Popflex

February 19, 2022

Something crazy happened! Well, not crazy to most people but for me, I feel like it marks a milestone in my journey. And it didn’t happen all of a sudden, it’s actually been a few months in the making I guess I would say…or rather over the course of a year. It’s crazy how much can change over the course of a year!

Long story short, Popflex asked me to continue working with them as an ad affiliate!

Why is this such a big deal to me? In the age of social media influencers, I really value when a brand that I align with chooses to work with me. I never want to just push a product I know nothing about simply because I'm getting paid for a post. That shouldn't be how “influencing” works. And with a company like Popflex, which has been nothing short of amazing in customer relations with me, as well as incredibly receptive of criticism and taking it back to improve their products instead of being defensive and deleting comments like other companies, I feel I can earnestly tell you my reviews and recommendations of their products. I've found Popflex to be transparent and professional in my experience thus far.

Where do I start?

Over a year ago, I started the 21 Day Tone challenge, having followed Blogilates for the past year prior but not really knowing anything about her programs. I just liked her cute posts but because I am a cheap Asian, I wasn’t willing to pay into things like fitness apps and such, especially when I’m not familiar with them. Listen, to this day, it’s like Ali Wong says, I don’t have my own Netflix, Hulu, or Spotify account. I’m mooching all off my husband’s accounts because I just refuse to pay for it, lol. Anyways, she made the 21 Day Tone enticing because the program was free on her also free to download app, but also available on YouTube. It was an easy just 21 minutes a day, for 21 days. How can you beat that? It was a great way to get into and trial her workouts and I ended up finding that I really do enjoy pilates(something new I never tried before) and her style of workouts especially since they're all home workout friendly in the age of this pandemic we’re stuck in! Not only did I see results from her 21 day program but I was also one of the challenge winners! I was hooked. I ended up buying into her app for the workout calendar at the end of the 21 days because come on, at $3.99 a month or $39.99 for the whole year, it wasn’t that bad. It’s cheaper than my gym membership and that’s already pretty cheap since I go to Planet Fitness. I IG lived all my workouts and in doing so, when looking at all the workouts and post workout selfies, realized I wanted to up my activewear game with more cute colors and styles. But again, cheap Asian, lol. I wasn’t really looking to spend a lot of money. But throughout the past year, I’ve learned that it does pay to invest a bit more into quality pieces and brands. Are they all good and worth their price? No, but there are a decent amount of brands out there that are and each one has its pros and cons depending on what you’re looking for. I no longer will settle for the cheap Forever 21 stuff because I want it to last, retain its shape, longevity and hold up during workouts. And one thing I won’t compromise on either, is good customer service.

Long story short, in the brands I’ve tried in the past year, I can definitely vouch for Popflex throughout all my experiences with them. I’ve had items not fit, items arrive defected (USPS slashed my package, NOT Popflex’s fault), items not hold up as well as I expected (i.e. developed a hole in my leggings) and each situation, when I reached out to Popflex, they were very accommodating, offering solutions in a timely manner. If I wasn’t satisfied with a proposed solution, I expressed that to them and they worked with me to reach a solution that worked for both of us. And honestly, they’ve been great to deal with compared to other companies I’ve had to reach out to when issues arise. I can tell they really do value their customers and audience. They don’t just ghost you or become rude and petty. They really try to maintain a very good relationship with their customers and it shows because none of their responses are generic auto responses when I reach out to them. They talk to you as if you matter. Which is always what I love about small companies and businesses. Everything is tailored to you.

Anyways, during my marathon training last summer, runDisney released their race mascots and themes for each race distance. A lightbulb went off in my head of how perfect some of the pieces from Popflex’s Tropicana collection were to match each race. I drafted up a proposal to Popflex, crossed my fingers and hit send. MY GOD, I can not tell you how nervous I was about this. I was so afraid of getting rejected because I love Cassey and her brand. I didn’t want them to reject me and make me bitter and not want to wear her clothes anymore in my Scorpio pettiness, lol. But lo and behold, within hours later (did I tell you I love how prompt smaller brands are with their response time?!?) they messaged me back and were in love with the idea and agreed to work with me. I was so freaking overjoyed and happy. It was definitely another milestone for me in the books, especially after getting to work with Crowned Athletics last year as well! Just when I thought the pandemic would rid me of my opportunities because I wasn’t traveling as much anymore or going on as many gram tours and adventures, another door opens. The universe is crazy like that. Every time a new company chooses to earnestly work with me because they actually went over my profile and felt like I would be a good fit with them, I feel like a million bucks.

So fast forward to January. I had tested all the Popflex outfits that they sponsored for the races, tweaked the final outfit pieces and everything worked out wonderfully! When I first got the outfits, there were some fit issues as some of the Tropicana pieces were more compressive than usual and thus tighter fitting than I would like, especially since you want to be comfortable for long distance running and not feel like you’re suffocating and have fabrics and textures chafing. You want everything to be tight but not constricting. Popflex was more than amazing at exchanging out the sizes and making sure I had everything I needed in time, to test out and workout in months before the races. And then the day of the races, everything passed the ultimate test, held up for the distances each ouftit was for and most importantly to me, photographed wonderfully for race photos! I was so happy everything worked out because I also hate proposing a project and feeling like I didn’t live up to expectations when I finally deliver the final product. It’s part of my imposter syndrome. I always feel like I’m not good enough for some reason. But in this project, I was really proud of the final outcome.

Now fast forward to today, after all this and the past months of continuing to IG live all my Blogilates workouts and doing a few of my workouts in Popflex pieces too to show how well they stand up in all types of workouts, Popflex is continuing their relationship with me by asking me to be an ad affiliate. What does this mean? It means that I now have shoppable links I can provide to my friends, family and followers who already love the brand as well, and to those who are interested in trying the brand. You can still shop on their website separately if you wish, but if you shop through my links, it helps them know that I was the one who “influenced” you. It also gives me a small commission of their sales, but honestly it’s not that much, but more importantly to me, it helps support me into being considered for future projects and endeavors. I’m excited about this new step because I honestly wouldn’t recommend something to you that I didn’t fully support or believe in, which is why I don’t work with a lot of brands willy nilly. I’m picky of who I want to work with because I want the relationship to be organic and something I can actually support and get behind, and the product being something I would actually choose to use independently of whether I’m working for a company or not. So the fact that I get to partner with a company that I’ve had a great experience with for the past year, means a lot to me.

And one last thing. I’ve actually been recommending their skirts and certain sports bras and leggings to my friends and family and followers over the past year before this opportunity was even presented to me. I didn’t make a dime off any of those sales, was not aware that I could potentially in the future, and nor did I care to at that time when I made those recommendations. I was basing it off my own genuine experience of the product and wanting to pass on a good product. And I’m glad that my audience trusts me enough with those recommendations. So what I want to say is thank you. Thank you for that trust. Thank you for that support. Thank you for being that undying cheerleader for me in this journey since day one. It really means a lot to me that my friends, family and followers have been rooting for me as I grow in this journey. I’m still not sure where I want it to take me, but thank you for being there and celebrating my wins with me. It means a lot that you truly want me to keep going and do more.

My personal faves if you are new to the brand, interested and need suggestions are the twirl skorts (I basically live in these skirts and want to wear them everywhere and not just to work out in, they’re so cute and versatile for everything wear), the supersculpt legging(I swear the ultimate black legging - they don’t move when I run long distances and last through all activity for hours!), their 40 oz water bottles(I really do carry this everywhere as you can see in all my stories and it really does help up your water intake and hydration as well as keep everything super cold), and their yoga mats, booty bands and blocks bundles (pricey but honestly worth it and I love having a set where the pieces match). Basically anything with the cottagecore floral print from their Cottagecore collection I will tell you I love. If there’s anything you have questions about, please feel free to ask me, as I would love to give you my honest opinion to help you select the best pieces for you. I’ll tell what worked and didn’t work for me, what to be wary or considerate of in terms of what needs to be sized up or down due to fabric, compressibility, etc. Please feel free to ask away like all my friends, family and followers do! I’d rather talk about this than look at another unsolicited dick pic and oblivious guy trying to hit on a clearly married woman (because I just don’t post enough pics and stories of my husband, amiright?) I’ll include pictures below of all the selfies I took on my phone throughout the past 5 months since I started wearing Popflex. Only the outfits from the races were sponsored by Popflex, the rest I bought on my own. The photos are to show how they held up through all my workouts; running, weightlifting, pilates, and yoga. I can say for the past 5 months so far, they definitely are holding up in terms of quality. Nothing feels stretched out, it all still fits the same as the day I got them in terms of compressibility. I rotate through them quite frequently as you can see and the colors are still vibrant and beautiful. Everything looks flattering on when it fits perfect and that’s another aspect I love about Popflex. They are great about exchanges to help you get the perfect fit, and right now, they’re doing a “Free Fit February” with free returns and exchanges so you can find the perfect fit. I do find sometimes shipping does take a while, especially during launch periods but right now, their shipping seemed to be fast when processing orders lately since we’re not in the middle of a major launch. I would recommend to buy both sizes if you’re in between and returning the one you don’t want, especially if you’re impatient like me and don’t want to wait for the exchange. I always want to wear new workout clothes right away because it’s so motivating and makes me really want to work out.

If you’re interested in shopping for Popflex products through my link and supporting me, just click here for the link and let me know below or message me so I can thank you personally for your support. Truly. I appreciate and it means a lot that you would put your trust in me. Happy shopping and I hope you enjoy all the goodies. And as always, if you have any questions, feel free to leave them below or message me on my IG! Again, thank you guys so much for helping unlock these opportunities for me. Last year when I started the 21 Day Tone, I was simply just looking to try out a new workout and then spiraled into wanting new activewear to pretty up my workout clothes. Somehow one thing led to another, and here we are today. It’s crazy how much can change in a year that you never expected it to. I would have never thought I would be going in this direction but I really truly love when I am able to work with a brand that I can truly trust, get behind and support, as I never want to be someone who blindly promotes a product I have no experience with, just to make a dumb quick buck. I always want to give you my earnest opinions and recommendations when I love something. And I love that I get to do that with something I definitely test and use every day to be able to bring you that value. Again, thank you thank you thank you to everyone who tunes in to my IG lives, cheers me on during my races, sends me messages often to encourage and show support and just being there to always root me on and show me you care. It means a lot and you don’t know the impact you have on this stranger’s life. 💖💖💖

A Thousand Miles

June 6, 2021

They say a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. It’s a really old saying and so cheesy and cliché but it still rings 100% true.

In 2018, I hit a low. I’ve wrote about this several times before. And here I am today, reinforcing that a fitness journey does not happen overnight. You do NOT gain weight overnight. So you will NOT lose it overnight. There are also a lot of things you learn over time, and not just in a week, a month or even a year. Some things you will take several years to learn, and depending on your fitness goals, you will learn they also take years for your results to come through. But that’s why they also say another cliché, cheesy saying: It’s a marathon, not a sprint. No matter what your fitness goal is, you will learn through multiple trial and error that the true process takes time. Commitment. Dedication. Perseverance. Patience. There are no shortcuts.

You will also learn there is no one solution for everything. What works for one person may not work for you. This rings true when it comes to nutrition and diet, as well as the type of exercises you try out. But that’s why it’s important to try things. To see what works and doesn’t work. To try something else out. To switch things up if you see yourself plateauing.

Speaking of marathons though, I finally bit the bullet and decided to sign up for my first FULL marathon scheduled for September 19. It’s not a Disney race so I’m a little disheartened but I really want to complete this goal and with Disney races in limbo, I really felt like I was falling behind on my training as I’ve been having no motivation to keep up with it. I’m scared because with this date set, I only have 15-16 weeks to train for it, but I think this is also what I need to kick my ass back into gear with my motivation problem. I do really well when I have structured schedules, deadlines and goals set. So I’m hoping this will push me to rise up to the challenge, as I have a strict training schedule to add on mileage in time for the fall. I ran a half marathon on Friday to see if I still had it in me and although it was definitely still challenging, I made it close to my usual PR so hopefully I can add on one mile a week and get to 26.2 in the next 16 weeks. It’s going to be truly a new journey of a thousand miles for the next 4 months. Fingers crossed! I really want to see this goal through but I'm terrified of the work that I'm going to have to put in over the grueling summer. I know it's going to be hard. But if I can see this through, I’ll be so happy. No one can take that away from me after I make it across the finish line. Well, if I make it.😅

And speaking of journeys, I’m 3 years into this fitness journey I started and I’m still learning. My first year I learned I enjoyed weight lifting. My second year I learned to enjoy long distance running. And this year in an effort to still stay active, but give my legs and knees a rest while races are put on hold and not add too much unnecessary mileage to them, I started getting into pilates home workouts. I’m still getting the hang of them as I do find them challenging but I enjoy that they’re a nice change to my routine that I’ve been getting bored with recently. I enjoy seeing the progress week to week, with my form, my stamina and how long I can last with holding one particular pose that I had trouble with the last time. Every time I try a new workout, I gain a new appreciation in that area of exercise. Just because someone else makes something look graceful and easy, does not mean it is. I’m hoping next year when things are safer and more stuff opens up, that I can find a local dance studio and possibly learn ballet or pole. I’m actually really bad at coordinated stuff like that but I would like to get into it and give it a good effort and see what I can do, as well learn something new.

But today I’m not here to blog about nutrition or the type of workout that helps improve your fitness journey. I’m here to talk about a detail that we don’t often think about that does make a big difference. This single small step on your journey that I want to talk about today is about the work out clothes that inspire you!

In the past 3 years, I’ve acquired a decent amount of activewear in my closet. I used to have just 2-3 outfits I rotated out at the gym and had to do laundry more often. I also only had one pair of sneakers in the beginning. I didn’t care as much cause I was just there to do the work and go home. But as time went on, I dedicated more time to my workouts and learned that a cute outfit really does go a long way and it’s part of the “joy” I’ve found in fitness, staying true to my fashion loving roots. I love a good outfit for my regular day to day life, so why not a good outfit for the gym too since that’s become even more routine day to day. And for me, COLOR is a big part of that. I love a great bright colored outfit. It’s why you rarely see me in black.

In my experience, trying to shop for cute gym clothes, obviously quality will differ from company to company. But staying true to my Asian nature, I refuse to overpay for spandex. I know that some activewear is definitely worth the higher cost for the quality, longevity and how they perform, but I also know that it’s not always worth the price they’re charging, no matter how high. Yes I would like my clothes to last a little longer, but being the impulsive shopper I am sometimes, I do like to get a new outfit every now and then because I like new things, lol. I’m the type of person whose day can easily get cheered up with a new outfit I want to wear right away. So with that said, I prefer the price points to be lower so I can have variety.

Full disclosure, I have never bought or tried Lululemon. It’s been recommended but I’ve yet to find cute colors or styles that suit me, and I just can’t justify their prices for something I’m not totally in love with. Maybe one day, but so far I’ve been pretty happy with the brands I’ve tried out, which I’m going to talk about below and review each brand and my experience.

Black Milk Clothing

One of the earliest brands I wore for the gym before I even started buying gym clothes simply because their leggings are comfortable and good quality. I find their prints to be pretty decent when it comes to being squat proof. They do make an active wear line but I’ve been just wearing their regular printed leggings for the gym and they hold up just fine over the years. They wash without fading too! They look the same today as I got them years ago. Their compressibility varies from legging to legging due to different fabric and such (my muscle leggings are much tighter than my sprinkle leggings, not a bad thing, as the muscle leggings hold everything in nicer and makes my waist look nicer, as opposed to my sprinkle leggings which are more comfortable when I’m running so I don’t feel suffocated.). It all depends on what you like and what you’re going for but overall, I like the brand and their quality.

Buff Bunny

I’ve been wanting to try this brand out for a while but could never justify the price point, and because they hype up their launches to sell out, it’s hard to shop there to get the sizes you want unless you’re a loyal shopper that stalks their launches. I finally bit the bullet and was able to get some things in my sizes but honestly, I would say I’m not entirely sold. I got the Rosa bra, the Revolution bra, the Alpha bra and the Executive pocket short. The Alpha bra is probably my favorite because the back design is really pretty. The Rosa bra is nice and supportive for a simple sports bra and still really flattering and cute on, but the Revolution bra I found disappointing. The back design is just not as cute and I ended up liking the square neck bra from Elite Eleven much more. EE's back design was much simple and overall more flattering from the front and back when worn. The Executive pocket short was too short and kept riding up every time I wore it to work out, or even when I wore them for a simple walk around the neighborhood. This may have been because the sizing was too small as I found their shorts way more compressive than I would have liked but that’s another issue on it’s own. I followed the size chart and the shorts fit but they’re definitely very tight and way more compressive than I would have liked. This would have helped had they included this in their description of the product to let you know to size up. The one unique thing though that I really liked about this company is the removable cups that came with each bra - they matched the color of the bra! They weren’t just white or nude like standard cups and padding that come with sports bras, but matched the color of the fabric. It’s a small detail but I appreciated this as it helps to keep them together when you launder your bras. I will also say the quality does hold up well as they wash just fine, the color stays and everything.

Do You Even

I took a chance on this brand last year when I was relentlessly searching for a cute candy pink gym outfit and they had the perfect shade I was looking for and were on sale. I bought the bra, shorts and leggings. The bra was nice and supportive and I liked this outfit a lot at first but the color did fade a little within the first few washes. It’s still pink, but it seems to be a duller pink than when I first got it so that’s a little disappointing.

Elite Eleven

I found this brand while looking for pastel workout clothes and oh man, this ended up being my current favorite top brand! The fit is perfect and the square neck bra is so so so flattering! I love that it can be worn as a regular crop top outside of working out because it fits like a sports bra but looks like regular clothes as well. It’s got great support, making sure the girls are tucked in but it doesn’t flatten you at all, making everything look super flattering. I can’t say enough about their bras, for real. And they’re at great price points for their quality and versatility, to be honest, especially compared to other brands. I got the matching biker shorts to each bra and I love that their bottoms come in a regular design as well as the scrunch butt ones. I’m not a fan of the scrunch so I’m glad they gave a non-scrunch option. I also found their customer service to be excellent. The first time I ordered, they sent me the wrong size and upon emailing them, they took care of it right away and sent me the right one without having to return the original one! I appreciated that because they are Australia based so return shipping would have been tricky to figure out. I ended up giving the wrong size bra they sent me to my sister and she loved it. Their shipping I also found to be faster than Buff Bunny. I ordered both at the same time and I received my Elite Eleven within a week from Australia while Buff Bunny took 2 weeks, which I found funny since they’re supposed to be US based. When shipping was delayed, I googled the Buff Bunny company and actually found a few bad customer service reviews so that’s a big yikes for me. While I did receive my Buff Bunny order and there were no issues, the reviews I read were enough to make me wary from a future order, as opposed to Elite Eleven, where I’ve ordered from twice now and everything worked out; even when they shipped out the replacement item, I received it rather quickly after they emailed me and took care of everything, no hassles!

Forever 21

For Forever 21’s price point, I actually do like their work out clothes. There are definitely some hit or miss items but if you’re on a budget, they are pretty decent and every so often they have great colors and prints and they offer a lot of basic nice styles for sports bras and matching sets. I still have a lot of items I bought from a few years ago and they’re actually holding up well. Some of their sports bra tops also double well as regular crop tops for everyday wear which I love about a great sports bra.

Hollister

Okay so last winter, I discovered Hollister started their own active wear line through their Gilly Hicks line and omg, I took a chance during their sale and let me tell you I LOVE EVERYTHING. The quality, the softness, the cuteness, the colors, everything. I bought it all up. This season’s colors I’m not so crazy about but last winter was perfection with the brights. I love their styles and quality so I’m hoping next season they come out with more colors I like. They also have sales often so it’s a very affordable line with decent quality for activewear. Color me impressed.

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Living Dead Clothing & Poprageous

I’m grouping these two brands together because they’re no longer available. The companies are gone, sadly. And they were actually one of my favorite when it came to activewear because of how unique their prints were. They specialized in cosplay-like designs with their printed activewear. Living Dead Clothing did an Attack on Titan set which is my absolute fave from them along with my old Lollipop Chainsaw, and Poprageous made all the super hero sets that everyone loves at the gym so much - my Deadpool, Spiderman and Captain America were by them. Their quality was amazing because they are still good as new to this very day after multiple washes and wears. The colors are only slightly faded but not by much and everything is squat proof and panty lines proof. I wish both companies were still here today.

Muscle & Donuts

I found this brand last year when quarantine started and took a chance during a sale for their super cute donut crop top, leggings, shorts and cropped tee. Everything is pretty good quality and still hold up so far a year later. The leggings have great compression and are very flattering with their high waist. The shorts I do have an issue with as they do ride up when I run. I think this can be easily fixed if they offered this in a biker short length. The only other issue I found with this brand for me personally was that the pieces I bought were basically the meat of the company. Everything else was not as cute and more on the basic side. So while I recommend the pieces I bought, there isn’t much re-shopability due to limited offerings on designs and releases. They should do more prints and bright fun colors. Their fun donut print leggings are what drew me into them and they should really work more towards that end, especially since that’s their namesake.

Nike

I really only bought their activewear the first year I was shopping for race attire for the Princess Half Marathon because I saw they had a hot pink outfit in the store when I was searching for running sneakers. Their clothing line is really expensive, but I do have to note that they do stand by their product and provide good customer service, which is probably why their products are so expensive. They’ll replace anything or give you your money back if there are any issues. I found the leggings and sports top I bought to be really compressive though, much tighter than I would have preferred so I honestly don’t find myself reaching for my Nike set often when it comes to picking out workout clothes for the day, but that’s just my personal preference. They’re so tight, it flattens me out instead of showing off the glutes I worked hard to sculpt, and my boobs feel like someone wrapped them as tightly as possible to hide they exist. But if you’re someone who needs extra support for the honeys, you might prefer this as they do not stretch out. The quality is definitely there.

Shein

I took a chance on some cheap sports bras to go along with some of my printed leggings and honestly their stuff is hit or miss. Sometimes the bras are terribly made and sometimes they are actually fire. I found their one shoulder bra to be amazing, but their other bras to be just eh. Luckily, they have a good free returns policy.

Victoria’s Secret
I used to buy their sports bras back in college. They’re still decent but I would highly recommend finding a Victoria’s Secret outlet near you if you can. The one near me sells all their sports bras for $19.99 and under, making their ok quality not so bad. I do like that some of their bras are made with a front zip because some days you’re just too sore to lift the damn thing over your head. Not a lot of brands offer this option.

Year of Ours

I took a chance on this brand last year because I simply wanted a sunshine yellow gym outfit. Don’t @ me with the color issue I have when looking for gym clothes, lol. I always look for style and colors first over everything because the fashion bimbo in me cares about looking cute first over comfort, quality and everything else. I did like the color but I don’t believe it is the same brightness today as when I first received it. Their material is a little jersey-like than spandex so that may be why it doesn’t last as long. It definitely isn’t sweat proof because of this detail as well. I loved the set when I received it because of the color but I was disappointed it didn’t have any padding/removable cups so I always have to be wary when working out in public if the gym is cranking up their AC. While I appreciate that it is a women owned brand with ethical production standards, at the high price points their pieces are sold at, their quality just wasn’t cutting it for me. Looking back on this order, I can’t believe I paid $55 for the bra and $72 for the shorts. I did have a coupon for $30 off so it offset the high cost somewhat, but still, the quality is definitely not worth it. I should have continued looking for a yellow set elsewhere, honestly. It’s safe to say, I’m not too crazy about being a return shopper.

In conclusion, I would have to say my current fave brands are Elite Eleven and Hollister when it comes to comfort, price point, versatility and style. Those two are currently hitting all those targets and I would recommend them highly to anyone with my similar body type and concerns when it comes to shopping for cute, affordable gym clothes. I said it once, but I’ll say it again, a really cute outfit really goes a long way. It sounds stupid but it’s really motivational when you look and feel on point. Think about it, when you have a cute outfit planned, you always really look forward to that day, right? It’s the same with working out because then you really want to wear that outfit! Seriously something as little as that will change your whole mood.

What about you? Do you have a favorite tried and trusted brand that you always go back to?

To All The Boys 3: Always & Forever

February 17, 2021

The third and final installment, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before: Always & Forever finally came out on Feb 12. I finished reading all 3 books last month and while the movies are definitely different from the books, they still incorporate a lot of elements and cute Easter eggs throughout.

My honest review? I fell in love with the first movie, I wasn’t absolutely crazy about the second, but I loved how the last one ended. It wrapped it up rather nicely. While I am a fan of bittersweet endings, I also am a fan of really cute sappy happily ever afters. I am a Disney girl after all.

I love these movies for a few reasons, but most of all, I love that it was a unique and clean love story. Everything about it was very soft. It wasn’t overtly catty, sexual or over the top like the OG teen movies of the 90s. It was good clean fun, humor and story. I’ve been loving movies like this and Sierra Burgess Is A Loser. Being a straight edge girl for basically…all of my life, I really relate to Lara Jean’s high school experience. While everyone else is out being sexual and going to tons of parties, besides being sheltered and not allowed to go, when it comes down to it, my idea of ‘fun’ is not the same. I enjoy cooking, reading, writing, fashion, and all the ‘boring’ stuff that LJ enjoys too. I had a similar style and fashion sense growing up. I wore a lot of cutesy and kawaii style clothes but was still eclectic and very versatile with my fashion. I didn’t really like to wear what “everyone else was wearing” at the time, which was a lot of Abercrombie and Fitch and Uggs. I wore my hair in pigtails and had a box of tons of cute hair accessories that my mom had sent from Vietnam for me. While watching the second movie, I realized I had a similar dress with red bows on the shoulders and it inspired to work on a small project of my own recently in recreating 3 of her looks from the second movie, while marrying it with my own personal style. I wanted to do it since last year but I only had the one dress. Just recently I came across the Valentine’s outfits from one of my favorite brands and then serendipitously stumbled upon the mint dress as a suggestion from one of my favorite Instagrammers. It all worked out perfectly in time for the 3rd movie release. Sometimes you just get lucky like that at a certain moment in time for a reason. My hubby helped me with this small project and I really loved how it turned out.

I remember being just as dramatic and emotional as a teenage too. I find her antics hilarious. I had similar daydreams. I worried about the same things. I have a similar relationship with my sisters and family is very important to me too. I also love that the third movie incorporated elements of New York. And if you haven’t seen it yet, stop reading here because *spoiler warning* I LOVE that the conflict in the third movie is not another love interest or ex insecurity, but that she falls in love with New York City itself, and puts her in a pickle on where to go for college. I related to this too as I wanted to go away for college, but I didn’t want to go too far because I didn’t want to be far from my boyfriend. Ultimately, I wasn’t as brave as Lara Jean, but I didn’t really need to be, because I didn’t really find any out of state schools I really wanted to go to. Looking back, I don’t regret it but not because of the boyfriend aspect, but because I honestly would’ve hated moving back and forth every semester and in between semesters, lol. I hated that part a lot about college. It was always a hassle moving in and out. But I digress. I also really enjoyed the storyline between LJ and Gen. I loved that they took it a different direction than the books and it was really heartwarming to see the jung connection come full circle. Their relationship was definitely complicated but I loved the ending it got. It was a storyline that is really nice to see in this day and age, especially for female empowerment and women uplifting other women and supporting each other.

I also love that Lana Condor is Vietnamese American because representations really matters. It’s very rare to see a Vietnamese girl as the star and to see that she killed this was amazing to me. I hope that it paves the way to see more Vietnamese stars and Asians on the big screen because I would love more relatable stories to be picked up and told.

If you haven’t watched it yet and are interested in starting the series, they ‘re all available to stream on Netflix, and I honestly really recommend it if you love cute love stories and romcoms. It’s a perfect series for the Valentine’s season. I wasn’t in love with the Beginning Middle End song at first just like Peter, and then somehow later on in the day, it hit me hard and now I’m in love with it. Funny how music can be like that sometimes.

Happy Valentine’s Season!