Fashion. Music. Family. Life.
In the blink of an eye, the renovations at Poway Valley Center have made some incredible progress! Along with the top picture, this is the blog post from just three months ago here. Compare them to the pictures below that my sister snapped this weekend. What a difference a few months make!
All photos by Rholnna Jiao
It’s that time of year for ghosts, ghouls and goblins of all shapes and sizes to celebrate! In honor of Halloween, here are the pictures we took at LEGOLAND® California’s Brick-Or-Treat Party Nights a few weeks ago. Did you attend? Let me know in the comments below and have a safe Halloween!
My sister, husband and I accompanied Dominic and Me-Lin for a truly spooktacular night!
The candy stations were a big hit!
Loved the music all throughout the park, including the “Rock Band” above and the live music on stage at the Heartlake City Fall Festival below!
All kinds of creatures and creepy characters were lurking around the park!
Thanks again LEGOLAND® for another amazing night!
The weather has been so crazy lately here in San Diego that we’ve taken to lots of outdoorsy things, which includes a BBQ! As I’ve mentioned before, my husband has a Traeger Grill. He actually recently sold his smaller one and purchased the next size up this summer at the San Diego County Fair. One of my favorite meals in my hubby’s steak arsenal is London Broil. He cooked one up this weekend and used a pair of Pigtail Flippers by Cave Tools. He said he liked the sharp hook and it was quite easy to use. He also said that it’s great that there are two sizes, depending on what you want to cook.
As you can see, my hubby was able to handle this large piece of London Broil with ease using the Pigtail Flippers, and it turned out absolutely delicious!
To purchase your own Cave Tools Ultimate Pigtail Flippers, click the links below AND, you can get 15% off with the following code!
Pigtail Flippers 15% Off: PIGTAIL15
Cave Tools: https://cavetools.com/products/pigtail-food-flippers
FTC Disclosure: I received the product in exchange for a product review. Although I did receive product, the opinions in this post are strictly my own.
The day is finally here: DEPECHE MODE’S “GLOBAL SPIRIT TOUR” AT MATTRESS FIRM AMPHITHEATRE!
I believe the show is sold out, but there are verified tickets still available on Live Nation. I have the Live Nation app and I’m taking advantage of the “Fast Lane” Upgrade, since I have lawn tickets. This will allow me, my sister and our kids to get some prime real estate at the front of the lawn area next to the railing.
Keep up with me on my Instagram for all of my concert coverage and I’ve created a separate section here on my blog of all of my Depeche Mode posts!
Cheers!
Is it really that time of year again? Why yes it is! Every Saturday starting this weekend until the end of October, LEGOLAND® California presents Brick-or-Treat Party Nights!
“Awesome Awaits at the Park…after dark! Brick-or-Treat Party Nights at LEGOLAND®California Resort is back for more Halloween excitement. The entire Park is open for Party Nights Saturday September 30, and every Saturday in October. The home of Halloween fun is filled with…
Live entertainment + new shows!
Character Meet and Greets
Costume Contests: Group, LEGO® Theme, Most Creative
Treat stations with more than 1 million pieces of candy
Heartlake City Fall Festival with Pumpkin Patch Build and craft time with the LEGO Friends
The AstroBash Dance Party
Brick-or-Treat Party Nights Pop Badge Challenge
And more!
Plus, don’t miss candy, decorations and your fishy friends at SEA LIFE® Aquarium included with your Party Nights ticket.”
Purchase your tickets at the link below:
Sept. 30, Oct. 7, 14, 21 and 28
3 p.m. – 9 p.m.
(Last 3 images are courtesy of Legoland)
Last week, my sister spent an afternoon at Nova Nails, located at Rancho Carmel Plaza. Since I couldn’t make it up there due to my busy schedule, Rholnna thought it would be great to take her daghter, Mei-Lin, for some after-school pampering!
Mei-Lin mentioned how wonderful it smelled as they entered, like a fruity-citrus scent. They both loved the color selection and how attentive the staff was to their every mani-pedi need! If you are a regular reader of my blog, Rancho Carmel Plaza is just a hop, skip and a jump away from where my sister lives, so they’re both happy to know that Nova Nails is near-by and affordable: both of their manicures and spa pedicures were $72. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon!
Nova Nails is located at 10175 Rancho Carmel Drive, San Diego, CA 92128 and they can be reached at (858) 487-2467. They are open seven days a week and walk-ins are welcome, so please visit Nova Nails for a family-friendly nail spa treatment!
Cheers!
Mom & daughter selfie!
(All photos by Rholnna and Mei-Lin Jiao)
FTC Disclosure: I received compensation to patronize a business at Rancho Carmel Plaza. Although I did receive compensation, the opinions in this post are strictly my own.
So much is happening at the LEGOLAND® California Resort in Carlsbad that I had to get my sister and photographer, Rholnna, to help capture it all. Along with Brick or Treat (more information in a future post), here’s the lowdown on what’s happening at LEGOLAND® !
THE LEGO® NINJAGO® MOVIE LEGO NINJAGO Days
To celebrate the new LEGO® NINJAGO® MOVIE , you can Join your favorite ninjas – Lloyd, Jay, Kai, Cole, Zane and Nya – by tapping into YOUR inner Ninja at LEGOLAND Parks LEGOLAND Discovery Centers!
(Click the picture above for more details)
The LEGO® NINJAGO® Days Schedule
LEGOLAND Parks
LEGOLAND California Resort (Carlsbad, Calif.): Sept. 23-24
LEGOLAND Discovery Center Dates
Arizona: 9/23-9/24, 9/30-10/1,10/7-10/8
Atlanta 10/7-10/9, 10/13-10/15
Boston 9/23-9/24, 9/30-10/1
Chicago 9/22-9/24, 9/30-10/1
Dallas 9/22-9/23, 9/29-10/1, 10/7-10/8
Kansas City 9/23-9/24, 9/30-10/1, 10/7-10/8
Michigan 9/23-9/24, 9/30-10/1
Philadelphia 9/22-9/24, 9/29-10/1
Westchester (Yonkers, N.Y.): 9/22-9/24, 9/29-10/1
CASTLE HOTEL PROGRESS
Earlier this year, Rholnna attended the ground breaking of the new Castle Hotel at LEGOLAND® . She recently attended the press conference for what’s upcoming in 2018, so below is a combination of pictures from the ground breaking event back in January and the progress so far!
January 2017
September 2017
LEGO® City Deep Sea Adventure
At the press conference this month, the LEGO® City Deep Sea Adventure was introduced and Rholnna captured a few pictures announcing this exciting new upcoming ride!
“LEGOLAND® California Resort’s General Manager Peter Ronchetti announced at today’s press conference that 2018 will be a year of enormous growth! In January, a new 4-D movie launches, followed by the opening of LEGOLAND® Castle Hotel in the spring and, just announced, LEGO® City Deep Sea Adventure submarine ride is opening in the summer! LEGO® City Deep Sea Adventure is Merlin Entertainment’s single largest investment in any LEGOLAND® Park and will take passengers aboard a real submarine where they will be submerged underwater and immersed in an ocean habitat.”
(All photos from the Castle Hotel ground breaking and press conference taken by Rholnna Jiao)
I drink a healthy shake every morning, and we make fruit smoothies and shakes at home all the time. So it should be no surprise that one of my family favorite places for blended goodness is Jamba Juice (the picture above is from my Instagram feed)!
From September 12th to 22nd, Jamba Juice will be celebrating their ENERGY BOWLS™ Happy Hour from 3pm to 6pm, and those of us in San Diego can grab one for just $4 with the coupon in the link below!
http://www.jambajuice.com/limited-time-offer/san-diego?alias=sandiego
As an added bonus: If you post a picture of one of your favorite ENERGY BOWLS™ on social media with the hashtag #BowlGoals, you can win a chance to get a free bowl on your next visit! Their social media platforms are listed below:
I can’t wait to try these: The Chunky Strawberry Bowl and the Fruit and Greek Yogurt Bowl. Look out for my #BowlGoals posts in the upcoming weeks on my Instagram feed!
FTC Disclosure: I received a gift card to celebrate this campaign. Although I did receive a gift card, the opinions in this post are strictly my own.
At the beginning of August, I attended a fun event by Vocabulary Boutique. It was a shopping event, with a capsule wardrobe curated by Conni of Art In The Find and Kali of In Spades along with boutique owner, Cecelia, who also celebrated the boutique’s 8th anniversary. It truly was a unique event because although I have attended a few of their events in the past on location at the boutique, this one was on an Aolani Catamaran where we sipped, snacked and shopped while sailing the San Diego Bay!
This cake was as delicious as it was beautiful!
A pretty cocktail next to a cute mini-folding chair (I had to take a picture for perspective)
I had a fun time shopping on board, and I’ll share the new earrings I bought in a blog post!
Sharing sunshine and smiles with Kali (photo courtesy of Jenna of Lucky Little Mustardseed)
With Allison of Fashion Week San Diego, Jenna, Kali and Conni (photos courtesy of Kali and Jenna)
My friends, family and co-workers often comment on my style, saying that I’m daring and different, which I really take as a compliment. There isn’t much I won’t wear, but whatever it is that I’m trying out for the first time has to fit my edgy style. I’m no stranger to solid leggings, denim “jeggings” or printed jeans (see posts here, here and here), but I haven’t worn any kind of brightly patterned leggings since the bold floral ones I wore in high school. I think I feared that a printed legging was too “revealing” because although they were technically pants, they were very form-fitting and felt like tights that should be worn under a long knee-length tunic or dress. Leggings just hug everything, and maybe they weren’t supposed to be worn by a 40-something-year-old like me and should be left to those leggy supermodels! Black leggings are easy to wear because they are, you know: black. But printed leggings were a bit of a conundrum for me because I wasn’t entirely sure if I loved them enough to wear them outside of a yoga class or at-home-lounge-wear. The athleisure trend is growing more and more in popularity, so integrating leggings into one’s wardrobe has become part of the norm. After promoting Elastic Wonder’s newest venture (blog post here), and being inspired by the “Try-Day Friday” initiative from plus size clothing company Dia&Co, I thought I’d finally put up this outfit post.
I worked on this outfit post with my sister months ago, when one of my friends asked me to try LulaRoe leggings because she was one of their “Retailers” at the time. I decided to finally figure out what all the hype was about because so many of my friends were telling me how soft they were and that the prints were fun. Being the kind of fashion blogger that I am, I just couldn’t picture myself in kinds of whimsical prints that were available through the collection she presented in her online trunk show. After viewing many-a-legging later, I finally found a pair that I felt I could style: star printed leggings.
Truth be told, the LulaRoe leggings are very soft and the elastic is comfortable on the waist. Really, I chose these leggings not only for the star print, but because there were only three distinct colors: silver, yellow and black. I know that the attraction to these leggings are that their prints are unique and bold, but I would rather wear leggings in a variety of bright solid colors, or a simple bold houndstooth or checker print.
I’d like to say a special thanks to Dia&Co for the inspiration to finally have a reason to share these pictures, not only because we should all dare to try something new, but because I really loved the location my sister and I picked to do this photo shoot: Albert Einstein Academics in South Park. Let me know if there are any fashion fears you are willing to face and try out on a “Try-Day Friday” in the comments below. Cheers and have a great weekend!
Outfit: Forever 21 sweatshirt; LulaRoe leggings; Bodhi “Safety Pin” purse; Altuzurra for Target ankle boots; BonLook “Keiko” sunglasses; Leather wrap Depeche Mode bracelet by Little Treasures by Mir; rings by Wendy Brandes; Earrings c/o Kendra Scott (here); Karl Lagerfeld Watch
Pins by EmeraldSora, EmojiPins (purchased from Bobby Pins Co) and PSA PRESS
(All photos by Rholnna Jiao)