Super Late Sunday Funday!

I realize that it's way past Sunday now, but I'm just getting around to posting!  I flew to the other side of the world last Thursday and have been hanging out in Abu Dhabi for the past few days!  It's such a long flight from LA.  It took 16 hours to get here, and will be even longer on the way back.  This is my first time in the Middle East, and it's a very interesting place!  It's very hot in the summer here, but right now the weather is perfect.  It's actually just like LA lol.  You can tell that there's a lot of money here, and everything is built in luxury.  This is the kind of place where you can pay people to do anything for you cheaply.   I guess it's very common for people who live here to have live-in maids and chauffeurs.  We've had a chauffeur driving us around the whole time here in a nice Audi.  He's literally available 24/7 which is pretty crazy to me.  But gotta admit it is convenient to have that.  But it's definitely a different lifestyle!  One thing that kind of threw me off about Abu Dhabi is that there's not as many people around as I imagined.  All the restaurants I've gone to have been mostly empty at peak times, and you end up having many more service people around than customers.  Maybe I've been going to the wrong places, haha.  But food is excellent though!  There are many people from different countries here, so you have a huge mix of culinary cultures.

We are staying at the St Regis hotel on Corniche which is right next to the beach, and it is amazing. Here's a picture of the hotel lobby I took, it's pretty grand.

The view from the room is beyond words.  Here's a good day time picture:

But on our first morning here, there was a heavy marine layer which I guess is very unusual here.  However, since our room is pretty high up, we were above it and this was the view!  How cool is that!

Night time:

One of the most popular touristy things to do here is to visit the Shiekh Zayed Grand Mosque.  It is seriously one of the most beautifully designed and constructed places I've seen.  Everything is white marble and it is huge!  I can't imagine how much money went into it.  It's free to visit, so if you are ever in Abu Dhabi, it is definitely a must.

Here's a panoramic from the outside!

And this is the inner courtyard view:

There are pools of water surrounding the whole structure, which makes it a lot cooler:

Inside the hallways - this was as many people as I saw so far in Abu Dhabi:

Inside the mosque, the floor, ceiling, walls, windows, literally everything has tons of details:

Marble floor:

Marble walls lol:

Everything is covered in the whitest marble!  Along with these nice decorated carvings.

Look how much detail went into this one window alone... I actually really love the glass mosaic faded look.

I probably took way too many pictures there.  But it was so beautiful and I am so happy I got to see it.

Oh yeah, here's the world famous ATM machine at the Palace Hotel that gives you gold bars lol.  But it was broken when I was there!!!

Anyway, back to the normal outfit posts haha.  Before I left for Abu Dhabi, I did make it to the gym a few times.  Not as many as I would have liked.  Only twice.  But I had so much packing and stuff to do before I left, so I didn't really have time to go to the gym.  In fact, I barely slept the couple days before I left!

Monday 2/1

What I did:  I ran for like 20 minutes and then took a yoga class.

What I wore:
Top:  Splits59 Camille Support Singlette

Bottom:  Lululemon Embody Crop

Shoes:  Nike Free 3.0

To and From:  It was really cold, so I wore my Michael Kors Vintage Leather Moto Jacket over Scotch and Soda Home Alone Sweater.

Here's an outfit while running around doing errands:

Top:  Vince Sleeveless Blouse

Jacket:  Vince Leather Scuba

Bottom:  Black Orchid Jegging

Shoes:  Christian Louboutin Peniche 140 Pump

Bag:  Mansur Gavriel Bucket Bag

Tuesday 2/2

What I did:  I took a cardio/strength class which was great.

What I wore:  

Top:  Lorna Jane Erika Tank

Bottom:  Lululemon Wunder Under Crop in animal swirl

Shoes:  Nike Free 5.0 TR Fit 4 in ash

To and From:  Lululemon Be Present Jacket in coco pique

And finally, here's my outfit I wore on the long flight!  I did change into pajamas during the flight though haha.

Top:  Vince Silk Cap Sleeve V-Neck with Leather Trim

Jacket:  Vince Leather Scuba Jacket in off white

Bottom:  Black Orchid Jegging

Shoes:  Vince Camuto Faran Cork Platform

And that's it so far!  I am actually heading out to Dubai pretty soon.  Will try to squeeze in a spa session beforehand.  =P  Have a great week everyone!

Best of 2015!

Well, it's that time again to reflect on all my purchases in the past year!  I think I'm pretty happy with most of the things I bought.  2015 was definitely the year that I started investing in more expensive brands, and bought less Lululemon lol.  I probably made the most purchases from Vince, which I just love so so much.  I also really love all my Louboutin shoes, even though it's a dangerous habit.  On the active wear side, I did buy Lululemon of course, but Nike has stepped it up for me more than in previous years.  Then there are a few random things from other brands.  But that about sums it up.  So here we go!

Vince!  I started buying their Leather Scuba Jackets last year and I continued adding to my collection!  Two Vince jackets I bought this year and have been wearing a lot are:

Boucle Scuba jacket with leather sleeves - Both the weight and color are perfect in this jacket.  It goes with everything, and pretty much all occasions.  I can't say enough good things about it.  Here are a couple different outfits with it:

This is my 4th Leather Scuba jacket from Vince, but I love the off white one I got this year.  All my other ones are dark colors, so this is the only light one.  It's such a nice color that goes with everything too.  It's a great lightweight spring leather jacket.

Aside from jackets, I also got a bunch of tops from Vince.  My favorite ones are:

Cocoan tee:

Colorblock Stripe Superwash Sweater:

Abstract Tee:

The Variegated Stripe Moulin Scoop Neck:

My bf says this looks like a hospital gown lol, but I still love it anyways - the Crepe vest:

Last but not least, I love the Dempsey Boot.  I had been looking for a pair of gray tall boots forever and these do the trick!  They are comfy too!

Ok, moving away from Vince (can you tell how much I love it??) and onto another pair of boots that I absolutely adore - the Tory Burch Sarava boot!  The "red gate" color is so beautiful and I've been wearing them with everything lately.  Get glowing compliments every time I wear them (like literally people wanting to take them off of me LOL).  They are not as comfortable as the Vince boots above, but I can still walk a couple miles in them!

Since we are on the shoes topic, I might as well throw in my Louboutins here.  I love all of the styles I have now, but the Biancas are the best.  They are so beautifully made, and they are the most comfortable to wear even at 5 inches!

Ok, now back to clothes... some of my favorites both in terms of style and versatility are:

Bloomingdale cashmere sweaters that I got for SUPER cheap, and I wear them all the time to work and casually.  Here are all 3:

I also found a new jean brand that I love - Black Orchid.  I've got 2 pairs so far, and more on the way!  I find the material they use to be very soft and the fit is perfect for me.  Rise is not too low and not too high.  It just works for my body.  These Noah patch style is very unique too:

Next, my DvF Emma skirt.  I've worn this skirt so much!  It's amazing.  I need more DvF in my life.

Also found a new style of work pants that I have been wearing a lot - Express Columnist pant.  They fit tighter around the legs than the Editor pant that I used to wear, which gives an illusion of longer and leaner legs!  Who doesn't want that!

I've bought quite a few blouses for work this year, but my favorite is the one I got recently in 2 colors - the Banana Republic Chiffon Dot Layer Blouse which I am wearing in the above picture.  It's just such a nice fit and I love the double layered look.  Highly recommend this.  Here's the white one which shows details better:

Speaking of Banana Republic, I also really like the military inspired Trench Dress I got.  I've worn it a few times since getting it.  It's the perfect combo of casual and cute!

Another dress I love is the Helmut Lang Sonar Wool Twist Knot dress.  I first got it in black at the Helmut Lang sample sale, but I loved it so much that I then got the charcoal one on amazon!  I don't regret having 2 at all.

Annnd of course one of my best investments of all time is my Tadashi Shoji lace sheath dress.  It's perfect in every way.

Ok, last on my list of casual clothes that I love from this year is the BCBGeneration Wool Wrap coat.  I've been wearing it a lot lately since it got so cold in SoCal!

Ok now I will move onto the workout clothes category!  As I mentioned before, I have found quite a few items I love from Nike this year.  My bought a lot of workout crops this year, and my favorite pair is from Nike!  They are the Flash Tight... so unique looking!  And of course reflective too.

I do also love some of my Lululemon tights.  I think the best ones I got this year are the Wunder Under crop in animal swirl (love the material and fit!), the SE Roll Down wunder under crops in wee stripe silver spoon and Tight Stuff Tight ( both have a feminine and unique look!).

As for tops, I really like the Nike Pro Warm pullovers, both the Vixen one and the Nordic.  They are so cozy!

And of course I can't forget my Alo Rift LS.  It's the most amazing thing ever!  I have worn it nonstop since I got it (except when it was really hot here).

An oldie I got on eBay has made me very happy too - Lululemon Presta Packable Shirket!  I had regretted not getting it ever since I tried it on in the store, and I watched eBay forever.  Finally got it and love it so much!

Lastly, I didn't think I'd like it so much but I gotta mention my Lululemon Free To Be Wild bras!  I now have 5 and wear them a lot more than I thought I would.

Alright, almost at the end!  I wanted to also talk about accessories.  First, I think I have 5 Lululemon What'SUP Hats now!  They are very comfortable and big enough for my big head lol.

Next up, I also got 2 Burberry embossed check belts that I've been using like everyday!  So worth the money.

And lastly, purses!  I really love both my Rebecca Minkoff Love bag for the perfect size and versatile style, and my Mansur Gavriel Bucket Bag for just being so cute and fitting absolutely everything.  =)

That was long!  Well, I think this is a complete list of everything I love from 2015.  I hope I didn't forget anything!  I can't even imagine being without many of these items.  I hope 2016 will be just as good.  Happy shopping everyone!  =)