (which means "God with us"). 

Matthew 1:23