Twenty Fifteen

Photo by Jo Vo on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade (when the weather was lovely and not a ridiculously meager 15 degrees)

To put it quite simply: 2014 was nuts. 

In my head, the year was broken up into three main parts.

Part 1 (January-May) 

aka "No Free Time Means No Time to Think About Feelings"

2 internships + 3 babysitting jobs + School = the perfect (kinda) solution to a break-up

Memorable Moments: 

- Interning at Oprah Magazine means free things all the time!

- Getting chosen to work with Oprah's personal stylist to shop for the cover is very weird and very cool

- Interning at Chinamine means free fancy dresses for all important occasions

- My friends are the best

- Graduating is way less underwhelming than imagined. The free alumni pen is pretty nifty though

Part 2 (May-August) 

aka "No I Don't Know What I Want to do After Graduation" and "Screw It, Let's Go to the Beach"

Memorable Moments:

- California in the summertime is always the best

- Kha got married!

- Thien got married!

- Sisters are a great substitute for the first summer being single in awhile 

- Roadtrips around the USA are and will remain a personal favorite

Part 3 (September-December)

aka "I Came to New York to Visit For a Week but Ended Up Getting a Full-Time Job and Canceling My Flight Home and Staying On Friends' Beds/Couches" 

Memorable Moments:

- Yeah, the part where I got a full-time, big-girl job (salary! benefits! paying off loans!) out of the blue and canceled my flight home

- My friends are the best. For almost two months they housed, clothed, and fed me. Did I mention they're the best?

- The working life ain't so grand.

- Back to Brooklyn! Crown Heights, yo.

- Fashion in NYC is much less glamorous than it looks/sounds/is, but thank God for a job anyhow 

So that's 2014 in a nutshell. 

It's surreal and I'm still processing it and I have no idea what's in store next or if I'll stay in New York or stay at my job or even stay with this profession that I thought I wanted but am now questioning. I don't have the faintest clue. But I do know that if you told me a year ago that all of this would have been in my future, I'd have run away screaming. Yet God has funny, wacky, unexpected plans that end up being pretty amazing. I'm very much still figuring it out, but what's life if not to be challenged and grow from that? 

So here's to a new year with new everythings. Cheers!

Old Photos; New Year

Well now, it's been awhile! Nothing like a new year to get the thoughts flowing and the archived photos out in the open. Here's a small upheaval of photos from the road trip my family took through Utah and Arizona this summer.

Nothing like some outrageously beautiful scenery and crazy family time to round out a great vacation!

Summertime Simplicity

Tank: Urban Outfitters [hand-me-down from Jo]

Short: F21 [$11 but bought w/ a gift card!]

Sneakers: Pro-Keds via Costco [a gift from mi madre]

During the summer, there's usually two criteria of dressing for me. 1) Wear as little as possible without being scandalous 2) Simple is supreme, but keep things interesting. This here outfit meets my criteria pretty spot-on. I got this awesome tank top from Jo (that's Joanne Vo/ex-roommate/blogger extraordinaire/very great human-being) and it's unsubstantial, whispy, and perfect. I got a gift card from one of the jewelry editors from my past internship and bought these F21 shorts with it. They're kinda funky and tie weird at the front and are an extra small but still too big, but I thoroughly enjoy them for those very same reasons. I wore this outfit while biking around Mile Square Park with Mary (the last posted outfit was from biking around the park with Daisy the day prior) and shall probably repeat this exact same getup at least a half dozen more times this summer.

Photos by Mary

Uniform

Shirt: Haute Hippie [intern gift]

Bandeau: F21 [$5]

Shorts: American Eagle [$4]

Sneakers: Pro-Keds via Costco [a gift from my mom]

This top isn't exactly something I'd pick out for myself, but that's also part of the fun of dressing for me. My internship boss said she saw it and thought of me and it was incredibly flattering and affirming to get the gift and realize "oh, you actually like me!" Whoop whoop! Because the back is all cool and drape-y, I decided to just wear a bandeau underneath. Nothing like dressing down fancier pieces of clothing!


If I get my posting right, it should be Saturday and my cousin Kha is getting MARRIED TOMORROW!

Photos by the Dais

As Normal As It Gets

Blazer: [hand-me-down from Khue]

Shirt: [from the "free pile" of internship #2]

Pants: Uniqlo [$5]

Flats: Old Navy [$3]

I wore this to work the other day and didn't think twice about it until my mom commented on how "fashion" I look. Which usually means that what I'm wearing is a bit crazier than what the average person would wear. Whoops! I actually thought my outfit was pretty normal, but then I guess my definition of normal is a bit skewed. This bright tomato/orange blazer is really fun to wear because it has some padded shoulderness going on. Also, the shirt underneath is covered in these cool reflective plastic sequins. These polka dotted legging pant things are also one of my favorites because of how easy they are to wear (Uniqlo at its finest). 

Photos by Mary, the eldest!

Pajama Worthy

Shirt: Zara [$6]

Pants: [intern gift, I forget the brand!]

Flats: Old Navy [$3]

Necklace: Swarovski [a graduation gift]

The ever elusive and awesome pants that elicit the important question of whether or not you're wearing sleepwear! These kinds of trousers are the best: they're just so fantastically comfortable. And there's pockets! And a tapered leg! I was given a swag bag on my last day of interning (internship #2), and these pants were one of the crown jewels. Like I said before fashion internships are hard work for no money, but some of the perks are lovely!

Photos by the littlest sister

Back, Back, Back It Up

Dress: Erin Fetherston [a gift from one of my internships]

One downside of fashion internships is never getting paid. The upside is that you get free goods! There's different factors involved of course, but I was blessed with the opportunity to intern at a fashion production company that makes clothes for some well-known brands. After a year and a half of interning there and learning some of the ups and downs of production in the fashion industry, I got a few new dresses alongside the learning experience. SCORE. My lovely boss let me choose a dress for a fancy schmancy dance at my school, and I got this super cool Erin backless dress. Garments with interesting backs are awesome, and when I tried this beaut on, I knew it was a keeper. Other than the deep V back, I especially love the slight glitter top and the detailing at the waist. 

*Insert emoticon with heart eyes here*

I wore this to my great-aunt's 70th birthday party (and boy was it a party), ate a ton of delicious things, and shimmied on the dance floor with my little cousins. Good stuff indeed. I leave today for a road trip with my family towards Zion National Park and ending with my cousin's wedding (!!) in Flagstaff, AZ. Enjoy your Father's Day!

Photos by Daisy