The holiday season damaged my bank account quite a bit, so I tried to limit my spending as much as possible this month, hence the lack of products in this post. Nonetheless, I was still able to find some gems, so keep reading to find out what they are!

The holidays always call for romantic date nights, and the Enchanted: Forest of Light is quite possibly one of the most magical spots to spend the season with a significant other. It's definitely one for the books and another thing checked off my bucket list since it's exactly my type of happy place. I'm all for unique interactive installations when it comes to places to visit, so I'd say this was worth every penny. Read more for photos of the stunning illuminated installations at the Descanso Gardens!

The end of September marked my first week of school this year, so you can probably guess why this post is going up later than usual. It's already been quite a hectic week, but I took the time to write this entry to show some of my staples for the month. Keep reading to see my September picks!

A trip to an extraordinary art exhibit always constitutes a solid adventure, so let me take you to one of the sickest pop-up museums in southern California that definitely tops my list of contemporary favorites. Wonderspaces in San Diego is a short-term display of unique installations, most of which I tried to capture to the best of my ability so if you don't get the opportunity to visit this captivating space, here's your chance to experience the pieces vicariously through my mediocrely composed iPhone snapshots! 

I've got another set of favorites for this super fast-paced month, so just keep reading and let's get on with it!

I spent my first weekend of summer break exploring the artsy town of San Francisco. I've touched down the Golden City a few years ago only for a pit stop on the way to Oregon, but this time I was able to grasp a better sense of the culture and a bit of what the city has to offer. Keep reading for some unflattering iPhone shots accompanied with good times!

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I usually leave this kind of stuff to my personal writing blog, but I want this to be a reminder of why I started this creative space as a content creator in the first place. My love for fashion and beauty was obviously my main motivation for creating Simple Stylings, but the underlying reason was to feed my unquenchable thirst to write. After years of merely writing about my favorite makeup products and the inspiration behind my outfits, I figured all of that wasn't enough. I needed to go back to really articulating my innermost thoughts about things that actually matter - like exploring my mind and getting to know myself. With that said, I'm certainly going to make an effort to start writing again because I think it's all I truly need right now. 

Don't worry, this blog isn't about to turn into my anxiety-driven Tumblr page. I just wanted to let y'all know that the things I'm dealing with and care about lie way beyond the social media industry. If you do wanna keep up with my life outside the blogging sphere, there's a little section in my lifestyle tab where I'll frequently be adding "food for thought" entries on various topics [link].

Anyway, that's enough existential contemplation for today. I'll catch you in my next beauty-related post!

Now that summer's officially over, I'm getting major withdrawals from one of the highlights of my 3-month summer break. Over a month ago, I had the absolute pleasure of attending my very first blogger event and let me just say that it definitely exceeded my expectations as far as new experiences go. Massive thanks to Derma E for personally inviting me to such an incredible getaway! Read more for photos and my thoughts on this amazing event!

I don't get to travel much, but I'm starting this series from now on for whenever I do go somewhere new even if it's just at a Los Angeles museum. The Broad (pronounced "brode") has been on my bucket list for months ever since I saw photos everywhere on social media, and it was all the more worthwhile that I got to go on my 21st birthday weekend. It's nothing like any museum at Los Angeles, so it was definitely a captivating experience especially because I finally got to see the mesmerizing Infinity Mirrored Room up close and personal. Keep reading for more photos!