Quotation of the Week

"Most people see the world as a threatening place, and, because they do, the world turns out, indeed, to be a threatening place."

You just lift your arms higher

Lupe Fiasco climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro for the Send Water campaign

The Show Goes On by geovloggity

Favorite lines —

So no matter what you been through
No matter what you into
No matter what you see when you look outside your window
Brown grass or green grass
Picket fence or barbed wire
Never ever put them down
You just lift your arms higher
Raise em till’ your arms tired
Let em’ know you’re their
That you struggling and survivin’ that you gonna persevere
Yeah, ain’t no body leavin, no body goin’ home
Even if they turn the lights out the show is goin’ on!

This song makes me want to conquer the world.

Quotation of the Week

"When a young person is moved by a passion and feels compelled to go on this sort of quest, I think you have to let him. You can't stop him. In our culture we don't have formal rites of passage like in some ancient cultures. Subjecting yourself to risk... may be something you have to go through to be a man or a woman."

Happy valentine's day :)

Lex & Loren - Engagement/Save the date! from Brinton Films on Vimeo.

DIS SO CUTE.

Quotation of the Week

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."

Inversions

Handstand at Machu Pichu via Chris Streeter

I have another serious aspiration: To be able to do an independent handstand, preferably somewhere as cool as the setting in this image. Why am I feeling so jealous of that dude right now?

To the stars if you really want it

Far East Movement

Far East Movement - Rocketeer [DJ Megaman and Panic City remix] by djpaniccity

It takes a little patience to get to the good stuff, and then out of nowhere, just explodes into happiness. I am very loyal to originals, but this ain't too shabby.

I'm really digging their skinny ties.

The embrace... literally.

Image via Lonni Rossi

Klimt is my all time favorite artist, despite the fact that his painting, 'The Kiss,' is apparently the number one poster in college dorms. (Erm, yes, I had one too...). Well, now you can actually have a matching quilt?

I've always been a sucker for Klimt reproductions. Nonetheless, it is unbelievable how even through fabric, glass wire or bottle caps, the essence of his work can still translate.

Liberté, sororité, egalité

We...

Are...

Seniors!


What a wonderful love.

22 on 22!

Champagne Bubbles by © Owen Franken, photographed for the New York Times

It's a superstitious person's dream birthday! And certainly mine, too. 22 is my lucky number, and it's feeling pretty damn good already.

Holdin on to whats golden

Eloquent.

Getting Inspired

Mark Rothko 

His paintings have the insane ability to give off some kind of aura, or energy... which resonates with something very deep and very real within me.

— Photos of a Yearlong Hiatus

I have been a writer, journalist, blogger for more than half my life now. From scribbling down a random thought to the misc reporter job — Writing has always taken up a very real space in my mind. So, it's strange to look back over an entire year (and, yes, this is even after I made that certain New Years resolution to keep up le blog) and realize that I have been way out of practice. That is to say, the practice of creative thinking, hell, worldly thinking and expression. I know, it's all very vague and hocus pocus. A year has gone by and I cannot possibly describe how much a person can grow in just twelve months.

2010 began in Paris.

And flowed into Rome, where old friends met in new places...

Back to school for a semester of reverse culture shock.

Which ended on playful notes.

Made Philly my home for the summer of The Intern Life.

It became a very beloved city; theme of the summer: serendipitous moments.

Plenty of beach frolicking.

For business or pleasure? I think both...

Great nights.

Trips to New York.

To play with ducks "looking at tails."

Celebration of friends and the final year at school!

It's a pizza grin.

A semester of burritos.

And Halloween characters.

And M.I.A.

And pranks on important people.

Of visitors and snowy football fields.

Fishbowls,

And wintry parties.

2010, it's been real. 2011!?

Places I've been in the past year: Paris, Rome, School, NYC, Philly, the JERSEY SHORE. 


Places I plan on going this year: NYC, Dominican Republic, Montreal, DC, Albany, Boston, LA to Napa Valley road trip, da 'Burgh

And I'm planning on keeping a record of it all :) Happy New Years!

2010!

I've been having a chill time since after Christmas. A good friend of mine is staying with me for the holidays. We've always dreamed of being in Paris together... so it's been a surreal experience having her here.

We tried out the famous Ladurée macaroons for the first time. Effing huge line, but it was worth the wait! My favorite flavor tastes like rose petals... and heaven.

Mich with our precious Ladurée macaroons, on the champs-élysées.

The next day I brought her to Montmartre, of course. We were lucky with the weather... it nearly turned into springtime as we climbed up those flights of stairs.

There were lots of artists out in the square that afternoon.

Sartorialist shot!

We chilled and listened to an open-mic session going on in front of sacré-coeur.

The sun finally came out...

Happy!

We stumbled upon the little grocery store that was shot in Amélie.

Afterwards, we took the longest trek I've ever had since being here. I still cannot believe we walked that far... 2.5 hours, perhaps more than 3 miles... from Montmartre to the Eiffel tower to meet a friend for dinner. I still can't believe we walked that much, but it truly was an amazing way to see Paris! We discovered so many things, including a little antiques gallery in the 8th.

New Years was great, except for a horribly timed 24-hour flu that I have (still have a wretched cough and dry throat). So, I'm resting up for the day and starting to implement my resolutions. That's it for now.. à la prochaine.

Merry Christmas!

I really can't believe how amazing my Christmas turned out to be. I thought this year I would have the worst holiday : far away from my family and friends, alone, and broke. Instead, I have to say that I experienced a real Christmas miracle.

At the last second, I found out that a friend from Cornell would be in town and needed a tour guide. Then, a family friend invited me for a home-cooked meal on Christmas day. C'était vraiment génial!


Christmas Eve - My friends and I cooked dinner. They made a Spanish omelette, and I made peppers stuffed with beef and rice. Red wine to accompany it of course.


It was delicious!


The day before we checked out the Louvre (my fourth visit!)


Holy merde, look at all these mecs around the Mona Lisa... or "La Jaconde" as everyone else calls her.


We also stopped at the Galeries Lafayette, a beautiful department store that still has the art nouveau decor from its olden days.


A girly Christmas display.


Starving, we stopped at a boulangerie for some bagged lunches. Haha we felt a bit like school children, sitting on the sidewalk and eating from our brown paper bags.


I then showed them Montmartre and Sacré-Coeur. The stairs are amazing exercise.

Of course we gained back all the calories by finishing our dessert on the steps.


Mine was a framboise tarte, with confectionary sugar on top.


A dark chocolate buche de noël. It had gold flakes on top... one of those "too-pretty-to-eat" things.


After night, we strolled into Pigalle and saw the Moulin Rouge.


Christmas lunch with friends! It was incredibly cozy... We practically took siestas after this gigantic meal.


Appéro : ginger-spiced wine. Entrée : oysters, foie gras, and champagne. Plat : Veal with cranberry sauce, chestnuts and shallots ; baked parsnips and carrots ; green beans ; stuffing ; curried sweet potatoes and parsley ; red wine. Dessert : Blue cheese, minced pies, coffee...

Are you drooling yet? How that all fit in my stomach is a question for the ages.


After coming back to the apartment, I skyped with my family (haha my mom always wears this Christmas sweater).

Amazing company and conversation. Incredible food. Coziness. And walking through the streets of Paris in the fresh air... Prepare yourself for a real corny-sob of a entry : I felt so lucky this Christmas.

I'll post a terribly depressing and sarcastic entry next time to make up for this mushiness.

Merry Christmas!