Sights & Bites: July 26th, 2015

DRESS: Urban Outfitters (on sale too!) // HAT: unknown // BOOTS: Forever 21 // NECKLACE: Nordstrom // BAG: Zara

I'm back with another lifestyle post for you. There is so much exploring to do and especially in a city like Los Angeles, there is always something new to see. My friend is a huge Kanye West fan and his exhibit with Steve McQueen at LACMA gave us an excuse to head to LA again. Our first stop was the exhibit, which was basically just an extended music video playing on repeat in the center of the room. You get access to the exhibit just with a general admission ticket, so we enjoyed walking around the rest of the museum because I shamefully have never been inside. There are always food trucks across the street from LACMA so we also grabbed something to eat while we were there. My favorite food truck (which unfortunately was missing in action) is the Arroy Food Truck. If you ever see this truck around, I definitely recommend grabbing something. Next on the agenda was the Bates Motel on Sunset. There isn't really much I have to say about this one. It was an old abandoned motel on Sunset that they painted completely white, even including the Palm Trees. It was cool to see but I guess I don't know enough of the backstory to fully take interest. We finished our day with one of my favorite things to do - grabbing a coffee from one of LA's best, this time being Intelligentsia. We went to the Intelligentsia in Silver Lake which is such a cool part of LA. There are so many little shops and restaurants to check out and it just had a pretty good vibe. That's all there is to cover for this one. Hope you enjoyed reading about what I was up to! Don't forget to check out my Instagram account to see more photos like these. 

xx Michelle

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Music of the moment: Gypsy - Fleetwood Mac, New Americana - Halsey, What a Pleasure - Beach Fossils 

Sights & Bites: July 19th, 2015

In my opinion, it is so important to get out and explore the area you live in. Wherever you're from, there must be something you haven't yet seen or someplace you haven't yet been to. I am a regular shopper at flea markets. My usual go-to is the Melrose Trading Post, but this past Sunday my friend Mackenzie and I ventured into downtown for the Artists & Flea. Flea markets always have so many unique treasures and they are my go-to destination when looking to buy jewelry. You can always find trendy yet inexpensive costume jewelry or you can find local artists that design more higher end stuff. I like the idea of supporting local vendors and paying less for what you get. 

After shopping around for a bit in the heat, we got really hungry and went on a search for some food. We first stepped into Daily Dose cafe, which was situated in an alleyway with a menu that featured good coffee and vegan options for Mac. After finding out the restaurant had closed just as we walked in, we headed West to check out Gracias Madre. I've seen this restaurant on social media way too much and so has everyone else I guess because they couldn't seat anyone else for the night due to too many reservations! Since we were starving at this point and already in WeHo, we found a parking spot at Zinque and ordered immediately. We ended our little excursion at Kippy's in Venice for some dairy free ice cream, which was super yummy. 

Next time, I will try and document the whole day for you. More photos from this day can be found on my Instagram account here. I like posting more lifestyle posts, so expect more soon!

xx Michelle

Just Some Favorites

Just thought I would take an entire post to lay out what I have been enjoying lately, material objects that is. Just a post entirely dedicated to the discussion of rompers, stacked bracelets, and beauty products. Hold on to your seats, this is important stuff.

The first topic to go over is the glorious clothing item called a romper. Some call them playsuits, some call them rompers. For now, let's just refer to it as a romper. The great thing about a piece like this is that you can make an entire ensemble with just one item of clothing. As you know, I like to complicate things so I opted to tie a cardigan around my waste and add a hat. This particular romper is from Urban Outfitters and I just love the quarter length bell sleeves. The polka dot print is pretty cute too, huh? The cardigan is All Saints (thrifted) and the hat is from H&M. 

All right, the next topic up for discussion regards the lovely stack I have been wearing on my wrist. I have already mentioned my beloved Daniel Wellington watch in my last post and I think I am wearing an Alex & Ani bracelet in almost all of my outfit photos. The new item to my collection is the leather and Swarovski crystal bracelet from Noma Los Angeles. I particularly like the gunmetal shade of crystals as it's a shade I am not typically attracted to. Definitely make sure to check out their site as you will be happy to find a huge sale going on! 

Every now and then, I like to give a quick run down of the beauty products that have really stood out to me lately. First thing on the list is the Prada Candy perfume. Now, describing scents is a skill I don't have so all I can tell you about this particular perfume is that is smells really sweet, but a little more mature than something like Pink Sugar. I love it. As for more things that make me smell nice, I have been loving my "It's Raining Men" shower gel from Lush. If you didn't know, this shower gel is the same scent as the "Honey I Washed the Kids" soap just in gel form! The nineties lip is still in and I have been rocking the look with MAC Twig lipstick. The color is classic and extremely wearable, pictured on my lips in the last photo. The Laura Mercier translucent loose powder has been my favorite lately. Out of all the powders I have ever used, I find this gives my skin a smooth, natural finish while still keeping the shine away. 

Hope you all enjoyed. Look out for a true outfit post coming soon. 

xx Michelle

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Photos by Justine Solan. 

Cleansing with oil?

Oil cleansers always seems a little contradictory to me. I mean, you typically cleanse your skin to remove the oil your skin has built up so the concept of using oil to remove oil seemed a little odd. I am always dabbling into new skin care products and I have now developed a decent understanding of cleansing oils. I stuck with some lower end options, but both higher and lower end brands offer similar products. The two I tried were from The Body Shop and Garnier. Both look and feel like an oil, but they smell lovely and lather up slightly when you rub the oil between your hands. The oil consistency really helps remove all the makeup on your skin and I even use it gently to remove my eye makeup, including my waterproof eyeliner. From what I have gathered, cleansing oil is just a very nourishing alternative to cleansing. It cleanses your skin and leaves your skin supple once you're done. I still like to do a quick wash with a normal gel cleanser once I finish with this, because it does leave an oil residue on my skin after. Because of that, it does seem like just an extra, unnecessary step sometimes. But when my skin feels irritated or dry, it is nice to remove my makeup with something more nourishing opposed to just using a gel cleanser or makeup remover. I think cleansing oil is great for the winter months or for anyone who experiences dry skin - it will clean your skin while the oil puts moisture back into your skin. I recommend both the Garnier Nourishing Cleansing Oil and The Body Shop Camomile Silky Cleansing Oil. Both are great quality and affordable, especially if cleansing oil is new to your skincare regimen. 

 I am still very much a beauty product junkie, so I am definitely making a mental note to write more of these types of posts. 

Hope you enjoyed.

xx Michelle

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Till Next Summer

Just as a little update,  a new outfit and beauty post will be up here shortly. For now, I am leaving you with some photos of this past summer. You treated me well, but I have already moved onto the next season. Till next summer.

Photos taken in Chicago, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, and San Diego. 

xx Michelle

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From My Sister's Closet

For those of you who didn't know, I have two sisters who are equally interested in their closets as I am. So, I thought I would do a post on an outfit entirely borrowed from them. Well, then I got some new shoes. So, with the exception of the shoes and the bag, this outfit is from my sisters' closets. I couldn't tell you how many fights we have gotten into over the years over clothes, but the point I wanted to make with this post is that everyone's own personal style changes the way you can wear anything. 

The dress was borrowed from my younger sister and is just a simple stiped t-shirt dress purchased from Target. Does anyone else love finding great clothing items at Target? Next, I added this light wash vest from my older sister's closet. Denim vests are the perfect item to add to an outfit in the summer because they are lightweight and easy to style. Remember when I mentioned how much I wanted the orange/red reflective Ray Ban aviators? Well, my older sister bought them. Therefore, I borrowed them to add some color to this primarily monochromatic look. All jewelry was borrowed from my sisters, as well. The shoes are my new mules recently found at H&M. What do you guys think about the mule trend right now?

These photos were taken at yet another cool location in Orange County, the Anaheim Packing House. It is basically this giant room with unique places to eat and succulents hanging left and right. Hope you guys enjoyed this one! 

xx Michelle

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Sheezus photography.