Highlights

Posted in Life by C.

I started All That Glitters 10 months ago this week, as a way to express myself creatively, to share what I love, to find the beauty in everything, to simply celebrate life.

It has been such a great learning experience and totally fulfilling. At the same time it’s been equally time-consuming and challenging. Since I love a challenge, I suppose I wouldn’t have it any other way.

For the first 6 months of All That Glitters, I wrote it in secret; focusing purely on building content, finding my voice, ensuring that I had the drive to be consistent with my readers, experimenting with the aesthetics of the site, and seeing if I had what it takes among the millions of blogs out there. It wasn’t until February of this year that I officially introduced my blog to everyone I knew, the day I started my What I’m Lovin’ Right Now series.

I’m sure many bloggers can identify that the hardest part of blogging is not in the development, the writing (though writer’s block is a bitch, excuse my French), and while finding the time can be tricky; it’s the promotion that can be the most challenging – getting your blog out there and making it stand out.

Looking back, there were many reasons that I chose to take on this passion project of mine, but keep it to myself. It was something to pour all this built up creative energy into. While I was at least lucky enough to have viewers and followers since its inception, I essentially lost out on 6 months of building a solid blogging community because of the approach I took by sharing it publicly, but not actively putting it out there. Somehow, I kept telling myself that I wanted it to be perfect before I took the plunge and then my perfectionist disposition realized that there would always be room for improvement, SO JUST GO FOR IT.

And thus begins the promotion aspect of my site and connecting with other blogger nerds like myself. I promise not to be too obnoxious. 🙂

This week I spent countless hours playing catch-up by networking with other bloggers, setting up my social media sites, and finally registering a domain name.

All That Glitters can now officially be found on:

Website: allthatglittersla.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LAGlitterGirl

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AllThatGlittersLA

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/candiantoinette/

If you’re a blogger, please connect with me on any of these networks and share your site’s links. Next week, I’d like to dedicate a post to pure link love where I’ll post as many sites to other blogs as I can to spread the good cheer! (Because promotion is a bitch – please excuse my French, again).

Thank you so much for your likes, comments, follows, and support. Keep in touch!

love & light,

Candice

5Jun2013

|| What I’m Lovin’ Right Now ||

Posted in Accessories, Beauty, Fashion, Food, Handbags, Inspiration, Travel by C.

“Two things define you. Your patience when you have nothing, and your attitude when you have everything.” – unknown

On a rather ordinary day when I was desperately trying to get something done but not seeing the results that I wanted, this quote popped up in my Facebook news feed…at just the right time. I instantly took a deep breath and told myself to just “keep going, keep trying, have patience.” I think what is often disappointing when trying to build anything is when you feel like you’re making this great big effort, but not seeing it actualized as quickly as you would like. It’s especially frustrating when you see others already in the realm of the type of success you’re after, and then it spirals downhill from there. So today, I thought I would share these 17 words from an unknown source, but words that recently made all the difference in my day.

Since I know I can’t be alone in this: be patient, if you too, are struggling with anything today. Just keep going and do the best you can. Since persistence and patience are usually the factors that ultimately drive you to success, it’s only a matter of time. And when you do get there and have everything you’ve ever wanted – be mindful – your attitude defines you as much as your patience once did.

love & light,

Candice

here’s what i’m lovin’ right now

|| Nikki Montoya Jewelry // Mayan Necklace.||

||Cupshakes = Cupcakes Blended with a Milkshake.||

|| Madewell’s Transport Tote in English Saddle.||

||Infinity scarves with shorts.||

||Alternate uses for your muffin pan // Lemon infused ice cubes (great for summer) & Pancake bites.||

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|| Makeup.com’s How to Cover Up Acne Scars.||

||I’ll see you someday soon, Paris.||

*click photos for image sources.

31May2013

Highlights

Posted in Breakfast, Explore, Film, Fun, Holidays, Life by C.

I’m slowly starting to feel like my old self again. The long holiday weekend was just what I needed to recharge and evaluate what’s been “off.” If you recall, last week I was in the throws of low energy levels, struggling with perpetual exhaustion. I’ve been making some tweaks to my lifestyle lately to help improve things.

First, I decided to return to a consistent vitamin regimen. This is something I was a stickler about for years, but mainly due to cost (I’m a huge fan of New Chapter organic vitamins), I stalled on this because I couldn’t decide if I should stick with what I like or try something new. Since I couldn’t make a focused decision either way, I did nothing (smart huh?). Secondly, I’ve been monitoring my diet more aggressively. I think I’ve gotten a wee bit too lenient with my eating habits and I can feel it (Hot Tamales while at the movies is my weapon of choice). Lastly, I’ve been making a conscious effort to work on getting enough sleep. This is an area that I’ve struggled with over the last year or so. I have no trouble falling asleep, but sleeping soundly throughout the night can be difficult for me sometimes. Luckily, this week has been much better when it came to that.

What also greatly contributed to my rising energy levels was likely that this week was simply fun and I smiled a lot.

I saw Fast 6 opening night at the Arclight in Hollywood with the best audience ever. Everyone was in great spirits, cheering at all the insane action sequences for 2 straight hours. Vin Diesel and the rest of the cast made a surprise appearance at the end of the film just to stop by and say hello. Needless to say, it was a blast!

My boyfriend and I headed over to a small local carnival over the holiday weekend and I found myself on a ferris wheel for the first time in a while. I felt 15 again. I don’t know if you remember the “Thriller” ride (photo reference below) but I went on this ride solo, and immediately realized that I wasn’t 15 anymore. I don’t recall being so dizzy for so long when I rode it as a kid. Ah, aging. 🙂

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Aside from Fast 6, I found myself taking in quite a few films this week, all diverse, entertaining, and engaging in their own way. I saw the highly stylized documentary, We Steal Secrets, profiling the rise and fall of Julian Assange and the Wikileaks website scandal; my favorite film of the year (so far) Before Midnight; and Baz Luhrman’s The Great Gatsby which turned out to be more enjoyable than I was expecting (and makes me want to read the book again!).

This weekend, since it was so much fun “being 15” again at the carnival on a Saturday night last week, we’re heading out for a night of miniature golf, and the plan on my end is to keep working on more tweaks to improve my energy.

Have a great weekend!

Highlights from this week:

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{Surprise flowers from Ryan.}

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{Vanilla French Toast from Blu Jam. Yum.}

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{Business lunch at Tavern – very chic.}

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{Sitting high on the ferris wheel.}

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{A much-need and particularly great yoga class.}

29May2013

|| What I’m Lovin’ Right Now ||

Posted in Books, Fashion, Food, Fun, Inspiration, Shoes, Treats by C.

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I am what you call a late bloomer. Suffice to say that I’ve always been this way across many areas of my life. What someone accomplished at age 16, I didn’t until 18. What someone achieved at 28, I probably won’t until…well, I couldn’t say. The one area it seems I crossed the finish line “on time” or before many others, was that I graduated from college (cum laude!) with my Bachelor’s Degree at age 22 and had a full-time job offered to me as soon as I walked off the stage practically (but even this began another 2 year journey toward finding my dream job in the industry). The point being that blooming later in life can be disappointing or liberating depending on what subject we’re talking about at the time.

What I find most fascinating as I get older, is how much more I find myself embracing my femininity. This could open a world of debate about what is defined as “feminine” and whether or not women should even be boxed into such stereotypical terms. So for the sake of opening that can of worms, I’ll acknowledge this off the bat and share my story anyway.

While I’ve always managed to keep myself looking presentable when it came to style (though mine was of the jeans, t-shirts, and even overalls variety in college), I wasn’t one of the first girls to embrace bras, make-up, and dresses as some of my peers were during my developmental years. While yes, I eventually ~~was forced~~ learned to become friends with bras (and now consider them BFFs, in fact), my relationship with dresses didn’t really take off until recently. Unless there was a special celebration (or I was 5 with pigtails) you wouldn’t catch me in a dress too often.

Somehow, very likely due to mass media, fashion blogs, magazines, films, TV…Society…The Man!…I feel like I’m finally embracing a new style and it’s turning out to be much more feminine that I’ve ever experienced personally. There were a lot of reasons looking back that it took awhile for me to be comfortable enough in a casual dress while running errands or getting to a place where I even wanted to wear a polished dress to the office. That’s another post, for another time. The interesting thing is that while I have grown of love the perfect summer dress or a great skirt, I find that I’m still slightly more conscious of myself than if I were in a pair of jeans. Perhaps there is still part of me fighting “The Man.” This means, you likely won’t ever see me go full Zooey Deschanel – though she totally rocks that look.

When I came across these awesome looks above*, it got me to thinking more about how to incorporate my new evolving style as we move into the warmer season where dresses are a great piece to have handy. My number one rule in anything I purchase moving forward is function and comfort.

Cheers to embracing whatever your definition of femininity is (or is not) while still managing to fight “The Man.”

And to all you late bloomers out there, our time will come. xx

here’s what i’m lovin’ right now

|| ShoeMint’s Lindsey Heels. Though I, personally, could never walk in them.||

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||Being you.||

|| PopSugar Fitness’ Lightened-up 7 Layer Dip.|| cf202f84c3870fc5895c6a52feec4f02

a5045eaf81108dece7a04f52372063f7 ||A clever and easy way to store reading glasses or your favorite sunnies.||

||Daily Candy’s 19 Books That Celebrate L.A.|| e13b06087dd777f3209308075df7f6f6

||Martha Stewart’s Italian Fries.|| 9b8dde564653afb92f9e647a5c1b251e

|| Intricate pink manicures.|| 6d600fbdf189afe8b3eb23e76e64b88b

*sources to dress images: out & about, office, beach, brunch.

27May2013

Memorial Day

Posted in Holidays, Life by C.

Here’s to barbeques filled with grilled chicken and corn on the cob. Here’s to longer days leading to warmer nights spent in nature on the grassy knolls of the local park, or on a beach towel staring at the endless oasis of the ocean. Here’s to cocktails with good friends. Here’s to pretty pedicures in flip-flops and iced lattes in hand. Here’s to the beginnings of many Friday nights to come taking in the next summer blockbuster. Here’s to fresh flowers filling the air and the sweetest of fruits on our tongues. Here’s to good books, to good times, to memorable moments on ferris wheels.

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And most importantly, today, here’s to reflecting back on the men and women who have lost their lives in sacrifice of our country.

Happy Memorial Day.

Here’s the beginning of greater days to come.

24May2013

Highlights

Posted in Documentary, Film, Fitness, Life by C.

This week has been pretty high and low for me. Things have been going very well at work. I had an amazing performance review a few days ago and feel like I’ve gotten to a place professionally where I’ve worked my booty off enough to prove I’m ready to take it up a notch and my boss is in complete support of that. Yay!

However, physically I’ve been extremely lethargic. I just haven’t had any energy lately. Simply put, I’ve been dragging. Headaches keep coming and going, my allergies are insane thanks to all the pollen in the air, and I wake up tired most mornings. No bueno. So I’ve been spending the last few days trying to figure out what’s off balance with myself and my life lately that’s causing this prolonged fatigue.

Well, I try to get to bed at a decent time and usually get my 8 hours. Admittedly though, I’m the lightest sleeper ever. Every noise wakes me up and there are times I’ll wake up 3 times in the middle the night – but this hasn’t been too much of an issue lately. I make a good effort to eat well, though there’s always room for improvement. And off the bat, I’ll admit where I have been the absolute worst is in my exercise habits lately. Outside of my yoga classes, I know I should be doing more cardio. I try not to stress myself out too much, but this is a weaker area for me and my perfectionist disposition. I drink plenty of water, but something that I stopped doing that seems to make a difference is taking vitamins. This has been my train of thinking on the issue.

So I did what any normal person would do and Google’d it. 🙂

I read WebMD’s Top 10 Ways to Boost Your Energy and instantly found areas where I have been having no-no behavior (like skipping meals). 😦

So the long holiday weekend will be spent resetting some my behaviors to work on my energy levels; seeing the most anticipated summer blockbuster on my list, Fast 6 (no laughing!), and getting some errands done. I hope you all have a relaxing and fun-filled Memorial Day weekend! xx

Here are some of my week’s highlights:

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{ Mindy Kaling’s book has been making life a bit funnier.}

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{Seeing Sarah Polley’s New Documentary, Stories We Tell.}

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{New changes coming on my blog. Doing a little research first.}

22May2013

|| What I’m Lovin’ Right Now ||

Posted in Accessories, Breakfast, DIY, Food, Home Decor, Inspiration, Treats by C.

Collage

As a gal who had a birthday recently, I was bummed that I didn’t come up with the awesome idea myself to incorporate my love of donuts into the celebration! Now that I think about it, I haven’t even had a big birthday cake, donut-inspired or otherwise, on my actual birthday since I was a kid. But don’t feel sorry for me, I make it a point to enjoy frosted covered carbs more often than I probably should – and this is a year-round phenomenon. When stumbling across this super cool concept, I looked up other donut cakes (oh, the joys of being unproductive on Pinterest) and made a collage of ideas before instantly experiencing the worst donut craving of my life. (It was a rough half hour!) Suffice to say, I’ve decided what I want to see next year on my birthday (candles and all) and it fits somewhere in the range above to give you a visual reference. Who says birthday cakes are just for kids? I’m going with the argument that if they are, I’m one at heart…and that counts. So there!

here’s what i’m lovin’ right now

|| Everything about this room…even though I tend to lean more toward dark, dramatic spaces.||

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||Looking ahead to better things c/o C.S. Lewis.|| cbdc5f2d0bad0e9bfe514e19424c0917

500944ea09c7dbd8be01060f8b21741e || Essentials for a relaxing Saturday afternoon.||

||An awesome DIY storage solution for small bathrooms. All you need is a “shadow box” from a craft store, some paint, and nails. Full details here.||

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9c909be3d0525fdc601759f9a721cb90 ||Coralia Leets’ White Drusy Stone Post Earrings. Details here.||

||Maple Bacon Pancakes from blogger, Laicie, over at A Thousand Threads. Yummy details here.||

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3May2013

Highlights

Posted in Explore, Fashion, Food, Fun, Handbags, Life, Treats by C.

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Another busy but great week under my belt. Although, I feel like I haven’t had a chance to catch my breath lately and I’m exhausted. I’ve been getting to bed at decent times, eating well, and did stick to my yoga class this week, but I am in total need of a B.R.E.A.K.

The good news is that I am beyond excited for my mini-vacay next week. I really want to use the time to recharge and reflect on my next steps personally and professionally. I’ve even decided to write a list of goals (big and small) that I want to accomplish over the next year, something that I want to do in celebration of my upcoming milestone and to appease my “love-to-cross-things-off-my-list” O.C.D. personality.

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One big highlight within this week of complete chaos, was spending a quiet afternoon in the 90210 (window shopping only, of course). My boyfriend had never been and we wanted to check out the new ice cream craze so we rolled it into a short trip. Rodeo is such a fun street to stroll down and analyze: 1) who in the world can actually afford this stuff? 2) given the limited number of people who can, how do these businesses manage stay open and survive recessions? and 3) if I had the money, would I really spend $5,000 on a handbag? (If I were totally loaded – I could see I probably would, but would find it pretty surreal and strange when that day comes). My first purchase would be the classic Chanel Quilted Calfskin. The one thing we actually could afford was the ice cream and you can read more of my thoughts on the new Ice-Cream Lab here. I give it a year….tops.

This weekend will be all about celebration: prepping for my little b-day getaway and treating myself to a few splurges here and there that I’m still trying to decide upon. And in honor of Cinco De Mayo, at least one margarita and a trip to my favorite Mexican restaurant is in order.

Since next week will undoubtedly be a bit chaotic with birthday stuff and the fact that I’m giving myself some much-need relaxation time, you might not see me post everyday as usual. Rest assured, I’ll be back with lots to share with you!

Have a great weekend! xx

29Apr2013

Milestones

Posted in Fun, Inspiration, Life by C.

One week from today is a milestone birthday for me. I’m officially closing out my twenties. The strange thing is that I’m not as super freaked out as you often hear people going on about (then again, talk to me in 5 more years). Admittedly though, it does sound pretty unbelievable when I say it out loud or think about it closely. I mean, I don’t feel any older; and get me someone on the phone right now that can explain where the HELL the last 10 years went? I do vainly take comfort in the fact that I have a bit of a baby face and therefore look much younger than I actually am. The perks of being African-American (Black don’t crack!) with good genes (you should see my mom!). 🙂

I’m beginning to wonder if the anxiety surrounding big birthdays are as over-hyped as the first time I had a sip of beer then promptly made a nasty face (til this day, I can’t stand the taste). It really is just another day, where at the close of it you unceremoniously (or very ceremoniously), without much effort become a year older and life goes on.

Sure, it’s extremely surreal to me how quickly time passes and it seems the older I get, the faster it goes. I still remember my 16-year-old self camped out in front of my TV every Wednesday night entranced in Dawson’s Creek (don’t judge). I still remember my 17-year-old self elated at finding my first job in a retail store at Knott’s Berry Farm, called “Girl Power” (this, you can judge). And I still remember all those years when all I wanted to do was grow up so I could make my own money, have my own place, and drive a sexy car anywhere I wanted to and didn’t need anyone’s permission. While I am a supporter of enjoying the care-freedom of childhood, these things about adult life are worth the hype and totally ROCK.

What I do find myself doing is reflecting. There’s a huge stigma attached to all milestone birthdays where you also start thinking about what life should be, and where it should take you. Being that I’m naturally very analytical – this is probably the area where I’ll struggle most and will really think about moving forward. What I do tell myself when I have those moments of “OMG, I’m turning 30 next week,” is what I have often heard and found to be true: the older you get, the better you become, the better life gets.

See you on the other side!

24Apr2013

|| What I’m Lovin’ Right Now ||

Posted in Breakfast, Fashion, Food, Handbags, Inspiration, Shoes by C.

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I saw this photograph on Wendy Nguyen’s blog last week and instantly fell in love. The composition, the lighting, the location of her petite frame and full skirt inside the celebrated Urban Light instillation at the LACMA grabbed me immediately. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen this instillation photographed or featured in films. It’s to the point of being over-exposed. This was done in such a sophisticated and unassuming manner – it was a breath of fresh air. To be completely honest, I was so drawn to it, I would even have this blown up and framed for my apartment if I could. I suppose aside from a purely artistic position, the photograph represents how I envision what an ideal life might be: whimsical, adventurous, quiet, massive, and bright; while dressed like a modern day princess.

here’s what i’m lovin’ right now

157782_01 || Finger Bling // MAWI Flower Gemstone Ring in Pink. If you know anyone that has an extra $400 lying around. ||