Peace Love and Braids

Top: French Connection | Jeans: CarMar | Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell | Sunglasses: Juicy Couture

Nothing compares to a freshly clean and organized apartment. And nothing is better, especially after a day of deep cleaning, than getting dressed up and going out to dinner with my guy. I saw this braided hairstyle on a bride and decided to recreate it, myself, last night. I was thinking of doing a tutorial post, so comment below if that would be something you would like!

That One Time I Was A Fashion PR Intern...

Yesterday I was nervous but excited to start interning at a fashion PR firm in West Hollywood. I had my outfit all picked out and got up early to make sure I got there early. On my way I called them and explained I forgot to ask where to park. The girl told me I could either choose to pay metered parking, park my car in a two hour spot, or park at a Ralph's that I never did seem to find. Red Flag Number 1. Still, I brushed it off and parked a street away in two hour parking, which then meant I had to watch the clock (because LA parking enforcement is crazy), walk to my car, find another spot to move it, and walk back to the office EVERY TWO HOURS. WTFreak? 

As you can see in the picture (taken right when I got there and before everyone had come in to work), all the girls work in a close space. I was excited to meet girls my age and maybe make some friends, especially since we would all be working, together, in the same room. But as I watched each girl come in the door, look at me, look away, and sit at her designated spot without any smiles or hellos or introductions, I became increasingly bitter toward these mean girls. Red Flag Number 2. Two girls to my right, sitting side by side, were having an instant message conversation and would take turns laughing out loud to whatever each one would say. Then when I got back from lunch, five of them were sitting around (one girl was slumped low in the chair I had been using with her feet propped up on the desk), whispering to each other. As I walked in, they took one look at me, didn't say anything, and continued in a low whisper gossip. Red Flag Number 3. And by then, I was over it.

Even more,

1) It was an unpaid internship, so I was literally paying in gas to work for them.

2) They had me doing menial tasks that had nothing to do with learning about PR or the world of fashion, including organizing a closet that looked as if it had just barfed up its' clothes. Believe me, I'm not above doing those tasks, but to never once teach me anything about what they were working on is not okay in my book.

3) They told me I would help stylists with pulls in their showroom. Translation: You will watch the stylist pick out the clothes he or she wants and then you will scan and bag them.

4) Through conversations I would overhear throughout the day like "how many interns are working today" or "what days are you working" meant that they have tons of people who they have basically doing slave labor. Which meant this "internship" had no potential for me to grow into the company.

5) Did I mention they were just mean? They only times they would talk to me would be to tell me what to do. The rest of the time, they acted as if I didn't exist.

So I emailed them and said "thanks, but no thanks."

This Weekend Part II: Santa Monica Sunset

The Santa Monica Pier

This one reminds me of Cole with the surfer, his board, and the golden light of the sun.

All last week, I wanted nothing more than to go to the beach to watch the sun go down. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were such clear days, though, that there were no clouds in the sky to make my favorite cotton-candy-pink clouds. Earlier on Saturday, we decided we probably wouldn't make it to the beach because we had gotten up early to start our day and a night in sounded relaxing. It wasn't until I saw the clouds forming in the west, as we were coming home from Chinatown, that I knew we had to go. We went home, changed, packed a picnic, and raced to the beach just in time to see the sunset. It was funny that when everyone was leaving, we were just getting there. I am so glad we decided to go, though, because it was beautiful.

I am beyond grateful to be back in this beautiful state, that I call home, with my love and to have my family so near.

Speaking of family, my grandma and grandpa and aunt and cousin drove up to LA early yesterday morning. Cory and I had been asked to speak in our church sacrament meeting and they came to support us, which I was so grateful for (thanks, you four!). Since I write out every single word I want to say before I give a talk, I thought I would share a portion of it.

As I gazed out on the orange sky with clouds as fluffy and pink as cotton candy, I felt closer not only to Cole, but also to my Savior. I found peace in knowing that He lives; that the world around us is full of His beauty; that if we stop to look for him, whether it is through prayer, faith, or even through the beauty of the earth that He has created, even when life may have us in our darkest moments, we shall find Him, and we shall find His peace...

This Weekend Part I: Chinatown

When my dad and my sister first went to Chicago, in order to make sure it was where she wanted to go to school, they came back raving about this little place called Wow Bao. Apparently these pastries filled with both sweet and savory options were amazing. Now that Kim is in Chicago, she keeps talking about them! Even though I'm going out to visit her at the end of the month, I just couldn't wait to get my hands on one. I figured that Chinatown is only a 20 minute drive, so why not find these little bao buns? So that's what Cor and I did! We ate a delicious BBQ pork baked bao, a chicken bao, and a sweet cream bao. The above picture is the sweet cream bao and Cory's "I just can't get over that it looks like an egg" face. After stuffing ourselves with bao (only a $7 meal for the both of us!), we decided to explore Chinatown and walk off our bao bellies.

I asked Cor if he would take the picture of us...

Take 1: Finger blocking my face.

Take 2: Finger purposely blocking my face.

Take 3: Finger still in the frame, but I'll take it. Then a nice lady came up and asked if we wanted her to take the picture. Clearly...

Chinatown was a fun and surprisingly romantic adventure. I'll definitely be back for those BBQ pork baked baos...MMMMM!

TACO TUESDAY

Yesterday, I decided that Cory and I should celebrate "Taco Tuesday" - what better way to celebrate than at a little taco shack in a gloriously dirty and terrifyingly ghetto part of LA! But sometimes getting out of one's comfort zone makes for fun memories and discovering new walks of life, and that is exactly what we did. My favorite parts were 1) the best "horchata" I've ever had and 2) having Cory translate the all Spanish menu for me, including the part about not having tongue on the menu that night. Oh, and the fact that we both ate for only 13 bucks!

Pieces of Heaven

This weekend was a special weekend as I joined family and friends of The Smith Family to celebrate the 21 years of their son, Cole's, life. His passing was unexpected and all too soon, but he certainly lived life to its' fullest and reminded us all, this weekend, to do the same. He once said that heaven is in the sunsets. It is no coincidence, then, that this week has given us the most beautiful sunsets of the summer, and as a result, Cole had us all standing still for a moment to enjoy heaven and to feel a little closer to him.

Saturday was probably the most beautiful morning of the summer. The normal fog layer that usually blankets the coast was nonexistent. It was so clear that I could see Catalina Island and Palos Verdes in the distance. The morning was far more beautiful than I could describe, so I will let the pictures do the talking...

This is my favorite picture of the bunch. It's Cole dad, coming in from the paddle out, with Cole's board under his arm. Those red blobs on the board are actually Cole's handprints. During the paddle out, as all the friends and family surrounded the Smith family, Steve (Cole's dad) spun around on the board, proudly sharing a piece of his son. 

 Cole had me smiling Sunday evening, as I stood looking out my bedroom window at this.

Cory and I spent the rest of Saturday at Lake Elsinore with the Coelho family. Cory met Garrott on his mission and they have remained close friends ever since. It was my first time meeting Garrott's family, but I told him after that I decided, whether they like it or not, that we are adopting them as our third family. They are the nicest people you will ever meet, and there is never a dull moment with them as they are always laughing and enjoying life. I tried wakeboarding for the first time and got up once for maybe 2 seconds! I am still sore, but I had so much fun.

Yesterday, for the holiday, Cor and I decided to get together with his sister and brother-in-law (who live only 10 minutes away) and go to Hermosa Beach. His sister does beach swims and someone just showed her a sand dollar colony on 28th Street. Even though it was extremely overcast, the water was warm and we got to see tons of them! Did you know sand dollars are actually covered in some kind of purple fur and stand up on their sides? So different from the beautiful white things we find laying flat and sun-bleached on the beaches. While diving in the sand dollar colony, I came across a skate fish and freaked out! You see, the visibility was extremely poor, so it wasn't until the fish was inches away from my face that I realized what it was! And it doesn't help that it's this freaky looking, stingray resembling, bottom dwelling, brown thing! I was out of there so fast, but that skate fish probably was too after it heard my underwater, muffled scream. 

This weekend made me realize that we need to remember to appreciate the beauty of life and to live it to its' fullest. Let us all stand still for a while and enjoy the beauty in the world, for "anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old" (Kafka).