Rocky

Like many people across America, I was not able to reunite with my family for Thanksgiving dinner. Which was made even tougher this year than previous because my family was also celebrating my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary (nothing to bat an eye at). I am wildly proud of my grandparents for their unwavering dedication to one another and the example that they have provided throughout the years. I  truly wish I could have been there to celebrate with them. (And let's not forget all the unique family food traditions that we are all accustomed to.) Fortunately, even though I was not with my family I had a place to go. My bestie from the westie always opens her home and graciously shares her family with me, which I could not be more grateful for. They welcomed me with open arms and shared stories, food and their company. I could not ask for more. Since my phone is maxed out for some reason, it has been acting weird and won't let me take pictures. So I have been more inte...

(Due to Thanksgiving, I don't have any official Chi Alpha events this week. No services, no large group meetings, no small groups, etc. So I am taking some of this time to catch up on quite a few things. One of which is updating my blog and giving it new life and sharing with you what I have been up to.) At the start of fall quarter, I started my new role in the ministry I am part of here in SoCal. Due to my new role, I moved closer to campus. Its bittersweet. My apartment in Koreatown had unique architectural nuances, high ceilings, natural lighting, wood floors, that curved wall, diffused lighting and a pool in the center of a courtyard. It was charming. But so so far from everyone and I was constantly stuck in traffic going back and forth, not to mention the cost of gas. Towards the end of the summer, my amazing roommate told me that she also had to move out for one reason or another.  By the end of September I was moving into my new apartment, just a block away from cam...

I used to view birthdays as a celebration of a new life and celebrating your sheer existence. A day to be glad that you were born. It wasn't until this year that I started viewing birthdays as a celebration that you have made it this far. It really puts a different emphasis on your age. Before I would be glad I was born and then seeing my new number, my new age would just be a reminder that I have used up that much time since the day I was born, and reminded me that I still haven't accomplished anything and time is ticking away. Though when I think of making it in life this far, for 28 years, it makes me view my age as a badge of honor. I have made it 28 years on this Earth and counting, hear me roar! Today, I  celebrate my being born but I am also proud of my age. The cake my momma made me from scratch. Mmmmm! Birthday outfit! The hat I bought in Cap Haiten. xoxo, r

I really do miss you. I have had so much to tell you about but then I let too much time go and then I have been backed up on things to share and don't know where to start. Things like my turtles and their cute pictures, going to the MadMen event at the Kodak theater, going to Las Vegas twice , finding a junk table on the side of the road and refinishing it for my kitchen, being in my sister's wedding and seeing her off to the Marines (oorah!), getting a much unexpected promotion that is daunting and exciting and completely over my head, dressing up for our final banquet, going to Haiti and traveling to new exciting places I've never been to, among so many other things. So I guess I should just start somewhere and that somewhere is my travels to Haiti and my most favorite pictures I took during that time (minus ones I did for a photoshoot because that would spoil the work I plan to do with them). Then after Haiti photographs I can organically share whatever comes to mind fro...

I don't consider myself a fashion guru by any stretch of the imagination. Though I do like making different combinations and expressing myself through clothing. I have seasons of color schemes like those couple years where I wore pretty much all black, I wasn't being goth, I just liked the slimingness simplicity of it all. Occasionally I will choose an urban vibe. Or sometimes an androgynous look. I will "go country" or "artistic." For the past few years I have been into wearing neutral solids, solid gray shirt with a solid camel color motor jacket, solid chambray shirt with a solid army-green jacket, solid black shirt with a purple sweater, etc. More recently though, I have been drawn to color, unique shapes and patterns. Mixing old and new, mixing cultures (see poncho), working with different proportions and shapes and sizes. Occasionally I will make a post here or there with "looks" I have put together. So here are some of my recent concoction...

I told you a long time ago that I would take pictures of my house and show you my humble abode but I haven't done so yet because I wanted to have everything in place beforehand. But if I wait till then, you will never see my place. So here you go. The work-in-progress home of Rachelle and Frances. Our apartment is a junior apartment which is a cross between a studio and one room. So we have a "room" that has half walls and no door that open our room into the living room. But it works for us. So in my pictures I am not going to focus on our designated sleeping "room". Living Room: Taken a while ago. Taken just about 5 minutes ago.  We had plans of putting the books on a bookshelf but haven't gotten anything yet and in order to unpack my books finally from the boxes that were sitting next to the couch for forever I put them on the built-in ledge thing. We want to put like three large pillows next to the couch for extra seating. We like that the w...