MY LIFE IS FAST, MY HEART IS SLOW

{Word's We're Wailing-hitRECord collaboration}

handmade 'greece' tank via Purrr Remake, boyfriend jeans via Pacsun, 

Dolce Vita harness booties, H&M belt

I'm officially a second year student at Cal and it's kind of a wake up call. Freshmen year was a blast; from the friendships I've made to the parties we don't remember to the dining hall food, I loved every second of it. But now it's time to grow up, start doing something with my life, and experience more. I'm loving this new mindset and I have the lovely Joseph Gordon-Levitt to thank for that.

I went to his A Night at the Movies in SF last night and it literally brought me to tears. Regardless of how beautiful this man is and how lovely his speaking and singing voices are (which let me tell you, is beyond amazing, especially in person), I fell in love with his passion. His eyes glowed with pride whenever he started talking about his open collaboration project, hitRECord. It really resonated with me and something happened to me the moment I walked out of the theater. 

It's easy to fall into a pattern with life; to do the same thing day after day and be okay with it, and this is what college was for me. Something I've become fairly comfortable with, something that no longer excited me but I was neither happy nor sad about. I realize now that I want more, I long to find that one thing that'll make my heart flutter with pride, with love, with excitement. Something that'll give me the same glow in my eyes. Determined and willing, I'm going to spend the rest of this year dedicated to trying new things out, to pushing my boundaries, to hopefully find it. And if not, well hell, I'll surely have experienced a couple more interesting things and have a few more fun memories to fall back on.

Didn't want to fall into the category of "trying too hard" or "not trying at all," I settled for a relaxed and happy medium of "just right." I found this handmade tank top at the Melrose Trading Post down in LA and fell in love with everything about it; from the simple, easygoing cut to the beautiful print of Greece, it was meant to be framed and properly displayed. But I'm far too greedy and way too in love with it to do that. Since mornings in Berkeley are always a little bit chilly, I decided to wear my newly acquired boyfriend jeans that are just the right amount of baggy which make them ridiculously comfortable. These are the first pair of jeans I've worn in over a year as I can never find ones that fit my lower half correctly and I'm loving them! To combat the rolled up jeans, which I was scared would cut my height even more so, I put on my favorite Dolce Vita harness booties that I just want to wear with everything in my closet! A little rugged, a little badass, and a lot of awesome. And that's that. Here's to another year, GO BEARS!

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BIBBIDI-BOBBIDI-BOO

{bibbidi-bobbidi-boo from cinderella}

borrowed free people intimate slip, borrowed urban outfitters slip, brown bow boots via Taiwan, 

green bag via Taiwan, thrifted dreamcatcher slave bracelet,  f21 silver locket, gifted blue sparrow necklace

Having four roommates in a tiny apartment with only one bathroom and no living room sounds a bit insane, no? Well, welcome to my life, for the next year at least. Even though the bathroom is crazy packed with products, the fridge is up to the point where the light is dimmed by the surplus amount of food, and we can hear each sweet word of nothing you whisper through the paper thin walls at 3 AM, there certainly are perks that comes with living in such a full house...which reminds me of Full House...and my huge unrelenting crush on Uncle Jesse...who DIDN'T have a crush on that sexy hunk?

The one major benefit, and definitely my favorite, has to be the fact that I've gained four fairy godmothers. Doesn't the light blue color of the dress remind you of Cinderella? Due to the fact that it was my favorite Disney Classic as a child, it does to me and I couldn't help but giggle at the fact that my roommates are pretty much like the cute ol' godmother who turns rags into gowns.

I'll stare at my abundantly overflowing wardrobe and think to myself, "I have absolutely nothing to wear, pooey!"Through all the contemplation, complaints, and wanting to walk out with my never-seen-the-light-of-day-white-as-can-be buttocks so they can finally make their grand appearance, I continue to sit there, in silent fuming desperation. Then, all of a sudden, almost like magic, POOF! I suddenly remember that I can walk three feet to either sides of my room and find four more closets staring me dead in the eye, begging me to wear its beautiful contents.

How can I resist? How can I possibly say no. The simple truth is that I don't. I've never been good at saying the word "no" to begin with, why start now?

Thus, this is the story of how I got my Cinderella-inspired "happily ever after" outfit, all thanks to my new fairy godmothers.

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THE GIRLS ARE FRISKY IN OLD 'FRISCO

{California Sun by The Rivieras}

thrifted crochet cardigan, thrifted American Apparel corduroy skirt, 

borrowed American Apparel mesh bodysuit, "ring of keys" necklace, 

Dolce Vita harness booties, vintage black bag via Zipped

Just as the title suggests, we are ;), kidding! Totally feeling the vibe of this song as the sun has FINALLY shown its round little yellow face around Berkeley. Better late than never, right? Since everything is starting to come to a slow halt and loose ends are being tied up as summer is finally coming to a conclusion, my friends and I took the opportunity to take in the sun and stroll around Oakland for a little thrifting adventure and I can't wait to show you all the new, or rather old, goodies I found!

So sorry for the lack of outfit posts as of late, working at a daycare with little itty bitty babies does not result in the best outfits, trust me. I practically live in my moccasins, leggings and large denim to get through the day as these little snot-filled cute little goobers are not to be trusted around anything but (but I LOVE them to pieces still!) Despite the poopy diapers, the runny noses, the barf up, the meltdowns, they are secretly adorable, sweet and charming, whatever they say I feel obliged to do. I'm a sucker for them sweet talkers...or sweet babblers since none of them can really talk yet.

With my bra trying to make a slight appearance, this outfit is a little bit on the risqué side, so I tried to balance it out by toning it down with earth tones and simple basics. I'm pretty much a walking American Apparel ad, with the mesh body suit and the brown corduroy skirt, they might as well start paying me an advertising fee! I'll also take free clothes as a payment, just throwing that option out there. I paired the outfit with my new Dolce Vita harness booties that I originally planned on purchasing, at full price in black, but then I found them  40% off in brown, so I cave into my reasonable asian brain and never looked back. If you haven't noticed a familiar color scheme I'm diggin' lately, here it is! Brown, black and tan, that's it. I can't get over the simplicity of these colors and how they remind me of camels, chocolates and everything lovely like that.

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CURTAIN'S FINALLY CLOSING

{take a bow by rihanna}

borrowed h&m tank dress, borrowed thrifted sheer button up, 

marc jacob heels, target floral explosion necklace

It came and went. The Mélange Fashion Show 2011 that is. I started my fashion associate internship this past June and it's been a whirlwind of work, emails and emotions. It made me laugh, cry, jump in joy, scream, want to die, and so on, but it was an experience I wouldn't trade for anything. It made me realize how difficult this business is, the fashion business that is. Forget working your way up, you have to claw your way to the top, you have to really want it. 

And I do. At least I think I do.

It also helped me see that I should broaden my horizons. I started off as a fashion associate but was given tasks beyond the title. I cold-called designers, I emailed and maintained relationships with designers from all over the world, I researched props, I found contacts, I found performers, I did anything and everything they asked. I now want to dabble in a little bit of everything, just to see where my niche is going to be. Fingers crossed. (aren't they always?)

Since I worked the fashion show, I didn't really get to see it up close and personal. But, with the help of Sherrie, Donna and Vivian, we manned and ran the boutique section. Or what was suppose to be the boutique level. Due to the show running late and the venue not cooperating, we never actually got to sell anything. Nevertheless, we made it fun aka we turned it into a photo op, like always. I gush about my friends frequently and this is why. Only they would willingly volunteer to come to the city with me to work for ten hours, and when it doesn't work out, turn the night into one full of hilarious memories, laughter and pop chips. One of the male models said my necklace was "bombass," no big deal. (kidding, it's a totally huge deal, dude was hot!)

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GOTTA BE COOL, RELAX, GET HIP

{crazy little thing called love by queen}

thrifted suede button up, black bandeau via mother's closet, reptile printed high waisted shorts via Macys,

 deena & ozzy wedges, f21 dreamcatcher necklace, brown charlotte russe bag

While the sun doesn't illuminate the Berkeley sky like I wish it would, the rays are definitely scattered all about my hometown. As my Tuesday and Wednesday lectures have been canceled, I could not think of a better way to spend my day then to spend it at home with my family. Little did I know I would be the only one here. With an empty fridge and a starving stomach. With the normal hot sticky summer that I am so very fond of outside of my air-conditioned home, I lounge inside, alone, watching tivo'd shows that are begging to be watched in order to make room for new ones as my list of need-to-catch-up-on/need-to-start television shows seems to never end. Not complaining, just enjoying any time off I get. 

With my second year, fall semester just under a month away, it really is time to live it up and soak up every relaxing second I can before the worry, stress and the "I just want to jump off of Evans and end this misery" (Berkeley inside joke anyone?) thoughts start entering my minds once again. What's left on my summer to-do list? Get an A in MCB, find the perfect fall blazer, go to the beach once more, make time to see a couple high school friends, go to the zoo, eat at boiling crab again (Shrimp by the lb? Yes!), thrifting in the city, sleep, sleep, sleep, and most importantly, SLEEP! Can you tell I'm lacking sleep? Always lacking sleep and topping it off with a full schedule doesn't make it any better, thus it is essential to sleep as much as possible now. Too bad insomniac me doesn't let tired me do so, but then again, neither does my neighbor. That's what I get for living between a fraternity and a sorority, the joys of living on frat row.

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