beach bumming

As you guys know, I went to the beach about a month ago, but I've just finally gotten around to uploading my pictures!  I road-tripped down there along with six other friends in a big old Suburban (you should have seen how little we looked behind the wheel of that ginormous car!) and spent four lovely days on the beach.  I thought I would share a few iPhone snaps with you- hope you enjoy! :D

our first day on the beach/ friends helping make dinner/ the hotel where we stayed/ toasting our arrival with a refreshing cocktail/ spending some time in the 'burban'/ soaking up the sun/ dining together in our hotel room/ sun + sand + sunscreen= a good combo =)

V.E.G.A.S.

I've been meaning to share these photos for ages- it has been over a month since I got back from Vegas!  Well, better late than never! =)

The Luxor/ Julian Serrano/ lobby at the Aria/ Bellagio water show/ Treasure Island/ the Wynn/ the Venetian/ gondolas inside the Venetian/ Fremont Exchange (old Vegas)/ elk at the Grand Canyon/ South Rim of the Grand Canyon/ Grand Canyon/ Grand Canyon/ cupcake hat in the candy store/ walking down the Strip/ jamón serrano/ Crystals Shopping Center/ Vegas at night/ Marquee entrance stamp/ Wynn hotel sign/ indoor atrium/ inside the Wynn/ inside the Encore/ Nevada State Line/ me at the Grand Canyon/ sunset at the Grand Canyon

A video of the fountains at the Bellagio- one of my favorite things that we saw in Vegas

the process of packing

As I type this up, I'm sitting on a plane to San Francisco enjoying the benefits of in-flight wi-fi.  Since I knew that my Spring Break itinerary includes 4 flights, my goal was to avoid checking any luggage during this trip.  Normally I bring at least one suitcase, which I can fill to my heart's content, but this time around I knew that wasn't going to be the case.  My challenge: could I fit all I needed for two weeks in three different locations (San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Bakersfield) into one carry-on and one "personal item"?  The answer is yes and I figured I would share with you guys my packing process!

Step 1:

On my bed, I lay out all of the clothes that I think I want to take on my trip- this part looks like a hot mess!

Not all of these will make the final cut!

Step 2:

Separate clothing into piles by category (such as dresses, cardigans, pants) and eliminate any redundancies.  For example, sometimes I'll see that I've pulled out 4 pairs of jeans for a short trip, in which case I'll eliminate a couple because I know I won't wear all of them!  Also, at this point, I can see the sort of color scheme that I have and bring in more color/patterns if I want- I gravitate towards black and then I self-correct!

Here are the basics, including some camisoles, regular tees and tunics and pajamas.  I have basics in so many colors, but I only selected the ones that were complementary to the tops I brought.

I have some silky and sheer shirts that I can wear to go clubbing in Vegas as well as some more interesting tops that are still casual enough for daytime.

Shorts and skirts! In the back are the nighttime skirts (all black- see what I mean?) and towards the front are more daytime appropriate skirts- a few with prints and a few solids so that I can remix them.

I limited myself to three pairs of pants- a black pair of jeggings that can work for day
or night, and a light and darker pair of skinny jeans.

Dresses:  All of the ones I selected have spaghetti straps or are strapless, so I can wear them as is if it's delightfully sunny or layer a cardigan over them if it's a little chillier.  I didn't want to bring any of my thick sweater dresses because I figured it would be too warm for those!

Step 3:

Gather the jewelry and shoes!  Looking at the outfits I made up, I grabbed matching earrings from my jewelry frame, as well as necklaces from my revolving stand.  Then I also grabbed the pairs of shoes that I thought would be most versatile- one pair of flats, one pair of wedges, one pair of boots (which I'm wearing on the plane because they're the bulkiest), and what my friends have termed "the stripper shoes" for Vegas.  And of course, they're all black! :D

like you saw yesterday, but filled up with most of my earrings!

Step 4:

Pack everything into the carry-on.  I put the shoes on bottom and wrapped them up in plastic bags so that they don't get my clothes dirty.  Then the rest is like putting together a puzzle- I roll them up as small as I can and I fit them together in layers in my duffel.  This involves a lot of moving things around as I discover that something fits better elsewhere.

things that are too bulky when rolled go on top, layed out as flat as possible

Other things that I packed that aren't picture here are outerwear (faux leather jacket and trench), toiletries, homework, makeup, and computer, all of which went into my other bag- my "personal item."

And there you have it- that's how I pack!  I'm definitely not saying that this is the best method out there, but I do I know that I am able to fit a great deal of things into a small amount of space and packing only carry-on items for a two-week trip is definitely an accomplishment for me (my roommates almost made a bet that I wouldn't be able to do it because they know how I am)!

So tell me, what's your packing process?  Do you use any of the techniques that I mentioned?

free wi-fi on a long plane ride is awesome

As I'm sitting on a six-hour fight from JFK to LAX, I can't get over the fact that I can use the internet on the plane for free!  Three things I love about flying with Virgin: free wi-fi, reasonable prices, and 70 (not 50!) pound weight limit!

Here's an outfit that I wore a while ago but forgot to post.  Cardigan + dress + tights + boots is pretty much my go-to outfit these days because it is so easy to throw together.  Also, everytime I wear these booties I love them more and more and I've decided they are perfect for day and night.

cardigan and tights- forever 21, dress- American Eagle, boots- Target

As I was packing for this trip, I was thinking a lot about what I wear when I'm at home.  A few of you guys have asked where I'm from- the answer is Bakersfield, CA.  Now Bakersfield isn't a tiny city (more than 300,000 people), but it is certainly not the fashion capital of anything.  When I go home, I feel that I sort of tone down my outfits.  There are outfits that I wear at school that I definitely wouldn't wear at home and when I try to come up with a reason why this is the case, I can't think of a good one.  I don't know, maybe I feel that people will think I'm trying too hard if I want to try something new or creative with my style.  Then, as I thought some more about it, I've decided that it doesn't matter.  I should feel comfortable wearing whatever outfit I want to wear, wherever I am, so this is what I'm going to try to do while I'm home.  Hopefully, I'll begin to feel a lot less self-conscious.  Do you guys ever feel that you have to dress a certain way when you're in a certain place?

Thank you guys so much for putting me over 50 followers!  I'm going to spend the weekend responding to all of your lovely comments and when you tune in again on Monday, you'll get to experience all those exciting things that I've been mentioning!  Three hints: "I whip my hair back and forth!," sleeker and chicer (that's probably not a word), and bows.   Interpret as you will ;)