Tuesday, October 29, 2013

L'Occitane Samples Haul


I went to the mall the last time I went home, and I stopped by L'Occitane to pick up a sample of their new Divine Cream. They were promoting it in their email newsletters so I was more than happy to pick one up to try for myself. I love getting samples because it's a great way to try out new products without the huge commitment of finishing a full-size product. I love L'Occitane's lavender shea butter hand cream so I'm already a little familiar with the brand. French lavender is one of my favorite scents, and getting their luxurious hand creams is a nice occasional treat.

The ladies there were super generous with giving me additional samples aside from the Divine Cream. It was super sweet of them, and I'm excited to try them all since I haven't tried their other offerings. I'm trying to use up my current products quickly so I can try these samples so I'll definitely post more about them in the future. If you get the chance to go to a L'Occitane shop, stop by and pick up some samples (they often give them away apparently) and try one of their hand creams!

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Sunday Social: Halloween


Sunday Social

I've been MIA because of midterms, school, and my internship so I apologize for not posting lately. I'm still trying to figure out how to balance blogging into my life, and I hope I can figure out some kind of schedule. Anyway, I love Halloween so I couldn't pass up this week's Sunday Social. I hope everyone has a fun and spooky Halloween this year! :)

1. What was your favorite Halloween costume as a kid?
In the 6th grade, I dressed up as a witch, and it was WICKED!

2. If you could go back to your childhood and dress up as something, what would it be?
I would have loved to dress up as one of the Disney princesses. Maybe Belle or Rapunzel since they're my favorites.

3. What was your favorite Halloween costume as an adult?
Last year, I tried dressing up as a Gryffindor girl. I also had Hermione's time turner as a prop, but sadly it didn't make it into this picture.
Santa Barbara Halloween '12
4. What is your favorite Halloween candy?
Twix and Kit Kats! (mostly Twix)

5. What is your favorite Halloween memory?
I celebrated Halloween in Santa Barbara last year, and it was crazy!!! It was a lot of fun, and there were tons of people out and about in the streets. If you know what what Halloween is like in SB, the party shenanigans are real.

6. What is your favorite scary movie?
I don't like scary movies, but I think one of the best ones I've seen is The Poltergeist. It's an oldie, but it's really good.

I'm so excited for Halloween! Anyone have any plans! :)

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

25 Facts About Me


It's crazy, but I can't believe it's been like a month and a half since I started this blog. What's even crazier is that my birthday is exactly 2 months away! This year has gone by super fast, and I'm super excited for the holidays. With midterms right now though... not so much. :( Anyway, here are 25 random facts about me!
  1. I love pandas. They're my favorite animals, and I'm obsessed. Just a tad. ;)
  2. My favorite color is blue, like turquoise blue; I hate pink.
  3. Trader Joe's and Target are my favorite stores! I'm a proud owner of a Red Card, and I can spend hours shopping or browsing around those stores. And I tend to do that often actually - no shame.
  4. I am allergic to mosquito bites, and they're the absolute worst to deal with.
  5. Tagalog is my native language, but sadly, I can only speak it a little bit now. I can understand it really well, but I'm working on becoming fluent again.
  6. I'm a Sagittarius, and my Chinese zodiac animal is the sheep/goat/ram depending on the calendar.
  7. The first time I went to Disneyland was for my high school senior grad night, and it was amazing because I went with my friends.
  8. I'm not athletic, but I enjoy playing tennis. I picked it up in high school, and I still try to play whenever I can now.
  9. I learned how to ride a bike during my first quarter in college. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, but it was also one of the best things I've ever learned.
  10. I have a major sweet tooth. I was the kind of kid that would take candy from strangers (sorry mom!) and not much has changed over the years...

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Sunday Social: Blogger Firsts

Sunday Social


1. What is the first blog you ever followed?
I'm not 100% sure, but it might be between Bakerella and smitten kitchen.

2. What was your first blog post about?
It was basically a small intro about me and my hopes for this little blog. It was definitely the hardest post ever since I don't enjoy talking about myself too much.

3. Who left you your first blog comment?
Taylor from The California College Student is the sweetest! :)

4. Who was the first blogger you ever met in person?
I've never met a blogger in real life, but I would definitely love to meet Bakerella, Joy the Baker, and David Lebovitz. Food bloggers are so cool!

5. What was your first “blogging milestone?”
Getting comments is awesome, and getting my first one was such a big deal for me. I never imagined that other people could stumble upon my blog and leave comments so I threw a little dance party in my head (It's the little things, right? :) ).

Thursday, October 10, 2013

September Favorites

I loved a lot of things in September so I thought I'd start doing a monthly favorites series. Each month, I'll try to include beauty products, food obsessions, entertainment loves, and random favorites so there will be a little bit of everything!


  • I've mentioned my Dogeared Angel Wings Necklace before already, but I had to bring it up again in this post. I've been wearing it almost every single day, and it's simply perfect. It's definitely a life favorite!
  • I started using L'Occitane Lavender Hand Cream last month, and the French lavender scent is divine. It's a strong sort of lavender, and I like that it's not the artificial type of scent. It also moisturizes well so I've been using it a lot since my hands get so dry from my constant hand-washing.
  • I also started using a new lip balm, and it's Butterbeer Lip Butter! It smells like sweet butterscotch and vanilla. It smells more like a dessert rather than a drink, but that's okay with me since I love anything HP-related.
  • The Hello Breath Spray in Pink Grapefruit Mint came in my Co-Ed Supply August Box, and it's one of my favorites from that box. The packaging is so cute, and it fits well in my small makeup bag for school. It also locks when you twist it so it won't spill when you store it away. The flavor is also pretty fresh and not overwhelming.
  • I bought a new pair of Vans this month since I've had my other one for almost 2 years. I'm bummed that they don't have wide sizes anymore, but I still love the classic style. I chose the gray color so it can complement any outfit.
  • I couldn't include images of these in the collage, but I still want to talk about them anyway. I bought the Bear River Valley Cinnamon Trackers cereal this month, and it tastes like a thinner Cinnamon Toast Crunch! It's yummy, and it pairs well with vanilla almond milk. My other favorite is an app, and it's the C25K Free app. I've been using it to train for my 5K, and I like their 8 week/3 days a week program. This app has been really handy since I don't know how to pace myself or train for a run, and the best part is that it's completely free.

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Sunday Social: My Younger Self

Sunday Social

1. What were you like in middle school and high school?
Middle school was definitely my super awkward years. I wasn't super social, and I mostly kept to myself. High school was still awkward (well that's still true today), but I became more outgoing and sociable especially senior year. Throughout high school, I was really involved with extracurriculars, and I was driven to succeed and excel academically so I can get into a good college and get a lot of scholarships. Boring stuff really, but thank goodness I lived a little during my senior year.

2. What were your favorite pastimes?
I loved playing Pokemon games on my gameboy, watching lots of TV (like Full House and Gilmore Girls), and read books. During my senior year of high school, I picked up baking and watching Youtube videos. I still do all these things now, minus the Pokemon part because my gameboy is lost somewhere in Narnia...

3. What songs were you obsessed with?
I loved Britney Spears and boy bands for sure. I was a major pop music fan, and I was all about the 90's top hits.

4. What fashion statement do you look backing and cringe?
Wearing Uggs with everything. I never understood why everyone, especially celebrities, always wore them. I guess comfort is important, but they just don't look that great to me. They actually look pretty unflattering because they're bulky, but that's probably just me. Fashion in general baffles me often.

5. Who was your celeb crush?
I don't really remember who it was, but it might be Chad Michael Murray. One Tree Hill was one of my favorite shows while growing up, and he was so cute!


6. What was your favorite movie?
I never really had a favorite movie, but I always enjoyed watching Disney movies. I was really into the Princess Diaries and all the romantic comedies like 13 Going on 30 and Sweet Home Alabama.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Tako's Korean BBQ Tacos

From the top: chicken, pulled pork, and bulgogi tacos! And Sac Food Co-Op's veggie juice.
I feel incredibly bad for not talking about this place sooner, but better late than never, right? Last month, my friend and I went to Tako's Korean BBQ Tacos. We both love Korean BBQ so we were excited to try this Mexican-Korean fusion casual restaurant. I ordered 3 tacos, and I ordered the chicken, pulled pork, and bulgogi tacos to sort of sample the different meats that they have. My favorite was definitely the bulgogi taco followed by the pulled pork taco. Bulgogi is marinated steak, and it was cooked and complemented perfectly by their special purple house sauce. My friend and I think it might be a berry-based sauce because of the color and sweetness. The pulled pork taco was also delicious and very tender. It was the messiest to eat, but it was certainly worth it! The chicken taco was good, but it wasn't as impressive as the other meats. It was cooked well and it had the purple house sauce too, but I probably just wouldn't order it again. The tacos were $7, which was pretty reasonable for the amount and taste of the food.

My friend and I enjoyed trying our first Tako's experience, and we will definitely return when we're both home from college again. Next time, I'd like to try their nachos or burritos, and I hope they will be topped with that purple sauce too!

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Influenster Colgate SoftSlim VoxBox Review


I recently received the Colgate SlimSoft VoxBox from Influenster. If you don't know about Influenster, I highly recommend it if you like getting free stuff and reviewing new products. Check out their website here for more details!


Even though the toothbrush was the main product in the box, they also sent travel sizes of Colgate toothpaste and mouthwash. I liked the flavor of the toothpaste, and I did notice some whitening effects so I was pleased to see it live up to its whitening claims. The mouthwash was also great, and the size is perfect for traveling! It's an alcohol-free mouthwash so it doesn't have that burning sensations like many mouthwashes do.


I've never splurged on toothbrushes before so using this super nice toothbrush feels life-changing. It is the softest toothbrush that I have ever used in my entire life, and it's so gentle even when you scrub your teeth really hard. The bristles are sort of angled, and the tips are < 0.01mm so it can deep clean and really get into the spaces between the teeth. I have deep grooves between my teeth, and I have noticed that it does clean really well between those spaces.

I loved all the products in this box, and I would recommend them to anyone! The toothbrush was definitely my favorite among all of them, and I would probably repurchase it in the future since it works so well for me. If you're looking for a new toothbrush, check out the new SoftSlim toothbrush in stores.


Disclaimer: I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes; all opinions are completely my own.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

October List

Found on Pinterest

I'm so glad it's fall, and October is one of my favorite months of the year. Here are some things that I'm looking forward to this month:

  • Halloween! - Definitely one of my favorite holidays of the year. I love the (free) candy, and dressing up can be fun. I'm not sure exactly what I'm doing this year yet, but I'll most likely be hanging out with some friends and having a low-key celebration.
  • Breast Cancer Awareness Month - As a woman, breast cancer is an important issue for me, and I like to observe this month by acquiring more tools and resources to be well-informed.
  • My Mom's Birthday - She is turning 47 this month, and I'm definitely excited for some birthday festivities. We always have a family dinner, and my brother and I spend a day with her doing whatever she fancies.
  • My First 5K Run - I will be running my first 5k run (yikes!) on Oct. 26th. I've been training a little bit with an app that I downloaded, but I hate running so this will be a huge accomplishment for me. I'm not trying to get the fastest time so I just want to finish the race and hopefully jog most of it.
  • Enjoying apple-everything! - I love apples, and they're certainly one of my favorite fruits. This month, I really want to enjoy eating Dutch apple pie and caramel apples. I would love to go to Apple Hill as well if the opportunity comes up.
What are you looking forward to in October? :)