12-28-2025 MY INSPO: out with the old, in with the new

my 2025 highlights

here's a recap of moments that inspired me this year: events related to friendship, fashion, art, community, everything within and outside the box. it was a very good year.

january: 
visiting bestie nicole in nyc and getting carried away with my espresso martinis.
was banned from tasting them until friendsgiving last month.

february: 
i made this blog. 
my fave hobby i finally decided to dedicate my free time to.

february:
celebrated bestie vic's birthday downtown.
cocktails and conversations were flowing.

march:
long weekend st. patrick's day trip to pittsburgh.
visited andy warhol museum and hershey park.

april:
a day in the museum with bestie victoria.
tested her new camera, checked out a fine art print fair, and got lunch at our fave mezze spot (zhug) 

may: 
visited the takashi murakami exhibit at our museum

may:
memorial day weekend trip boyfriend and i took to niagara falls.
went on the maid of the mist, tried to learn poker at the seneca, had amazing but overpriced indian food from a food truck

june:
celebrated bestie victoria's birthday at 16 bit (arcade + bar)

july:
kesha concert at blossom

august:
a trip to vermont with boyfriend's family

september:
celebrated sib's birthday at the museum (mix: 90s prom)

september:
silent film festival at the museum

october:
our croatia trip. nothing can compare.

november:
my last week in croatia

november:
the older i get, my birthday celebrations get better.
no more crying at my party.

november:
blackout wednesday

december:
renaissance to runway exhibit

2026 vision!

i've been using pinterest as a vision board/manifestation tool, something between resolutions and bucket lists, for the new year. i think of what i want to achieve, where i want to travel, what i want to try and do. people say it works. visualize your goal, etc, then you achieve it.

nothing new in my world tho. back when weheartit used to be a thing, i used to find cool crafts/bucket list ideas for the new year. one year i used sticky notes and wrote at least one thing i liked about the day and put it in a tin box. at the end of the year, right before midnight struck, i would open the box and read each positive event of the year. it may not have been a great year (i think it was 2012), i was going thru teenage growing pains, but i might've performed some kind of cbt on me - and did a psychological intervention to rewire my brain into thinking: it wasn't that catastrophic. it's a year i look back with fondness now. the same year i had a "wish jar" and i wrote stuff i'd like to come true, and at the end of year opened it to see which wishes came true. everything from hoping boys would like me, to getting the new justin bieber perfume.

a couple years ago i wrote my ins and outs of the year, when that was like a trendy thing to do online.

here's what my 2026 vision board looks like now.

i also did think of a "bucket list" of what i want to see from and for myself in the new year:

reduce buying polyester (even secondhand)

do more sport (maybe try pilates?)

tend to more house plants and compost (only gardening i actually do well)

do more art, see more art

finally learn how to ski

work on reducing my panic mode

be a smarter drinker (need to drink more water when i go out)

dance more

improve my makeup skills

enter a county fair competition

more house parties, more hosting opportunities

self-care maxxing (more face masks, foot spas...)

style icon: angie holden

boyfriend's mom always sends me the best instagram reels, especially fashion-related stuff. recently she sent me a video of british fashion influencer angie holden. 

here's some looks i really liked as of late that i found scrolling down the ig:

and of course, how i'd style myself per angie's way:

she has a lot of casual/streetwear outfits which i don't dress up in, i rather use those pieces as loungewear, or when i'm running around. i don't have brown sweatpants (thought of sib - she does!), but i have brown slacks. and a similar sweatshirt to her hoodie. 

here's a fashion experiment i may try this summer. angie here uses an oversized blouse to create a tube top tunic. she adds flats with chrome hardware and a cargo jacket alongside a canvas hobo bag. i am so going to try this look. she pulled it off effortlessly. can i?

a grungy layering method. oversized and boxy, yet it looks cool. 

this is her friend hangout look. she is wearing chrome sneakers, and i realized this one is a croset look: so, i styled my chrome loafers and added similar items. i have almost identical cargo pants, no silver purse but i added my black shoulder purse with silver details. angie tucks the top for a crop effect - it's dark green with greyish stripes, and i had a grey turtleneck instead. would try the tuck hack. i hate crop tops, but having the option to "crop" is acceptable.

this outfit was the one boyfriend's mom sent to me. it's also the one look i am itching to recreate asap. angie styles herself for her work holiday party. she wears a simple lbd with tights and a brown turtleneck underneath. i didn't have an lbd similar enough, but the neckline on my velvet mini dress matched, and i'm searching for a way to wear it no brown turtleneck, but my mesh bodysuit has similar brown shades. she has a more oversized leather jacket with a belt, but i opted for my cropped one. fret not, i have numerous ones so if in practice the cropped one isn't it, i got backup. in this video angie had to wear a work bag so i styled a vintage laptop bag i brought back from croatia. 

style icon: janet jackson - queen of black girl magic

a multihyphenate icon, a household name, and part of a multitalented musical family. janet jackson. i was watching the music video for let's wait awhile with a client last week, and i was reminded how incredibly stylish and fashion forward janet is - even with music, she was and is the blueprint. and those abs - they are her greatest accessory!

inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame in 2019, she stated in her acceptance speech "i was determined to make it on my own". 

janet has inspired numerous artists. her choreographies were never seen before when she started, britney spears herself credited janet as a huge inspiration in her career."i never thought i was a good dancer, but i loved how my body felt", janet stated in her acceptance speech. her team is elaborate and prestigous - kevin aucoin her makeup artist, and paula abdul as choreographer. 

according to the rock and roll hall of fame, "she is among the top female artists to have the most consecutive top-ten entries on the billboard top 100 singles chart and worldwide album sales of more than 100 million."

from the same rock and roll hall of fame article: critic simon reynolds credited janet’s music as “drafting a new blueprint for dance/pop” and such artists as beyoncé, lady gaga, rihanna, bruno mars, and robyn cite her as an influence. in 2014, out magazine’s les fabian brathwaite observed, “any female pop singer working today owes a huge debt of gratitude to janet. any time you see a choreographed dance troupe, a toned bare midriff, an elaborate music video, a blockbuster stage show, a film role in between albums or an ear [headset] microphone, janet’s fingerprints are all over it.”

"janet jackson’s rhythm nation 1814 (1989) added a tougher, more industrial component with songs that addressed social injustice, aids, poverty, and sexual inequality. in 1990, janet told author david ritz, “we have so little time to solve these problems, i want people to realize the urgency. i want to grab their attention. music is my way of doing that.” (rock and roll hall of fame)

it's very interesting to note, that janet initially wanted to be a lawyer, but her father steered her toward becoming a performer. she is using her voice for justice, perhaps not in the courtroom. 

let's not forget the incredible injustice done to her after the 2004 superbowl performance - the wardrobe malfunction done by the evil greasy fingers of ramen hair justin timberlake (i will forever be that man's biggest hater). both were banned from cbs, but after jt gave a crying apology (i am going to redact my personal commentary to keep this pg), he was able to continue his career with ease. however, the strong woman janet is, not sucking up to les moonves (another evil white corporate man, head huncho of all things tv related in the 2000s) - suffered career-wise. he blacklisted her from anything possible, and according to many sources, stalling her album release, and even fuming because she managed to publish her memoir unbeknownst to him. more about that here.

here's what the rock and roll stated on this incident: "the sharp contrast between how janet and her male collaborator were treated made her, in the words of cultural commentator michael musto, “a symbolic joan of arc to burn at the stake.”

according to an instyle article i found on the blog anne of carversville "in spite of her stardom, the first time janet jackson felt truly sexy and confident wasn't until she was well into her 30s." something encouraging for approaching my 30s...

i watched clips of the vh1 fashion awards in which janet won the most stylish music video award for her song gone til it's gone, as well as her performing what about at the award show.

janet's award show look (1998)

janet's performance at the vh1 fashion awards

check out the gone til its gone mv - it is truly a deep and stylish music video, so forward and timeless. i love checking out the comments on youtube because i get to learn something new, like the inspiration for this music video: @mogomotsi6595 commented "in the music video janet jackson portrays a lounge singer during the time of apartheid in south africa. the video is inspired by a blend of 1960s and 1970s south african culture, as evidenced by the drum magazine, lion beer, and "slegs blacks" signs that were all over the country. these signs indicate that black people were not allowed to use or enter certain areas. the dressing style of the people in the video was inspired by the work of malick sidibé and seydou keita, two photographers from mali. the video is a powerful statement against racism and discrimination. it shows that even in the darkest of times, there is always hope and beauty. it also celebrates the rich culture and heritage of black people."

besides got 'til it's gone and let's wait awhile, some janet faves of mine are:

the velvet rope (ft vanessa-mae)

what have you done for me lately

all for you

the pleasure principle