I'm Alive

So, I just realized yesterday that it's officially been a month since I got back from Tampa. It's also been almost a month since I've posted on Stellar Piece. It's a travesty, I know. I feel like I'm one of those horrible parents who leaves their kids in the car on accident because they're too busy worrying about other things. Yes, I did just compare my blog to a human child, but whatever.

I have been so busy lately. I've never been happier. The first week that I came back to Brooklyn was kind of the worst week of my life. Although I was excited about the thought of being here, I knew that I had to find one of those things called a J-O-B before I would let myself get too comfortable. But everything feels like it's falling into place.

Right now I'm currently working with CollegeFashionista HQ, Bib + Tuck & a marketing company called Liz Theresa. If everything goes as planned, CollegeFashionista will become my full-time gig & you have no idea how happy that makes me. It's just where I want to be everyday.

Now that I have a little bit more stability & a structured schedule going on, I've been trying to spend my free time wisely. I had a pretty fun day yesterday with my godmother, Auntie Anne. She took me to brunch at the coolest little place called Edi and the Wolf in East Village. Brunching is taken very seriously here in New York, so I went all out & had a the wild mushroom frittata. I ate a frittata, guys. Who am I? Then we had a little photo shoot, hung out while it rained, watched Charlie's Angels + went for dinner & drinks at Blaue Gans.


Speaking of Auntie Anne, she is pretty much the coolest. She designs her own clothes with fabric that she picks out from India & sells them in her store, Anne Kothari. If I'm lucky, sometimes she lets me test out some of her lovely pieces. So, I decided put my own twist on her Lineage pants + Girl Next Door skirt. 

I loved styling these because they aren't pieces that I typically go for, so it was fun to get out of my comfort zone a little bit. Her clothes are all super well made, fit beautifully & have the greatest prints. I love the '50s vibe of the Girl Next Door skirt + I kind of want to live in the Lineage pants because they are softer than an actual pile of kittens.

Check out Anne Kothari, buy her super cool printed pieces + make sure to enter STELLAR PIECE at checkout for 25% off your entire purchase.

Love,

A

Say Yes More Than No

I feel like positivity is everything. It's tiring to be around negative people & I genuinely feel like if you put good vibes out into the world that good things tend to happen. 

I'm feeling awfully adventurous this summer. While I'm a generally outgoing person, I feel like it's very tempting for me to take the backseat on things sometimes. I want to start saying yes more than no more often. I mean, if someone asks me to kill someone then of course the answer will have to be no, but you get the point. Sometimes it's necessary to take risks & have adventures, especially while we're young. Feel comfortable with feeling uncomfortable. I think it's something that we're all going to have to deal with for the rest of time, so we might as well embrace it. 

Love,

A

Details: slip dress: Forever 21 // top: American Apparel //  

sunnies: BCBG // shoes: Deena & Ozzy // 

wallet: Anthropologie // photos: Kali Concepcion

Wild & Dangerous

 

A few weeks ago, A & I noticed that a new EVOS location was being built in Carrollwood, & we had been hotly anticipating its grand opening. Alas, the two of us can't go anywhere without a photoshoot first, & we managed to get A's brother, Ashton, to crawl out of the house to snap a couple photos of the two of us together. When one of us is always taking pictures of the other, we find we don't have enough of the both of us. I think we added a couple of winners today. You wouldn't believe how many we had to delete! (She'd hate me for saying so, but A looks too beautiful in any picture to me that I've had to make deleting her responsibility).

Finally, I was able to take my little foodie there with me to try out some "airbaked" goodness. As we always do, we scarfed down a pair of cheeseburgers like we were famished, but we were rather impressed with the restaurant's ketchup variants(mmmm, anything called "Cayenne Firewalker" just speaks to me). As burger authorities, this place gets a thumbs-up. And if A loves it, you know it's delicious. She's the pickiest when it comes to tastes & smells.

Bellies full of burger, we scooped an apple empanada from Mr. Empanada's on the way home for a homework blitz. Little A tore through multiple academia-related blog posts, my lil champion. I couldn't get much done, in between air-drumming & getting distracted by her adorable face. I'm feeling over-complimentary today about that face, huh? 

A tradition for the two of us over the past year together has been to visit A's family while they're out somewhere in Florida in the RV. This weekend, we visited them at Hillsborough River State Park, where we dined on even more burgers. Mmmmm. A says she's never had burgers twice in a row before. How humbled I am to be the man she experiences such a glorious memory with. 

Our night was cut a bit short when the mutant mosquitoes of Florida did a number on A's legs, but a couple hours out in the wilderness with my little adventurer was enough to satisfy this guy. That girl looks her cutest when she isn't even trying (see the candid photos that made the cut above). Oh & I managed to capture some shots of B chasing a rubber ball. Nothing I could type here can describe the hilarity.

As I wrap this up, I realize that all I accomplished today was eating a bunch of cheeseburgers & not wearing the same t-shirt as multiple previous Stellar Piece posts, but it's the simple days with A that I love the most.

Love (you, bug),

J

Aisha // Blouse: Vintage from Revolve // Shorts: Levi's x Urban Renewal // Bracelets: Forever 21 & Pulsera Project Sunnies: American Apparel

Jake // Shirt: Supreme // Shorts: Fourstar // Pants: Levi's // Shoes: Vans // Sunnies: Ray Ban

The Weekenders

This weekend, A & I road tripped down to Weston, FL for a doctor's appointment of mine & to visit my parents. When we first met, Aisha & I agreed nearly immediately that we both loved adventure; we craved new experiences, exploring strange places & making weird memories. While we had some loose plans in mind for when we reached South Florida, nothing could have prepared us for the endless adventures that ensued.

We woke at a startling 6:30 am to hop in the car and hit the road. I crushed an iced coffee, but A kept it light with a small bag of veggie chips. I wish I had her self-control. We arrived in Weston for my appointment with plenty of time to spare, allowing my life motto to ring true: "if you're early, you're on time; if you're on time, you're late." (Thanks P-Rod).

Post-appointment, A, my mom & I found ourselves in Hollywood with some time to spare before my endlessly-hungry dad closed up shop at Total Nutrition, my parent's vitamin & sports nutrition store. I lightly suggested we head to Ft. Lauderdale to check out Radio-Active Records. 

My mom is so in love with her new garden, which she so stylishly has included vintage pieces & housewares in. We stumbled upon a cute & quaint vintage shop in the plaza Radio-Active used to be in, & A bought two silk, monogrammed flags with "A" & "J" printed onto them to hang on her magnet board above her head in her bedroom. Swoon. We found Radio-Active at their new & super-improved location down the street, & I managed to make it out of there in less than 30-minutes (sorry girls!), but armed with a copy of No Age's "Nouns" LP & a Radio-Active Records t-shirt. #roadtripsouvenier

We all met my dad for dinner at Bokamper's, & we all reminisced on some of our silliest stories, especially the time my dad tried to eat the restaurant's "The Beast" burger challenge, but was stunted by the "meat sweats." 

We spontaneously decided to head to East Miami to check out Ceremony's show at Churchill's Pub, something that was just slightly out of A's element. Hanging tough, she braved the pit like a champ while I caught some photos for my other blog, No Waves Radio. We teased the opening band & pretended to be code inspectors re-inspecting the building. In typical J & A fashion, we were classically uncool on a night where anyone else would be trying to be.

The next morning, I took Aisha down to South Beach for a quick shopping trip. We chowed down at Shake Shack, my true burger love hut. I inhaled a double cheeseburger & a Diet Coke, my royal specialty, while A demoed a chicken & apple dog (her first was at BurgerFi in Weston, both have been received positively). After learning that J. Crew on Lincoln Road doesn't have a Men's section & American Apparel was less-than satisfying, we headed to the Wynwood Art District in Miami for a little sightseeing excursion. We dropped a pin where the car was parked & got lost on the city grid for a little while, roaming around while taking in the incredible works on the Wynwood Walls & the surrounding areas. On our way out, we grabbed some iced coffee & tea at Panther Coffee. While A was waiting for our order, I guffawed at the massive coffee roaster and grinders they had on display in-house. We managed to beat the rain, but not the Miami rush hour traffic.

My parents surprised A & I and took us to Dave & Buster's for what ended up being the cutest little double date. My mom turned out to be quite the shark at four-player PacMan, Aisha discovered her one true passion in Deal or No Deal, & my dad showed me up in pop-a-shot while I threw up some serious bricks. Also worth mentioning: my mom is really, really good at Wheel of Fortune. And while we tried our hand at it, she wandered over to some other game & won the jackpot. She's a ticket-winning machine.

The next day would unfortunately be our last in South Florida, but we decided it would be a great idea to visit an IKEA on a weekend with my mom during a thunderstorm. In between nearly running over families cutting in front of our cart & shielding our eyes from women dropping glass bottles, we managed to get a pretty sweet deal on some pottery for my mom's garden. We had lunch at a new spot my mom's been dying to try: How Do You Roll?, where customers can design their own sushi rolls. I had the Beefinator (typical), while my mom created her own spicy tuna roll and A dined on a teriyaki beef bowl. Please, please open one of these in Tampa!!

We said our goodbyes to my lovely parents & headed back to Tampa through some less-than-pleasant weather. Rather than gunning it all the way through, though, A & I made it a point to leisurely make our way back, making whatever stops we wanted along the way. While not as glamorous as the rest of this post, we made a stop at our special McDonald's in Punta Gorda, where we always grab a coffee, go to the bathroom, or stretch our legs on a drive to Weston. We took a photo of mile marker 111, A & my lucky number. After an exciting stop at a park in Sarasota, we were finally home.

I know this post is long, but recounting one of the most adventurous weekends of our lives was a lot of fun, especially because we were able to spend it with my family. I highly recommend you pile into the car with your little love & visit one (or both) of your families. You'd be surprised at how much you can squeeze into a few days, and it's bound to be full of amazing memories.

Love,

J