Check out my new blog

Hello! If you like my old Serendipity blog, you should check out my new blog, RetroClassy

http://retroclassy.blogspot.com/

Thanks for looking!

Trend-Spotting: Combat Boots

So, I am no fashion expert, but I want to start "trend-spotting" on my blog because they always do that in magazines and I thought it would be fun.  After all, you don't have to be a revolutionary fashionista to have an opinion about what's going on in terms of personal adornment.

I don't know if its prominent in the fast-paced world of high fashion, but I've definitely been noticing a combat boot/doc marten trend in the small world around me.  It's the 80s reminiscent, grunge look and I love it.  It also looks nice with shorts and dresses, juxtaposing the workman/army-look with something feminine.  I love wearing them with socks that peek out over the edge.

not mine....

When my dad saw me wearing some, guess what he said. "Nice hobo boots!" ....Fathers don't understand fashion statements.

summer nail polish

NAILPOLISH:

Unfortunately, summer's almost over...but I just wanted to share my summer obsession- NAILS. (inspired by my cousin who loves nail polish :)

Summer is the season for fun nails.  I love painting my nails crazy bright colors, especially since I don't have to worry right now about my dance teachers seeing them...Ballet teachers usually don't like you to wear weird nail polish because they think its a distraction.  (But I LOVE looking at my bright orange or blue nails in ballet class! )

I found some really cheap, pretty nailpolishes and little sparkly rhinestone things when I was in LA chinatown (I just love chinatown) the other day.  I only buy cheap nail polish. I just can't bring myself to spend 8 dollars on a teeny tiny bottle of nail polish, even though I know it usually doesn't chip as much as the cheap brands.  Wet N'Wild has really fun colors, but it chips SO easily.  My favorite brand right now is "Sinful Colors" because has really good quality for only $1.99 at Target...

The best summer colors, in my opinion, are coral orange, turquoise, and hot pink.  I hate yellow nail polish on my skin because it looks like I have a disease. I think I'm going to keep wearing summer clothes and summer colors even when fall comes.  I don't want summer to end!!

summer movie scores

I'm no movie expert, but here's what I'd give these summer blockbusters:

X-Men First Class: A 

Ok, so I'm a little biased because I'm a complete nerd and fan of the other X-Men movies...but I thought this movie was so fun.  Sure, it was cheesy...and a couple of the characters bugged me...but I loved the action! For fans of superhero movies...

Planet of the Apes: C+

 Interesting, kinda freaky, but this was one of those movies where you already know what happens in the end, so it makes it less exciting, plus the ending sucks because apes are supposed to take over the world....but worth watching. 

Captain America: B-

This gets a B because, in spite of its corniness, it started out strong.  You know, it wasn't typical wimpy-kid-gets-turned-buff-then-saves-world, it was more like wimpy-kid-gets-turned-buff-then some other interesting World War 1-era related stuff happens and THEN he saves the world.  And Chris Evans is gorgeous.  No, I didn't just go see it because of him...........

Cowboys and Aliens:B-

This reminded me of the last Indiana Jones (with Shia LeBoeuf) where aliens come and you are just SO confused...I enjoyed it and I thought Daniel Craig was a convincing cowboy.  It was definitely exciting, just a little weird......

Transformers 3 Dark of the Moon: C-

I was disappointed with this one.  I guess I shouldn't have expected so much after the second movie, but it was just a little too predictable.  In Transformers 1 decepticons try to take over the world! which is shocking, then in Transformers 2 they try to do it again! which is less shocking, and AGAIN really ? It was too similar to the last one.  That being said, I enjoyed the special effects and I think Shia LeBoeuf is hilarious.  There were some good moments, but overall, it wasn't spectacular.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2: A!!! 

Maybe I shouldn't have made this post because it is revealing how much of a nerd I am.... this Harry Potter made me cry! I thought it was the perfect ending. It was like the end of my childhood of reading Harry Potter all summer and waiting anxiously for movies to come out.  Yes of course it was different than the book.  And they added some dumb scenes...but if you haven't seen it yet GO SEE IT And if you havent seen Harry Potter before, watch ALL of the other ones, and THEN go see it.  (Where have you been for the last 10 years?)

im back home!

So this is very delayed...but the program ended a couple weeks ago and I am currently home enjoying the SoCal sunshine and frantically trying to wrap up the summer homework that I seemed to forget about while I was in San Fran. I miss the ballet program and all of the new friends that I made, but I definitely don't miss the fog...

I absolutely fell in love with the San Francisco ballet school.  I feel that the intensive was the most enlightening and edifying dance experience of my life.  I really can see an improvement in both my dancing and the way I work in class.  The teachers were phenomenal- they were challenging and encouraging at the same time. I would recommend the program to anyone, just bring lots of pointe shoes and lots of sweaters!

That's the thing about San Francisco- it is SO COLD. My only complaints about the summer are the cold and commuting in the cold.  The dorms were pretty far outside the city, so the commute was a bit of a hassle. I didn't believe people that I would actually need to wear winter clothes in the middle of the summer, but every morning I donned my raincoat, jeans, and scarf to walk to the train station.  I am a complete wimp; Orange County doesn't have seasons, so 60 degrees and below is FREEZING.  But even my friends from the east coast complained about the cold! So if you're going to San Francisco, you should wear not only flowers in your hair, but a good jacket. :)

So, if anyone's been actually reading my blog this summer, thank you for your support! If you have any questions about the details of the ballet program, feel free to ask! I know I didn't really go into detail about the  classes.

Oh, and I will still be posting in my blog.  (Ya, we'll see how long that lasts after I go back to school).  Just the same kind of stuff.  I'm still working on the whole blogging thing, and I'm always open for suggestions.

ta ta for now
<3 serendipity

tired feet from pointe shoes!

At the SFB school they do EVERYTHING en pointe.  The schedule isn't overly intense, but I feel like the technique classes en pointe make it really hard!

Some girls here only use paper towels in their pointe shoes to protect their toes, or nothing at all.  They are so hard core! I always have to wear toe pads and my feel still hurt! I swear by lambs wool toepads- I think they are amazing because they are comfortable but thin enough you can still feel your feet working through the floor.  And I also dedicated to masking tape.  I am convinced masking tape is better at protecting toes from blisters than any other medical tape or fancy cushions.

Its funny to see what people do at the end of a long day to relax.  I like to stick my toes on an ice pack some nights because I feel like they get so swollen! Some of my friends fill their empty trash cans up with ice from the cafeteria and soak their feet in ice water.  Epsom salt is really popular too...

One of my favorite things to do after ballet class is to roll out my calves with a pinkie ball or a tennis ball.  They get so tight from wearing pointe shoes all day!

In spite of my constant complaining throughout the day about how much my feet hurt, the long hours of pointe is my favorite part about the SFB intensive.  I think that pointe is more enjoyable than wearing flat shoes, and I hope that it will make my feet stronger!

Me and street vendors and Union Square

So I've been keeping busy this weekend.  I've been walking SO MUCH.  We only have one class on Saturday, so we get to go out into the city afterwards...

Between dance class and seeing/crying about the end of HARRY POTTER (huge Harry Potter nerd here), I kept ending up at Union Square this weekend.  It's very easy to end up and very dangerous because that's where a girl can spend all her money if she's not careful....

Union Square is like the Times Square of San Francisco.  Meaning everything's supersized.  There's a huge Forever 21 and Urban Outfitters (my favorites) and a gorgeous mall with the biggest Nordstrom I have ever seen.  And then there's the designer stores like Prada where you walk in and they give you dirty looks because they know you aren't going to buy anything...

biggest nordstroms ever...

There's also a few street vendors which are always fun.  It's really strange to me though, because there's all these little Asian ladies who sell these handmade earrings but all of the different vendors carry  almost the EXACT SAME earrings.  Do they buy the beads at the same place or something? And if they're selling the same thing, then why do they set up their carts right next to eachother and offer them for the same price?  It puzzles me. Anyways, I'm not exactly the best bargainer.  I tried to get a pair of little coy fish earrings for 3 dollars because I thought they were 5, and the lady laughed at me and told me they were 7 dollars.  So I made a face and offered 5, but because they had a "pretty crystal" she gave me 6.  So all that work and I only got 1 dollar off...