Gardens and Wandering Trails

Hey beautiful people!

It's been a long time since I've done a travel post about ANYTHING. I've just been so busy with school and my new job. But, today I made it a priority to go out and do something leisurely productive, if  that even makes sense, lol. Today I explored the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park and took an adventure on a trail around Stow Lake. Though it was a little sketchy, with some inclines and wooded stairs, it was quite a nature treat. Here are some pictures from today's shenanigans. All of the pictures you'll see were taken by me. Hopefully I can do more travel posts in the near future. I just need to make leisure time a priority in my hectic schedule. But for now, I hope you all enjoy!

Yours Truly,

Carla Renee

xoxo

 One of the major attractions in the tea garden. This beautiful Shrine was too good to pass up.

 Would you call this a Shrine Arch? Either way, it looked great on this sunny SF day.

 A stone lantern that I couldn't help but take a picture of.

 The Buddha in all of his glory.

 Found this quirky little structure in the Tea Garden. Looks like a bamboo water fountain. It was pretty cool. I kinda want one for myself!

 These stone lanterns can be found all over the garden. All of them were beautifully placed.

 Stone lanterns everywhere!!

 One of my favorite parts of the garden; CHERRY BLOSSOMS!! They're my favorite flower. Definitely had to come to the gardens because they only bloom during March and April. After that they fall off. Glad I got to see them this year!

 After walking through the gardens an organic ice cream truck was spotted. I can never turn down ice cream!! Here is my organic vanilla bean and chocolate twirl ice cream with chocolate chips. It was so good!! I'm definitely gonna have to hunt this ice cream truck down again!

 This is the beginning of the wandering trail. Had no idea where it went, but that's what life is all about! Gotta take risks sometimes!!

 But of course I didn't trek alone! Here is my good friend Roberto, who is crazy enough to go with me on these adventures. Thanks for coming!! :)

 Onward we went!! Seemed like a pretty cool pathway.

 But knowing me, I had to stop every now and then to smell and appreciate the flowers.

No filter needed for these flowers. They were vibrant on their own!! I had to stop for these beauties.

In the midst of our unknown path a tiny bridge was spotted that led to...

 This awesome shrine buried in the shrubbery!!

Then I had a field day with taking pictures. This is one of my favorite pictures. He didn't know I was taking pictures of him at the time. But, I think that's why I love this picture so much. My oblivious model created a stunning photo. Thanks again Roberto! Always a pleasure having you with me during my adventures. :)

Cheap Summer Hang Outs and DIY

As a college student on summer break money is scarce and has to be spent wisely. I want to spend time with my friends and make memories. Unfortunately most of the time those wanted memories require money. I hope I'm not the only one struggling with this love hate relationship with summer. I've realize that summer memories don't have to be expensive. They can be just as fun as an expensive day out. Most of these ideas may require purchases of a few cheap items and maybe gas money. But, these ideas can be brought to life no matter where you live. All you need is a group of friends who are willing to think a little outside of the box. Let the Summer thrills begin!

Yours Truly,
Carla Renee
xoxo

One of the best ways to enjoy warm summer nights is by having a movie night with your friends, outside. :)

The outdoor movie set up doesn't need to be this fancy, but it goes to show that as long as you have a projector and something to project the movie off of (i.e. board, sheet, side of the house, etc.) you can get as creative as you want with the set up; lay down some quilts, pillows, snacks, chairs, whatever you want. Enjoy a night at home, under the stars with great company without having to spend a lot of money.






If you want to get away from the city lights and put special attention towards nature and the company of your friends give this summer nighttime idea a whirl.

Stargazing in a bed of blankets and pillows. Once you find a place with a clear view of the sky, load up the truck with blankets and pillows. Watch the sunset and the stars make their appearance in the night sky. Bring some snacks and portable speakers and you've got yourself a beautiful night under the stars with your friends. If you don't have a big enough truck bed, or a truck, to have all of your close friends fit, you can still lay blankets on the ground and enjoy the night. If you don't want to do this with your friends this can also be a creative date night with that special someone. ;)











The previous activities may take a little planning but what if you're with your friends already and don't feel like gathering all the items and putting in the effort of getting everything together. Well, there's an activity that can be done without any planning. You can just do it.

Spontaneous Photography!! If you know of any nice areas near by, go! You don't necessarily need an expensive camera. A phone camera would do just fine. Phones nowadays have really nice cameras and most people have phones. Go out and get creative with your friends and make memories. If you want you can even plan a photography session with your friends. Just ask everyone to dress nice or where a certain color scheme and have fun scouting out your backdrop.

These are some of my favorite inexpensive summer ideas. What are some of your favorites that you have done/would like to do?

Staying Motivated for the Long Run

I know there is probably a large majority of us who have large life goals that we want to achieve. These life goals are not easy to accomplish and take a lot of hard work. Once these goals are accomplished we feel so accomplished (obviously) and proud of ourselves. But sometimes, and maybe even a lot of the time, there are people who do not make their life goals and quit because they couldn't see it to the very end. The life goals that you set for yourself can be accomplished. The determining factor of your success is how you come about your goal. Like I say in a lot of my post, because it is true, I'm still young and have a lot of learning and wisdom to gain. But, at this point of my life I feel like I have learned two important tips in achieving long term goals that I would like to share. 1) Turn your long term goal into short term goals and 2) Give yourself time to acknowledge your success. These two tips are probably two of many steps that need to be done in order to accomplish goals, but I think these two will lead you in the right direction. These are steps that I have been working on myself. So wish me luck and I hope you enjoy these two steps and possibly even put them to work to benefit yourself.

Yours Truly,
Carla Renee

Turn your long term goals into short term goals
-Working towards a long term goal takes a lot of work, dedication, and patience. A lot of the time our efforts feel like they are getting us no where and as a result some people give up on their goals. The best way to keep yourself motivated is to not focus entirely on the long term goal, but to focus on the completion of milestones that get you to your long term goals. Focusing on the big picture is way more overwhelming than looking at the smaller picture. I'm sure most people, including myself, feel motivated to keep pushing forward when they are seeing quick results. Focusing on the big picture will not result in faster results. But, the smaller pictures that construct the bigger picture will.
For example, my long term goal in school is to go to graduate school and become a certified Nurse Midwife. In order to do that I have to do well in my undergraduate studies, get into a nursing school, graduate, work as a registered nurse in the labor and delivery department of a hospital for at least a year, get accepted into a certified Nurse Midwife graduate program, endure 2-3 years of that program and then finally graduate with the proper education and credentials to practice as a Midwife. From all of that, it is going to take about 7 to 8 years of schooling. That means a lot of sleepless nights studying and having to stay consistent with my grades. As of now, I am only in my first year of college and if I constantly focused on becoming a Midwife now it would be far too overwhelming to think about all of the years of stressful studying I would have to do. I'm starting to stress just from thinking about it. So instead, I focus on the first step first: getting into nursing school. Nursing programs are impacted everywhere and competition is tough. So to keep me motivated to continue down the path towards becoming a Midwife I focus on getting into nursing school. I need to keep my grades up for 3 more semester, including the one I'm in now. So right now my only focus is nursing school. Because it's so much closer in the future than becoming a Nurse midwife it doesn't seem as daunting. After getting into nursing school I'll focus on graduating and getting a job as a registered nurse and so on and so forth. Focusing on the increment of the journey instead of the whole picture makes the extra effort less strenuous because you'll see the results of your progress much faster.

Give yourself time to acknowledge your success
-It's easy for us to complete a task and instantly work on the next one and not acknowledge that we have progressed from where we were at the start. Constant work on one really long task can be daunting, repetitive, and discouraging after awhile. To keep yourself encouraged, take a step back every once in awhile and look at how far you have come. From the time you first started working towards the goal to where you currently are. It's further than where you were in the beginning right? Be proud and take pride in that. Accepting and basking in your progress will make the journey a little easier because your progress will be your own motivation. Don't be afraid to take a day off and reset your focus. A trip to the beach, museum, park, garden, cafe, or restaurant you've been wanting to go to maybe? Give yourself a break every now and then. You deserve it.

We're always looking for it, but how do we know when we've found it?

Love.

This blog is about the simplest but one of the most complicated things in life.
What do you look for in love? How do we know it's love? Where do we look? and Once we've got it, then what? Questions that I know I don't have the answers to but questions that I can at least state my opinion on. I'm still very young and I have so much more to experience and more wisdom to gain, but as a person who feels and has emotions I can chime my opinion on this topic. Feel free to chime your thoughts and opinions on this topic as well. There isn't a concrete definition or a correct perspective on this powerful phenomenon, so let your thoughts be heard.

What do you look for in love?
From the perspective of someone who is looking from the outside in, I feel like people take love to seriously. I think that love should be fun, adventurous, kind and inspiring. I think you and your significant other should make each other laugh and should constantly be surprising one another. Love should be simple. It shouldn't take constant date night and gifts to be happy. I feel like you should be comfortable with a walk to the store or a planned stay in and wear pajamas and watch movies and TV all day kind of days are good. But that doesn't mean a romantic day/evening out every once in a while shouldn't be done. I think that it's important to examine the other person's true intentions in themselves as well as in the relationship. It goes for us as well. If our own intentions are not true to ourselves how can we hold true intentions towards someone else?

How do we know it's love?
Love is completely subjective. It depends on the person and their needs. But all in all, I think that you'll know it's love when that person makes you happy and makes you laugh. When you can let your barriers down and they never go near the boundaries of taking advantage of you. When you see things in that person that no one else can. When you can see their gentle side, their strong side, their potential and the love that you are blessed to be able to experience. I think when you feel secure and protected around this person and feel like they have everything under control is a powerful feeling. Yet at the same time you can feel strong even in their presence. When they encourage you and push you toward your own goals while still being able to focus on their own. I think when all of these components come together it makes the strong bond that we know as Love.

Where do we look?
I feel like love just naturally manifests when you come across someone that makes you see things in a whole new positive perspective that you would have never thought of before. But if there were a place to look for love the number one place to look would be within yourself. Be the person you want to love and that person will come. If you want someone who is strong, confident, and independent then you have to be strong, confident, and independent. It would be illogical for you to think that your "dream guy/girl" will come along if you aren't the "dream you". The phrase "opposites attract" is irrelevant to the circumstance of love, in my opinion. Not all of the time, but most of the time, if there is someone who is not matching the amount of effort that you are putting into the relationship then they do not have the same intentions as you. For example, if you are someone who lacks confidence and someone with a huge amount of confidence comes along there is a possibility that they think they can take advantage of you and they will. Or if it's the other way around and you're a strong confident person and the other person is the opposite then they may have the intention to use you to better themselves or somehow get ahead in life. If you ever feel like the person that has come along is too good to be true, then chances are you're right. The person you "fall in love with" shouldn't be an intimidation. They should be an excellent compliment to the strong and solid you that you already are. These circumstances are not always the case, but it's really important to watch this person and really dig deep and look into their intentions.

Once we've go it, Now what?
Hold onto it. Easier said then done, I know. You're two individuals who are trying to work as one solid couple. Someone's interest might change, or time just slowly changes a person. Honest communication is key. Let your feelings be heard. Tell them how you feel, do what you can to make it work. Love is a never ending process. It's difficulty varies on the kind of person you are with, which is why it is important to really examine and watch this person before stepping into love. Keeping the love strong can be a little easier or harder. What's really important is that equal effort is put in by both partners. No one person can put in more effort. It will lead to resentment and frequent arguing. It's possible to fall out of love with a person, it happens a lot. That's completely normal. Is it going to hurt? Yes. But time and experience will heal. But if this 'love' is doing more harm than good, it's time to let it go. Don't ever be afraid to let go of something that you know is hurting you or the both of you. It'll be hard in the beginning but in the end you're doing both of you a favor.

Love is such a complicated situation. But if it's done correctly it can be one of the best experiences in your life. Love is not a one try success, it's going to take trial and error, misses, minor hits, and heartache. But just think of it this way, all of your struggle and strife is going to bring you closer to the love that will make you smile, feel like your on top of the world, and happy beyond description. It's gonna be a long and rough journey, but if you follow the path you create for yourself you'll find your own happy ending.

So are you up for the journey?

Yours Truly,
Carla Renee
xoxo

Looking back on 2013 and feeling hopeful for 2014

Hey lovelies! It looks like we made it through another year! 2013 had a few monumental moments: I turned 18 in April, I graduated high school in June, and I moved away for college at the end of August. I've had a lot of fun in college and I've learned a lot about myself. Even though 2013 had great moments for me there were some hardships here in there throughout the year. I had stumbled, faltered, and lost direction at one point. But through the good and bad I learned a lot, grew from my struggles, and I look forward to the upcoming year.

Now that the year has ended a new one has begun it is time to make some expectations for 2014. It's common for people to have "New Year Resolutions" but to be honest those resolutions only last about 2 or 3 months max. I used to write resolutions and they would only last about two months at the most.

Starting this coming year I won't have an New Year Resolutions. My main focus for this year and many years to come is self improvement. Becoming a better and stronger person is an ongoing process that never ends. I want to work on being a better person than I was in 2013 and years before that. I wouldn't call them New Year Resolutions but this year I want to make sure that I don't repeat last year. I don't want to make the same mistakes I did last year. I want to be more willing to put myself out there and truly strive for whatever it is that I want. I want to continue being humble and staying healthy and becoming healthier. I don't expect to see immediate results from anything that I do because I know it's going to be a never ending process and my results will become visible in the long run.

Yours Truly,
Carla Renee
xoxo

So what are some of your goals and aspirations for 2014?

Stressing Over Finals

For some people finals are over or just about over, but for me I start finals next week. I feel pretty good about my finals this semester, but I'm still a little stressed. Since it's my first experience with college finals I want to create a healthy habit when it comes to approaching finals. Here are some tips on how to ease a little bit of the stress of finals. These stress relieving tips can be used for other things than just finals. It can be used to help ease the stress of work, relationships, personal life, and financial stress. You can even modify and personalize these tips to make them fun or more suitable for you. Make your routine unique! I hope you all enjoy. :)

Your Truly,

Carla Renee

xoxo

Stress Relieving Tips:

Listen to Music

Listening to your favorite artists will instantly relax your mind and body. Take a few minutes out of your day to sit back and clear your mind. Don't think of the things you have to do, just enjoy the moment for what it is. Music that is great for relieving stress is nature sounds. As cliche as it may seem, it's really helpful. Stop what you're doing, turn on some tunes, and enjoy the moment.

Talk to a Friend

Human to human communication is important, specially if it's communicating with a good friend of yours. You don't have to spend a whole day with that person. It can be a trip to a coffee shop or a 25 minute phone call. Talking to a friend eases stress because that person will either get your mind off of that stress or will tell you they're going through the same thing. If that's the case you won't feel alone and knowing that you're not alone will help you cope with stress a little bit easier. Laughing and chatting with a friend is always a good time and a fun stress reliever. It's something that shouldn't be taken for granted.

Eat Right

When we have so many things to do during the day we tend to grab the quickest and closest thing to us and sometimes the quickest and closest things to us aren't the healthiest. If we're studying for long hours we'll grab chips or a bag of candy. Anything that's easy to take with us and easy to eat. That's not always the best thing to do. Instead, grab some fruit and water. Fruit are known to help reduce stress. Eating right makes you feel more alert and it's healthy for you. It's basically a win win situation.

Be Mindful

Meditating and things like Yoga, Pilates and tai chi are great for long term stress relief. Try taking a class or just sit and meditate in a quiet room for 10 minutes. I personally like meditating. After 10 minutes of clearing my mind and deep breathing I feel a lot better and like my mind had organized itself. Making me feel less stressed out.

Drink Tea

Tea is a really soothing drink whether it is served hot or cold. To relieve stress, hot tea is the way to go. Tea has less than half the amount of caffeine and has healthy antioxidants. There are also different types of teas that are great for healing. Whether it is digestion, immunity, or to aid in alertness and relieving stress. I love tea, it's one of my favorite drinks and whenever I drink it I never feel stressed.

Sleep Tight

It's recommended to get at least 8-9hrs of sleep a night but honestly I haven't gotten that much sleep since I've started college. Turning your room into the perfect sleeping sanctuary will help you feel rejuvenated in the morning. To do this make sure that you try to avoid doing homework in your bed. If you accustom yourself to doing work on your bed whenever you get in bed you're gonna feel as if you need to be doing something and you won't feel as relaxed. Before it's time for you to go to sleep neatly pull back your covers so that your bed looks more appealing and more like it's welcoming you to go to sleep. If your bed is tempting you to go to sleep when you get into bed you'll feel more at ease and fall asleep. And lastly, turn off all of the lights and have the room temperature to your liking. A dark room will help you fall asleep because you can't see in the dark so you can't look around. All of these steps will turn your room into a sleep sanctuary and will help you feel rejuvenated for the next day, no matter how many hours of sleep you may get. 

Staying Cute and Warm in the Crisp Winter Weather

Hey lovelies, even though it is technically still Autumn, December has brought in the Winter chill and it is definitely starting to set in, especially in San Francisco. Here are some ideas of staying warm and cute in the wind chill of the upcoming winter. Below are some of my favorite individual items and outfits.
Hope you enjoy. :)


Yours Truly,
Carla Renee
xoxo

Cardigans: Recently since I've moved to NorCal I have fallen in love with cardigans. They're so cute and warm. You can wear them with jeans or leggings. I personally love wearing cardigans with leggings and knit beanies. 

Infinity Scarves: Before moving up north I didn't really like scarves. In the area that I lived in scarves weren't really necessary because it never got that cold. Since I didn't need them I didn't wear them and I didn't feel like wearing a scarf as a fashion statement. But, now that I need them in San Francisco they've become one of my favorite things to wear! I wear them for warmth and as a fashion statement.

Boots: Boots are now one of my obsessions, point blank. Whether they are heeled boots like these, under the knee high boots or cute flat boots like the ones below. I'll wear them. Especially with a cardigan and a cute pair of leggings.

Here are some outfit ideas for the winter season that I find super cute!

Over the past season or two I have gotten into neutral colors like beige. I've also found a new love for the color maroon. I feel like neutral colors can go with anything. That's probably why they're called neutral colors in the first place, lol.

Purple has always been a favorite color of mine since I could remember. The knit cardigan and grey boots go perfect with the jeans and what's great about the color of the cardigan is that any pattern and color scarf goes well with it. Another pro to neutral colors. :)

Here is a simple outfit with a cardigan and boots. I couldn't turn it away because of the light brown and dark brown combination. The boots are cute and can be worn in any weather because they're made out of leather.

I really like this outfit because it's not dressy, it's simple, and it's still really cute. All that's needed is your favorite pair of skinny jeans, a zip up sweater, warm knit boots, and a purse. I personally don't think the kind of purse matters. It can be a backpack purse or a regular purse. You'll still look cute.

Another outfit that I love now that I have to dress warmer is definitely the combination of long skit sweaters and leggings. I feel like it's a cute and innocent look. There also isn't anything difficult about the outfit and it's still really cute. It can be an easy go to outfit if you don't know what to wear. Another thing I like about this outfit is that you can do so much with it. You can wear boots, add a scarf, and/or a beanie with it. Either way, you'll look and feel warm and comfortable.

 I hope you enjoyed these outfit ideas. Hopefully they inspired you to create your own personal winter wonderland wardrobe. No matter what, the best outfit is the one that is stylish and one that you love. <3

More Than Just Water

I don't know about all of you, but I've always heard that it's important to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. I've gone online to find out how much water we really need to drink a day. From all of my findings it is safe to say that we should all drink at least 8 glasses a day, or a little over a liter of water throughout the day to stay properly hydrated. I don't mind water too much, but after awhile the plainness of water gets tiring and I give in to juice and soda. I've found some ways to make water more enjoyable and naturally tasteful. It's easy to make and you can make an abundant amount of it so that you can take it in a travel cup and store the rest in your refrigerator for later. It's a great way of staying healthy and enjoying great flavors. All of these recipes are natural. The only ingredients you need are water and the fruits and vegetables of your choice. Don't be afraid to experiment and add your own little spins to these recipes. Think of them as a foundation to something healthy and delicious that you can make on your own. Enjoy. :)

Yours Truly,
Carla Renee
xoxo

With making fruit/vegetable water there are only 3 easy steps:

1) Cut up the fruit/vegetable of your choice and place it in a pitcher

2) Fill the pitcher with water. (ice is optional)
   *I like using ice in my individual servings, I feel like the chill of the ice enhances the flavors*

3) Let it chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to let the flavors infuse
 

Here are some fruit/vegetable water ideas and the benefits of drinking them:

Lemon Water: Lemon water is probably the most common known infusion of fruit and water. In restaurants the waiter/waitress usually asks if you want lemon with your water. Well, there are health benefits to this simple and common known combination. Lemon water helps stimulate and regulate the digestive track. It also helps fight infections and promotes the immune system due to it's Vitamin C content.

Cucumber Water: Cucumber water is rich with vitamins and calcium. Cucumbers are 95% water so you're adding more water to your water, if that makes sense, lol. Cucumbers are great for hydrating your skin and helps filter the liver and kidneys. To add even more flavor to your cucumber water, mint is a good complementary flavor. Mint can help with a more effective digestion and help relax cramped up stomach muscles.

Sweet-Tart: Stir 2 cups pineapple chunks, 1 cup pitted and halved fresh cherries, and 3 cored and thinly sliced granny smith apples.

(This recipe makes 2 quarts. Top ingredients with 6 cups ice, fill jar or pitcher with water, stir, and cover. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to let the flavors infuse)










Strawberry Basil Blast: Scrunch 8 fresh mint leaves to release their flavors. Combine 3 cups of halved strawberries and gently muddle with a wooden spoon or spatula.

(This recipe makes 2 quarts. Top ingredients with 6 cups ice, fill jar or pitcher with water, stir, and cover. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to let the flavors infuse)

Orangeberry: Gently muddle 5 thinly sliced oranges and 2 cups raspberries.

(This recipe makes 2 quarts. Top ingredients with 6 cups ice, fill jar or pitcher with water, stir, and cover. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to let the flavors infuse)











The last 3 recipes I got from Prevention.com. Click on the link and it will take you to the page with these recipes along with 23 other delicious fruit water ideas and recipes. Hopefully these recipes help and hopefully these will help us drink more water and enjoy the natural taste of fruit and water.