All ready with nowhere to go.

Yesterday was one of those "stay-at-home-all-day" kind of days. I just did some cleaning and relaxing. Then I decided to get ready since I didn't want to spend all day in my PJs. Getting all prettied up is mostly for yourself anyway. :P

Blouse: Forever 21
Skirt: Forever 21
Shoes: Thrifted

This outfit has a combination of some of my favorite things: polka dots, bows, and florals! I got to wear my thrifted oxfords for the first time. I got to break them in at home versus out in public. That's a plus, I guess. :P I made one of my husband's favorite meals, which is chicken stir fry. It's pretty easy and it's quite yummy! Maybe I'll dedicate a post to the recipe one day!

Do you gals have any exciting plans for the weekend? I don't quite yet. All I have planned is taking a walk right after I post this. Hopefully it gets exciting later! Well, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! <3

Liebster Awards

I am so delighted to announce that was I nominated by the lovely Adrian from Adrian Loves Owls for the Liebster award! Thanks a bunch sweet girl!

Here's a description of the award (taken from Adrian's page): The Liebster award is given to upcoming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. The meaning: Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome.

Here are the rules for receiving this award:
1.Each person must post 11 things about themselves
2.Answer the questions that the tagger set for you plus create 11 questions for the people you've tagged to answer.
3.Choose 11 people and link them in your post.
4.Go to their page and tell them
5.No tag backs!

Let me start by telling you 11 things about me:

1. All of my life I've been called Marilyn instead of Marlyn. It's pronounced like Marlene, but it confuses people because of the "Y". I hardly ever correct anyone anymore.

2. I've always loved music. Listening to it, singing it, and playing it (only guitar since I don't know how to play anything else). I dream of someday starting a band with my hubby and my future kids.

3. I'm a Disney fanatic! I've loved Mickey Mouse ever since I can remember, and get extra happy when at the happiest place on Earth.

4. I'm addicted to Coke (the kind you drink). I'm planning on getting sober pretty soon.

5. I love Mexican candy and sour candy.... and Hot Cheetos. (Man, I really need to get on a diet!)

6. I just graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting.... and I am currently looking for employment. (Just in case any of you can hook me up with a job. ;P)

7. I love taking photos! I take pictures of everything (as you can tell on my Instagram).

8. I love getting crafty! I am planning on learning how to sew soon. My mom is going to teach me... she's the sewing guru. I also sell my handmade bows at Little Red Bowtique if you wanna check 'em out! :)

9. I've lived in California all of my life, and I love it! I don't plan on ever leaving this place.

10. I love my family! They are my world.

11. I love dressing up! Sometimes I dress up even when I have nowhere to go. Like now.

Okay, Now on to Adrian's Questions:

1.When did you start blogging and what keeps you going?
I started my blog around 2010, but just committed to it recently. I don't plan on being a bad blogger anymore. My blog abandoning days are over!

2.If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be and why?
I could live anywhere I would live in London. I've never been there, but I've fallen in love through pictures. My husband got to go for one of his deployments and he talks about it all the time. We plan on visiting one day! Hopefully sooner than later!

3.Do you collect anything?
I collect vinyls, cameras, and owls.

4.Do you have any pet peeves?
I do! I hate people being noisy in movie theaters. I even get mad at myself when I make too much noise! :P

5.Do your coworkers know that you have a blog?
I don't have any co-workers at the moment, but I hope I can share my blog with them whenever I do have any! :)

6.Has anyone recognized you from your blog?
Not yet. Hopefully one day.

7.What are a few of your favorite blogs?
I love A Beautiful Mess, Adrian Loves Owls, Lala faux bois, Beth Retro, Sewsavoirfaire, and Oh So Lovely Vintage! You all are my blog-spirations! I would love to know any of your favorite blogs as well! :)

8.Would you rather walk barefoot through a hallway full of cockroaches or eat one cockroach?
Ewwww... This is a hard one. I would probably walk through a hallway full of cockroaches.... or run!

9.If you could only pick one shoe to wear for the rest of your life, which shoes would it be?
I love all of my shoes, but I would pick my yellow rubber flats! They are my old faithfuls.

10.How much time do you spend doing your makeup?
Around 15-20 minutes.

11.What is your favorite thing about blogging?
I would say that reading comments is my favorite. Comments make me smile! :)

Now Here are my questions for my Liebster ladies:
1. Who/what is your blog-spiration?
2. What is your favorite band?
3. What are your favorite blogs?
4. If you could go on a shopping spree at any store, what store would you choose?
5. If you could live in any other era, what era would you live in?
6. What's your favorite food?
7. If you could be a cartoon, what cartoon would you be?
8. What do you love the most about blogging?
9. What is your favorite print? (polka dots, stripes, florals, etc.)
10. If you could wear one outfit everyday, which outfit would you choose?
11. What is your favorite animal?

Now I am tagging 11 of you ladies! I am new to this wonderful blogging community, but so far I have ran into a few sweet ladies that I think fit the description of sweet, kind, nice, dear, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome.

I tag:
1. Beth Retro
2. Dash It All
3. Roni Feels Nostalgic
4. Dashing-Darling
5. Ahoy Native
6. Red Fox
7. Little Tranquility
8. Simplemittens
9. Itsy Bitty Things
10. Beautifully Pure
11. The Nautical Wife


I couldn't see the follower count on a few of your blogs and I wasn't sure if you had 200 followers or more, but I decided to tag anyway because you gals are great and I love your blogs! Thanks for sharing all of your lovely posts with me and for stopping by and reading mine! Means a whole lot to me!

Vinyl Love.

Happy Thursday everyone! Wow, I can't believe it's already Thursday. This week has gone by so fast! Well today has been a great day so far. I've been listening to Arcade Fire all day, which is one of my favorite bands. Today I also decided to wear my vinyl print shirt. So I thought I would pose with one of my favorite vinyls "Neon Bible". In fact, I don't think I have a favorite Arcade Fire record, I love them all!

Blouse: Forever 21
Pants: American Eagle
Shoes: Urban Outfitters

This is one of my favorite corners of my place! It's where I have my record player, vinyls, and guitars. I've always loved music. I taught myself how to play guitar about 3 years ago. I am no Jimmy Hendrix, but I have my jam sessions once in a while. I also love singing! Some of my favorite bands are Arcade Fire, Death Cab For Cutie, The Head and the Heart, Gotye, Florence and the Machine, Mumford and Sons, The Talking Heads.... There's so many more so I'll just stop there. What are your favorite bands? Let me know if there are any bands you love and think I should check out. I love hearing new music. I recently discovered The Lumineers, and I love them! Check them out if you can. I'm sure they will not disappoint! Here's their video to "Ho Hey":



Well I hope you all have a beautiful day!

Yesterday's Lovely Finds

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I did some thrift shopping yesterday and I found some great things. This time it was just a random stop to waste time before the movie started. It seems like when you are not looking to buy anything, you ending finding more! Well anyway, here are the goods:

I loved the prints on the blouses! I'm a sucker for florals and polka dots! I was especially in love with the oxfords though! I love oxford shoes, but floral oxfords are just plain genius! Well my day today should be full of cleaning, filling out job applications, and planning for some exciting stuff happening in the near future. Wish me luck! Hope you all have a great day!

Outfit Post a La Polaroid

Today was a happy Tuesday! The hubby and I played around with the Polaroid camera. It had been a while since we used it. We bought some film from The Impossible Project website back in March, and they have been collecting some dust so I thought I would put some to use for an outfit post!

Dress: Sans Souci
shoes: Urban Outfitters
Bow: Handmade by me (Little Red Bowtique)

As you can see, they Polaroids came out a bit blurry and not as clear as I hoped they would come out. I'm not sure if it's because the film is expired, because something is wrong with my camera, or because of sunlight exposure. Any photographers out there that know? Well for now, I will have to embrace the blurriness of the pictures my camera takes.

I did some more thrifting today and I scored once again! I will be sharing that with you lovelies tomorrow! I'm sure you ladies will be proud of me! :P I also went and watched Brave with my momma and my hubby. It was such a cute movie! I would definitely say it is a must go! I am such a Fan of Disney! There's a short animation before the movie starts and it is the cutest thing. The little boy reminded me of my sweet nephew. I thought I would share a clip of it with you lovelies. I would say it's a nice little thing to watch before you go to bed...

Goodnight everyone! Hope you dream of walking on the moon with pretty stars! <3

While thrifting...

Today was full of adventures, but they weren't just any kind of adventures... They were thrifting adventures! Only the best kind! So I thought I had to dress for the occasion. I wore my thrifting sailor uniform and off I sailed into the sea of thrift stores.
Actually I only went to two of them and that is all I needed to feel lucky! First, I went to the American Cancer Society Discovery Shop in Modesto. There I found two seasons of Madmen! I didn't understand why anyone would want to get rid of them, but I sure wasn't complaining. I met some of the sweetest ladies there, and even convinced them to watch Mad Men. Lets hope Don Draper's antics don't seem to overboard for them! :P
Then I went to The Hope Chest. I always find the best things at those thrift stores. I find the name so fitting as well! When I was about to leave, I ran into one of the loveliest food warmers that has ever existed! I just went on and went to checkout with my mom. I was empty-handed and my mom was just paying for some pretty shoes she found. Long story short, I couldn't leave without my food warmer!
I'm sure you can see why! I loved how retro it looked! I would love to decorate my house with colors like these! Ah, I had a great day! Well veni, vidi, vici! Now it's time to sleep... goodnight lovelies! <3

I'd Rather Be Sailing.

Ahoy mateys!

I hope you all are having a smooth sailing weekend! ;) I have been having quite a fun one! It's great when weekends start on Friday night. On Friday, I went to go watch Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter... It was a really good movie! It's not exactly what I expected! I didn't expect the vampires to be as scary as they were. I had a hard time letting my hubby go get an Icee. Luckily, there were no scary vampires on the big screen while he was gone!

On Saturday, I spent the day with my sister! I always have the best time with my sister and my nephew! We went to Micheal's to restock on our crafting supplies... We can get pretty crafty! Then we had lunch in the car. The weather was great, which made it possible! Then we went and burnt some of those calories by shopping. The best way to burn calories! Wouldn't you agree?! Here's a few of the moments I had with them:



I wish I was out sailing today. I'm not much of a sailor, but I try to dress like one sometimes. Maybe my husband can give me some of his Sailor Skills and style (He was in the Navy for 3.5 years). Anyway, today I wore a sailor inspired dress. I got it on while on yesterday's shopping trip. I absolutely fell in love with it when I saw it. I love anything Nautical/sailor inspired!



Dress: Monteau (TJMaxx)
Shoes: JCrew

There wasn't much to my outfit today. Just a dress and shoes. I found this dress at TJMaxx. I don't go to the mall much... I always seem to find lots of things at TJMaxx and Marshall's though. However, the funnest way to find clothes is Thrifting! It takes time, patience, and a good eye but you are bound to find some treasure!

Well I hope you all continue to enjoy your weekend! I'm off to have some dessert with the family!

Born in the 80s

I don't know why, but I've always been so proud of being an 80s child. I think it may be because I barely made it! I was born on November 1, 1989. Kind of makes me more of a 90s child, I guess. I went through so many phases while growing up... I always had some kind of obsession! The first thing I could remember being obsessed with was Mickey Mouse. I collected all kinds of Mickey things. I even wanted to marry him... weird, I know! (Caution: You guys may hear some dark secrets every once in a while. :P) Then I remember being obsessed with the Power Rangers, Sailor Moon, and Bananas in Pajamas. That is quite a mix, isn't it? The Power Rangers obsession is the one that my hubby and I still share as well! The Disney one hasn't gone away either! My next obsession I am sure I share with a few of you... I was obsessed with the Spice Girls and Nsync. I wanted to be sporty spice and I wanted to marry JC from Nsync.(Another Dark Secret!) The current obsessions are owls, peter pan collars, bows, and all things cute! Who knows what my obsessions will be later in life. Anyway, today I demonstrated my love for the 80s! This is my first outfit post EVER!
Dress: Cotton On
Top: Forever 21
Shoes: Bellissimo
Bow: Little Red Bowtique :P
Necklace: Found it at a little shop at Great America
I know I over did it! But that is what the 80s is all about... girls just wanna have fun! :P I also had a very fun weekend! I celebrated father's day with my favorite old man. It was great! It's always great when the family gets together! :) My favorite super hero came to visit his favorite old man as well. He was running around with my apron as a cape! He is such a joy! I love my nephew! I am one proud auntie! :) Not too long ago I went to a little vintage shop in Santa Cruz, and my hubby found a Vintage Lacoste dress. I fell in love with it, and I also fell a little deeper in love with my hubby for finding it! Hahaha! I know I look a bit awkward in this shot, but that is the dress. It's a very simple dress... I loved the shape! I felt like I was ready for a tennis match though! Anyway, thanks so much for reading my shenanigans! Hope you all had a great weekend and that you all have a great week!

Dear Weekend...

Hello, lovely blog people!

I hope the weekend is treating you well! My weekend has been going swell. I just spent my whole Saturday at home just lounging with my hubby and my new pup. The only times we stepped foot out of the house was for a Target run and to take Florence out for a walk. Yesterday when we tried to walk Florence we were having the hardest time... she got really freaked out. Today we made some progress though! She walked for a little while before she got distracted by some kids. She loves people! She is the sweetest dog ever. When we make sad puppy noises she comes over and puts her paws on you. She's such a lovely puppy! I also added some new things to my shop today. I added some of the stuff that's been abandoned in my closet and needs a new loving home. Go check them out if you can. You may just want to adopt! Now I'm just getting ready to hit the hay. I was just thinking about how fast the weekend passes us by. If I were to write a letter to the weekend, this is what it would say:

"Dear Weekend,
I have been enjoying you oh so much! I wish you would just go in slow motion. You two are my favorite days of the week! I have nothing against Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and much less Friday... but there is just something so special about you and Sunday. I was just wondering, why do you leave so quickly? I really hope I'm making you feel at home. Maybe you can just stay here forever! I'll give you some time to think about it... but don't take too long!
Your biggest fan,
Marlyn Pena"

Okay, that was very nonesensical! I guess it is expected for me to speak gibberish when it's almost 2 a.m. Well I hope you all have a great Sunday!

Summer.

According to Google, Summer starts on June 13, 2012.... BUT Everyday of this week has felt like summer to me! Sure the weather has been a little crazy, but I guess my definition of summer is a bit different than that of Webster's Dictionary. To me, Summer is about going out on spontaneous road trips, staying up late watching our favorite movies and playing video games, celebrating awesome weather with a Popsicle out in the backyard... Summer is about enjoying the things and the people that you love the most. When I go out on walks, I see kids playing outside without a care in the world. Sometimes we get so caught up in life that we forget to just enjoy it! This shouldn't just be a Summer thing, of course. We should have a "Summer moment" everyday... even in the coldest day of winter. It just seems that Summer is just filled with more of those great moments more than any other season.

This week has been full of "Summer moments", and it's barely Thursday. Yesterday I went to go watch Snow White and the Huntsman with my hubby and my mommy. A date with two of my favorite people in the whole world... It was great! The movie was really good too! Go watch it! It was a spontaneous thing... I just happened to dress up Snow Whitesque and thought "Hey! Lets go watch Snow White!" Spontaneous events are always the funnest, especially when you're with the people you love! Here's the so-called Snow White outfit.


I had a "summer moment" today too! Let me Introduce her to you!

Her name is Florence, and she is a German Shepard puppy. She's very loveable and sweet! I'm sure she'll be on this blog a lot now that she's part of the family. We had so much fun with her today. We pretty much spent the whole day outside with her. We took her a bath, ran around the backyard with her, rolled in the grass with her.... we even bonded for a little bit smelling the flowers.

She's feeling a bit out of her zone right now, but we're hoping she gets used to us soon. We love her so much already! I hope you all had many summer moments today! If you haven't, make them happen! You're never too busy for a "Summer Moment".

Sorry Excuse for a Blogger.

Hello everyone! Hope everyone is having a great week so far! I'm finally checking in after 5 months! Yes, I know! I am a sorry excuse for a blogger, but here I am now! I have a good excuse for my lack of blogging though! These last five months have consisted of school, school, and some more school! I finally graduated though! These last five months have paid off! Actually, these last five years! The feeling of not stressing out is quite strange to me. I like it though! Totally not complaining! Graduation was quite an experience! Not only did I get to graduate, but I got a major tan. I guess I needed it. I may not be able to tan at a beach this summer because I'll be working.... or so I hope! Here's some pics from the event:
I've also opened up a shop called Little Red Bowtique. It's a little bow shop where I sell hair accessories I make. They are made with lots of love! Go check them out at http://littleredbowtique.storenvy.com! Here's some of the bows I've made. Let me know what you guys think!