"Oh! Let's Get Lost"

Playing: Daydreamer - Bipolar Sunshine
Reading: Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald

After seeing so much of the Costume Institute on Hamish Bowle's Instagram, I couldn't hep but want to see it for myself. However, I never got the chance during any of my family jaunts to New York. Consequently, it was one of the first places I checked out when I started at NYU. At the time, it was their "Death Becomes Her" exhibit, which chronicled mourning clothing. Interesting but not what I expected at all. Half a dozen Met trips later, I made a point of seeing the "China:Through the Looking Glass" exhibit before heading back to SoCal. It was amazing how the Met set up labyrinthine pathways that took you from traditional homes to mirrored hallways all showcasing Chinese influence on Western design. Overall, I enjoyed the exhibit and the chance to see so many pieces from John Galliano, Tom Ford, and Jean Paul Gaultier. Even though the exhibit did include pieces from other brands like Valentino and Rodarte, I would have liked to see more from other designers other than the three previously mentioned.

"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.

Central Park

Playing: Maps for the Getaway-Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness
Reading: Aeneid by Virgil

Autumn in the city is short and sweet. It feels like it goes by way too quickly before the icy winds come by and make going outside a downright torturous experience. Luckily for me, I managed to make it to Central Park with a group of friends before it got too cold. Central Park is actually really pretty and I loved the post-sunset blue glow that the city gets before it becomes pitch black. Walking around Central Park and digging into a waffle from Waffle and Dinges (located on the SE corner of the park) is a really scenic and pleasant way to spend an afternoon. Definitely recommend it to all of you!

I'm wearing: Coat-Topshop, Sweater-BDG, Jeans-H&M, Shoes-Converse, and Scarf-Random Stall in Istanbul.

h a l l o w e e n

Playing: Il Volo Mix
Reading: Bacchae by Euripides

Happy Halloween everyone! I hope your Halloween was filled with fun adventures and horrific costumes. I know mine was. This Halloween marked my first Halloween in New York and for many of my friends, marked their first Halloween ever. Being the clever college students we are, my friends and I thought it would be hilarious if we went as the Wizards of Waverly Place, since NYU has buildings located on Waverly Place. We spent the afternoon doing an elaborate photo shoot, which you can see on my Instagram, before heading to class. As soon as the sun set, we hit up SoHo and the East Village before ending the night at St. Marks with late night boba. SoHo and the East Village really know how to put on a show with the Village Parade and all of the elaborate costumes out there. Cheers to the confident guys walking around in boxes dressed up as either God's gift to women or kissing booths! Those costumes totally work on women.

Jeff Koons: A Retrospective

Playing: Granada-Il Volo
Reading: Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds by Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle

Left to Right: Matthew, me, Yish, Aristo, and Filip

It feels like I've done a lot within my first month at NYU yet I haven't taken that many photos. Fortunately, I went camera happy at the Whitney Museum of American Art, so I was able to write this post. I loved how the Whitney Museum managed to showcase a wide variety of Koons' work from the past three decades and how they dedicated five floors to this retrospective. Seeing Koons' balloon dog sculptures in real life alongside the infamous "The New" (a collection of vacuum cleaners in clear boxes) was  pretty exciting for me. I've seen them in books and online for years yet never saw them aside from a small collection at LACMA. Apart from looking at the art and enjoying free tickets courtesy of NYU, my friends and I pondered the deeper meanings of each piece of art jokingly or at least that's what we thought. As we walked away from one painting, we heard a security guard laugh and say to himself, "Holy shit. College students these days." 

PS I'm changing my URL soon to satellite-buzz.blogspot.com soon, so don't be alarmed when the name of my blog changes on your news feed. 

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.

New York The Last Bit of Day 6

Playing: Fly Away-Moulin Rouge
Reading: W March 2012

For the last day of my vacation in New York, my family and I met up with my uncle for the afternoon. We grabbed lunch at Ben's and ate to our stomach's content. I got the Fried Kreplach to share with everyone, which were basically large dumplings deep fried and topped with mouth watering onions. It was so good, but the chopped liver my brother ordered was even better!

For myself, I ordered the Hungarian Goulash, which came with a side of peas. The meat wasn't as tender as they claimed, but my definition of tender is ten times more tender than the average American. The sauce was good and the noodles tasted home-y. Ben's is great, if you're willing to wait for a table, but just be warned, the portions are gigantic!

Afterwards, we walked to the Intrepid Museum except my parents didn't tell my brother or me what Intrepid was, so I asked my brother, "What's Intrepid? I hope it's a good bakery. I could go for a cannoli." "We just ate, so I doubt it. Stop obsessing over cannolis right now," my brother responded. Yes, that's what a pig I can be. While we were at the Intrepid Museum, I spent a long time looking at the self eject seats and I would like to get those installed in every car. It could be fun; you never know! Even if you're not into airplanes, Intrepid is a lovely place to go to because the view is lovely!

We then headed over to Little Italy again, since I adore Little Italy more than most places in New York. The food is sublime there. At De Gennaro, they give you complimentary bread with an olive oil spread, but I only like the center parts of bread, so I only ate that, thinking no one would notice. My mum picked up the bread and looked at the middle and then glared at me. Then later on, my uncle picked up the same piece and went, "Who did this?" Who else other than me? I thought they would never notice, but I was wrong.

This is probably my new favorite dish at De Gennaro. It's the Penne alla Gennaro and it had, if I can remember correctly, pancetta, peas, and mushrooms in a tomato cream sauce. It was literally perfection and it wasn't too heavy, nor too light. This is probably one of my favorite pastas I've ever had. No joke.

Finally, we went to my favorite eatery in New York, Ferrarra Bakery for my favorite cannolis in the world. I probably got over 3 dozen of these beauties, while I was there to share with my family and I brought a dozen home back to California. These are one of the main reasons why I love New York and why I always want to go back. My brother also bought a cream filled lobster tail to share with me and my dad bought a baba rum for himself and only himself.

On the last night of our trip, we watched the light show that Saks Fifth Avenue was putting on. It was nice and it attracted quite the crowd, so it was good advertisement for Saks. I really like how New York does these types of things, just putting an ounce of magic into everything. Even though this was my last day there for this trip, I like how I always know it's not my last time there. I like knowing that one day I'm going to have another Ferrarra cannoli, visit more flag ship stores of my favorite designers, and that New York always has something more to offer me. One day I want to see the High Line and next time, I'll explore more of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Until then, I'll be sitting in my classes, dreaming about the next time I'm in this wonderful city.

What's your favorite part of New York?

New York Morning of Day 6

Playing: Young-The Summer Set
Reading: Elle March 2012

On the last day of my fabulous trip to New York, my family and I started off the day going to Macy's to look at the window displays because we heard they were better than the ones at Saks. Not true. I mean they were creative and had a beautiful set, but Saks weaved wonderful designer gowns into a children's story. That wins in my book.

Afterwards, I forced my parents to take me to the Meatpacking District to see the lovely Moschino store. All of the furniture was so adorable from the plush heart chairs to the coin purse inspired couch inside. Then again, what do I expect from the designer that brought the perfect blend of cute and high fashion to us? The employees were all very kind and took out anything you wanted to see too, so that's always a plus side!

The Alexander McQueen store was one of the things at the top of my list to visit. Long before Lady Gaga and his suicide brought his name to attention, I have admired his work. Sarah Burton has done such an amazing job taking over from him. She remains true to McQueen's original edgy style, but has brought a softer, more feminine look to the house.

Inside, it felt like a futuristic tunnel with curved walls and corridors plus mirrored rooms lit up brightly. I liked how the store was just as interesting as the clothes. However, the staff really needed to pay more attention to the guests. They didn't catch me taking photos as most stores do and I took photos right in front of the workers. Also, the most acknowledgment I received was, "Excuse me, why are you taking more than one look book?" Because I wanted to bring some home for my friends, duh. The clothes were so much more magnificent in real life though. I'm so used to seeing them on the runway.

While walking back to the subway, I saw this brick apartment building with another all black one popping out of it! I love how New York has all of these interesting buildings and wouldn't it be great to live there? I wonder if the black part was just added on or if it was designed that way for "artistic" purposes. Also, if they built on, why didn't they just build it right on top, instead of meshing it into the original building?

Then we headed off to the Garment District to meet my uncle for lunch. While walking around, I passed the one and only, Spandex World! What do you think? Should I buy fabric for my prom dress here? Jokes or course...But seriously, all my friends saw this photo on my Facebook and questioned me about this place.

Ooh and just because I want to save the rest of my last day in New York for another post, I'll leave you with the two other items I bought in New York other than my Alexander Wang shoes. I saw these NYU students all in suits wearing top hats having a photo shoot and I fell in love with them, so I decided to get my own top hat at the Metropolitan Opera Store. I have actually worn it quite a few times already and people always stare at me when I wear it, which is pretty fun, I guess. Then I got the pocket watch at the fair in Central Park. I seriously dress like a dandy sometimes, but it's not because I want to be a pompous male from the 1800's. It's because I quite like dressing up and I like being "quirky" and wearing this type of stuff gives me great joy.

What's your favorite store/boutique?

New York Day 5

Playing: Little Trip to Heaven-Tom Waits
Reading: Style.com/Print Spring 2012

Started off my morning the same way as usual, just walking around and enjoying the sights. When we headed over to the Metropolitan Museum and found ourselves in Little Germany. We stopped off at Heidelberg to grab lunch and I got the recommended Apple Pancake. It was extremely tasty and massive, so I gave some to all of my family members. I wasn't expecting it to be so dessert like, but I'm not one to complain about having dessert for lunch, now am I?

Once we were done eating, we walked to the Metropolitan Museum to see the Egyptian exhibit, which I read about in a book. Ever since reading about the temple they have, I've wanted to visit it. It was wonderful and I loved how the fountain surrounded it!

This central court area, not sure of the name, was really beautiful! The glass ceiling allowed plenty of natural sunlight to come in and the statues were magnificent. I think this might've been my favorite area in the whole museum, but I can't say for sure, since there was no way I could fit the whole museum in one day!

When I walked out of the contemporary art section, I saw these Japanese tourists sleeping. It was kind of hilarious, when an employee asked the two of them if they were feeling alright. The two of them looked so startled and the employee was genuinely concerned for them.

The medieval weapons area had so many suits of armor, which scarily, were my size! I stood next to them and most of the suits of armor were my height or just an inch higher, so that means, I'm as tall as the average medieval male! I really liked this section, which made me feel odd because I was one of the few girls there that was enjoying it as much as the boys...

We then headed off to the Roman art exhibit, which was lovely, but our dinner reservations were coming up soon, so we had to zoom through this area. There was this really good artist there that was sketching all of the statues. I should've asked the man for a picture, but I thought it would be rude of me to disturb him, while he was drawing.

We then took a subway over to Bobby Van's to celebrate my brother's birthday. We ordered the porterhouse with sauteed mushrooms and creamed spinach. You can't tell by the photo, but they overcooked our steak majorly. We ordered medium rare and received medium well. I've been to Bobby Van's twice and both times, they overcooked my steak, but my brother and father insist that the steak is really good, when done right, so I'll have to see. Thank you for reading!