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    Food & DIY, Outfit

    Celebrating 40 Years of Hello Kitty!

    February 5, 2015
    Photos by Dana Rodriguez, Monica Coy-Miras and Me

     

    Today I’m sharing some pictures from my trip to Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty exhibition at the Japanese American National Museum(JANM) in Little Tokyo. Visiting this exhibit was like a dream come true to me because I’ve loved Hello Kitty ever since I could remember. When I was a little girl I would beg my mom to buy me Hello Kitty stationery at the Sanrio store, but she would refuse because she was sure that it was a phase that I would grow out of. It could be because I’m still a 10-year-old girl stuck inside a 26-year-old woman’s body, but I never did grow out of my obsession. I was the happiest girl in the world exploring this exhibit, and I’m glad that there were plenty of other grown women who shared my enthusiasm so that I didn’t have to feel self-conscious about it.I apologize in advance for the poor quality of some of these photos. It seems like lately I keep forgetting to haul around my DSLR and have to resort to taking photos with my iPhone. I promise to be better about that in the future! That being said, I hope you enjoy this post!

     

    My friends Monica and Dana were my partners in crime during my trip to the exhibit. We’re all wearing the cute Hello Kitty headbands that were handed out to all visitors. It was quite entertaining to see people still wearing them once we left the exhibit and were walking around Little Tokyo.

    The exhibit featured many art pieces inspired by Hello Kitty, and it was fun to see the many different ways artists have incorporated the iconic character into their work.
    My favorite part of the exhibit was the display of fashion inspired by Hello Kitty. Although I don’t think I’d ever leave the house wearing any of these dresses, I think they are so amazing. My favorite had to be the dress made completely out of Hello Kitty plush toys. I can’t even begin to imagine how much work it took to put that together.

    The exhibit did an incredible job at featuring all sorts of Hello Kitty products from the past 40 years. I loved being able to look at Sanrio stationery made in the 70s, and it was amazing to see how many other types of products have been inspired by Hello Kitty. Can you believe that they even have Hello Kitty braces? Why weren’t those an option when I was a teenager?

     

    I loved all the details of the exhibit, especially these cute Hello Kitty bow decals on the floor that served to guide visitors from one section to another.
    I still can’t get over the fact that Hello Kitty is a little girl and not a cat! According to the exhibit she is 5 apples tall, and all visitors had the opportunity to see how they measured in comparison to the character.

     

    I hope that you enjoyed these photos and that they inspire you to visit the Hello Kitty exhibition before it closes in April. If you cannot make it down in time, I still encourage you to make a trip to the JANM if you’re exploring Little Tokyo. The museum always has an interesting exhibit and it’s a great place to learn about Japanese American history.
    xoxo,
    Helen
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    Food & DIY, Outfit

    Girl in Blue

    January 11, 2015
    Outfit Photos by Ale Veyna
    Outfit Details:
    Blue Coat (Similar)
    Old Navy Turtleneck in Black Marl (ON SALE!)
    Madewell Skinny Skinny Crop Jeans
    Madewell Ames Boots (Back in stock!)
    Madewell Leather Bag
    MAC Lipstick in Russian Red

    If you’ve been keeping up with this blog, you may have already noticed that I’ve been wearing certain items very frequently. Part of the reason that I keep wearing things over and over again is because I’ve been so happy with my recent purchases. I mentioned in my New Year’s resolutions post that one of my goals is to be satisfied with my wardrobe, and I think I’m making really great progress with that goal. I’m really proud that when I cleaned out my closet two weeks ago, I didn’t get rid of any clothes that I purchased in the last year. It’s funny, though, because the blue coat that I’m currently wearing was one of those items that I was very hesitant about and almost ended up donating. I’ve had it for almost 6 years, I hadn’t worn it in a long time, and I just wasn’t sure if it fit in with my style anymore. I’m glad that I decided to keep it and give it another chance because it brightens up and adds a nice touch of color to my outfits, which is the reason that I bought it in the first place. The marled turtleneck that I’m wearing is a recent purchase that I know will also be in my closet for years to come. It is extremely comfortable and it also takes out the hassle of having to wear a scarf on days when it’s cold outside, which is convenient for when you’re rushing to get out the door in the morning.

    This weekend my sister Ale and I decided to visit the Claremont Packing House, which I’ve actually visited very frequently during the past month. It’s funny because the only reason that I ever ventured to that area of town while I was attending school in Claremont three years ago, was to visit the Claremont Forum, a bookstore that raises money for the Prison Library Project. Other than that, there wasn’t much going on in this space until recently when all these new restaurants and shops started popping up out of nowhere. Although many of the spaces in the Packing House still need to be filled, I’m glad that there has been a good amount of progress in making use of a space with so much potential. Augie’s Coffee Roasters and à la minute creamery, which share a space, are some of the most recent additions to the Packing House. If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you probably know that I’ve been here several times in the past month. Both the coffee and the ice cream are so good, and I’m so glad that I found out that these places even existed. (If you happen to read this, thanks for spreading the word, Angelica!)
    As you can probably tell from the photo, the barista working at Augie’s Coffee totally caught me photographing the place, even though I was trying my best to be sneaky. If anything, that photo is an indicator of how lively and friendly the baristas are at Augie’s. I initially came here for the delicious coffee that everybody kept raving about, but I’m definitely going to keep coming back because of the wonderful customer service that I receive every time I visit. In terms of à la minute creamery, I didn’t have ice cream this time around, but I can say that the olive oil vanilla bean flavor is delicious. I also love that their ice cream doesn’t have all these preservatives found in store bought ice cream, which usually make me sick. It’s also really cool to watch the staff make the ice cream right before your eyes!

     

    One of my resolutions for 2015 is to grow and create more diverse content for this blog. I have so many ideas and really want to get working on creative projects. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to take on that project any time soon since I have grad school application deadlines that I need to meet by the end of this month, and I need to squeeze in some time for self-care and sleep. The good thing is that my life is not all about work this month, especially since my birthday is coming up in the next week. My sister Ale and I are going to go see Geographer on Friday night to celebrate. At least I have some fun activities scheduled somewhere in between all the craziness that is happening this month, right?
    xoxo,
    Helen
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    Food & DIY, Outfit

    Downtown Adventure

    January 7, 2015
    Photos by Carly Stevens and Me
    My friend Carly who lives in Austin is in town for the month, and on one of the first few days that she was here we decided to go on a metro adventure to Downtown L.A. We had originally planned to spend a day hopping from one coffee shop to another, but we didn’t want to deal with parking and LA traffic. Instead, we decided to take it easy and take the metro gold line into Downtown. During our outing, I got to try out a couple of places that I had been wanting to visit for a while and also had the opportunity to visit some old favorites, all which I’m sharing with you today.

     

    GRAND CENTRAL MARKET
    The first stop for Carly and I was Grand Central Market in Downtown LA. I used to work only a couple of blocks away from Grand Central Market, and I’m so astonished at how much it has changed in just two years. There are so many new restaurants and shops that have opened alongside establishments that have been there for years. On this particular day, Carly and I were on a mission to get egg sandwiches from Eggslut. The restaurant is very popular, so we had to wait in a very long line before we ordered our sandwiches, but they were well worth the wait. Carly and I both got the Fairfax which I have to say was really, really delicious, if you can’t already tell from the picture. We also ordered lattes at G&B Coffee at the other end of the market. G&B was less busy than Eggslut, and I felt awkward taking pictures of the baristas while they were trying to do their job. But, trust me when I say that you don’t need a photo for me to prove how delicious the coffee is. You have to stop by G&B if you’re ever in the mood for a caffeinated drink while at Grand Central Market.

    THE LAST BOOKSTORE
    Since Carly had never been to the Last Book Store and it is only a couple of blocks from Grand Central Market, we made our way over there. The bookstore is my favorite place to take friends who are visiting from out of town because it’s such a sight to see. If you’re a book lover, such as myself, you’ll appreciate the nice selection of new and used books available in the store. If you’re not that into books, you’ll still enjoy just walking around. Every corner of the bookstore is decorated in a fun way, and the second floor is also home to other shops and art studios which are usually open during the day. In addition, the bookstore also hosts several events, so you should check their calendar if you’re in town.

     

    ARTS DISTRICT
    Lastly, Carly and I headed down to the Arts District, which I won’t talk too much about since I already shared some of my favorites in the area here and here. Poketo is one of Carly’s favorite shops, but they were closed on that particular day due to the holidays. Since it was closed, Carly and I walked over to Blacktop and enjoyed another cup of delicious coffee–do you all notice a pattern here? It wasn’t too busy, probably because it was a Friday, but we did manage to catch a glimpse of Skrillex. Neither Carly nor I are necessarily fans, but it was still a fun sighting. I have to say that even though I visit the Arts District often, it’s always a cute place to walk around. It’s also nice that this area is easily accessible through metro and other forms of public transportation. The metro gold line is only about two blocks away.
    Carly and I found this cute scene outside a hidden vintage shop in the Arts District. While we didn’t check out the vintage shop, we couldn’t resist taking photos of this area.

     

    Outfit Details:
    Madewell Shirt (Similar) | Urban Outfitters Sweater (Similar) | Madewell Skinny Skinny Crop Jeans in Tempest Wash | Piperlime Suede
    Booties (Similar) | Crocheted Bag (Handmade by my Grandmother)

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    I hope you enjoyed this post. As you may already have read in my last post, one of my resolutions is to put together more travel/adventure posts. Even though I don’t see myself traveling out of the state this year, I do want to try to explore more places in California that are outside of Los Angeles. Even though I visited some new places during this Downtown outing, I realize that I need to get out of my bubble. I have a list of places that I want to visit, so we’ll see where I actually end up going in 2015.

    xoxo,
    Helen