cruising through life | NCL BREAKAWAY REVIEW

To escape the cold weather, Kevin and I decided to travel to somewhere warm for our first international trip together. After much deliberating on WHERE should we spend our hard earned dollars, we decided that a cruise would be most worthwhile.

We embarked on one of Norwegian Cruise Line's newer ships, the Breakaway early morning on Saturday, December 7th 2014 at Pier 88 in Manhattan.  The reasoning behind our choice was purely for two reasons: ONE) it left from New York City, so it was a quick 30 minute drive to the Pier for us and TWO) it was everything you needed in a vacation without the hassle of planning.

Everything was provided for you on the cruise -- your hotel, your dining choices, your entertainment, and your transportation. Click below to read more about my review of the NCL Breakaway!

Washington, D.C.

sea of voices

california dreaming

This past summer, after my summer classes, I decided to go to California in July to visit some friends...by myself. Here is a photo collection on my trip there. I had the time of my life and I definitely wouldn't mind moving there. 

A little late on the update, but late is better than never!

i. LGA → LAX

summer in the hamptons.

crochet lace jumper - american apparel // brown belt - levi's
denim shorts - american apparel // hat - american apparel

I miss having time to actually compose an outfit post with thought into it, rather than just standing there and snapping some quick shots! Unfortunately, time doesn't allow me to do so, so I'll have to settle for days when I wake up three hours early before work. And how scandalous! It's a jumper that's open knit. Fortunately, it isn't that sheer where you can see my boobs, so I ended up just wearing a nude bra underneath. Simple solutions brought to you by Julia! Except it doesn't match my skin tone anymore because of all the days I've spent at the beach. I'm about six shades darker now. It's pretty awesome.

Last weekend (or so, I forgot), I took a quiet trip to the Hamptons (which is only a short LIRR trip away -- for those who aren't familiar with the acronym, LIRR stands for Long Island Rail Road) with my friend where we walked around town, did some shopping, biked, and mostly just went to the beach. I love that gelato. I got pear and banana. Pear was delicious. Banana, as well, but it was a little too fragrant for my liking. I have to try hazelnut next time. There's a Sant Ambroeus conveniently located in Manhattan, too, but I hate waiting on lines. After getting gelato, we just walked around the little village and explored the artwork there. Unfortunately, I was having too much fun to actually document much of my little getaway,but I love well-deserved weekend excursions.

until next time!

memorial day weekend recap.

I. Cinnabon at a New Jersey rest stop.

who can resist the hot melty sweet icing-y goodness of a CINNABON?! NO ONE. that's who.

which is why i ate it in about....two minutes. i scalded my tongue. it was worth it.

II. group photo #1 out of #203924.

just kidding. we didn't take that many. okay. we did. sort of. don't judge.

i had to set the self timer and put my camera on top of a television.

improvising. i'm good at that.

outfit details (on me): aztec print dress - forever 21 // flipflops - old navy

III. had awesome seafood.

1. awesome sign.

2. crab & shrimp cake sandwich. SO DELICIOUS.

3. blue potato chip.

4. happy because i'm about to have some lunch.

or maybe because i had some alcohol.

maybe.

IV. went on a ferris wheel.

saw the beach from the ferris wheel.

felt safer because if the ferris wheel broke down, we would fall onto sand.

less impact = less splatter = less dead.

V. got sundaes.

funnel fries (like funnel cake but fry form), chocolate icecream, butter

pecan icecream, vanilla icecream, whipped cream, fudge, caramel,

banana, cherry, a billion calories but who cares.

oh and a funny sign warning you about seagull attacks.

funny story: we walked out of the store with our sundaes to go back to our hotel

and when my friend walks a little away from us, seagulls start to circle around

her, trying to divebomb for her food. note to everyone: don't mess with seagulls.

VI. saw my worst fear by the pool

fun fact about julia: i have a fear of birds.

i hate birds. so much. especially pigeons. they're the devil.

VII. FUNNEL CAKE!!!!!

i asked for extra sugar.

VIII. amusement park at night.

IX. brunch omg brunch!!

my favorite meal of the day.

bacon, feta & spinach omelet, homefries, rye bread, white bread.

X. went to the beach

thought an octopus tried to kill me...it was just my friend's arm. 

we got assaulted by the waves. no, more like domestically abused.

seriously. it was fun, though. also, sand gets everywhere. EVERYWHERE.

on me: bathing suit from Polo Ralph Lauren

XI. saw interesting things at a candy store.

 So over Memorial Day weekend, I got to spend a weekend away with my friends in Wildwood, NJ! It's sort of Jersey's version of Coney Island, except with better rides and a nicer beach. Seriously. My friend almost stepped into a used needle at Coney Island. Not to say that it's really that bad, but it's still sketchy. Really sketchy. But it was just a great start to the summer. It was definitely some much needed R&R after studying (just kidding) all year long. I hope everyone's having a great start to their summer (or almost summer, if you're in school, or end of summer if you're on the other side of the world -- like Australia)!

Hopefully I'll have an actual outfit post soon. Or something. It's way too hot lately. I might just go nude...just kidding.

LOVELOVE, JULIA.

BOSTON: DAY 1 • day 15 | 365

DAY ONE.

The journey to Boston was incredibly fun. I hadn't slept at all because I went to the Skins party. When I got home, I immediately rushed to finish packing for Boston. By the time I was done packing and making myself breakfast, my friend was coming to pick me up from my house to go to the subway so we could head over to Port Authority where we'd take the Peter Pan Bus Lines (You can head over here on Yelp to read my review on my experience on the bus line? And if you have a Yelp account, you guys should totally add me as friends! And if you don't, you should make an account, write some reviews, and still add me as a friend!). After a rather sketchy comment from the employee who helped loaded our luggage onto the bus, we were on the bus and rather excited!

My dad managed to pack me my favorite snack in the world - hummus and pita bread. Of course, he had forgotten some extra virgin olive oil, but I dealt with it. We dozed on and off during the ride, and took use of the free WiFi that was on the bus. However, there were no outlets in our side of the seats, so we only went online for an hour. I was playing Sims 3, instead! I love that game. It's really addicting. I like to make all sorts of weird characters and sometimes I like to make my enemies and trap them in a burning house...not like that's mean...or anything, haha. But, seriously! The game has a kleptomaniac personality option! Who wouldn't want to see a Sim run around and steal things from their neighbor?

In Boston, we stayed with my friend's aunt, Sheila! She's the most amazingly hospitable person ever. She made sure we were housed, fed, and enjoying our time in Boston. She even gave us little gifts! Honestly, I was really appreciative of her. Her cooking's amazing, by the way. I mean, I know you guys can't go over to her house and eat her food, but she made chicken tandoori and I almost died from happiness. I gained so much weight.

But in this picture, my friend Elise is wearing a tissue paper crown that came from this Christmas cracker package that Sheila had leftover from Christmas, since my friend was supposed to visit her during that time, but couldn't make it. Okay, if you read that before you clicked the link and thought that Christmas cracker referred to crackers as in the food, you should let me know so I don't feel too bad. This is the conversation that took place that led to our first inside joke of the Boston trip:

Sheila: Oh, we should open the Christmas crackers after you eat!

Me: Yay! What flavor are they?

Everyone: laughter ensues.

Hey! I didn't know things such as Christmas crackers existed. I was confused! Please don't laugh at me! Just kidding. You can laugh if you want. I won't be offended. It was pretty funny, in hindsight. But I think that these Christmas crackers were racist. The one I opened gave me a package of origami! Just because I'm Asian....

We decided to go to my friend's dorm that night to visit her since she was feeling a little homesick. We went to eat at BHOP (Boston House of Pizza, and you can read my review about it here) before heading back to her dorm to meet her friends and have a little get together. There were just slight flurries that night, so it wasn't too bad!

After her friends left, we ended up sitting in the dark and enjoying the spectacular view outside her window. You could see the tops of the buildings, the traffic down below, and the walkway around the campus of her college. It was so beautiful and such a nice way to end the night.

To be honest, the last picture is one of my favorites from Day 1 in Boston. To the naked eye, it's a lousy photo - the composition is adequate, if not subpar, and it's nothing special. But for me, it's a favorite because every time I look at this picture, I feel the heaviness of being happy and content and homesick and excited all at one moment in my heart - the feelings that I felt at that exact moment, captured in a single photograph.

 ▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼

DAY TWO. 

Had brunch at this adorable little restaurant. Tea was delicious. Boston Tea Party. Get it? No? Okay. And then we got ice cream, despite the fact that it was about 20 degrees outside and our hands were freezing and I was miserable. Explored more of Boston. Took the Red Line. New York City subways are still better. Sorry, Boston. You stop running at midnight! What am I supposed to do after that?! And then got FroYo. Absolutely delicious. I eat at alot.

 ▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼

DAY THREE. 

 Went to Faneuil Square. It was cold. Bought clothes that were not suitable for the cold weather. Had dinner at Charley's Saloon. SO. GOOD. You don't understand. Played MadLibs.

 ▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼

DAY FOUR. 

The one day my friends and I wanted to do some historical exploring, it started snowing and raining and sleeting and all hell broke lose. My rainboots had holes in them, so my feet were practically frostbitten. We dried our feet with the restroom's hand dryer. It didn't work too well. But I bought tea and had cheesecake to console myself after my adventures with the terrible weather Boston was having.

 ▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼

DAY FIVE. 

Had breakfast at our favorite breakfast place on our last day. Bought some souvenirs. Packed our bags and went home, hoping to have another encounter with Boston in the future.