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5-4-2025 MY FAVES: heading east, delicious guitars, and travel shows

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  music of the week in honor of api heritage month, here are songs by and featuring asian and pacific artists that i love:   2gether - far east movement, roger sanchez, kanobby la la la (acapella) - naughty boy, sam smith atoul - zeyne paper planes (dfa remix) - m.i.a., dfa spring breakers - charli xcx, kesha  after reviewing my old radiooooo likes, i discovered the song conscious of my conscience  by womack & womack . the instrumental is so addicting, i realized i like a lot  of songs with that and similar kind of guitar sound. i am instrumentally illiterate, and cannot play one instrument, nor have any knowledge of musical and instrument terms. i did compile a playlist of similar guitar(ish?) sounds that i thoroughly enjoy. i can't describe the sound other than it being rich like mousse - or tasty like umami. just indescribable. not sure if i have some kind of synesthesia (can one be diagnosed with it or do we self-diagnose?), but here's the playlist, simp...

5-4-2025 MY INSPO: in honor of api month

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may is asian and pacific islander heritage month - and we may not realize how much asian culture shaped our history and the whole world. from the silk road, to fireworks, to spices and tea originated from india.. harajuku girls appropriated by gwen stefani, our favorite sushi spots with lychee-tini's, pineapple on pizza, the indian bead purses that the girlies were obsessed with a few months ago. yoga, anime, hawaii vacation dreams, some of the best 2000s hits were inspired by bollywood. the list goes on. let's think for a bit about the icons of asian descent. for now i'll share 5 items, icons, moments of asian heritage that stay rent free  in my mind. tabi shoes the internet is divided by the tabi's, most often referred to maison margiela tabi shoes. some call them hoof shoes, many find them a sensory nightmare, while other (anti)fashionista's will praise their boots and ballet flats. tabi's have been on my wishlist for some time now, something about them being...

4-27-2025 MY WEEK: international eating, constructive criticism, and art events around

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  i come to you with another recap of my week, and a list of my fits. i've got boxes of leftovers this week - i was very international with my food and dinner choices. i made a korean bbq bowl with rice, then went to get mexican at a local restaurant, following day enjoyed an all-american cleveland wrap and a long island, then enjoyed mediterranean mezze, belgian waffles, and a chinese buffet.  one day boyfriend brought a huge pile of clothes he wanted to try on and "model" for me, which i thoroughly enjoyed, but now this pile is still in my room. bestie victoria and i went to the museum of art on saturday. she wanted to try out her newest gadget, a vintage camera with black and white film. i was interested in the fine print fair happening this weekend. after tinkering with the camera for a few minutes, we were ready for this adventure. i genuinely thought i could find some affordable prints for the house, but i was brought back to reality once i saw the 4 digit prices on...

4-27-2025 MY FAVES: food, drugs, and video games

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  books of the week i completed my reading of medium raw.  my takeaway? the all american hamburger died some time ago. what would anthony bourdain think about the millennial burger joint meme circulating?  i want to try a tasting menu one day in this lifetime, as well as to visit a michelin rated restaurant.  my new read is unmask alice  by rick emerson . i read the book go ask alice  when i was in 4th grade, and it left a mark on my impressionable preteen brain. this book, however, uncovers the truth and backstory on how this controversial book/diary was actually a total scam, and how it boosted the drug panic and satanic panic (as the "anonymous author" also wrote a similar diary about a teenage satanist). i am so excited to dive into this investigative piece. 15 years later, let's uncover the truth about alice. 

4-27-2025 MY INSPO : does god dream of chrome?

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  it's been a hectic week for us catholics with easter festivities and the symbolic passing of pope francis has got us all reflecting on our faith and religion. bestie nicole and i were just praising the pope on easter sunday, then once again faith was brought to the table during bestie victoria and mine lunch at one of our fave spots, zhug .  i am not going to go in depth on my personal view on religion, but i will say, pope francis left a legacy and impact on many, including me. and to focus on the topic of fashion, what an interesting concept that his holiness worked with the met and conde nast in 2018 to create one the most iconic met galas in the recent years: heavenly bodies: fashion and the catholic imagination . the catholic church had it's fashion and pop culture moment. to this day these looks are recycled onto moodboards (including mine very often). this collaboration seems contradicting though. the met gala being gluttonous, boisterous event for the elite, with hea...

4-20-2025 MY WEEK: recession indicators and spoiled mothers

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  i want to be forever 21 do you remember your first forever 21 purchase? i got my first yellow bag from my aunt the summer of 2014 after i was begging for a skater skirt. american apparel everywhere digitally, but in reality i lamented alongside 5sos, "so close but so far away..." yet forever 21, quick in following trends, came in handy. not just with a plain black skirt but also with flower crowns, and boho crop tops i ordered from my aunt when she would ask what i'd like from the usa.  while i am a big supporter of the thrift and slow fashion, forever 21 was my saving grace upon moving and needing clothes. it continued to be a savior for nights out when sib felt like "she had nothing in her closet".  i haven't been to my local (basically half-empty) mall since last year (successfully avoiding it during the holidays), and i almost forgot that the forever 21 company filed for bankruptcy, until we went shopping for my mom (this lady has orders when we come a...

4-20-2025 MY INSPO: neotribalism - from festivals to tattoos

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 while sib was heavily dodging the coachella influencer fits and performances, i have to claim of being a victim of the festival culture (mind you the only music festival i ever attended is vlajternativa  when i'm in town).  the first time i heard of coachella was in 2011-12 when one direction imagines  (aka pov's). i had to do a deep dive on what coachella meant, while reading imagine, you and harry at coachella (with an appropriate chevron outfit crafted in polyvore)  and the fans start to recognize him ... coachella definitely did something to my brain, and i mimicked the fashion of festival culture, including tribal prints (called aztec prints at the time?), flower crowns, studs and everything 2010 boho chic. growing up with boomer parents, i had vast knowledge of woodstock, alongside with the belief that i was born in the wrong century. so coachella brought me comfort that i too can be in a very hot and uncomfortable crowded place, waiting longer for t...