A DAY IN DTLA

I don't know if it's a good thing that I've gotten used to driving 30-45 minutes to get coffee or a bite to eat, or if it's just sad...but sometimes, it's just nice to go somewhere local. In the past 5-10 years, Downtown Los Angeles has seen an incredible revitalization.

Cafes, coffee shops, and amazing restaurants keep popping up, and with so many new places to discover, it's hard to know where to start. That's why I recruited my mom to spend a day Downtown. She's not much of a city gal, though...her walking pace is super slow and she's not that great at finding street parking. I think she had fun, though, when I wasn't asking her to abstain from drinking her 10-shot juice sampler until I finished taking pictures of it.

After searching, in vain, for street parking, we settled for an $18 flat rate public parking structure. Gotta love the city. We made our way to

Verve Coffee

, a spot known for its signature plant-covered outdoor patio. I'd dare to compare it to a hipster Rainforest Cafe...but without the waterfall sounds effects and huge animal models. It's been a good 10 years since I've been to Rainforest Cafe though, so that comparison might be a bit of a stretch.

My point is that this spot is super, super cool. 

And what better way to enjoy your coffee, than while surrounded by walls of winding greenery and insanely wealthy young adults toting enormous shopping bags from the new Acne in town and complaining about how often their parents call them??

(No, seriously. I had a minor meltdown during the first part of my time at Verve because of the people sitting at the table next to me. And yes, one girl actually complained about how often her mother called her, then continued to say that she contacts her dad via email only.)

After this slightly intimidating group left, I was finally able to take pictures of my latte and my mom's 10-juice sampler without fear of judgement. Our new table neighbors were also much more kind and welcoming; we met their dog, Kevin, an adorable chihuahua mix (this is saying a lot, as I tend to hate small dogs because they remind me of rats) that had been rescue from a junkyard.

We enjoyed the majority of our sampler (my favorites were "The Redhead," "The Pipe Cleaner," and "Hot Lei," while the "Block Rockin' Beats" and "Cream Party" were a little harder to stomach), and all-in-all, $12 is a pretty good deal for 10 juice shots and the feeling that you've done something to healthify your diet.

After our coffee and juice date, we bid farewell to our new friend Kevin to explore the new APC, Acne and Aesop stores in the area.

Let's just say that we had a lot of fun at Aesop. Maybe a little too much fun. I mean, it's really hard to say no when a lovely sales associate offers to pamper you by massaging wonderful lotions and balms into your hands. It's like a spa treatment...but free.

We left Aesop happier, cleaner and excited to start using our purchases, a favorite of which was the Resurrection Aromatique Hand Balm, a deliciously hyrdating hand cream with hints of mandarin orange and lavender.

I'm so glad to have added this wonderful product to my list of summer essentials, which also includes

Bali Body's Natural Tanning and Body Oil

(I

swear

 by this stuff - it gives me a beautiful bronze glow, while helping to diminish the appearance of skin irregularities, including my eczema), and my favorite sunnies from Toms.

What are your summer essentials?

BACK AT IT

I've always done well in school...until second semester of my first year at Berkeley. Let me tell you, it was rough. It really was.

All I'm going to say is, life happens. And there comes a time where you have to prioritize your health and happiness, even if it means taking a year off school.

Which brings me to this point: I'm taking a year of school. It's so weird to think that all of my friends will be a year ahead of me when I go back, and it's also really terrifying. I keep going back and forth between being completely confident in my decision to take time off, and freaking out and worrying about what this says about me as a person. Am I lazy? Will I ever be successful? I'm always going back and forth, but I know that at this point in my life, I have to focus on myself - my health and happiness. I can always go back to school. It's just a year.

So...now, I have an entire life to do whatever. I mean, not

whatever

. I'm currently job-hunting (am I the only who hates questions like, "What is the theme song to your life?" Like I don't even know what that's asking!! Do they want to know what my favorite song is? Or do they want me to tell them a song that describes my life? Job applications are draining), and I'll hopefully be blogging a lot more than I have as of late (so sorry about that two-month absence...).

My pool's been under construction for the past year-ish, so naturally, I used it to shoot the pictures for this post. I never did much shopping while I was away at school, so when second semester ended, I had a huge list of things I wanted, including this amazing

denim button-up mini

from topshop. I'm a tad obsessed. I love the A-line cut, and the buttons up the front are super cute and elevate the denim mini's we're all familiar with to a trendier level. You know the ones...those suuuuper short skirts that are just really boxy and are usually worn with cowgirl costumes and stuff?

The weather in LA has been so odd lately. One day, it's 60 degrees and raining, and the next, it's a beautiful 75. I don't understand. I had actually planned  to shoot this look with a white cropped cami, but the day I planned to wear it, the projected high was 60, so to keep with the 90's theme of the denim skirt, I settled instead on my mom's vintage long-sleeve. This is the only item of clothing I can share with my mom, since she's about 5'4" and 90 lbs.... *sigh*

And obviously, I had to finish the look off with some high-top chucks. This look is definitely 90's all the way. I can't even remember the last time I wore a denim skirt, but I'm pretty glad about the giant comeback denim is making!

So go channel your inner 90's/early 00's childhood years! If only we could get those quality Disney shows back, too...

*moment of silence for "That's so Raven" and "Lizzie McGuire"*

Shirt - from my mom

|

Skirt - Topshop

|

Shoes - Converse

SOHO DREAMS

I know that, on my Instagram, I promised I was done posting pictures from New York...but I never said I wouldn't continue posting about my trip on here!

See what I did there?

I don't know if any of you are Pinterest-lovers, but if you are, grab a box of tissues now. Because you aren't ready for this.

One of the first boards I created when I started my Pinterest account maybe five years ago was my "Dream House" board (

take a look if you dare

). It's hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that such perfect living quarters exist. Like...you're seriously telling me that, somewhere out there, there's a beautiful loft space overlooking Central Park, with floor-to-ceiling windows and to-die-for hardwood floors? I refused to believe these places actually existed.

And then, I visited

The Apartment by THE LINE

, and my Pinterest dreams became a reality.

The Apartment is a fully-furnished living space that really gives customers a taste of the SoHo lifestyle. Everything you see is available for purchase -- from the dainty cosmetics lining a sunny windowsill, to the clothes hanging in the walk-in closet, to the marble cheeseboards in the dining area.

I have honestly never been so in love with a living space my entire life. From the moment I walked in, all I wanted to do was spend hours walking around and seeing every single item in every single room. I contemplated just staying there, perhaps hiding in the bathtub and hoping no one would notice I was still there when it came time to close.

I mean, really though. See this clothing rack, filled with beautiful yet simple pieces, stationed right next to a pillowy bed atop a bohemian rug, the sun filtering through the large windows and tinting everything gold?

And who wouldn't want a walk-in closet with the aesthetic of a Hollywood star's wardrobe?!!

I'm not even exaggerating when I say there were tears in my eyes. Yes. A living space -- specifically, this one -- brought me to tears.

This is the dream. This is where I want to be one day.

I have no idea where I'll be in 5, 10 or 15 years. I have no way of knowing where I'll be, what I'll be doing, or how I'll be doing. It can be hard when you want something so badly -- when you know where you want to be but you don't exactly know how to get there. Nothing is for certain, but I'd like to think that with hard work and a bit of soul-searching, I'll one day live in a space like this one, with good company and a job I love. These are my SoHo dreams.

**I realize that that was a really dramatic (maybe even pretentious) ending to a blog post, so I'm just going to top this off with some food pics, because...well...food.

You know who does healthy food best? The Australians. I absolutely adore

Two Hands

in SoHo, with their sunny vibe and authentic (very Australian) employees and delicious bites.

And last thing -- there's really nothing better than a gourmet ice cream cone. Call me a food snob, but I LOVE gourmet ice cream. Sure, I'll occasionally dig into my personal pint of Ben&Jerry's Cherry Garcia, but give me some weird, pretentious-sounding flavors (like Earl Grey, or Lavender-Honey), and I'm 100% on-board.

Morgenstern's

is an adorable ice cream shop with a plethora of unique flavors. After much indecision, I settled for one scoop each of the Cardamom-Lemon Jam (is that food-snobby enough?) and Burnt Honey, all nicely tucked into a sugar cone. I even added some dark chocolate chunks in to make things even

more

interesting than they already were.

Moral of the story is: if you love ice cream, go to Morgenstern's for a unique experience (and the cutest little interior you've ever seen in your life).

And just to conclude and highlight my major points here:

  1. The Apartment by THE LINE is the most beautiful apartment I've ever seen, and I will do everything within my ability to one-day live somewhere like it.
  2. Australians make great food. Like, really, really great food.
  3. Morgenstern's does gourmet ice cream best.

NEW YORK - DAY 4

I'm going to start this post with an apology: I sincerely apologize to all those follow me on Instagram, and who read this blog, who have seen nonstop uploads of pictures from my trip to New York, which at this point, ended almost three weeks ago. You might say I have somewhat of an obsession with the city. We're all I a little crazy, I guess.

That being said, here goes a super belated post about day 4 in the "city that never sleeps."

I spent the second day of my trip in Brooklyn, where I visited a flea market-type indoor shopping spot. It was there that I found the

Fig Collective

. And I'm so glad that I did.

My eye was immediately caught by the most incredible bomber (besides the

rose gold Acne Studios bomber...I swear, I cry every time I see it

) I have ever seen. The perfect shade of green - something between forest and olive. I tried to tear myself away as soon as I heard the price was $200 (*wait, I just looked it up online and retail is $260???!!!!).

After the devil and angel on my shoulder bantered for a bit, I was able to talk the shop owner into letting me buy the jacket for $180, no tax. I was actually pretty surprised with my bartering skills.

Fast-forward to Day 4, when I went to the Fig Collective showroom in Brooklyn to pick up my baby (the bomber; I do NOT have a child).

From the showroom, we went to Toby's Estate, where I ordered a Roast Turkey Melt with mustard creamed kale, Gouda, and maple sriracha. Heavenly. I expected the sandwich to be really heavy, but it was surprisingly light thanks to thin but crispy slices of Pullman bread.

When you're thinking about that goal summer bod, but you're also thinking about all the delicious food out there...like this roast turkey melt with mustard creamed kale, smoked Gouda and maple sriracha from @tobysbrooklyn... #thestruggle
A photo posted by Caitlin (@caitlinntayy) on Apr 12, 2015 at 11:16am PDT

(Also I am SO sorry the embedded Instagram picture isn't centered. It's bugging me SOOOO much, but I don't know how to fix it :( Someone who knows coding, please help!)

Out of all the amazing cafes, restaurants and other eateries I visited in New York,

Toby's Estate

is definitely the one I miss most. The coffee was flawless, the food menu diverse yet simple, and interior nothing short of perfect. In all honestly, I would have had absolutely no problem living there.

Like in the coffee shop.

I never thought I would say a coffee shop represents everything I want in my future living space, but here we are. 

From our coffee stop, we decided to play tourist and headed to the High Line. The weather was perfect - clear blue skies and warm if you stood in the sunlight (but frigid in the shadows). I was actually surprised by how long the High Line was. I don't remember the total distance, but I think we walked something like 20 blocks each way (that might be completely off, but my point is that our walk on the High Line was the fastest we traveled, even considering car and subway rides, the entire trip)?? It was actually somewhat surreal because there was so much greenery along the High Line, that it was as if we had traveled to some European countryside. It felt nothing like New York, and yet, the apartment buildings on either side brought us back to reality. Very cool.

WHITE-OUT

white-out

You never know how edgy an all-white outfit really is...until you try to wear one.

You know those times when you decide to wear a single article of white clothing and consequently spend the rest of the day worrying about spilling crumbs, coffee, tomato sauce etc. etc. etc. onto that item?

Well imagine that fear, magnified to the level of an outfit with

only

 white clothing items.

Yup. It would be petrifying.

I've never worn an all-white outfit, myself, but I'm ready to try. And these Polyvore sets I created definitely gave me some inspiration.

The first would be great for a Spring lunch date. I like the idea of mixing textures for all-white outfits as a way to bring variety to the look. Here, chiffon lounge shorts contrast with a delicate, hand-beaded crop top.

The focus on this second look isn't so much on contrasting textures, but rather, contrasting styles. A cropped, lace-detail top and high-waisted slacks create a crisp, dressier foundation for the outfit. Dress it down with leather trainers (I'm obsessed with the Nike Air Force 1's) and a perforated messenger bag, for a sportier element.

I know the gem on the ring is grey, the nail polish is blue, and the frames on the sunnies are purple...so maybe this is a bit of a cheat, but I'm going to overlook that. After all, those accessories can easily be changed. You could do white almond-shaped acrylics, and an opal ring! Opal would actually be stunning, as the stone itself is mostly white, but there are flecks of color that reflect beautifully in the light.