It's officially out! A few days ago, they released the 2016 Pantone color of the year... or I should say colors!

source: pantone.com

Rose Quartz and Serenity presents themselves as a balance of one other, fluid and in motion, and not on opposing sides. Pantone suggests they stand for "connection and wellness as well as a soothing sense of order and peace," which in light of recent events, we all need a little more of. As lighter shades of pink and blue, they exude calmness by just one look. Their spring season tones can make one feel so light and airy.

These pastel hues have made their way to the trend list, even before their Pantone fame. Rose Quartz has a blush tone that's been on the market all year. Serenity on the other hand made it big in the instagram scene early this year, which I'm pretty sure blew up (mainstream wise anyway) thanks to Kylie Jenner's nails. (Check our that timestamp!)

💎 are a girls best friend

A photo posted by King Kylie (@kyliejenner) on Jan 9, 2015 at 3:32pm PST

From handbags to beauty products, we've been seeing it in stores, online, and in social media. Here's my mini collection for the 2016 Colors of the Year! Click on photos for more details.

Every year, I like having dinner or game night with all my friends for my birthday. But as time passes by, and as we all get older, it's harder to get together. This year became something entirely different, and to be honest, I really liked it!

Since my 27th birthday was actually on Thanksgiving this year, I decided to celebrate in the weeks leading up to it (as so to keep my birthday & Christmas apart in my brain, I guess). I ended up spending some on-on-one (and much needed) girl time with a few I was closest to. We visited some yummy spots, and being the foodie that I am, I wanted to share that with you!

Place: Coffee Code
City: Buena Park
With: Jeanna (aka Jea)

latte art, fruit waffles, & sister talks. 👭💕 #CoffeeCode #Foodstagram #LatteArt

A photo posted by Gardenia 🌹 Bush (@gardeniarose) on Nov 17, 2015 at 9:43pm PST

Yum right?! In the words of Jea, breakfast for dinner? Don't mind if we do! We had fruit waffles topped with strawberries, bananas, kiwis, chocolate sauce, and of course, ICE CREAM. (All caps for the deliciousness!) For drinks, I opted for the white chocolate latte (decaf cuz it was late), and Jea got a peppermint latte. Fun Fact: the reigning latte art champion works here! She won the latte art competition at the US Coffee Championships. (It's real. It's legit. It's a thing. Read more about it here.) They're open pretty late (for an OC place) on a weekday so it's nice to chat and bond over yummy treats without a time constraint. Even though I don't go often, I love coming here for a good latte, art included. :)

Place: Ledlow
City: Downtown Los Angeles
With: Camille (aka Cea)

Baked Eggs en Cocotte. #brunch #dtla

A photo posted by Gardenia 🌹 Bush (@gardeniarose) on Nov 22, 2015 at 11:44am PST

Saturday brunch at DTLA? Why not? I'm not much of a DTLA fan simply because of the drive, (I can't handle it!) but since Cea was kind enough to drive, I was all about it! :) She'd been wanting to try this place for awhile & of course I've never been so I was totally up for it! I got Baked Eggs en Cocotte and she got the Coddled Eggs Benedict. Instead of Mimosas, we opted for Ledlow's Brandy Milk Punch... and let me tell you, that packs a punch, to say the least. It's definitely not for the light-hearted, if you know what I mean. We walked around after for a little bit and witnessed some lovely street art. It was pretty nice not to be in my typical Orange County element, but slightly odd. It's so crazy to drive an hour and be in a totally different state of mind due to the environment you're in.

Place: GD Bro Burger
City: Santa Ana
With: Amelia

The Italian Stallion with my HB bae. #Foodstagram #WeWorkOutForFood #NomNom

A photo posted by Gardenia 🌹 Bush (@gardeniarose) on Nov 23, 2015 at 7:55pm PST

At first we were going to the Dirty Cookie in Irvine, but when Amelia spotted this place on Insta, all she had to do was send me a snapscreen and I was in. In an effort to attempt to be nice to our bodies, we decided to jog two miles and catch up at a park near by before sharing this insane meal. We split an Italian Stallion burger (subbed grilled chicken for the hamburger meat), Parmesan Truffle Fries, and last but not least, a Cap'n Crunch Milkshake. Fun Fact: GD Bro Burger is the winner of The Great Food Truck Race Season Six on The Food Network! Thank God we decided to share everything because it was A LOT. Everything was good and could wish an endless amount of those fries, but I know I shouldn't. At least it's only a few cities from me and should I need a craving fulfilled... you know where I'll be.

Place: Urth Caffe
City: Pasadena
With: Monica

pretty much my fave pizza of all time. d'lox pizza. #UrthCaffe #🍕

A photo posted by Gardenia 🌹 Bush (@gardeniarose) on Nov 25, 2015 at 8:14pm PST

This has become tradition for Monica and I to come here together once every fall/winter. We both aren't too fond of driving so it's a labor of love to get there, but it makes such a happy tummy. :) We grabbed our usual drinks, matcha green tea lattes of course, and split our favorite orders, which are the d'lox pizza and egg sandwich (it's not on the menu anymore, but if you ask for it, they'll make it & you won't regret it). We sat outside and chatted about our husbands (she's my only married-without-a-kid friend), how crazy married life is, and how so much has changed in a year. This was the perfect day to go because you can actually feel the Fall weather. And I absolutely love that. I never come to this place enough to change my order, but one day I'll have the courage to.

I'm proud to say that even if there were snaps and instas about our food, we weren't all about it,or at least did our best not to be. Everything in moderation. :) I absolutely had a blast spending time with these girls. Each of them unique in friendship, but all close ones indeed.

This year, I must say, I was a little underwhelmed. (It makes me sad to even say that!) There weren't a lot of wows on the red carpet. I thought people were going to bring it, but I guess... not? Despite the upsets, there were still some who stood out for me. Here's a few people who caught my eye and actually slayed the red carpet.

Okay, this girl could wear a potato sack and still werk. But I gotta give props to this whole bun-bangs combo (I think Karruche Tran rocked the same 'do, but it just didn't work for her face shape) and just whole look altogether. It's not too much skin, & just the right amount glam for an attendee. Plus, you can never go wrong with an LBD and strappy heels.
This sheer tribal print number definitely slayed the red carpet. It's easily my favorite look of the night. There's so much going on, but it all complemented each other. All the details found its way to make the dress not seam too revealing... well, from the front at least.

Black on grey(?) on black. (Insert clapping hands emoji.) Black or grey, whatever. It just looks so darn good. His sleek look gives me so much life, I can't even. Talk about head to toe classy. The play on shades, matte, and shine gives the outfit such dimension without doing too much.


I know it's not a red carpet look, but their ode to Star Wars outfits are just perfection. I love them all, but if I had Kirsten's Amidala look is glorious, while Avi's Jedi outfit is killer! Their performance was nothing short of amazing, and as Zo as my witness, I was pretty saying YAAAS half the time. :)

Any fab looks I missed? Let me know!

-Gardenia Rose

A couple of week ago, an insta-famous teenager decided to "quit" social media to due its pressures for an unattainable perfect life. (Read More Here)

Before all this unfolded, I was already going through something within myself. I was definitely struggling to find the balance and afraid of "too much" social media. With Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat, (respectively listed from what I use least to most) there's no way I can keep up. And quite frankly, I don't even understand this internal "need" to be current with what everyone you literally know is doing at this current time. With Instagram & Tumblr, I use to scroll until the pictures I saw were already familiar. I justified myself to thinking, "Oh, I'm just making sure I'm keeping up with all of my friends." But now that I think about it, that's kind of crazy! Especially because there's no way you can keep up with your 592 (or more) friends.

Here's some of my thoughts on social media:

(Warning: it's pretty negative, but I need to rant & bring it to light so that it's known. I've some point in time have fallen guilty of it so I need to put it out there so I'm aware, and maybe someone else can be too.)

• Social media, specifically Instagram, has become diluted, and for lack of better word, filtered. Most people only post about their ups in life, their highs but not lows. Of course, people only post what they want out there. But the thing is... what's out there can be MUCH different from actual life. In the end, it's all not real.
• Social media has become, in some sense, artificial happiness. How did likes turn become some odd sense of validation? How did followers turn into a direct reflection of one's value? How does joy connect to the number of times people touch the heart button under your photograph? I just don't understand. And yet, ...I'm a part of it all. I've succumb to these so-called norms and have definitely had those thoughts.
• Lastly, social media has taken away our ability to become social. When we're out to dinner with friends, we can get so caught up in documenting the experience that we're not living the experience. Now, there's people who balance this well, but for the most of us, if we're actually real with ourselves, we don't do this well. 

So there you have it. Now, I'm not saying boycott social media and everything you post is just simply fake. But just... be careful. Be yourself. Don't lose you and your true connections with the people you love all for the sake of something that exists on the internet and on your mobile device.

If you're a foodie (like me!) then snap & shoot your food, then put your phone away. (As they say, everything in moderation right?) Hold the scrolling until you're alone in boredom. Take selfies and be proud of your makeup glam or all natural face, but maybe skip sending ten-second hair flipping, blue steel giving selfie videos? or at least limit it to five. haha. :) And just a rule of thumb, if there's a person you know (or maybe not know), next to or in front of you... look up and have a conversation. And maybe it'll grow from small talk & surface chatter to a deep and incredibly open friendship. Speaking from experience, the people you know (or think you know) may still surprise you.

Do you agree with me? Or you think I'm out of my mind? Or even better, hypocritical to the max? Well, leave a comment below! OR... let's a have an actual conversation about it over coffee & macarons, or if we're not near, let's FaceTime! I'll even settle for texting back and forth. Why? Because it's an actual interaction with an actual person, not a blast post to the masses. So do you agree or disagree? Reach out & surprise me. :)

-Gardenia Rose

Well guys, Paris did not disappoint. There's absolutely no need for me to delay so here we go!

I love how late night shows have evolved. They're more than just talking to celebrities across a table and essentially hanging out. The comedy and light-hearted laughter it brings is just so great! They have these segments that just kill my stomach from laughter sometimes, and I love it! I don't know if it's me that's getting old or they're getting with the times (I'm considered as a Millennial!), but either way, it's funny and I legit LOL.

With the exception of the The Tonight Show (#FalPal for life!), I don't DVR all the late night shows, but I follow them all on YouTube. Here's my favorites!

Show: Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Segment Title: Mean Tweets
Why: It's a pretty crazy way to show how cruel people are. I know that sound so wrong to say, but if you think about it, it's kinda amazing what people tweet because it's just a screen and they're not actually saying to their face. It's also pretty crazy that the celebrities can take it so well. People can be so mean, but at least they can laugh about it. Since Jimmy's season started again, he did this segment live. see it here:
Show: The Late Late Show with James Corden
Segment Title: Carpool Karaoke
Why: I LOVE THIS. James drive while he sings to the tracks made by the artist carpooling with him. So simple but SO funny. I have no idea why. There's been so many... from Mariah Carey to Justin Bieber, but my ultimate fave so far... STEVIE WONDER! So fun! See their Carpool Karaoke below!

Show: The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon (which rest of my faves will be from lol.)
Segment Title: SlapJack
Why: Okay. First of all. I'm a #FalPal, which basically I'm a Jimmy Fallon fan. I absolutely love this show. IT'S HILARIOUSSSSSSSS & he just seems like such a nice guy! Plus, THE ROOTS!!! (If don't know 'em, you're missing out.) In this segment, they play Black Jack, but whoever loses get a huge slap to the face by a prosthetic hand. It's just too funny. This is the latest one with Ryan Reynolds.

Segment Title: Lip Sync Battle
Why: Before it was its own show on Spike, this was (and still is) a segment on the show. I love when actors lip sync to a song you would NEVER guess they'd choose! They're sooooo many battles to choose from, but this is my ABSOLUTE favorite. I've literally watched this over 20 times and have still have laughed every time! Here's Jimmy's battle with the lovely, one and only, Emma Stone.

Segment Title: The Ragtime Gals
Why: We've already established that I'm an a capella fan, but add comedy to the mix and I'm done. like literally dead. It's like Dapper Dans meets Top 40. My fave so far is the one with Joseph Gordon Levitt. The song? B*tch Betta Have My Money. lol.

There's so much more, but that's all I can think of today! Do you have a favorite late night segment? Let me know! :)

-Gardenia Rose

With fashion week happening in so many places, I can hardly keep up! Paris Fashion Week just started on Tuesday, but I can't get over these looks from Fashion Week in Milan! Milan definitely had insane color, with a touch of the 60's vibe... which I don't know if I'm too crazy for. Designers like Gucci, Prada, and of course, Moschino, definitely opted for the full blown color on color. But for me, I fall in love with structured outfits or flowy gowns. It just looks so gorgeous coming down the runway! Here's a few favorites that I absolutely loved!

London Fashion Week has come and gone! Now, LFW came out with a bang! It was wayyyyy more eclectic than I thought it would be. Lots of prints on prints and brights on brights, and personally, just too out there for me. But there were two designers that caught my eye. Here's my faves from their line.