Travel uniform

Twenty-three mosquito bites on my ankles alone, four on my face that now look like pimples, three on my fingers, plus who knows how many on my arms and legs... Between that and practically living at airports these past few days while on assignment in the hot hot hot tropics, I've completely neglected personal style and pretty much look like a dirtbag every day. Forget wearing makeup since I'll just sweat it off. After I got back from Hong Kong (much more on that to come), I just about unpacked one bag to repack another. I will say, I've gotten very efficient at light-packing. 9-10 days in a carry-on is no big deal anymore.



[Top / Jeans (similar) / Sneakers / Backpack / Luggage / Trench]

Even though it feels like 100 degrees outside (literally), I've been wearing some variation of the above for all the travel days. These Caribbean airports have some of the coldest AC I've ever experienced and the planes themselves are always extra-freezing. So besides the above, I carry a light sweater and a shawl that's big enough to be a blanket in my backpack. How it took me this long to become a casual-sneaker wearer is beyond me. I now live in two pairs of Nikes and feel like I'm walking on clouds in them. A day of errands and running around just seems so much more manageable now that I've given up trying to look cute in flats and other shoes.

It's been fun (minus the bites and plane delays) being on the road, but the thing I miss most is always my morning coffee ritual at home. For now, it's hotel pod coffee and bitter espresso, sigh.

A new leaf

I've now erased the first sentence of this post for the fifth time, because where do you really begin when you're trying to gently talk about big life changes. I know I've never gotten too personal on here, but it would be impossible not to share my bittersweet move to a new apartment. It's my sixth (!!!) apartment in NYC now, but it's the very first one that's truly my own. And that's super liberating, exciting, and terrifying. The last time I lived "on my own" was a dorm room sophomore year of college where someone with a larger arm span could touch the ends of the room (and I lived off oatmeal because what else can you make when you have just a sink and a microwave).

I'm taking it a bit slow with the decor of this one. Partially because I'm forced to – I'll be traveling a ton in the next few weeks with little time to catch my breath in between. (And also because all the good stuff is on a 10-12 week delivery frame, sheesh.) It's a charming space with great light, as you may have seen on Instagram already.



So here I am, turning over a new leaf. (I had to do it.)

A few more snapshots of nooks of the space and my very first visitor (who happens to be my interior decorator – definitely more to come on that).

Here's to fresh starts and new chances.

Recent pick-me-ups

It's been a challenging few months with all sorts of hiccups in both my professional and personal life. But these are a few things that have made me happy recently.



1) A girl can never have too many lipsticks and I can always rely on a new lipstick to cheer me up. I love the new packaging on the NARS Audacious lipstick and recently picked it up in Geraldine, an orangish-coral-y shade. Bonus, the cap snaps in by magnet!

2) These pumps were a total impulse purchase, but as soon as I tried them on, I knew I was doomed. They immediately made me feel awesome and put-together and all sorts of positive things. I couldn't leave without them.

3) I'm so excited about my monogrammed Petra bag, thanks to the kind folks at Everlane. The bag is the perfect mid-size (well, compared to all the other tiny bags I've been using recently), and I always like a bag I can wear crossbody.

4) My brows need a lot of help. With this gel, I can somewhat tame their unruly ways.



5) I could have jumped for joy when I finally found a pair of sunglasses that didn't slip off my face or rest on my cheeks. Having no nose bridge and super wide cheeks makes sunglass shopping more of a pain than fun, but this pair finally works for me.

6) Artifact Uprising sent me a little surprise in the mail and it was a print of one of my favorite iPhone images. I'm also honored to be part of their community of Photo Ambassadors.

7) Astier de Villatte x John Derian. Enough said.

8) I like to be prepared and almost always carry a pair of flats when I wear heels anywhere – now they don't have to take up as much space in my bag thanks to these fold-up flats, courtesy of Tieks.