My words get lost in the morning heat.





It's Monday again. Not that that's a bad thing though since I haven't started school yet! Still, a realization struck me that is best expressed through the words of Ferris Bueller, the legendary fictional hero of the rebellious anthem of the youthful minds:

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

All our lives are focused on moving towards the future. What about wanting to hold onto the present? I quote movies pretty frequently but George from The Art of Getting By makes a good point when he says, "Like a nostalgia for the present, I couldn't shake it." I mean, though the present may suck sometimes, there is always that one moment that makes you wish it would last longer.

(Floral Blazer: Urban Outfitters, Top: vintage Black&Brown, Shorts: Urban Outfitters, Sandals: Urban Outfitters, Jewelry: DIY, Lipstick: Lancôme in Blushed Rose)

Anyways, to break out of that existential thought bubble, one thing I'm always drawn towards when I am out shopping is the color black (or the "absence of color"). You add black with a floral print and some metal jewelry to toughen up the look and presto! You've got yourself an outfit for the Monday blues. Plus, with tan skin like mine, I tend to flock towards dark colors to make my skin tone a little paler. To sum up my current obsessions at the moment, besides black clothes and creepy jewelry, I've also always had a thing for tattoos. (Not that I could actually get a real one without getting the frown of disapproval from my Asian parents for the rest of my life!) Temporary tattoos are a nice alternative to drawing on your hands and arms when you have nothing to do. They last longer! So now, an anchor and a lightning bolt reside on my wrists.

I'm gonna hang around, long enough to be part of the furniture.

(cardigan, jeans & boots: H&M, top: Brandy Melville, Shania's boots: Urban Outfitters, rings: H&M, vintage-Black & Brown,Target, bracelets: souvenir gift from Jamaica, Black & Brown, lipstick: Rimmel in Bordeaux)

The title of this post, by the way, is a lyric from "Unzip You Harrington" by The Drowners (which is a band named after a Suede song!).

Summer days are the best because you wake up in the morning and you have the whole day ahead of you to do whatever you want. The days that go completely unplanned are the ones I find most productive. I mean, it's only natural for us to want to break away from routine right? So here's the story of how I stumbled upon the cheaper alternative to Dr. Marten boots on a spontaneous day. 

Tuesday. It was noon, around lunchtime. In the full montage of events: Funny vines, Mean Gurlz parody, Chapter 2 of my Business Law textbook, feast of pasta, chicken nuggets, and green tea ice cream, "Korea Town" at El Camino Real: Paris Baguette and Ramune soda, Goodwill, "Supermoon" at sunset, Santana Row: the perfect floral blazer at Urban Outfitters and black boots (featured in today's post) from H&M, In n Out burgers for dinner, and finally, the city lights up in the hills.

The days for me come in two flavors: I either crave the comfort of my home or I want to spend the entire day roaming around outside. There's nothing wrong with being both an explorer and a homebody!

Photographed by Shania Cheng