Summer 2015 Reflection + Rewind

Okay, it's a little past summer. In fact, yesterday was the first day of fall. But the point is, I've been gone for a while- and for good reason. This newly-begun school year is my senior year, so the stress began weighing on me even before its start.

Ever since I developed a sudden writer's block in February 2014 accompanied by a couple grade drops and a wave of eye-opening self-awareness, I've felt insecure about maintaining this blog. On one hand, I have a passion for blogging, but on the other hand, I constantly feel a nagging sensation that this is all just trivial BS.

I let practicality take over, what with college apps, SATs, and generally all the work I have now that the school year's started- and to be completely honest, I freaking DELETED this blog for a little while. I couldn't deal with the ambivalence I felt towards it and wanted to take decisive action for once. Luckily, Blogger waits for approximately 3 months before it permanently deletes a blog. During this time I was reminded of the original point of this blog. Over the summer, I started watching lots of YouTube. Seeing tons of enthusiastic and successful creators making content centered around their passions made me feel so validated. I used to freak out when I didn't post weekly, and here was Dan Howell (danisnotonfire), who uploads main channel videos just once or twice a month. I used to feel ashamed of liking fashion and beauty, but here was Jenn Im, killing both scenes. I didn't think I could ever truly express myself through a blog, but in much of his content Jus Reign shows YouTube the world from the point of view of the Western desi diaspora. Finally, I didn't understand why running this blog started feeling like a chore but here was Chris Kendall (crabstickz), articulating my confused thoughts word for word.

Spring Sunset

Yard + sunset = something otherworldly.

Weekend at Wellesley

Another Tuesday, another weekend recap. I should be cramming for my upcoming AP exams (my first one is in a week and a day), but instead I'm writing this post, procrastinating until my friend gets here so we can procrastinate some more group study. 

Anyway, back to the weekend. My dad and I drove up to Wellesley College in Massachusetts for a college visit. The college had a nicely planned all-day admissions event for us!

But first came the trip there. The traffic was horrible- it extended the grueling journey by over an hour. 

On the road by the GW Bridge!

A Day at the Arboretum

Hey guys! It's been a while since the weekend but spring has finally sprung and I wanted to share some snapshots I got courtesy of the 80 degree weather (if only it could last). I visited a local arboretum with my dad on Saturday for a little while and the just-pre-sunset lighting was gorgeous. So were the gardens! Keep scrolling to see for yourself.

Spring Break 2015 Photo Diary

Most of us are back to the daily grind after spring break. As a high schooler, this couldn't be more real. I have AP tests, SAT IIs, and the SAT to tackle before the school year comes to an end. In light of this, I thought I'd reminisce on my memorable spring break to bring us all back and relieve us of our current stress for a bit.

I'm a junior in high school, so I'm in the thick of college visiting season. I spent four days of the beginning of my break up in Boston with my cousin who goes to college there and used my time to see three colleges. Getting there was tedious- I had to wake up at 5 am- but the sunrise I witnessed on the train was gorgeous.

Music of the Week: Arctic Monkeys at Madison Square Garden, Daft Punk Exclusives, A Hip NYFW Mixtape + More

Hey guys. I've been doing quite a lot music-wise (besides Music of the Week, I know) and I'm here today to share what I've found with you in an extensive, albeit super late, post. 

First things first: Last Saturday, I finally got to see the Arctic Monkeys in concert! Alex Turner's voice is amazing- it has a gorgeous timbre and depth- and the lighting and effects were right on. They performed a cover of "All My Loving" in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' first American show. In all or most of the pictures, Alex is up front, Nick is to the left, Jamie is to the right, and Matt is in the back on the drums. All of these pictures were taken by my friend with her iPhone 4S. 

Just before they left... );

Arabella

Cornerstone

Brianstorm

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So that was awesome. Another group I've been really into lately is Daft Punk. I posted about them a little while ago when I started getting into them. I'd made a few weak attempts last year starting in May, but I had Arctic Monkeys on repeat and...yeah. Most people know Daft Punk from their summer 2013 hit "Get Lucky" with singer Pharrell Williams and Chic frontman Nile Rodgers off their latest album Random Access Memories. However, they've been around for just over twenty years and have had several hits like "One More Time", which is one of those tunes everyone automatically knows, and "Harder Better Faster Stronger", which was successful independently and sampled in Kanye West's "Stronger". While promoting their latest album, Daft Punk curated two exclusive Spotify playlists- one for Thomas and one for Guy-Man- back in September. Each is filled with personal favorites and sources of inspiration. I find them really interesting because they aren't what you'd expect would inspire an EDM artist. To hear Daft Punk themselves on the music that inspired RAM, listen to this NPR podcast. 

           



Let's switch gears to fashion for a sec; more specifically, New York Fashion Week. 

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Well, it's over. I would've talked about it, but I was so busy jamming out with Arctic Monkeys opening week that I guess it slipped my mind. However, Stylecaster did an amazing job covering it. (Click here for all their NYFW 2014 articles.) Of course, they made up their own creative NYFW-themed content to go along with all the streetstyle and trend reports. One of them happened to be this creative Soundcloud mixtape. 

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It's called "Sounds From the Front Row: Volume 9" and was produced by DJ and mixtape composer Mick. Learn more about the music and the other volumes here. 

And finally, I'd like to end with a little musical inspiration from my everyday life. If the Colbert Report counts as part of my regular life...

Lake Street Dive performing "You Go Down Smooth" on the Colbert Report on 2/5/14
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The other day Lake Street Dive performed on the Colbert Report, which is seriously one of my favorite shows ever. Anyway, they were all trained in jazz at Conservatory of Music in Boston, which is where they initially met. Their musical background is evident their work. It's got that classic chill-but-energetic jazz vibe but with a modern twist. The lead singer's voice is super smooth, rich, and playful. Overall, it's really refreshing to see a bunch of twenty-somethings revive a genre of music that most musicians in their generation are moving away from.

Find their full interview and performance here.

So, which artist(s) are you gathering inspiration from? Anything new you found this week? Comment below and email me at leatherandrouge@gmail.com.

New York in Plant Form

Wow, I've been doing a lot of posts on myself lately. I guess I've actually been doing things.

Yesterday I went to the New York Botanical Garden to see their Holiday Train Show. It's an exhibition that showcases models famous buildings in NYC that are constructed entirely of plant materials. The detailing is so intricate and beautiful and there was so much to see. In addition to this, trains (hence the name) are placed around the entire exhibition, constantly weaving in and out of plants and around buildings. The backdrop of lush rainforest plants, holiday lights, and seasonal music added to the experience. 

We were welcomed by this nice lady on stilts.

Macy's

Observatory rotunda

Lady Liberty

A brighter shot of the rotunda

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Pretty palm leaves catching the light.

The New York Public Library

The Guggenheim Museum

The Washington Arch (Photo creds to my little brother)

Penn Station

The Manhattan Bridge

The William K. Vanderbilt Mansion

The Brooklyn Bridge and a few other landmarks

There goes a train...

The Hurst-Pierrepont Estate

The Trans World Airlines Flight Center

Oh, don't mind me (or perhaps, my attempt at) being artsy.

Japanese pagoda

The waterfall is so clear you can barely see it.

Lilac is the color of 2014.

Kodak moment.

Click here for the full slideshow; I didn't include all of my shots here.

So what do you guys think? Have you ever been to NYBG before? Comment below and email me at leatherandrouge@gmail.com.

My Current Go-To (Hint: It's Not a Cute Clutch)

I'm laughing at all of you who thought I was going to be highlighting an ah-mazing wardrobe must-have or something of the like in this post. It's winter up here. My body is busy maintaining my internal temperature and, as my growling stomach can vouch, it's taking up all my energy doing that and I'm always starving as a result. I don't have time for clothes, makeup, and stuff I should be writing about right now. I need food, because only it can fill the empty void that is my heart. And stomach.

For whatever reason, I seem to have a peculiar affinity for frozen treats. Ice cream? Check. These frozen yogurt things I randomly came up with? Heck yeah. So it's no surprise that I've recently been downing a significant amount of frozen banana-nutella smoothies.

It's super easy to make. You only need three ingredients at the most and it's a one step process. This makes one big serving. 

Ingredients:

• 2 banana(s) with 5-10 ice cubes per banana OR 2 frozen bananas
• 1-2 tbspn Nutella (to taste)

I used room temp. bananas. Also, I love me some Nutella.

Tools:

• Blender (one that can chop up ice/frozen things)
• Something to carry ice cubes in (if you don't use frozen bananas)

Like I said, one step. Just throw everything in your blender and mix. 

If it isn't as thick as you'd like, add more ice cubes; I start with three. If you don't like thick smoothies, add milk to thin it out. If you have it, almond milk pairs well with banana. Of course, regular milk works just as well also.

So, try it out and let me know. Send pictures to my email, leatherandrouge@gmail.com, and comment below.

My Week in Maine

So, Christmas is over and now we're just waiting for New Year's. Winter break, for those of us who are still in school, is just about halfway over, maybe even two-thirds. And for the first time in three winter breaks, I went on vaca! *Fangirl scream*

Sunrise right outside my bedroom window.

I figured I'd do a post about my life cause I've been wanting to. The reason I haven't is because- let's face it- I don't have much of one as of right now. *Sigh* Anyhow, this is what I got for now.

We arrived on Monday night after an entire day of driving. We played a few rounds of ping pong in the hotel's (awesome) rec room to loosen up. The next day we went to a nearby ski resort, the Camden Snow Bowl, which I unfortunately don't have any pictures of because of my lack of a camera or iPhone. All of the pictures in this post were taken with my iPad. Pathetic, I know. 

We stayed in Rockport, a coastal town in Southern Maine (in the above picture, the ocean is visible beyond the trees), so that made for some nice views, as you can see. When we went skiing and snowboarding (I snowboard; my dad and brother skii), we could even see the ocean from the top of the trail. 

On Christmas day everything in the small town of Rockport was closed, including the ski resort and, unfortunately, all of the restaurants. We drove around that morning unsuccessfully looking for places to eat, only to return to the hotel and scrounge off snacks and leftovers til lunch. Later that day we walked out to the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse, which is a mile out into the harbor. We didn't get to walk all the way because it was getting dark, but I got a bunch of pictures that day. Here are some of those (find the full slideshow here).

The next day we spent the day at the Snow Bowl again. We checked out on the morning of the 27th and came home in time for dinner. 

All in all, Maine was a pleasant trip. Although I didn't go into detail about this, I remember always eating or being fed. That sounds weird, but somehow I'm constantly hungry at home. (Maybe because they starve you to death at school.) It was a nice quiet vacation in a nice small town where restaurants close before 5 and people walk you to the nearest one. A guy actually did the latter for us. Pretty sweet of him! So for now, back to daily life. School. People. Laundry. Ugh.

What did you guys do so far this holiday season? Any questions or comments? Leave one below and email me at leatherandrouge@gmail.com.