Journal: Intentionality

Maybe it's out of habit or just in my personality to over-apologize, but when I first sat down to write this post, I had every intention of starting this post by apologizing for our absence for the past ten weeks. Maybe it's because I'd like to think that people actually care about this blog and about what I have to say, but the truth is no one but me and Brandon really care whether this blog is active or not. And since I'm already being honest, the truth is that I'm not sorry for having taken this time off. The way events unfolded at the end of last year forced me to really reflect on and confront the consequences of my actions that I put into motion years ago. I needed that time off to step back so that I could move forward.

For those of who have been on this journey with me since my last blog, Transient Withdrawal, you will remember that after a five-year relationship had ended, at 22, I was desperate to reclaim my independence and discover who I was. I was bitter and panicked that I had let a relationship make me miss out on many critical milestones in my early twenties, and so I felt compelled to do a crash-course to catch up with my peers. I was finally able to do college the right way during graduate school where I found friendships outside of my hometown circle. I was finally able to have those awkward dates and quick flings--both of which quickly turned into funny stories I could finally share with my girlfriends. And last year, I was finally able to move out into my own space. I was so adamant to get a quick and easy claim to independence that I felt so strongly that all of these experiences and milestones would bring me up to speed with my peers. Looking back now, at 26, I was naive and impatient to think becoming independent would be so quick and easy. It has been neither. Just like with a plant, you can't rush growth, especially when it comes to personal growth.

In a Hopeless Place

It seems as if no matter where we go, the sun is always one step ahead of us, and our recent trip to Palm Desert was no exception. With nothing but blue skies and the open road ahead of us, we raced to Salvation Mountain just in time to catch the sunset. After what seemed like hours and hours of driving, we finally reached our destination in what seemed like a hopeless place. With its many bright colors and patterns, the mountain stands as a testament to what one man can create. Once we followed the yellow brick road to the top, we watched the sun fade into the horizon. As dusk settled in and the tourists filed out one by one, the mountain was just ours to rest on for a short while while we waited for the stars to peek out.

Old Haunts

Realizing that San Francisco was only a train ride away from where we were staying, we decided to go into the city for an afternoon of fun in our favorite area, the Mission District. Once we got there, we stuck to Brandon's tradition of grabbing lamb and beef schwarma from Ali Baba's Cave. Whenever we're in a new city, we always set out to find a good coffee place to get our caffeine fix. We found ours at Four Barrel Coffee, which was also a cool space to hang out. After filling up on good food and drinks, we perused through some cool thrift stores along Valencia before ending our visit at hipster hill in Dolores Park--another place that we love to haunt when we're in the area. We really enjoyed revisiting our favorite spots in the Mission and keeping on with our traditions. We cannot wait to go back again hopefully soon.

Mules With a View

Attempting to break out of our introverted tendencies, we ventured out to The Ace Hotel in Downtown LA for some drinks with friends. What better excuse to bust out our leather jackets than moscow mules and rooftop views. After soaking enough city lights, we headed home vowing that we will sprinkle our usual cozy nights in with nights out on the town. It's good to break out of our routine once in a while.

Bad Habit

In an attempt to escape from our usual urban environment, we explored the Artists Village in Santa Ana. In such a condensed pretty place, we were quickly bored with the main area of the village and reverted to our bad habit of looking for the grimey, hidden corners of a city. During our urban exploration, we were pleasantly surprised to find back alleys in Orange County that were reminiscent of LA and that made us feel more comfortable. Even though we both grew up near the beach, we just can't deny our love for urban spaces. After chasing the sunset to the top of an empty parking structure, we began the holiday festivities with two friendsgivings and a birthday party.

Olive Juice

j: zara jacket, rag & bone sweater, zara joggers, toms, nordstrom scarf, raybans

b: forever 21 jacket, blk dnm t-shirt, zara pants, toms, nordstrom scarf, raybans

On a recent Fall afternoon, we gave matchy matchy fashion another try. This time, however, we wanted to be more selective about our outfits to avoid being too obvious or cheesy. Inspired more so by Crystal Castles than the matching couples found in Korea, we wanted to imitate their style cohesion rather than mirror each other's wardrobe pieces. This was made easy by the unisex pieces in our closets, and so we settled on joggers, TOMS, scarves, and our parkas. With subtle differentiations in the details, we avoided being too gimmicky and instead created two cohesive looks that either of us would wear with or without each other. These outfits were perfect for grabbing coffee and sharing our favorite books at a bookstore.

Revolving

Well into our Fall season, we were growing tired of finding new ways to revolve our summer clothes, and so when a rainy day arrived in LA, we were ready to bring on the layers. With Taylor Swift's new album to accompany us through our rainy drive, we ventured to The Grove to shop and to grab lunch at Mendocino Farms. Our excitement for the cold weather was gradually overshadowed by its fickleness that wavered from warm sun rays to piercing cold winds. California just can't seem to make up its mind about Fall. In between shopping and shedding our layers, we dropped by the Revolve pop up shop. The bright pink exterior welcomed us in and we were greeted with curated pieces that could be options for the upcoming holiday season. The mini Sprinkles cupcakes and the DJ mixing fun tunes made our visit even sweeter.

Life in Color

After our weekend at the beach, we thought we would ease back into life in LA with a quick trip to Silver Lake. Chain link fenced views of the city skyline; street islands that make you feel like the center of the universe; and randomly glaring wall art are all part of the appeal of this quirky city that we love. $5 moscow mules at our favorite bar and vegetarian indian food made for an easy and perfect bookend to our usual sunset chase. Nostalgic of our past skulls phase, we had fun playing with and wearing this scarf especially when the wind and sun caught it.  This trip was just enough taste of the city for us before our upcoming trip to Las Vegas where instead of chasing sunsets, we'll be chasing floating lanterns and drinks. The weekends just never seem to come quick enough.

Coffee Rituals

Over the weekend, we woke up to catch a nonexistent, overcast sunrise and explored a green space before our morning ritual of grabbing coffee at Urth. Strong spanish lattes and cool jackets make our world go round.

Art and Boots

We got a taste of Fall and took full advantage of a rare opportunity to wear boots before Halloween. After stomping around LACMA, we stumbled upon a hidden rooftop to enjoy the fleeting rays of sun.