5 Reasons We Love To Travel ft. Marichuy

Traveling has been on my mind lately and I can't figure out where I want to visit next. There's so many places to see and do that I try to keep an ongoing checklist of places that I have previously visited or have been told to check out. I have a few trips lined up for this month and next month like a trip to Las Vegas that I'll be doing for one of my friend's 30th birthday next weekend (Yay!) and my cousin's wedding in Indiana in May. A lot of fun events coming up and I can't wait to experience them all. 

For this blog post, I collaborated with one of my good friends and lifestyle blogger, Marichuy from The Real Marichuy, as we share with you all 5 reasons why we love to travel. Read all about it below!

1.) Planning aka "The Logistics"
I think planning is a fundamental thing when it comes to traveling. I learned about this whenever I would plan trips to visit my family in California. One of the things that I started doing is that I started creating an excel sheet where I would write down a list of activities that I would want to do out there and an estimated budget of how much I might spend. Majority of the times I'm with my family but other times I may go out with friends or go sight seeing. It helps me to see the big picture and the details that go into my trip. There may be times where my travel plans may not go the way that I planned it like a delay or something, but it's good to have an idea and/or a visual of your overall trip. 


2.) Packing
Ah packing. I think the process of packing is different for every one ha ha. I enjoy packing because I get to put outfits together and see what patterns go well with eachother. I also enjoy it because I get to pick out items that are comfy and that can be easily used for a day and night outfit. I know weather is a big thing especially depending on what season you're flying in, but I usually look at the weather to get an idea of what I am expecting or in other times I usually bring a light-heavy jacket, just in case. 

3.) Checking into your hotel
There's something about staying in a hotel that is just a perfect weekend or vacation getaway. I don't know if its the feeling that I am away from home for a small amount of time or that I'm staying in a new city, but it's always a good start to any trip. One of the things I do once we (my boyfriend and I) reach our hotel room, I always run to the bed and just star fish it (where your arms and legs stretch out like a starfish.) If you've never done this before then I recommend you do it because it feels awesome. It's like the best feeling after a long drive or flight. Another thing I love doing whenever I stay in a hotel is opening the blinds and seeing the view. It's a perfect Hello!


4.) The Cool Spots
Whenever my boyfriend and I are traveling, my "duty" is to look for the cool spots. This is one of my favorite things to do because I get to find places or things to do based on our interests and then we go check them out. Majority of the time we're pretty spontaneous. We usually drive around and if we see something that grabs our attention we go. Other times we use our handy dandy Yelp app for reviews and helpful tips. We may even ask the locals for suggestions, which is also pretty helpful. My favorite places to visit are vintage shops, art museums, record stores, capturing graffiti art, etc. 


5.) Live in the Moment
Last but not least is to have fun and to live in the moment! The feeling of being in a different place and to be able to share that experience with family and friends is what makes your adventure priceless!


There are many more reasons of why I love to travel but I will save that for next time. For now, head on over to Marichuy's blog to read about her awesome adventures and her 5 reasons why she loves to travel!

Until next time,
Fati <3

Memories in Chi-Town!

So, I was cleaning out my computer and I found a bunch of old pictures that I took from when I was in high school. As I scrolled down, I started reminiscing about all of the awesome people that I have met along the way and all the places that I have visited especially throughout my college years and throughout my move to Omaha from Los Angeles. As I looked through each photo, a memory popped into my mind. All I could do was just smile or laugh because it felt so real and because some of the pictures were pretty funny. 

I don't know how long I have been taking pictures but I do know that it's been a while. I remember when I was younger my mom would take me after school to our neighborhood Save-On Drugstore, (now called CVS) to buy a disposable camera. Once my film was done, I loved seeing what my final images were going to look like when they got printed. Nowadays, I use a D-SLR camera to capture photos. I love taking snapshots of the different places that I travel to and also doing fun photo-shoots on friends!

Talking about traveling to new places, two weekends ago my boyfriend and I took a weekend trip to Chicago. It was our first time going and I was super excited because I had heard so many great things about it from friends and co-workers. I had researched on Yelp, asked friends for suggestions, and even read some local newspapers/magazines about sights to check out in the Windy City. 

Below are some of the highlights from our trip!

This was a mural that I saw as we drove through one of the neighborhoods when we first arrived to Chicago.

During our trip we stayed at the Hampton Inn Chicago- North Loyola Station Hotel. I really enjoyed staying at this hotel because it was located right outside Loyola University Chicago campus. There were restaurants and other little shops that were walking distance, which made it super convenient. We also figured out that the train station was also walking distance. We purchased a CTA Ventra card which cost about $10-$28 depending if you want a 1 day pass, 3 day pass, or a 7 day pass. We decided to get a 3 day pass since that was about how long we were gonna stay. 

Before we hopped on the train, we stopped by Giordano's Pizzeria to try out their stuffed, deep-dish pizza. My boyfriend and I ordered our own individual 6" pizza. My first thought when I first saw them was that they looked super cute because they were small but after the first bite I was pretty mind blown. The ingredients were super fresh and the taste was just so delicious! It was cheesy and rich in flavor. One individual pizza is definitely enough to fill you up and keep you going. 

One of the first stops that we made on the train was to Wrigley Field. As many of you know, the Chicago Cubs won the MLB World Series this year, so it was pretty cool to actually be there and see banners with the words, "Fly the W" hung from people's windows and vendors outside the stadium selling all sorts of Cubs gear. 

Had to take a selfie with my boo outside of the stadium! Making those memories last!

Our next stop was the famous, Arts Institute of Chicago. One of the things I didn't know about this museum is that it's mission is to collect, preserve, and interpret works of art from across the globe and that their collection comprises of approximately 300,000 works of art. Upon researching this place, I also learned that the Arts Institute of Chicago is ranked 6th in the "Best art museums in America", Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City ranked as number 1 on the list. 

As we walked around the museum we passed through an exhibition that focused on Japanese print making and had sculptures of traditional, Japanese deities. From one room to the next there were giant displays of art work that focused on different cultures from around the world. I enjoyed learning more about the African culture as well as Native American culture. As we continued walking around the first floor, we passed by an area that exhibited different interpretations of Buddha that came from the Himalayas and South East Asia. 

Although we didn't get to finish checking out the other two floors due to time, we both really enjoyed visiting the Arts Institute. This will definitely be on our "to-do" list the next time we go back.

Our last stop was Millennium Park. I had heard so much about Millennium Park previously from friends that it felt so surreal actually being there and taking pictures with the giant bean. At first I didn't know where it was but when I found it I screamed with excitement. ha-ha 

I can now see why this is a "must do" whenever you visit Chicago. I mean it's pretty breathtaking even at night. 

Cheesing it up in front of Cloud Gate (aka the bean)!

Once sun down hit, all the lights from the sky rise buildings started to illuminate the city. It was as if you were watching a light show and then suddenly everything just lit up all at once.

As we walked around town finding our way back to the train station, I couldn't help but stop and look up at the buildings. I had told my boyfriend to look up and see what I saw seeing. We stood side by side hugging as we enjoyed that precious moment. 

Can't wait till we plan our next trip back to Chicago! 

Have you been to Chicago? What was your favorite part of being there? Share with me on the comments below.

Until next time,

Fati <3

Go Blog Social- Des Moines 2016

Two weekends ago I took a mini adventure and drove two hours north of Omaha to a city called Des Moines, Iowa for my second Go Blog Social conference. In case you've never heard of Go Blog Social, it's a digital community and conference that provides bloggers, entrepreneurs, and people who are interested in learning more about the social and creative industry ways on how to grow their brand/business and also a way to connect with other like-minded individuals and gain the tools needed to grow. 

Seeing how I had an amazing time attending Go Blog Social's blogger conference in Kansas City last year, I thought it would be great to see what this year's conference was going to be about. The conference was a two-day event; Friday and Saturday and was held at a local hotel called, Hotel Renovo.

Since there was going to be a networking event on Friday, I thought it would be cool to check it out so, I packed up my luggage and headed towards Des Moines. I was nervous but excited to go.

Arriving at Hotel Renovo I felt lost because there were so many people hanging around the lobby and bar area that I didn't know where to go. From left to right I saw people getting their hair braided, making flower crowns, getting henna done, taking pictures in the GBS photo booth, and even getting a bra fitting with a company called Peach. Since I went by myself and I didn't really know or recognize anyone from Omaha, I decided to roam around and check out some of the different stations they had. 

Essential Oils by Alex

It felt kinda weird going up to people and introducing myself but I guess that's the purpose of a networking event, to be able to meet someone or a group of people and share what your passions are. I met a few girls who were locals from Des Moines and they recommended me some cool places to visit while I was in town. We also got to exchange business cards and we each shared a little bit about ourselves. I'm happy I was able to get out of my comfort zone and not let my shyness get in the way of meeting new people, I feel like that's always the hardest part when going to a social event. 

At the end of the night, I ended up getting a henna creation by the fabulous Rayna from Rad Henna and even got to make my own flower crown with the help of CamBam Custom Floral! 

Henna creation by RAD Henna

Selfies with Holly from Style From the Sticks!

I couldn't leave the event without taking a picture in the photo-booth. Don't we look cute!?

Sienna from Style By Si and I at the GBS photo-booth!

Saturday was part two of the Go Blog Social event which was conference day. As I walked in the hotel one of the interns that were helping out handed me a gift bag, which I was excited to open later! The conference took place in a big meeting room where they had rows and rows of chairs that everyone could choose where to sit at. As I found my spot I was really looking forward to seeing who the speakers were. I had my notebook and pen handy to take some good notes!  

The morning kicked off with a warm welcome from the Go Blog Social team who are, Kathryn and Sarah; the co-founders, Katelyn who is the sponsorship director, and Sara who is the events coordinator. 

They gave us a quick run through of the days itinerary and introduced the first speaker who was Katie Patterson, CEO and Founder of Happy Medium.  Happy Medium is an advertising agency located in Des Moine, IA that focuses on providing creative services for brands and businesses. Katie spoke about The Journey of Entrepreneurship and shared about her life experiences in being a CEO. She talked about getting comfortable with uncertainty and how to get through those moments where you feel like you can't do it anymore and how to better prepare yourself and plan for those moments.

She also covered some helpful tips that I thought were pretty beneficial when using social media:

• Don't make your personal page your business page, it's not a great user experience.
• Use more visual posts such as videos, photos, designed graphics = better performance
• Depending on which social media platforms you use, don't over use images. Spread your postings out a couple of days or so for your audience.

She covered a lot of other great information, but those were some take-aways that stood out to me. 

The second speaker was Cassandra Monroe who is a freelancer/stylist and covered the topic of Pitching and Freelance Opportunities. She started her career in the military working in public affairs and then transitioned to freelancing in photography and blogging. She also mentioned that while she was deployed, she was a food stylist for a company called Mittera and is/was also a writer for an online magazine called, The Everygirl. 

Cassandra shared insight on how to brand yourself and what goes into creating a good pitch. Some take-aways I got from her were:

• Jump on opportunities or create them. Partner with someone and create something.
• Build a network. Make friends with people who are in the industry, network with other freelancers.
• Make your pitch standout to brands/business marketers.
• BE GENUINE, be honest with yourself and with your client.

As the morning continued, it was time for a mini break. I decided to meet up with some of the girls I had met on Friday and catch up. Next to the room we were in, some of the vendors that were at the hotel on Friday were there again on Saturday doing bra fittings and selling wall decorations. We decided to check it out. 

Peach hosting bra fittings and making you feel fabulous!

Cute pillows and wall decorations from Walls Need Love

Girl gang!

As our mini break was over, we returned to our seats and got to listen to Lauren and Austin Day cover Photo Styling and Photography Tips. 

During this presentation I felt as if I was back in my old photography class because they covered some basic photography lingo like aperture and shutter speed. They also gave helpful tips on what to look out for when styling an object or how to find the right lighting and mood when doing a photo-shoot. They even showed us a presentation of various shots that they took around their studio.

After the presentation was done, it was time to break out for lunch. Yay!! Food!! Lunch was provided by a new upcoming restaurant in Des Moines called Goldfinch.They had mini sandwiches, salad, and freshly made cookies which were pretty delicious!

After lunch, it was time for the last three speakers of the day. Bevin Mugford from Peach Company presented on Pursuing Your Passion In a Creative Industry. She and two other women on her team started off by introducing themselves and sharing a little bit about what made them want to be part of Peach. Peach is a startup bra business located in Boston that was created to inspire women to feel beautiful and confident in their own skin. They have personal stylists to help you find a perfect bra that fits your needs and lifestyle. Bevin spoke about the ABC's of confidence and how to use action, bounce, and connect to access it.

Here are some take-aways that I took from her presentation:

• Confidence is actually in the body. It's not something you are given but a practice, it's a process.
• ACT- a mixture of ambition and doubt which is something we face in our minds. Biggest tip is to build knowledge to get to your action step/goal.
• BOUNCE- although you will get more closed doors than opened ones, look for the crack instead of the wide door. Don't let "NO" get to you.
• CONNECT- Share vulnerability with someone to help restore you. 

Once Bevin's presentation was done it was time to present the last two presenters. One of them was Karla Walsh from Meredith Corporations who presented on Digital Strategy & Social Media and the other was a local Omaha blogger, Sara Sabaliauskas from Sabby Style who presented on, From 9-to-5 to Full- Time. I wasn't able to get as much notes as I wanted to but I definitely learned a lot about how stay connected with my audience and share my story. 

After a long day of networking and learning, the day had finally come to an end. The GBS team stood in front of the room and thanked everyone for coming to their event. I had said my see you laters to the group of girls that I had met and was back on the road to Omaha.

Looking back at this event, I gotta say I had an amazing time. I really enjoyed connecting with people from different parts of the Midwest and also gained so much helpful information.

 If you are new to the blogging world or are an active blogger, I highly recommend attending this blogger conference or any other blogger conference out there. It's fun and definitely worth going. Thanks again Go Blog Social for hosting this great event! Hope to see you next year!

Until next time,

Fati <3

On The Streets: Greetings from Colorful Colorado

Hey hey everyone! I've missed you all so much! I know I've been absent from writing but I am happy to finally be back in the blogging groove. There are so many summer events happening in Omaha that I am really looking forward to sharing with you some of the local happenings and also catching you up on what I've been up to lately. 

But for right now, I wanted to share with you all a recent road trip my boyfriend and I did to Denver, Colorado this past Memorial Day weekend! I've never been to Colorado before so I was pretty pumped to check out some of the local shops, meet my boyfriend's cousin, Kaitlyn and her husband Paul; whom we were going to be staying with, and of course take some awesome photos. Well enough with the sweet intro- now let's get down to the nitty gritty!

One of the things I didn't know prior to this trip was that Denver is located about 7-8 hours from Omaha. It doesn't seem like a far distance but if you're not used to driving for that long, it may seem like forever. Luckily, my boyfriend has driven to Colorado before and was able to tell me what to expect. As soon as we both got off of work, we packed our bags in the car and we were set to go on our adventure!

About 4.5 hours into our voyage, we had passed various cattle ranches and farms, survived a massive storm cloud carrying lightening, rain, and thunder, spotted a triple rainbow, but best of all we got to jam out to some old school music and had some interesting conversations. A few hours later, not knowingly, we had crossed the Nebraska-Colorado border.  Ahh! We were getting close. Do you ever get that squirmy and excited feeling whenever you are approaching your destination? Well, I started clapping and jumping on my seat when I spotted the, "Welcome to Colorful Colorado" sign! 

A few minutes later, we had finally arrived! 

Seeing how it was a long weekend and there were so many things to see and do, I am going to share with you all some of my favorite things we did and places we visited in Denver!

   Red Rocks Amphitheater 

One of the places we visited was to the world-famous Red Rocks Amphitheater located just fifteen miles west of Denver. A few friends had previously told me about this place, so it was quite the treat to check it out. As we drove to Red Rocks, I saw the beautiful mountain scenery and then suddenly in the middle of the bright green grass were these giant, sandstone rocks that began to appear. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. We had parked the car and we began to walk up. Thank goodness I brought my comfy shoes, because it was definitely a work out.  

There were so many people in workout clothes and exercise gear coming to and from the amphitheater and there were groups of people tailgating for a band that was going to perform later on. As we started getting closer to the entrance, I was left in awe. It was so surreal. For some reason the giant, sandstone rocks reminded me of the ones on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride at Disneyland, because although the rocks were very much real, they almost looked fake. 

When we entered the amphitheater, I was just amazed to see the amount of people that were there visiting and also waiting for the concert to start. If you looked into the distance you're able to catch a breath-taking view of the city. Kaitlyn mentioned to me that whenever there are no concerts going on, people go and exercise. They even have free yoga on the Red Rock events that are free. She also mentioned that during the summer time they have movies at the rocks, which sounded pretty sweet!  After a few pictures here and there, we were off to our next stop. 

 Colfax Avenue

As we drove back down towards the city, Kaitlyn and Paul drove us towards a major street called Colfax Avenue. I was reading a bit of background history and something I learned about Colfax Avenue was that it's known to be one of the longest commercial streets in the United States, extending a total length of 26.5 miles. That's almost the same length as a marathon! 

Most of the neighborhoods that were located around Colfax Avenue in the 1800's were filled with many mansions of the wealthy and elite of Denver. Throughout the years, there have been many redevelopments made, but you can still see some of the remnants of how the houses and mansions used to look back in the day. 

One of my favorite things about Colfax Avenue other than it's historic background is the variety of eclectic shops and restaurants that you can find. From tattoo parlors to bookstores to uniquely-inspired street art, there is something for everyone. There is also a great variety of street style fashion which I was able to capture! As we passed all the shops and restaurants we started to see the Denver mountains starting to appear, which lead us to the next place Paul and Kaitlyn showed us to.

 Boulder, Colorado

Located about 30 miles northwest of Denver is the happy city of Boulder, Colorado which is home to the University of Colorado at Boulder; the state's largest university and where Coors and Anheuser-Busch breweries are located. Seeing how it was such a beautiful day outside, Kaitlyn suggested that we take a mini hike and see the boulders. As we drove there, a few of the things that I noticed was that everyone in Colorado (not being stereotypical or anything) are active. I saw people running, biking, hiking trails, walking their dog, and so much more. Also, whenever we would pass by a mountain range it felt as if we were passing through a different country because of how green they were and how peaceful everything looked.  

As we arrived, we started spotting gray clouds coming in so instead of hiking we just drove up the mountain. There are no words to describe how breath-taking the view was. There was so much to look at and so much to take in. My boyfriend stopped the car and Kaitlyn, her dog Boston, and I hopped out of the car to get a better view. It started to pour rain but we didn't care it was an amazing experience. Once we had reached Flagstaff Summit which was about 1300 ft elevation, we were able to get a better view of the surrounding area and even the University of Colorado campus. 

(Video footage from the mountain)

All that exploring made us hungry. Paul and Kaitlyn mentioned us about the Pearl Street Mall in Downtown Boulder and how cool it was cause of its shopping and dining amenities and since it was Memorial Day weekend there might be some weekend events happening. We decided to check it out!

The Pearl Street Mall is made up of four blocks filled with boutiques, bars, street acts, and even a pop jet fountain for the kids. It was funny watching a group of kids jump and run around as the water shot up in the air. During the time we were there, there was a huge event for the Bolder Boulder marathon. There were so many tents throughout the mall promoting running gear and energy bars. There were even people signing up for the race and getting their grab bags for the big day. Paul, my boyfriend, and I got to take a crowd surfing picture at the Clif Bar station! 

 After we had finished walking around and our tummies were full, we headed back to Paul and Kaitlyn's place to call it a day. As I sat on the bed, I picked up my camera and went through all the photos that I took throughout our time in Denver. It was an overall amazing experience being able to make a weekend trip to new place and discover things that we've never seen or thought existed. Special thanks to Paul and Kaitlyn for their amazing hospitality and for showing us around! A trip to Denver, Colorado is definitely in the plans for the future!

From LA, With Luv
Fati <3