April 30, 2017 – Until Next Time (OOTD #10)

New York City: Day 4.

I’m gonna keep this one short because it’s getting late and I’m about to catch my plane home. In truth, I’m glad to go. I’ve been raving about how much I love New York, and trust me, that hasn’t changed, but what I love is the city, and I don’t want to leave – but that’s not necessarily true for the people I’m with.

That’s not really anything against these kids – I can’t think of any group of 40 people who I could tolerate spending 24 hours a day with for 4 days. We’ve had a ton of fun together, but I’m ready to get away from them for a while.

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Today was a pretty-low key day. We went to the 9/11 museum, went back to Little Italy for lunch, and then did some shopping around Chinatown and Times Square. The 9/11 museum was easily one of the highlights of the trip. It was such a moving experience, but I didn’t take any photos there – it didn’t seem appropriate.


Outfit-wise, things were pretty low key as well. I went for all black – not for any particular reason, but sometimes I just feel a little edgy. You really can’t go wrong with black.

And that’s it for today. I should be home before too long, and then it’s back to school tonorrow. Goodnight for now.

Top and shorts: H&M

Choker: Francesca’s

Bonus mirror selfie:

Also, be sure to check out my new Instagram! I just started it a day or two ago, and I’d really appreciate a follow! I follow back 😀

April 29, 2017 – On Top of the World (OOTD #9)

New York City: Day 3

Here we are, with our third and second-to-last Day in New York winding down to a close. In the entire time I’ve been here, the most prominent emotion I’ve felt is exhaustion.

But after exhaustion, what I’ve felt is joy.

I love New York. In fact, it always surprises me when I hear the other kids in my tour group say that they could never stand to live here – for me, it’s more like how could I not live here?

Yes, it’s dirty and crowded and the people are rude, but it’s just the kind of dirty, crowded, rudeness I adore.

Today was spend doing mostly tourist-y things (okay, this entire trip has been pretty tourist-y). We hit St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the Top of the Rockefeller Center in the morning and then the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the afternoon.

The outfit for that part of the day was a pair of loose, colorful shorts and a denim top. It was simple, but practical for the day’s purpose – which was a hell of a lot of walking. To make things a little more interesting, I layered a simple gold necklace   on top for something of a boho look.

That evening, we took a dinner cruise on the Spirit of New York.

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新年快乐 / happy chinese new year !🏮

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I changed into something a little fancier – a traditional Chinese silk qipao dress.

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boom boom (qi)pao

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There aren’t many occasions where I can wear this out (in fact, Chinese New Year is probably one of the only occasions I ever wear it) but I decided to make an exception this time. It looked sad and dejected sitting there in my closet unworn, so I packed it because it’s a crime to not wear a dress like this that fits so well.The boat itself was nothing special, but, with the sun setting and the water sparkling, the marina it was docked on made for some beautiful photos with my friends.

 

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Concrete jungle wet dream TOMOATOOOOOOOO 🍅

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That’s it for now. I’m exhausted, and I fly home tomorrow.
Outfit 1 –

Shorts: Francesca’s

Top: Ann Taylor LOFT
Outfit 2 –

Dress: eBay
Bonus mirror selfies:

Also, be sure to check out my new Instagram! I just started it a day or two ago, and I’d really appreciate a follow! I follow back 😀

April 28, 2017- Springtime in New York (OOTD #8)

New York City: Day 2

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An oldie but a goodie #throwbackthursday

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Another long day has passed, and lemme tell you – I am exhausted.
Today’s agenda has included a visit to the The Today Show, The Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, Little Italy, Chinatown, a Yankees game, and the Empire State Building.

If that sounds like a long day to you, believe me it was.

It was a ton of fun though!

The best parts were when me and a small group of friends were able to split off from the main group and explore the city in our own, such as our excursion to Little Italy.

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Street art is cool! (New York edition)

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I had the best food at a restaurant there called La Bella Vita. The pasta almost brought tears to my eyes, it was so delicious. Another bonus: our waiter had beautiful hair and an even more beautiful accent.
The outfit for today was built for both style and comfort. A high neck bralette layered under a lightweight canvas jacket meant I was prepared whether it was a sunny afternoon or a chilly morning (we experienced both). High waisted jeans meant I had more skin protected from the dirty New York surfaces, and my old black booties with a squat heel was comfortable to walk in.

That doesn’t mean my feet didn’t still feel like lead at the end of the day.

Jacket:

Bralette: Aerie

Jeans: Hollister

Also, be sure to check out my new Instagram! I just started it a day or two ago, and I’d really appreciate a follow! I follow back 😀

April 27, 2017

New York City, Day 1:

Greetings from New York! What a long day it’s been. And I don’t just mean that figuratively – I have been up since 3 AM. It is now 11 PM in the evening, and we’re still going.
It’s been a great day though! Our flight left from Kentucky at a bright and early 6 AM and landed in NYC at around 8. Not bad, right?

Not quite. Our school group was split into two groups, and the second group didn’t arrive until 10ish, meaning I had two hours to sit around LaGuardia and drink coffee, play cards, and *attempt* to take chic airport photos.


Once we finally got our entire group together, we loaded up our luggage into a tour bus and sat. And sat and sat and sat. I’m gonna be honest, it kinda sucked.

Don’t get me wrong, I adore New York. But a tour bus with a broken air conditioner is NOT the way to do it.


The best part of the afternoon was stopping in Central Park for hotdogs and a brief stroll.


My friend and I might have gotten a bit lost, and we might have separated from our group just to realize we couldn’t remember the rendezvous point, but it turned out okay in the end! Plus, I got some killer photos of the city.

So what does one wear for a day of flights, tour buses, and walking around the city? For me, the answer was simple black leggings, a basic white tee, and an oversized grey jacket. The fun wasn’t in the outfit itself here – it was in the accessories. I love this big floppy black sun hat – it makes every outfit a little more chic.

That evening, we headed out to a Broadway production of A Bronx Tale. A Broadway production, of course, requires something a little more fancy than leggings and a t-shirt, so after freshening up at the hotel, I had to change.

 

This outfit involved a eyelash lace red dress with sheer mesh at the chest layered under a bedazzled cardigan, all tied together with some black tights.

Fun fact: I wore that red dress to the Sadie Hawkin’s Dance my sophomore year, and I got the sweater at an H&M when I visited NYC in fifth grade!

The nice thing about Broadway musicals is, no matter how little you like the plot, the characters, or the songs, you can always be assured that the talent and the production value will be top notch.

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here’s an old one

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I’m no theatre critic, but I found A Bronx Tale quite enjoyable!

That’s all for tonight. I’m exhausted. See you in Day 2.

Outfit 1 –

Jacket: Forever21

Shirt and leggings and hat: Target

Outfit 2 –

Dress: MissGuided

Jacket: H&M

Tights: Ann Taylor LOFT

No mirror selfies today. Also, if you’re wondering why some photos have the usual brick background of my house, it’s because I took them in advance in case I didn’t have time to get photos while I was out!