Remebering Parts of 2010: DC Cherry Blossoms

So I intended to do an outfit post today but I walked out to a monsoon happening outside of our house and let's just say, my reaction wasn't necessarily pretty. So instead of doing an outfit post, I decided to look back to my time spent in DC. At this time last year, I had lived in DC for 3 months already because I was interning at the Mexican Embassy for a semester. One of my all time favorite things in DC were the Cherry Blossoms. I had the date marked for the festival since January last year because I was that excited to see them. Little did I know that Brooklyn Botanical Gardens also has a Cherry Blossom Festival but hey, might as well see the cherry blossoms draping over the Potomac River while overlooking the Jefferson and Washington Memorials right?

Hah. I just realized I even matched the cherry blossoms. I forget if that was intentional or purely accidental. Brett came down for the weekend and we spent the entire day just walking around the river edge and having a little picnic while trying to avoid tourists which was literally impossible. There were tons of people EVERYWHERE. (I didn't count myself as a tourist because I was technically living there, even if it was only for 3 months, haha. makes sense to me, no?)

It was a beautiful day and I'm glad I was able to get pictures of it so I have a tangible memory of them. Ever since DC, I've been obsessed with cherry blossoms. I even have the cherry blossom body wash from Bath and Body Works. And I definitely need to see them every year but I NOW know that I can travel 25 minutes to Brooklyn rather than 4 hours to DC. I didn't even know Brooklyn had a Botanical Garden until some time last year! New York never fails to surprise me.

Have you guys ever been to DC for the Cherry Blossom Festival? Go to this website and you see can see all that's being planned if you want to venture out there for a weekend! Believe me, It's definitely worth it. 

And now I must venture off to the library to study for an exam that I have in 6 hours. Wish me luck!

Happy Tuesday! :)

Ten Ways to Beat the Winter Blues

Have you entered my giveaway yet? :) Only 3 more days!

It's disgusting out, as usual. I know you're all probably tired of reading my whiny complaints with regards to the weather but it's so easy to feel the winter blues when everything is gray and gloomy. Because of this, I have decided to dedicate my Ten Things Tuesday to ten ways to get rid of the winter blues; simple, easy ways to make that gray and gloomy winter a little more enjoyable. :)

1. Cook more.

Now I know this one may not apply to people who actually cook all the time but as a college student, I find myself grabbing a quick bite to eat ALL the time. I basically survive off of fast food. It's really difficult to find time to actually make something but my boyfriend and I are starting to make a habit out of cooking a little more often (which for me means once a week). Granted, we recently started this habit but I already like it. We went to the supermarket and bought stuff for meals we can make together and cooked that same night. (On a side note, I apologize for the quality of this picture. It was taken with my Itouch). I LOVED this dinner. It was simple and I just love how my boyfriend thinks he's a chef when we cook together. He cut up all the vegetables and even searched through all my cabinets to find matching bowls for the ingredients as if he were on a cooking show. What a dork.

We bought sirloin beef from the supermarket, orange peppers, red peppers, yellow peppers and baby carrots and prepared the meat with soy sauce, a little bit of salt, and a little bit of pepper. The rice came from a GOYA box where I added the rice to a pot of boiling water and let it simmer for 25-30 mins. Quick, easy, and delicious. I definitely cheated on the rice but hey, I'm a college student. If there's an easier way to cook rice, I'm definitely not taking the harder route.

2. Do winter activities
(Who says summer is the only season for fun? Go skiing, snowboarding, iceskating, have a snowball fight!)

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While I was in DC last winter, we had a HUGE blizzard. They had names for it like Blizzaster, Snowmaggedon, I wish I was lying but it's true. I was stuck in my apartment for an ENTIRE WEEK because everything was shut down. Word spread around that Dupont Circle was having a snowball fight and 5,000 people showed up. Sadly, I was not one of them as I was stuck in Arlington, VA but I could only imagine how fun it must have been. 

3. Enjoy lots and lots of Hot Chocolate

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Winter is the one season where having a ridiculous amount of hot chocolate is perfectly normal. Why not take advantage of it? I found an awesome, easy recipe online.

Ingredients

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 cup white sugar

1 pinch salt

1/3 cup boiling water

3 1/2 cups milk

 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup half-and-half cream

Directions 

o   Combine the cocoa, sugar and pinch of salt in a saucepan. Blend in the boiling water. Bring this mixture to an easy boil while you stir. Simmer and stir for about 2 minutes. Watch that it doesn't scorch. Stir in 3 1/2 cups of milk and heat until very hot, but do not boil! Remove from heat and add vanilla. Divide between 4 mugs. Add the cream to the mugs of cocoa to cool it to drinking temperature. 

Only 310 calories, serves 4 people, and it's ready in 5-7 mins!

4. Catch up on some trashy TV or watch a marathon of your favorite TV shows.

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I love love LOVE Criminal Minds, Law and Order SVU, or any show that deals with detectives so when it's freezing out and I have a free Saturday, I love just being in bed watching these shows for hours on end.

5. Give yourself something to look forward to

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For me it's B's Birthday, Valentine's Day, Spring Break, and Graduation! And I just planned a trip to visit my friend in Pittsburgh at the end of the month. I'm so excited to go. :)

6. Get more color into your wardrobe

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If you're anything like me, the winter blues have me wearing black and gray. I guess I feel like my clothes need to match the weather. I think it's underestimated just how much simply wearing a bright, happy color can impact how you feel.

7. Bond with those around you

(I apologize for how blurry this picture is. It was the only picture from that day where we weren't throwing paint on one another or making silly faces).

My roommates and I make excuses to hang out and see one another because we all have conflicting schedules. Because of this, we have designated days for hanging out and enjoying each others company like Wine Wednesday. With all this time you're going to spend indoors, you might as well catch up with the ones you hold dearest. Better yet, you can bond outside of your house as well. Do something like community service where you’ll feel good helping others and thus get you out of a funk. Sophomore year, my roommates and I participated by painting murals (our mural pictured above) in a school in Newark, NJ and it was so much fun. Granted, we had to wake up ridiculously early on a Saturday but it was well worth the trip.We got the gig through Jersey Cares, an awesome website where they tell you about all the community service projects that are going on. I believe every state has one but I'm not entirely sure. 

8. Enjoy as much light as you can

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Because of my hectic schedule, there will be days sometimes where I only see daylight for 2-3 hours. I now make myself wake up a little earlier and actually enjoy the day. It leads to more productivity as well. 

9. Snuggle/Cuddle

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 Let's face it. Snuggling/cuddling is awesome and apparently, it's good for stress! Win, win.

10. If all else fails, put on a feel-good song and jump around! .... or retreat to your happy place if you're a little shy.

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Hey, Soul Sister by Train has to be my favorite feel-good song. I can't help but dance when I hear the song.

Even compiling this list made my winter blues seem to go away a bit. What do you guys do to beat the winter blues?

Remembering Parts of 2010: Lea Comes to NYC

WARNING: This post includes TONS of pictures. =]
Looking back on 2010, it was an AMAZING year. I was in DC from January to May interning at the Mexican Embassy where I met a great group of people and became really close friends with some, especially the intern who worked with me at the embassy, Lea. I love this girl to pieces and even though she's ridiculously far away now as she moved to Spain to teach recently, one of the highlights of my year was when she came from Michigan with her boyfriend to visit me over the summer. Brett and I took her and her bf (who's from Spain) all around NYC for four days and these are just some of the highlights in no particular order ....

And there you have it. I apologize for the photos being all over the place but I tried to come full circle by showing you the Empire State Building by day and by night. Surprisingly enough, it's still red and green as I type. I love reflecting on a warmer time although it makes me want summer and miss Lea. Also, I should add that most of these pictures are taken by her boyfriend. Aren't the pictures fantastic? We had a joke the entire time that we needed to switch boyfriends because she hates taking pictures like my boyfriend and I love taking pictures like her boyfriend. Haha.

This will probably be the last post until after Vegas. Have I mentioned I'm going to Vegas? Haha, only like a billion times. When I see you lovely people again, I will make sure to post all the fun. =]

DC Botanical Gardens

I'm home and back to my oh so lovely laptop. It's amazing how attached one can become to inanimate objects. Don't get me wrong. I'm not in any way ashamed, just impressed. Haha. =] So instead of doing my Ten Things Tuesday, I've decided to post an outfit because I feel like it's been too long. Between holidays and snow, it was hard to blog regularly and I'll definitely do a Ten Things Tuesday next week. And now for the picture that inspired the outfit ...

This picture was taken at the DC Botanical Gardens when I was over there for a semester. I loved it. My friend and I acted like children as we hid behind plants and ran around looking at all the themed rooms. Everyone should check it out if you're ever in the area. =]

I love how casual this look is. My brown boots have become a staple in my closet and make any outfit a little classier in my opinion. I paired that with jeans and a hunter green cardigan as I headed out to get lunch. The hunter green cardigan is from Forever21, the white button down is from H&M, the jeans are from American Eagle and the boots are Michael Antonio. =]

I apologize for how late this post is. I recently got settled into my house after rushing straight to work from my boyfriend's house and finally being able to unpack all my stuff for the three weeks I'm going to be home. I finally have some downtime which will be short lived as I start working 9-5 tomorrow. I need some spending money for Vegas. =] And there you have it, I'm going to watch some TV with my mom now and officially get settled in. I took some pictures this weekend so expect a weekend in pictures post soon!

Happy Friday!

Yay it's Friday! What are you guys doing this weekend? Preparing for Thanksgiving? I will most likely spend the majority of this weekend in a library. =/ I have an exam on Monday and a presentation due Tuesday plus I need to get some stuff done before Thanksgiving break as my main focus will be FOOD during those four days. =] Anywho, I figured I would share a outfit post. My inspiration was ...



Being raised in Jersey City NJ, New York is probably my favorite place on the planet ... well ... aside from home. I love how busy it is, the different scene in every little neighborhood. I am determined to live there for AT LEAST five years of my life. This picture is just quintessential New York to me. Cabs everywhere, bright lights, people out in the streets. I took this picture from the 3rd level of the M&M store near Times Square. =] And now for the outfit ...









Although it's flowers on the tunic and not cabs, I feel like this outfit captures the picture quite well. What do you think? I figured the blending of color and different designs as there are flowers but there are also stripes put together to form a shirt can symbolize what New York is all about. Different people all grouped together in one city regardless of age, color, height, whatever. They all make New York what it is. I paired it with a yellow cardigan since the yellow is the color that stands out the most in the picture and paired it with a red hat since the color red accents the picture in many places. I paired that all with black leggings and booties to offset all the color I had on top and create a bold outfit that did not look too crazy and colorful.

The Shoes



I am obsessed with these booties. I got them over the summer for 21st birthday outfit and they are probably one of the most comfortable shoes I own. The platform in the front allow the foot to have a good amount of support.

The outfit in its entirety is from a whole bunch of places. The red beanie is from a street vendor in Washington, DC. The yellow cardigan is from a thrift shop in Brooklyn. The flowery tunic is from Wet Seal. The leggings are from Forever21 and the booties are from Shi by Journeys.

So, what do you think?

S.