This is a fashion post

I've been thinking a lot about personal style lately, and what exactly it means. I think I've always been fascinated with fashion because what a person decides to wear really says a lot about them. It's an expression of who they are, or at the very least who they want other people to think they are. I don't think there is anyone who completely doesn't give a shit about what they wear, if anything people who "don't give a shit" choose things to wear that specifically say they "don't give a shit."

The reason I've been thinking about it so much is probably because I've been reading a ton of fashion blogs at work, since some of the Facebook and Twitter messaging I write has to be fashion-related. I've been drooling over all the beautiful fall collections from all the fashion weeks, and I love the innovation and creativity some people put into what they wear. One blog I've become completely obsessed with is Jess Loves Fred, who is this cute Australian girl who dresses amazingly. I was so inspired by how she manages to take current trends and put her own spin on them, and how she takes risks and just owns whatever she's wearing. Her style is so original and refreshing, and most of the stuff she wears is thrifted. Here are a few of my favorite looks of hers.




So I got a bit carried away, but I basically love everything she wears. Her blog's inspired me to try to take more risks in my fashion as a way of figuring out exactly what my personal style is, so I'm going to try to take pictures of my outfits to try and document the evolution I guess, of my personal style. Below is what I wore last week.

From L-R: Urban Outfitters sweater, Charlotte Russe tank, Forever 21 leggings, UO necklace and rain boots; H&M gray dress, Gap little boy's blazer that used to belong to my brother, no idea where the tights are from, shoes I stole from my mom; F21 sparkly sweater, Claire's fake leather leggings, Target necklace, F21 bootie heels; American Eagle sweater, same Charlotte Russe tank, F21 leggings, lace-up boots that used to belong to my mom; mom's old red sweater, Express sequin tank I got as a gift from Samantha, F21 skirt, Target tights, H&M knee high stockings, mom's black shoes again.

I realized after I uploaded these that I should have taken them in natural light instead of the nasty fluorescent light in my basement. I also realize how stubby my legs look. Eww. Also compared to the pictures above, my outfits look like complete shit. Oh well. This is why I'm doing this I guess, to improve upon my style or whatevs. This entry got way too long so I'm going to end it now.

What what in the butt

I've been commuting back and forth from Jersey to the city for work for about a month now, and since obviously I take the exact same route twice a day five days a week, I come across pretty much the same kinds of things every day. And so, since lately I can only organize my thoughts in list form, here are some things I can always count on seeing during my morning/evening commute.

Devoted/crazy Christians handing out pamphlets and preaching the Word or whatever. They set up a table right by the 1 train which I take to work every day, and are there without fail morning and afternoon, Bible in hand and voices echoing off the walls as they passionately spout off about how Jesus ate fish and how we're all sinners. As annoying as they are, I've gotten so used to seeing them that if they happened not to be there one day, I probably would be very alarmed.


The Subway entertainment. It's one of my favorite things about riding the subway every day honestly. Whether it's a Beatles cover band, Inca New Age or a little person Michael Jackson impersonator, it definitely makes my commute a lot more interesting. And I always love me some pan flute.



The old Asian lady. Every morning I walk through the long passageway from Port Authority to the 1 train and every day I pass by this old homeless Asian lady sitting in a corner next to a large green plastic bag, filled with her things I assume. She sits in the corner right next to a little convenience store/stand and most of the busy morning commuter crowd are in too much of a rush to even notice her sitting there. I don't think I noticed her until about a week after I started work. But I see her now sitting there every single morning, and there's something so silent and sad about her. She seems almost childlike in the way she sits there quiet, staring straight ahead. Every time I see her I always think to give her some money but I never have cash on me or I'm in a hurry because I'm already late for work and I always promise myself I'll pull out cash to give her the next morning, but I always forget and it never happens. I'd like to think this will change on Monday, but knowing me I'll forget all over again. :/

People asking me where things are and me never knowing. Okay, so this doesn't happen to me very often, but the other day I was walking to work and two girls asked me where the Marc Jacobs store was. Of course I had no clue, but I was kind of flattered that I looked stylish/cool enough to them to know where the Marc Jacobs store is.

I just realized that most of these are things I see on the subway. I don't really see anything on the bus/bus stop other than other commuters and stuff. Whatevs. Look out for more posts on the way, mostly fashion-related ones because I've been reading a ton of fashion blogs lately. Fun stuff.

what begins as an unguarded train of thought

So I realized that even though I think most of what I write is total shit, it's not going to get any better unless I actually, you know, write. So I'm just going to write in here every time I think of something to write about, and hopefully my writing will improve. Plus it's not like a ton of people will read this anyway.

I guess also part of it is I've been feeling pretty uninspired lately. Usually I carry around a journal everywhere I go and jot down anything that comes to mind, but that hasn't been happening lately. I've been pretty preoccupied by work and when I'm not working I just want to lay around and do nothing. Lately I guess I've just been going through the motions of living. I don't think I'm depressed though. I mean not any more depressed than any of the other 20-somethings I know who don't have much direction and are still figuring out what they're doing with their lives. So I've figured that it's normal to feel like this, since pretty much everyone I know feels like this. But what I want to know is when the hell does it stop feeling like this.

Don't really know how this turned into another "pity party about my life" post but these are the things I think about at 2 in the morning. I think I'll make it a point to write more this week. About whatever.

This weekend I've found myself listening to a lot of new music (new to me at least), which has been pretty cool, since I haven't been this active at seeking out new music since I worked for UT's radio station KVRX. Through my random clicking and Youtube watching, I found Yadi, and I've been playing her song "Guillotine" on repeat all weekend. So before I go to bed I leave you with this. Night.

I'm terrible at keeping a blog. A lot of the time I'll write a few paragraphs of pointless shit, realize it's dumb and delete it all. I've spent my entire Saturday night clicking aimlessly on the Internet, looking at Tumblr or watching music videos on Youtube. This song pretty much describes how I feel about my life right now.

I want to try and update this thing regularly, but so far that isn't happening. Hopefully I can make myself write more. This is mostly for my sake. Anyway. The camera I bought on Black Friday finally came in, and I can't wait to start taking pictures again of everything and hopefully posting some on here. Mostly I've been spending my time getting in the holiday spirit. I bought a tiny silver Christmas tree for the basement, have been seriously bundling up against the cold, bought a few presents for people and I'm playing Hanson's Christmas album Snowed In pretty much non-stop. Really, the only Christmas album you need.


I've also spent the past couple of weeks watching various shows and such. I figure I might as well take advantage of the fact that I can still use my student ID and get a discounted price for Broadway shows. So far I've seen Cirque du Soleil's "Wintuk," "Mary Poppins", "Promises, Promises" and "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson." All of the shows were really, really good and I had a lot of fun watching them (well, except for the one moment during "Promises, Promises" when the lady behind me told me to stop moving my head because it was too distracting. If people in front of me move around, I have to move too or else I can't see, you stupid bitch).

Anyway, I highly recommend any of those shows, they were all really really great. It's weird, every time I've gone to the city to meet up with my friend to go see something, we always end up striking up random conversations with people. We chatted with two girls in the lottery line for Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson about NYC apartments, talked to two dudes at a Thai restaurant about how much we loved the show. We ended up sharing a table with a Canadian couple at the overcrowded Shake Shack, talking about what we had all seen in the city and how these burgers were more than worth the wait and crowds. We talked to two students in the Spider-Man line about what other shows we should definitely check out, we made fast friends with the bartenders at Juniors, who not only gave us great recommendations for the best flavor of cheesecake, they also basically drew us up a map of the best food in the city on a napkin.

It's been really interesting meeting all of these random people, and it's weird because usually I never talk to random strangers. I think being in this city basically by myself has forced me out of my little box that I usually create, my comfort zone, and I've met a lot of people that I would never have talked to had it been a few months ago. Even my friend Alicia, who I went to all these shows with, I met randomly at the Harry Potter premiere because we were both fans that had recently moved here and randomly decided to check it out. We started talking, and she became my awesome buddy who I basically explored the city with. I think I'm just becoming a lot more open and aware of the world and the people around me, so that's pretty cool.

Anyway, self-reflection aside, I'm having fun here. Hanging out with cool people, doing some fun stuff, seeing all sorts of things, eating good food. I'd elaborate but this entry already is too long, so I'll just end it here for now.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I thought I’d share what I’m thankful for this year, aside from the blatantly obvious family and friends, etc etc. Of course I’m thankful for my mom, dad and my brother, I try not to think about the fact that I won’t be with them for Thanksgiving and how sad I am about it. And I’m thankful for all my friends, I miss every one of them and I can’t wait to see them all when I’m back in Texas for Christmas and New Year. So of course besides those things, and being alive, having a roof over my head, and all that boring shit, here is what I’m thankful for.

Kanye West.
I finally bought his new album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and it’s been on repeat ever since. Everything about this album is brilliant, Yeezy is a musical genius. My absolute favorite track is “All of the Lights,” with its epic horn section, incredibly catchy hook and cameos from Rihanna, Kid Cudi, Elton John(!!), Alicia Keys, John Legend, Elly Jackson from La Roux and like five other artists. He really outdid himself with this one and Fantasy is one of the best albums of the year, and I’m not afraid to say it, probably one of the best albums ever.

Four Loko.
This insane drink has been getting a lot of attention lately, and for good reason. One can is the equivalent of four beers and three cups of coffee TOGETHER. So it makes sense that they banned it in a couple of states, including New York, but of course I had to go out and try it before it wasn’t available anywhere anymore. I went to a nearby corner store and got a can of Fruit Punch flavored Four Loko, thinking it would be the best flavor out of the six or so choices I saw. I was so, so wrong. It tasted like a mixture of cough syrup and Raid roach spray.

While I couldn’t make it through the entire can, I did chug enough to feel a little bit of the effects, but not enough to fully evaluate it. So I plan to repeat my experiment with what I’m told are the “better” flavors, Orange and Watermelon. So thank you Four Loko, for giving me yet another alternative to choose from for the reason I wake up feeling ill and full of regret from the night before.

Harry Potter.
Seeing The Deathly Hallows: Part I has reignited my unhealthy obsession with Harry Potter. I’ve pretty much grown up alongside Harry, and I’ve been a die-hard fan since I was 12. The Deathly Hallows was an amazing film. It stayed true to the book, had stellar performances, it was dark and scary and epic and sweet and sad and everything I love about Harry Potter. And Rupert Grint’s performance as Ron was hands down the standout part of the movie; he was so freaking good. This movie perfectly set everything up for the last part, and I will be there at midnight. Probably bawling the whole time.

I wrote a much more thorough reaction to the movie on my Livejournal, but it’s basically the ranting of a crazed Potter fan, so I’ll just leave it at that.

Free donut/cupcake Fridays at work.
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Every Friday my work provides free Dunkin Donuts and coffee or cupcakes for the entire building. It’s a welcome treat, everyone eagerly awaits an email at around 3 or 4 o’clock saying that our Friday snacks are in the cafeteria, and then immediately I hear a stampede of people rushing past my cubicle. This happens every Friday, and it’s always the best way to end the week. Last week I discovered how yummy coconut cupcakes are, and so I’m thankful for those as well.

A few more things I’m thankful for: patterned tights, Willow Smith’s “I Whip My Hair” music video, animals in people clothing, anything Oreo-flavored, floral print, Florence + The Machine, mac and cheese, Glee, glitter nail polish, Google maps and Chipotle burrito bowls.

That about covers it.

Hey friends.

So I meant to start this right after I moved, but I kept forgetting about it, and then two months passed by. Oh well, I guess I'll just start it up now.

So after being in New Jersey for two months, I've gotten kind of used to life here and settled into a bit of a routine. I go to my magazine internship three days a week, and I spend the rest of the time applying and interviewing for full-time work, checking out New Jersey/New York and shopping/reading/eating/watching movies on a 1000 channel flat-screen. It's hard to condense two months into a single blog entry, so I'll do it using one of my favorites things: a list.

I love my job. I really really enjoy working at the magazine. I've learned a ton and have gotten so many opportunities that I thought I wouldn't have. I've pitched ideas that will be used in the magazine, written blog entries, interviewed random Disney celebs and met Justin Bieber's girlfriend. I even got a few perks, like random swag and advance tickets to Harry Potter, the latter of which I was super excited about. Anyway, working at the magazine has made me completely sure that this is what I want to do. I seriously love working there and I am trying as hard as I can to continue working in this industry. Magazines are my life.

I'm kind of falling in love with the city. Super cliche, but true. I've been to the city quite a few times now and every time I go I find something new and awesome and unexpected about it. There's kind of a magic quality about this city, no joke. Every time I go I'm in awe and surprised that I'm actually there. There literally is something different going on around every corner. Just the other day I was on my way to a show at Webster Hall and I passed a long line of people waiting for a chance to meet Nicki Minaj. I briefly considered ditching the show and jumping in line, but I had to meet some friends. I made a long long list of things I really want to do soon (like go to a Broadway show, which I might do tomorrow), and hopefully soon I'll be moving there.

There are some things I'll never get used to. The cold. And I know the worst is to come, I'm not looking forward to it. The time difference. Things start an hour later, and I seriously think 8 p.m. is too late for things to start. I don't like it. And I know I live very close to a place where there is a ton of amazing food, but sometimes a girl just wants a taco.

Um, I can't think of too much else. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was AMAZING. I really could watch that movie over and over again. I spent a lot of money I don't have at H&M. I LOVE THAT STORE TOO MUCH. I'm excited about Thanksgiving, but sad I won't be in Texas.

Hopefully I'll be blogging more about stuff. Fun times.