Growing up can suck. As I break into my 20s & begin facing the endless bounds of responsibility that will soon face me for the remainder of my time here (re: taxes, politics), I realize that I'll never totally lose the little kid in me. Through my life so far, I've notice that I really enjoy sharing things that I love with the people that I love (thanks Mom!!!) Skateboarding is one of those things.
A has an angel of a little brother named Aric. Not only is Aric the sweetest, most loving boy in the entire world, he's pretty handsome too. Ever since I first met him, I always saw a little bit of myself in him. He's always so happy, smiling and laughing so hard. He loves making up little songs about thoughts he's having & recently took an appreciation for the drums (We're in a band together now, by the way). One day, he tried riding my skateboard down his driveway. From then on, I was sold.
We decided kind of on a whim to take Aric to the Skatepark of Tampa to show him how to skate & see if it was something he would be interested in taking up. My favorite thing about Aric is how much he loves a challenge. As soon as I gave him a board & started showing him how to ride it, he was hooked. He even used some of his Christmas money to buy his own board. I mean, look at that last photo. Dear god.
While it started as a slightly selfish attempt at watching the cutest small human not named Aisha Hatter ride a skateboard, it turned into this weird kind of experience where I really hoped it would be something he'd latch on to & love throughout his life. Skateboarding has given me such joy in my life, & I want the same thing for this little guy. Whether he keeps skating or finds another hobby that he likes, I just hope he stays as happy as he is every day that I see him. Do I sound like a grown up?
Love,
J
Check out a little video we put together of Aric's first day skateboarding below.
Another semester bites the dust (finally) & we're back to doing what we do best: adventuring. I'm not going to Hong Kong this year (miss ya, Dad) so I decided to drive down to Weston with Jake so that we could have a little week of adventures together. My dad was kind enough to buy me a Nikon D3200 for Christmas. I've been playing with it non-stop all weekend & it's finally making it's Stellar Piece debut. J keeps describing it's photo quality as "crispy" & I'd have to agree. I'm in love.
We've only been here a day & it's been amazing so far. We woke up at noon, had lunch with his family & made a trip to Sawgrass Mills Mall. I feel compelled to tell you guys that I finally bought a pair of suede J.Crew loafers that I've been drooling over for months. They were originally $98 & I got them for $44 (hell yes).
Later in the evening, J & I drove to Radioactive Records to do a little hunting. I've been searching high & low for the Pretty in Pink soundtrack on vinyl, but haven't found it yet. Jake is trying really hard to teach me how fun it can be to patiently dig through bins at record stores. It can be pretty hard for a girl who doesn't know the first thing about patience, but I'm learning. J bought a couple of 7"s & I bought some Thompson Twins & Dead or Alive LPs.
Afterwards, Jake took me to this neat little dive called Le Tub. The decor was ultra kitschy & cool. They had metal bathtubs & toilets everywhere and their walls were adorned with old photographs & license plates. I had a yummy hot dog while J downed a huge cheeseburger. We finished it all off with some homemade Key Lime pie. It's amazing how much better you feel after eating when you're starving. J & I both turn into Betty White in that Snickers commercial if we wait to eat but luckily it only takes a few bites until we are back to our normal, silly selves.
I thought that we were heading home for the night when Jake took an impromptu right turn & took me to the beach so that we could run around for a few minutes. As we were walking down the boardwalk, I expected the beach to be nice & calm (you know, rom-com style) but the gale force winds kind of ruined that dream for me. It was romantic in a different kind of way, though. J & I were just running around like crazies, getting our shoes all wet in the ocean, drawing 'J+A Forever' in the sand & climbing all over everything. That's our style & I wouldn't have it any other way.
Love,
A
Okay, so I know that most sane people would probably think that I am absolutely bonkers for owning an instant film camera in this day & age. I mean I get it, I have an iPhone with Instagram which weighs a fraction of what the Fujifilm Instax 210 Wide camera does & I can take // edit photos all day long with it...FOR FREE. But you have to admit that in a world where everything is so digital, there is something charming about holding a physical photograph. Sometimes I hide away in my attic for a while, going through boxes of old childhood photos because there is something comforting about thumbing through a stack of photographs rather than swiping through a Facebook album on your iPad.
My father bought the Instax 210 camera for me when he was visiting Tampa for my brother's graduation in May & I immediately fell in love with it. I opted for the wide version versus the mini because I like taking landscape shots & it's perfect for taking couple selfies of Jake & I. The only downsides to the easy-to-use camera are the price ($92 at Urban Outfitters) & the cost of the film ($24 for 20 photos). At a little over $1 per photo, it's hard to snap random photos of everything, so we use the Instax camera for capturing special memories like when J & I's families met for the first time, our adventure to Bonnaroo & our road trip to Weston with my puppy, Bentley.
Hopefully, someday when J & I are old and gray, we will have a big ol' box full of memory snapshots of us playing in the sun, adventuring to new places & just being crazy in love with each other. At the end of the day these are the things that matter, these are the things that you'll hold onto forever. So why not document it along the way?
Love,
A
