PEDAL TO THE FLOOR

With my Spring Break officially coming to an end and school starting back this week,

I must admit, I'm sad that my break wasn't longer.

I've been sewing like a madwoman for the past week or so,

causing my break to be full of nothing but pin cushions and piles of fabric while my college peeps were partying it up in Miami, NYC and the Bahamas.

But I know that first comes the work....and then the play!

Rather than soaking up some sun I've been prepping for 2 fashion shows

that I'm involved in at my school next week!

So far, I've made 10 pieces but I'm shooting for 15-20 lol

I'm such an overachiever

....well, sometimes lol

And for the project I'm working on,

I decided to call it "Vanity Girl" {what a coincidence! :)}

I wanted to try my hand at something different,

and wanted to make clothes that were for that fashion savvy girl who's all about

looking fab at all times!

Since I have TONS of creating to do,

I'll leave you all with some of my inspiration for the collection!

ENJOY!!!

,

BLOW OUT THE CANDLES

I'm 21!!!!!!

Finally! I'm legal in every way, shape and form! lol

My birthday weekend got kicked off on Friday with my mom treating me to dinner

at one of my favorite restaurants, P.F. Chang's.

My mom, sisters, and boyfriend Kevin all stuffed our faces

with some good ol' Chinese cuisine.

Saturday wasn't too eventful since I had to work,

but I made sure to treat myself to some shopping lol

On Sunday

{the actual day of my birthday}

Kevin && I headed 2 Balboa Beach, were I intended to have a beach party.

However, ...lol

even though I told tons of my friends to come at around 3,

I was starting to get bored since me & Kev arrived at the beach at noon! lol

Because his family had something special planned for me,

we packed everything up and headed to L.A. instead.

We then all headed over to Venice Beach,

where we spotted a bicycle decked out in fur,

bums arguing to the point of someone getting stabbed,

and plenty of other off-the-wall things.

Being that I was finally "of age" to do anything I wanted,

I decided to see if I'd be able to buy any alcohol...

and it worked! lol

Even though the cashier guy did a double take at my i.d.

{probably since my picture was taken when I was 15}

he gave me the okay to grab whatever I wanted lol

Not that I'm the drinking type,

but it feels good to finally use my i.d. and not get rejected! haha

We walked around the beach for a while,

ate the biggest pizza I've ever had,

and pop-locked as people walked by but we didn't make any money lol

One of the homeless guys had a piano and jammed on it for me.

Even though I was a lil' freaked out by this girl asking for a knife

so she can stab the bum that she got in an argument with,

we all had a good time lol

As we headed back to the car,

we spotted the famous "Muscle Man" of Venice Beach

and everyone insisted that I take a picture with him.

After he made sure that I was at least 18

{I guess since some parents freak out at their

underaged daughters taking pics with him lol}

Kev's family shooed me toward him to snap a picture of us.

I stood there with my hands by my sides, nervous! lol

This guy was super buff and wearing the TINIEST speedo I've ever seen!

The Muscle Man told me not to be scared, and that he wouldn't bite lol

After he put both of my arms around him, he growled in my ear!!!!! lol

And with a flash from the camera,

my reaction was captured forever hahahah

After leaving Venice, we headed back to Kev's family's house,

where they sung "Happy Birthday" to me.

Once I blew out all 21 candles of my triple chocolate cake,

I smashed whipped cream into Kev's face.

He grabbed a small piece of cake and I thought he was going to do the same

but instead, he fed it to me.

And just when I thought I was off the hook,

I turned around and SPLAT!!!

Kev's uncle smashed the ENTIRE cake into my face!!!

I was in such shock that all I could do was stand there! lol

Never in my 21 years of life has that happened to me.

But I guess there's a first time for everything lol

All in all, I had a lot of fun for my birthday.

Thank you all for the love!!

Here's to another year of life! :)

SLAVING AWAY

Hey loves!!

I apologize for my lack of posting!

This week is finals week and I've been in grind-mode trying to

work on my last assignments for the quarter.

I'm currently slaving over this 15-paged paper for my ethnic studies class!

I'm on page 11, so I guess I'm on a roll! hahahhah

It's due by tomorrow evening so I'll be sure to hit you guys with a post as soon as I can!

OH!

My 21st birthday is this Sunday! :)

That's something worth mentioning lol

However, I still haven't come to a decision about how I want to celebrate.

I've been so busy that I have yet to go get my license renewed,

and since most of my closest friends aren't 21 yet,

I'll probably end up doing something thats underage friendly lol

Beach bash perhaps????

We shall see!!

JUST BE COOL

Brown old-school flip up shades: Society Boutique

Gold & pearl earrings:: Forever 21

Multi-chained necklace:: Forever 21

Cream racerback:: Forever 21

Denim vest:: Forever 21

Black belt:: Forever 21

Black acid leggings:: Forever 21

Black studded bracelet:: H&M

Taupe booties:: Forever 21

IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR

Gold & pearl earrings:: Forever 21

Gold multi-chained necklace w/ pearls:: Forever 21

Taupe short sleeve blazer:: Nordstrom

Gray ruffled vest:: Forever 21

Cream racerback tee:: Forever 21

Brown woven belt:: Forever 21

Vintage floral shorts:: Forever 21

Mint green ring:: Francesca's Collections

Gray tights:: Forever 21

Taupe booties:: Forever 21

I figured I'd give you guys a lil' peek of part one of my new tattoo!

You can catch a teeny glimpse of it on my right arm.

Be on the lookout for a post on part deux of my ink! ;)

OFF BROADWAY

So I told you guys about how I planned on taking Kev out for Valentine's Day.

Well, ever since then, he's been telling me that he had something special planned for me,

but would never tell me what it was!

Saturday, after a long day at work,

I came home to get dressed and we shot out to Hollywood.

At first he told me we were going to some party that his uncle

{who works closely w/ tons of celebs} was throwing.

I believed him...

that is until he told me that he was lying the entire time! lol

We exited Hollywood Blvd., then parked the car in a lot off of some random side street.

As we walked, I screamed when I looked up to see the Pantages Theater ahead of us,

with a huge banner advertising the showing of The Color Purple musical!!!!!!

Jumping up and down, I could do nothing but smile,

and all he could do was laugh and say "we have to walk alllllll the way down there,"

still trying to play it cool as if we weren't going to see the play.

We nearly walked past the theater entrance before he finally whipped out the tickets lol

We arrived a bit late due to there being a bit of traffic {as always} on the freeway,

but we made in the knick of time!

Kev handed the usher our tickets and all the guy could do was grin.

I thought he was being a lil' weird until he began to guide us down the aisle,

all the way down to the FIFTH ROW!

I nearly peed my pants! hahaha

There we were, sitting just a few rows from the stage...

I was blown away.

The play was phenomenal!

American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino did a stellar job in her role as Celie.

However, my favorite character in the play hands down was Sophia, played by Felicia P. Fields.

The dancing and vocal talents of everyone in the play was simply outstanding.

And the costuming was right on the money.

I wish security wasn't so anal about people taking pictures,

otherwise I would've been snapping away! lol

After my failed attempts to get a few snapshots during the play,

I decided to try one last time during the audience's standing ovation at the end.

But as soon as I had the perfect shot, a bright beaming flashlight blinded my eyes as an anger voice barked "NO PICTURES!!!" lol

So this is all I got...☟☟☟

lol hahaha

Although I thought I did pretty well this year for our Valentine's Day,

Kev definitely outdid me with this surprise! lol

That will definitely be a moment I'll never forget :)

NEON NIGHTS

I hate getting all dolled up for nothing!

"Burnt missions" {as me & my friends call it} SUCK!

There's nothing more annoying than making plans to go out for a night on the town

and things ending up far from what you originally planned.

Us college kids know how to have a good time with our house parties,

yet the police and senior citizen neighbors always beg to differ lol

I wore this fit when going out with my good friend Brittany,

yet the party we went to was....well, lame! lol

It started raining cats & dogs,

the guys were stalkerish,

the girls were being haters,

and the DJ failed to play the one song we kept requesting over & over.

{Nicki Minaj's "Itty Bitty Piggy" lol :) }

All in all, we made the best of it by getting our boogie on in our sky-high pumps ;)

Hopefully with me turning 21 next month,

my life on the party scene will be much more eventful. lol

Black fabric earring:: Forever 21

Black DimePiece racerback tee:: Society Boutique

{underneath} Black lace bustier:: Forever 21

Gold zebra plate necklace:: Forever 21

Cream skirt:: Forever 21

Neon pumps:: Forever 21

Cream bangle:: Forever 21

SEASHORE SAVVY

Contrary to this fit,

I've never been a huge fan of the nautical trend.

The infamous red, white & blue combo along with huge adorning anchors all over everything is just not my cup of tea.

But my current obsession with stripes has caused me to fall in love

with a select few sailoresque items.

Black & white striped shirt with sailor embellishments:: Forever 21

Denim sleeveless vest:: Forever 21

Brown woven belt:: Forever 21

Army green cargo pants:: Forever 21

Taupe booties:: Forever 21

Gold & pearl earrings:: Forever 21

Multi-chained necklace:: Forever 21

Black studded bracelet:: H&M

MY CHERIE AMOR

l o v e .

What would life be without it?

I never understood why people can be so bitter when it comes to Valentine's Day.

Of course we have people in our lives that we love {family/friends},

but it also includes remembering the things that we have a true passion for.

Valentine's Day is not only about celebrating the bond you share with those close to you,

it's also about embracing your own self-worth.

Whether you're livin' single, or have that special someone to snuggle up to,

the most important person that you can't forget about is...YOU! :)

So with that said,

❤HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!!❤

Treat yourself to being primped && pampered, as you should be!

Or better yet, have someone do it all for ya! lol

Since Kevin has planned our V-Days for the last few years, it's my turn to be the romantic.

Dinner & a movie is what's in store for us,

yet as always, I have a few other tricks up my sleeve ;)

I can't give too much away because he's probably reading this post! hahahah

But through all of the mayhem that we've put each other through,

I can definitely say that my list of not-so-great times can't even compare to all of the pages of the good.

I'm usually very good with words, but he makes me feel all mushy inside

{as corny as that may sound}.

One of my favorite songs is "He loves me" by the phenomenal Jill Scott.

It's probably the best song that describes my love for him.

Beyonce's rendition of it blew me away, so I'd like to share it with you all!

Enjoy!

Here's a handful of items that I've had my eye on.

I guess you can call it my V-Day wishlist ;)

Bordello hot pink glitter pumps:: Patricia Field

Moschino Cheap & Chic lurex-knit heart dress:: Net-A-Porter

Gray foil lips tee:: Forever 21

Mulberry heart zip leather purse:: Net-A-Porter

Dangerous love potion tee:: Wildfox Couture

Lace print nylon tricot 3/4 sleeve dress:: American Apparel

Emma mesh lace bra:: Forever 21

Yves Saint Laurent rouge volupté:: Sephora

Spot tux playsuit:: Topshop

Heart over-the-knee socks, heart kneee socks, lace flower tights,

dusty pink vintage lace tights, tomato opaque tights:: Topshop

LONG LIVE MCQUEEN

Rest in Peace,

Alexander McQueen

1969-2010

Words can't express how shocked I was to find out the news

of Alexander McQueen's death this morning.

As soon as I stepped foot into my costume design class,

my professor told said he heard McQueen was found dead in his home,

unconfirmed claims suggesting that he committed suicide.

I still can't wrap my brain around losing one of my favorite designers of all time.

Whether you're familiar of the 40 year-old British designers' work,

or if you've been living beneath a rock,

McQueen is undoubtedly one of fashion's finest.

And with his skyrocketing success over recent years for his incredible designs

{as seen on fashion maven Lady Gaga countlessly}

it can be said that McQueen has peaked his career.

His incomparable vision was literally out-of-this-world,

something that none of us can even fathom.

I am deeply saddended that such an extravagant imagination from a beautiful mind is no longer ours to experience, but only ours to remember.

In celebration of Alexander McQueen's legacy,

the ladies of Hellz Bellz {one of my favorite female streetwear brands}

released a limited edition t-shirt to pay homage. Originally part of their Fall 2010 collection, the unique tee will now be sold in Hellz's online shop, where the proceeds will be donated to McQueen's "Whatever It Takes" organization. The org fights for the "promotion of leadership," encouraging young people to take action regarding "poverty and environmental degredation."

So from February 11th to February 19th, the McQueen commemoration tee will be available for your purchase :)