Runaway

This is probably now my favorite top in my entire closet right now. It's my favorite color. I love the tulip sleeves and the buttons down the back. I wore this top to visit my brother at school and to take my mom to see a Chinese opera (my mother's day gift to her). My brother said it made me look like mint chocolate chip ice cream. I took it as a compliment. Seeing the opera was not fun. I didn't understand what was going on because it was in Cantonese, and it was just loud and irritating. Enduring three hours of it just shows how much I love my mom. I'm glad she had fun though, but I think next year I'll take her to see a musical that we both can enjoy.

I recreated that look and took these pictures a few days later by myself. I always seem to attract creepy men when I'm out taking self portraits. On this day, there was a man holding a baby chick walking around this park. I thought we would just ignore each other like normal people, but he approached me and asked if he could watch me take pictures of myself. I told him I was just finishing up (even though I wasn't). He then asked if I was into photography, and I had my ready-made-lie of me taking a few photo classes just for fun. He then asked if I had any pictures of myself in a bathing suit, and that's when I said I was done and packed up my things and got out of there. My blogging life just isn't glamorous at all.

Until next post,
Jasmine

top - francesca's collections

skirt - j. crew

belt - gap

loafers - aldo

ring - jewelmint

Whole Heartedly

 

Lately, I've been feeling like I've been doing everything half-heartedly: work, school, dieting, blogging, and my relationships. I'm getting nowhere this way. I must admit I rarely give my all to something because I'm so much more afraid of success than I am of failure. I'm kind of used to failure. I am a pessimistic, cup-half-empty kinda person. But last year, I found myself actually throwing myself into the things that I cared about, which resulted in me losing 25 pounds and finding a job and career that I truly love. On Friday, I was accepted by the other grad school I had applied to--UCI, which is ranked a lot higher than CSUF!

I went to UCI as an undergrad, and I know I didn't give it my all when I was there: I didn't really go to class, and I didn't really get involved in any clubs or with many people. I just didn't care because I didn't really like my major. As I've said before, I stumbled into teaching my last quarters as an undergrad. Once I found that passion in my life, everything changed. My life became more focused and purposeful. I decided to graduate early a year early, and have been working hard these past two years to make up for those awful three years as an undergraduate. To be given this second chance at UCI makes all those hard days at work, and 10-hour days of working and going to school so worth it! This reminder of all the hard work I've put in has woken me up from my old habit of doing things half-heartedly.

Now I'm not sure which school I will choose as I have to look into the programs more closely, but what I do know is that I'm going to try to do things more whole-heartedly.

Until next post,
Jasmine

striped top - thrifted

sailboat skirt - francesca's collections
belt - topshop
loafers - aldo
sunglasses - raybans
watch - nordstroms

Simple Love

As the days get hotter and longer, my outfits seem to get simpler. This is especially true over the weekends. This outfit worked out perfectly for a Saturday of catching "Freaky Friday" on TV, grabbing Japanese food for lunch, and shopping at Fashion Island. I wore a similar outfit to spend the day with my family for Mother's Day. We took her out for shaved ice and good Chinese food. This bracelet, which is part of a set of three, is my new favorite to pair with my watch. I used to hate having things on my wrist, but a watch has become a necessity for me at work so why not add a little something extra to it? Like with most things in my closet, I like my accessories to be simple--mostly because they tend to annoy me through out the day. One of my car's cupholders is usually filled with accessories that I take off through out the day.

Hope you're all having a lovely week so far! Today is our talent show at work. It's going to be chaotic, but for all the funny moments that are bound to happen, I think it'll be worth it!

Until next post,

Jasmine

t-shirt - h&m

shorts - h&m

belt - gap

sandals - h&m

sunglasses - raybans

watch - nordstroms

bracelet - jewelmint

Colorless

I rarely wear such a neutral outfit. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know I love to wear the colors and prints, especially red and stripes. However, I am guilty of letting my mood effect how I dress (well who isn't honestly?). And so this outfit reflects my feelings of nostalgia, inadequacy, and uneasiness. My emotions and my mind have been stretched so thinly lately that it's been a little hard to be creative with my closet. I'm not sure if I'm willing or ready to share something so personal here. I've even debated quitting blogging recently since I just couldn't seem to get out of my own head long enough to post. However, at this time, when a lot of things in my life are about to change in the Fall, I know that I want to continue blogging because it's been one of the few constants over the past 2+ years.

Until next post,
Jasmine

dress - cotton on

cardigan - american vintage (via rue la la)

belt - gap

loafers - charlotte russe

necklace - foreign exchange

Summer 2012 Inspiration

I always find myself looking through Tumblr or through my favorite blogs more than usual when I'm in a rut. I'm hoping these photos will kick me out of this rut. I have a lot on my mind right now and it's hard to be creative with your clothes (or anything really for that matter) when you have so many thoughts clouding your mind.

Until next post,

Jasmine

photo sources:

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10