When life feels tough and decides to throw obstacle after obstacle in your way, sometimes it just feels necessary to take a breather. Truthfully, these last two months have felt like the most frustrating and stressful days that I've had in quite a while. Although I do not show it externally and always put on a smile around my friends, I sometimes feel like I am in a constant battle with myself internally when I am alone. At that point, I realized that I needed to give myself a break from the constant stresses of life and reward myself for the things I have accomplished. That's why I dedicated this entire weekend to click pause on my busy lifestyle and to just...enjoy life.

In my personal opinion, feeling or working when stressed only makes things worse - the quality of your work tends to go down and your mood plummets straight to the ground. When I feel stressed, I try to jam-pack my schedule with fun hangouts and events that take my mind away from stressful thoughts. Typically, this solution works for me and I'm trusting that this weekend will be the break that I needed for quite a while.

Today, I attended The Halal Guys Grand Opening in San Jose this morning at 10:30AM. I was literally melting in the burning sun for over two hours, as more than a hundred people and I waited outdoors in this 90 degree blazing heat. Nearing 1:00PM, I was able to try my first bite of The Halal Guys gyro platter and it was pretty darn good! The platter comes with a ton of savory meat and rice, but I'm wishing that I asked for more white sauce - I pretty much ran out of sauce after a couple bites, boo. Honestly, I would definitely not wait another two hours to eat at The Halal Guys again, but I would definitely recommend it as a delicious to-go option if your Mediterranean food cravings are real.

Following The Halal Guys event, I am going to meet with Brittney (@missxbo) later this afternoon to attend Rae Talbot Salon's party. Rae Talbot Salon is the salon in Castro Valley where the talented Emma styled my hair, as you can see from this previous photoshoot here.

On Saturday, I am taking the entire day to visit Napa with a few good friends. It's always a good feeling to get away from home and the change of scenery will be refreshing. I cannot wait to try the food in this area and plus, now I can explore the area for new photoshoot locations! Stay updated on live posts this upcoming weekend coming to my Snapchat story (missmisschelle) near you, hehe :)

When Sunday comes around, I will be drinking tea and shooting with Brittney (@missxbo) and Thy (@thy.time) at Satori Tea Company. The only other tea place I've been to before is Lisa's Tea Treasures in Campbell so I'm excited to see what Satori has in store for us! Definitely an aesthetically pleasing tea room and silverware, that's for sure. After lunch, I will be visiting the Los Gatos Farmers Market with Thy. Farmers Markets always have these super chill and positive vibes that I love being surrounded by, which is just what I need after a stressful week.

What a lot of people forget to do during stressful times is to take a breather. And a breather does not include sitting at home watching Netflix, hah. Explore around a new city. Try a new activity. Anything that gets you out of your pajamas and out of the house. I know that after this eventful weekend, I can start the new week feeling rejuvenated and less stressed about tackling my upcoming deadlines.

What do you do to reward yourself during stressful times? Share with me in the comments below!

Dress: Irene's Story | Necklace: Starchild

Photography: Wiseley Fong Photography