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?

Can October Showers Bring November Flowers?

So I went to an O'neill sample sale today and totally scored! I got a pretty salmon colored tank, a really light pink polka-dot dress with an open back, and this pretty floral dress that I'm wearing below! I'm not actually going to wear this fancy-schmancy outfit today, but I really wanted to dress the dress up and share it with you all! :) I think that it can be worn more casual too, which is good because I don't really dress up very often haha! Anyways, I've been really into purple lately, and I love how this dress is such a pretty purple but also incorporates bright colors so I don't feel too vampy! Now I'm back into comfy clothes (ie, jeans and the salmon colored tank I just got ;)) so that I can write my Geologic Hazards report after I'm done here...jealous?!

Dress: O'neill ($20 from sample sale) Shoes: Madden Girl ($40 from Macy's... bought them for my 21st haha) Necklace: ($1 from Bali)

Isn't baby Dexter getting so big?!

Zombies and Zombettes

Feliz Dia De Los Muertos and Happy Belated Halloween!!!

I hope everyone had a good weekend, and if you celebrated either of the holidays, I hope you had an awesome time! ;) My actual Halloween was kind of ho-hum, considering that I had to work and then wrote a geologic hazards report (woo-hoo :/ ), but I did dress up for work as a fifties waitress zombie! It was pretty epic, especially since I was the only one who dressed up haha! Friday night, though, I went to San Francisco with my friend and her boyfriend for a friend's party, which was super fun. It was Under The Sea themed, but I went as a rockabilly zombie since I already had picked out my costume. Some of my friends went as Poseidon, a narwhal, and a sea cucumber... I wish I had taken pictures but I am a flake! Oops! ;)

Today ended my zombie streak, though, and it was back to normal clothes... so sad! It was pretty nice out today, but a little cooler this evening, which meant that I could break out my boots! I love wearing dresses with boots, especially during Fall when it fits the weather so well. I am also a big fan of tall socks peaking over boots too, which I didn't realize I liked until last Winter when I saw tons of people all over school wearing them. :)

Dress: Bought Secondhand ($10) Socks: ($15 from The Sock Shop) Boots: Bamboo ($20 from Ross) Earrings: ($5 from Pacific Sun)

Now I'm off to study for my Marine Geology midterm... wish me luck!!!

What I'm Listening To Tuesday

For my second "What I'm Listening To Tuesday," may I present you with Al Green!!!

Fact: If I could only listen to music from one artist for the rest of my life, I would probably pick Al Green.

1.)Who/What/Where: For those of you who have not heard Al Green (tsk, tsk... just kidding!), he's a soul singer turned gospel/R&B singer. I am mainly into his stuff from the 70's, which has a soulful/funky sound to it. He may be an oldie, but he is definitely a goody! :)

2.)My Top 3 Picks For Songs:

*"Love and Happiness"- Best. Song. Ever.

*"L-O-V-E (Love)"- Fun to sing along to and makes you smile.

*" I Can't Get Next To You"- Funky, fine, and fresh ;).

3.) Pictures:

Now I'm off to do homework... as always! :(

You Can Be My Alphabet and I Will Be Your Calculator

(lyrics from Sia's "Academia")

Whew! This past week has been ROUGH! Midterms, papers, and assignments-- oh my! I seriously was up until after midnight every night studying, doing homework, or grading papers for the class I'm T.A.ing for! Bleh, no bueno! This week won't be too much better, but I'll take any improvement at this point!

It's been rainy the past couple of days, which usually means that I'm bundled up in a giant coat. Today, though, I thought I'd try to mix things up and wear something cute and bright to make the weather seem less dreary! So, voila! ;) Bright clothes always make me feel better on cold, grey days, and I am a big fan of purple and orange together. Also, get used to me posing inside in front of my huge picture window as the weather continues to get crummier!

Ooooh, and Ashley from Two Eyes In The Mirror was kind enough to include me in a Love Your Body Day (10/20) project over on her blog! She interviewed me and a few other bloggers about body confidence, and I was so excited to be part of it! All of the interviews came out really well, and you all should definitely go check them out (and her blog, because it's awesome!)!!! Click here to check it out!

Lil' Dexter was mesmerized by a garden spider outside the window ;)

Sweater: Kirra ($8 from PacificSun) Dress: Volcom ($10 from Macy's) Boots: ($? from Ross possibly...) Scarf: (bought from the airport in Bali :) )

Hope You're All Having A Good Weekend!!!

Drumroll, Please!

Oooh... I am so excited to tell you all the winner of my very first giveaway!

The winner is..... badabadabadabada (sad attempt at a drumroll)

Ali of The Drawing Mannequin!!!

Congrats girly! I think the earrings go well with your funky-cool style, and I can't wait to see how you style them! :)

Now, I would like to introduce my new feature --->

"What I'm Listening To Tuesdays"

Here's how it'll work:

I will pick one band/singer every week and 1.)describe them in a few sentences, 2.) list my top 3 picks of their songs, and 3.) hopefully post some pictures of them if possible. Sound good? I think yes! ;)

For my first "What I'm Listening To," we have Florence + The Machine

1.)Florence Welch and her various backing musicians have a sort of rock/soul sound. You've probably heard her song "Dog Days Are Over" in the movie (or ads for) Eat, Pray, Love. She is working on the follow up album to her first album, Lungs. I totally love her voice and flaming red hair!

2.) My picks for songs:

a.) "Addicted to Love"- amazing remake of the Robert Palmer song! First I heard of her, and made me immediately Google her! ;)

b.) "Kiss With a Fist"- fun, fast song that makes you want to jump and down and do karate kicks!

c.) "Dog Days Are Over"- probably her most popular song, but it's popular for a reason!

3.) Pictures!

Can you think of any bands/singers I should consider for What I'm Listening To Tuesdays?

Give It Away, Give It Away, Give It Away Now

Hurray... it's my first giveaway!

Get excited people, because these bad boys are ridiculously awesome and perfect for the upcoming holidays of Halloween and Dia De Los Muertos! Don't worry if you don't celebrate either of those, because they are perfect for everyday-wear too! This is my way of thanking all of you amazing people who take the time to visit this blog, so Thank You and hope you enjoy!

If you have seen any of my previous posts, you might have noticed a slight trend in my choice of earrings--- the majority of them are Dia De Los Muertos themed and are all from The Farm Bakery, a small bakery/gift shop in my town. They have tons of really cool, unique jewelry, and a lot of it is locally made... perfect, no?! I loved these sugar skull earrings so much, I got one pair for one of you lucky people and one pair for myself! ;)

Note: Sorry to those of you without pierced ears! I'll get something for you next time around!

To Enter:

1.) Follow this blog through Bloglovin' and/or Google Friend Connect (tell me which you're following with)

2.) Leave a comment telling me your favorite type of flower [this is Showers of Sunflowers, after all ;) ]

3.) Your blog link or email address so that I can contact you if you win

*One entry per person*

*Ends Monday 10/18 at 9pm*

*Winner will be chosen randomly*

***Giveaway now closed***

Nothing But Blue Skies Always On My Mind

(Lyrics from"Blue Skies" by Jaymay)

What?! Two posts in one week... it's a miracle! ;) Ok, so that might not be very impressive, but I have been quite productive today, so feel free to applaud anyways haha! I took my dogs for a mini hike on what was once a really cool trail, but is now sadly being developed, which led to us being asked to leave :(. I also finally went to the post office to pick up my giveaway prize that I won from Cristie over at The City Birds Nest! I was super stoked to win, especially since her blog is amazing, and also since she painted it herself! If you haven't visited her blog, head over there when you're done here!

Seriously, how cute is that?! :)

On the not so productive but oh so fun side, I broke my month long streak of not buying clothes and got a new dress, a cardigan, an awesome wallet, earrings, and a winter coat. Whoops! ;) As for this outfit, it is something that is pretty much my exact style. I have always loved peasant-y, hippyish styles (my grandma raised my mom as a flower child, who in turn raised me as a flower child), and there is nothing as comfortable as a flowy skirt, especially one with big pockets that can hold all of your stuff! I prefer to wear this one higher, as a pseudo dress over tanktops, because otherwise it makes me look shorter and more squat than I already am... no bueno! I also am a fan of wearing scarves and bandanas in my hair; I feel less preppy than I do with headbands, but they still serve the same purpose. These gladiator sandals are falling apart, and I'm so sad because I haven't found a pair that I like as much! I am going to have to retire them soon though, as there is a giant hole in the bottom through which rocks poke my poor little footsie! ;) Anybody know of a place to get cute, semi cheap sandals?

Excuse my highly visible bra straps... oops! :o

Tank top: ($5?) Skirt: American Rag ($10 from Macy's) Belt (worn backwards): ($8 secondhand from CrossRoads) Sandals: Roxy ($15 from Macys) Scarf (worn as headband): from my grandma

Me contemplating whether to do homework or go shopping... guess which one won!

Also, I have a giveaway planned for the near future, so stay tuned!!!