updating from portland...

vintage levis gingham shirt, acne needle high waisted jeans via shopbop, h&m cardigan, vintage lace up boots

I've been delaying this post far too long, forgive me, I've been busy. Last week I booked a last minute flight to the Pacific Northwest (!!!) and I am currently sitting in PDX waiting for my luggage. Which is late. Umm. Whatever, at least I'm here! These outfit photos are from last Sunday when Brent and I went out for ramen while the food ones are from the following day.

shades of greige henley via ssense, b.son cardigan, april 77 jeans, mezlan shoes

Had to include these photos, even if they're just shots where I'm testing out the lighting on BF. Those jeans are so old lol. I guess things do get better with age? Hah. I also wanted to thank everyone for your comments on that last post, it's nice to see that so many of you don't think of me that way and understand where I'm coming from. The internet is a tricky place but I'm dealing with it. Thanks for your support, guys.

Lunch at El Metate in the Mission. I'd been going for their tortas for about a year now but could never get BF to come with me. The thing with Mexican food in the Mission is that you're so used to having at least five or six restaurants in the same block serving so much of the same stuff that you never really bother to wander anywhere else. El Metate is a couple blocks east of BF's place so it's quite a walk but was totally worth it in the end. He had chicken enchiladas with green salsa and I had a torta with breaded chicken milanesa on dutch crunch (!!!!) and torilla soup. Soooooo good. And it's pretty close to Humphrey Slocombe too if you're in the area...

Anyway, since I didn't really get to vacation this summer I'm really glad I'm taking this last minute trip. I haven't been up here yet and I'll be in Portland until Sunday when we take Amtrak to Seattle to help my friend's sister move in. Plus Camille's going to show us around tomorrow which means awesome food and doooooooooooooonuts. Oh my gosh, DONUTS!

the happy couple

on me: apc dress, h&m cardigan, vintage booties, fjallraven backpack
on him: apc shirt, april 77 jeans, ymc oxfords

I wish I could follow these photos with a detailed and flowery description about how wonderful and picture perfect our day was but actually, I don't wish that at all, I like the lulz that accompany this story. We took BART downtown to the only Del Taco in the city where we were harassed by multiple crazy people (God bless their souls, really, but we were way too cranky to deal with that). My go-to order? Two Del Classic Chicken burritos, they're 2 for $5!! Then we walked to the mall so Mike (BF's roommate) could pick up some war memoir at the bookstore and I made my routine venture into J.Crew to oogle everything there/try to convince Brent to buy more collared shirts.

We left empty handed and stopped by Coffee Bean where I tried to assuage my post-J.Crew window shopping pain with a Jasmine green tea latte. I guess I pouted so much (total understatement) that BF said he'd buy me that Saint James shirt that I wanted. I said he didn't have to (I mean, that's the coy thing to do right?) so we ended up going back down to BART to get home in time for the special episode of Jersey Shore until I stopped at the ticker and yelled "OKAY I WANT IT!" So up we go, up three flights of escalators until we end up at J.Crew (again) and I quickly snatch the shirt and give it to BF. It must have been karma or something but right when BF got in line to pay, my insides started to act up and next think I knew I was running to a bathroom and... well, I'll let you guess what happens there. Ten minutes later, I was still feeling sick and nauseated but Jersey Shore was about to start so we ditched BART and took a cab to get home in time.

Don't know what inspired me to write about all of that but this Jezebel article has been in the back of my mind for quite a while now. Somehow I got lumped into this "Marthette"category about bloggers with seemingly perfect lives which made me question my own approach to blogging... I mean, am I really that misleading? I try to be honest in what I write but damn it, I just really like looking at and taking pretty pictures and am insufferably picky about what I post. I just want to find and capture those fleeting moments that make me so happy, whether it's an outfit that brightened up my day enough to want to share it or a meal that I feel people may like to hear about. I love hearing about people who travel to San Francisco and try restaurants that I recommend or readers who tell me that my simple little outfits helped them find out something about their own personal style. And hey, pictures can be pretty and all but there's always so much more to people's lives than what you see on the internet and it's up to you guys to discern between the things you see and don't see.**

But I really, really do love my life even if I tend to complain about it. I love my boyfriend, I love my friends, and damn it, I really did have a ton of fun yesterday so every smile you see is genuine (especially this picture inside Del after finishing my burrito). I don't like embellishing my life or pretending that it's picture perfect since I'm perfectly content with the way it is and where it is going.

*for the record, I'm surprised these pictures turned out well since we were caught in a gust of wind as Mike took them and were both freezing so much that we huddled up and clutched my latte cup.

**also, I am not trashing the article at all, I can see where the writer is coming from. What you see online can be misleading but my point is that viewers should know that a blog cannot encapsulate every single detail in a person's life and it varies from blogger to blogger how selective they choose to be with what they post. I'm a very private person, I share what I want to share with people I don't know and keep the rest to myself or friends. If everything seems too perfect and impossible, I'm sorry, but there are things that happen to me behind the scenes that I really don't need to share on the internet (although I'm pretty sure that if you actually read my blog you'll find those random bits where I talk about having a bad week or complain about some stupid situation). I'll still make more of an effort to seem more real, okay? Even if that means more of my uncensored dry humor or current obsession with "Africa" by Toto...

Gott's Roadside in the Ferry Building

Since when has Taylor's Automatic Refresher been referred to as Gott's? Oh, whatever, it's still good. This is where we spent our Labor Day eating classic American fare, fries and all. What's more American than a bacon cheeseburger (BF's chicken sandwich?) and cola? Yes, yes it's a total tourist trap but who cares, it's still pretty damn good. Here you guys can finally see BF's new hair which is my favorite haircut so far, although sometimes I miss his cute lil mop.

I also had my photo taken over at Work it Berk so ch-ch-check it out. I looked a little sloppy since I'd had a bit of a hectic day but ehh, what can I do? That's what school does to me.

a day with a chu

hope oversized cropped tee, old lux skirt, united bamboo booties, fjallraven kanken backpack

These aren't really the best photos of this outfit but they're the most decent ones in the bunch, even if they are horribly overexposed. Here we are walking home after a long day running errands downtown. This day was actually special for me since it is the second time in three months that we've been able to spend a whole day with each other (I always had work on his days off). The weather was actually decent, a little chilly at times, but still much warmer than most of the days we've had in the city.

I had to post these photos, they're too cute. I love this boy so, so, so much, even if he loves to wear ridiculous things (like these oversized leopard print sunglasses) to piss me off and is always teasing me about silly things. I wouldn't change a thing about him after nearly a year and six months and I'm super excited about finally getting to spend whole days together! I think our next adventure will be lunch at Wayfare Tavern to try Tyler Florence's attempt at making what he calls the best burger in San Francisco. Alright, TyFlo, I'll be the judge of that. Either way, I'm just happy that Brenty and I can finally go on cute little dates together, I really needed that.

Spicy turkey and three-cheese pressed sandwiches from Tartine. I missed this so much. I've mentioned this before but Tartine is only five blocks away from BF's apartment and back in the day we'd always walk there for morning pastries and coffee. I guess you don't really appreciate these little things and tiruals like these until you can't do them together anymore so this sandwich was especially delicious. I love sitting outside and watching people as they walk by, San Francisco is full of such interesting/weird/awesome characters. I can't wait to move to the city when I graduate.

Funny story: I was so annoyed with his leopard print sunglasses that I made him put on his roommate's Ray Bans for the photo. I guess it doesn't matter anymore since I posted the other photos anyway. Oh my silly Pikachu, I still love you even if you are a bit much sometimes.

baker beach

This is what a beach in San Francisco looks like, where the closer you get to the coast the more foggy and freezing cold it gets. We thought it would be cute but didn't expect this weather in Juky, Still a nice date nevertheless. Brenty made custom sandwiches (mine had smoked salmon, havarti, avocado, and other goodies) and we tried our best to enjoy the scenery while we froze our asses off. The journey to and from there on public transportation was probably twice as long.

(pssssst, a couple random notes: my nails are Chanel Lilac Sky, boater hat is from Forever 21, and the sunglasses are those same vintage ones that I always wear... cheers!)

I also got new shoes last weekend. Almost bought them on Bluefly the day before for much more but got insanely lucky at the Barneys sale in San Francisco with the LAST ONE in my size. Maybe it was meant to be, as Lulu pointed out. It felt really nice to finally get the shoes that I'd been wanting for so long with money that I made on my own and did a really good job of saving instead of spending it on random clothes. Feels good man.

Also, my team is in the final! That damn octopus, he was actually right. Thanks to everyone who stuck around for my tweets and obsession, hehe. I never lost hope and it feels rewarding to know that they finally made it. Germany played amazingly throughout the tournament and I was sad to see them go. I'm nervous about Sunday, let's hope I don't have a panic attack like I did during the Paraguay game...

the melancholy of a disenchanted anime fan

h&m tunic and trench, citizens of humanity jeans courtesy of revolve, vintage boots, ray ban wayfarers, marc by marc jacobs bag, black peace now bow

Japantown date was a mild success saved only by delicious food and the fact that BF was there to keep me company. Hair refused to cooperate, weather was weird (60s + wind? in late May? are you kidding me?!), Muni was annoying as ever, blah, blah, etc. Let's focus on the nice things in life, yes? The trip started out with ramen at Suzu (which I've already blogged about and was delicious as always) and a quick walk around the Japanese mall before popping in to New People for Blue Bottle coffee. BF was preparing to roast a 9 pound chunk of pork for dinner and had to leave me at 5pm to baste it. So why didn't I go with him? I had to stick around for the North American premiere of my favorite anime film, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. Yes, I went alone and no, I do not have any friends up here who are as into anime as I am. Maybe I cared for a second, but I wasn't about to force BF to go with me although he did offer to accompany me.

Oh hi, cutie! And look at the sandals (below) which he ordered from OAK just in time for summer. But yes, the movie. I've been writing a long rant for the past 30 minutes but decided to scrap it, maybe that's just something I should keep to myself. Let's just say it involved creepy male anime fans from all over the country who are probably legitimately in love with anime characters, a mini crisis where I questioned my own sanity for going to that screening alone*, and a renewed appreciation for where I stand as an anime fan. Not quite obsessed, but not just a casual viewer. I just really like it, okay? Okay. Although maybe this outfit wasn't such a good idea in a place where I didn't want to stick out like a sore thumb...

*by this I should clarify that by then I'd already watched the movie over five times since I wrote half of my senior seminar's final research paper on it and it was a bit absurd to be purposely hanging around there alone with all these overtly crazy people. My real problem wasn't about being alone, it was about being in a situation where I made an effort to see something I'd already seen and felt weird upon realizing I may be just like them. Eeeesh. At least I didn't audibly gasp and say "OMG!" in a creepy way every time a certain cute character came on? You have no idea how many times I shuddered during the movie. People are so weird.

date at the ferry building

saint james striped shirt, HOPE blazer via Revolve, Theory shorts, Hansel From Basel socks, vintage oxfords and sunglasses

BF and I went on a date at the Ferry Building yesterday and it wasn't too bad. I've only really been there at times when I'm showing around people from out of town (during the day, at least) so there was always this stigma surrounding it being a tourist trap. Friday was supposed to be a nice day so why not? By nice day, of course, I mean a day with enough sunshine to merit bare legs. Hello legs, I missed you!

First order of business (we take eating very seriously) was to find a place to eat so I suggested Mijita since I'd been there before about a year ago. Seems like I was the only one satisfied with my torta (last pic above) since BF just grumbled and complained about his steak and chicken tacos. Usually I don't pay attention to his whining but I do have to agree with him preferring hole-in-the-wall locales over places like these which charge $4-5 a taco.

Seems like this is the first clear picture of my haircut? In any case, I'm starting to get the hang of air drying it and not damaging it with styling tools. BF also went back for a shorter haircut around the same time I did and is enjoying his cut as well. We look like such babies in pics like these when you compare them to us now!

Next stop was the Wine Bar at the Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant for a glass of some white wine whose name I can't remember. No, I wasn't wasted or anything, I just leave anything concerning wine to Brent since he does work with it. He ordered a carafe for the two of us and drank most of it while teasing me about how it takes me 45 minutes to finish one glass then realizing that this one glass was enough to get me a little silly. Praise my Asian tolerance!

j. lindeberg top, b.son cardigan, april 77 jeans, chronicles of never oxfords, prada sunglasses

Finally, we couldn't find anything else to do so I made him take photos of me (really, you have no idea what a pain it is for me to get someone to do this for me) by the water after we enjoyed our treats from Miette. He chose a cute little carrot cake cupcake with cream cheese frosting while I picked up two macarons (rose and vanilla). Here's a first as well... a full photo of what BF is wearing! Can you tell how annoyed he looks? Don't be fooled, he can actually be very sweet (wait until I show you guys what he got me for our anniversary) but this is what he looks like most of the time (STINKY). Just kidding, I love you.