Family Spring Lookbook| Picacho Peak State Park, AZ

Family Spring Lookbook| Picacho Peak State Park, AZ

Fashion, Lifestyle, Parenting, Tucson, AZ Guide

Wildflowers are so beautiful that’s why we couldn’t miss the opportunity to visit Picacho Peak State Park this year. As Spring is here with perfect weather, we drove up one weekend to take our kids to see and learn about nature.

Keep on reading to see all the fun.

 

 

This post contains affiliate links. 

Spring is calling for wildflowers here in Arizona and I love that we live in the middle of nature and have a chance to enjoy all the beauty that nature offers every single day.

Around this time of year, we always see colorful wildflowers on the sidewalk as we drive to get our groceries.

Somedays we see a coyote crossing the road, and somedays we have a family of Javelina stop by our front door. These make dessert living life a lot more interesting and fun for our small family. 

Because we are surrounded by beautiful nature, our family loves to spend time outdoors. Alida and Aveena love playing with bugs and dirt. They love to observe things around them. As a parent, we love watching our kids play and explore too. Not only my husband and I can bond with our kids and nature all at once but it is also a great way to teach our daughters about things around them as well.

Now, I started to homeschool my oldest daughter, and our lastest lessons were about plants, bees, and flowers. My husband and I thought it would be a great idea and a more hand-on experience if we took our kids to see the wildflower field in person.   

We went on a road trip to Picacho Peak State Park located in Arizona. It’s about an hour away from our home. The girls were so excited to see the wildflowers blooming. We captured some of the special moments and shared them with you in the below video.

There are 3 types of wildflowers I am showing in this blog post, Mexican Gold Poppy, Coulter’s Lupine, and Brittlebush.

Mexican Gold Poppy

The Mexican Gold Poppy is an annual that blooms from mid-February through April and has a beautiful orange, four petal, cup-like flowers. The poppies only remain open during full sunlight.

Coulter’s Lupine

The Coulter’s Lupine is a member of a pea family and can identified by its palmated leaves. These divided leaves resemble fingers growing from the palm of the hand and move during the day to absorb maximum sunlight. The lupine’s multiple flowers rage in color from pale blue to violet.

Brittlebush

Brittlebush is a member of the sunflower family. The leaves are greenish-grey and grow to form rounded shrub. When in bloom, the leafless flower stems with their bright yellow flowers resemble a bouquet growing above the leaf area. Small mammals and birds, especially quail, dine on the seeds. produced by the brittlebush.

– Source: Picacho Peak State Park, “Wildflower Guide”

The rules here are not to pick flowers or damage plants but we forgot to tell our daughters so the oldest one got one of each flowers as she wanted to give to her grandma. And the little one picked two flowers because she couldn’t help it being a one year old. We told them after the incident and they promise not to do that again. 🙂 

Here are our outfit details: 

Big Sister: Tie-belt Jumpsuit | Sneakers 

Little Sister: Patterned Jersey Dress |  Sneakers

My Outfit: Chiffon Dress | Sneakers 

My Husband’s Outfit: Striped Oxford Shirt (sold out): (similar here) |  Jeans (sold out): similar here) | Sneakers

Share with me:

What is your favorite wildflower?

I hope you enjoy our Family Spring Lookbook and enjoy the beautiful wildflowers. 

Thank you for stopping by All About Good Vibes.

See you again in my next post.

 

P.S. Want to know tips to help you achieve things in your bucket list? Read this post! 

Favorite Spring/ Summer Floral and Fruity Fragrances

Favorite Spring/ Summer Floral and Fruity Fragrances

Beauty

This post has been a long overdue post I was planning to publish since late winter. But I couldn’t do it until today because I kept getting new perfumes to fill my Spring/Summer Perfume Collection. 

Since we are a little over half way through spring, and summer is just around the corner, floral scents can still make it to the next season. I’ve shared both fruity and floral fragrances in this post for you to explore all the options.

One of the fragrances in this post is one of my favorite scents for over 10 years and I just now had the chance to own it. Find out in this post which one it is.

Surround yourself with positive energies is a great way to stay positive.

My husband and I went to pick up some flowers for our backyard last week. We were so happy to be able see all these beautiful flowers. Since they are a part of our happiness, we love to visit the nursery near our home, walk around and pick at least one plant to take back home with us. We have noticed that the second we placed the new plant in the house, the overall energy shifted into a happy mode.

We once hired a psychic to clean the energy in our home and he recommended us to put live plants in the house. They will help clear negativity and make everything more lively. We love the positive and happy energy around us so this year we’re filling our house with more indoor plants and flowers.

I also find fragrances to help uplift the overall mood. The other day my daughter was playing with my perfume samples and she sprayed so many of them on her which left the room smelling so amazing. The one that got my attention most was the Tocca Eau de Parfum Florence. I really love the Gardenia note so I searched for more info on their website. I’m surprised on what I found that they offer home fragrances as well. We normally use essential oils in the house but I think I’m going to order a few Tocca diffusers to switch things up around here.

Talking about fragrances, this season I had a chance to try out some new perfumes. Last year I shared my favorite fragrances in this post where you can check them out as well. 

For this Spring/Summer I added 9 new scents to my perfume collection. I shared all of them with you below.

Floral & Fruity Fragrances

1.

DKNY Be Delicious Eau de Parfum

This perfume is my favorite for over 10 years but I never had a chance (aka money) to get it then. I finally own it and so happy I decided to purchase it. It brings back a lot of my college memories. Its scent is strong and lasts all day.  

This fragrance was launched by the design house of Donna Karan in 2004, DKNY BE DELICIOUS by Donna Karan for Women posesses a blend of: cucumber, white muguet, violet, magnolia, apple, grapefruit, tuberose, woods and rose. It is recommended for casual wear.

2.

diptyque Eau Rose Eau de Toilette

This is my first diptyque perfume. I saw a lot of hype on the internet about their candles but never had a chance to try any of their products until getting this fragrance. 

What I like about it is the lightness scent of fresh roses.  It’s very natural and not over powering at all. Very subtle and also lasts for long hours.

Notes; Top: bergamot, blackcurrant, lychee. Middle: centifolia rose, damask rose, geranium and hedione. Base: white musk, cedar and honey.

3.

Acqua di Parma Magnolia Nobile

This perfume represents the expression of natural and understated elegance. The subtle citrus and sweetness scents are what I love most. I wore it out to this photoshoot and a few bees visited me while we were taking the photo. Even the bees got confused, no need to explain how natural and beautiful this scent is.

Top notes of Italian bergamot, lemon, and citron blend seamlessly with magnolia accord, a rare ingredient extracted with time and dedication. The heart evolves with notes of rose, jasmine, and tuberose and the base notes unfold with sandalwood, patchouli, vetiver, and vanilla. 

4.

Nest Wild Poppy

This perfume smells SO GOOD! It features pear, raspberry, and apricot with hints of Himalayan jasmine and Rose de Grasse.

I smell the fruity scent when first sprayed then followed by the florals. It’s very fun and bright fragrance. Perfect for a sunny spring/summer day.

5.

Givenchy L’Interdit Eau de Parfum

This perfume is so classy with a fun twist. The first scent I can smell is orange but with a very soft and light note, not a screaming citrus smell. The fragrance still represents the classy Givenchy signature which is very chic and well-mannered.    

Top note: orange blossom, Middle notes: jasmine, tuberose, and Base notes: vetiver and patchouli. 

6.

Ralph Lauren WOMAN Eau de Parfum

This perfume is very feminine and modern.  It’s fresh, sweet and lovely. Perfect for everyday wear and for any occasion.

Top notes: Pear, rhubarb and blackcurrant. Middle: Tuberose, orange flower, Turkish rose, and Base: Sandalwood, hazelnut and vibrant woods.

7.

Tocca Florence Eau de Parfum Spray

This is magic in a bottle that brings memories of South East Asia to me. I know you’re supposed to feel like you’re in France but believe me if you are from or visited my country, Thailand, before, you probably once experienced this smell. It’s a beautiful gardenia scent. Very sweet, soft and fresh. If you’re into floral notes, make sure to check out this Tocca Florence.

Key notes: Bergamot, Pear, Gardenia and Blonde Woods.  

8.

Moschino Toy 2 Eau de Parfum Spray

This cute teddy bear perfume bottle caught my eyes first and made me want to own it. I decided to purchase it after my first smell out of a magazine. It’s a fresh, fun and sparkly scent. I love the scent as much as I love the bottle. It smells a little strong at first but after a few seconds it appeared to be more fresh and very subtle. I love it so much! 

Top notes: mandarin orange and Granny Smith apple. Middle: magnolia, jasmine petals, peony and white currant. Base: musk, sandalwood and amber woods.

9.

Atelier Pacific Lime Cologne Absolue Pure Perfume

This perfume can last on you for a few days if you don’t take a shower. Lol! It’s very citrusy, tangy and so delicious. I feel like I’m having a cocktail and wandering around a tropical island. I love how fresh and bright this perfume makes you.

Key Notes: Coconut, Lime and Eucalyptus  

Shop All of My Favorite Fragrances

On My Wish List

Share with mE:

What’s your Spring/Summer fragrance?

Those are all of my new additions to my spring/summer perfume collection. I hope you find some interesting scents that you want to give a try this year. 

I’m sure I’m in a perfume heaven this year and I can’t wait to see what I will get next spring/summer to share with you.  

Thank you for stopping by my blog today.

See you again in my next post!

Black and White Summer Dresses

Black and White Summer Dresses

Fashion

When it comes to Spring/Summer outfits, we always think about bright and colorful pieces. But not in today’s post because I have picked  dresses that are black, white and black & white. They are so pretty and for sure fun to wear from spring to summer. 

Picking a lot of cute black and white dresses for you today because you might be tired by now of all the colorful florals and bright spring outfits. Adding black and white in between your week will make it more fun to dress up.

Black and white are my all time favorite colors. As well as mini and midi dresses. That’s why I choose them for you today.

I’ve picked all the dresses from my two favorite shops, Reformation and Revolve. My dress is from For Love & Lemons and it’s by far my favorite dress I got this year.

Below are my picks, hope you like them!

Reformation

Image source: Reformation

1. | 2. | 3. | 4. | 5.

Revolve

Image source: Revolve

1. | 2. | 3. | 4. | 5. | 6.

My husband has something to say about this dress I’m wearing,
so he will be my guest today. kiss

Andrew here, Molly’s husband, and I am taking over her blog for the rest of this post. If you haven’t seen my caption I left for her on IG, check it out here! I wanted to steal the keyboard for this post as I can’t peal my eyes away from the screen while looking at these pictures, for even just a second. For love and lemons is a brand we have been gushing over for awhile now and absolutely adore. Their style is just like my wife’s personality, fun, flirty and hot hot hot!

The reason why I am obsessed with these particular photos is that they remind me of the first time we met. Here is this hot, out of my league woman, agreeing to go out on a date with me even after I called the last minute to cancel our first date! (Scared Face!) That’s a story for another day but I just wanted to say that these photos remind me of why I fell in love with her in the first place.

She is the most amazing, intelligent, hard working woman, wife and mother I have ever met and I am grateful that I get to share these moments of my life with her.

I am so proud and happy for everything you have accomplished to get to this point, including raising 3 babies, me included (Embarrassed Face), while slaying it! Keep up the good vibes and always, It’s ALL ABOUT GOOD VIBES! Laters!!!      

Share with mE:

What’s your go-to outfit for Spring/Summer?

OMG, he just read what he typed out loud and we both are tearing up. Isn’t he so sweet?!

I think I will have him on the blog more often. He’s the man behind the camera and I couldn’t have made it this far without him. 🙂

Thank you for stopping by my blog today.

See you again soon!

5 Tips to Staying Positive with Insecurities After Baby

5 Tips to Staying Positive with Insecurities After Baby

Fashion, Lifestyle, Parenting, Self-Care

Taking care of baby is a lot of fun and hard work at the same time. But taking care of your body and mind after baby can some times feel even harder. In this post, I’m sharing with you 5 tips to staying positive and loving your postnatal body. It’s your ability to stay focused on your baby and yourself to make both of your lives and memories even more beautiful. 

Find out my stories and thoughts in this post.

 

Getting pregnant for the first time was hard. Losing belly fat from pregnancy  is even harder for me especially when I went under the knife for a C-section. There are certain concerns when working out on your abdominal.

I keep complaining to my husband about my pooch. I stressed out over it and end up feeding my stress with comfort food. It’s been almost three months and I have been putting more weight on instead of losing them.

At two months postpartum, we did this photoshoot. My husband spotted a side road area where wildflowers were growing. This spot was gorgeously beautiful with yellow flowers. So we thought why not make it the background of our photos?!

I wore this coral tie front mini dress, tan espadrille platform sandals and a crossbody bag. I have picked a few similar dresses for you below.

The color of my dress contrasted with the bright yellow flowers and the blue sky perfectly. We stopped there for about 10 mins to capture the beautiful nature.

When looking through the photos, all of them are beautiful except my belly that ruined them! I thought to myself, should I not use them on my blog. Should I photoshop my belly out, which I had no idea how to do it.  After a long talk with myself I came to realize that I can’t let a small imperfection stop me from sharing the nature’s beauty to you guys. I shouldn’t stop sharing what I love, creating content, with all of you. So here you go, the photos I picked from the session.

Because I was worry about how I would look, I forgot that I just gave birth to my baby. I almost feed my insecurity by avoiding it.

I think that if you can accept yourself and slowly work on your body and mind, there won’t be anything to stop you from success. If you want to look good, you have to work for it.

Knowing that there’s no success overnight but if you put your mind to it and start working towards it, you will for sure have success in your goals.

To help you deal with and eliminate your postnatal body issues, I shared below the 5 Tips to Staying Positive with Insecurities After Baby.

 

1. KNOW YOUR BODY

You should get to know your new body and mind before you start any workouts or diet plans. Either this is your body after your first, second, third or (put your own number here) baby, you need to get to know your new you. Your body is different every time.

I remembered my body and my mind after my first C-Section, they weren’t the same as this second time around. I felt more stressed out and worried about everything for my first one. My body and mind weren’t synchronized properly. I needed help from my husband when using the bathroom, taking a shower for so many weeks. I didn’t start working out until 6 months later. The recovery time was longer but the pain was less than this time. Weird! I think my mind just couldn’t handle the pain good enough.

With this second time around, I took a shower myself at the hospital at two days after my surgery. At about two week postnatal, I was already working on a campaign. I even climbed up on a ladder but only half way to the top, after realizing I shouldn’t risk falling off the roof only for a pretty picture. I just gave birth via a C-Section, I needed to give my body a break. Plus, having my husband put the ladder up backwards didn’t help either! Lol! 

If you know your body and mind, you will be in control in everything you do. Use this time to get to know your new self and start doing what makes your body and mind comfortable and happy.

2. NEVER COMPARE 

Comparing is harsh. I sometimes second compare myself with others. I know it’s Wrong! You should never want to compare yourself with anyone else with anything. Your life is your life. Their life is theirs. You know what I mean. Even though you might have friends who just gave birth at the same time, or at a closer time to yours, but you aren’t the same person. What works for them, might not work for you. Your mind might be stronger but maybe your body just couldn’t take it. No one is better than the other.

Respect and love your body by stop comparing with others.

Instead of comparing, you can look at them as your inspiration. Ask them for tips and stay connected for support and positive advice. Try to stay away from those who hurt your feelings.

Remember that you know what you’re doing and you are the only person that understands your needs, wants, body, soul and mind.

Seek for inspiring not comparing.  

 

3. BE PATIENT 

It’s good to keep in mind that it will be a long process, no such thing as a success overnight. It took 9 months to grow your tiny baby in you. If you can give yourself at least nine months to get back to your normal pre-baby self again that would be awesome.

Learn to be patient. Take it slow, one day at a time. Take your before photo and a few months later take another photo. At the end of your process, take your after photos to see how far you have come. You will be proud of yourself.

Just remember to be patient.

 

4. LOVE AND CARE 

Do it for you because you love and care for yourself. You have to make yourself happy and healthy first so you sure can take care of your baby and others.

Self care is a big thing these days. Take some time of your day or week to treat yourself with what you love. Either watching a movie, eating your favorite treats, cooking healthy meals, getting a facial, or just taking a nap. You have to feed your mind and body with what you love to stay balanced and happy.

Tell yourself how grateful and loved you are when you wake up and before bed. It’s a good reminder that you deserve everything you want and put your mind to. The strength will keep you going and help you stay on tract.

Love will help you achieve anything. 

.

5. POSITIVE THOUGHTS

Stop complaining and start doing is a big step you should be taking. By having positive thoughts within you, will help you get through the down days. Do you know that the more complaints you have, the more stress you will get? And the more stress you get, the less effective you will be.

Like I mentioned earlier in tip number 2 to surround yourself with positive and inspiring people. It’s so important to surround yourself with good vibes. These can uplift your mind and energy.

When I have negative people around, I tend to feel down and can’t get things done. Sometimes other people’s negative energy can really affect how you feel. For me personally, I pick up bad energy easier than others, even though I’m a super positive person but other bad energy can burn me out.

Trying to avoid negativity and staying positive about your process will take you far. Knowing what you do is good for yourself and will help you love your body and make you proud of yourself even more.

Share with me your thoughts on BODY POSITIVITY:

How are you dealing with your body insecurities?

In conclusion, remember not to push yourself too hard, know your body, never compare and take one step at a time. Always do it for you with love and care in mind. And always start your journey with positive thoughts.

Thank you for stopping by my blog today. I hope you find this post helpful.

See you again soon! 

Worthy Investments for Blogging

Worthy Investments for Blogging

Blogging Tips, Fashion

I have put together some blogging tips that I’m sure will benefit your blogging career. If you’re serious about this business and want to have a brand that reaches the right audience and opportunities, keep on reading about my three worthy investments for blogging.

Happy April, love! I’m so thrilled and so excited to write this blog post because today I’m announcing the relaunch of my blog. Yay! It’s been a long process but has been worth the wait because now the new look of All About Good Vibes has come to life.

With the help from Aleksandra and her Adored Designs team, who help reshape my brand and brought my vision to life. Without them my blog won’t be this pretty!  I’m very grateful for their hard work and I can’t thank them enough for their beautiful work that’s now showing on my site. I hope you’re loving the new look of my blog like I am.

I decided to rebrand my blog after reading this book, and that was over 7 months ago. At that time I was in my second year of blogging and I still didn’t have a clear idea on what I was doing. Because I wanted to clarify my brand. To know exactly what my goals are. Who I want my messages to be delivered to. To have a steady income just like other successful bloggers. These are the reasons why I reached out to Adored Designs.

After doing some research and seeing their work through EMILY VARTANIAN’s blog (http://www.stilettobeats.com), I was sold. I knew they will be able to tailor and deliver the best job to my needs. If you’re interested in revamping your brand/ blog, or creating your brand new business, feel free to reach out to them.

I’m so glad I finally have my brand and my blog revamped. It really needed a face lift and I’m so happy with the results.

And because I’m celebrating a relaunch of my blog today. I have put together some blogging tips that I’m sure will benefit your blogging career.

 

In today’s post, I’m sharing the three worthy investments for blogging. If you’re serious about this business and want to have brands that reach the right audience and opportunity, keep on reading. They are all from my experiences and what I have learned over the years. They work for me and I know they will work for you too.

INVEST IN YOUR EDUCATION

Before I started my blog, I invested my money in a blogging course. The first course gave me so much confidence and connections with new bloggers just like myself. Some of them have become my friends today. There are several online blogging courses available nowadays. You should be able find them easily.

After the first course, I got the basics and the confidence. I set up my blog and got my first post published. After awhile I started to see opportunities knocking on my door so I wanted more. But the problem was I didn’t have a lot of traffic at that time.

All I heard was you needed more visitors to make more money. That was when I realized I need to increase my blog traffic. So I signed up for my second course to learn how to increase my traffic through email lists.

My third course was how to pitch brands. My fourth course was how to make money without working with brands. That was a lot of courses I invested my money in.

With the knowledge I got from these classes, I was able to build my business with ease and confidence. Well, it wasn’t that easy, I still have to work to become successful. Can’t just sit and watch my blog grow like a miracle. You know what I mean?

If you don’t have funds for courses, I encourage you to read more articles involving blogging. Get books and attend seminars, those would help further your blogging career.

INVEST IN YOUR BUSINESS

If you’re a blogger, your blog is your business. It’s actually the face, the headquarter, the storefront and the door to more business opportunities. You want to make sure you invest your money and time building a perfect blog where it can carry your vision along.

Either picking/ buying the right theme, or hiring designers to design your blog like I did with Adored Designs, this will bring your blog to the right path that could help increase your income.

I also have a blog support team, Chloe Digital, who help back up my blog, fix problems when they occur and guide me in the right direction as well.

Remember that your blog isn’t just about the name or the logo you picked. Everything has to come together seamlessly in order to earn trust, authority and more opportunities.

INVEST IN YOUR TOOLS

I know you can take great pictures with your phone, or you can buy high quality stock photos to use for your blog. But in my opinion, having your own high quality photos that showcase your signature style are the best way to build a strong brand. I’m not against buying stock photos but investing in my camera, lens and editing software was the most rewarding thing I did after becoming a blogger. Because I get to see my pictures in better quality. My readers and followers appreciate and recognize my work. Brands I worked with can see that as well.

Not only dose having a good camera and lens can achieve a better photo, but I also use Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom to edit my photos to keep the consistency and feel to my photography.

Buying or creating your own Lightroom presets will help enhance your photos and create authenticity. But for less cost and time, you can use phone application like VSCO to edit your photos and build your aesthetic as well.

If you don’t know where to start with photo editing, head over to YouTube for video tutorials.

In conclusion, if you decide to enter the blogging world, keep in mind that investing in blogging education, your blog itself and photo equipment, you will for sure further your career and help you get on the right path to becoming a successful blogger.

By the way, my $750 Nordstrom Gift Card giveaway is still going on. Feel free to enter below. Hope you win!

Thank you for stopping by ALL ABOUT GOOD VIBES. See you again soon.

$750 Nordstrom Gift Card Giveaway

It's officially Spring and time to treat yourself to some shopping!
I've teamed up with a group of bloggers to give you
a chance to win a $750 Nordstrom Gift Card!

To enter: complete the steps in the rafflecopter below. The more steps you complete,
the more entries you receive, and the better your chance at winning!
This giveaway runs until Tuesday, April 9th at 12am PST

Winner will be announced here. Good Luck!
*this giveaway is in no way sponsored by Nordstrom.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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