One Year Later

Exactly one year ago from today, 9/30, my life completely changed. As I'm writing this, on the last night of the month, right now at this exact time I can remember crying on a blow up mattress at my friend's place, in her spare room. I tried to silence my cries and let her and her (then) boyfriend (now husband) sleep — but when you a feel a pain that deep, there's no stopping it.

I had been in a relationship with someone for 9 years — technically 8 — but it was someone I envisioned

I'm Tired Of Hating My Body

I'm over it. I'm done. I'm tired of hating my body. How it looks with and without clothes. How it feels when I sit down or am dancing. How I take a second glance when I look at the mirror. Its all become just too much for me. 
I think I've been carrying around this non-literal weight on my shoulders for too long and it's finally time to let it go because I'm ready to be happy.

I've always fluctuated with my weight, ever since I can remember. I never thought about what it meant to be heavier or

#TBT: SOUL OF SHU SHOOT

Happy Thursday, beautiful people! I've been meaning to post this for quite some time but I didn't know how to make it fit on this blog , but what better way than a TBT? (That's "throwback Thursday if ya' didn't know - hey, I'm not judging...)

On 2/12 I got a comment on my Instagram page on one of my photos from someone I knew nothing about. She was an Australian photographer in Chicago for a couple of days on vacation. Now if you know me, I probably wouldn't have emailed her back because I'm such a homebody but I decided to take a chance and reached out to her. 

So here I am, doing everything your parents tell you not to do - 1) talking to a stranger 2) setting up a date & time to meet for a shoot 3) actually meeting this person at a hotel...but hey, it's 2015 and you gotta' live a little!

I met the incredibly dope Shu and let me tell you, this woman is inspiring. After talking for a while, we got to shooting and I quickly found out that she has such a keen eye for making the simplest of things look mind-blowing (I'm talking about dead plants looking like a blooming forest type-of- good). I got to know more about who she was, what she wanted out of life and where she sees herself going. I'll let you in on a secret: she has a heart of gold. Not only did I get some ridiculously amazing photos (all completely courtesy of her) and great conversation at Big Star, but I also got to meet someone that I enjoyed hanging out with and getting to know, and my place will be open to her (& her talented boyfriend) whenever they're back in the Windy City.

So Shu, if you're reading this: THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR GIFT WITH ME - I truly appreciate it. I don't think you realized how much of an impact you had on me when we met.

xx

Check out her work at: http://soulofshu.com/

<

San Francisco Diary // Day 5 + 6

We've reached the end of my San Francisco Diary blog posts and I could cry just thinking about how much I miss it. The last 2 days (5 + 6)were spent hiking around, eating a lot and taking it all in. I love that you can walk anywhere and everywhere and find so many hidden gems. Also, I wasn't really ready for a hike *note the baby blue purse I was rocking* but it was honestly such a beautiful trip and I am definitely making it a point to go back sooner than later! 

Click the READ MORE button to see the last round of photos from my vacay! 

San Francisco Diary // Day 4

All I have to say are 3 word: GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE

Day 4 was dedicated to taking pictures in front of this iconic bridge and sightseeing - definitely was one of the more free-flowing days where we could take in and do anything. 

We tried to bike the trail to the bridge and actually bike the bridge, but a flat tire and many hills later, we decided to backtrack. We caught a Special Olympics event taking place around Pier 39 and finally made our way to the epic bridge. Funny thing about San Francisco is that one minute you're in sunny breeze-free weather and the next is dark/foggy windy weather. We caught the darker windy weather for the bridge (not ideal) but we still ran with it and loved it!

We knocked out so many neighborhoods on Day 1 + 2, so we really took this day to chill in the area(s) we loved the most and just take in life. 

Starting to feel really bummed that I didn't take too many pictures on my nicer camera!

Click the READ MORE button to check out some photos from this adventurous day!

San Francisco Diary // Day 3

My 3rd day on the West coast comprised of: party bus to Napa/Sonoma + 4 wineries + 1 brewery all on a beautiful Friday. Needless to say, this was one of the best days I had there. We went on a wine tour and my lack of photos goes to show that I had an absolute blast. If you're ever in San Fran or by it, I definitely recommend going on this tour. Unfortunately I didn't bring back any wine because my luggage was already heaving entering San Fran. 

Doing these posts is giving me serious nostalgia.

CLICK "READ MORE" TO SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM MY WINE-FILLED DAY!

San Francisco Diary // Day 1 + 2

It's currently 14 degrees right now and I constantly ask myself: "Why am I still living in Chicago?" About a week ago, I fled the cold midwest and took a trip to the most perfect place on earth (that I've experienced so far) - San Francisco!  The weather was perfect every single day, and this marvelous 7x7 city was easily walkable with eye-catching sights everywhere you turned. It's safe to say that I fell in love. I took my Canon on this trip but didn't take too many photos/didn't document everything everyday. Looking back on it, I wish I did, but I experienced so much more taking it all in (plus, took random pics on my phone) So here's the first set of photos from the trip!

  Latte from Four Barrel

A TON OF PHOTOS AFTER THE JUMP - CLICK "READ MORE" TO SEE THE REST

HAULBOOK - Video Recap

Happy 2015! I cannot believe that we're almost halfway into the first month of the new year!

If you guys follow my YouTube channel, you would have noticed my last 2014 video was a haul of the latest items I had picked up at some of my favorite stores - Madewell, Topshop, Zara and H&M. My first video of 2015 was a quick showcase of the items from the haul. I thought I'd share some quick snaps of the clothing items I picked up. Let me know if you'd like to see more posts like this. You can check out the Haulbook by clicking play below.

MORE PHOTOS & LINKS TO ITEMS AFTER THE JUMP...