It’s been too long since my last travel adventure (to San Antonio and Austin, Texas in April to be exact – yikes!) that I was absolutely over the moon to spend this past Christmas with my fiance, Joseph, in Cancun, Mexico’s Hyatt Zilara, an all-inclusive adults-only resort, for five nights. This was my first time being in an all-inclusive resort, and let me just say, it was pure bliss. We arrived in Cancun around 12:30 am on a Thursday night and…
Ah, the Nordstrom Annual Sale has come and gone, and wouldn’t you know it, I didn’t get anything fashion related! There were SO many people talking about it, recommending which items to get and what the best deals were, that I seriously got overwhelmed and decided to skip the event altogether. But of course, Nordstrom was offering members a $10 off coupon on anything, and I couldn’t pass up not using that, so I browsed their website and found one deal…
LA is known as a city with SO many freeways, so many concrete roads, so many cars on the road and not enough greenery. But there are certainly pockets of space where gardens bloom. I’ve discussed previously of Huntington Library and Botanical, one of my all-time favorite garden spots in Los Angeles to “get away” from the city. This time, I explore the Los Angeles Arboretum, a garden in Arcadia where peacocks just love to roam around freely. The Arboretum…
A couple of months ago, I headed off to San Antonio and Austin in Texas, United States and realized I haven’t made any posts on Austin! (But you can see my posts on San Antonio here, here and here) Oh, Austin. Oddly enough, prior to coming here, I was fairly oblivious to what this city had to offer, except that it resides Rooster Teeth as well as the South by Southwest film festival. But one thing that Austin prides itself…
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of attending the Beverly Hills Food and Wine Festival and brought my mom along for the ride. The four day event was held from June 9th – 12th at the Olympic Collection ballrooms with a portion of the proceeds going towards Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation – a nonprofit organization that helped raise funds and awareness for kids with cancer. With over 60 amazing restaurant and wine vendors participating including Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Bottega…
Tucked away in a quaint residential neighborhood is a bed and breakfast called “O’Casey’s Boutique Inn“. I found this cute B&B on AirB&B when my friend Cara was still planning on joining me, and renting a room for two here was just slightly more expensive than going the hostel route for two people (seriously, $7 more). The location was also just 10 minute drive from the San Antonio River Walk. The room is absolutely charming with a slight rustic feel. There…
I flew out to San Antonio back in April to photograph a wedding and of course, took the opportunity to extend my business trip a few days and explore a little more of Texas. It only makes sense that the first landmark I visit is the famous and beautiful San Antonio River Walk. While I was there, it also happened to be the week that the annual San Antonio’s Fiesta week was occurring – an event that many businesses take part…
Social media has been around for years now, and yet the only one that has really stuck with me is Instagram. Perhaps it’s because it’s heavily dependent on images. Perhaps it’s because, when I “like” something, it doesn’t spam the feeds of my friends. I also wasn’t big on taking images with my phone until I got the iPhone 5s (still do) and until Instagram’s editing feature improved, along with the help of 3rd party image editing apps. I’ve learned…
The best part about summertime are the blooming flowers, hands down. For a while now, I have been trying to get to as many flower fields in California as possible, but with such a short window (spring-time), it’s not the easiest task. There was the failed attempt at Soda Lake, the semi-failed attempt at Antelope Valley in Lancaster, and the easy giveaway at Carlsbad Flower Field. Of course, I don’t see flower fields in LA, and California in general is quite…
On our way back from spending a week in Yosemite and stopping by Hearst Castle, we settled down for the night at a unique inn in San Luis Obispo called Madonna Inn. It was Anna that recommended this inn, as she found it on a “Best Of” list that I can’t quite remember. What makes Madonna Inn special is its very-over-the-top kitsch decor and its “110 whimsical guestrooms”, each decorated to a specific theme. Let’s just say that this inn…
