Positive Vibes

Sometimes I wake up on the wrong side of the bed, figuratively of course. But none the less, I’m put in a mood that is less then cheery. I can joke and laugh but then I’m still feeling moody. Today, for example, I’m just feeling kind of “meh” and it’s annoying me. I can’t snap out of it.

I’ve been having difficulty sleeping for a while now, but that’s also normal for me. I’ve simply come to terms that I’m just a bad sleeper. I also have an annoying contact lens and my glasses are at home. I’m also feeling hangry (hungry+angry). And my hair has been bugging me this week, almost to the point where I contemplated cutting some of it off. But I’m not. I know I’ll regret it. Like I always do. But you know what I mean about the hair, right? Ugh. Some days…

So can you tell I’m in an irritated mood?

A few things I might try to help myself feel better includes a) eat something, b) put on fun lipstick (currently wearing a fun coral pink now), c) list a few things that make me happy. I need positive vibes.

So let’s do it.

1) My husband. That’s a given though. But this week he’s been especially awesome. The other day he surprised me with a brand new backpacking pack. I’m so excited to use it and can’t wait to go on a trip. Even just thinking about it now makes me so happy.

That there is my new backpack. It’s a Gregory Deva 70, the 2015 model. I took a screen shot of it from the Gregory website because the picture I have makes it look sad since it’s empty. Haha.

And that is my handsome hubby all dressed up for his sister’s wedding. and of course me in my bridesmaid dress 😉 I loved getting my hair done that day. And we couldn’t help but sneak a few kisses during the wedding. Haha. We’re no longer the new newlywed’s in the family.

2) The beach. We spent two days at the beach this past weekend and it was marvelous. So relaxing. We also got some awesome tans.

This picture was last October but the scene was the same, even the bikini.

3) Guilty pleasure music.

This weeks (or month’s) playlist includes Nick Jonas, Bruno Mars, and Katy Perry.

4) Family. Tonight we’re celebrating my oldest brother’s birthday and also we’ll be missing one sibling, I’m looking forward to quality time with my family.

I love them.

5) Milo. Pets really know when you’re emotional or something. They just get it. He’s been attentive to me today and I totally appreciate his puppy dog eyes and they way they look at me.

How cute is he?

6) Bonus…

you guys!

I was nervous about my blog post last week, my #DearMe post. But some of you wrote me private messages and left sweet comments that made me feel so good. I love you guys.

And now I feel better. Seeee how that works?

If you’re ever feeling blah, try writing down a few things that make you happy!

xo, Briana

FTC : This is not a sponsored post.

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The Past 24 Hours

Yesterday was our weekly beach day and here’s what it consisted of…

Watching my cousin Sean surf. Even on a small day he makes the waves look fun and he always has a good time anyway. We’ve picked up on some phrases thanks to him over the last few years, my favorite being “sketch, I’m down.”

I got to enjoy the sunshine. I worked out pretty hard the day before and while my entire body was sore, I ran a mile on the beach as I am determined to keep up my workouts and running! And since the water is still warm enough, I was able to swim for a few minutes to cool off after my run.

Hubs accidentally locked our key in the truck. Luckily, I insisted on leaving the two front windows cracked a little bit to allow air flow and so Bub was able to borrow a hanger from a friendly surfer and eventually pull on the trunk latch to open it. You can see Sean laughing at Bub’s attempts to hit the unlock button, which did not work for whatever reason. But he got the trunk open and retrieved the key!

Later that afternoon my parents and brother joined us. A few of us pitched in and bought my dad a new surfboard, which he was able to surf for the first time yesterday. In the above photo, my mom is pointing out our dad while my bro watches on. Sunset was something else that evening.

Sky’s on fire!

It was glorious and makes you happy to know you live this life to see such beauty.

My dad and bro walking back. I love that it’s out of focus, for whatever reason. It makes it seem like the motion of them walking and the waves moving is really there in the picture.

And currently, this is my view. We woke up to clouds and cool weather, finally. The sun is coming out right now but there is rain in the forecast for the weekend.

I’m drinking a chai latte. It’s yummy.

Well, time to go switch the laundry and figure out what to do from here! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a safe Halloween if you participate! Bub is feeling under the weather so we’ll be taking it easy today.

xo, Briana

Beach Time

The last three weeks, hubs and I have been going down to the beach so he can surf for an afternoon. It’s where he is able to recharge and reset. We have various places we like to go to, but one of our most favorite is the Encinitas area. He’s able to surf all afternoon while I take advantage of the especially warm weather we’ve been having while I hangout on the beach. And since I don’t have to worry about tan lines anymore, I’ve taken advantage of all the bikini sales. Haha.

The only tan lines that I care about are the ones on my face thanks to my sunglasses. I’ve slowly developed tan lines on mah face… Oh well.

Hubs took an extra day off this week for a friend’s wedding so we were able to spend the evening/night with my brother who lives in the SD area. My brother took us to a lookout point where we could watch this beautiful sunset. The waves were peeling beautifully and the weather was still so nice.

My favorite silhouette.

He actually took a candid picture of me without me knowing!

Now, to be honest, I partly wanted to do this post to show this new top. Haha. I love it. It’s so different than anything I’ve worn because it’s so…revealing. And it’s just my back. But I think the back is actually a beautiful feature. From the front it looks like a regular tank top but then you see the back… and oh, hello.

I wore a new (and now favorite) bra with it. It’s the Victoria Secret’s Pink Rose Lace bralette. I own it in black, seen above, and a light blue. So pretty. And soooo comfy. I want all of the colors!

This was the sunrise the following morning. We left early so Bub could surf with a former coworker he hasn’t seen in months. While they surfed I actually ran a mile or so on the beach, barefooted. My calves are thanking me today, especially when I ran two miles on asphalt. Haha.

I hope you’ve all had a great weekend!

xo, Briana

FTC: This is not a sponsored post.

From Scrubs to Bikini’s…

I get pinned in 8 days and graduate in 9. I’m pretty freaking excited to say that, not gonna lie.

From the second week of April to the first week of May, I was in the midst of my preceptorship with my L&D nurse and man, oh, man, was it awesome! I could not have asked for a better nurse nor a better assignment. The hours were tough (working 1900-0730) and sleep was lost, but it was so worth it. My sweet fiance also made sure the room was blacked out and had white noise on (a fan) and ready for me when I got home around 8:00 am every morning. I would work three nights straight then have a few days off, then right back at it. I had to complete 135 hours, which calculated to 11 full shifts, with 3 extra hours to waste on a single night. Or use as overtime.

My bun was on point that night.

I’m sure I’ve mentioned before that even before I went to nursing school, I knew I wanted to become a labor & delivery nurse. Well this assignment gave me a real taste of it and now I cannot wait to get a job in L&D, if the planets align themselves just right of course 🙂 The thing I like about L&D is that 95% of the patients are healthy, besides pregnancy-related issues of course. Very few come in with other issues. There are waves of calm and we can relax, but then of course there are times of pure chaos. I also cry with pretty much each birth, especially if the dad cries.

Then everyone cries.

It’s crazy to think that next Wednesday, I’ll be in my white nurses uniform preparing for my pinning ceremony and then my graduation ceremony the next day. I don’t think it’s hit me yet that I’m done. No more assignments, no more uncomfortable white shoes, no more sock buns, no more clinicals as a student, no more care plans, and  no more, “Hi, I’m Briana and I’m going to be your student nurse today!”. I can’t say “no more tests!” yet because I still have to take the big one and I don’t know when that will be…

Since I finished I’ve been able to SLEEP and see my friends/family again. And of course focus on the wedding! I can also wear nail polish!! Woohoo!

The days/nights I worked, I would go to bed by about 8:30 am and wake up around 2:30 pm. I needed more sleep but my body would never let me sleep past 2:30.

This last weekend my family, Bub, and I went to the beach for Mother’s Day and it was such a perfect day. I got to wear a new bikini Bub bought me and I also got to wear a beach coverup I made, thanks to a nifty tutorial by Ann Le on YouTube. Her channel is Anneorshine. See, I had time to make a coverup. It’s amazing! But I think the highlight of the day was showing my sweet niece and nephew sea anemones and hermit crabs. Bub and I also took the long way home and drove Hwy 1 for awhile, enjoying our time together as well as the ocean breeze.

I never thought I would wear this kind of bikini but Bub likes it and I actually quite like it now. Not the most functional piece but it works. I also don’t get weird tan lines, which is good for a certain white dress I’ll be wearing in 2 months 🙂

With my new-found time, I’m hoping to get back to blogging! If you’re okay with that, which I hope you are, do you have any suggestions for future posts? I didn’t write the last few weeks due to lack of time and lack of inspiration! So I’m welcome to any ideas! Thanks for sticking around you guys, I am so, so appreciative of each and every one of you! Especially those that have encouraged me and supported me these last two years of my life. I am so grateful for each of you.

xo, Briana

A Californian Roadtrip + Part 1

This is gonna have to be in two posts, because by golly I couldn’t just pick a few photos! Haha!

If you happened to see my last post, then you’ll know that my fiance and I went on a 6-day road trip throughout California. We ventured up the 101 and the scenic 1, then went across the state to Sequoia Nat’l Park and then finished up in Yosemite Nat’l Park.

This post will be a more detailed look/photo diary of our trip 🙂

Enjoy!

This was my constant view on the road. I quite like it. In fact, I’m gonna marry it someday. Next summer to be exact… 😉

He drove a majority of the time (okay, 98% of the time) because he likes to drive on long trips aaand his truck is a manual and I don’t drive manual so well…. So yeah.

El Capitan State Beach

Gaviota State Beach

Gaviota State Beach

The above photos are just on the road, looking for some places to possibly camp. We have a California state park pass and so we would just stop at random state parks to use the restrooms or eat our lunch (El Capitan)

 

Pismo!

We chose to stay at Pismo (Oceano Dunes SP) for the night. For one, it was inexpensive, and two, it was fun to be able to drive on the beach and then camp on the beach.

In the truck and so close to the ocean!

Our view

Our camp!

Most nights we slept in the truck. Bub has quite the mind and hand for putting together things, such as mini shelves in the back of the camper, a net above us to hold things, and also keep a long piece of carpet to just make it a bit more comfy for us. We did have sleeping mats and a memory foam though, so we were cozy every night 🙂

Our night at Pismo was quite windy and so it was hard to make a fire in our “pit” but we managed to still make a nice warm meal for ourselves and of course we enjoyed the view. We made it an early night and then woke up early to keep on traveling.

Along the way, we stopped at quite the touristy spot: Elephant seals! If you have traveled along the Californian coast, you know what these are!

A couple of them.. fighting I guess. I dunno.

There were a group of these in the water making loud noises and just knocking heads around, not really doing any damage to each other though. I don’t what was going on.

p.s. they all smelled bad…

A close up!

From here, we continued our drive up the coast, not really stopping until we hit Big Sur, a lovely area along Hwy. 1, which has coastal views and the ever famous California Redwood trees 🙂

Campsite #2!

Big Sur is a bit more pricey because it’s a regulated state park (National Parks tend to be a tiny bit cheaper), but it had nice amenities for us dirty travelers. Haha.

Bub brought along his ENO hammock (above). It came in pretty handy along the whole trip. His twin sister actually used it in Yosemite to sleep in for two nights!

This became our favorite spot in Big Sur. Our pass didn’t work here, but for $5, you couldn’t beat it! It had lovely views, a beautiful beach, and unique finds.

The clouds eventually lifted.

The water was pretty cold, but Bub braved it (I forgot to take a picture of him)! I didn’t bother to wear my bathing suit, so I didn’t even attempt to go in, except for my feet!

Can you see that figure up there on the top? That’s my fiance. Haha. Once he got up there, other people realized you could climb and ventured up after him!

Sea life!

Have you ever touched an anemone? Those round, alien looking things? Their tentacle type things are electrical and can actually sting you when you touch them, but really, it just feels sticky and they do stick to your fingers 🙂 It’s weird and cool.

Lots of little anemones!

Another thing this beach is known for is purple sand! That’s right, purple sand 🙂

Tourist photo!

Directly behind the beach are cliffs that you could easily climb and so we made our way up to check out the view.

and what a view it was…

Bub kept looking at the waves, disappointed that he didn’t bring a surfboard, but unfortunately, he overworked his right shoulder and couldn’t extend and turn it like he normally could.

Our last stop in Big Sur (the next morning), was to see a waterfall that we saw in a “what to do in Big Sur!” paper. We traveled just a few miles south and went on a tiny hike to see what it was all about.

Through the tunnel…

Take a photo!

We then saw the falls… McWay Falls to be exact 🙂

The water was so blue/green, it was lovely.

Unfortunately, the beach itself is closed due to poor and dangerous access. So this was as close as we could get!

But it was still pretty to look at!

Big Sur was a beautiful place to visit and we cannot wait to go back! Next time, we’re bringing surfboards and our kayak! The coast up there was soo pretty and had so much to look at!

The second half of this shall be up shortly! I’ll keep you all updated! 🙂

So…

To be continued!

xo, Briana

Favorites of 2012

Thought I would do a quick post to share just a few of my favorites from this past year. I say a few because I’m sure it will be a lot 🙂 Enjoy!

Being photobombed by our aunt who is in her 80’s. I love you Aunt Valeda!

Alaska was absolutely amazing. You really have to go there to truly experience it. Like I’ve said before, pictures and videos alone cannot do it justice. You have to really see a midnight sunset, see salmon jumping right in front of you, see a grizzly bear, from a distance. Haha. But seriously. Go there. Please. You will not regret it.

I caught that and fileted it and ate it. In that order. Yum.

The couple that fishes together, stays together.

National Parks are the best.

Le boyfriend.

Surfing and just spending time at the beach is always a constant for the boyfriend and I. It’s our get away, our future home.

My sister took this of me, without my knowledge. and then proceeded to post it on Instagram.

 

Nephew #1 enjoying the ocean 🙂

Niece sitting on mama. I love her expression.

Nephew #2 also enjoying the sun and surf.

We call this expression “teeth!” He was a pro at it while we were in Alaska.

Riding the silly swings! Those are his twin sisters legs in the corner. Haha.

Lots of Disneyland trips this year.

Enjoy! Lots of new things in the world of cooking and baking.

With food photography, its a lot of angles and lights. I really learned how to use my camera all thanks to food.

I even got the “ring” around the donut, which means it rose correctly! And didn’t fall! Yay!

 

My lovely sister and I 🙂 Celebrating her 30th birthday.

Makeup. Bottom drawer.

Makeup has become a huge thing for me this last year. It’s basically a hobby, borderline obsession. I’ve experimented with things, learned new things, and have learned the importance of a bargain. Drugstore vs. high end. Believe it or not, I do prefer drugstore products, especially when it comes to mascara and foundation. Boy do I love Target and Rite-Aid! However, when it comes to shadows, Urban Decay is my weakness.

I don’t know what it is about makeup, but I love it so. Taking pictures of makeup has also taught me a lot about how to use my camera, with angles and lighting and whatnot.

L’Oreal BB Cream.

Le brush. Lots of little rubber bristles, which I like.

Ah yes, my Buxom mascara. Love the mascara, hate the price ($19 a tube!).

Maybelline mascaras.

Swatches for days!

 

I love this. So much.

Well, on to other things!

I’ve seen a lot of sunrises this last year, too. They’re lovely. I really don’t mind them, although it means you have to up at some ungodly hour of dark-thirty. Yuck.

My morning commute. This was a half-hour progression.

My latest fall accessory.

I have a rolling backpack. Am I old now?

It’s purple! My scrubs are dark gray, so this looks pretty cute with it. Again, go me. Haha.

Nursing school!

I did my hair in the car all quick like.

From me to you, I love you.

Thanks again for spending 2012 with me!

On to 2013!

Forget that it’s already January 9… I was reminiscing today. 🙂

xo,
Briana

 

 

 

24

I’m currently sitting on the couch. My boyfriend is sitting on the other couch, watching the Dallas Cowboys Vs. Atlanta Falcons game. It’s a pretty good game so far. I also have to keep backspacing when I type “couch” because my fingers want to type “catch.” Oops!

Friday (two days ago) was my birthday. I turned 24. I feel like that’s a good number, a good age. I consider this the beginning of my mid-twenties. I may still live at home with my parents and no I’m not done with school, but that’s okay. I’m being smart about my finances (and my sanity). Who says you have to leave home just because you’re a certain age?

My birthday was quiet and simple. I actually had clinicals that from 6:00 am to 2:45 pm. My classmates were sweet and got me my favorite Starbucks drink and a really pretty scarf, perfect for autumn/winter. Thanks again you guys! While I was in clinicals, I received quite a few text messages from friends and family, wishing me a happy birthday. Facebook notifications were also constant. Thanks again everyone! I felt so happy and extremely blessed.

The boyfriend text me a few times as well, asking when I’d be home. I figured he had a surprise for me, which he did. When I arrived home a little after 4:00 pm he was already there, putting our beach cruisers on the back of his truck. He also had his longboard on the top. I guess we were going beach camping 🙂

Our view in the morning 🙂

It was such a wonderful surprise after a long clinical day. The weather on Saturday was perfect. Sunny and warm. We slept in that morning (what a luxury!) and I also took a nap at the beach that day. The night before (my actual birthday) we went to TGIFs, where we had horrible service. At first I was upset but afterwards I decided I wouldn’t let a lazy waitress ruin my birthday.

Today we had a small family get together. I got a few small gifts, which I appreciate. Thanks guys!

All in all, it’s been a good birthday. I’m looking forward to this next year. More growing and more learning!

Thanks for sticking around you guys! I really do appreciate it! I’ll try to do a beauty post soon! I have a few things I’d like to share 🙂

My Halloween look

For Halloween, I was dressed up as a nursing student on a casual day.

Oh wait…

😉

xo,
Briana

So How Was Your Weekend?

I know I’ve quoted this before from another blog (SouleMomma I believe or something like that..)…

“I’m too busy living life to write about living life”

Or something like that.

But it’s true. I was busy this whole weekend. Friday was the beach then beach camping that night with a friend and his family, who stuffed the boyfriend and I with lasagna, while we introduced them to bocce ball. And it IS bocce, not bocci. Boyfriend and I argued about it until I checked Google. I won.

Beach hair.

Saturday was more surfing, helping our friend NOT find his keys since he probably went into the ocean with them (oops), eating a yummy carne asada burrito with horchata, hanging out with my family at the beach, hiking with boyfriend and cousin above the beach and an estuary to see a beautiful view of said beach and estuary, eating pizza, trying a local brew, jacuzzi time, then sleeping at family’s house just blocks from the beach.

From our hike.

Sunday was the beach (surprised?), quick shower, slap on some makeup, sit in traffic, attend a friends wedding, tear up at the groom crying as his bride approached him, ate yummy food, laughed with friends, danced with friends, make boyfriend dance, did NOT attempt to catch the bouquet although I had height advantage having worn 5 inch heels, then driving home late at night, keeping the boyfriend awake, then back to my own comfy bed…

Their first dance. Taken with my phone.

I did my hair in the car all quick like. He had a weird smile.

Good ol’ Brad creeping…

Got all that? Good.

Phew. Today was a slightly lazy day. Although I did accomplish one very important task. I finally bought an external hard drive! I was hoping to wait a while before I had to buy one, but unfortunately, my computer told me I only had one (1) GB of storage available of any kind. So. I had to buy a hard drive in order to do anything on my computer. I was avoiding a pricey purchase before my trip to Alaska, but if I want to be able to upload and hopefully blog while I’m up there, I needed to relieve my computer of such precious space.

So yes. That is all.

Independence Day is Wednesday and Alaska is Sunday! So excited!

Hopefully enough interesting things will happen between now and Sunday so I can blog again.

Have a wonderful week everyone!

xo,
Briana

 

Happy International Surfing Day!

It’s International Surfing Day, so I’m gonna go ahead and say it’s officially summer. Yes, I may not surf, but I know plenty of other people who surf. That being said, I’m gonna go ahead and post a few (“few” being subjective) of my favorite surfing and beachy pictures.

Happy summer!

Shreddddding! Sorry it’s fuzzy.

My cousins friend Daniel. LOVE this one. Still an all-time fave.

Cousin Sean

Sean

My brother, the kayak guide/beach bum/Baja goer/taken. Har har.

Cardiff. Don’t know them, but I thank them for being subjects in my picture 🙂

Love these colors. Er, color I suppose.

Le boyfriend.

My brother thinks he looks feminine here, but I love the reflection and colors. Silhouettes at Solana Beach.

Brother

Ooh, look at that reflection.

San Onofre, Trail 3. Oh summer.

Hi There. Pipes, Encinitas.

Sean

My favorite. My hair looks red, too. I love California. 80 degree weather at the beach in October? Yes, please!

Pipes, right above Cardiff.

Colorful

Daniel again

Deep discussion.

Go surfing! Or swimming. or something involving water. It’s summer, you need to cool off!

xo,
Briana

Some Weekend Tidbits

Happy Monday! Anybody have a case of the Mondays? Yes? No? If you do, just remember that since today is Monday, that means tomorrow is Tuesday, which means it’s Taco Tuesday! Hurray for tacos!

Did everyone have a good fathers day, if you celebrated? In the morning my family had a brunch in which I made cornmeal pancakes (courtesy of thepioneerwoman.com) with a homemade blueberry sauce. Mmm… I highly recommend these if you have never had them before. WITH the sauce! Must use sauce! The recipe actually uses blackberries but we didn’t have any so blueberries were the second choice. The afternoon was followed by a barbeque at the boyfriends sisters house. It was fun and yummy. Grilled pizza anyone? Yum!

Besides that, Saturday was spent at the beach with my family. After my dad saw our camping pictures, he decided it was time for him to surf again. Did you know my dad surfed? I’ve mentioned it before. It’s actually how he and my mom met. Some idiot surfed over my dad and the fin broke his shoulder/tore his rotator cuff. My mom worked at the medical center where he had all of his follow-up visits. He pursued, she finally said yes, and the rest is history.

Moving on. My dad surfed. The boyfriend surfed. Niece and nephew played in sand. Sister took stealth picture of boyfriend and I. Yay!

Daddio surfing again! Edited with iColorama on iPad.

Look at him go…

Le boyfriend.

These next three pictures are action shots. I mean, look at that action!

Like, whoa!

Boyfriend, are you yelling at me?

Oh, what the? Is that why you were yelling at me?

What a goob.

The nephew thought his sisters hat was a great bucket.

Obviously.

I bring presents. In my sisters hat!

I love this. Thanks sister for taking this without us knowing!

That was Saturday. It was a good Saturday.

And this was Friday.

Friday was a beautiful day. It screamed for aviators.

It was a frustrating day. But I won’t go into details. Except that I know I’m immune to Hep B. because I had my series done. and my lab results prove it. So take that school! Boom!

Ahem.

Also, just wanted everyone to know a few tidbits of late…

1) I watched Jim Gaffigan’s latest comedy special on Netflix. It’s called “Mr. Universe” and if you have never seen Jim Gaffigan, do yourself a favor and watch this. Or “Beyond The Pale.”

2) I’ve been listening to country a lot more lately. A few recent favorites are “Wanted” by Hunter Hayes, “Glass” by Thompson Square, “Blackbird” by Sarah Darling, and “Drunk On You” by Luke Bryan. The boyfriend particularly likes that last one. He calls it the “boom-boom” song. You have to know the lyrics to understand why…

3) I really dislike my contact lenses. My right one tore a tiny bit while camping and it’s been a real pain after a few hours of wearing them. And since my prescription expired last month, I have to get a new one before I can get some contacts again. Boo. And I hate wearing glasses.

4) Milo hid kibble in my bed last week. The boyfriend found it. Poor boyfriend.

5) I made vegan chocolate cupcakes yesterday for the barbeque. They were a hit. Oh yeah. Thanks Joy Wilson aka joythebaker.com for your wonderful cookbook/blog/recipes.

Well, I believe that is all for now.

Hope everyone has a good week!

xo,
Briana