In the islands of Waikiki

Island Paradise 

As the year started, you start to reminisce on the past year and how you can change your outlook for the better for the next year to come. Last year, a friend of mine planned her family vacation in February and asked if I'd like to come along. After having a rough year myself, I decided this would be the best way to begin my year of change. We went on some awesome adventures around Oahu and Waikiki. Here are a few of the adventures that I wanted to share with you. 

 

Flying into Oahu, Hawaii

 

Our amazing view from the resort

 

I made it to paradise!

 

The water had turtles that would swim right next to you

 

Went on an awesome hike that ended with a beautiful waterfall

 

Hawaiian shaved ice is a must!

 

Stop making broken promises

Lenten Promises

Let me start by saying that I understand and respect other cultures. With that being said, I hope that this post can be eye opening for those who feel the same. Now I got it off my chest... I'm Catholic. 

My super cute Abuelita and Abuelito at their wedding 

Not a Bible thumping, preaching in your face Catholic. I'm probably not even a great example of what 'Catholic' is supposed to look like. I will tell you, my grandparents came to the U.S. from El Salvador and they needed hope. Both Guillermo and Emilia (my beautiful grandparents) grew up in very, very, very, VERY Catholic families. That's what they knew and wanted to instill the same beliefs to their children. My Mom put me in a private Catholic school growing up (the education wasn't the best, but I met some of my best friends there) and I quickly realized the answer to any question resulted in some form of; 'Jesus loves me & stop sinning'. Beyond the classroom, I personally wanted something to believe in, something bigger than what the world has to offer. Some say that they find themselves being spiritual, but cannot get behind the ideals of any specific faith. For me, all I knew were the ideals of Catholicism. I am 110% behind certain ideals and others, I question. At the end of the day, I want to be a better person, surround myself around good people, have morals and faith in something bigger than what is in front of me. 

Lent. Lent is a time for Catholics to 'give up' a bad habit for 40 days. This represents the idea that Jesus gave his life for our sins to be forgiven. We must 'give up' something bad in our lives or introduce a positive habit in our lives to bring us closer to God. Now at the end of the 40 days doesn't mean we win a prize, it just means that we can understand humility, patience and our will to change for the better. Imagine this being a time for 'New Year's Resolutions'! Most people ditch those Resolutions around mid-February anyway, so here's a time to restart. When I was younger, I would give up soda or chocolate. Now that I'm an adult, I felt like I should take on a bit more responsibility. Two years ago, I decided letters to 40 people who have influenced my life. I mailed all 40!!! 

This year, I decided to make a daily checklist. A great man named Michael Jackson once said, "I'm starting with the man in the mirror/ I'm asking him to change his ways/ No message could have been any clearer/ If you want to make the world a better place/ Take a look at yourself and make a change". 

All I want to do this Lenten season is to bring better habits in my life for the future. Start small for a bigger impact down the road (like investments!) So here's my list, let me know what you think, let me know what you have up this season or let me know what your New Year's Resolution was and how you can bring it back into your life today! 

                                                 Be more meaningful
                          Time is valuable, spend it with those who matter 
                                                 Never stop learning
                                                       Love more 
                                                       Give more 
                                           Work smarter, not harder 
                                    Make an effort not to flake on plans
                                                       Plan better 
                                         Learn how to forgive & move on 
                            Have a better attitude about life because it's too short  Be happy with who you are and trust that God has a bigger plan for you (patience)  

 

Moraga Steps

Moraga Steps 

I'm a fraud. Yes, I said it! I recently moved to San Francisco in December and although I say that I'm 'new' to the city... I've over extended my tourist days here in this foggy metropolitan city throughout my entire life. So yes, I'm a fraud by saying I'm 'new' to this city.

I've lived in the Bay Area my entire life. I went to college an hour away, worked in San Francisco post college and even dated a few people from this city. I've driven over the Golden Gate Bridge more times than I can count, went to Alcatraz for field trips, drank in Dolores Park, partied at Outside Lands Music Festival, attended Night Life at the CA Academy of Sciences, hung out with the elephants at the SF Zoo, had a bonfire on Ocean Beach... I mean, you get the point. 

I've done the touristy, fun things that any new transplant to the city should definitely experience. This city will always be my home, but I've been dying to find new adventures in this city because there's a part of me that needs change. Well, what do you know... I found the Moraga Steps just a few blocks from my house! 

These steps were meant to replicate famous mosaic steps in Rio De Janerio, Brazil. Much of the effort was taken upon the SF neighborhood association to create a project to enjoy the view that only the people living in the Sunset District could find. They were finally finished in 2005 and have been a tourist attraction just 15 minutes away from Golden Gate Park. 

Happy New Year from Vegas!!!!

Well here we go... Another year for the books and another one to get it right. 

As another year approaches and the mantra in minds alike continue to be, "New Year, New Me". As I constantly find this to be such a silly phrase to live by, I can't help but find aspects of my life that reflect this once a new year comes. I look back on 2015 and think, "damn, that's not how I wanted it to go". I may also be very pessimistic, so I have to look at the past year with a fresh set of eyes, thinking to myself, "what baby steps have I accomplished this past year, that gets me closer to the bigger goals?" I have such big aspirations for my life and I realized a few things have helped me get there. I moved to the city, I have a stable job, a second job that I love, great support team and craving for creativity and adventure. I might not be where I want to be today, but I'm working on it and continuing to work hard for it. 

Although this may seem like a diary entry, I hope that some of these phrases ring true to your life as well. Although you're not where you want to be in life today, make a few baby steps to get there. As my Mom tell me, "things don't happen overnight and some people need to work harder than others for it." I may not have had the easiest route in life, but I'm loved by others and love others openly. So for that, I'm ready to take on 2016 and make it my B%#?&. 

I'll leave this post with one phrase, always be better than you were yesterday. Continue to question, have a sense of adventure, be open to loving others. "Smile & the world will smile back at you". 

Outfit details: 

Gold Dress : Sammydress.com // Red Dress: Agaci Clothing // Nude Shoes: Sam Edelman 

Chic Weather

Chic Weather Collab

I would like to thank the amazing team at Chic Weather for helping me out on this collaboration. We had beautiful weather at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco for this shoot. We even crashed a wedding!!! 

In all seriousness, I love what Chic Weather is on the verge of creating. When you get up in the morning and have no idea what to wear, you search up your favorite Fashion Bloggers, Pinterest Boards, old albums and Instagram pictures for inspiration. Wouldn't it be awesome if you could grab inspiration and also make sure it's weather appropriate? Chic Weather is on the verge of creating this amazing app for your phone! Check out chicweather.com for more details. 

 

 

 

 

 Outfit details: 

Shirt: H&M // Pants: Banana Republic // Shoes: Vince Camuto at Nordstrom // Purse: BP at Nordstrom // Sunglasses: RayBan // Necklace: Forever 21 // Scarf: Forever 21 // Rings: Charlotte Russe

San Francisco stole my heart & wallet

Mama made the big move

There you have it people, it's been confirmed by all sources!!! Kastania Victoria has moved to the most expensive city in America. Why do you ask? Well, I sat down with the very single twenty something year old to get the inside scoop. 

(what if people wrote like the tabloids on their blogs? haha this is great!) 

We sat down in a freezing apartment near the Sunset District to chat with the 'so-called' SF Fashion & Lifestyle Blogger about the big move. Here's what she had to say!

Hey there, to the people that read this blog (just my mom)! Just wanted to chat about my crazy logic in moving to the most expensive city in America and why I took the plunge.

Living at home and being in your twenty's, kinda sucks!   

By all means, some people have to move home for a number of reasons and I'm not discrediting it whatsoever (clearly I did it!) I'm just saying that there comes a point when you've saved up enough money to be a big kid and now you gotta get your butt out! As a single lady in my twenty's, sometimes I want to come home and drink an entire bottle of wine while watching Scandal in my pajamas, ALONE! Sometimes you can't do that when you live at home. SOMETIMES, your Mom would be concerned you're turning into an alcoholic. (I'm good Mom, don't trip)

Cliche is my middle name 

So freaking cliche, but my life is made up of cheesy cliches. I wanted to live in a big city after college and get the full experience. Yes, I lived in Anaheim (next to Disneyland, right outside of LA) but it just wasn't the same. Anaheim is still super suburbia. I live for the hustle and bustle of loud noises and people rushing around! I thrive on FOMO (fear of missing out)! If everyone around me is running around being the best version of themselves, then I want to jump on that train too!

Accomplish one goal in order to accomplish more goals 

If I didn't push myself to accomplish this goal within the time frame I gave myself, I would never accomplish any of my goals. I'm sounding over dramatic, I realize! I'm just saying that if I didn't follow through, then what would push me to accomplish my 5 year, 10 year or 15 year goals in life? I need to take myself serious before anyone else can take me seriously. 

Living Reality 

To be completely honest, I have two jobs in San Francisco and if anyone knows the Bay Area, the commute to the East Bay is a crazy one! Prepare to join my pity party in 3...2...1... 

Living in the East Bay is about an hour away which wouldn't be a problem if the BART Train didn't stop running around midnight. I felt like freaking Cinderella trying to catch the last train before I get stuck in SF. I could drive in, but the parking is an expensive pain in the butt. I work during the day at a tech company and at night, I work at a radio station. Most of the time, I'm working a concert and those end around midnight or 1AM. In order to continue working in the music industry, I had to bite the bullet and move. 

FOMO (fear of missing out) 

When you live in a big city with no responsibilities besides yourself, you have a million fun things to do! Being an adventure seeker and having been diagnosed with FOMO, this is a perfect place to be, for now. I'm too young to live a boring life and I want to experience everything the world has to offer. 

 

Music Monday

10 songs on my playlist 

If you know anything about me, you'll know I'm music obsessed. Besides the fact that I work at a radio station and have been singing since the moment I could talk, I love music. I wanted to start featuring a weekly playlist of my favorite artists/songs for my mood during the week. I grew up with the influences of Motown, R&B and Pop artists alike. I've been working at an alternative/rock radio station for over a year and can confidently tell you that my taste in music has become more refined. So here are a few artists I wanted to feature this week. These artists come from different musical backgrounds, a few from the Bay and others from the East Coast. All of these artists are also in the early stages of their careers and are hustling for the take over. (Besides Adele already being a musical goddess, everyone else is working their butts off to 'make it' in the industry) 

ENJOY THE MUSIC!!!

Prince Fox- Wait Until Tomorrow 

http://themostdefinitely.com/prince-fox-musings-ep/

 Misterwives- Reflections 
http://crypticrock.com/misterwives-our-own-house-album-review/

Adele-Hello 

http://www.much.com/adele-to-release-first-single-hello-from-25-tomorrow/

Aaron Camper- Hypnotizing 
 
http://whycauseican.com/2015/06/18/new-rb-music-aaron-camper-aaroncamper-hypnotizing-prod-dj-camper/

Finish Ticket- Tranquilize
 
http://www.hellhoundmusic.com/elektra-recording-group-finish-ticket-announced-release-new-ep/

Elle King- Ghosts
 
https://musicksandthelowcostcity.wordpress.com/2013/03/11/indie-girl-power-top-10-de-solistas-femeninas-a-las-que-seguir-la-pista-parte-2/

  Halsey- New Americana 

 http://diymag.com/2015/09/29/halsey-starts-a-revolution-in-her-new-americana-video

Kygo- Firestone

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/code/6258959/kygo-avicii-tomorrowworld-2014

 Khelani ft. Trey Songz- The Way 
 
http://saucerkommand.tumblr.com/post/114513605446/sayspiderkehlani-parrish 
 

 Ryn Weaver- OctaHate 
 
http://www.themarooncafe.com/2014/06/stream-ryn-weavers-glaring-debut-octahate/