Because this happened today:

Anyone want to send me their old iPhone? Or fix my screen for me? Sads all day. ):

I’m not HUGE on concert-going, but when a band I love comes to town, I’ll make the extra effort to see them while I can. Geoff and I both love The XX (many of our first few dates featured them playing on his iPhone through the car), and when we heard about their show in October we HAD TA GO!!! So finally June is here, and we drove up to the Greek Theatre in Berkeley to see them. The show was amazing. They’re wonderful p

erformers live. The place was absolutely packed, though. If you’ve ever been to a show there, you know the amphitheater seats kind of suck since they’re hard, scratchy concrete, and the grass hill in the back is basically vertical, it’s so steep. We tried sitting on both and eventually wound up on the grass, packed in on all sides by so many people. We had a great view, still, and the show was awesome!

It seems I’ve come to a grinding halt in terms of posting regularly on my blog. I guess I just TEMPORARILY ran out of inspiration, not to mention all the stress provided by school, midterms (yep, I don’t get to have my summer until mid-June), and a shifting job schedule. It’s not like I haven’t had any creative ideas–just take a look at my Pinterest–but I haven’t felt very creative in terms of photography as of late. I saw this quote (above), however, that really gave me a little jolt. While I was creating this in Illustrator, I thought about how your 20′s are all about “Life is to be conquered!” We apparently don’t find out until we’re in our 30′s that “life cannot be conquered” (ha, hopefully I’ll be more cheerful when I’m old). So, might as well live it up now! I’m thinking about creating a schedule and list of features to discuss on the blog. It would be so awesome to have a partner in publishing! I never really aimed for this to be purely a personal blog, more of a collection of lovely, amazing things and interesting topics. Anyone feel like joining me on the blog-train? Hit me up!

These are the staples you’d find in the cosmetics bag I keep in my gym bag. When I hit the gym or studio, I usually just use a big tote without many compartments or else my school bag, so the little and loose things I store safe in here. I swear by Secret’s deodorant (unscented, of course) and Carmex. The Neutrogena wipes are excellent for restoring that “brisk” sort of feeling to your skin after it gets sweaty and oily, and the Evian spray is the cherry on top: your skin will be glowing and moisturized again! There’s nothing like rewarding yourself with these pampering (but practical) items after a good session at the gym, pool, or studio.

After 27 years of preparing the Easter goodies and surprises for the family, I think it’s fair to say my mother has rather tired of the job—or at least, was running low on new ideas. So since I love everything to do with decorating, party-planning, and goodie-compiling, she put me in charge of the festivities this year! You’ll see my Easter basket post (and outfit) soon, but first I’ll share my Easter breakfast with you. I decided crêpes were the perfect base for this breakfast: they’re dainty, sweet, and special enough for the holiday. But plain old butter ‘n cinnamon wouldn’t do, so I went for a berry compote, something I’ve never made before. It was astonishingly easy, incredibly delicious, and tasted very fresh (berries are coming into season, hooray!). I had everyone licking their plates clean, it was so delicious. And of course, the crêpes wouldn’t be complete without a dash of homemade whipped cream. Once you try this stuff, you’ll never be able to bear the canned gunk ever again. It’s that good. I’ve compiled a little recipe card below featuring the recipes I used for this breakfast! We also served latkes; hashbrowns or eggs would go nicely with this meal as well.

(For the whipped cream, simply pour about a half cup of fresh whipping cream into your chilled electric mixer with a dash of granulated sugar and vanilla. Whip with the whisk attachment on high for a few minutes. Proceed to eat the entire batch.)

A touch I can never do without in my personal space is wall art, but it can be hard to find beautiful, unique pieces when you’re on a budget. I’ve never much been one for movie posters on my walls (although I did have a magazine-collage stint for a few years back there); photographs are hard to choose, and other types of posters seem corny. Illustrations like these make great conversational pieces and you won’t tire of them easily. Emma Leonard is an Australian artist who works mainly with watercolor, pencil, ink, and charcoal. And from March 18-25th, everything in her Etsy store is 25% off! Now the hard part is choosing which piece I want to buy; out of all her lovely works, so many are favorites.

There are just some voices you can’t get out of your head, and thankfully I’m not talking about the ones that get you tossed into the psych ward. Marina and the Diamond’s latest album Electra Heart came out last year, but the highlights of the indie pop collection still get stuck in my head, particularly “Teen Idle,” “Buy the Stars,” “Homewrecker,” and “Prima Donna” (surprisingly the only that made it onto the mainstream radio stations). The first Marina song I ever heard was “I Am Not a Robot,” which was a free single on iTunes right around when it first came out. After falling in love with the song, I eventually looked up the rest of that album (The Family Jewels) and I’m still totally entranced. And in other way exciting news, Marina and the Diamonds are touring in the next few months!!!! There’s an upcoming show in San Francisco I would have definitely been at, had the tickets not all sold out (except for the upper balcony in the back corner…so lame). So anyway, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for another tour, next time perhaps showcasing a whole new album! If you aren’t a Marina fanatic like me (yet), you can find all her songs on YouTube and iTunes, which I highly encourage. You’ll be a convert before you know it.

 (Check out this sweet set by Coffee-Kid on Polyvore…definitely reminds me of all things Marina! She’s sassy/bubblegum sweet/cheerleader/old school/um, all around awesome)

I threw together a few accessories I’ve been loving lately. You can wear them basically all the time, anywhere, and still look perfectly put-together. I love the delicate prettiness of small gold jewelry; it’s timeless (Visit PetitCo for some of my favorite “tiny” finds under $15).  I just bought Laqa & Co’s lip color in Wolfman, and it’s a bit pricey (about $18 on Amazon) but I’d recommend it: it’s very moisturizing, features a nice minty essence, and allows for light yet buildable color. Think of it as a step up from Burt’s Bees; it’s all natural, but won’t dry out and is sleeker than the beeswax-matte effect of Burt’s.

I’m going to avoid the really lame simile that my style changes with the seasons (even though I think it does). In high school, after I got through my emo-grunge-punk phase (ha-ha, okay, now shut up), I was hugely drawn in by more hipster looks and fancier stuff (well, a couple of new, slouchy cardigans ARE fancier than way-too-baggy hoodies, in my opinion), with lots of patterns and accessories. But my style is growing up. And I never thought I’d say it, but lately I’m loving… PREPPY. AHHH. What is this life coming to? Actually, I think my style now is pretty much just college-student; a mixture of girly, sporty, and lazy. But we can just call that prep, for fun. I don’t go to an over-the-top mowed-lawn marble-staircase Ivy League, but SCU definitely fulfills its required University vibe. So we’re talking casual tees, pullover hoodies, solid colors, and high ponys. Away with ye, tribal patterns, fringe, crazy colors, and thrifty-grandma stuff! I’m saving you for summer (luv ya, sry, muah).

While it’s still too chilly out for my liking, February (the whole month, even after Valentine’s Day) for me is always all about pink, red, white, and lots of frills and hearts. There’s just something about cute, happy stuff that warms me up! Not to mention that Marc Jacobs watch will definitely look good all year round…time to make an important investment? :)