Lent: 40 days to WHAT!?

fashionstreetla:

It’s that time of the year again, well if you’re Catholic anyway. It’s Lent, better known as 40 days to “give up” a pleasure or habit. Nonetheless, I want to clarify as to what Lent is meant to be or at least to me. Everyone who participates during lent, Catholic or not (I don’t understand why you would partake in lent if you’re not Catholic haha but its okay) for 40 days and 40 nights gives up something to what we call “bettering ourselves”. HOWEVER, lent is a time of reflection. It is a time period where, for 40 days, you acknowledge and look for a new way to approach life as a whole.

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Keep Calm, Wear Bows

Happy Sunday lovelies!!! Today I woke up early to get a few home chores out of the way and as soon as all that was done, I was able to get started on my favorite part of the day…getting ready! For today, I felt like embracing my femininity and looking dressy. After all, I was going to attend mass at noon and then head out for a sushi/movie date with my beau. Let me briefly say that, if I had to choose a specific style to wear for the rest of my life, it would have to be one that’s very feminine and classy. You know, flared dresses, button up tops with skirts and high waisted dressy shorts. Definitely very “Jackie Kennedy” and “A la Hepburn”. Hence, my inspirations for today…but of course, with a modern twist. Anyway, kept my look very classy but young with this vibrant orangy top. Which by the way, i’m obsessing over thanks to the bows in the back. Paired it with this white skirt with an almost 3D print, if that makes sense. To finish off the look, I added this patent leather belt to compliment my shoes and wore very minimum jewelry in gold to bring out the orange color more. Hope you guys like my look! Simplicity at it’s finest! :) Blessings! XOXO -M

-Bubbles Boutique Top
-Bubbles Boutique Skirt
-Steve Madden Heels
-Forever 21 jewelry

Go Army!

Who said Army print couldn’t be SEXXXY?! Today was another day off from work and due to very little days off, I had some pending errands to run. So, thanks to this very HOT Cali weather, I was FINALLY able to pull out this Army backless maxi dress that I’ve had stored in my closet for months since it’s purchase. I kid you not, I was beyond comfortable in this ensemble all day. Definitely made me yearn for Summer 2013. I paired this dress with a denim vest to avoid being too exposed at the DMV and my chiropractor visit…but once those errands where done, that baby came off to spend a date-out with my love at Yardhouse in the Valley heat :p (NOTICE: I apologize for the poor quality pictures in advance. I forgot my camera so we improvised with an iPhone 4. I owe you guys!) Anyway, hope you guys had a lovely day. Blessings. XO-M 

-Bubbles Boutique Army Maxi
-Forever 21 hearts intertwined necklace
-Charlotte Russe Sandals
-Bubbles Boutique Denim Vest 

Fringe in the City

This past Saturday, my boyfriend and I went to a family birthday party. Nothing fancy, so I went for a casual but still trendy look…(like I haven’t said that already.) The weather was kind of gloomy BUT mind you, I had work prior to the birthday and well, Saturdays are a busy day for me. Which means that I move and walk around a lot so I tend to be hot. Anyway, keeping in mind that it was still gloomy, I brought with me a poncho-style pullover cardigan because I knew I was going to be cold later on that night. Moving on, my outfit was a little inspired by the Coachella craze that happened over the weekend. If I had been able to go, I would have definitely worn this top, paired with a beautiful print maxi skirt. However, because I was at work in the city and later attended the birthday festivity, I paired this top with simple faded blue jeans and my newest absolutely FAV shoes. I swear, these shoes are FAB! I feel like a million dollars in them and they were beyond inexpensive. Hope you guys like! :P Blessings. XO-M 

-Fringe top from Bubbles Boutique
-Washed-out jeans from Bubbles for $8
-Cross necklace from F21
-Leaf necklace from DTLA alleys
-Arm candy from DTLA alleys
-Braided heels “Miss July” from my FAVORITE shoe supplier, LolaShoetique.com

Thrifty Green

When it comes to shopping for clothes, I’m not a picky shopper. I shop wherever my heart desires. H&M, Forever 21, Downtown L.A. alleys, swapmeets, outlets and my favorite, THRIFT STORES!!! Shopping at local thrift stores is a lot of fun for me. It’s like a treasure hunt. You thrift hop from store to store and if you’re blessed that day, you will find treasures!! Which brings me to my outfit of the day. I found this forest/fern green cardigan a few months back at a local Goodwill in Hollywood for just $3. The moment I eyed the cardigan, I knew I had to own it. The shade of green was such a perfect Spring cardigan color. The detailing was even more perfect with tiny rosy pink flowers knitted decoratively around. It was an instant buy. So for today’s look, with the cardigan as my cute statement piece, I went for a simple “picnic” inspired look. I received lovely compliments at work from customers and even had them asking me where I had purchased my cute grandma sweater :) Best $3 spent!? TOTALLY!!! So please, trust me when I say this, you don’t have to spend a lot of money on clothes, sometimes, a couple bucks is enough. Remember what they say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure! XO-M

Cardigan found at a Goodwill.
Khaki pants w/ belt from Bubbles.
Shoes from LolaShoetique.
White Cami from Forever 21.

Rebel † † †

Today’s look was yet another casual lazy outfit because although I feel a millions times better, I’m still recovering from the flu. Anyway, paired up my latest “new” jeans that my coworker gave to me with this studded Cross tee. I was going for a rockish look therefore I had to incorporate boots. However, to avoid an all black fit, decided to wear this red crossbody bag to match the shade of red on my lips. A very casual, trendy yet comfy look for a nice day out :) Hope you guys like! XO-M

-Bubbles Boutique Cross Studded top
-Forever 21 Jeans
-Forever 21 Crossbody
-Charlotte Russe boots
-Forever 21 Accessories

The Gift of Easter

Hello my lovelies! As evident as it is, it’s no longer Easter morning or Easter day (DUH!)…BUT, I decided that I still wanted to blog my church outfit of the day for this past Sunday. My outfit was inspired by Spring’s pastels, flowers, the very essence of innocence & even the biblical meaning of Easter, which is a gift. I’m not referring the egg hunting as THE gift. So allow me to quickly elaborate. Easter, to me, is the greatest gift that God could ever offer. The great gift of HOPE & LOVE. It is Jesus’ resurrection day to bring new joy into our lives. On Easter day, my church is decorated with white flowers and most people wear symbolic colors such as pink, white & purple. Which in all, becomes my inspiration for this outfit. I decided to wear this lovely pink bow top with white pants for a rosy “angelic” look. I accessorized my outfit with this flower pearly chain necklace that I love so much (it belonged to my friend but she was about to toss it to the trash & I saved its life) and wore pearl earrings to. I finished off the look with my FAV camel wedges and to have a matching tone of color, I wore a similar camel color belt. Simple but I was happy with the combo :) Hope you all had a WONDERFUL Easter!!! XO-M

-Bubbles Boutique Top
-Bubbles Boutique Pants
-Lola Shoetique Wedges
-Necklace was a hand-me-down from a friend :)

Minty Sunday

Yesterday’s outfit of the day was my first official Spring look! Definitely went for the typical…PASTELS! What can I say, I like the usual & when it comes to Spring, I think of flowers, light colors and BRIGHT colors, warm sun, breezy grass with bright blue skies…and even fluffy clouds!! *sigh* I feel like I’m describing The Sound of Music when Maria is out in the meadows singing…if you don’t know what I’m talking about, watch “The Sound of Music”. A favorite musical movie of mine! Anyway, before I continue to drift away, hope you guys liked my Sunday church outfit of the day on Palm Sunday. A super comfy look for any relaxing Sundate :) XO-M

Top from Bubbles Boutique.
Pant pants from Bubbles Boutique.
Wedge Sandals from LolaShoetique.
Ivory Crossbody from Ross.
Belt came with some shorts from Bubbles Boutique.
Cross necklace in The Santee Alley.

Lent: 40 days to WHAT!?

xoxomariala:

It’s that time of the year again, well if you’re Catholic anyway. It’s Lent, better known as 40 days to “give up” a pleasure or habit. Nonetheless, I want to clarify as to what Lent is meant to be or at least to me. Everyone who participates during lent, Catholic or not (I don’t understand why you would partake in lent if you’re not Catholic haha but its okay) for 40 days and 40 nights gives up something to what we call “bettering ourselves”. HOWEVER, lent is a time of reflection. It is a time period where, for 40 days, you acknowledge and look for a new way to approach life as a whole.

Read More

Falling in Love

"Love: A profoundly, intense, tender, passionate feeling of deep affection for another person….”

——-I’ve been in love once in my life with the only person I have ever been in a relationship with. How it happened, I don’t know. I can’t even explain the order of how everything came about. One minute he was just another funny classmate in high school fooling around, making jokes and being a 17 year old kid…and the next minute, he had become my best friend whom I shared absolutely everything with, unconditionally. Every secret, every uncertainty, my fears, ambitions, dreams, laughter, passions and worries. Everything was out on the table. No secrets, no lies. Life was a bliss.

Keep Digging

I came across this captivating and BEAUTIFUL picture on Instagram a few months back, which highlighted such a powerful message that I just could NOT hold back from featuring it here on my Tumblr page.

As some of you may, or may not know, I am an undocumented student & inhabitant of this country. However, don’t let the word “undocumented” fool you. Despite having my own share of bad experiences and hard times, I know that at the end of the day, my life has been spared more than a million times. My life is a blessing with all the ups AND the downs. I canNOT complain…even though I have, about how my life has turned out because everything has been for the best and this picture right here, has been thee most perfect example of it.