How to be a Morning Person
I am not a morning person. I'm the type of person that sets 5 different alarms and wakes up after an hour of snoozing. Recently, I've been practicing these few things that have been helping me wake up early and start my day on a good note.
1. Leave yourself no choice.
Put your alarm far away from the bed, so when it rings, you have to literally get out of bed to turn it off. Drink lots of water before going to bed, so the urgency to use the restroom is more dire. Then you'll really have a harder time going back into bed and falling asleep again.
2. Open the Blinds.
Get rid of those black out curtains and let the natural sunlight seep through the shades. It's the best way to get up!
3. Turn on some music.
I love music in the morning. Try queueing up a calm and happy playlist for the morning and get yourself excited to get ready for the day!
4. Set a goal.
A small goal could be making the bed everyday. After your bed is made, you tend not to want to get back in.
5. Set a bigger goal.
Schedule a fitness class. Most fitness studios don't allow you to cancel your appointment an hour before. By signing up for a class in the early morning, you obligate yourself to get dressed and walk out the door. Make sure you pack all your bags the night before so you're not rushing out of the house!
6. Get enough sleep.
This is probably the most important. I don't know about you but if I don't get at least 7 hours of sleep, it is SO hard to get up in the morning. I can snooze for 2 hours and not even know it. As you ease yourself into getting up earlier, make sure you adjust your sleep time to turning in earlier as well.
7. Repeat.
Do this 30 times and your body will automatically want to get up early. You might be asking, what about the weekends? Sleeping in late (but not too late) on the weekends won't mess with your sleep cycle. Definitely let your body sleep an extra 30 minutes, but the goal is to get you excited about the mornings!
Those are my goals for becoming a morning person. I am not there yet and I still struggle with my alarms and getting enough sleep. But I will get there and so will you!
TAYA
Alright friends! I'm finally posting the second part of the Taya series! I wanted to thank my group of amazing artists for coming and helping me with this shoot. This was the first time I organized and directed a whole crew of 6 (which is pretty small I think). It was great that everyone was proactive and owned their priorities with confidence. That's why we're coming together to do another shoot soon!
And of course thanks Taya for agreeing to shoot with me :) She's now busy shooting a TV show in Thailand. Funny story, we met at a fashion launch party in West Hollywood. I creepily walked up to her (like a sleezy dude trying to get some digits from a girl at a bar) and asked her why she looked so familiar. After 15 minutes of chatting, we then realized we had many mutual friends and I had seen her posing alongside them on the gram. And then this photoshoot happened :) haha. Sorry that story sounded so creepy.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this series!
Photographer/Direction: Courtney Yeh
Model: Taya Rogers
Photo Assistant: Jonathan Shih
Hair: Yuichi Ishida
Makeup: Josh Masuda
Stylist: Ariana Armendariz
10 Things to Match Pumpkin Spice
Take a good hard sniff of the air... aahh yes, you know fall is here when every girl at Starbucks is asking for a PSL. Not only are we excited about that pumpkin spice, but we're excited about...
cozy grandpa sweaters
trendy booties - maybe with a funky heel or that faux croc skin
anything burgundy
all things dark olive & camel
velvet statement bag
oversized plaids inspired by the men
oversized knits
oversized everything
leather up for grunge
camel duster coats
Unfortunately for us Californians, we are still suffering from that 86F weather.. so maybe I'll get to this wish list in December.. just maybe..
Westward
So much has happened in the last few weeks! If you follow me on instagram, you saw that I was in NY for labor day weekend with my friends at a lake house. Last Sunday we went to the Creative Arts Emmys. Feng and his crew (Quest Crew) got nominated for Outstanding Choreography. and THEY WON! The last thing I can think about is what to wear to work and out on the weekends. That's why I love tshirt dresses, I can slip them on, and know that I'm dressed up enough for work and for any spontaneous happy hour, or brunch. No need to match a top and a bottom, just easy.. and breezy ;)
Styling: Courtney Yeh
Dress - VILA/Asos | Watch - Nixon | Sunglasses - Westward Leaning | Sandals - MK