The End Pt. 2

August seems to be jam-packed with an awful lot of "the ends". It's the end of summer, my time at Marie Claire & CollegeFashionista, living in Tampa and being 21. It's a very surreal & bittersweet time in my life but I cannot wait for what's to come.

I finally feel like things are starting to fall into place, though. I'm going back home for a few days, I found an apartment in Brooklyn, I'm getting called back for interviews & everyone is shockingly supportive of my decision to completely uproot my existence in Tampa to create a new life for myself in NYC. It feels good to be backed by all the people that I care most about but it feels even better to just trust myself for a second & realize that as long as I work hard, everything is going to be just fine.

But seriously, let's forget about New York for a second & talk about how excited I am to be going back to TAMPA BAY. There are so many things that I've been missing for the past 3 months. Namely: Pei Wei, Target, MOM, PDQ, the Thai Temple, driving, Bentley, International Mall, Gabbie Amontree, oh and ya know, the rest of my brilliant family. I'm going to be home from the 9th-14th & my 22nd birthday happens to fall perfectly in the middle on the 12th. So, GET AT ME. Let's hang out, grab a drink & be all nostalgic.

 Here's to the start of something new.

Love,

A

 

Details: t-shirt: Brandy Melville // pants: AEO

sunnies: H&M // clogs: Aldo // bag: Anthropologie

bracelet: Madewell & Brandy Melville 

***PS: shout out to that extremely photogenic pigeon who so badly wanted in on the photo shoot. good looks, homie.

I Always Wanted To Be A Tenenbaum

If you've known me in any capacity, you know that I have an affinity for Wes Anderson. One of my all-time favorite films is The Royal Tenenbaums. The Aberdeen Marina Club, a fancy family club that my dad used to run in Hong Kong, had a video store where members could rent films & TV shows. We lived in the penthouse of the main building and I used to spend my childhood summers renting everything & anything I could get my hands on. Joyce, the lovely lady who ran the video store, made that easy & let me get away with renting whatever my curious little heart desired, even though I was only 11. This is where my love of film & mature thematic material rapidly developed. 

I watched The Royal Tenenbaums & although I didn't quite understand it at first, I was in awe. Anderson's style stood out so strongly to me. The characters drew me in so much, even though I was only a child. As an adult, this movie means more to me than ever. Watching it now, I pick up on so many layers of deeper meaning in the plot and character development. I've seen it over upwards of 50+ times but I still manage to discover something new & magical every time I see it.

So, in the fit of a stress that I've been tangled in lately, I decided that I wanted to find 111 Archer Avenue because it's a part of what makes me who I am. I knew that it was somewhere in New York but I wasn't quite sure where, so after hours of heavy research & mapping out the specific coordinates(JK I Googled it in 2 seconds), I found out that it was on the corner of Covent Avenue and 144th Street in Harlem. 

I woke up early on a day that I didn't have to be at work until noon, hopped on the subway, walked the wrong direction for half a mile, turned around & there it was. I just stood there & smiled like a little kid who just arrived at Disney for the first time. It's a stunning home & such a strong part of the film's aesthetic. Everyone in the neighborhood was just walking past it like it was any old house & I just wanted to yell at them & be like, "UH, HI, DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE STANDING NEXT TO? ARE YOU BLIND OR SOMETHING? DON'T YOU KNOW WHO MARGOT TENENBAUM IS?" 

Standing in front of that house really meant something to me. It honestly inspired me. I know it might sound dumb to some people because it's just a film that came out in 2001 & it's just a house that was in a movie one time. But this movie really shaped me. I think in some way, it molded me at a young age & effected how my mind works. I think it will always be special to me. I'm really glad that I woke up early & ventured to Harlem to find the house that Royal Tenenbaum bought in the winter of his thirty-fifth year.

Oh & right across the street was Eli Cash's house.

Love,

A

 

Details: t-shirt: American Apparel // midi skirt: H&M

sunnies: H&M // sandals: Steve Madden // 

bracelet: Madewell //

Dim Sum Adventures

So, as you know by now, I live in Chinatown. As you also know by now, I'm in love with it. I feel right at home here because I grew up in Asia. Walking by fruit stands full of mangoes, lychees & rambutans makes my heart flutter. One of the best parts about living in this part of town are all the yummy little places to eat. Some of my favorite spots are a Thai place called Pongsri, The Chinatown Ice Cream Factory & Nom Wah Tea Parlor. 

My first trip to Nom Wah was a very drunk one but I've been daydreaming about their huge steamed pork buns. I started thinking about them so much on Friday night that actually found myself looking up their menu at 2 am (gross, I know), so something obviously needed to be done. I texted Kali & Emily, asked them if they wanted to go for dim sum & quickly found out that neither of them had ever had it before. One of my secret pleasures in life is introducing people to things they've never had or done before.

They met me on Canal St. on Saturday afternoon & we walked to Nom Wah, which was the perfect opportunity to take photos of everything. There's always so much going on around here. I'm so used to taking street style photos so it's always fun for me to play with other subjects.

None of us had eaten anything all day, so we were literal savages by the time we got there. I was honestly tempted to order one of everything off the menu. We ate dumplings, buns, rice & spring rolls. We also doused everything in 10 lbs of soy sauce. It was truly magical. 

After our late lunch, we walked our little food babies to South Street Seaport to catch Mac Demarco at the 4 Knots Music Festival. He was lovely. The stage was right by the water with a perfect view of the Brooklyn Bridge. Sometimes I just look around & I'm like holy shit, I can't believe that I get to do all of this right now. It's honestly been such an amazing summer in more ways than I can even write about.

After the show, we sat on some steps & people watched. We made the mistake of sitting directly across from a candy store called IT'SUGAR. It was three girls against a candy store & the candy store obviously won. I don't even like candy that much, but I walked out looking like I robbed a neighborhood on Halloween. You win again, peer pressure.

Love,

A

*ps: Isn't Vanella's such a silly name for a funeral home....no...just us...?