6.30.2015

oh shes a camping queen









 all nice photos taken with fujifilm x30 - all not nice ones taken with sketch iphone

I know my skin is under all the dirt and bugspray but by now it's pointless trying to get it off.


THE CAT IS BACK. I have returned from camp, and it was fantastic. Every summer it gets better and better. I mean, I could have done without the spot of extreme heat exhaustion, dehydration, and fever I went through, but you know. *Kanye shrug*. The things 11 year old girls will gossip about are unbelievable. They're all Kate Sanders - no one will ever get away with being an outfit repeater. Beyond that though, it's nice to just take a week out and not talk to anyone but the people across from you at the breakfast table. What is not nice is hitting signal on your way out and the subsequent phone heart-attack. I had 583 unread emails. No chill out here on the internet. None.

I keep waiting for the feeling of ~summer has started~, and so it was a total jolt for me to realize today is literally halfway through the year. There are only six more months of 2015 left, and I have sO MUCH TO DO. Pray for me.

There was ONE thing that happened last year that you guys probably forgot about: I went dark for one day in July. Like deep, dark, code black dark. All you guys had was a snapchat check in at Burbank airport. FINALLY, I get to tell you: I was having lunch with Gordon Ramsay for a new show on the BBC.

There's really no way to follow that up with a decent closer, so just click this and enjoy.

The overalls are thus preserved forever.

x J


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6.23.2015

this apple is not related to a tree





 




 As you guys know, waaaay back in January, I went on a whirlwind little trip to NYC with Madeline for a photoshoot with Teen Vogue, and we were in the May Issue. Now that all the dust/whatever else was in all that airplane air has settled, I can finally share my painstakingly detailed and slightly jet-lag tinged travel journal from the trip. Read on, padawan.

DAY ONE -

We hopped on a plane at midnight, thinking we’d arrive in time for an early breakfast, but alas, it wasn’t to be. (FYI: I never actually get breakfast at any point in this entire trip.) After being re-routed TWICE, (yo, winter storms? Not feeling you.) and hanging out in Philadelphia for a hour, we finally landed at JFK, just barely in time for lunch (which we also did not get) . Then it was straight to the Teen Vogue offices to start our shoot at One World Trade. After a quick tour, we headed out again to see the sights!  The neighborhood around the office is so cute, but our favorite sighting was a massive St. Bernard, because he was a dog, and dogs are great. After shooting, we got back to the office just in time to look around the famed fashion closet. I thought I had a lot of shoes, but let me just tell you - I’m a drop in the ocean. Once our time at Teen Vogue wrapped up, we went out in search of Starbucks and a subway to take us to the West Village. We proceeded to explore a local record shop, cuddling with their resident cats and picking up some vintage posters.  We also stumbled upon the Magnolia Bakery and had some of the BEST mini cheesecakes. I ate two, which is one and a half more than they recommend, and I regret nothing.  Dessert is always better to eat before dinner anyway. After doing some window - and then, actual- shopping, we took a taxi to Eatly. Pizza and pasta abounded, and travels to Italy were discussed. Finally, it was time to get to our hotel to rest up for the next day’s adventures!
 *Deep breaths*


DAY TWO-

Jet lag was not my friend when we decided to get up early so we could be at the Met when it opened - 8am New York time is 5am at home aka way too early amiright. We made it to the Met just in time to beat all the other tourists and see our favorite paintings before the crowds arrived. I’ve loved Monet since I was a child, and so getting to see some of his masterpieces in person was mindblowing. There’s an entire gallery with nothing but his paintings, and I could have probably moved in. We got lunch in the basement cafeteria (see? No breakfast.), but ate fast so we could go to the indoor statue garden. We spent five whole hours in the Met and never even made it to the New Museum. Back out on the street, we listened to a man sing some classics for a minute before walking down Madison Ave, wandering into bookstores and toy stores alike. (I got a copy of my favorite F. Scott Fitzgerald short story, The Diamond as Big as The Ritz, and a tiny rubber flamingo.) Then it was time for..wait for it.. TEA AT THE PALM COURT. Exactly as Eloise said, tea at the Plaza is rawther fancy and absolutely beautiful. After a trip downstairs to the Eloise store, where I gate crashed two five year  olds' dress up time, and a quick walk around Fifth Ave, we went back to the hotel to change outfits yet again! (That's like three outfits already.) This time we set out to do some serious damage in the massive stores in Times Square. We took the obligatory “Hey look there’s massive screens all around us!” photo and even landed on one of the megatrons. We got some Starbucks (So much iced coffee people. So much.) and started shopping. Forever 21, H&M, Sephora, Gap, MAC. No one was safe. Once we has sufficiently worn ourselves out, we went on the hunt for food. We ended up in the sketchiest pizzaria in some rando alley, and got a slice each, but then decided what we REALLY wanted was chinese food. We proceeded to walk off the pizza in Times Square, then took a taxi back to the hotel, where our concierge informed us that there was a fantastic Chinese place less that a block from our hotel. Thanks dude. Great timing you got there. "Fortunately" (unfortunately) it closed in 15 minutes, and we had to RUN - shopping bags and all- for it. The food was worth every gasping breath (I don’t run.) Our night ended with us eating chinese food in bed, watching reality tv. The glamorous life.

DAY THREE-
We got up early (AGAIN. It was getting ridiculous.), packed up our stuff, and hit the streets in search of coffee and the Empire State building. We could see it from our hotel room, and used that as our guide. I didn’t get my coffee, but I did get the stunning view from the 102th floor. Fun fact - the elevators you take from the 86th floor to the 102nd are the originals that came in the building. They don’t tell you that until you’re already in and moving. Once we got back down (and over our dizziness), we went back to Fifth Avenue for FAO Schwartz, because we’re both 5 year olds. Every toy you’ve ever imagined and quite a bit more live there. The Toy Soldier standing at the door was the friendliest person we met on our whole trip, posing for photos and talking to every kid (grown ups too) who came through. We took a quick refuel at (of course) Starbucks, and then went back out for a bit of a ramble round Central park. It’s massive, and theres no way to see it all, but we tried. Then we walked back to where we started and headed through the doors of the legendary Bergdorf Goodman. I’m sure we saw plenty of beautiful things, but all I  remember is the swirl of Valentino on the second floor. Then it was off to Tiffany’s to look at more diamonds than you’ve ever thought could possibly be in one place. Finally, finally, it was time to go home. We picked up some ~tourist-y~ gifts, and headed back to JFK where our flight, a nap, and Melissa’s cupcakes awaited us.


 Have I mentioned that I don't like New York City?

x J

ps. yup, still at camp.  

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6.19.2015

into the bugspray



 Shirt : abercrombie
jeans: gap
backpack: c/o baggu
sunnies: zerouv
shoes: moheda toffeln


Sometimes, for an entire shoot, I get distracted by a chicken coop, and then not a single photo involves my face. It happens to everyone. Right?

This shirt is the only thing I have ever bought from Abercrombie, and it's probably my favorite. That doesn't seem super important until you realize how many striped shirts I have. It's really soft, and slouchy, and has a perfectly measured v-neck. This round to them. I found the jeans at the thrift store for $7, tags and all. I have fully converted to the boyfriend jean train, mainly because it's way too hot for the second skin that is the majority of my jeans. I mean, I'm not Sophia Vergara yet, but those things are tight. These ones have the perfect amount of distressing mixed with actual durability, so they can stand up to my...adventurous lifestyle. (aka extreme clumsiness.) I've also just stopped carrying a purse? I don't know if I'm getting lazier, or more casual, or if I just have too much stuff, but it seems much more practical to carry around a bright poppy backpack. 

I'm off to my seventh year at camp today! (You can read about my sixth year here) I am very excited, but there is approx. -0000 signal out there, so I'm signing out for a week. Hey, I heard you sighing. Don't worry, this does not mean our usual hiatus/technical difficulties, because I have discovered something remarkable: planning ahead. Light your Orange is the New Black prayer candles and hope it works out for us.

Speaking of: Ruby Rose. That's all.

x J





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6.12.2015

justina in the huntington's garden







all photos taken with a fujifilm x30


It was a gray and gloomy and slightly rainy day in LA (I know, rain in LA.) when Sallie and I got in our heels and went to the Huntington Gardens for tea. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because as we all know, people from LA melt in the rain, so it was dead empty all day. I proceeded to take so many photos of this gorgeous place that I felt they were deserving of their own post. Here are a few things that are great about this place:

1. The Tea House. Not only is it a buffet of tea food aka the best tiny sandwiches ever, it's set right in the middle of the herb and rose gardens, so no matter where you're sitting you get a gorgeous view. It's also a lovely little tea service, and everything was delicious. Trust me. I ate a lot of it.

2. The Palm garden. All of the gardens are beautifully kept, and have an incredible amount of Very Important Flowers, and loads of garden art from all over the world, but THE PALM GARDEN. There's so many palm trees, it's like a 1960's postcard from Hawaii.

3. The House/Museum. If you are interested in 17th century European art and portraiture (Sallie) or just like to poke around old houses looking at windows and floors and chandeliers (me), this place is the jackpot. It's the home of Mr. Henry E. Huntington himself, and his wife, Arabella, had really good taste.

If you find yourself in LA, and you get a bit done with all the ~touristy parts~ (I still haven't), the Huntington is open year round, and different things happen in different parts of the park. If you want to sip (not spill) tea in the rose garden, I'd make a reservation. 

As much as I love glitz n glam, and the flashier parts of LA, it makes me happy to know that places like this exist, where you can go spend a day with no cars, or billboards, or cell signal. Just talking, drinking tea, eating your weight in smoked salmon sandwiches, and playing with plants. Or breaking your shoe, if you're Sallie. 

That's the way to live,
with giant leaves on your head,
  and one broken shoe.


x J

ps. class and grace are all very nice but ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK IS BACK

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6.08.2015

LA LA LA LA LA (part 1)








HI GUYS. I spent a week in LA with Sallie and we both survived + are relatively unharmed. It's a miracle. (I definitely said it like this guy. You already know.) Basically, other than the fact that I discovered I am allergic to ~something~ in lasagna, I am winning at life. We went on some exceptionally exceptional adventures, even for us. Some were planned, most were not.  I'm probably going to be talking about it for quite a while, but we can get the bulk of the annoying "looking at someone else's vacation photos" part out of the way right now. If you already put up with the insufferable amount of photos I posted to instagram....you're tough. You'll make it.

If I may now direct your attention to the photos at the top of this post, ehemm:

1. Palm trees. Loads of 'em.
2. Sallies hat (and Sallie) at the Getty villa.
3. Some very snobby hipster lemonade with my very snobby hipster jeans. 
4. Sallies hat at the Getty villa, part 2.
5. "Your stupid elitist coffee" - the person who bought "coconut h20" aka coconut water aka SALLIE
6. Look, Sallie. Everything the light touches is our kingdom.
7. I'd look SUPER cute working at the original in n out
8. The real horror story here is the traffic we got into trying to get to the murder house
9. If I ate nothing but Porto's potato balls + pina colada smoothies for the rest of my life I'd be happy
10. Making our way back home. 7 hours. 300 miles. One audio book. Not enough coffee.


The best part of adventures like this is all the little things that happen in between, like my discovery of thai tea (tapioca and some ice, please) and the eighty million times we heard/screamed at the top of our lungs/lipsynced "Shut Up and Dance". When I forgot to pack any stripes, so I had to buy some new ones. (That's my story, and if my mum asks, it's totally airtight.) The charming way in which Sallie rolled her eyes and sighed every time I looked at her with "Will you PLEASE take a photo of me for  (insert assorted media platforms here)" in my eyes. Little moments like that don't go in a scrapbook.


But they do go on Instagram AMIRIGHT


x J


ps. of course there's a part two, do you think I just added "part one" for fun? no.
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