travels | cancun part II

Wedding time! I haven't been to a wedding in so long, and this time the couple is pretty close to me in age! When I was little it was always adults much older than me, but my godsis and now godbro-in-law are only seven years older than me!

The thought of having your wedding on the beach already sounds lovely. In person, it was beautiful! Although it was a small wedding, it was still so breathtaking. My godsis arrived in a horse carriage! It was like a true fairy tale. After seeing several brides arrive in horse carriages, I definitely want to arrive in something extraordinary; I told my mom I want to ride on an elephant but that might be a bit TOO extraordinary. The natural lighting makes taking pictures great, I'm sure the professional photographers got amazing pictures. After the ceremony, there was cocktail hour which was on the grass just above the sand area. At 6PM, the reception started in a gazebo right by the beach. The vibes in the gazebo were so perfect, the calm sounds from the waves, the light, relaxing breeze, and the fresh air. As an appetizer, as shown in the picture above, it was a seafood salad. Does that rectangle thing not look like fish?! I thought it was fish until I took a bite of it, and it was pineapple! I don't like shrimp though so I just gave that to my mom. Next appetizer was a ravioli in soup, the ravioli was delicious! But they skimped on the meat and they only gave one. For the main dish, I had steak with some spaghetti underneath. It was eh, I would probably give it a 2.5. The steak was cooked well but it lacked sauce and seasoning, and the spaghetti was super bland since there was barely any sauce. After the reception, my mom and I went to the buffet to eat more since we weren't that full (all in-clusive woo woo)

Sweater: Forever 21 ✕ Dress: Agaci ✕ Heels: Charlotte Russe ✕ Belt: Ebay

Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Kevin Ma 

Welcome to the Godfam, Kevin :)

travels | cancun part I

I got lucky enough to escape the brutal weather of New York City this past weekend. My godsister had a destination wedding in Cancun, Mexico! It was just my mom and I this vacation. We left on Friday at around 10AM, getting us to Cancun at around 2. Yes, that mirror picture was my ootd to the airport, so I was wearing a dress and sandals in 2 degree weather. God bless the uniqlo puffer jackets because they are so thin and convient, fold it up and it doesn't take up a lot of room.  We stayed at the Moon Palace (Nizuc area), and once we arrived they gave us those pretty flowers.  I absolutely love peonies, and these reminded me of mini peonies but my mom told me that these were carnations and they're the cheapest flowers out there.  We checked in, but our room wasn't ready so we headed straight to one of the buffets. I'm a super picky eater, so the buffet as a whole was alright, but there were definitely a few dishes that I did really enjoy.

Both my parents don't drink. So I wasn't expecting to be drinking at all this trip, but my godsis convinced my mom to let me drink!! I was shocked. I don't know if all midori sours in Mexico taste like this, but it wasn't the usual midori sour that I get in the city. It tasted like green juice with a bit of alcohol in my opinion. I prefer midori sours in the city. We had dinner at a Brazilian Steakhouse in our resort, and it was a new experience. One of the meats, not really sure what it was, but it was deliciouuus. Definitely need to go to a Brazilian Steakhouse in the city; my godsister said there's a really good one in Tribeca so I must go! After dinner, it was still early so my mom and I just decided to stroll along and explore the resort. The pool area was so nice, and we took some pictures.  It wasn't even 11 when we got back to the room, but I was ready to pass the hell out.  We took showers, washed up, and I ended up knocking out at around 11:30. (For those who don't know, I am a night owl and I usually sleep around 3.) 

Dress: Forever 21 ✕ Vest: Forever 21 ✕ Bag: Target ✕ Hat: Soho streets

(I have no idea where my sandals are from)

travels | pennsylvania

Last week, February 7th, Kyle, Willie, and I headed to Pennsylvania to spend time with Bianca to celebrate her birthday.  She wanted to go to a shooting range, and that has been on my bucket list for a while! I was actually really scared and nervous since it was my first time, but it was actually really fun.  It was super loud even with the ear protectors on.  There were people in the same area as us shooting with a huge rifle looking gun and the noise was extremely loud, and left a nasty after-smell.  We were split into 3 pairs and we had 100 bullets per pair so I got to shoot 50.  It was pretty relaxing. I would definitely go again.

We had reservations at La Calaca Feliz, a Mexican restaurant in Philly, which is 40 minutes away from Bianca's apartment. First we ordered appetizers to share: traditional guac, crab guac, ceviche, and nachos with brisket. I am a bit allergic to avocado so guac makes my throat itchy but I looove crab so I had to give the crab guac a try.  It was SO good and I don't even like guac, but I could only eat so much because my throat started to get itchy. The ceviche was pretty good as well; the other times I've eaten ceviche it was in a bowl and eaten with a spoon, but here it was topped on a chip and was more of a finger-food. We ordered the nachos with brisket as an add-on, and it was okay.  For my entree I got baja fish tacos because I love fish tacos.  But.. I've definitely had better and these were just alright.  I would prefer Grey Dog's fish tacos over these any day! I also tried white sangria for the first time and it was actually pretty good, I tried red sangria multiple times and I've never liked it. 

I love going to different cities to eat and explore! Can't wait for more travel adventures :)

Shooting Range: Targetmaster ✕ Restaurant: La Calaca Feliz

haul | sephora

A few months ago, Weylie mentioned an eyebrow gel that actually helped growth of her brows.  After overplucking for the past few years, my already sparse brows are extremely sparse now.  So I finally decided to go and purchase the brow gel she talked about.  Since I was going to order the gel I decided to just make the minimum shipping price so I shopped around a little more.  Here's my mini haul from Sephora!

Since it's super cold and dry out my hands have been so dehydrated and dry!  I was browsing through Sephora's site and this caught my eye.  Yes, the packaging caused me to make this purchase.. The color, the fonts, and the name "Hand Food."  Read the reviews and they were fairly high.  Then I kept browsing and saw this body scrub, and my legs have little dots on them, which I have no idea what they are, but supposedly this will make those little bumps go away!  So I thought to give it a shot.  The hand cream smells good I guess, not what I would normally buy, but at least it's not a strong floral smell. 

I. love. face. masks.  So I didn't even hesitate to try this.  There were a selection of "flavors" which all specialized in helping different problems.  I leaned toward the green tea one because my skin gets super oily throughout the day so I love mattifying products.  Plus I have pimples which led to pimple scars so anything to try to minimize them.  First off, I thought there were two masks.. but it turned out it was just a folder-type thing and inside a pocket was only one mask. One mask for $6 is ridiculous if you ask me.  It felt like any regular mask and when I first applied it, it smelled like alcohol in my opinion.  I won't be purchasing these Sephora masks again!  I can definitely find masks for way cheaper.

I just took advantage of some promo code that allowed me to get a free deluxe sample with my order over a certain amount.  None of the choices really appealed to me so I just settled with this.  By the way, this is Tata Harper's Regenerating Cleanser.  Don't know when I'll try it, don't know if I will, but it was free.  Always accept free stuff.

This is the brow gel I was talking about earlier, and I mean I just started using it so I am unsure of the results and if it will actually stimulate hair growth.  If it does I will definitely update you girls! I know lots of girls suffer from sparse brows due to overplucking or just genetics, and as Weylie would say, gotta help a sista out!

plaid lady

The weather in NYC has been horrible recently!  I have 7PM Monday night classes and I still have no idea what my professor looks like because the past two weeks have been cancelled due to safety hazards.  This week all streets and sidewalks were full of ice and it was dangerous to walk and to drive.  It's supposed to snow again tonight and then again on Sunday.  Does that mean I won't have Monday class yet again..? (Not really complaining though)

This is favorite flannel because the fit is perfection, and red flannels are always nice.  I love flannels that have a loose and baggy fit but aren't TOO oversized.  I decided to throw on a black cropped sweater because it's cold as hell outside and to add a little more dimension and change up my usual flannel & leggings outfit.  Layers are always great because you can put together different outfits with the same clothing pieces, and it'll keep you warm while still looking cute and stylish.

The bottom two pictures are of Evelyn and I.  I've been friends with her since we were sophomores in high school and she has grown to be one of my closest girls.  She's usually the one behind the camera for most of my #ootd pictures.  I love how these photos really show our different styles and how different we would style a basic plaid flannel.  You'd never catch me wearing a beanie, and you'll definitely never catch her wearing disco pants.  Love ya skittz, I know you're reading :)

Definitely need to start eating healthier and working out at least a little because ya girl's legs getting chunky and my tummy's not cute.  Plus I need to be beach bod ready for SPRANG BREAK cause we out to Dominican Republic in April!  I'm extremely excited weeeee.  

Top: Forever 21 ✕ Sweater: H&M ✕ Pants: American Apparel ✕ Shoes: Steve Madden  ✕ Hat: Soho

blanket or scarf?

As many of you should know, there was the whole blanket scarf trend happening the past few months but I just recently got one of my own.  I've been searching for one but either the color wasn't right or the price was just ridiculous.  I actually ordered this on cyber monday from sheinside.com but I got it this month.. I forgot I even ordered it until the package arrived.  I love dark colored plaid so this really appealed to me AND it was less than $20, if I remember correctly it was about $16!

This is seriously PERFECT for cold winter days because it's a flannel material and it works for different purposes.  While at work the other day, the office was a bit cold so I unwrapped the scarf from my neck and I just opened it and put it over my shoulders so it worked like a blanket/shawl type accessory.  I was sitting at my desk, typing and my boss walks by me and goes "you brought your own blanket?!"  It cracked me up because that really shows the versatility of these blanket scarves, is it a blanket or is it a scarf?  I'm definitely going to look for more of these because winter has only begun and the weather keeps getting colder and colder.  

Today's Superbowl Sunday and I am being forced to watch it for the commercials for my marketing class.  But hey, my dad said we could order pizza and wings so that made it a little better.  I am NOT a football fan whatsoever and I could care less but I am rooting for Seahawks only because of Itsjudytime!  I love her vlogs, her family is so cute, and they're from Seattle so why not.  I'll probably wrap myself in a blanket tonight since it has been ridiculously cold these past few days!  I came to write this post because I'm trying to do everything BUT my Metaphysics homework (procrastination to its fullest) but now I must get back to work.  Hope everyone has a great Superbowl Sunday and stay warm!

Jacket: Forever 21 ✕  Top: H&M ✕  Leggings: Forever 21 ✕  Shoes: Steve Madden ✕  Scarf: SheInside