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California Blooms

California is blooming and she is magnificent. I’m sure by now you’ve seen all the wildflowers everywhere. Spring has got to be one of my favorite seasons at all time. The other week ago, I finally got a chance to stop by and see the beautiful poppies in Lake Elsinore.

It was so relaxing to be surrounded by nature with thousands of poppies. I made this one shoulder floral dress for the beginning of the spring season. What do you like most about spring? Have you seen any of the super bloom yet?

XO,

Joy

April 9, 2019

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Top Things To Do In Bolinas, CA

Hi babes!

As y’all know i went to the bay area a few weeks ago and I got to visit the beautiful Bolinas, CA. Bolinas is a small community in Marin County, California. It sits about 36 feet above sea level. Driving there was definitely insane – it’s like going to a whole new world.

One of the things you must do is to go – camping!

My boyfriend and i recently bought a tent and at first we were so adamant about investing in one but now we’re actually super happy that we did and we get to make use of it on our travels!

Lately we’ve been using Hipcamp to camp to the most gorgeous and not so well known places. In our adventure here, we stayed at the Garden By The Sea, which 1 1/2 hour from San Francisco and about an hour to Point Reyes. Here you can pitch your tent and be surrounded by this beautiful garden filled with different flowers.

Secondly, you gotta visit the Las Baulines Nursery where it’s filled with beautiful plants and flowers —and next to it is their local fresh home grown market.

Thirdly, go explore Point Reyes —here you will find their infamous light house, different beaches, lots of fields and deers! We saw a herd of deers as we were adventuring around.

Last but not the least, stop by at Sir & Star. We actually found this place last minute – right before they were closing. Everything closes around this area by 7 pm just FYI so when we found that this hotel/restaurant was open, we were delighted. I love the whole atmosphere filled with really branches and lit candles. The food was tasty and delicious. We were running late and were so happy that they stayed open just for us. <3

If you’re planning to go to the Bay Area anytime soon, hope this blog post helps! I’m about to write another one of things to do in San Francisco – stay tuned for that one! 😉

XO,

Joy

July 18, 2018July 18, 2018

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Lavender Festival

Hi friends,

On June 16, 2018, Eddie and I went to the Lavender Festival <3 It’s probably one of my favorite festivals yet as it’s celebrated at the beautiful 123 Farm at Highland Springs Ranch & Inn where the organic herbs are grown.

They also serve lavender everything – from drinks to ice cream with live music!

You can also make your own lavender crown! But we came a bit later so we were too late!

They also have mini cute shops that sell oils, soaps, candles, spices, teas, books, honey and even bread!

Then there’s two huge fields with lavender where you are free to take pics and there were also horse drawn carriages where they give out guided tours.

And of course, I had to make an outfit for this gorgeous event! I made floral flowy dress that ties at the front. All portraits are taken by my photographer boyfriend, Eddie <3

If you missed this year’s event, I hope you make it next year. It’s so worth it and have I mentioned relaxing?

XO,

Joy

July 3, 2018July 3, 2018

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Flowers Over Adulting

“The flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all.” – Mulan

Happy September! Fall is near so I’ve decided to do my last summer blog post. For this look, I made a two piece – printed bandeau and a ruched skirt with a white cardigan. What do you guys think about this look? I’m going to miss all the colors that I got to play around with this summer. Although, I’m sad that summer is coming to an end, I’m also excited that fall and a new season is coming! Anyone else obsessed with pumpkin spice lattes, knee high socks, boots and coats? Because I am. I can’t wait to make and style fall outfits.

I was walking in DTLA a few days ago and my roommate and came across these flowers and I absolutely fell in love with them and had to take photos in front of them. I think one of the reasons why I love flowers so much despite of them being beautiful is the fact that if you think about it, they actually go through so much dirt and transition before they actually bloom. I’m sure if you took elementary science growing up, you learned how flowers come to life and now as an adult, I look back at this process and think that this is pretty much what adulthood looks like. Growing up, I’ve always been an optimist; that everything will just fall into place and although everything has, I also didn’t think adulting was going to be as difficult as it is now. However, everyday is a new day to start over, to take risks, to be scared but do it anyways, to create something new, to invest on yourself, on other people, to build new opportunities, to dream, to play, to love and to hope.

XOXO,

Joy

September 1, 2016September 1, 2016

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Cherry Blossom Festival

Every year there’s a few different Cherry Blossom Festivals all over the United States. I went to the one in Monterey Park and although there weren’t any more cherry blossoms currently in bloom, I actually ended up having so much fun more than I thought. There’s live entertainment, arts and crafts section, food booths and crafts vendors. For this event, I decided to bring Coco and make a kimono for her and me. My friends and I got a taste of the Japanese and Japanese American culture through a first-hand experience of watching traditional Japanese dancing, hearing the resounding beats of the taiko drums, observing the mastery of martial arts and learned how to make flower arrangements.

What’d you think of Coco’s kimono? If you have other suggestions that you’d like to see her in, let me know. Happy Friday and Happy Earth Day!!

XO,

Joy

April 23, 2016April 23, 2016

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Flowers & Sunshine

This weekend is probably one of the hottest weekend we’ve had in a while. Therefore, my girlfriends and I decided to dance around the flower fields at Carlsbad Ranch. If you have not gone yet; you definitely should visit before they close it soon. It’s a beautiful 50 acres of different flowers in bloom filled with life, color and happiness. For this adventure, I made a floral lace top fit and flare dress to match the flowers.

XO,

Joy

April 18, 2016April 18, 2016

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For The Love Of Coco

One of the reasons I may want to have kids someday is just so I can dress them up! Haha. So I thought why not start now? Yes, I will most likely end up being one of those crazy dog ladies.. but what’s wrong with that? 😉 I’ve decided start making dog clothes for Coco and here’s a preview of what’s more to come. I’ve partnered up with http://pascuaportraits.com to shoot my matching floral dress with Coco at the Conejo Valley Botanic Gardens where they have beautiful wild flowers blooming all over the place.

Hope y’all have an amazing Friday!!!

XO,

Joy

April 8, 2016

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DIY: How To Make Floral Crowns

Happy Friday!!! Is it just me or anyone else excited for festival season coming up? One of the undying trends for this season is the floral crown. So I thought of making a quick tutorial on how to make one. Since I went to a Coachella themed party last weekend, I thought of making one with real flowers. It’s a lot simpler than you think, so without further ado:

You will need:

A bouquet of flowers
Green wires (bought mine at Home Depot)
Scissors
Your creativity 😉

Layout your flowers and leaves you’d like to use and cut them with a good amount of stem.

2. Make a circle, measuring your head where you want it to lay.

3. Make a circle 3x and twist the ends.

4. Add your flowers and leaves by intertwining them within the wire and cut little pieces like this size and use that to twist the stems.

5. And now you’re officially a floral princess or a spring goddess! <3

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Now go to your favorite festival with your fresh, beautiful floral crown and be the goddess you’re ought to be!

XO,

Joy

March 11, 2016March 11, 2016

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Wildflower

“Like wildflowers, you must allow yourself to grow in all the places people thought you never would.” – E.V.

Last Sunday, I went to a Coachella themed party back home and decided to make a floral dress and a floral crown. I’ve always been obsessed with open backs, cute trims and floral laces so I decided to make a free flowing dress that makes you feel like a fairy.

I also did quick spontaneous photoshoot with my friend Stephanie. She’s an up and coming photographer who specializes on portraits and mother nature. Follow her adventures and growth in photography at https://pascuaportraits.wordpress.com.

Anyone else excited for spring? As festival season arrives, I’m ecstatic to make more inspirational outfits. So stay tuned!

XO,

Joy

March 9, 2016

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Bloom where you are planted.

One of my favorite places to go to on a Saturday morning in DTLA other than the Fashion District is the Flower District. It is a six block floral marketplace, consisting of nearly 200 wholesale flower dealers located on Wall Street between 7th and 8th streets. It is a great place to buy flowers weekly for a decent amount of price or simply for special occasions.