"A moment you'll never remember..."

Playing: Hallelujah - Panic! at the Disco

Reading: The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro

Since I'm done with my first year at NYU and no longer have a proper excuse for neglecting the blog, I thought I'd write something up quickly. 

Have you ever found that you become ten times more productive/adventurous when you know time is running out? Well, that's what happened to me when I realized that I only had a month left before heading back to SoCal. My last month consisted of running off to finally try the famous afternoon tea at the Plaza and exploring more of Central Park (I went three times!). I also managed a visit to the David Zwirner Gallery to check out my favorite artist's, Yayoi Kusama's, "Obliteration Room" and a stop at Chanel's "No. 5 in a New Light" exhibit.

spring break photo diary

Playing: Hurricane-MisterWives
Reading: Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck (Amazing book!)

Instead of heading back home over spring break, I took a trip along the East Coast with a group of friends, stopping off at Washington D.C., Baltimore, and Philadelphia. Unfortunately, I was sick for most of Washington D.C. and Baltimore. However, I really enjoyed Philadelphia. It wasn't my first time there as I've been there twice before, but I had just forgotten how beautiful Philadelphia can be. On the second day we were there, we visited the Philadelphia Art Museum and walked along the Schuylkill River Trail and wow, it was beyond stunning. The classical style of the Fairmount Water Works and museum buildings contrasted with the modern skyline is just a beautiful sight to see. Baltimore has a more subtle sense of beauty and wonderment than Philly has. Its landmarks and tourist spots aren't as well known and obvious in terms of importance to American history, but it was rare jewels like the American Visionary Art Museum that made me enjoy my time there. The AVAM felt like a collection of relics from my childhood, represented by glittering objects and animated folk art.

Picture: 1-DC War Memorial, 2-Fort McHenry, 3-AVAM, 4-Fairmount Water Works, 5-Honeygrow, 6-Meeting Kazuo Ishiguro at the Free Library, 7-Philadelphia City Hall

Japan Trip: Kobe

Playing: The Weekend-Priory
Reading: After Dark by Haruki Murakami

Between Hiroshima and Osaka, Tina and I spent a day in Kobe with our friend, Alex. Kobe is obviously most famous for Kobe beef, but most of the places serving Kobe beef ranged around 3,000 - 4,000 yen. Since that was out of my spending range, I still visited the famous Steakland but opted for the Large Toast Steak Lunch. I know that meat is more expensive in Japan than it is in the states, but I still felt like it was pretty expensive for a few cubes of steak and to get filled up on rice/veggies.

Within walking distance of Steakland is Ikuta Shrine and Tokyu Hands, which are both great places to walk around whether you want to visit another shrine or go shopping. Ikuta Shrine itself was fairly small but it was worth walking around because of its proximity to Kobe's main tourist attractions and because of the small forest behind it, which houses a fortune teller and another shrine.

The main reason we went to Kobe was to take a look around Chinatown, which is also within walking distance of Ikuta Shrine and Steakland. Although Kobe's Chinatown was smaller than the other ones I've been to, I did like how clean it was. Unlike other Chinatowns, all of the food looked safe to eat and it did not reek of trash, which other Chinatowns often do. Tina and I were shocked at how large the portions were and how most meals were under 500 yen.

These pork buns from Roushouki in Chinatown were by far the best thing I ate during my trip. We waited in line for 30 minutes, figuring a long line meant good food. The long line theory worked. These buns were served right out of the steamer and were incredibly juicy. As soon as we finished off our first round of buns, we immediately got back in line and bought more.

Before boarding the train for Osaka, we visited Harborland, which you can walk to but I highly recommend taking the subway. Harborland is home to the Anpanman Museum and multiple shopping centers. It's a great place to walk around even though it's not exactly unique to Japan. If you can, try to go when it's dark out to see the ferris wheel and Kobe tower lit up. If you were to visit Kobe, I would recommend spending an afternoon there instead of a full day. Eat in Chinatown and explore the area before taking a look at Ikuta Shrine. Then head over to Harborland to look at the Anpanman Museum, shop a bit, watch the sunset, and eat dinner.

Japan Trip: Hiroshima and Miyajima

Playing: Cecilia and the Satellite-Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness
Reading: The Comfort of Strangers by Ian McEwan (Very odd.)

After our time in Fukuoka, we took a Shikansen to Hiroshima, where we spent three days. On our first day there, Tina and I visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and Hiroshima Peace Park, which is what Hiroshima is probably best known for. The museum itself is historically important, I understand, but a lot of the content is rather disturbing because it deals with the effects of the atomic bomb and shows rather graphic photos (and artifacts) of the effects. If you're into history, go take a look, but I wouldn't advise it for children.

We ended up meeting up with our friend, Alex, at our hotel before heading off to Okonomi-mura. Okonomi-mura is a building dedicated to the popular fried cabbage pancake called okonomiyaki with stall after stall of okanomayaki restaurants. At all of the stalls, you sit at a counter, while your food is cooked in front of you. If you're there, you have to order the okanomayaki with noodles in it because Hiroshima is known for its noodle addition.We chose the specific booth we ate at because it was the only one offering okonomyaki made with udon.

The main reason why we stopped off at Hiroshima was so that we could take a day trip to Miyajima, an island popular with Japanese tourists for its shrines and wild deer. Although Miyajima is most famous for Itsukushima Shrine, I personally preferred Daisho-in Temple. The temple sprawled throughout Miyajima, up hillsides and over small streams. Pretty much everywhere I looked was picture perfect.

During high tide, the three of us took a rowboat out to look at the torii, the red arch, that made Itsukushima Shrine famous. The rowboat tour cost 800 yen and the tour is only offered in Japanese. Luckily, I had Tina and Alex there to translate for me. If you can't speak Japanese (or don't have a handy dandy translator), but still want to go out on the ocean to get near the arch, you can try renting a paddle board or wait until the tide is low enough for you to walk to it.

Other than the beautiful shrines and temples, Miyajima had excellent hiking trails and streams to run through. The three of us spent most of our day running up the mountain side and gallivanting through streams to the point where the three of us suffered sore muscles for the next day or so. We only stopped exploring when the sun started to go down out of fear of missing the last ferry back to the mainland. Miyajima also had deer roaming around the whole island, meaning you can go feed deer during your time there too.

PS Don't miss my Japan trip giveaway! Tons of cute beauty products and accessories could be yours. Only 3 days left!

Edit-The giveaway is now closed and Mindy Fan of Broken Eggshells won. I will be contacting you by email shortly.

Japan Trip: Fukuoka and Dazaifu

Playing: Take My Advice-Wild Party
Reading: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

We took a flight from Okinawa to Fukuoka in the middle of Typhoon Neoguri, which was mildly terrifying for me. Luckily, we got to Fukuoka safely and we were the only Okinawan flight to not be canceled that day. Tina and I heard that the typhoon was supposed to follow us to Fukuoka, so we crammed in some sightseeing on our first day in Fukuoka, thinking we wouldn't have the next day. Our first stop was Fukuoka Tower because we heard that it had a spectacular view and I have to agree. Fukuoka Tower offers views of the ocean, of multiple rivers and of Fukuoka itself for a price much lower than that of other towers like Tokyo Skytree.

Once again out of fear of the typhoon, Tina and I felt the need to do all of Fukuoka's most famous activities the first day we were there. Apparently, Fukuoka is well known for ramen, so we tried Shin Shin due to its high ranking on Trip Advisor. While Shin Shin was inexpensive at 500 yen a bowl and the food came out quickly, I wasn't overly impressed with it. Everything about the ramen was pretty standard.

Fortunately, the typhoon didn't come on our second (and last) day in Fukuoka, so we took a day trip to Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine, which is rather beautiful. Other than the flocks of snap-happy tourists, Tina and I both enjoyed the temple plus the area around it.

By way of an elderly local, we discovered Komyozenji Temple, which is extremely easy to get to from Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine. You literally turn down one street and walk straight. (Ask any of the locals and they should know.) While we were at this temple, we found a map detailing other touristy places to look at like a pagoda, so go try that out. You'll get to see some things that are still touristy, but not touristy enough to attract all those snap-happy tourists I aforementioned.

Before heading back into Fukuoka, Tina and I got lunch along the main street leading from Dazaifu Station to Dazaifu Tenmangu Temple at a quaint restaurant called Oshinagaki. The beautiful garden located in the back was the main feature that attracted us to this specific eatery. We both ordered the mixed soba plates, which featured regular soba along with pickled plum and green tea soba. Although it was a bit pricier than I would've liked, I enjoyed my dish and would go back.

Before I leave for New York, I wanted to host a worldwide giveaway for all the things I bought for you guys during my time in Japan. If you win the giveaway, you will receive:

• 1 Rilakkuma Tote Bag
• 3 Bath Bombs in Yuzu, Lavender, and Pine Tree
• 1 Face Mask in White Rose
• 1 Lip Mask in Peach
• 1 Pack of Point Pads in Strawberry
• 1 Rilakkumagazine
• 2 Matcha Green Tea KitKat Bars
• 2 Pompom Hair Scrunchies
• 3 tokidoki Pins

To enter, here are the rules:

1. You must be a public follower of this blog and comment below with your name and email.
2. For an extra entry, you may blog about this giveaway and comment with the link to your post that mentioned my giveaway.
3. For an additional entry, follow me on Instagram @this_is_audrey and comment below with your Instagram username.

This means that there are three entries available. Step 1 is the only mandatory one, but to do steps 2 and 3 you must do step 1. The winner will be announced on August 15 and will be chosen by a random number generator after I add up all of the entries. The winner must respond to my email within four days (August 19) otherwise I won't be able to mail the prize because I will be too busy moving across the country.

time to say goodbye

Playing: Somewhere Only We Know-Keane
Reading: The Honor Code by Kwame Anthony Appiah

It's hard to believe it's been three weeks, since I visited Berkeley. I really love it up there. It feels both more urban and more rural there in a way than where I live. A complete paradox, but the gardens are less tame and the trees grow higher yet there is absolutely nowhere to park your car, which is the case in most cities. Another perk about Berkeley is its cute stores and markets, which are mixed with Berkeley's more famous laid back, anti-authoritarian spirit. (For example, my brother lived a block away from an indoor Swedish ski resort style food court that was next to three medical marijuana stores in a row.)

The reason why I visited Berkeley was to attend my brother's graduation from UC Berkeley. Yeah, that's how smart my brother is-he survived all four years at the sixth best university in the world, according to Times Higher Education. It's weird to think that I won't be heading up in that general area for a long time, since my brother won't be there.

I have several friends that turned down UC Berkeley for UCLA and I really wonder why. I know that UCLA is in a nice neighborhood and that it's known for good looking people, but you can't beat Berkeley's atmosphere. Some of their dorms look like English boarding schools and the town itself is so great.

Talking about how great the city is, Berkeley honestly has the best food. Not only do they have your standard American food, they have revamped versions of almost every country's cuisine. Joshu-ya serves up some amazing Asian fusion dishes such as this pork belly soba, which is fatty, spicy, and refreshing all at the same time. Not to mention, there's also a creative noodle bar, the best Italian joint ever (at the best price ever), a Brazilian hut that focuses on amazing sandwiches, and a Pacific Cookie Company, which sells the craziest, most delicious cookies called Cherry Bombs. If nothing else, on your next San Francisco trip, you should stop by Berkeley for all the food.

New York Photo Diary: Part 2

Playing: Hard to Explain-The Strokes
Reading: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Other than spending inordinate amounts of time shopping and eating, I did manage to fit in a trip to MoMa and the Guggenheim. MoMA is definitely worth visiting, while the Guggenheim can be rather dull other than its fun spiral design. Pictured above are 30 Rock (where Holden Caulfield went ice skating with Sally Hayes), a church near Washington Square Park, a raspberry cronut from Mille Feuille, and some shots taken at MoMA.
In case you were wondering why I was in New York, I was out there visiting NYU, which I will be attending in the fall. That means that I will be moving to the city that Alexander Wang, Marc Jacobs, Simon Doonan, Anna Wintour, etc. call home, which is pretty exciting. If you could give me tips on how to survive winter time, it would be much appreciated. What clothes do I wear? Is it possible to look cute in a puffy coat? Am I going to survive? Will I get stabbed on a subway? The world may never know, but maybe you can help.

New York Photo Diary: Part I

Playing: Anna Sun-Walk the Moon
Reading: Forrest Gump by Winston Groom

New York has always been one of my favorite cities and I've always had this dream of moving there one day and working there before getting married and moving to Los Angeles. One of the things that I love about the city is how busy it is and how it has pockets of history hidden between sleek skyscrapers. New York makes you feel important when you're there unlike LA, which as much as I love it, can feel a bit suburban at times due to the fact that LA is spread out over a vast area of land. Over break, I had the chance to visit New York and pictured above are a few of my favorite shots of buildings I took and the ricotta pancakes at Maialino, a cute albeit pricey cafe.

change of seasons

Playing: I Wanna Get Better-Bleachers

Reading: The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno by Ellen Bryson (Kind of getting tedious.)

Sorry that it's been over 20 days, since I last blogged. I thought about deleting my blog for awhile and couldn't make up my mind, but I'm back with some posts for all of you. Going along with my current love for oatmeal topped with a crap load of berries, I ordered Mona's Breakfast at Haute Cakes with poached eggs rather than egg whites because obviously the yolks are the best part. Even though I think I am capable of making decent oatmeal, Haute Cakes hands down makes the best oatmeal. It's fluffy, creamy, and comes with a ton of fruit. Also, the poached eggs with spinach and salsa verde was very good (and healthy?).

If you live in Southern California, I highly recommend visiting the Flower Fields in Carlsbad, Calif. It's incredibly beautiful and all of the flowers looked like something straight out of a Tim Burton movie (he already did this in Big Fish). Oh and to play into stereotypes, this is how I imagined the Netherlands would look like in elementary school minus the palm trees.

I also did some shopping in my time away (what a surprise!). Here are my recent purchases: a Helmut Lang t-shirt, Zara sweatshirt, and an Aqua puffy coat. My style definitely wavers between being edgy casual and being completely gaudy with tons of sparkles and dangly earrings. It's kind of ridiculous how I'll show up one day in jeans and Converse with a leather jacket and then the next day I come in teetering in heels with a short skirt and glittery necklaces layered around my neck.

I also bought a pair of nude heels for my upcoming prom to go with my D&G dress. I was originally planning on a teal or maroon pair, but then realistically, I would never wear those again, so I went with a safe pair of nude heels from BP. They're actually really comfortable from all of the times I've worn them out and about so far. In my opinion, they also look more expensive than they actually are. I'm sorry for being gone for so long and will start catching up on all of you wonderful blog posts. I feel like I've been out of the loop for such a long time.

crystal clear

Playing: Trouble-Coldplay
Reading: The Stranger by Albert Camus

A week or two ago, I celebrated Tina's and Hannah's birthdays at Crystal Cove. It's a really cute area and I used to spend a lot of time down there as a kid. There are two places to eat down there along with a bunch of summer homes from the 1960s and tide pools, which are always fun to explore. Afterwards, we went to Lemonade at Fashion Island for drinks and went shopping. Just by our wallets, purses, and drinks, I think you can tell a lot about our personal style. Hope you're all doing well!