Snapshots of San Francisco

Near the start of the month, I went to California's Bay Area with my mom, aunt, uncle, and sister for my second cousin's wedding. On the other few days we were there, we did quite a bit of sightseeing and exploring. This is the second vacation I've been on since getting my new camera, so I'm pretty pleased with the photos I was able to take and am sharing some of my favorites below.

Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39

Alcatraz as seen from Fisherman's Wharf

Fashion Friday: OOTD: Summer Sights

For some, summer has just begun, which is weird for me to think since it's been summer for me for a month now. My summer so far has been a balance of exciting and relaxing, especially with my trip to New York. So not only has my summer been full of sightseeing but I'm also looking forward to more downtime and whatever fun this summer has in store.

Because I've had a lot of time to relax and do basically whatever I want, there aren't too many outfits in this post, but I am very much enjoying the warm summer weather. After all, I love wearing shorts, dresses, and skirts! Plus, I'm glad I got to wear some new outfits and pieces, especially while out and about in New York!

May 16, 2017

Forever 21 tie-dye bodysuit | H&M high-waisted shorts | pink Keds from Nordstrom Rack

May 18, 2017

Forever 21 graphic tee | BDG high-waisted shorts from Urban Outfitters | DV by Dolce Vita sandals from Target

May 27, 2017

Forever 21 lace top | Mimi Chica pants from Marshalls | Purse from Nordstrom | Mad Love sandals from Target 

May 28, 2017

H&M floral dress | Kate Spade purse | American Eagle sandals

June 3, 2017

As U Wish romper from Marshalls | Kate Spade purse | DV by Dolce Vita sandals from Target

This was my second day in New York when we moved my sister into her apartment for the summer. Its roof has a great view of the city!

June 3, 2017

Wildflower denim jacket from Marshalls /TJ Maxx | Decree top and skirt set from JC Penney | classic white Converse 

This was my third day in New York, and we were all over Manhattan on that day. When I saw this floral display at Brookfield Place, I had to get a picture in front of it because it's so pretty!

June 5, 2017

Urban Outfitters velvet choker | Love is Sweet floral bomber jacket from Marshalls | Forever 21 lace up tee | Abercrombie & Fitch leggings | Steve Madden purse from Marshalls | Steve Madden sneakers from Marshalls

As a Gossip Girl fan, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a picture on The Met steps! Unfortunately, the weather was cooler than I would've liked, so I didn't get to channel Blair Waldorf with my outfit.

June 11, 2017

Abercrombie & Fitch dress | Kate Spade crossbody bag | Mossimo sandals from Target

(Apologies for the sort of blurry photo. I wanted to take the photo quickly before someone came in to use the bathroom at the restaurant. Haha.)

What are your summer plans, and what do you hope to pull out of your closet for the occasion(s)?

Capturing My First Bite of the Big Apple

New York City is a big place full of hustle and bustle, almost 24/7. I was lucky enough to visit the Big Apple for the first time at the start of June.

Normally when I travel places, I blog about it, but New York is such a big and busy place, I don't know where to begin other than showing off some photos I took there. When I was packing for the trip, I was debating whether to bring my DSLR camera. I did end up bringing it and am certainly glad I did because I got a lot of good photos.

I'll figure out some text posts for later, but for now, here are some of my favorite photos I took in New York.

A rose sits in the name of a fallen woman who passed on 9/11 at the 9/11 Memorial.

The Chrysler Building

Portland 2016: A Glance at the City of Roses

Although there were a lot of places and things I had to do for school during the trip, I also had a lot of free time. I even had an entire day to do whatever I pleased the Saturday we were there. I mostly stayed on the west side of town and near downtown, but I enjoyed the exploring I got to do and got to take a bunch of pictures to document my time there.

Old Town sign

If you're ever in Portland and see this "you are beautiful" sticker on a street sign near the Old Town sign, I put it there! It was the first time I used one of those stickers somewhere other than my laptop. If you don't know what you are beautiful is all about, check out their website or last year's Christmas post.

Veterans Day 2015: How Journalism Made Me More Grateful

Last semester, during the spring of 2014, I was involved in a a project the local WILL/Illinois Public Media was doing on Vietnam veterans. My entire multimedia reporting class helped WILL interview Vietnam veterans living in downstate Illinois and compile their oral histories. As part of the project, I photographed, filmed, interviewed and recorded sound relating to one veteran and his story, applying the skills I was learning in my multimedia class. (The photos featured here are part of that class and project.)

A Photo-filled Weekend

Last weekend was full of photography.

My sister needed to go to Downtown Champaign on Saturday to photograph the Champaign-Urbana Pride Parade for the Illio Yearbook, so we decided to make an adventure out of it.

We took the bus downtown and had lunch at a restaurant called Destihl, which is also a brewery. We had never heard of it before, but it sounded good from what we found online the night before. I had the beer battered fish and chips, which seemed like a good choice since the restaurant is also a brewery. I'm no food critic, but I enjoyed the fish and chips, and the potato wedges were probably the best ones I ever had.

Near the end of our meal (if you follow me on Twitter, you may already know this), a little girl who was eating there with her family was out in the aisle and one of her shoes ended up on our table. It almost landed in my sister's mac and cheese. I flinched at it. She said, 'Oops. Sorry' as I returned her shoe to her. Then she ran away. That has nothing to do with my photography adventures from that weekend, but it was worth telling. I seriously have no clue what the little girl was doing or why she was walking around by herself.

Oh, and I guess she had crayons too because after I gave her shoe back, I found a pack of crayons in my purse after she left with her family.

A Glimpse Across the Border

This summer for vacation, my family and I went to Canada. This was the second time I've gone there but the only time I remember. (The first time I went, I was still a baby.)

We stayed in Niagara Falls, where we spent most of our time. Here are some photos I took while I was there. (I felt like sharing some of them here since I just added some to my portfolio and since I haven't posted on here as much as I hoped.)

The Canadian side of the Niagara Falls, aka the Horseshoe Falls.

A little skyline view of some of the buildings (mostly hotels) near the Falls visitor center.