Travel: Sedona and Antelope Canyon

Went for a short weekend trip and met in Arizona with some of our close friends from Chicago, Denver, and Glendale (AZ). We all needed to get out of town for a little bit and agreed on meeting in Arizona for a fun-filled weekend!

We all flew into Phoenix and drove from there to Sedona for some leisurely hiking. We hiked to a point called Devil’s Bridge, which was stone formation that looked like a bridge (makes sense, right?). It’s not for the faint of heart since it’s pretty high up and can make you feel a little uneasy. It had some amazing views though! I was not as daring as other people that were sitting at the edge but I like to be on the safe side.

After the hike and some lunch in Sedona, we made our way to Page (with a pit stop at the Southern Rim of the Grand Canyon for the sunset). We spent the night in Page and planned to get up super early so that we could visit Horseshoe Bend and see the sunrise. It was very ambitious but we successfully did it and then onto Antelope Canyon we went! It was the main thing I wanted to experience from this trip!

We booked a tour to see the Upper Canyon. The tour provided a ride and tour guide(which was required). We walked through the canyon and soaked up the beauty of it. There were a lot of people there, given the popularity, but it was still great to see it! The vibrant red of the walls and rays of sunlight through the crevices above were definitely at sight! It’s a must see and a magnificent experience! Overall, it was such a fun weekend and tons of beautiful sights!

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Foodie Friday

BUTTON MASH

Met up with some of my friends at this little spot in Echo Park and thought it was super cool! They have retro arcade games around the restaurant so you could play while you’re waiting for a table or just simply go and play! We got several plates to share between 5 of us. Each was very flavorful and exciting! They serve a menu of Asian fusion style dishes from burgers to wings to noodles. It’s a very refreshing and solid take on Asian food.

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FOUND COFFEE

Decided to meet up with a friend for coffee on Sunday morning and decided to try out Found Coffee in Eagle Rock. Now, I always say ‘go have coffee’ with someone but I never seem to get coffee. I usually gravitate towards chai teas so of course, that’s what I chose. It was very light and pretty good, not my favorite but doable. I did like their pastries though and the decor! It’s a great place to sit and catch up with someone.
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CURRY KING

This place can be hard to find and is located in a strange area of Atwater but I always pass by so thought I’d finally try it out! The boyfriend and I had dinner there one night and got a shrimp dish, garlic naan, samosas, and the mushroom curry dish. Everything was SO yummy! I was very surprised at how good it was considering that we were the only two in the restaurant at dinner time! I’ve read that people like their lunch buffet so maybe that’s when they’re the busiest. I’d love to come back!
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KING HUA

DIMSUM is very close to my heart and I find every excuse possible to eat it any chance I get. I often come to this spot in Alhambra because they have plenty of options and serve this dish called ‘snow milk buns’ which is a very fluffy dessert pastry filled with light custard. It is absolutely delicious!

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Instagram Recaps

Here’s a recap of some of my Instagram pictures from the past couple of weeks! Some of these are pictures from my Arizona trip, which I will also be posting about soon!

Links to the clothing pieces I wore will be provided below each picture! Enjoy! 🙂

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Shoes (SIMILAR HERE)| Leggings

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Shoes| Jeans| Sweater| Cardigan (SIMILAR HERE)

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Jacket (SIMILAR HERE)| Jeans| Cardigan (SIMILAR HERE)| Boots| Shirt

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Dress (SIMILAR HERE)| Shoes| Jacket (SIMILAR HERE)| Purse

 

Real vs. Steal: Chloe ‘Drew’ Crossbody Bag

I’m one for splurging on certain things here and there but sometimes finding a look-alike or dupe is just fine with me too!
I have been seeing this Chloe bag everywhere! Tons of other bloggers having been sporting this accessory and I can’t say that I haven’t been tempted to go get one myself but with the price tag on this, I have been stopping myself from even thinking about purchasing it! It’s not in everyone’s budget to spend $1500+ on a purse (nor mine).
BUT for those of you that want a similar look for a more affordable price, below are a few purses that would do! I’ve provided links to the pieces below!
Chloe Drew Crossbody Bag

 


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Foodie Friday: Arizona Roadtrip

Last weekend, I met up with my friends in Arizona for a small weekend road trip adventure where we traveled from Phoenix to Sedona to Page. We all live in different states, so we agreed on Arizona for our little getaway and meeting point. It’s nice to be able to get together every so often and have a group trip, especially when we all live so far away from each other!

Since today is Friday, I wanted my Foodie Friday post to be of all the food we ate while we were on our trip. Let me tell you, it was definitely better than I expected. I often resort to fast food and junk when we go on road trips but there were some spots that were surprisingly delicious and somewhat healthy.

Check them out!

OUTLAW GRILL (Sedona, AZ)

We came to this little spot after our morning hike and we had worked up a good appetite. They had bbq, sandwiches, burgers, and various items. The boyfriend and I decided to share an order of pork shanks (shown below) and a grilled cajun chicken caesar salad. The pork shanks were the highlight of our lunch! They were both crispy and tender at the same time, and dipping it in their house bbq sauce was amazing!!! Meaty goodness!

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BLACK COW CAFE  (Sedona, AZ)

After lunch, we searched for ice cream spots because several of us were craving it! We found this popular ice cream spot, almost like an old fashion soda fountain, called Black Cow Cafe. When you walk in, you can smell the freshly made waffle cones, and that’s when you know it’s good! I got the malted vanilla ice cream in the waffle bowl. It really hit the spot! Super creamy and delicious!

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STATE 48 TAVERN (Page, AZ)

After a long day of driving, we decided to stop by this spot in Page and not expecting too much. I ordered the battered avocado tacos and roasted beet salad. We all also shared the kimchi fries. EVERYTHING was so good! Such a great fusion restaurant that satisfied our hunger!

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TORTAS DE FUEGO (Sedona, AZ)

For our last night, we wanted to grab a quick dinner and found this little place. Instead of getting tortas, which is what their known for, we all got different things. I got the trio plate, which gave me a crunchy taco, enchilada, and flauta. What can I say, I love variety! It was pretty good but nothing beats tacos in LA!

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Instagram Recaps

I usually post a lot of quick outfits on Instagram and often get questions about where I get some of my clothes from. So I wanted to start recapping some of my Instagram posts every so often and provide links to where I get some of my clothes from! I know I’m always looking at other Instagram accounts and when they don’t provide information on where they get their clothes from, it makes me sad. And I don’t want you guys to be sad so here you go!
Here are some of my outfits from the past couple of weeks!

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OUTFIT:

Dress| Purse| Sandals|

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OUTFIT
Top (SIMILAR HERE)| Jeans (SIMILAR HERE)| Purse

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OUTFIT

Fringe Top| Jeans| Purse| Flats (SIMILAR HERE)| Sunglasses (SIMILAR HERE)

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OUTFIT

Jeans| Flats (SIMILAR HERE)|

Favorites: Oscars 2016!

Let me start off by saying how happy I am that Leonardo Dicaprio finally won an OSCAR!! I swear I was probably more nervous than he was when they were about to announce the award. He was definitely very deserving and I think the audience agreed as well, considering he got a standing ovation!

Anyways, back to business! I was eyeing all of the beautiful gowns from the night and deciding throughout the show which ones I wanted to feature on my post. Below are my favorites from the night. YAY LEO!! 🙂

Alicia Vikander Oscars 2016

Charlize Theron Oscars 2016

Olivia Munn Oscars 2016

Lady Gaga Oscars 2016

Pictures are from EOnline and US Magazine

Sophisticated Camel

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I’ve had this camel coat from H&M for a long time now and I never get tired of wearing it. It’s the perfect color and warmth for winters in LA and I love the pink lining. Adds some femininity to the whole coat! It is very nice and structured for any outfit, so I paired it with a crisp white blouse and black jeans. I’ve been looking for more structured pieces that are quality and essentials in every closet. But that means I need to clean my closet out a little to get rid of the pieces I don’t really wear that often. It’s so hard to let go though….

LA is only going to get hotter now so I guess I’ll be putting it in the back of my closet until it gets cool again!

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OUTFIT
Jacket: H&M (SIMILAR HERE)| White blouse: Anthropologie (SIMILAR HERE)| Black Jeans: Target| Flats: Justfab (SIMILAR HERE)| Purse: Justfab (SIMILAR HERE)|

Foodie Friday

BESTIA

This is my second time at Bestia and the first time for my sister and her boyfriend! I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to come here again especially when it takes months and months to get a reservation. I think we booked this 3 months ago and our dinner time was still at 8:45pm- still pretty late for dinner in my mind! But who cares?!! Gotta come here as much as I can!

It’s one of the must-try spots in LA and definitely has a huge waitlist. I already knew what dishes I wanted to have again and what I wanted to try this time. We got plenty of small plates during our last visit, so I knew I wanted to try one of their pizzas and meat dishes.

Our server recommended the crostini with egg and black truffles, which was such an amazing choice to start off with! The eggs were creamy and the flavor of the truffle shavings made the dish unbelievably delicious! I highly recommend this! The pizza we chose was the Burrata which was nice and light with amazingly yummy cheese!

Another highlight of our dinner was the Tomahawk pork, which was a 37 oz piece of pork. They ran out of the porterhouse, so the alternative was the Tomahawk which won my boyfriend over the minute our server told us about it! There was a scrumptious and crispy crust on the pork and the meat itself was so tender and moist with just the right amount of bite. It was pretty pricey but worth it.

I’d say our visit to Bestia was successful because my sister and her boyfriend left the restaurant wanting to book another reservation! I don’t mind though!

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Grey Pullover

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This Winter, I was all about over-sized pullover sweaters that I could just throw on over my jeans for quick and easy outfits! I purchased this one from FREE PEOPLE and I love how cozy it is! It features a slight turtle neck and side slits which both add uniqueness to the sweater!

I’m sure I won’t be able to wear it much longer since LA doesn’t stay way too cold for that long, but I can save it for random cold days I guess! At least I got to wore it a few times so far! 🙂

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OUTFIT

Pullover: Free People| Jeans: Asos (SIMILAR HERE)| Booties: Michael Antonio (SIMILAR HERE)| Purse: Justfab (SIMILAR HERE)|