7-27-2025 MY WEEK: i dare you...

it was truly a daring week - from challenging ourselves to afternoon local hikes, utilizing my fashion oracle cards (unsuccessfully, but i might try again soon), to sib and i taking our first ever salsa class. 

sib and i visited brandywine falls, hogback ridge park, and hidden valley park after work over the week, and for a busy work week i had, it was a healthy way of decompressing and debriefing. we have camp week at work - hence why i was struggling with oracle cards. functionality and avant garde did not go hand in hand this time. 

brandywine falls

hidden valley park

hogback ridge park

besides ohio's mystical parks, sib and i ventured the erie coastline, and enjoyed visiting the quaint and underrated beauties - fairport harbor and ashtabula harbor. i often crave for beaches and harbors, having spent most of my teen summers there, and i miss the scenery often. lake erie is not waters i would necessarily tread, but getting ice cream or lunch by the water is satisfactory enough. bonus points if it's a festival like the walleye and wine one we happened to visit in ashtabula. mentally i often find myself running away from the suburbia i live in. but then i remember these spots - relatively affordable, places not yet viralized and transplanted. they're just here. local, honest and unpretentious. i am humbled and grateful every time the love for northeast ohio returns to my heart and mind. i'm unsure if i'd stay here forever, but it is comforting to stay where i'm at, to be lucky and thankful - to say i am privileged, and to use my privilege to support local businesses, towns around me. our quaint towns lose festivals, schools and job opportunities (are the businesses returning back to the usa? a question for the culture), and if my presence, my few bucks for a coffee, my wandering and networking around festivals can help at least one person support their business, hell, i love shopping, i might as well do good with it?!

trying on pants at the wildflower boutique in marianne's chocolate store at the harbor. 

speaking of local businesses, sib and i visited the viva dance studio downtown in cleveland for our first salsa dance class. all that talk about dancing and here we are. this studio is in a loft in the asian market mall, with beautiful decor, wrought iron railings, and a view from the roof one could imagine dancing on. the dancing crew immediately makes you feel welcome, and you are pushed out of your comfort zone, in a fun way, through dance obviously. you meet new partners, laugh about missing a step, and cheer each other on when the practice goes well. the most iconic thing about this, is that even though the class is only an hour long, the dance studio does dance parties where each level can come and dance along, and practice learned moves. a dj plays salsa music and you can chat with others, sit and relax, or dance with the braver crowd. sib and i were trying to practice our moves, granted, we were rookies among the pros, but the vibes were too good to let any inhibitions tell us we weren't good enough to at least share the enjoyment.

this week's cocktails of the week were homemade spicy mango margarita with a chili mango marg mix, chamoy and tajin; blueberry mojito from the bridge street tavern in ashtabula, and a homemade spiked brazilian lemonade: whole limes blended and strained from pulp, water, sugar, condensed milk, all re-blended and added rum.

spicy mango margarita

blueberry mojito

my nails needed a refresher - this time i cut them short - going on a trip to vermont and i'd rather not risk breaking a nail while jet skiing. 

this week's looks

i found my fashion oracles cards, which i bought years ago when i first visited the cleveland museum of art. i decided to challenge myself by trying to listen to each card per day and let the icon in the card style me. halfway through the week, i gave up - i was helping in camp week and kept my outfits simpler. i was at risk of water balloon fights, lakeside wind and lack of air conditioner. 

monday i pulled the coco chanel card: "tweed and twinsets support women's rights. elegance and perfume are life's only essentials. fashion isn't what you wear - it's who you should be". no tweed in my closet currently, but a pinstripe suit set with three pearly buttons does the trick. to make this a "me" outfit, i chose a mossy green tank top, and these new steve madden sandals i bought on saturday. tote bag for the library and my longchamp for work.

monday afternoon for our park walk, i pulled out a victoria beckham card: "step into you own spotlight. you don't have to be 'posh' to have style. give it a go -there's no red card in fashion". not sporty spice, but i added a british rock tee for my walk. perhaps not super posh...

tuesday's card was an enjoyable one: anna wintour: "only you need to know what goes on behind the shades. loyalty is the most important label to wear. vogue is an attitude, not just a magazine". i wore a simple dress, statement necklace, and giant oscar de la renta sunglasses. flats because i can't wear stilettos to work.

no oracle card for tuesday's hike look. striped tee with warhol banana embroidered, black biker shorts, uniqlo bag.

wednesday's oracle card was ralph lauren "you don't have to ride a horse to be in the polo team. dress for your oscars moment. always go for gold".  i listened to the advice on gold and wore strictly gold jewelry. while i own many ralph lauren items, the first few things i found were long sleeved, so i opted for a simple button down and chinos. 

wednesday's look for fairport harbor ice cream and walk, i forgot an oracle card. so i wore a black tube top. khaki shorts, uniqlo bag and my steve madden chunky sandals.

thursday no oracle cards were pulled. for work i wore a work tee and slacks, with birkenstocks. we had a water balloon fight. 

for our salsa class, i wore brown biker shorts, a blue gym crop and t shirt on top. lesson learned though, you can go to the class in literally whatever you want - as underdressed as i did, or in a skirt and heels or even jeans.

friday i think i gave up on the idea of an oracle card for the rest of the week, and just went in a blue ralph lauren top (where was this wednesday?), black skirt and converse.

saturday i wore a knit tank, red patterned maxi skirt, steve madden sandals, sunnies and vlajternativa tote bag. at ashtabula harbor

sunday i wore a jumpsuit for our hoa meeting in the park, flip flops and bathing suit, as sib and i spend the rest of the afternoon crisping and laying in the pool. now we both look like two lobsters.

what am i looking forward to this week?

big day tomorrow for the remaining friend group: we're going to see kesha's new tour at blossom. i'm undecided on which fit would bring out the perfect kesha sleaze vibe. your thoughts? 

as much as i'd love to get fucked up on a monday night watching kesha, i have a big trip tuesday morning to vermont to spend the week with boyfriend and his family by a lake in a cabin in the mountains. 

i tried channeling a meredith blake vibe from parent trap with the pieces i chose. something between that, country grunge, and new england minimalism. 

until my next report, let's get sleazy...