My California Casual Spring Style #FossilStyle

Outfit of the days are one of my favourite things to post on my blog, yet they’re far and few between lately.

I’m forever browsing the Forever 21 store at my local mall, and recently picked up a denim top. I already have one that I bought a few years ago at Target but only had worn it a handful of times. Now, comparing the two together — the one from Forever 21, has a more laidback look to it. Like you’re not trying so hard. Brown stitching, a softer material, and not as heavy to wear in this California weather.

So, thought I’d pull together this afford outfit and show you what I’m wearing, head-to-toe.

Outfit deets:
RayBans | Forever 21 top | Fossil Maya Hobo
Target denim | Faux suede slip-ons | Moto 360 watch (similar)
Etsy gold rings | Gold bracelet from my parents 10+ years ago

While I’m not used to carrying a larger bag on me anymore (I always seem to panic and lose items in the dark abyss of my purse), I’ve been wearing this one when I want to head out with my pals and I need to cart around a lot of stuff. For instance, blog photos…and I require an outfit change. It’ll all fit in this bag, ha!

Thanks for Fossil for sending over this sweet purse. It’s the Maya Hobo in the Marine shade, and available online. Yay!

Posin’ with my lunch. One of the biggest, and also one of the most expensive salads I’ve ever eaten. But it was good. And it had kale in it! You bet I ate every bite of it (because it was $$$ lol).

My wardrobe isn’t the most expensive one out there, but I thought you guys would be interested in some of my latest purchases (and PR samples: the Fossil purse). By the way, totally don’t own that keepcup in the photo above. I finally saw one at a store in Santa Cruz, and snapped a pic with it. Is that weird?

I love my pink slip-on’s so much I bought two pairs of them, heehee!

Check out @Fossil on Instagram and see others who are in #FossilStyle.

Shop my outfit! (Sorry not everything is exact, similar items linked below)

Disclaimer: If ya didn’t catch it already from all my mentions above, Fossil sent me the Maya Hobo for review. 

Continue Reading

Legion of Honor, Cycling in Santa Cruz, & Rich Hills of Saratoga

Header-Kia-SorentoUsually when I have a vehicle for review, I often take it to different places I’ve never been before, and simply go out and explore.

Alfie-SelfieI’m ready. Alfie’s ready. We’re off to explore!

Kia-Sorento

Saratoga-SorentoLike always, the first day that I had it, I went exploring the rich homes in the hills of Saratoga with Alfie (see my video) to take some photos of it while it was still sparkly and shiny. A few days after that I packed up my specialized bike in the Sorento and drove to Santa Cruz to bike around for the day, solo. It was grand!

Cycle-gearMy little Mazda (I’m so proud of it. It’s my first car and I paid it off in no time because of my hatred for being in debt), but for the past year or so it’s been giving us troubles. Not enough to sell it or to let it go, but enough to where my husband doesn’t want me driving it such long distances, in case anything happens. Like, the suspension busting off on a highway or something. Joking!!!

Bike-Start-Bike-FinishIt’s been a while since I trekked down to Santa Cruz. Not a far drive, but a curvy one down Highway 9, so I like to go super early to beat any traffic. I went solo this time because I wanted to park the crossover, and go cycling a bit down there.

Santa-Cruz-Peace

Bike-routeYou know, have a bit of “me time” even though I’m constantly exploring independently on my own, it’s still fun to dedicate a morning or a day to it, ya hear me?

Bike-against-fence

Kia-Sorento-trunkSo, I didn’t bring Alfie. He missed out on this adventure, but I’m sure soon enough he’ll be in the passenger seat going down the road with me, with his smiling face like this one.

Alfie-SorentoWhen I think of Kia vehicles, I honestly don’t think anything but an affordable, and not-super luxurious. But ba-bam, it may look boring from the outside but it’s all bells and whistles on the inside. The last time I was in a Kia was probably the late 90’s! This Sorento was fully-loaded and I have to tell you, it’s really impressive and I”m surprised to say that myself. This Sorento with all the bells and whistles MRSPs at $46,495.00.

Front-Camera-Kia-SorentoThe things that impressed me regarding the 2016 Kia Sorento SXL V6 AWD:

  • a SEVEN seater
  • huge ol’ moonroof on ‘er
  • the trunk opens up on its own when you stand next to it!! (ie: with a cart full of groceries)
  • that front view mirror when you’re in drive going < 5mph
  • heated steering wheel, cooling seats, heated seats
  • dual temp control

Like, seriously if you’re not into brand names of cars, you’ll definitely get a lot for your money with this one. I can tell you one thing, that I cannot believe I’m saying this, but it’s honestly one of the fanciest cars I’ve ever driven. The interior could’ve easily fooled me for a Lexus. It’s super nice and fancy inside. And while I’ve said in the past, I’m not a car reviewer by any means (I know little about vehicles if we’re being honest). It’s a bit difficult to drive given the fact it feels like a monster truck from the inside (and from the outside it simply looks like a 5 seater regular sized crossover/suv/truck. It definitely helps that the Kia Sorento has an overhead view when you’re in drive to see where you’re going if you want to fit into a parking space, or making a tight turn. The moonroof is just gorgeous and I had it open every single time I went for a drive.

LegionOfHonorSo enough about the car! Let’s talk about more fun adventures Mr. Spiffykerms and I did this weekend.

The-ThinkerWe checked out the Legion of Honor museum for the first time, and saw a ton of Rodin bronze sculptures (the Thinker!!), some van Gogh, and even Monet was on display there.

Selfie-and-The-ThinkerSelfie time with Thinker! Lol. Do you like my lightweight sweatshirt? I love it, it’s from Chaser!

Legion-of-HonorThe building itself is absolutely stunning.

Cali-sweaterI could have easily stayed here most of the day and just sit outside to people watch in this gigantic entryway. Have you been there? I can’t believe how gorgeous it is.

Delores-Park-SanFranI’m not sure my husband had ever been to Dolores Park in San Francisco before, so after the Legion of Honor museum, I drove us over there but first with a quick stop to one of my acai bowl places for a snack. It’s packed on the weekends in the park! Guess that’s city life for you.

Alfie-ignoringWell that’s it folks, a lot of fun touring around last week. And I’ll leave you with one last photo to show you that Alfie doesn’t always cooperate with me taking photos. He’s clearly ignoring me here, ha!

Thanks to Kia for letting me 2016 Kia Sorento SXL V6 AWD for a week which led me to all these adventures!

Continue Reading

My first exclusive car event

A few weeks ago I received an e-mail inviting me to a small exclusive Scion media launch, and of course being the person to say YES to an opportunity that sounds cool, I obviously agreed. The itinerary was a little backwards for me, but considering I had nothing on the go that day I decided to giv’er and go all out for the experience. It went a little something like this:

  1. Drive myself up to San Francisco during morning rush hour.
  2. We test drive the Scion iM and Scion iA’s down to Santa Cruz.
  3. We eat lunch in Santa Cruz and mingle with the other media attendees.
  4. Drive back in one of the iA or iM vehicles to San Francisco.
  5. I take my own vehicle back and drive it home to San Jose.

So, a lot of back and fourths for me. I’m not one to complain much but by the time I got home it definitely took the good out of me and I was ready for a big ol’ nap, or a good nights sleep.

I filmed a short few clips while I was the passenger for half the trip, so check it out! Some spindly windy roads down to Santa Cruz, it was definitely picturesque, and I can betcha a buck this is most likely where a few car commercials are shot! The roads were breathtakingly beautiful with all those gigantic redwood trees and Cali-views.

After whipping out my vlogging camera to capture some footage for my YouTube channel, I realized I didn’t film or take any photographs of the iA sedan I was in, only the sportier hatchback model: Scion iM. I suppose if you were really into reviewing vehicles, you wouldn’t be on my blog because it’s not a car-review blog. So I’m sure you will be able to find photos of that elsewhere on the internet.

red Scion iMAlthough I’m not even remotely a professional car reviewer I can still give my two cents on what I thought of both the vehicles. Preferably, I am more of a mid-sized hatchback type of gal, and I prefer to feel surrounded by a whole lot of car when I’m driving. As soon as I sat inside the Scion iA sedan, it felt too small for something I would purchase. If you’ve ever sat inside a Toyota Yaris, you would understand the size of the car.

However, I enjoyed taking the Scion iM out for a spin since it feels more versatile and sportier. Does the front end look familiar to you? It was built in partnership with Mazda at the same manufacturer as the Mazda 2’s were, so it has the Mazda 2 chassis and transmission. Something I’m a little familiar with due to me owning a Mazda 3 hatch.

Scion iM2016 Scion iM shown above in the colour Blizzard Pearl, releasing on September 1, 2015 for $18,460 (manual) + $19,255 (automatic). It gets 28mpg city, 37 highway and 32 combined.

The two cars are aimed towards a younger crowd of consumers, newly graduated professionals, buying their first car. The hatchback is a great idea since it’s so diverse, especially if you’re into biking and don’t want a bike rack on the outside of your car (especially considering my husbands bikes cost more than our cars). Fold down the two back seats and you have yourself a safe haven for your pride and joy: the bicycle.

Visit Scion for more vehicle information. Photos below provided by Scion. 

Scion_Family_0022016 Scion iA + iM

2016 Scion iM 402016 Scion iM

2016 Scion iM 722016 Scion iM interior

2016 Scion iA 522016 Scion iA

2016 Scion iA 572016 Scion iA interior

Continue Reading