When in Silverlake

This is now the third time these hauntingly and beautifully white walls have served as our background for a blog post. Whenever we're in Silverlake, we must stop by on our way to or from Sunset Junction. Its slow decay is how I mark the time since we've last visited. Even in its remains, there is still beauty in its minimalism. I will always be mesmerized by the plants' resiliency and strength to endure time, weather, and vandalism.

Journal: No Bad Vibes

The best kinds of conversations are those that never really end--the ones that still keep you thinking about what was said, the ones that you pick up and put back down for days and weeks to come. Creativity (the idea of having it, or the state of being in it) is a reoccurring theme that pops up into our conversations frequently. Some of you may even remember a previous blog post in which I talked about creativity--and how we thought we had run out of it or had lost it. As if it were some superpower, we hoped that creativity would magically come back into our hands as we continued to wield our cameras. It struck me recently though that maybe our creative powers were never really lost. Maybe in actuality, all that had really changed was our perspective on the world.

Hard to Explain

I'll be the first to admit--I'm a hopeless romantic and am a sucker for Valentine's Day. Gimme all the RomComs, all the flowers, all the sparkles, all the candlelight dinners, and all the moonlight walks on the beach! With all the Valentine's Day vibes out in the world, the idea of romance wandered into my natural thoughts this month. That combined with my recent wanderlust made me obsessed with the idea of wanting a romantic getaway, but Valentine's Day crept up on us this year. We racked our brains to pull together something last minute, but alas even those plans had to be put on hold when I got sick over the long weekend. I was bummed that we couldn't cheers to our love over mojitos and oysters, or window shop on Melrose Avenue, or peruse the Farmers Market in Larchmont, but in the midst of the fever and the food poisoning, I realized that Brandon was showing me the grandest gesture of all: He took care of me. And that's the best kind of Valentine a girl could ask for.

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.

Fall Uniform

For a girl who predominately wears black and various shades of grey, you would think that owning a leather jacket would be a given. For me though, leather was just one of those materials that was only reserved for bags and shoes--never for pants and most definitely never for jackets. As much as I had yearned for one, I lived my ideas of owning and styling a leather jacket vicariously on Pinterest. Every time I would try one that was ill-fitting or just didn't look right, I decided it was for the best. I mean who needs a leather jacket when it was still 90 degrees in Los Angeles in October anyway? Oh how very wrong I was.

Looking Forward

Have you ever had an out of body experience in the middle of a moment and realize that one day you're going to look back on this day and pinpoint it to the start of a new beginning? Well this weekend was just that kind of moment. I've been giving happiness a lot of thought lately. If money can't buy it and you're unhappy when you don't have money, then how are you supposed to "get" happiness in this consumerist society that we live in? If happiness is in the journey and not the destination, then what are we headed towards? There've been countless articles written on the "keys to happiness" or on the "secrets of a happier lifestyle," but I'm not sure anyone really has the answer to these questions, especially not I. But after this past weekend, I've felt happier and calmer than I have in months.

Pricks of Brightness

One of the great (and sometimes not so great) things about LA is its vastness. Just one trip to the opposite side can make you feel like you're in a different city. One minute you're frolicking in alleyways near your apartment, and the next you're on the West side, splashing around in the ocean to escape the heat. After feeling (metaphorically and literally) landlocked for a while, it was indescribably calming to let the waves tickle our toes. Just standing there, unsure where the ocean began and the sky started, we reveled in this majestic sight until the sun set into the horizon.

Relentless Summer

Even as introverts, we'll admit that there's only so much lazing around a person can do. After a month full of too many Netflix binges, cups of green tea, afternoons of pointless window shopping, and Crossroads thrifting trips, we've realized that life is rather boring without having a reason to romp around our beloved city. We peeled ourselves off our bedsheets and forced ourselves to go out into the relentless summer heat to explore a new alleyway near my apartment. It was the perfect way to ease back into the swing of things here at Be the Plebeian. We're not gonna let a little (more like a lot) sunshine stop us from creating content or from breaking in new ankle boots for that matter.

Back Again

The sweltering summer sun finally let up enough for a bit this past weekend for us to return to an old stomping ground to revisit the remnants of the Projection art installation in Silverlake. Now that this place is old news, it was nice to have it to ourselves this time around. It was such a contrast to our first visit back in May, and though time and weather haven't been its greatest friend, we were still enchanted by this homage to minimalism.

Summertime Happiness

Over the weekend, we finally ventured out of our air conditioned apartments to bask in the best summer can offer. We couldn't think of a more perfect way to celebrate bearable boot weather than at our favorite spot in downtown. Summer really can't get any better than taking in rooftop views and sipping on moscow mules--all the while meeting long lost twins and running into magicians in the bathroom. We continued the fun with an easy stroll and returning home to making a hodge podge of all our favorite post-drinking munchies.

Where the Wild Things Are

The Arts District is definitely one of our favorite places to haunt on the weekends. Just when we think that we've seen it all, there's always a new alley to explore or a new cafe to try whenever we visit. After grabbing breakfast at yet another cliche trendy cafe, we stumbled upon a lush corner that made us feel like we were transported to a futuristic Indiana Jones film complete with motorcycles to make a quick getaway if need be. Finding some peace and quiet was the perfect way to end our Fourth of July weekend.

Westside Story

With summer vibes in the air, our wanderlust was at a high and so we took a mini road trip to the west side. Having lived near the coast, we both always had easy access to the beach while growing up and we get pangs of feeling landlocked while in Pasadena. With LA's notorious traffic, our trip to Venice was quite the trek. When we finally made it to our destination, we were greeted by Venice's eccentricity. From colorful graffiti to loud personalities, we became consumed in the novelty of this pocket of LA. After living the boardwalk life with greasy pizza and chili cheese fries, we made our way towards the beach. In contrast to the boisterous boardwalk, we were surprised with the shoreline's tranquility. It was the perfect quick getaway to satiate our wanderlust for a little while.

The Sweet Return

We all know (maybe a little too well) how awkward first dates can be. The opposite can be said about our first date, which lasted a record-breaking thirteen hours. We should've known then that we were meant to be. If that wasn't enough of a clue, the fact that we both showed up wearing heathered grey v-neck t-shirts and dark skinny jeans pretty much sealed our destiny. The Getty Museum will always hold a special place in our hearts--not only because of its gorgeous architecture and stunning views of the city, but also because it's where our story began. Over the weekend, we tried to recreate the magic on the anniversary of our first date.

Redemption

None of our trips to the Griffith Observatory are ever the same. Every time we go, we have new stories to tell. Each time we look at the view of the city, different emotions are evoked. We've gone early in the mornings when there's hardly anyone there. We've gone on insanely hot days where we only went as far as the shade went. We've gone on days where the sky was so overcast that the view of the city was under a blanket of clouds. But never had we gone during magic hour to watch the sun set below the mountains...until now.

Our Secret Garden

Whenever I would visit New York, I would always make it a point to spend time in Central Park to decompress from the hustle and bustle of the city. Around LA, there aren't that many places to escape to and so when we found Arlington Gardens in Pasadena, we were smitten with its maze of plants and flowers. It really was our secret garden to play in. Every corner we turned, there were plants that could only be imagined by Dr. Seuss. After a last couple weeks of stress and hard work, we definitely got our Japanese Zen vibe on exploring this garden.

We Follow Rivers

In an effort to remain creative and avoid being repetitive, we've refrained from revisiting the L.A. River despite our frequent haunts to the Arts District and Little Tokyo. We finally caved into our nostalgia yesterday and romped around an old stomping ground. It was like visiting an old friend--bittersweet and refreshing. Not only did we reminisce to our first adventure there back in November, but we also were able to reflect on how much we've grown since then. As we walked down the same tunnel as before, we noticed the difference in graffiti that now litter the walls, which stand as a testament to how much time has passed. The view at the end of the tunnel didn't disappoint and as we stood there watching the water flow, we wondered why it took us so long to come back to such a special spot and vowed to never let so much time pass before visiting again.

Whiteout

If our version of a perfect world didn't already include white painted fences and white palm trees, it does now. We spent Saturday afternoon enchanted by Vincent Lamouroux's art project, Projection, in Silver Lake. We had caught glimpses of this installation in our Instagram feed, but even then, we were unprepared for our breaths to be taken away by its haunting purity. With an almost too literal rendition of the concept of monochromatic, the transformed Bates Motel was every minimalists' dream. We were particularly mesmerized by the peeks of green trying to overcome the unnaturalness of being something it wasn't. It just goes to show that life does go on.

Bien Fait

After a morning of having our plans thwarted, we couldn't think of a better way to spend the afternoon than in cozy, soft basics. We found ourselves combing the back alleys of Pasadena again and ended up in a construction zone in our usual chase of the sunset. Being the rebels that we are, we crossed the line (literally) and were undisturbed while trying to capture the beautiful light that was flooding in through the trees and unfinished buildings.

The Little Things

After our exciting and adventurous trips to Palm Springs and Disneyland, we thought we'd take it easy to wind down our spring vacation. We spent the weekend sleeping in to enjoy a few more moments of snuggling underneath the covers. When we finally got ourselves out of bed, we headed to Grand Central Market to grab brunch and avoided the hype of Egg Slut to discover a new favorite spot: Belcampo Meat Co, and a new love for broccolini. At the market, we also picked up the biggest sunflowers because we wanted to bring a bit of sunshine home and we're a sucker for cute packaging. We played tourist in our own town for the afternoon and were up to our usual tricks in discovering new alleys to romp around after filling up on ahi poke nachos. Sometimes the littlest things in life can truly bring you the most happiness.

Such Great Heights

We took a cue from Mother Nature and indulged in the summer vibes she threw our way. With the sun high in the sky, we headed towards the coast to catch a break from the heat. The closer we got to the coast, the further away our worries seemed to be. Whatever worries we had left when we arrived at Manhattan Beach were quickly washed away with mimosas and sangrias over brunch. After filling up on breakfast chimichangas, we made our way to the pier where we blissfully played in the waves and soaked in the sunshine. As if the beach wasn't a beautiful enough of a view, we headed to Hilltop Park in Signal Hill to catch the sunset. Sitting in the grass while literally feeling like we were on top of the world was the perfect way to end our summery day. If this is a preview of what summer is going to be like, we can't wait to spend our days lounging in linen t-shirts and birkenstocks.