Balboa Park in San Diego

I love Balboa Park in San Diego even more than Central Park in New York, because the architecture and everything in it is very hispanic influenced. Especially when it comes to late afternoon, the whole park looks like it is glowing because the sandstone color of the buildings reflect the sunlight.
Since it was very bright and as you guys know that I am not a super big fan of the sunlight, I was wearing my floppy hat and my sunglasses.

If you read my previous blog, you will see that there are purple trees, yes they are almost everywhere in San Diego! 

When it comes to colors, I don't have specific preference because all colors are beautiful. Though I do love bright and vivid tone, so you will always see some pop of colors from my outfits or the outfits always look so colorful! 

It was so beautiful there and I am definitely going back again one day! Maybe soon :)

Don't forget that you can follow me on Instagram : TSIZESMALL

Lately I have been super busy because I am working for two jobs everyday and it was just crazy hectic.

For the new job, I will be working for the production department and there is a lot to learn and I am still in the middle of picking up everything. Haven't had time to update the blog and if you guys like, please help me to share it with your friends, so that more people will get to see some cool pics. I will be styling for two girls and they are twins! Will be up before school starts ;) Stay tuned! 

Thank you for reading! Muah!

xoxo

Trace <3

The purple trees and memories

Morning time in San Diego is usually much cooler than in the afternoon. Very much like the desert weather, the temperature varies a lot throughout the day. I went to brunch around 10am and the weather was a bit chilly so I was wearing this crochet long sleeves top and a thick handmade scarf. I bought this scarf when I was in Beijing last summer (click here) and it always makes me recall the good old time when I was in Beijing. Usually when I go traveling, especially to other country, I like to buy accessories as the souvenir for myself so that I get to wear them often. What about you guys?

I love the purple trees in San Diego! They are so beautiful and I love the fact that the flowers are purple instead of pink. In New York, you don't see that a lot and the trees are usually pink when the flowers bloom.

The sleeves of the top are so feminie and the patterns are sweet, so I tried to make the look more subtle with my jeans and wedges.

I was only 16 when I first moved to San Diego by myself and I didn't get to explore too much because it was very difficult to make good friends. There were so many yuppies and conservative people around where I was, they had zero interest in making friends with foreign students or sometimes they would even make fun of me. I know that many international students even started studying abroad when they were 13 and I give them so much respect for having such courage. If you know anyone who is a foreigner in your country, you don't have to make friends with them but at least show that you are cordial and friendly. I just think that before people make fun of foreigners, they should imagine how they would feel if they are by themselves in other countries. Some people don't even have the guts to travel by themselves, so who are they to make fun of other people?

However, I am glad that one of my high school teachers was super nice to me. She is like my angel because she initiated to take me out for lunch to celebrate my birthday, while not even my host family remembered my birthday. She also drove me to other places and showed me around and helped me to improve my English. She has become my dear friend after I graduated from high school and she is always the angel to me. Ashley, you are the best and I can never thank you enough. If you are reading this, please keep in mind that I am always here for you as if you always do. I miss you <3

Thank you so much for reading everyone and have a beautiful Monday no matter where you are.

Love,

Trace XOXO

The Beautiful Seaport Village

Happy Friday! What is your plan today?

I am going to Mango for interview, which is one of my favorite brands with affordable prices! 

Lets continue my San Diego journey ;) Marriot Hotel is right next to the Seaport Village and it was beautiful although it is a touristy place.

Some people might not like touristy place, but hey if a place can attract many tourists, there is usually something cool to look at.

The weather was not so hot that day and it was breezy, so it took me a while to find a spot for outfit pictures :P

I was wearing a denim vest and a high waist circle skirt. As many of you know, I am only 158cm, so I love wearing high-waist skirt/pants/shorts to elongate my legs. I love this vest because the color is so light and it is perfect for spring and summer. Since the colors of both the top and bottom are very light, I decided to add a pop of color buy wearing a orange lipstick and bracelets. Also, I love how the embellished purse made the outfit more polished.

Hong Kong has beautiful harbor and I guess this is why I love being by the water so much. 

Oceans, seas, lakes…. Water can be so gentle but also powerful when it wants to, women should be the same but more rational ;)

My first time being a tourist in San Diego

Last week I went to San Diego for vacation, and it was my first time there as a tourist!

Why? Because I was living in SD for 2 years when I first came to the USA. At that time, I was only 16 years old and I was all by myself. The first 2 months were particularly difficult for me, not only because I was away from Hong Kong, but also because of trying to adapt to a new language.

My English was fine but it was definitely not how it is now. If you are 16 and still living with your family, please cherish what you have because life is not as easy when you are by yourself, especially when you are only 16. 

Here is the outfit that I wore for the first day :) It took 6 hours to fly from New York to San Diego, so I wanted to stay comfy when I was on the plane. You can click here to see what I wore at the airport.
After I got to the hotel, I decided to swap to my heels in order to make the look more classy ;)

I was staying at the Marriott Marquis & Marina Hotel and it was such a great place for a little R&R.

 

It is just a simple midi dress with striped patterns, but the hat just completed my look <3 Sometimes, I also wear a hat when my hair is out of control, what about you guys?

For the coming posts, I will be showing you guys where I visited, and what I ate when I was in San Diego. The weather in SD is always beautiful, this is the only thing that didn't change after I left ;)

Stay tuned for more inspiration and thank you so much for reading everyone!

Buttercup and Lilac

Since my sisters were in New York, of course I gotta show them Manhattan and yes they love it!
It was a beautiful day and the weather was just warm enough to let me finally wear my peplum top from ModCloth :)
I love color-block outfits, yellow and lilac are one of my favorite combinations. Other than that, I also love yellow&blue, blue&green, pink&yellow.... What about you guys? :)

Surprisingly, these pants from Forever21 are actually comfortable because usually I don't buy pants from F21. However, they had the exact lilac that I wanted! You know how reasonable that their price is, so why not? :) I wanted to keep the focus on the clothes, so I decided to wear these shoes because the color is subtle and it is very close to nude color.

Being with some of your dearest people in another country makes you feel like home.... Seriously, these girls are awesome.

Manhattan is very gorgeous when she is green. By the way, we always passed by a very authentic and vintage tea parlor in China Town. Traditional tea parlors are becoming less and less today, because many big corporations are trying to replace tea parlors by chain restaurants in Hong Kong :( Therefore, we were so glad that this one is actually doing well and it is in NEW YORK!!

Last but not least, my friends are doing a YouTube Channel and they have been putting so much effort. Stop by and please support these talented guys :)


Like them on Facebook and get to know those amazing people!
Watch them on youtube!Click here to visit the youtube channel!

Chilling in Scarsdale

About two weeks ago, my sisters flew to New York and stayed with me for about 10 ten days, because I am not gonna spend my summer in Hong Kong this year. Although they don't like being on the plane for 15 hours, they still made it to the USA and I was very happy that they were here.

Hong Kong is like Manhattan and it is very difficult to find a small town with less people. Although I am a city girl, sometimes I enjoy being away from the crowd. This is why I am in love with New York because the suburbs are actually very relaxing. I showed the girls Scarsdale and we had so much fun just walking around in this small town. 

The weather was unexpectedly cold that day but gladly they were prepared because I told them that the weather in New York is not so stable sometimes. I was happy about the weather actually because it gave me the chance to wear my colorful shirt. It is so lightweight and the colors are vivid enough for that day. 

Yep, I was rocking the collar brooch and the bracelets that my other bestie Michelle gave me. They matched my outfit perfectly! Especially the handmade bracelet! I cannot believe that she made the whole thing by herself!

All right guys, thank you so much for reading and stay tuned for summer outfits! Comment below and feel free to let me know what you are up to ;)

xoxo,

Trace

Lace on Lace

"Lace on lace" is never too much as long as you do it the right way. I was wearing this outfit to a business lunch with my friend in Manhattan, but sorry I couldn't show you guys the pictures because I was so occupied.

I always try to keep the outfit colors less than four, unless there are patterns. Lace is very feminine but when you wear lace, make sure that it fits very well and is not baggy.

And here I am wearing a drape cardigan from Forever 21. I like it because it has a hint of  lace and the pink is very neutral.  Since the pink and blue are very subtle, I decided to brighten it up with a super bright pink bag! ;)

I love piling up bracelets but this time I wanted to stay simple and clean. I know that some girls would wear dangling earrings and a statement necklace at the same time, but it is too embellished for me. In order to stay classy and simple, I chose this necklace and had a side bun :)

Thank you so much for reading everyone, and I can't wait to show you all more outfits! Stay tuned and please feel free to let me know if you have any question. 

Don't forget that you can follow me on Instagram : TSIZESMALL