Summer Favorites

 Ok, so honestly,  I've been a wee little bit bitter about having to go to school all summer. I mean, it's pretty lame to be sitting in class for three and a half hours when it's sunny and warm outside! Buuut, it is summer, and I am still psyched about that, so here are some of my favorite things about summer, other than its obvious awesomeness!

1.)Wearing super bright nail polish... it looks way better when I'm not uber pale!

1a) Having a doggy pool (really a kiddy pool but don't tell my dogs) to put my brightly painted toes in.

2.) Bike riding! That's my pretty cruiser in the front and my friend's rad vintage cruiser in the back. I've been riding to work and loving it :).

3.) Bathing suits!!!  I have a ton of them, but I could always have more ;). That beauty on top is my Betsey Johnson top that I agonized over before buying because it was pricey, but goodness gracious is it pretty... and I got it on sale!

4.)Sun- In.... how 80's/90's  right?! I bought it earlier this year because my hair was taking foreeeever to grow out from last time I dyed it dark, but I totally like it now!

 5.) My favorite: Smelling like a coconut allllll summer long! I just got this coconut oil from my work (thank you discount!), and it's pretty much the best smelling thing ever!

So what is your favorite part of summer???

BEER FEST!!!

So, this post is a little different from most of my posts, i.e. it's not fashion related in the least bit, but I thought I'd share what I did today because, well... it was pretty freakin' fun! :) It's my mom's birthday on Monday, so I bought us both tickets to the California Beer Festival since it finally came to our town! We got little itty bitty beer glasses and got to go around and try different beers all day, although I was designated driver so I sipped quite cautiously (don't drink and drive kids!)! It was super nice out and my friend and her boyfriend went too, so it was pretty epic :).  Anywhoo, here are my favorite beers from the festival (plus a couple of CA bear shots just for kicks haha!):

http://www.californiabeerfestival.com/santacruz.html

http://www.californiabeerfestival.com/santacruz.html

http://www.woodchuck.com/index.php

*Their Pear Cider is ridiculous! It pretty much tastes like juice, which admittedly is kinda dangerous, but holy moly this stuff is tasty!* 

          http://konabrewingco.com/

*Having worked at a Hawaiian food restaurant for a little over 2.5 years, I definitely have had my fair share of Kona beers, but I am for sure a fan. The Longboard is always good, and their Waialua Wheat is perfect for summer... it's made with passion fruit! :) *

http://www.deschutesbrewery.com          * I first tried a beer from Deschutes because it's brewed in Bend, Oregon, where my one of my best friends and her boyfriend now live, but it's actually really good, especially their Twilight Summer brew.* Hope you all had a good day too!!!

Pretty Little Things

Wow, I have not been on this blog for a veeeeerrrry long time! School and work have been taking up more time than there is in the day! I switched jobs, so now I'm working more hours but have a much less stressful job, so it's a bit of a trade-off. I'm also taking 4 classes this summer, which is a bit of a bummer, but I need to graduate so it's a must! Anyways, I missed being on here and all of you lovlies, so I thought  I'd put together a little wish-list... pretty things that I'd love to afford! Maybe if I just work a few more hours... haha! ;)

Loving Lace Trapeze Dress

Brown Leather and Suede Earrings

Jeffrey Campbell Mariel Wedge

Happy Holidays!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

Here's some puppy holiday love for everyone! :)

From Rocco...

From Ginger...

From Dexter...

And from me...

Now, I would normally apologize for not being on here for soooo long, but honestly, it's been really nice not being attached to my computer non-stop! But I do miss all y'all and hope you have happy holidays!!! :)

Love,

Rio

But there's a full moon risin', let's go dancin' in the light

(lyrics from Neil Young's "Harvest Moon")

Annnnnnd, I'm back! I know I've been a lazy blogger, but now that the quarter is coming to an end, hopefully I'll be around here a little more! I still have to make it through finals, but I can at least see the light at the end of the tunnel :).

Anywho, it's Thanksgiving today for all of us Americanas out there, so needless to say, I am pretty stuffed right now! I'm a vegetarian, so I'm mainly just a sides girl... mashed potatoes, stuffing, biscuits, and pumpkin pie mmmmm :). It's also freezing cold out, so even more reason to eat tons of warm, yummy food, right?! Also psyched because I have a whopping 3 days of no school or work!!! Yay for me! ;)

Also, I got my hair cut yesterday! I was tired of the layers, and it really needed to be trimmed ( I haven't cut it since February! Doh!), so I decided to start off the holiday season with a new look. I brought in this picture of Ashley Olsen's hair , and even though it ended up a little shorter than I was planning, I still like it! :)

Not sure this next one came out blurry, but it shows my haircut so oh well ;)

Sweater: Kirra ($8 from Pacific Sun) Dress: One Clothing ($10 from Macy's) Tights: HUE ($10 from Macy's) Boots: ($? possibly from Ross)

Hope you have a good Thanksgiving, or if you don't celebrate, I hope you have a

really good end of the week!!! :)

I've Been For A Walk On A Winter's Day

(lyrics from The Mamas and The Papas' "California Dreaming")

Soooo, still no outfit shots... doh! I know I am a bad blogger, but it's only because I'm trying to be a good student! I have a presentation on Monday for a paper that is due on Tuesday, and I've got my mom's 15 year old little sister, her boyfriend, and my 16 year old cousin visiting for the week... we'll see how that goes! Adding to the excuses, it is also super rainy and stormy, meaning I'm hunkering down in my winter gear already! We did see an awesome double rainbow today though, and we're now watching tons of lightning, which is amaaaaazing! :) The rain has me wishing I was somewhere warmer though, so I thought I'd share some pictures of my Costa Rica trip from two summers ago. It was an epic trip, and I would absolutely love to go back! Everything was so pretty, and everyone we met was ridiculously nice :).

Well, we still have the playa here but not so much the sol :(

Playa Hermosa- where we stayed

Awesome outside shower by the pool at our hotel

Ziplining through the rainforest? Yes Please! Getting semi-stuck while doing it? Uh, No Thanks!!! :O

Cool open-air airport that had a giant fan on the ceiling and no door between us and the runway

Is there anywhere you'd really like to go to or go back to?

Ordering Out-Takes

Get it? Like ordering take out... hahaha! Ok that was corny, but I'm making up for it by posting funny, unflattering pictures of myself! ;)

I have a little cold, and I've been pretty sleepy the past couple of days, but I really wanted to do a post because it's been a whole week! Between being crazy busy with school and now being a sickling, I just haven't been wearing anything picture-worthy. Soooo, rather than try to look cute in front of the camera, which sounds impossible right now, I thought I'd share some out-takes from previous posts :). Hope you enjoy!

My "I've gotta sneeze" face...

My killer dance moves...

My unsuccessful attempt to catch a gourd I threw in the air...

And my really creepy face...

Do you usually end up with more good or more bad pictures of yourself?