Seattle

Seattle; the city I knew I was going to fall in love with. For awhile now, I have always dreamed of going to Seattle. Not too long ago, I found flight deals from Long Beach to Portland for an amazing price of $55 one way. Because I couldn't find a $55 one way ticket back from Portland to Long Beach (at least a flight that was convenient for us), I decided to take the Bolt Bus up to Seattle. 

Anyway, we only had one full day in Seattle and I tried to make the most of it. We went to the Chihuly Garden and Glass (which has a very artistic view of the famous Space Needle). Beautiful place to visit (and I don't know too many of my friends who have visited). The Pike Place Market was my absolute favorite. Beautiful, and I mean BEAUTIFUL bouquets for only $5 (and $1 stem of dahlias!). Really looking forward to going back to Seattle in the near future. 

Looking forward to changing up my blog in the next few weeks. I've traveled quite a bit this year and I want to provide my advice and tips from all the places that I've been to. Just need to work it out soon. 

chicago 2013

Oh my. The last time I blogged on here was in June (and I said I was going to blog more often.... oops). Well anyway, while I was gone, I went to Chicago. My boyfriend had the last week of August off so we initially had planned to go to Maui. Change of plans and we ended up in Chicago instead. I've never been to Chicago and Chicago wasn't in our travel plans this year but I'm so glad we went there. It truly is a beautiful city, great food, and great people! Here's just a few photos of our trip. I'll upload more soon.

The boyfriend and I at the bean (Cloud Gate); my silhouette at Skydeck in the Willis Tower (Sears Tower); me at Cloud Gate wearing a $3 dress; somewhere near Michigan Ave.; Chi-Town

hawai'i photo diary

I'm starting to fall in love with the islands of Hawai'i (specifically the island of O'ahu). It has this city life that pleases my culinary taste buds and the shopping to please my style but the island also comes with a beach to watch the sun set in the horizon while the palm trees swaying and the waves are crashing. What more can you ask for? I've always declared my love for New York over Hawai'i but as the years have gone by, I'm slowly falling in love with this island. I guess my attitude with life has changed. I used to be this city girl, obsessed with being on time, always on the go, and a dress to impress attitude. But with life hectic as it is, you start to crave that peace, that slow paced lifestyle where you stop and appreciate the beauty around you. 

Having graduated with a bachelor's degree in business economics December 2012, I didn't know where to start. I didn't know what I want. A 9 day trip to Hawai'i was all I needed to make me realize what I want to do in life (or at least a taste of what I want). I want to see the world. I found so much beauty in Hawai'i that people otherwise would miss that I want to find beauty in places that I have yet to go to. With that said, I am missing Hawai'i terribly at the moment and another trip back to the islands is in the works. I am pushing for a small trip back to Honolulu but we will be visiting the island of Kauai. 

Well enough of that, I guess I should be talking about the photos huh? A view of Waikiki from Hawaiian Airlines flight; a little secret cove; a view of Lanikai Beach from a hike; Diamond Head and Waikiki from a park; Giovanni's shrimp truck in North Shore; the boyfriend and I at the park; life is good and it really is in Hawai'i; view from the rock in Waimea Bay; Lanikai Beach; me; and a sunset.

10

2003; 2013

The boyfriend and I celebrated our 10th year anniversary when we were in NY in January (is it really March already?!). It's crazy how time flies. In a few months, we will be heading to Europe for our very first Euro trip! Heading to Barcelona first where we will catch a cruise all over the Mediterranean! Once we're back in Barcelona, we will be taking a train to Paris to spend a few days eating macarons and falling in love in one of the most romantic cities in the world. So excited for tapas, sangria, Italian pizza, limoncello, gelati, macarons, and pastries. Also excited for Gaudi, Fontana di Trevi, Cinque Terre, Eiffel Tower, Versailles, Louvre, and so many amazing landmarks in Europe! 

Leopard

H&M coat, zara jeans, Steve Madden boots, and Marc by Marc Jacobs watch

I told you I was going to blog more! A photo from NY when the bf and I took a quick trip to the Highline. 

Central Park

Nordstrom cardigan, Zara dress, and Urban Outfitters boots

What I wore after lunch at Park Avenue Winter with the boyfriend. It was an unusually pleasant day in NY where this maroon cardigan was enough to keep me warm even when walking for about 30 blocks. Speaking of 30 blocks, the boots were a recent score from UO.... $29.99! Had the perfect heel height which made walking 30 blocks pain free and it is made of real leather! 

Street style in SoHo

Him: Uniqlo shirt, UO jacket, Levi's Jeans, & Cole Haan shoes 

Her: Zara dress, Nasty Gal coat, UO boots, & Marc by Marc Jacobs bag

The boyfriend and I went to New York City to celebrate our 10th year anniversary. Initially, we planned on going to Maui/Oahu, but the fact that we were in Oahu in August made us realized that NYC was our best option. To be honest, it came down to Ululani's shave ice in Maui or macarons from Laduree. Laduree won (though I think we would have saved a LOT of money had we went to Maui- can't bring shave ice back home). 

The trip was surprisingly short and the boyfriend got food poisoning towards the middle of the trip and the day before our anniversary. We had to cancel our reservations at Morimotos! Sucks but we're definitely looking forward to Europe especially since we're making a quick stopover back in NY to make up for our spectacular anniversary in our hotel room at the Eventi haha. 

2013

Hello world! It indeed has been a long time since I've blog..... since June? July? Oh my! It's a new year already and since then I've went to Hawai'i (again) and New York just last month and the boyfriend and I are finally going to Europe in 3 months (Paris, Rome, Venice, Barcelona, Naples, and other cities and countries). I've also officially graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Economics and have been off and on looking for a job (it's a bit overwhelming you know, growing up is intimidating and I doubt myself all the time- financial analyzing is scary). But expect more posts in the near future: old and new photos. 

Love, Kat