Bubble Gum Pop

RayBan wayfarers

Ever since I snagged these a couple of years ago for my birthday at Century 21, I haven't been wearing any other sunglasses!! This pair was the last one left on the counter and it was discounted--$50!!!! How could I walk away?? The only problem were they had a few scratches but whatever, I will make due. My boyfriend actually ended up buying these for me (hehe, thanks beb!) and they are my go-to sunglasses wherever we go. Love the light pink color of them, definitely a pop of color in my usually drab wardrobe.

*Submission for the IFB Project #96*

Swap Meet Sunday

My boyfriend is a huge fan of sports so whilst in Hawaii, he wanted to see the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet, which wasn't too far from where we stayed so we decided to hop on a shuttle bus and check it out. Heard they had souvenirs for a cheaper price, so why not?

I love the juxtaposition of opposites and this seemed to fit. It is quite casual with the muscle tee and the sandals but the skirt makes it fancy. It paired nicely! 
 

Forever 21 top | Nasty Gal skirt | Steve Madden sandals

Got myself a yummy shaved ice with strawberry and lime flavors to start. Look at the SIZE of that thing! It was hard for me to eat at first since I never get shaved ice before so a lot of it was dripping all over me. Such a slob when I eat but boy was it good!

For those of you who ever go to the Swap Meet, there are letters surrounding the stadium, some single letters and some double letters. Our shuttle driver told us to pay attention to the letters as most people start shopping by the single letters and then realize there were better prices by the double letters. Be sure to haggle with the vendors! Ended up getting banana bread, a super cute solar powered Hula dancer, and a few other goodies for my family/friends.

Oahu's Photo Finish

The reason I wanted to go to Hawaii was because of Oahu Photography Tour. I knew this would be different from your generic guided tours offered and being that this is about photography, that's a plus!

Our first stop was the Makapu’u lookout to see the amazing sun rise over Oahu around 6am. My gosh was it beautiful! Being up so early was definitely worth seeing this with the love of my life. Never realized how fast the sun rises either! Such a natural beauty.

Next few stops were beautiful landscapes of Oahu. Truly a wonder to see all these places that I would never be able to see back in NYC. Kuloa Regional Park was the backdrop of my outfit of the day. You must think I'm crazy to wear all black but it was not as sunny as we had hoped here in the Hawaiian Islands. There was supposedly a storm that week we stayed but it is was what it was. We still enjoyed our break away from work! :)

Ray Ban Wayfarers | Necessary Clothing crop top | Forever 21 shorts 

American Eagle denim button up | Keds | Yesstyle bag

I found Crush!!! The Laniakea Beach was where we saw 2 giant sea turtles resting. We were told they are endangered too so being able to see them in them lazing around on the beach like this was incredible. 

Lei Down the Law.

Flew a 10 hour non-stop flight with my boyfriend to Honoulu, Hawaii for 6 nights and it was a great trip albeit the fickle weather we experienced there. Upon arrival, we hailed for a cab and we got a limo cab!!! How awesome is that? Definitely a great way to start our vacation! Once we got to our hotel, we basically flopped down on our bed and rested for awhile. Being cramped in such a small space surprisingly wears a person down.

The next day, we may our way to the Royal Hawaiian Center. I did some research prior to our vacation and found that they offer free lei making classes! It is definitely harder than it looks! You have to string it a certain way through the flower in order for it not to fall off. Our teacher (the one in blue) was a sweet woman but was a drill sergeant when it comes to lei making. She had no qualms about taking off all your flowers off if you did it incorrectly.

Love Culture top | Forever 21 skirt | Keds

Empty No Longer

Stumbled upon this free tour for an exhibition called How Much Do I Owe You in Long Island City. Curated by a nonprofit organization called No Longer Empty; their mission is to go in search for spaces that are no longer being used and revitalize them through art! Who says art can't move the public? Apparently, this organization has produced so many exhibitions in the past. If I had only knew then! I would have gone to them! With every place they choose, they use the setting as the theme. For How Much, the exhibition took place in the bank of the long abandoned clock tower. Bank = money, power, savings, trust, debt through the eyes and ears of artists from around the world.

Our tour guide, Lucy, told us a story about the mural behind her. It's a house made of losing lotto tickets. These tickets show the lost dreams of one man, who kept all his losing tickets in boxes. The intricacy of this artwork is amazing and painstaking for the artist to do, I'm sure! 
 
Learning the history of the bank was way more interesting to hear from Lucy, our guide, then from my HS teachers. Apparently, in the 1980s or so, Chase bought out the bank and they plastered the place with boringness (as I would call it lol) but No Longer Empty tore it out and exposed the original detailing of the building. But the best part of the tour? Was seeing the bank vault! Never have I ever been close to one let alone an abandoned one that was still in pristine shape! 

The piggy bank: a symbol of savings. Most of us growing up had one. We all dream of a better life so we save money and/or play the lotto. 

This room in the basement housed some old bank deposit boxes which was cool but what I liked about this room was the eerie nature of it symbolizing that even in the darkest corner of a place, things (ie plants) can still flourish. The oxygen masks used as lights even made the effect more creepy...

They also had participatory things for attendees to do so my boyfriend and I created our own 100 dollar bill. His was way better than mine so here is his masterpiece. This is what I imagine Benjamin Franklin would be as a dog. lol

I was feeling girly, bold and dark at the same time so this is what I ended up wearing to the tour. Love the black and white combination. It will never go out of style in my book. Too bad it was still pretty cold or I woulda whipped out my new Zara pumps. Alas, what can a girl do but wear her trusty booties!

 Lulu's lace top | Candie's floral pants | Forever 21 jacket/booties | Gifted beanie/circle scarf

Last day to see this exhibition before they close it down is Sunday, March 17th!! Please go if you get the chance!  It's free for the public! :)

Lulu's Style Studio

Totally delayed post...The 9th of February was an eventful one. First was the Rebecca Taylor show. Then that night, I attended the Lulu's Style Studio. Not sure how I stumbled upon it but regardless glad I registered to attend. The free (yes free!) tickets were sold out in just a few hours after that.

Upon entering, you will see a few booths known as the gifting suite where you get to pick up a few goodies! There were lip salves from the Rosebud Perfume Co.  which I've heard good things about! Had to pick one up in each scent! Twistband had such cute, colorful hair ties!  For thick haired Asians like myself, these was perfect! Even my sister snagged a few from my bag. Also, being the nice sister that I was, I shared the LÄRABARs with her. For someone who isn't fond of eating banana anything, their banana nut was delicious!! Gotta get me some more! See below for the awesome goodies we were to bring home! Thanks to Hpnotiq for getting the party rolling with their complimentary cocktails.

Attendees were also able to vote on new items to be featured on the website in the future. Critiquing the color down to the whether if I simply liked the item or not. It was definitely fun being in the shoes of a buyer.

 

Photo courtesy of Lulu's 

Each blogger was able to choose a complimentary piece and I snagged this peplum top! Love the lacy detailing on the shoulders! I also purchased the peplum top in white since I couldn't decide which to get! (15% off all purchases) When in doubt, just get both. No regrets!  

 

Forever 21 sweater, pants and booties

Marc by Marc Jacobs Classic Natasha Q crossbody bag

Yesstyle floral chiffon top

Super great event and can't wait for next year!

Rebecca Taylor Fall 2013 collection

Thanks to Time Out New York, I was given a wonderful opportunity to attend my first ever fashion show!!

Here's the back story: Napped for about 3 hours on Friday, woke up feeling drowsy and started checking my emails. Lo and behold, I snap out of my sleepiness when I see the word "winner" in the subject title of my numerous unread emails. My jaw dropped down to the floor when I realized I was a winner of two tickets!

Never had I imagined myself being able to be at one of these events. Only problem? Nemo. The blizzard definitely worried me as it was already coming down pretty hard at around 11pm. I knew it was going to be one messy commute to Manhattan but nevertheless, I was attending. No matter what. When will I ever have another chance to go to a fashion show???

My wonderful boyfriend came along adding this to our list of firsts together. I don't really have any good pictures but here are a few I captured. Most of my pictures consist the backs of the models -___- Oh wells.

Rebecca Taylor's Fall 2013 collection had some great pieces that I can definitely envision me wearing. Few of my favorites, courtesy of Fashionista.com

Which designer(s)' collections are your favorites from this year's NY fashion week?