James Norman Tyler

So I know it's been way too long since I last posted. I guess you can blame my internet at home.  It would never let me post pictures :(  But anyways now that I'm back at school I can start posting again.  So first of all I'd like to introduce everyone to my new guitar, James Norman Tyler!  I got him specifically to take with me to college so I can actually learn guitar. :)

Anyways nothing quite says songwriter like carrying around an instrument and wearing guitar pick earrings. lol

Anyways hope school is starting off well for everyone! I'm sure enjoying my first days of classes :)

Shopping Free!!

I honestly don't think I've felt this girly in a looong while.  Thanks to our school's clothing exchange yesterday, I was able to snag tons of great summer clothes!  

I felt so overdone when I left my hotel to hop into my old roomie's car, dressed in hot pink shorts, white wedges, a floral blue T-shirt, big shades, accessories, and my huge pink bag filled with my workout clothes so we could go to the gym later.  I was so ready to have the ultimate girl date! lol   We never ended up going to the gym cause we ran out of time after shoe-shopping, window shopping, and grocery shopping, plus it was ridiculously hot.... online it says it was in the 80's.... but I'm pretty sure it was at least 90.  So we decided to drive-thru for some Frosties from Wendy's instead. hehe  Of course, being us, we accidentally didn't pay attention to which window we were supposed to go to.  So we kept driving forward and then reverse till we figured out where we were supposed to be.  We probably looked so dumb, but I honestly betcha, those are the small things that make it fun to work in the drive-thru.  Seeing all the crazy things people do.

Pink denim shorts - Clothing Swap - Free!

Earrings - handmade gift from a friend - Free!

Flip-Flop Necklace - Clothing Swap - Free!

And this was my outfit of the day.  :)  I washed all the clothes I just got and decided to go with these ones today.  The shirt, shorts, and necklace were all some of my findings from the clothing exchange.

You don't always find amazing things, since they're mostly used clothes or ones people don't want... but if you look hard enough you can get some good stuff.

Lastly, while at Payless my old-roomie and I decided to check out the jewelry.  We wanted to get some toe-rings but just couldn't decide on which ones.... however she did find a pair of earrings and I found a ring.  Clearance and discounts are the best! We bought them together and then just split the prices.  (Payless almost always has a buy one get one half off discount)  So happy!  Cause now I got a nice statement ring that really doesn't get in the way of doing stuff, and it was super affordable!

$8 ring (clearance + discount = $1.50) - Payless Shoe Store

Well that's about it for today.  Tah Tah for Now! ;)

Can You Paint with All the Colors of the Wind?

Well, the sun is back! ...and so are the sheep O.o  Crazy stuff is going on in Rock-City today.  It's trying to make me think I live in a farmland, though I'm pretty sure all we have are rocks.... and the yellow grass that the sheep are eating.  Random!  I guess it's the city's way of "being green" when it comes to mowing lawn. lol

So I absolutely love this shirt!  Yes, I did have to iron it this morning, if it looks wrinkly still it's cause I've been wearing it all day and I may or may not have taken a nap in it too. hehe



Wow, I look absolutely exhausted, I'm gonna say it's cause the school semester is only 3 weeks away from finishing and not the fact that my friends and I stayed out salsa dancing last night.  The same way we decided that the guy who wouldn't dance with me must've just been too intimidated by my pro-dancing skills.  :P

I LOVE dancing. But I must say if you go too often it kind of loses it's magic.  The guys never look as good from up close, and if they do, they usually don't dance, cause they don't know how or are too scared of looking like they can't. 

Dancing with friends is the best.  Unfortunately since most of my friends didn't grow up salsa-dancing like I did I usually end up having to teach them which is fun for a while.  Then I'll usually force them to dance amongst themselves and wait for someone to ask me to dance.  Though you gotta be careful for creepers.  Thankfully, after a while you kind of can tell who wants to dance and who wants more.  I try to be friendly with the people, but if they start asking about my relationship status or such, I'll not be so talkative. 

 I've come to the conclusion I like best taking turns dancing with people I know and youngsters like me.  They usually are not so creepy and you feel more comfortable around them in general.   Like yesterday, I decided to only dance with people I wanted to dance with even if that meant asking some people.  It's only to dance, not to go out.  And it definitely beats standing there waiting to be noticed.  There are great dancers out there who love to dance too!  You just need to find them.  So go grab your dancing shoes! and a dance partner!

Talking about shoes, I got these wedges at Naturalizer.  They are so comfortable, you barely notice the height!  They give a great summer vibe, great for dressing up, but still great for being semi-casual.   I was crazy enough to wear them when bike riding and chasing the sheep in the fields around school. lol 

 Sad thing.  Sheep are seriously the stupidest animals you will ever meet.  I wasn't even trying to get close to them and they'd automatically run.  Sometimes they wouldn't notice me cause they were busy eating but as soon as one ran they all did.  So it was kind of hard to get any good pics with the sheep, since I was using a timer and a tripod, but it was fun trying.  Cause how often do you get to take pictures with sheep?

I love the mixing of the patterns on this blouse.  And the neckline, very feminine yet modest.  Perfection!

On top of all the other crazy stuff I did, I used blue and purple eye-shadow.  It actually looked kind of nice.  I did a little bit of a sparkly blue and faded it to a purple and then used my usual very light pink for the highlight.

Yes, I'm Rich

This Sunday our pastor was preaching a sermon on being rich, I know kind of strange but it honestly really hit home for me, especially cause I just got back from a week-long missions trip to Tecate, Mexico.   Nobody thinks they're rich but just look at us.   We have internet, food, running water, a bed, a house with a roof, a flushing toilet.  Many of us even have a closet full of clothes and will still say, "I have nothing to wear."   What are we talking about?  Just being able to live in the US means you're in the 20% of the richest people in the world.

I've always been super passionate about serving in Mexico, especially since my first missions trip to Tijuana in 2009.  Being part Mexican, I really love the culture, the language, the people.   This year was amazing and life-changing, feel free to check out my blog post on it. 



This year I got to share my tent with a girl who actually went to fashion school!   Gotta say she was pretty cool as is, but that was definitely awesome.  Helped me learn a lot about actually looking nice.  It's really not all about the clothes, but in how much you take care of yourself: taking showers, washing your face, styling your hair.  It's all about the basics.  Nothing super tricky.

Knowing we were gonna be out in the dirt, playing with kids, building homes, etc.  I decided to learn how to tie a headscarf, turban style. lol   It was pretty easy and looked nice.  Kept the hair out of my face and my head cool.

Our entire team got to spend Easter in San Diego and go to church.  So not only did my friend know fashion but she had some legit braiding skills, nothing I could ever do.

I guess she could tell how much I really loved her style.  She taught me a few tricks and even gave me a few blouses.  O.M.G!  Love them!

These were my tent-mates for the week.  It was pretty cool.  We were all born in different countries: USA, Russia, Vietnam, and we were all serving in Mexico :)

Here was my outfit from Sunday, thanks to my new friend:

Simple jewelry like the gold necklace and earrings help accent  the golden outlining on the shirt.

The main piece here was obviously the shirt/dress.  It was sheer though, so I had to wear it with a brown camisole and pants.  Pulling it together was pretty easy though.  Throw on some skinny jeans, some brown ankle boots, and a few simple accessories.

Several times throughout the missions trip my youth pastor emphasized the fact that guys like it when girls wear they're hair down.  Apparently even Taylor Swift knows this.  (eg. "I was riding shot-gun with my hair undone in the front seat of his car" from Our Song)  Thus I decided wear my hair down when styling it.  lol

Accessories were even easier.  I noticed my friend always wore two golden bracelets, a pair of golden earrings, and a golden necklace.  Yea, we were on a missions trip so there weren't as many options, and yet she always looked pulled together and like if she chose those particular items for every single outfit.  Why?  Cause gold looks good with her skin tone, and she obviously knew it. Makes me think I should actually get some gold jewelry too, cause it looks way better on me than silver does.

I actually got the idea of this belt/string around the waist from my friend.  It gives shape to the dress and helps accent this waste.   It's super simple to do.  This string was actually from the lanyard used to make our ID badges in Mexico. 

I absolutely love the cut of this blouse and the arms.  The sheerness gives it that extra touch of femininity while still being completely modest (that is if layered).  Since it hangs loosely it also helps to not accent any extra weight around the midsection.  And the arms are just angelic!

The bracelet might not seem like much, but it's actually very symbolic to me, especially after a missions trip.  I got it three years ago from one of my very first VBS students, Angela.  I met her when I went to Tijuana on my first missions trip.  I like to keep it as a reminder of how God can use us to change lives all over the world.

 Hopefully, I'll be posting more with my "new-found" knowledge and blouses I was given. ;)

God Bless You!

Sometimes the Best Things In Life Can't Be Bought

Spring break is finally here!

It seems to get later and later into the year every year, but it's probably because our school tries to keep it with Easter since it's a Christian university.

It's amazing to be back home. It's my first time back this semester, so I'm really enjoying it.

Sure I didn't go to Miami, Florida or even LA, California; but family sure beats both of those.  However, I will be going on a missions trip next week ;)

One of the huge benefits to being back home is that I have my old clothes back!  However, now that I'm here, I realize there aren't that many really nice blouses here either..... shopping spree???? jk

Thankfully, I had this cute shirt I snagged at last year's clothing swap.  It was my first time wearing it and at first I wasn't sure how cause I left all my camisoles at school, however I realized if you wear a strapless bra with it or a bandeaux bra, you could easily wear it without an undershirt.  The loose flow of the blouse also makes it perfect for the warm weather and helps shape you nicely, especially if you're petite and/or curvy.  

Paired with a pencil skirt and gladiator sandals, this creates a really cute "casual" outfit. Perfect for the park, church, a party, or anything really.  And as usual, accessories always make a difference from making an outfit nice to complete and stunning.

Bracelet with 1 Corinthians 13 the Love Passage engraved

My favorite necklace.

Hoop Earrings

Kickin it Casual

Every time I wear this hat it makes me feel like I need to match the rest of the outfit with a very tom-boy look.

Need tough, endurable shoes that can withstand the rain and long walks?  Hiking boots are the way to go!  Add some skinny jeans, an oversized sweater and a hat for the look.  Then keep it girly by adding a statement necklace.

Simply Sweet

 If fashion is all about self-expression, then who says I need to be an expert to talk about fashion?

After a fun reunion with my bestie from the dorms (six hours of walking in the mall), I decided to not be ashamed of my fashion blog.  Sure I may not be an "expert" or super "trendy" but I'm Perfectly Me.  And like she says, there are tons of girls out there who's job is to run a fashion blog, and they display tons of simple outfits.  However finding where my digital camera ran off to, might be a helpful start ;)

Somehow this semester in my effort to pack "light,"  I accidentally brought more shoes than actual clothes leaving me with barely any fashion choices.  That was in January, and I haven't been home since.  When my family came up in February for the school's musical I was in, I asked if they could bring some sweaters, T-shirts, and regular clothes..... yep, you could imagine what happens when you're that vague.  I got a stack full of fifteen T-shirts, two old sweatshirts, and a few other items.   Thankfully, Spring Break starts next week so I'll get to venture my closet back home and bring back everything I need.


Lately, I've been trying to take the fewer nice clothes I have here and mix 'em up.  Get some new outfits I haven't done before.  I really liked this one.  I've always worn this gray zebra print cardigan with gray or white or black, which has kind of made it really dull or not that appealing.  However when thrown together with a pink cami, it just makes the outfit that much girlier; plus it gives sleeves to a shirt that otherwise I would not wear in public by itself.

What I love most about wearing pink is that it softens the appearance of an outfit.  Such as the outfit with the leather jacket from the other day.

I accessorized this outfit by wearing pink earrings and my prayer box I got for my Quince Años.  I also threw on a white bangle for fun and contrast.

Another great thing about this cardigan is that it has pockets.  Not that I ever use them, but still.

Boots go great with everything.  I love these ones in particular.  They're super comfy, black, and flat.

So it may seem weird that I'm using bathroom pics on my blog, but it's so much less embarrassing than posing in front of a tripod and taking pics of yourself, and honestly I haven't found many other mirrors lately. The lighting in this bathroom was especially good too. lol

Anyways never give up on your dreams, you never know where they'll lead.