Greetings from Houston

As you may know, my parents moved to Houston about a year ago. It was a pretty big change as they knew very little people, but they are adjusting well and are loving it. It's great for me, since I have a small group of friends (see: DRU, Issa, Fifi) that I get to visit a few times a year.

This April brought me back to Houston thanks to an Austin-based work trip that I piggybacked off of. We visited a couple of murals, and I definitely couldn't leave without some crawfish! (My first time so I had to learn how to eat them)

I forgot to bring my camera (worst blogger ever), so here's some snaps I took with my phone. What DRU and I forgot to do were video AskPhivy questions...and technically, blog posts. LOL. Ah, one day we will remember that we actually are bloggers and he's a photographer, so I should use that to my advantage.

Kimono: Tilly's, American Apparel tank, Old Navy jeans, F21 mules

Billabong hoodie

For more selfies (if you can believe it) and real-time updates, follow me on snapchat: hoisinivy.

I'm reinspired to start taking more photos, so hopefully I'll be posting more and more of them. But not any less selfies. Never less selfies.

Questions? AskPhivy // IG 

#FBF: Suit Up

So because I've been MIA for...oh I don't even want to count the months/years, I figured this is a good opportunity to sprinkle in some fun times I've had that I haven't blogged about! Shortly after Ryan and I were married, we went to Vegas as part of a wedding gift from one of cousins / groomsmen, Anthony!

He surprised us with Justin Timberlake tickets and a free hotel stay! We decided to make it a group thing with Anthony and our other groomsmen, Arthur since it was his birthday that weekend. You guys practically know these boys by now, right?

We left Thanksgiving night.

That weekend we kept with the JT theme and decided to Suit Up! And I mean all of us, including me. Since I haven't worn an actual suit since my college graduation, I thought I would piecemeal it together with some high-waisted loose and tapered slacks, a white wifebeater (ha, my go-to) and a black blazer. But it was my LAMB shoes that I was excited about. These black and white pointy-toed heels are my new favorite heels. They make me cry when I wear them they hurt so bad, but damn, if they don't make the entire outfit, AMIRITE?

As always, before we go out, we decided to do a bit of a photoshoot. I got to channel my inner Gwen and would be lying to say it wasn't the most amazing time. I even pulled my hair back into two buns figuring with a blazer, keeping the hair out of my way would be best.

H&M pants, F21 blazer, Old Navy tank, LAMB heels

Saturday night, we didn't suit up, but I did want to dress up what I originally had brought with me so I figured instead of buying an entirely new outfit altogether, I would just dress up these plaid pants with a tuxedo blazer. This ended up being one of my favorite outfits I've put together last-minute...and it only cost me $30 at F21! Now you KNOW I had to keep with my Gwenabee status and keep my hair and makeup the same.

I swear, put us in front of a camera, and the only thing we're actually missing is...any musical talent.

F21 blazer, F21 black tee, Hot Topic plaid pants, Charles by Charles David booties

PS I just love this picture of me trying to take a selfie, Ryan being weird, and Arthur pouring alcohol. Very telling.

It may or may not become apparent that I don't dress typical "Vegas" style when I go to Vegas. And by that, I mean tight or revealing dresses...I think it's just not my style. I totally get why girls do it - I think I would if I liked it on myself - but for me, I would much rather dress "cool" than "sexy." And I'd rather have an amazing time at a club or bar than worry about if my dress is riding up or my boob is falling out or if a guy can see my chonies when I sit. So, for those girls out there who wonder if they have to wear a F21 or Bebe dress when they go to Vegas, I'm proof that you don't. I mean, you can, but you don't have to. Whatever makes you feel best.

It's My Party (And I'll Cry If I Want To)

Two weeks ago my sister, mom, and dad came into town as she moved back from Ohio to California! She'll be living in #therealoc so not too far away from me.

Well, little did I know that all along they were secretly planning a surprise birthday party for me (my big 3-0) and completely caught me off-guard! My birthday isn't til tomorrow so it was well ahead of anything that would raise my suspicions.

The rouse was to go to dinner with a small group of friends to welcome Christine into town. When I opened the door, I saw my parents, Ryan's parents, my closest friends from LA and OC, friends that drove in from Sonoma County and a friend that flew in from Chicago (what!)

It was an amazing feeling. Completely caught off-guard and just tears galore. Oh to be loved.

My sister made a huge photo collage in the shape of a 3-0 with pictures from everyone who came and (horrific) childhood photos. Everyone signed it and it is now hanging over my bed on the wall. I also got some amazing gifts from my parents, family, and friends. My mom bought me my wedding shoes, my friend Rhona gave me a monogrammed necklace, some friends gave me alcohol (THEY KNOW ME SO WELL), and my sister gave me a camera to mount onto Dallas' collar so I can see what she sees!

It was an amazing night, I was still reeling from it three days later. It only reminds us that we really do need to surround ourselves with people who matter the most. This is what life's about.

Weekend Update: 3/16-3/17

I am so excited because my younger sissy, Christine, has landed in Orange County...for FOREVER! She is moving back to CA after 5 years in Ohio and I'm so excited for her! I'm sad for my parents because truly have an "empty nest" now but I think we're lucky because our parents kind of expect us to move out and on with our lives. This weekend we're spending quality family time together as both of my parents flew in with her - from visiting Ryan's and my wedding venue to having brunches and dinner, I haven't seen my family since Christmas, so it'll be nice to visit them again! But that's the future stuff, let's talk about what I did last weekend. LET'S TALK MORE ABOUT ME GUYS.

 + 

You know when you have friendships that are just...easy? This is one of them. My friend (who is 9-months pregnant btw...can I just say I want to look like her when I'm pregnant?!) emailed me at 6am to say hi and low-and-behold, I was randomly up and emailed her immediately back! We decided to do a spontaneous lunch and I'm so glad! She's expecting her baby any day now and I'm just waiting for that text from her!!

On Saturday, Ryan and I went down to San Diego for a spontaneous day-trip and to start our second registry at Macy's. I'll tell you what - we have a lot of Macy's in LA (and a lot in OC) but decided that since we love SDeezy so much, this is a perfect excuse to go. Unfortunately when we finally go there (2+ hours later), I was so tired and hungry I could not concentrate on what pots & pans I wanted. Instead, I just kind of glazed over and started scanning things for the fun of it. Not as productive as we had hoped! But we did get to eat dinner with Ryan's cousins and his fiance. We texted them:

Ryan: "Dinner tonight?"
Cousin: "Sure, any place in particular?"
Ryan: "Nope, up to you guys."
Cousin: "How about vegetarian"
[Me: WAT. Why? No!]
Ryan: "Good suggestion, maybe something else though?"
Cousin: "Cool, how about Korean BBQ?"

How did we go from a vegetarian dish to the exact polar opposite? IDUNCURR, I love KBBQ!

That night I also learned that if I'm watching television and Dallas wants me to pet her, she will tug on my blanket until the remote falls to the ground and push the buttons to turn off the TV. SHE IS A GENIUS DOG.

Though Sunday was St. Patrick's Day, Ryan and I didn't go buck-wild and drink green beer. Instead, it was his Goddaughter's 5th birthday (PRINCESS-THEMED BIRTHDAY), so you know I was all about that. Ryan and I were the only people there without a child and I was going around taking an immense amount of photos so I know I looked super creepers. She's my flower girl, I can stalk her all I want! A few of my favorites:

Stay tuned to my wedding page - this week I write about how Ryan and I chose a photographer (FINALLY!)

Follow me

Day to Night

I wore this outfit to work, but when it was time to go get drinks for First Fridays in Venice, I wanted to wear something more casual, comfortable, and warmer. I opted for lace-up brown boots and a brown leather jacket, but changed out my belt to a plaid belt (love me some mixed patterns). Not only is this "leather" jacket not real leather, but it's also vegan-friendly - I don't know what that means but I felt better about buying it, lol.

I also pulled my hair back due to end-of-day grease bangs. YOUGUYS know what I'm talking about!

This day-to-night look is what I've been writing about on AskPhivy when it comes to redoing the wardrobe you have. It's about putting combinations together that you normally wouldn't. Normally I would probably stick to brown boots with leggings or blue skinny jeans, but by adding it with red jeans, I've created a completely different look that's comfortable and can be worn lots of different ways!

see original post for shirt and jeans
vegan leather jacket (similar here), no name brown boots (heeled version here) 

questions? askphivy! | @hoisinivy | instagram