5 Reasons Why You Should Stay at Embassy Suites by Hilton Mandalay Beach Resort

I had such a fun mini-vaca in Oxnard with my sister and niece recently. We spent 4th of July there and it was perfect. Today, I'm sharing 5 reasons why I loved it, and why I think you should stay there at some point, too! :)

Self-Love Poetry & Portraits at Outdoor Voices

In honor of National Poetry Month in April, I led a self-love focused poetry workshop at Outdoor Voices, in collaboration with Praise of ComePlum who took portraits of the ladies who attended.

This event was so special to me, because of the fact that I went full circle from where I was last year...

How To Thrive Even Through The Fire

It's not all black and white....

These photos (along with the others with the same background) were taken by my girl Rolanda after an SF Picture Perfect event at The Women's Building in the Mission District.

The past few months (I could even say years) have been a challenging season for me. I am doing a lot better, but it's taken a lot of practicing of patience and self-love on my end to get through the fire. And by fire I mean depression, anxiety, fatigue, and recently eczema flare ups (I'll post more about my eczema separately). 

I'm very hard on myself. We've all heard the phrase "don't say to yourself what you wouldn't say to your friend," but it's a lot harder than it sounds. It's easy for me to stop myself from judging others, but it's so hard for me to stop judging myself and pointing fingers at my flaws...and I've come to realize that it's not all black and white. With whatever has been going on, I've learned that there are deeper rooted issues that it was caused by and that healing doesn't always happen overnight. And I've also learned that there is no healing without pain (and failure throughout the process).

It's been anything but easy, but it would be lying if I didn't say that I'M KILLIN' IT compared to yesterday, and I know that tomorrow will be better than today.

Stop and Smell the Roses

We've all heard the expression "stop and smell the roses," but how many of us actually do it? My grandfather did.

My First Time Visiting New York

When I started working a year ago, one of my goals was to visit New York within a year. Last week was my 1 year anniversary at my job, and I fulfilled my goal!!
It was my first time in NYC and experiencing the East Coast.

Pictured Above: Brooklyn Bridge

Mother's Day Weekend in LA

I love spending a weekend in LA - especially if I take a day or two off and make it a long weekend. It felt like a vacation!
This time around, I surprised my mom for Mother's Day. She actually got scared when she heard someone opening the door at 10PM (lol) and but was so happy to have me back home for a few days.

We celebrated on Saturday and spent the afternoon having brunch at The Cheesecake Factory in Marina del Rey.

Later on, I headed to Abbot Kinney Blvd. with my sister to have some quality sista-time.

Abbot Kinney Blvd. is quite possibly the trendiest street in L.A. & I would highly recommended visiting if you're in the area (lots of fun photo opps, too ;))

Affordable & Versatile 4th of July Outfit

Happy Fourth of July from San Francisco!

This is my first fourth in SF and I love my outfit this year because it's perfectly fitting for the holiday but can also be worn on any other day.