Thursday, June 30, 2011

i want to ride my bicycle!

 blue tank top - old navy // print skirt - Forever 21 // leather floral belt - anthropologie
brown cut out flats - H&M // vintage Polo Sport bag - mom // sunday hat - american apparel

Is it just me or does the Queen song come to your mind? I love bike riding. It's one of my favorite sports. It's almost on par with running -- the pros is that you get to sit down and you can go farther and faster on a bike. I used to be extremely worried about what to wear while riding my bike, but after trying it out, I found out that I can easily ride it in a skirt, as pictured above. I always wanted a cute little vintage bike, but I kind of like the sportier mountain bike that I have. It's a little more solid, especially since I constantly bike to various locations -- the waterfront, my friend's house, even the borough of Manhattan (which I doubt I will ever revisit on bike. I almost died from both fatigue and accidents waiting to happen, a.k.a: cars). I am now, however, on the search for cute little backpacks. Small enough that I don't have to worry about it, but big enough to hold my camera along with other necessities (hand sanitizer, my cellphone, iPod, wallet, keys, candy, and a cardigan) so I can obviously be stylish and practical when on my bike.

This might be a little TMI, but does your butt get sore from riding a bike?! I Google'd it last night, and apparently it's called 'saddle sore'. I figure it's because the last time I rode a bike was last September, right before it got too chilly for me to go anywhere substantial, and I just wasn't used to sitting on the bike seat. How can I alleviate the pain from my derriere? I was thinking a pack of frozen peas, but then no one would have veggies for dinner...

until next time! 

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

park & pride

blue sweater - gap // high waisted denim shorts - american apparel // black belt - vintage // black flats - Seychelles
fruit & nutella crepe

My friends and I just decided to go to Washington Square park and roam around, eating Mamoun's falafel, crepes, and desserts at Cafe Angelique. I'm so extremely glad that my friends are back from college. I missed their presence. And the fact that we all love to consume food. All the time. Now I have companions to go to buffets with! And act ridiculous in the park with...I'm pretty sure everyone in the park thought we were crazy/tourists/crazy tourists. But if anyone is in New York and wants to hang out, I am always up for hanging out. As long as we get to go eat eat explore eat eat eat eat.

AND THEN I GOT MY BRACES OFF.

Which is super exciting because I've had them for almost five years and I totally forgot what my teeth looked like. They seem so huge. I can't stop licking them! 

gay shirt - american apparel // high waisted denim shorts - american apparel

And Sunday was the Gay Pride parade! As a personal advocate of equality for everyone, I am extremely glad to voice my joy on the passing of the gay marriage law in New York. And I am even more overjoyed at the positive reception from the majority of the community here. And for a little history lesson on the pink upside down triangle on my shirt (that I had to wear for work on Sunday), during the Nazi regime, they would give homosexuals a pink triangle badge to wear (just as they made the jews wear the Star of David). The gay community took this symbol of hatred and reclaimed it as a symbol of their pride! I didn't know that until my coworker told me. Huh, I guess you learn something new everyday.

And I've been biking. (You'll see that in my next update. I love biking.)
until next time!

Friday, June 24, 2011

stereo hearts

 Sunday hat -- american apparel // purple cardigan -- american apparel // chiffon miniskirt -- american apparel
lawn crop top -- american apparel // purple bag -- louis vuitton // cutout flats -- h&m (not pictured)
malaysian food -- coconut rice, chicken, spices!

I'm alive. The humidity and laziness of summer makes me want to stay in all day wearing nothing but shorts and oversized t-shirts. Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that. I've been having bad hair/face days because of the weather. I'm breaking out! My lips are dry! And I'm sick of my hair. Sometimes I hold a scissor up to my hair, and then back out before I actually cut some off. I wish I had wigs. Then I wouldn't have to worry. I've been: working, partying, eating, shopping. I love summer. I just hate the heat. I wish I could have an air conditioning unit follow me around everywhere.

 until next time!

Saturday, June 11, 2011

collecting your victims

navy & white striped tank - american apparel // green chiffon mini skirt - american apparel
black belt - vintage // brown mocassins - minnetonka
 lunch: chicken nachos from a food truck.
 indian parade.
 CHINESE DIM SUM!!!!!!
 cream of tomato soup with chicken & orzo from Hale&Hearty // blue raspberry Coolata
 homemade pasta & sauce
 smith's menthol and eucalyptus balm. BEST THING EVER!

This has been more of a WHAT I CONSUMED DAILY AND WHAT I WORE THAT I DIDN'T STAIN WITH FOOD sort of blog. It's alright, right? I mean, everyone loves food. And everyone loves clothes. But I just like food a little more than clothes. I'm waiting for my next paycheck before I go crazy with the shopping again. Wishlist: BAGS AND SHOES AND....MORE STUFF....All of my bags broke. That's what I get for shoving textbooks and a 17 inch laptop into a $20 Forever 21/Urban Outfitters bag. Does anyone have suggestions for a nice quality bag that won't break the bank?

I love my navy and white striped tank top from AA. It's super comfy and long enough to be a tunic so I can wear it bike riding with my bike shorts. And long enough that I could wear it as a dress (sort of, mostly because I'm so short). AND THE SKIRT IS SO LOVELY. IT'S CHIFFON AND LIGHTWEIGHT AND I JUST WANT TO CUDDLE WITH IT. Except it's a little see-through. As you can tell, you could see a bit of my striped tank peeking out from under the tank in the detail shot.

AND THAT MENTHOL AND EUCALYPTUS BALM BY SMITH'S IS AMAZING. It's almost as good as Burt's Bees. To be honest, I like it a little better, and I think it's the best Smith's product in terms of lip balms. That's just a personal opinion. I know there's like a cult for BB.

You know, since I turned 18, my parents were all, "YAY WE ARE NO LONGER FINANCIALLY OBLIGATED TO SUPPORT YOU," so I have to pay for most of my own necessities - Netflix (yes, this is a necessity), my cellphone bill, the ridiculous MTA metrocard fares, my college education, and anything else that I want/need. I'm kind of glad they aren't charging me rent, though I sort of want to move out. Not because I don't love my family and they don't provide for me and all, it's just that I want my own place to kick back and relax. With my mom's Type A personality when it comes to cleanliness and tidiness, my disarray of a bedroom certainly doesn't fall into the category of 'relaxed'. I like my stuff strewn across everything, with tiny trinkets and flea market treasures cluttering up my room. My mom likes everything minamalistic. So minimalistic that, if she had her way, 99% of my stuff would be in the trash.

Do you have to pay for most of what you spend? Or are you lucky enough that your parents still support you financially?

until next time...
LOVELOVE, JULIA.

Friday, June 10, 2011

sometimes a lesson's learned.

printed chiffon camisole - american apparel // stretch twill high-waist side zipper short - american apparel
belt - brother's (unknown brand) // moccasins - minnetonka (not pictured)

 honey roasted turkey sandwich from cafe prague
 aloha pineapple drink from jamba juice
free books 
 dinner (papa john's pizza and a coors light) and dessert (grossnasty Red Mango)

Taking inconspicuous outfit photos right on 5th ave is not very easy. People are constantly walking by and I'm pretty sure the cute guy in the cafe where I got my lunch was staring outside the window thinking I was a lunatic for getting up, walking around, staying still, and then sitting down again. Or maybe I'm just paranoid. I look sweaty and grossnasty because I was sweaty and grossnasty. It was about 95 degrees and the A/C at work BROKE. I was dying. I was considering fainting so they'll let me home early. That didn't happen as much as I wish it did.

For those who've had frozen yogurt knows there's big beef (rivalry) between Pinkberry and Red Mango. To be honest, I like Pinkberry better because of the pricing and the flavors. At Red Mango, there's a base price for the frozen yogurt, and for each additional topping, you get charged X amount of money. At Pinkberry, you get charged a price for either plain frozen yogurt or frozen yogurt with as many toppings that can fit in your cup. Being the greedy hungry growing sensible girl that I am, I obviously side with Pinkberry. 
*This post was not sponsored by Pinkberry or Red Mango in any way (I wish). I'm just always eating.

And during my break at work, I went to go get food (the sandwich pictured above and Jamba Juice). Right outside of Jamba Juice were boxes and bags filled of free discarded books. My favorite thing in the world. One of them, at least. I really love being able to hold a tangible book in my hands. Being able to flip the pages and smell the mustiness of the books and see the yellowing of the pages. I'm not a big fan of these e-readers. Who wants a book that runs out of batteries? Okay, maybe some of you do, but I'll always stick to my paperbacks and hardcovers.

LOVELOVE, JULIA

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

let's not be negative nancy!

 OUTFIT DETAILS: forever 21 striped sweater // hollister co. denim shorts
anthropologie belt // white Ralph Lauren shoes // century 21 bag.

i love shake shack. so so so so so much.

 various photos.

YAY. I FINALLY UPDATED THE LAYOUT. I mean, I liked the old one, but it's summer and I wanted something happy. And cute. And purple. I love purple. Let me know if there's anything wrong on your end/browser and I'll try to fix it!

Anyways... if you guys can sort of tell through my blog, I'm not much of a negative person. I like to be optimistic and have fun and think the best of people. However, I was just left a rather meanie mean nasty negative comment on my physical appearance. It was something along the lines of, "EW YOUR LEGS ARE WEIRD" and I totally promote freedom of speech and everything, but since this is my blog and I don't like negativity, I deleted it.

I don't want to be mean and snarky when addressing the topic of body image issues and everything, but let me say that I'm sorry that you don't like the way my legs look, or they're not aesthetically pleasing to you, or sorry they're muscular because I participated in over 10 years of athletics, or that my parents have muscular legs and due to the whole science thing where I inherit their genes and thus I have been born with killer legs and you don't like it.

I know this is my personal fashion + lifestyle blog, but I really want to touch upon the personal aspect. I never really had much to say on this topic since it never occurred to me that I should bring it up, but that nasty little comment was a great starting point. I used to have body image issues - with pressure from my mother and peers to look a certain way. I used to hide behind oversized clothing and my hair and not wear certain things because I knew other people looked better in it than I ever would. It was mostly an internal battle for me until I realized that I was never going to make everyone happy with the way I looked. I realized it was a futile battle and the only person I should care about making happy was myself. I'm not saying that being altruistic is bad. It's a good thing! But you should put yourself first.

I am tired of females, and males as well, putting down each other based on physical appearances. Take away your fancy haircut, your personal hygienic products, make up, fancy clothes, and I doubt you would like the way you looked either. And the worst part is that people put others down based on things that they cannot control: like the bump on someone's nose, or their crooked smile, or their lack of cheekbones, or the fact that they don't look like the photoshopped size 0 models on the cover of any fashion magazine.

Other people and bloggers have talked about body image issues and they have all done much better (and eloquent) jobs at addressing this topic than I have. You're free to post whatever comment you want on my blog. I'll read it, but it'll be at my discretion as to whether or not I'll keep it up. No wonder many bloggers choose to approve the comments before it's published on their sites.

I'm just saying, I love my body. I'm comfortable with it, and I hope that other girls who are dealing with rude comments on their physical appearances can learn to appreciate themselves and ignore other people's negative thoughts.

LOVELOVE (except that lame anon), JULIA.