Far from Glamping

I am not an outdoorsy person. I have bad allergies. I don't like bugs or dirt or sweating. I really hate the smell of pine trees. But I am sucking it up to go REAL camping for my bf's sister's birthday. Special day!

Real camping, as opposed to camping I've done before for Laguna Seca Grand Prix. This is going to be real wilderness camping with, like, bears and stuff.

I wish it was going to be like this --

But more than likely it'll be like this  --

It's going to be 82 degrees, probably dry and really hot. I'm really at a loss of what to wear. The only real hiking boots I have are snow boots. I don't have any sneakers that I'd like to "sacrifice" for the quick weekend trip. I *definitely* don't want to wear sandals or anything open toed.

justin westerner lace up boots; wanted ankle hike booties

For national forest camping, should I bring bug spray? Bug candles? We'll actually be inside a cute little pop-up trailer for sleeping, so I don't have to worry about a tent or anything, but I just don't know what to bring in terms of surviving the elements. See how much of a city-dweller I am?

I'll probably end up layering my plaid seersucker/linen shirt over a maxi dress but I still don't know what shoes to wear. Not sure if shorts or leggings are good ideas. I just want to wear cozy, comfortable, easy clothes. 

Anyway, I would love any suggestions. 

camping pic sources: pinterest/tumblr

Springing into Summer

Thank the Lord, Hallelujah -- school is out for the summer! Technically, it's still Spring but all I can think about is the beach. Oh, and barbecues. And pool parties. Bonfires. Amusement Parks. And fun!!

Springing into summer means styling in the old with the new. I am in love with these dresses from Modcloth (even though they are a tiny bit out of my price range!)

what a tweet dress! ($100); blueberry muffin dress ($85); gleam of light dress ($70)
via modcloth

And these shoooooes. Give me shoes!

gondola with the wind sandal ($28); candy shop quartet ($40)
 peppy pastime flats ($35); melon twist flat ($60)
via modcloth

The Candy Shop Quartet shoes are not so badly priced! I love shoes so much. I kind of had to put the brakes on buying any new ones but it's always sooo tempting. Anyway, trying on shoes is also fun, so I can probably satiate the craving just by going to the mall to walk around in new shoes ;)

Anything you're looking forward to this summer?

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Put on Purple for Lupus Awareness!

Tomorrow is National Lupus Awareness day, and the campaign is "Put on Purple" - Friday, May 17th!

Need some ideas for what to wear?

source

source

Get the picture? ;)

Post your purple outfits on Instagram and tag #POP #lupusawareness #lupusorg and #PutOnPurple. I will post my faves on the blog! (with your permission of course!!). I'm @jajajanea. You can also tag #2brokeLAgirls

Visit @lupusorg on twitter for their daily lupus facts and to learn more about this disease. Together we can raise awareness about this cruel mystery!

img srcs, if not noted above

May is Lupus Awareness Month!

Hello friends! I haven't posted since I announced that April was National Poetry Month ;) But this is a worthy cause nonetheless.

I'm joining my friends in the Lupus Foundation of America's annual Walk to End Lupus Now this September. My friends and family are raising money for Team Jo Koy, to reach the Lupus Foundation's overall goal of raising $300,000.

source

Friday, May 17th it's gonna be time to POP! or "Put on Purple" for Lupus Awareness. I want to see everyone's best #OOTD* with something purple in it in, and tell people why! We can all show support for those who suffer from its brutal impact.

You can follow the Lupus Foundation on twitter at @LupusOrg, and they'll be tweeting important facts about the disease on a daily basis as well as signs to look for that you or someone you know may have lupus and not even know. You can also join our team by clicking this link. Feel free to share on Facebook, and follow his Facebook page here.

This is a cause very dear to me as some of my closest friends and family have been struggling with this for years. This will bring us steps closer to solving the cruel mystery of lupus!

Until next time...

*for the uninitiated, OOTD stands for outfit of the day. take your best instagram selfies in something purple!

April is National Poetry Month

Hello chums! I do apologize for the lack of posting but school and life is just getting crazier and crazier. I will try to be more attentive.

As you may or may not know, April is National Poetry Month -

source

Here's a list of ideas from poets.org to catch up on what you've been missing so far:

01. poem in your pocket day

02. read a book of poetry

03. take a poem out to lunch

04. put a poem on the pavement

05. memorize a poem

06. revisit a poem

07. put poetry in an unexpected place

08. play exquisite corpse

09. attend a poetry reading

I think it was last semester that a dear friend of mine, Michelle from {west coast north east}, did a poetry bomb on her campus. I thought that was a great idea so I might do a little guerrilla poetry bombing myself. I read this poem "Near Olympic" last semester in a survey course and fell in love with it. It's by poet Tim Steele, and you can read it online here.

Red Hen Press is offering a Buy One Get One special on their catalogue. See their promotion here for more details. Bank Heavy Press will be holding its monthly reading series at Gatsby Books in Long Beach. And while not exactly a poetry event, there may be a poet reading...at Literary Death Match on April 18th. Maybe you'll get inspired by a story to write some poetry.

There are several events coming up in the local Los Angeles area featuring the first Poet Laureate of Los Angeles, Eloise Klein Healy. She will be appearing this weekend at Beyond Baroque along with Holly Prado, Harry Northup, Suzanne Lummis, and more. It will be my first time to hear Eloise reading, so I am very excited about that! Also, I did my poetry research paper on Suzanne Lummis and the Stand Up Poetry movement and became a huge fan. I've watched her read on YouTube but never in person. I always leave the Beyond Baroque events with a new ear and eye for writing.

What are some of your favorite poems?

Delightful Prints

Thanks to tumblr I found this dress -- where have you been all my life? It's got me pining, seriously.

After some Google searching I found it here ... but it's out of stock! I guess my next option is eBay?

More amazing print dresses -

modcloth butterfly print dress

orla kiely fall 2012

As you can probably tell, I love these kinds of graphic printed dresses...(here) and (here). The Orla Kiely is a little out of my price range, but with a good sale I could probably catch that butterfly dress.

Spring has sprung! It's time for showing off our stems ;]

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Pins of the Week

Happy Thursday and Happy Spring Break to Me!!!

Here are some of my favorite Pins of this week. Great images to take me into Easter break :] Hope you enjoy them!

sassy gal (link)

What I like about this pin: the little girl has so much style, just like her (what I'm assuming is her) momma. So cute. Love the haircut and the sunnies. And it's black & white - just like the graphic Spring trend.

sheet music (link)

What I like about this pin: The oversized framed sheet music just says so much. It shows how important music is to most people. It serves as functional visual art as well as evoking the physical reactions almost everyone has when they listen to their favorite music. In this capacity it ties together a simple design for everyday life. It's just beautiful.

punctuation mark (link)

What I like about this pin: The semicolon is one of the most underrated punctuation marks but also one of the most widely misused and abused. I can handle a comma splice; I loathe the misappropriation of the semicolon! Don't know which one to use? Here's a handy guide. I wish I would have thought of this tattoo first! I just love the caption under the pin: They’re kind of metaphorically representative of the ability to stop, but the choice to continue.

heart reading (link)

What I like about this pin: Welp, I love reading. I love big chairs. And I love pictures of little kids reading. So this is just about everything that I love in one image. If this print is available for sale anywhere online I would love to have it.

living room makeover (link)

What I like about this pin: I actually love everything about this pin. The living room makeover features a mix of vintage and second-hand finds from Craigslist, flea markets, and garage sales combined with new pieces. The old pieces refurbished or otherwise enhanced, mixed with the green shrubbery and the bright natural light *kisses fingers* perfecto. Dream living room for sure.

Any *must see* pins for us? Let us know! Happy Easter ♥

Insta Weekend Recap

Happy Tuesday!

Long time no blog -- Spring break is just around the corner and I, for one, cannot wait. Had a long weekend of work, fun, and studying -_- but mostly fun! With friends and family. Las Vegas weekend one has come and gone...weekend two (Jenny Lewis & Postal Service!) is shaping up to be just as eventful...

Prior to leaving for the weekend I went on a mini spree--

black maxi; striped tees; grey knit moto; OPI polish;
beaded necklace; silver necklace; red purse; felina bras; 

Great deals. Mix and match with stuff i already owned --

studded sweatshirt; beaded sandal; josep! tank;
jean cutoff shorts (similar?); rose print scarf (similar)

Drove to Vegas very, very early in the morning. Straightened my hair first thing in the morning...even though I've been giving it a break. Anyway I wore the blue striped shirt ^^ up there as well as the turquoise beaded necklace.

Then later that day I had a little bit of work to do. Like blow up mannequins and man the merch table.

ting! ting! ; never skip a beat t-shirts

This t-shirt designed by artist Alex Roman, a.k.a. Donkee Boy has been spotted on the likes of Anjelah Johnson and Musiq Soulchild. It's such a great design, and part of the proceeds of its sale goes to the Lupus Foundation. Awesome. It is currently sold out on the artist website but will be available soon!

never skip a beat ♥ ♥

Last day OOTD - black & white striped maxi I picked up last year. Perfect for Vegas (perfect for anything, really) - easy, breezy, beautiful. Can dress up with a blazer, down with a cardigan, casual with a denim jacket. I usually wear with platform wedges, but wore the flat sandals ^^^ up there. And the silver necklace.

nail color: OPI I Forgot My Czech Book; glasses - Warby Parker;
curves - my own :p

Sorry for the repeats if you're already following me on Instagram! But if not, feel free ;] How was your weekend? Too long ago to remember?

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Bye, Bye, Bye (Google Reader)

So the whole internet exploded when Google announced that they were discontinuing their Reader app. I am the saddest panda in the universe. It's such a great way to follow blogs and just because user numbers have dropped a little bit they're going to inconvenience the other millions of people who still use the service. But I am rambling and saying things that many others have said better anyway...

I'm switching to Feedly! Well, seeing how this works out anyway. I use Google Chrome and it's an extension (as far as I can tell so far) and it imported all of my blogs and kept my starred posts and everything. And it's preeeettttty!

my *starred* posts on Google Reader
as shown in Feedly

clicking on post title, full post shown
easy peasy!

There's also Bloglovin' and they're also making the transition from Reader very simple.

A lot of bloggers swear by it, and right now it's trending on Twitter (as of 3/15) -- and if you're a part of the IFB community then you know how popular the service is...but I haven't gotten used to the layout yet. BUT You can follow us on bloglovin here! (or in the sidebar by clicking that button)

And a new one I hadn't heard of called The Old Reader. I can't quite figure it out yet but...I think it's still in the works?

I'm kinda digging Feedly. Any other ideas? You've got until July 1st to make the change. Make it happen! What's gonna happen with Google Friend Connect?  How do you read this blog?

Tyler's Surprise Party (Part 1)

For those of you who don't know... i am a single mom to an amazing, smart, 7 year old boy named Tyler Sebastian.

He is the love of my life. I was blessed with him when i was 20. And although he wasnt part of my original plan... i have learned that this has been the BEST PLAN that i have been blessed with.

I have been a single mom for many years now... and i have only been able to afford 1 birthday party since he was born.

The last few years i have worked so hard to build a savings and save for a future. This past year in particular... i have worked my butt off. So... with that being said... i now have the savings to be able to throw my amazing 7 year old son a surprise birthday party!!

SHHHHH!

My son, is EXACTLY like me. He doesn't like what others like. He's very confident and doesn't care what people think. He marches to the beat of his own drum. He knows what he loves, and there is no compromising. He has always been this way.

So coming up with a party theme idea was sort of difficult. But knowing my son... i have decided to have a birthday theme of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid". He loves to read. He is a very smart kid. I'm not just saying that because he is my son, but truly... he is so smart. Excels in Math (He's learning 4th grade math and he is in 2nd grade) He loves to read just because... and he loves discovering new things.

So here is my inspiration board for Diary of Wimpy Kid. I will try to do everything myself...

I haven't baked for the last 2 years. It reminds me of my dad and my childhood, which is why i love to bake. I have been working my butt off the last two years and i had to give it up :/ Janea... is probably heaven sent into my life. She is one of my best friends. I adore her. I wish i could see her more. She knows that baking is my passion and she has always pushed me to continue baking. So when i saw her a few weeks ago... she bought me the cutest cake gift ever! She got me a cake thermometer and cute cupcake tins. She told me: ''You need to start baking again"... and with that... i will start baking again because i should not give up on something i love just because i am busy working two jobs. 

I will try my hardest to replicate this cake for my sons birthday and i will be so happy if i can nail it before his big day comes. If i can do this... it will be the best gift i can give to him on his big day. 

For now.. these are all the ideas i have for his birthday. Sorry this post is sooo long but.. . i had to share his special day plans with you all :))

Please feel free to share any DIY Birthday ideas you all might have :)