californialuxe.co !!
Come check it out! Everything is new and exciting and I cannot wait !!!!!!
with love and many thanks,
chels. xo
All my old posts will stay up here as an archive, but my new blog is
californialuxe.co !! Come check it out! Everything is new and exciting and I cannot wait !!!!!! with love and many thanks, chels. xo
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What's going on in my life right now? 1438 miles, that is what's going.
According to google maps, that is how far away home is in respect to my current location. If my senior-year-self was told that I would move to Texas for school I would not have believed you one bit, I still can't really believe it. Transferring out here is probably one of the most courageous things I have decided to do. It is a huge adjustment and not just literally, but in so many other aspects of my life. My entire setting is different, my friends from home are no longer by my side, things you would not take into account right off the bat, like the weather and living in an apartment, become some of the biggest differences. I truly cherish my hometown and my love for California is never-ending. So naturally, moving to a totally different state without my family feels strange and foreign. Being away from my family is probably the biggest personal transition. I love my family, we are SO incredibly close. Family is EVERYTHING to me, we always have each others' backs. My cousins and I are like brothers and sisters, we talk to each other all the time! We are such a tight-knit group, it's crazy. Which made it even harder to move out here, but coming out here did not diminish our relationship at all. The fashion out here is so different, too!!!!!! It's crazy!! I always feel overdressed and out-of-place with the way I dress. A big trend out here, that I have noticed, is an oversized t-shirt that cover your shorts with sandals or tennis shoes. It is so interesting to see the difference between the fashion choices even though we are only a few states away. In LA, I love the whole athleisure trend, but it isn't as prominent here. Although, it's different and not exactly my cup of tea, I still love seeing the differences and observing the way people dress. I feel like when you transition to a new environment, you try to acculturate yourself because you want to become a part of the crowd, but I don't plan on doing that anytime soon. I plan on staying true to myself and my own fashion sense, but still remain open to trying out new things. It's crazy to think that even though it is intangible, we can feel time. Sometimes the days feel like months and the months feel like years or vice-versa, the years start to feel like months and it seems incredible how you cannot grasp the idea of how it is already the first of July in 2016. No matter what, we all have 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week, and 365 (or 366) days in a year. The days may seem so long, but at the same time the years fly by. And despite whatever you are feeling, you are already 7 months into 2016. Usually, the "looking back on the past year" posts come between the last week of December and the first week of January. But I'm looking back now and doing that feels the same way as it would if I did in January. Things feel the same, but different and inevitably with time, there's growing and aging, and the uncertainty of what to feel as all this takes place. This time last year, I started a few things that I genuinely thought were never going to happen. I had just arrived in my favorite city in the world to live and learn there for a month and I had finally started a blog that I was actually comfortable using. This is where it all started. My trip to Paris really helped me kickstart this blog. I wanted to share my photos and experiences without wondering if I was annoying people on instagram. I didn't post as much as I wish I had, but a few posts for the time I was there kept me interested in this blog. Paris and this blog brought so many great and new things into my life. Paris was an absolute dream. I still never shut up about it. Time was against us the entire time we were there, but with the sun setting no earlier than 10 PM made the days felt so long and we felt like we could do everything. Before I left, a month seemed like a lifetime, but when it was over it felt like it could not have gone by quicker. Paris has always been one of my, if not my favorite cities in the entire world. It's filled with an electric lifestyle that you don't really see on a daily basis. I met so many amazing people along the way from all over the world; some just from my school and others from different states and countries. The girls that I went on the trip with became some of my really good friends. We literally started out as strangers that were stuck together, but now we have memories that we could tell our future kids about. It seems crazy to think that one month could have brought strangers to be such good friends, but I guess that what the city does to you. The city itself is a museum, you're never bored of what is around you and I learned so much about the city and culture just in that month. Every turn was something new, despite the similarities in the architecture. We found places in the city that weren't your average tourist destinations that we grew to love —places to eat, to shop, to go out when we didn't have anything scheduled for the day. We lived a Parisian lifestyle. The whole trip really opened my eyes and gave me a new perspective on a city that I thought I had known. And I can't believe it has been a whole year since then. But my Paris adventures weren't the only thing that commenced on this day last year. This blog started and since then it has grown with me. I started with just small sentences about what I was wearing, but it has become my favorite source of creativity. It has grown to be something more than just what dress I was wearing at the mall today. I began to share things, not just fashion related, but more about me and what I like. This blog became filled with things that I love, people that I admire, or events that I wish I could go to. This has become the only 'scrapbook' I use and the fact that some of you, even if it is just my family and friends, read it means so much. I really appreciate it, more than you know. Thank you for reading and scrolling through my unfinished, never-ending, and now year-old online scrapbook. xo I don't think it's surprising for me to say that I love pictures. Just being able to capture what's happening in that moment and having a keepsake from when it happened is so fascinating to me. I've always loved photography and being around a camera, whether it's behind or even in front of, it's just something I've always loved. Growing up, my dad used to take so many pictures of my brother and I, we have a huge box filled with pictures of us from every occasion. I even broke our camera (which my dad is still pressed about) because I was playing with it!
I think this love affair started when I got a Hello Kitty digital camera. It was a really thin camera that looked like a toy, but was a proper camera with 3.2 megapixels (an iPhone 6 has an 8 megapixel camera). Once that became as outdated as it can sound, I upgraded to a purple Nikon coolpix, yes the Ashton Kutcher camera, which broke and then I bought the same exact one again. After that, my family upgraded to another Nikon. After our camera changes and endless iPhone photos, I got my own dslr camera, the Canon t3i rebel and that's when I really thought that photography is one of the most incredible things invented. I started to look at different cameras, polaroids, lomography, film cameras and all that jazz. Recently, I've been loving my 35mm film camera, which is a Pentax k1000. I try and use it as much as possible and even though it seems a little old school, I love how the photos come and how raw they look. I haven't taken any proper photography classes, but I've been teaching myself how to work this old school camera just by practicing and using the camera. Most of the pictures I've taken below are of my family because they are usually what I photograph and whatever is revolving around us at that point in time. All photos were taken by me with 400 film. Back in 2012, I started a street-style tumblr blog and with a dashboard full of models off-duty showing their best looks after a fashion show, Karlie Kloss had easily become one of my favorite models. Since then, I have absolutely adored Karlie. For me, she has always been such a stand-out person and not just because of her height, which is 6'1" (!!!!!!). She is such a magnificent model, it is so fascinating to see all the editorials she does, no matter what or how she looks, she seems to make it so effortlessly beautiful. But, besides being able to work in front of camera, she can also work that runway with a strong stride. Every time I see one of her runway walks, it seems like its her home and its where she belongs, she just fits perfectly and exudes confidence. And you can't forget what happens after the shows. Her street style is on another incredible and really sets the bar high for the 'model off-duty' look! Karlie is not only a supermodel, but, in my opinion, one of the many superwomen of our time. Superwoman Karlie has been in full affect when she started modeling and walking the runway when she was 15, but stayed in school. She's said that she would be in french class one day and that same weekend, she was walking runways for Paris fashion week. Which is insane to even think about, not everyone can cope and handle something like that !?!? With being the superwoman, there are titles under that one and entrepreneur is one that Karlie is well familiar with. She has created "Karlie's Kookies" (which you can purchase here) which are gluten and dairy free cookies which benefit FEED projects. She also has a passion for coding and even "Kode With Klossy" which has summer camps and even scholarships for girls with the same passion. Alongside being the social media (links below) starlet already, and all of this craziness that seems to go on in her life, she has time to be a youtuber. She started her youtube, Klossy, last year and has stacked a little less than half a million subscribers. She give us an insight on her life and what goes on when she has a hold of the camera. With videos like bringing us behind the scenes of her Glamour cover or interviewing Marne Levine of instagram or even answering our questions in her kitchen, you won't be bored one bit! Check it out and subscribe here. She is such a ray of sunshine and I can go one about how amazing she is, but from being so kind, smart, beautiful, down to earth, and having an enormous heart, she makes this world such a better place and is such an inspiration to so many, including myself. KARLIE'S SOCIAL
twitter: @karliekloss instagram: @karliekloss tumblr: karliekloss youtube: KLOSSY snapchat: karliekloss ** I do not own any of these photos** Around this time last week the annual Costume Institute Gala for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, more commonly known as the Met Gala, had social media booming with this year's theme, Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology. With Anna Wintour's enhancement of the Met Gala over the past years, it has become the celebrity gathering of the year to showcase the best fashion, but that isn't exactly the reason for the gala. The Met Gala, held on the first Monday in May, is an event that fundraises for the benefit of the costume institute and is the big kick off to the annual fashion exhibit in the museum. Yes, it isn’t something you would hear about everyday, but with the rise of social media and the wave of celebrities at the gala, it can be easily seen as just another red carpet when it is intended to fundraise. If you get the chance to visit the museum, the exhibitions is free with museum admission. This exhibition at the Met is now open and is running until August 14th. The theme of this year's gala could have been easily misinterpreted for keyboard dresses and robot glam. Andrew Bolton, the Met Curator, talks about what the theme really was in this video here and the age of technology that fashion is going through right now. It gave the red carpet so many different looks that were innovative and remarkable, on another level! Much of the fashion wasn't something you want to see your favorite celebrity wearing, like the different brow styles we saw on Kim Kardashian West and Lily Aldridge (photos below), because we aren't used to seeing such a drastic difference in a consistent style that someone wears. I think that the shift was what wasn't exactly appealing to your eyes, but I think that it all fit incredibly with theme. The unlike choices for this unique and distinct theme were perfect and made it even more enthralling! A star-studded event calls for a plethora of incredible fashion... Some were fit perfectly with theme, others not so much. Regardless of the theme, the fashion was incredible! Here are some my favorites: Anna Wintour in Chanel with her daughter, Bee Schaffer in Alexander McQueen Like the flick of a switch, just by taking off the overlaying jacket, Karlie Kloss went from conservative to sexy in this cut-out white dress by Brandon Maxwell Wiz Khalifa in custom Rag and Bone Lily-Rose Depp in Chanel Elle Fanning in Thakoon Alexa Chung, also in Thakoon Nicole Kidman in Alexander McQueen Kristen Stewart in Chanel The coolest siblings out there, Jaden and Willow Smith. Jaden wore Louis Vuitton and Willow wore Chanel Naomi Campbell in Roberto Cavalli (by Peter Dunas) Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen Taylor Swift and Brie Larson in some-what similar silver ruffled dress. I love them both, they're similar but have their own unique qualities! Taylor is in custom Louis Vuitton and Brie is in Proenza Schouler Poppy Delevingne in Marchesa Ciara in H&M Kanye West in Balmain. This jacket is on another level!!!! Emma Watson in Calvin Klein and Eco Age. She posted all about this incredible eco-friendly gown on her facebook, read about it here. Claire Danes lighting up the red carpet in Zac Posen Karolína Kurková always wows me at the Met Gala. She seems to take the theme seriously and always is one of the best dressed, in my opinion. I mean, all her looks are always so incredible!!!! Karolína is wearing Marchesa, but this isn't an off the rack piece. She took it to a different level this year. This "Cognitive Dress" was designed with IBM's Watson team's help. The lights of the dress were able to interpret the emotions in tweets that used the hashtags #MetGala and #CognitiveDress.
IBM wrote all about the dress, read it here. **I do not own any of these photos**
When you google Derek Blasberg, wikipedia says that he is "an American writer, editor and New York Times bestselling author, who is currently Vanity Fair's Our Man on the Street and a senior staffer of the Gagosian Gallery." But I think all you need to say is that he is the coolest guy around, I mean just look at his street style! In the world of fashion which seems to be stiff and intimidating, Derek Blasberg has a way of keeping it real and staying grounded.
Being Vanity Fair's Man on the Street, he's given an extra flare and certain je ne sais quoi to the magazine (x). I absolutely adore the 'Conversations in the Backseat' I can rewatch them over and over again without getting tired of them! I love seeing his humor and personality, of course the celebrities are a plus, but Derek really delivers and keeps you watching and wanting more until there are no more videos left on the Vanity Fair youtube page.
And if you aren't following Derek on instagram, twitter, or snapchat (DerekBlasberg), I just have a question for you:
how boring is your feed / timeline? I love seeing all his pictures, from events and parties to a peak into life in New York. Before following him, it was like my feed was in black and white, but now it's alive, in color, and funnier than ever with one great caption after another.
So thanks Derek Blasberg, you're a blessing to the era we are living in! I ❤️ U
My family loves a good party and my dad turning 50 was the best reason to throw one. The theme was Michael Jackson's Off The Wall which was perfect for my dad and his era. We were able to work with our friends and most amazing people out there to make the party the best it could be, from flowers to the band to a Michael Jackson impersonator, it wouldn't be what it was without everyone's help. It was so amazing and so much fun!!!!! INFO
LOCATION 📍: The Resort At Pelican Hill INVITATION: Pences Design Studio FLOWERS: Enchanted Florist [instagram] My dress was by Oliver Tolentino and shoes by Lanvin We shared the party using #BARC50 Here are some pictures we took and photobooth pictures from the night :) I am a BIG sports fan, from NFL to March Madness, MLB to high school football games, or even just watching the Olympics when it comes around, I love sports! But there's always something you love more than the others and for me, sports wise, it's golf. Golf is the sport that: your dad likes, no one knows why it's a sport, and no one understands because it's so boring. Whenever I'm asked about my hobbies, golf is the first thing that comes to mind. I feel like when I tell someone I play golf, it's either "wow! really?" or "oh, really?" which I don't mind, but I think those hesitant "oh, really?" come from not knowing much about the sport.
How does golf even work? Like how do you even play it? So basically, there's 18 holes and with each hole your objective is to get there in the least amount of strokes as possible. Each hole has a different par. Par depends how many yards this hole is and it's how many strokes you want to have by the end of the hole. The lower the score, the better. Now, I love golf in all aspects, playing and watching. I love seeing everyone's strengths and weaknesses, learning from them and allowing myself to grow. I love seeing everyone's unique swing and how everyone that plays is different. It's one of my biggest passions. But it wasn't always like that. It's a growing process. My dad had started to get me to play from a very young age. I have pictures of me when I was 3 years old playing golf, but at the time I thought it wasn't for me. The summer of my freshmen year transitioning into my sophomore year I signed up for summer golf and never looked back. I started to become comfortable with the sport and the love grew more and more. Even though you play your own game, I was a part of a team and despite competing with others, I was competing against myself. Playing golf can be frustrating and at times you want to quit, but that's just how the game works. It is mentally challenging and at times physically challenging, despite the challenges it comes with such a range of other emotions that make it all worth while. Things like getting excited when I hit a good shot or upset when I know I could do better. Being able to grow with everything you do in this sport. It's that one thing that I love to hate, but I feel grateful to play and love such a complex sport like golf. The infamous spring break; it's the week where some go out and party and some who just stay in and forget what day of the week it is. My break consisted of photos and family time, my favorite things. These next pictures were taken with my film camera, Pentax K1000. I'm still learning how to shoot with it but I am already completely obsessed with it !
Professional athletes have a way with clothes! It seems to be that the sky is the limit when it comes to fashion for these talented sports stars. Many celebrities dip into the fashion world with collaborations; for example Kanye West with Adidas, Rihanna with Puma, Alexa Chung with AG Jeans, and even Oklahoma City Thunder's Russell Westbrook collaborated with Barney's of New York (Russell Westbrook XO) and with the fragrance Byredo [x]. But before getting into my favorite fashionable sports starts, there is one sports star diving into the world fashion. It is the Seattle Seahawks' quarterback, Russell Wilson. Russell is the co-founder of Good Man Brand, which launched today at Nordstrom in Downtown Seattle! This isn't your average step into the fashion world, Russell wants to make a difference. With every purchase $3 is being donated to charity for inner-city kids. It is not new news that Russell Wilson is a good person, this brand is just an addition to marvelous things he has done and accomplished like his Why Not You Foundation. I think these cool clothes with a great meaning are really going to be something big. Thank you for being the good person that you genuinely are, Russell Wilson! #BeGood #LeadInspireLive Where to find the Good Man Brand: TheGoodManBrand.com instagram: @goodmanbrand twitter: @GoodManBrand In addition to the NFL's Russell Wilson recent jump into fashion, here are a few, of an extensive list, of my favorite sports stars that stay on top of their fashion game! David Beckham: Lebron James: Russell Westbrook: Dwayne Wade:
Before this trip, I had only been to Hawaii once and it was The Big Island (Kona). But after this trip, I think that I enjoyed Maui much more! There was something about this island that had a different appeal than Kona did. There was so much to do and it was incredibly beautiful, like on a whole other level! It was full of so many good times and adventures I am beyond grateful and blessed! I absolutely adored it!
MAUI 2016 from Chelsea Barcenas on Vimeo.
and of course, some polaroids.
A close family friend of ours invited us to her wedding in Maui, Hawaii and there was no doubt we weren't going! Maui is so beautiful, it just does not seem real! We got lucky, the weather is perfect, not too hot and not too cold. There is so much to do and this is just the beginning, more adventures to come!!!!!!!!!! And here's the reason we're here! Cyndy and Ryan tied the knot on Monday, the 22nd of February 2016! Congratulations!!!!!! TO BE CONTINUED ...
📍CURRENT LOCATIONS: KAPALUA IN MAUI, HAWAII GOLF COURSE: THE PLANTATION COURSE The feeling you get when you get off the top of the lift is one of the best feelings ever. When you think California, you don't think snow, but the snow at Mammoth Lakes is to die for! Everything is so beautiful and it feels like the winter wonderland you dream of. To answer the question "to ski or not to ski?" I would say: to ski, without a doubt. Here are some photos from this snow filled Super Bowl weekend! Go Broncos!! and it's not a trip without a few polaroids ...
This time of the year is my favorite time of the year!!!! Besides being a time filled with family and joy, fall/winter is my favorite time for fashion! Summer clothes in the winter? Not a problem! It doesn't get too cold in Southern California, so I just used a basic winter coat over this summer dress for an easy winter outfit! Some tights, scarves, and booties can change any summer look to a winter one! DRESS: 3.1 PHILLIP LIM
COAT: ZARA SHOES: GIVENCHY I HOPE EVERYONE HAD A MARVELOUS CHRISTMAS, BELOW ARE SOME PICTURES MY FAMILY'S CHRISTMAS. I absolutely adore Olivia Palermo!!!! You probably know her from MTV's The City, a spin-off of The Hills, with Whitney Port. She is definitely at the top of my must-follow list on instagram, as well as her husband (Johannes Huebl). Her instagram is far from boring. I am so fascinated with everything she does and everything she wears!!! Johannes's weekly 'Sunday' posts (seen below) are by far my favorite. Talk about relationship goals, AM I RIGHT?!? Besides being a wonderful addition to your feed, her sense of style is a force to reckon with, absolutely incredible! She is one of my biggest fashion inspirations. From her street style looks to the red carpet, she never fails to amaze me! All of the Ciate x Olivia Palermo products seem amazing, but I picked up some of the nail polishes and the colors are so good!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I HOPE EVERYONE'S DAY WAS BLESSED AND FILLED WITH JOY!
CAPE: TED BAKER TURTLE NECK: H&M PANTS: PAIGE DENIM SHOES: STUART WEITZMAN BAG: CELINÉ SUNNIES: DIOR LOCATION 📍: SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA I turned 19 on Saturday and although, it doesn't feel like anything has changed, celebrating a birthday means family time and I LOVE FAMILY TIME. I celebrated my birthday with a lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, The Ivy, I spent it with my family and I wouldn't have had it any other way!!!! Some photos are of me, some are of my family, but it's all love!! THANK YOU FOR EVERYONE WHO SENT ME BIRTHDAY WISHES, I'M SENDING YOU LOVE AND SO MUCH GRATITUDE BACK!!!! IT MEANT THE WORLD, THANK YOU I LOVE YOU 💖 Being at a baby shower always feels so good. The room is filled with smiles and laughs, and no one isn't excited for the baby to arrive. There was pink all around for the future mommy to be of a baby girl.
Joanne, I am beyond happy and overly ecstatic for you! Congratulations! 💓 DRESS: H&M SHOES: KATE SPADE NECKLACES: J.CREW FLOWERS: Enchanted Florist LOCATION 📍: NEWPORT BEACH, CA I have the ever so slightest obsession with polaroids. I love that polaroids are so raw, I love the tangible aspect and how even if they're not what you wanted it seems to have a story to it, unlike snapping away on your phone. Here are loads of polaroids just for fun:
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