Back to Work tomorrow.

Today was my last day of my weeks vacation! Bittersweet. I loved spending time in SoCal, but I missed getting to work and photographing for Lifetouch. I'm ready for this coming week! Payday is so close....

Oh! and I just joined Chictopia, love it! find me, my user name is: cgmanansala

This is my outfit of the day. Casual Sunday, getting ready for work this coming week and doing some small errands. For casual clothes, I really do not like to spend much. This entire outfit was purchased for under 10 dollars! How? Well the thrift store, of course. I do not see a problem in buying thrifted items, especially if its just for every-day wear. As long as one washes them, the clothes are perfectly wearable.

I purchased the shirt at a local thrift store called "Eco Thrift", it is one of the biggest thrift stores in my area. If you dig deep enough, you are sure to find it. The store is located on mission in Hayward CA. The fun thing about thrifted clothes, is that you can mess with them a bit and not feel bad about trying to create something new. For example, I added four studs to the collar, just to play it up a bit and give a more edgy feel.

The shorts, I also purchased from a local thrift store, and I paid only 4 bucks for them. Best thing about this item is that they are a wardrobe essential, and they were made in the USA! Even living in the states, you don't get much things that were actually made here.

And as for this weekends shopping pick-ups(Along with boxes of Cliff bars and Mango Lemonade), I bought a new pair of Coach sneakers for work. I bought them at Nordstrom Rack. I only got these for 65 dollars, instead of the usual $100-120. I needed a good pair of black shoes that I can run around in, and be on my feet for several hours. These are absolutely perfect and comfortable!

Saturday Inspirations.

Today was a slower day than usual, probably because I am absolutely exhuasted from my trip to Los Angeles. (and I am so happy to be home!) I thought i'd use the rest of the weekend to relax and browse the internet for videos that inspire me before going to work at 6am all next week... So here are my top finds of the day!

I know it may seem cliche to look up Michelle Phan first, but I came across another channel that she is incorporated with called "Fawninc". However, do not forget that Michelle is an inspiration herself--Self taught make-up Guru, Lancome spokesperson,entrepreneur, etc...

They do several videos about makeup, fashion and interviews with style icons. They happened to have an interview with one of my favorite celebrities, Dita Von Teese! She is absolutely gorgeous. You may know her as the former wife of Marilyn Manson and one of the worlds most famous burlesque dancers. Her style is to die for.

Next, I looked into fall clothing lines for this coming season. September is coming! Not only is it my birth month, but it is also the "New Year" for fashion. Though many of these pieces are not affordable, I found that Valentino has so many ready-to-wear pieces that I simply love! (especially the red dresses around 2:00) Neutrals, chiffon puff sleeves, a hint of oriental details--The line is timeless, clean and chic. Much of the clothing are essential basics for a fall wardrobe. I will probably do a post later on in the season of where to find similar, more affordable items, so stay tuned! And thank you to popsugartvfab for posting this video.




And while browsing, I usually have some music playing. Music is always something I fall onto for inspiration. Always. This is an older song by Ray LaMontange that is on his 2004 Album "Trouble", and it is one of my favorites of his work. I love slower acoustic songs, its perfect for relaxing and writing.

And Lastly, One of my biggest inspirations-- Grace Coddington. She is the current creative director of American Vogue. I've really been wanting to post something about her! I recently had watched "The September Issue", and she has such a major impact on the magazine. I could write tons about her, but I will keep it short. Grace came from very little in the UK to becoming where she is today. She won a British Vogue modeling contest at age 17, and was photographed by some of the most famous editorial photographers of her time. Grace works closely with Anna Wintour(Editor and chief of Vogue, and an Ice woman)-- as much as I love Anna, Grace, however, is so much more inspirational. Her devotion and passion for the magazine, for the industry, is amazing. I could not find an embedded video, But this is the link to a small snip of Grace. Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/Zo1vnibK3vA

LA fireworks and the OC

Last afternoon and today were fantastic! Today, I spent my day in Orange County, turning it into a yearly kind of tradition for the day after fourth of July. It was so beautiful, the sun was soft and the winds were gentle. The water was a bit chilly, but the fun in the waves definitely over powered that aspect. I love beaches that you can actually swim in! (We don't really have any good ones in Northern California). I am so happy I got to come down here twice this summer already.

I wore the Caged tank top and a simple crochet lace skirt as a cover up.

And of course, my favorite polka dot Billabong Bikini. I was rocking a lot of Pac Sun clothes today... Not my usual. (I GOT SUNBURNED SO BADLY)

The Iconic SoCal lifegaurd posts.

Venice beach pier!

Oh, I cannot forget to write about fourth of july! It was so much fun, really! Goodness, I love my family more than anything. We had tons of fireworks, food, drinks... and so on! LA has really treated me well this summer.

I got a chance to capture my cousin light painting in the midst of the fun.

Firework explosions are so much fun to photograph, you never get the same thing!

And most importantly, my large and exciting Salvadorian Familia!

LA day one. Happy fourth of July!

Safe and sound in Los Angeles! I am sooo happy to be here. Today we are having a huge block party--BBQ, Fireworks, and such. I love coming here during July, the weather is great and my family is always amazing. 

I started off today getting some amazing tacos, from a taqueria literally a block away from my cousins house. How amazing is that? They had adorable paintings in their parking lot. And this place has the absolute best Al Pastor tacos. They are so good, I forgot to take a picture.

And as for tonights festivities, this is the outfit I put together: I used my flag scarf and wrapped it like a Bandeau. Kenneth Cole aviators for a classic american look and a straw fedora(I really don't favor fedoras but I suppose they are okay for July.) i am also wearing the Cheap Monday jeans that I packed with the F21 braided belt. I borrowed my cousins camel cardigan--I might just have to steal this. And lastly, red scarlet lipstick. Oh! and shoes? Well today I chose my messy hightop black Chuck Taylor Converse, I think Chucks are essential for any summer wardrobe.

These are my younger cousins, also wearing the same fedora. I love them so much! How cute are they?!

I'm Back and off to LA!

It has been a good three weeks or so since I have posted on here. After graduation, I went through a whirlwind--Grad parties, ceremonies, Job interviews, photo-projects and some travel. Luckily, within these last few weeks, I landed a great job with Lifetouch! I am now working as a senior photographer in the Prestige Portraits division. Its a really great start as my first job out of high school and I already have learned so much. Its another smooth stone in my pavement to my future and my dreams. And a lot of fun! In the midst of all of this, I have also registered for my college classes--I can't wait to start them!

I promise I will be updating far more often now that things have settled down a bit. This week, I am heading to the city of Angels! Los Angeles, and the one thing I absolutely love about being down south, other than the tacos, is the weather. These are a few outfits I just packed.

For the beach, in favor of Fourth of July, I packed a vintage flag scarf that can serve as cover up. My newly found favorite Bikini from Billabong. Through all of my swim suits, I have found that any Billabong suit has been the best--Quality and adorable! And Lets not forget my gold metal coin purse!

For the days under the sun, A caged tank top--with a bandeau underneath. And how can you spend summer without a lovely pair of vintage highwaisted shorts? Pair it with a braided belt from Forever 21.

And for the cooler nights, my favorite nude Tshirt, a studded clutch from forever21 and Cheap Monday Second skin high waisted jeans.