Outfit // Coral Kiss

Happy Friday, friends! Can you believe we are at the closing of another week? I must say, it has been a pretty good week for me. I worked in the afternoons/early evenings and had the mornings to do things like sleep in, hang out with Marly, run errands, and work on the blog! I've been thinking a lot about some changes I'd like to make here and how I'd like to keep moving forward in the blogging world, but I'll save that for Monday, when I share my June goals!

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you may have noticed that I love a good sale and that I love Anthropologie. When the two come together, it is like Christmas for me. I had loved this dress when it first came out, but forgot about it until I saw it waiting for me on the sale racks. When it is marked down $100 from the original price, how can I say no?

I was expecting a pair of shoes to arrive in the mail and originally wanted to wait until I got them to style this dress with them (partly because I am sick of wearing these brown sandals in every style post lately haha). However, I ended up throwing that plan out the window and styling it like this when we went to visit my mom last weekend, where the weather was going to be in the high 90s. As soon as I slipped this dress on, I felt great in it. I even got a lot of compliments and a little girl told me I looked really pretty. 
Body image is definitely something I struggle with and it isn't all to often that I feel 100% confident in something I am wearing. This dress does that for me and that simple fact made me decide to photograph it just the way it was. We ended up stopping off on our way home to get this shoot in just before sunset and I am really happy with how the images turned out!
I feel so light, feminine, and free in this dress and, really, that is empowering. I also love the delicate keyhole detail on the back and the criss-cross kind of pattern on the bust.
The soft texture of this dress is also really interesting and adds a lovely level of dimension to it. It is so fun to run my hands over! I'll take it in 10 colors, thanks.

There are definitely some changes I know I need to make to improve my over-all health and to simply make myself a priority in that way, but it is great to be able to feel good in the skin you are currently in, you know? Loving yourself is important, no matter what you are afraid of others thinking.

What are your thoughts on body image and self love? And on a lighter note, what are you up to this weekend?

Also, I'm looking for some new blogs to add to my reading list. Any recommendations?

Outfit Details:

Dress // Anthropologie

Belt // Gap

Sandals // Target

Bag // Madewell

Here's To Happiness

A couple weeks ago one of my favorite blogger laddies, Danica of Love, Danica, wrote a post of ten things making her happy. At the end of her post, she invited others to send her their happy list and she would feature them on her blog. I sent her mine and she featured it, which was really sweet!

Ever since then, I have been wanting to make a list to share here too.

Here are ten things that are making me happy:
- The perfect weather! I really could go on and on about it. California, you are on-point right now.
- That my scrapbooking supplies arrived in the mail yesterday! Excited to get started on a book about our Japan travels.
- A new-to-me season of Project Runway that I've been watching on Hulu Plus.
- That we got to see my littlest nephew this past weekend. He is seriously the cutest & we had the best time playing with him.
- The fact that I am writing this from my cozy patio with iced coffee in hand.
- All the possibilities for adventures this summer.
- Time spent with my dad this week.
- That the best farmer's market season is back! Love buying fresh fruits & veggies this time of year.
- Free time to relax & do things that I neglected when I was busy with school.
- The above photos we took the other day after an outfit shoot :) I like the out of focus one because it is out of focus.

I love the idea behind this kind of post and think I may try to do something like it here once a month or so. In the mean time, I definitely encourage you to go check out Danica's blog and read others' lists she has been sharing! Also, while you're at it, you should send her your list too!

Here's to happiness!

Japan Adventures // Rabbit Island

Rabbit Island. Yes, you read that correctly. I mentioned this place in my Japan inspiration post and I was delighted that we were able to make it here. Actually, it was really a non-negotiable part of the trip for me and Dai happily obliged. This island, formally known as Okunoshima, is known for its large population of rabbits. There are a few theories of how this came to be, but basically as soon as you walk up from the ferry dock, there are rabbits waiting there to greet you. And there are tons more wherever they came from.

We spent the morning wandering around Hiroshima and then took about an hour long train ride to Tadanoumi Station, where we were then able to catch the ferry over to Rabbit Island. As the train slipped further away from the city limits of Hiroshima, the scenery drastically changed to a more country-side like view of Japan.

It rained on and off this particular day and we were worried about our visit with the rabbits being cut short because of it. Even though it rained on our ferry ride over to the island, by the time we arrived it was not raining anymore.
From the dock, we took a free shuttle bus up to the hotel on the island, where tons of rabbits lived on the front lawn. It was hilarious riding the bus and looking out the window along the way because there were rabbits hopping along everywhere.
We had stopped at a local market to get some cabbage and carrots to feed the rabbits, as well as a package of rabbit food. It was definitely nice to be able to hold your hand a safe distance away from the rabbits when feeding them veggies, but often one brave bunny would grab the whole thing and run away with it! I think I preferred feeding them the pellets from my hand as long as I kept my palm flat because it attracted more rabbits at once and I didn't have to worry about any of them stealing from me.
I was amazed by how sweet all of the rabbits seemed to be. Every so often they would get a little annoyed with each other and push one another around a bit, but they were never aggressive towards humans. Don't bite the hand that feeds you, right?

They were all just so cute and I wanted to cuddle every one of them. For a good long while after that, I was convinced I wanted a rabbit, but then I remembered that I had a little black dog that would not be happy about that choice. Unfortunately, we were told not to try to pick any of them up and of course I understood why, but I was just crazy enough to want to do it haha. I constrained myself though, so don't worry!

This was one of our experiences that I have been most excited about sharing here on the blog! It is just so random, hilarious, and unusual, which seems to be a pattern with Japan...

Would this place make your travel list? How do you feel about rabbits or visiting with wild animals?

Date Night + An Outfit

It is always a bit sad to see a weekend end, especially when it is a long holiday weekend. Luckily, I'm done with school for now, so the beginning of a new week isn't too bad ;) We had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and I am grateful for relaxing time spent with family.

On Friday night after work, Dai and I kicked things off with a date night in San Francisco. Though Japan was kind of like a 2-week-long date, we hadn't really gone on a real date since we got back. Of course, we spend a lot of time together on a regular basis, but there is something nice about going out with the specific intention of feeling like our best selves, picking a special restaurant, and connecting with one another after a long week. Am I right?
We had been talking about visiting Nopalito near Golden Gate Park to try out their dinner menu. I had been there once before and loved it, but Dai had never been. He saw that the "Totopos con Chile" were popular on Yelp, so of course we had to get them as an appetizer. They were like nachos covered in spicy chile rather than cheese. Very spicy. But so good!

We also ordered the strawberry lemonade (the best I've ever had!) and the almond horchata, which was so yummy and now has me interested in trying to make my own at home this summer.

I was hoping to maybe quickly sneak in an outfit photo shoot after dinner, but by the time we finished up and headed over to the park across the street, there wasn't much light left. We decided to snap a few anyway, even though I wasn't really convinced they would turn out too well.

Golden Gate Park was quite breezy this particular evening, but the chill felt good on my skin. I should learn by now that it isn't unusual for it to be 10-15 degrees cooler in SF than at my house! Nonetheless, it was lovely to walk hand-in-hand and to enjoy the bit of daylight left.

I purchased this top from Anthropologie last week on a whim, since it was on sale and I was feeling good about getting an A on my art history final. Perfect grounds for celebratory purchases, right? I've been on a mint streak these past couple months and just loved the feminine lace/tulle details of this top. I especially dig mint paired with black because it just so looks so fresh to me (and also kind of reminds me of mint chocolate chip ice cream, my fave).
It had been a while since I brought my beloved Madewell tote out for an adventure and I was missing her. She is an especially nice bag to bring along when I am toting my camera and Dai's personal goodies too. I also find something so classic and easy about a jean jacket, so it is definitely my go-to piece to finish an outfit.
The rest of the weekend, I wanted to put this outfit back together to attempt photographing it again because I didn't think that the first shoot turned out well enough. Once I uploaded the photos from this evening onto my computer, however, I saw things differently. Though they did not turn out like I thought that I originally wanted them to, I think these photos of our date together with my outfit tell a nice story of our real life. I wasn't planing to even post about our date night, but since taking photos of everything is just what we do, I am happy that I saw these photos strung together as a post.
Sometimes it is nice to remember that ultimately this blog is a journal for me, a collection of experiences and stories for me to look back on. While I love sharing it with others and doing my best to produce high quality content, I thought that in this case it would be much more memorable for me to post about our evening, with all of its bits and pieces, as a whole, rather than a  re-creation of an outfit that may be represented in more 'perfect' circumstances, but glosses over my genuine memories. You know what I mean?

We finished the evening by taking in the beautiful sunset in the park and heading to a new-to-us spot, The Ice Cream Bar. It was definitely delicious and I would love to go back to try some of their unique soda fountain creations.

The rest of the weekend was just as relaxing and mellow, with a family birthday party, a visit to see my mom, and a day in the sun at a water park. All in all, I think it was the perfect way to welcome many more summer weekends of fun and time together!

How was your holiday weekend? What are your thoughts about real life vs. 'edited' life in blogging?

Outfit Details:

Top // Anthropologie

Jacket // American Eagle

Pants // Uniqlo

Sandals // Urban Outfitters

Bag // Madewell

Necklace // Forever21

Bracelet // Lucky Brand

Dream Me // Volume II

Happy Friday, friends! I am officially on summer break and it feels like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders! I have been exhausted all week and it took a lot to will myself out of bed this morning... Oh well, I get a free pass this week for needing time to catch up on sleep I missed while I was up studying for finals, right?

So, on to today's topic... Do you remember this post from last fall? The one that was inspired by my 'Dream Me' Pinterest board? Well, I really loved putting that post together and thought that it was time for another installment since I have pinned more images to that board since then!

If one thing has become clear through this it is that I love soft, quiet moments. This seems to ring pretty true to what I have captured in my fine art photography through the years.

I think that this board tends to evolve based on the seasons of life I go through. Sometimes I am drawn in my bright, colorful images of life, while other times the mood is more subdued. This board is not me wishing I were someone else or longing for a different life. I like to think of it as simply inspiration for the type of woman I want to be and how I want to spend my time. I want to be an independent, strong, adventurous, creative, thoughtful, confident woman and I want to see the world, laugh, read books, create things, appreciate small moments, all while doing it with style.

Now that I am relieved from the stress of school for a few months and will have a lot more time to do things I am passionate about, I figured that this was the perfect time to pull a little inspiration for my life together. Perhaps I will try to have these thoughts at the back of my head when I am deciding what to do with my time.

Really, I'm just so excited to have a break from school! That means more time for exploring, more time with Marly, more time with Dai (!), more time for blogging, more time for creating, more time for whatever else I want to add into the mix! It's going to be good, I can just feel it. I'm thinking of sharing some goals for the summer (& blogging) next week, so stay tuned for that!

Well, I'm off to go get pretty for work so I can head straight to date night tonight! We are finally going to Nopalito for dinner to celebrate the end of the semester (which I rocked, by the way) :) I bought a new dress on sale at Anthro the other day and it is just begging to be worn. Gotta go style that up and pray Dai will be in the mood to snap some photos this evening ;)

Have a lovely long weekend for all you Americans out there! I'm happy to have Dai to myself for an extra day!