3-9-2025 MY WEEK: honoring the cultures, honoring the artists.

    ☼ the sun is shining through finally spring is showing us a preview of the good life, daylight savings officially started today, and sib and i are going through a strange case of pre-spring fatigue. i woke up from a fat nap just now and gained some strength to type up my entries. forgive me ahead of time if they sound loopy.

    the week was exciting and busy. if this is how the spring will look like, i'm staying busy all year. in a TLDR vibe, my week consisted of really good music and dive bars (anthony bourdain style?), reconnecting with friends, and reconnecting with my catholic roots (hello lent). 

    it was wonderful to connect with bestie VG this week, as we celebrated mardi gras in tremont at bourbon street barrel room. we went with orders that were as traditional as possible, having hush puppies, jambalaya and alligator bites. the long wait for the table gave us advantage to catch up with VG's trips through europe, including an australian wanting to fight everything VG says, and american mormons in the literal middle of croatia. 

    it was ash wednesday this week so i gave up junk food and not working out. the junk food part started off rough but i've been packing healthy snacks to combat the munchies. i cannot say i started strong with exercising. i still have 30 something days though...

catfish po'boy

i had an interview with a vampire cocktail

   

 thursday night sib and i went downtown to the rock and roll hall of fame to see a screening of an amy winehouse documentary, then met with boyfriend, VG and friend luka (whom of which we will hear more from if you continue reading today). it was a tribute concert of local bands honoring a young drummer, michael loconti, from an up and coming local band loconti, who tragically passed away this week, alongside another younger man, john love jr, that passed. this truly was a day to acknowledge these people's artistry - no matter how famous they are. connecting others through their music is so empowering, and their legacy stays.

fit check with boyfriend

 

    friday boyfriend and i had a game night, then sib and i woke up early on saturday to meet up with VG at a local coffee shop (manifesting real kafić vibes). we discussed the political and economic state of the world, churned the same old topics all over overpriced coffee. saturday night was my old work friend's birthday party so the work crew did the duty of exploring questionable dive bars of the area. 

remarks from luka

    friend luka is an oasis enthusiast, and british 90s rock expert. he is part of a band sedma brzina (transl. seventh gear) known for local gigs and covers of a wide variety of croatian party songs, mainly ranging from the 70s until the latest pop hits. sedma brzina is a diaspora crowd fave for new years and the big labor day soccer tournament (support local!). luka agreed to have a dialogue for the blog and i'm not sure if he thought i was just joking, but i'm not. luka - i hope you like it!

    luka was also at the bar coda where we watched local bands perform on thursday. luka's outfit consisted of a royal blue adidas sweatshirt. it appeared vintage but in fact he got it from VG for christmas. luka was wearing classic levi jeans and samba's from his "keva". the fit was influenced by the 90s british singers like liam gallagher or damon albarn. this is a type of look these stars were rocking at the time, and it was a very simple and effective formula: sweatshirt, jeans, sneakers. to really add the hint of glastonbury festival, one could add a leather jacket, a necklace or bracelet of organic material, and lennon style sunglasses. 

    luka and i discussed the amount of hats seen at this event. men mostly, were rocking berets and fedoras. luka's opinions on berets: "very millennial". this one struck me as i was just wearing a beret about a month ago, myself.

    we also acknowledged the alarmingly high amount of baseball caps worn by dudes at the bar. personally i am not a fan of guys adding that as an accessory, unless it's summer time. it just feels lazy. luka concluded he is not a hat person. 

    the topic of death loomed upon everyone at the bar, with a memorial on the side to honor the late michael. we were all here for a very sad reason. luka and i agreed this is a true celebration of life, and he added he would personally like this setting - just add šaban šaulić, sinan sakić and obviously oasis in the tribute playlist for him - and that is the formula for an ideal celebration of life, according to luka.

what was i wearing this week?

🠄monday at work the party girl influence stayed for work and i wore graphic tights with a simple all black ensemble and a vintage red leather jacket. why did clients think i had tattoos instead of tights? 

monday night sib and i went to raid for sales at joann's due to the unfortunate news that it's closing for good. so we stacked up on craft supplies.🠆

🠄tuesday at work i went super simple: button down shirt, jeans and loafers. 

tuesday celebrating mardi gras in tremont, it was wonderfully warm enough to wear a cropped tee, jean jacket and some light pants. i jingled the whole night with my bracelets because i talk so much with my hands.🠆

wednesday at work i wore a long denim skirt and beige long sleeve tee. the same evening for church, i swapped for a more colorful v neck t shirt. unintentionally practiced modesty. 

🠄thursday for work i layered up as it got chilly again (you simply can't relax yet). 

here is a breakdown of the fit i wore for the band tribute and amy winehouse doc thursday night🠆

by friday my efforts were a bit exhausted (as was i) and i went very simple, both to work and to the game night party.

🠄saturday i followed a black and red pattern. for our coffee date with vg i wore a vlajternativa t shirt with my trusty red cardigan, american eagle wide leg distressed jeans. 

saturday night i wore a red cropped turtleneck top with vintage japanese flowy mesh sweatpants (we were having mexican, i needed the coziest but cutest pair of pants). i borrowed sib's uniqlo bag and her steve madden platform boots. i am totally wearing this fit again because it was too cute just for dive bars.🠆

as mentioned earlier, we're delving back to our religious roots and we went to church this morning. here was a simple fit i wore. i tried staying awake in the pews, and had a good time analyzing what the old ladies are wearing at the moment. more about that later.

i shared how joann's is closing, so i went on a hunt for fabric medium, and stock up some more on art supplies. i was a bit disappointed with the sale prices because by the time i checked out, i think i spent only a bit less than usual. 

also, there was no fabric medium, but i got black fabric paint instead. 

i got around making the graphic tee i was mentioning in my previous punk posts.

this was a paper plan out, using new pens i freshly bought, just to kind of get a feel of what i like (most of these drawings were found or inspired by looking up tattoos on pinterest).

this is the final result of my t shirt project. sib helped crop and hem the t shirt because it was too long. i like the end result (peep the tie), but i am not thinking about going a step further, distressing it and adding safety pins which i also got during the joann's sale. i'd love to hear your opinion. keep or punkify more?

what am i looking forward to this week?

    the biggest highlight of the upcoming week is sib's and my st. patrick's day weekend trip to pittsburgh. the weather is going to be really nice and my road trip playlist for the drive is all set.

    the rock and roll hall of fame is doing a few events: bob dylan documentary, and a holly knight interview and book signing.

    there's also a secret movie night at the grog shop,  a ballet on picasso, and my lash lift appointment.