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Hi everyone! It's been a little while since I've done an update on life and showed you what I've been up to. Thank goodness it's finally 2021, as we are all hoping and praying for positivity and a better year ahead of us. Recently I took a trip with my friend Kayla to Fort Lauderdale & Miami to start the year off right (safety precautions were in place of course!) I want to let you guys know of my recommendations - from food, to beaches, to things to do while in the area. We were only there for 4 days but we certainly made the most of all of the time we had! I'll also show you all of my outfits from the week and link (if available) where everything was from.  Day 1 OOTD: Top: Princess Polly Belt: Princess Polly Jeans: Princess Polly Day 1 we landed in Fort Lauderdale, picked up our rental car, did some grocery shopping and ran our errands. We grabbed a quick lunch at Publix to go and got some chicken tender hoagies. We then went to check into our hotel, began to get ready for the night. We ended up at The Hub Spark and had the best time!
 Day 2 consisted of going to the beach, becoming addicted to my new favorite coffee place (shoutout Cali Coffee!) and then had an amazing dinner at Sparrow Rooftop. 10/10 recommend their sushi!
Today called for another beach day in Fort Lauderdale, and then changed and got ready to spend the evening in Miami. I had the best sushi of my entire life this day....absolutely life changing. Our first round of sushi was at Watr at 1 Hotel South Beach. The brussels sprouts, truffle scallop roll, and the watr roll were TO DIE FOR.
After Watr we went to Chotto Matte. We went for drinks and....you guessed it! More. sushi. Again, highly recommend and the vibes here were very cool. Afterwards we went to Sugar Daddy and got an insane ice cream sundae!
Today called for one last beach day, and then grabbing coffee from Cali Coffee one last time before we had to head home that evening.
After the beach, we went back to Miami to check out the Louis Vuitton exhibit in the Miami Design District. It was so cool, and a great spot to take pictures!   Afterwards, we got some AMAZING shrimp tacos and shrimp guac at HotLime, which was the perfect way to end our trip.  We then headed back to Fort Lauderdale to fly home. We never wanted to stay longer for a trip ever in our lives. Those 4 days were some of the best and we'll agree that this was a trip of a lifetime!
Xoxo, Gabrielle
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Hi everyone! Hope you're all staying *somewhat* sane as this quarantine has certainly lasted a lot longer than we've all expected. At the start of all of this, I certainly thought that by my birthday we'd be quarantine free. Little did I know that I wouldn't be able to do normal traditions such as going out and celebrating like I do every year with family and friends. Instead, I'd be getting take out for dinner and wearing a face mask wherever I go. 2020 has been an eventful year to say the least - not only making birthdays less exciting, but canceling graduation ceremonies too (yes I was supposed to walk a little over a week ago, but we'll expand on that in another post!) Fortunately, I have the best family and friends who were able to make both my birthday and graduation a big deal and memorable. My family had two special celebrations for both occasions, as well as my friends making me feel so special on my birthday during these different and strange times.
My birthday was on Friday, and this was the first year in a LONG time that I celebrated it in New Jersey. Normally come mid May, I'm traveling or going to the city and doing something special and exciting for the day. However, even though I was home in New Jersey, I was able to celebrate it at my favorite place in the world - the beach! Fortunately enough my birthday was the warmest day of 2020 so far, so we got lucky with warm beach weather. The day consisted of soaking in the sun (and finally getting the tan I've been so far behind on), getting take out dinner from one my favorite places on the island, and watching the sunset on the bay (I mean, you can't beat a birthday sunset).  My friend took this candid of me with pure joy at sunset!!! Even in these weird, crazy times, I have people in my life that will make sure I know I am loved and appreciated. I don't deserve it but I will forever be thankful for them. Although it's starting off different than expected, I'm excited to see what 23 has in store for me.  Any new, exciting content you want me to cover? Tutorial, review, try on haul, routine, etc? Leave a comment below - I'm always open to new suggestions! Xoxo, Gabrielle  Hi everyone! It's been about a month and a half since I've posted, and throughout that time period a lot has happened in the world. It's pretty crazy that in such a short amount of time, life as we know it has completely changed. It has definitely been a very difficult and stressful time for everyone, granted some even worse than others. Taking this time to take precautions such as washing hands and keeping good hygiene, staying calm, and doing what you can to help people that are at risk are all extremely important. Remember to be kind to workers who are putting their health and safety at risk for you!  Image from @karinmarkers Fortunately, I am still able to work from home which has been such a blessing. Outside of work, however, I've been staying active, eating well, focusing on myself more mentally and spiritually, and taking on new hobbies. Here are some things I've found helpful that I've been doing throughout this quarantine that have helped me stay *somewhat* sane:
 Tank and sweatpants are from @styleredone Xoxo,
Gabrielle This weekend, two of my friends came to visit and I had the opportunity to have a little weekend staycation in the city. Thanks to the Gallivant Hotel, we had the perfect place to stay for the weekend. With its convenient location on 48th St, we were close to all of our activities we had planned for the weekend. 
Friday night I got to see Cheat Codes, one of my favorite DJs, perform here in the city! It was such a fun night and experience.  Saturday we spent the day around the city and ended up in Brooklyn seeing a killer view of Manhattan, as well as an amazing sunset! 
 If you're looking for somewhere to stay while visiting the city, check out the Gallivant Hotel in Times Square for a convenient location with great rates! Xoxo, Gabrielle
After living in New York City for a month, I've had the opportunity to try a lot of restaurants and cafes. The hardest part when moving here is finding the cute spots that are also still affordable. After trying out numerous places of all price points, I've found some of my favorite spots for my morning coffees, teas, snacks, and dinners. Take a look below at some of my favorites that I recommend trying the next time you're in the city:
Ralph's Coffee - if you're a coffee or matcha fan, you get get an A+ latte here in the Flatiron District.  Boba Guys has some of the best boba tea I've ever had...definitely a must, located at the Canal Street Market!  Snowfox - great for quick, cheap, on the go Asian food - serving sushi, ramen, bubble tea, and more!  Taco Dumbo - with multiple locations around the city, this is the CUTEST Mexican place I've ever been to, with amazing happy hour deals like $5 frozen margs and mini taco deals! My ultimate go to spot.  Located on Bond St, Coffee n Clothes creates lattes with designer name brand logos as the latte art. Surprisingly enough, these lattes don't cost anymore than your everyday Starbucks drink!  Cha Cha Matcha - my favoriteeeee spot ever to get a matcha latte. TOO. GOOD. 10/10.  Tipsy Scoop. The name says it all. Must be 21+ to order!
Loco Coco is an acai shop located in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Great spot to get your morning smoothie bowl!  I just discovered Matchaful the other day on Canal St and it is a great spot for a collagen matcha latte!
Leave a comment below if you've been to any of the ones above, and let me know what you think of the recommendations and which you're dying to try! Xoxo, Gabrielle Last weekend I had the opportunity to visit my sisters (they're twins!) that go to school in Florida. After seeing that it was going to be a cold and rainy weekend here in NYC, I bought a last minute flight to Palm Beach and made the trip early morning Saturday. I spent the day at the beach with my sister and her boyfriend, which was exactly what I needed. Soaking up the sun and going into the ocean at the end of January?! Can't complain.   That night, my sisters and friends all drove down to Miami and spent the night at an airbnb. The next morning, we got the chance to visit Vous Church which I have been dying to go to ever since Rich Wilkerson Jr. spoke at my university my freshman year. After church, we got lunch, hit up the beach, took some photos, and spent time hanging together and enjoying the beauty of Miami.    
It was a much needed tropical weekend escape from reality, and I hope to be back and do it all again soon!
Xoxo, Gabrielle Every year once January comes around, I feel as though have to change up my hair a bit. New year, new me, right? So this time, I wanted to add a lot more angles and layers to my do, and Mia Wagner Salon did just the trick. I have a salon I would always go to when living in New Jersey, but I needed to find a new one here in the city so I didn't have to make the hike all the way home just to get my hair cut. GUYS - if you need your hair cut, colored, etc. and are in NYC, Mia Wagner is the place to go.  Emma did an amazing job making my hair exactly the way I wanted. It is so fresh and healthy and I've so many compliments on the amazing work she's done.   Planning on changing up you look sometime soon, or even just a trim? If you're in NYC, Mia Wagner is the place to go, and you can check them out on Instagram here.
Xoxo, Gabrielle Today I had my first wow moment of "dang, I LIVE here now," so I figured it was an appropriate time to write my first blog post of 2020 on my big move. If you didn't already know, two weeks ago I moved to New York to start my new job doing digital marketing for a fashion designer. My team is amazing, and I've officially been with the company for a week now and it has been the best experience. I'm constantly learning something new every day, as well as growing my knowledge in this field.  My roommates are great, and I was so lucky to have known and connected with them through my school before moving in. We've all been able to do so much here in the city already. The fact that I've only been here for two weeks shocks me because of how much I've done. I've checked off numerous places from my bucket list - got to attend shows and events, tried many different restaurants, a whole lottttta shopping (my poor bank account), and even fun random things like visiting Carrie Bradshaw's apartment (!!!!!!!!).   I'm excited for what's to come throughout the months and the opportunities this year will bring. Hoping to stay more consistent with writing on the blog this year too, so stay tuned for more posts, more often! Xoxo, Gabrielle  As the end of the year approaches, it is shocking to look back and see all that has happened. So many accomplishments, firsts, lasts, ups, downs - yet lots to look forward to. My achievements for this year included some of the following:
Although social media makes life always look like sunshine and rainbows, that's not actually the case. Especially towards the end of the year, I was overwhelmed with great stress in many areas. This included finishing classes and maintaining my GPA, many papers and presentations, applying and interviewing for countless jobs to land an internship in January in order to graduate, and more. Last month, my grandfather passed away which was very hard and took a toll on me since I was so close with him. Struggles are normally stressed to not share, as perfection is what everyone strives for. But hey, life is hard! This is reality. The hardships are what make us grow stronger in life. If I didn't go through certain things in life I would never be the person I am today. We have to remember all of the good that comes from the difficult times in order to continue to grow.  Two years ago my personal motto for the year was "growing and learning." However, this "motto" is something that I didn't only apply to that year, but continued as the years went on. In every situation it is so important to learn how to grow and learn from it, and to turn the bad to good. Elevation Worship has a song called "See A Victory" with these lyrics:
"You take what the enemy meant for evil And You turn it for good You turn it for good I'm gonna see a victory I'm gonna see a victory For the battle belongs to You, Lord" I think there's been so many times that we want to fight our own battles and take control ourselves, when God's right here ready to fight for us. In dark times it seems easier to do what you think is best with a selfish mindset - however all we need to do is give it up to God because He has our backs! I have to admit, I'm 100% guilty of doing this, not only this year but in various times of my life. 2020 brings an added motto - surrendering. It is so easy to live a life all about "me," when we just need to give it up to God and live according to His will. I am so grateful for everything that I've learned this past year, as well as the memories, travels, and friendships that came along the way. I am so excited for the new decade and what it has to bring, as well as my big move to New York City to work my dream internship job! I also hope to write more blog posts come the new year - going back to more of my lifestyle/fashion/travel type posts. If you got this far, thank you for reading and for all of your support. Much love. Here's to 2020! Xoxo, Gabrielle I had the amazing opportunity to attend New York Fashion Week. It was something I've dreamed of attending for years, and I had the chance to cover multiple shows of various designers. I created social media content for my friend Bethany and her blog, The Chic Bee. This consisted of blog posts, editing and taking photos, recording videos, making boomerangs, and social media content.  I was able to attend the Dirty Pineapple, Supima, and Afffair shows. Bethany wrote up a recap of the day by day shows and the top looks of each that you can view here.  Tresemme hosted a hair style bar at the shows, so I got this fun half up/half down curled style for the shows!
Nespresso and Maybelline sponsors of the shows.  At the Supima show  The sunset after the shows! Unreal, purple/pink skies! This was a monumental event in my career that I'll never forget! I gained so much knowledge from attending all of the events and being able to meet so many new people. I look forward to what's in store to come!
Xoxo, Gabrielle |
Hello! It's Gabrielle. I'm a born and raised Jersey girl, but currently living in NYC working my dream job in digital marketing. I'm a big fan of traveling, sunsets, and quesadillas. This is where I write about things that I love and am passionate about. Enjoy! ♡ Archives
February 2021
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