HOW TO MAKE MORE OF THE WEEKEND

LET'S PARTY! 

I love the weekend, and since I've been working it seriously could not come soon enough. I usually let my backpack fall on the floor, toss my phone on my bed, and literally crash as soon as I reach my bedroom. This semester I haven't been stressed, or worried about finishing up my homework, and fitting in life along side too. But, this semester I have been tired, and by Friday I'm over my busy schedule.

You think I'd be a pro at enjoying my weekend, but only because of Pinterest. The truth is that once my weekend comes, I create two extremes. I either do everything, and then wish I had a weekend, or do absolutely nothing, and wish I had been more productive. There's just no in between. So, I've been trying to work on that, and I thought I'd pass my tips onto you, because I have a feeling I'm not alone in this area, amirite? You're welcome!

1. START CELEBRATING EARLY: My motivation during the week is getting everything done by Friday. The advantages to a college schedule I suppose! But, for us working gals, getting off at work around 5 (in my case 6), and then sitting in endless traffic all the way home, just isn't fun. But, try to prepare before hand, that way once you arrive home, or go out for the night everything is done and ready for a relaxing weekend. I prefer to do all my cleaning Thursday night, and upload every piece of homework!

2. DITCH NOTIFICATIONS: Life is so much more peaceful when I ditch all social media, and expectations to rely back to people. During my weekend sometimes, I turn my phone on airplane mode, that way I live in the moment.

3. PLAN AHEAD: There are so many ways I like to plan for my weekend. I will schedule dates with my friends, and buy all the snacks you may want, and make a list of all the ways you want your weekend to look like. One thing I love doing over the weekend is working on blog posts, and I like to start early during my week by making a brainstorming list!

4. ME TIME: This is my favorite. I love journaling, taking a bath, making phone calls with my girlfriends, catching up on 7th Heaven, or do some reading. Take a few hours out of your weekend to enjoy some special treatment for yourself.

THE GRAND TRADITIONS ESTATE

BIRTHDAY LUNCH 

This past Saturday, I made reservations to have brunch at the Grand Traditions up in Fallbrook, to celebrate my mom's birthday! This is my second visit now, and it definitely lived up the hype from the first time. It's a darling old (huge) house, that serves as a venue for weddings, and a restaurant during the day. Isn't it just gorgeous? I couldn't stop this photoshoot session. 

As for my meal, I ended up ordering what I already knew I loved, a classic burger with fries, but honestly so wishing I would have gone for a Belgium waffle with strawberries (next time)! Oh, and for a delicious appetizer, you must order their avocado egg rolls. 

Now, at the Grand Traditions, you can walk the grounds which has a total of three specific garden walks, the first being the flower garden, a compass garden, and a path for the water front. The first set of photos you see below is apart of the front entrance, known as the flower garden. It's absolutely breath taking in person, and so dreamy for my type of future ideal wedding spot. The back of this house, called the Beverly Mansion, is a big outdoor porch where the restaurant is located, which overlooks a beautiful lake. 

UNDER THE PALMS 

This is my favorite part of the garden, because it reminds me of a tropical jungle. There are so many waterfalls throughout the entire trail, and they are so beautiful. My sister says this path reminds her of Disneyland, in line for the jungle cruise, but I say it reminds me of Hawaii! Nothing get's me like palm trees, and that deep greenery.

I seriously recommend visiting this darling little gem that's located in Fallbrook, Southern California! For years we never knew something this unique could be found in a funky town like Fallbrook, but we are so glad we did. Everything is set at a reasonable price, so it won't break the bank! Would love to come back for a Sunday breakfast, and order my waffle that everyone made look so good. Plus, all over the ground there is plenty of seating, picnic tables, and benches on every garden path, perfect to take a breather and enjoy the scenery.  

Happy Birthday Mom, love you!

3 COFFEE TABLE READS

PICK IT UP 

I certainly love my monthly book club picks, but there's nothing like a light hearted, easy to flip through kinda read. Perfect for keeping out on your coffee table! Today I am sharing three beautiful reads that you'll want to save for a long time, and that are beautiful to actually display all year round!

1. THE MAGNOLIA JOURNAL:
I know this is a magazine, but this one can be kept forever! If your a lover of the HGTV show, "Fixer Upper," then you will love this magazine. I really love the content and photography on each page. Everything is just so helpful, and full of seasonal inspiration! Chip & Joanna Gaines are Christian's and you can just tell in the way they write and word everything!

2. A YEAR BETWEEN FRIENDS: 
This book is the most beautiful collection of photographs, connection between two friends, and fun projects! The whole concept of this book is so unique. It's about two girlfriends who live 3191 miles apart, and they meet online over ten years ago, and became best friends. So for one whole year these girls have taken photos of their lives, share recipes and diy projects, and include written letters of the beginning of each month to each other. The book is divided into each month of the year, and honestly I love watching their life through the year unfold, along with their friendship.

3. THE KNOT: 
This is my favorite wedding magazine, and the edition I always purchase is the California destination. These weddings are absolutely extreme on every level (price, dress, location, etc), but to gather ideas is the fun part. I know there's Pinterest, but to me there's something about keeping a physical item filled with my favorite things to create my dream wedding. This is a magazine I will keep for a very long time, because somethings never go out of style (for a wedding;).

5 STEPS TO THE PERFECT BOOKSHELF

TINY LIVING? 

Last summer, (I know forever ago) I started a DIY project with my grandpa, and we created this very bookshelf you see in the photos! I really wanted a place in my room to display all my journals, and coffee table reads because my space is limited in my bedroom, so hence my online search began...only to discover it was going to cost me over $400. Darn my Pottery Barn taste, haha. My grandpa can build anything, especially with wood. So our two hour adventure into Lowe's Hardware, my grandpa's woodworking talent, two days worth of painting, my beautiful pottery barn inspired bookshelf was finished. And the best part, it only cost about $150 in supplies!!

My bookshelf is now finally decorated with pieces I love dearly, so I wanted to share with you all today some easy ways to style your own bookshelf! I've taken many pieces from here and there to create this look, so it has taken awhile for me to figure out my style. I experimented with different books, colors, and pieces, all of which I kept and tossed over these few months, so I think I'm ready to share a few tips that hopefully help you all today!

1. GREENERY: Add plants! Yes, it's that simple. I found this succulent holder at HomeGoods for around twenty dollars. I absolutely how it adds a fresh pop of color, and the texture of the wood helps considering how white everything is! Oh, and I always say fake plants are the way to go here on a bookshelf. I tried a live succulent in a DIY pot I made a while back, but I found it too difficult to water, and then once I did, it never ended back on the shelf because the pot leaked soil and water all the time.

2. CHOOSE A COLOR PALETTE: This is why it took me forever to truly love the overall look to my bookshelf. I knew I wanted everything to be white, and bright, so I decided on soft colors. As you see I have a lot of the same colors, just in different shades to add contrast. Not everything has to match, but if you prefer more structure, just place it all in some type of storage container.

3. PLACE BOOKS STRATEGICALLY: When adding books to my shelfs, I didn't want it to look all messy, or out of place. I wanted everything to match with my palette, and thus I began to display each set of books differently on each shelf. As you see, I place my books vertically leaning on the side, and stacked upon each other!

4. USE STORAGE: My bookshelf also serves as a tv stand in my bedroom, so I needed a place for my movies, remotes, etc. To add more variety to each shelf, I used a blue whitewash crate for my movies, a black iron basket for extra journals, and at the very bottom a brown iron crate with handles that holds small craft jars. For a tiny space, I try to decorate for my aesthetic, but also for practical function.

5. ADD THE EXTRA'S: This part was my favorite. Decorate with little items that mean the most to you. They can be candles, little figurines, photo frames, artwork, or vases. Your options are limitless!

WESTFIELD MALL | LA JOLLA

TWENTY

If you read my last post, you'll know it was my birthday on March 5th & I turned 20!!! Feels kinda crazy, but I'm actually loving it! So, to celebrate my family and I spent the day in La Jolla, as it's an entirely new location for me. I love venturing into new places, mostly because of the surprise and different photoshoot location opportunities (let's be real). I'm a born and raised Cali girl, but I don't know much of San Diego, so I took advantage of my day - score.

This trip to La Jolla didn't involve a walk on the beach, but rather a few hours at this amazing outside mall, called Westfield Mall. This place was so awesome, as it was filled with my favorite stores, and cool eating spots. I didn't bring out my camera as much as I had planned on, so my photo display is a little bare...so sad. I was just shopping the whole day, and once I exited one shop, I spotted another to enter. By the time I reached the end of the mall, I was like uh, I should have taken photos, nooo!! But that's okay, because it was nice to just live in the moment. Plus my arms were full with too many shopping bags from some shops I wish I had closer to home such as, Free People, Anthropologie, PotteryBarn Teen, and Madewell.

One great aspect of this mall is how quiet and peaceful the atmosphere is. The sitting options are everywhere, and tons of palm trees to make everything more pleasing! It ended up being such a cold day, which made it so enjoyable to walk around. I highly recommend visiting this place, and honestly I can't wait to go back! My birthday was so amazing this year, & I felt so spoiled - my parents rock!

p.s. keep scrolling to see my old fashion lemonade, from lemonade haha! Just another place I can cross off my bucket list! Yay!

ADVICE TO MY TEENAGE SELF

PEACE OUT! 

Today is my 20th birthday, and I'm getting all the feels. Today I woke up with my family always so loving and ready to celebrate my day, ton's of social media messages, and sweet phone calls from loved ones. To celebrate we are exploring some Southern Cali, so hopefully a post on that in a few days! I'm so excited to begin this new chapter of my life, and knowing what's ahead already I know it's going to be great. It's also a little scary reaching this stage, as everything comes with more responsibility. Anyways, I tend to be a little too sentimental, which calls for a post like this one today! Every year of being a teenager was provided with amazing memories, and growth, but with of course lessons that had to be learned the hard way, and some heartache. So, I've broken it down into age...& here's what I wish I knew then.

13 // DON'T COMPARE: At thirteen, entering into being a teen, it felt like a whole new world compared to Jr. High. High school wasn't magical like 'High School Musical' promised me it would be, so therefore having to fit in with everyone else set in pretty fast. The lesson I learned this year was don't compare, because in the end it will never feel right being anything but yourself.

14 // KILL OTHERS WITH KINDNESS: I still have to take my own advice on this one. Life was amazing at 14, and this lesson truly helped me succeed, and make friends.

15. // BE A LEADER. I have always been able to stand up for who I am, and take charge of any situation. At fifteen though I felt my life become like the song by Taylor Swift "Fifteen," ha! Imagine that! So this year my leadership skills were constantly tested!

16. // SAY YES MORE. This year was the end of friendships, and the beginning of some beautiful ones (yes, my bestie Alex)! Saying yes, and conquering some fears was the theme of being sixteen.

17. // POPULARITY DOESN'T MATTER. Oh, contrary of what the girls around me strived for, it truly doesn't matter in the long run. I look back on the so call popular girls in my circles, who are college drop outs, still single, and not even friends anymore.

18. // ENJOY THE AGE. Oh my, the older I get the more this advice/lesson comes into play. At eighteen, it's a weird transition of being a teen/adult. This year I got my license, attended Boys II Men concert, and bought my first car! 18 was so fun! Dare to say one of my faves?

19. // ALWAYS BE A BLONDE. I can't say this enough. Stop experimenting with being a brunette. I'm still reaping the consequences. :(