Fashion – lifeofacitygal

A Breath of Fresh Air

There comes a time when we all just need a breath of fresh air. I am still trying to master the art of meditation and simply have a clear mind of all thoughts but in the meantime, I will continue to do what I know best. That equating to taking short mental breaks. Often times we put pressure on ourselves unknowingly and really fail to take time to appreciate and be grateful for what we do have and how far we’ve come.

I recently traveled to DC with family to celebrate a high school grad. During the moments over that weekend, there were things that I learned to appreciate and value that much more. One being spending time with family and the other being to live in the moment and create as many great memories that you can. I am still working on my greatness and trying to do as much as I can for and with family. Consequently, I started this blog with family in mind. Just another way to connect us whether near or far and provide moments or experiences they can share with me. We all have our own path and have created the ways in which to follow that path but still be mindful a strong foundation is needed to go through your journey; foundation being family and friends. You always have them to go through the journey together.

While in DC, I still managed to bring some blog-worthy fits and wanted to share one of them with you. If you haven’t noticed, I love floral print. I’ve loved floral print for years and it doesn’t seem to go out of style or lose its trend-worthy looks. I found this lovely jumper at Target. Target never fails me. The new collections they have are very stylish and affordable. I paired this jumper with my go to natural mules. I haven’t found a replacement for these shoes yet that can match their comfort so until then, you’ll be seeing these 😊. The loose fit of this jumper was another win for me. I’m all about comfort these days so this look was perfect just for that reason alone. As mentioned before, Lifeofacitygal is a true passion project of mine dedicated to sharing travel experiences, fashion and food adventures; all things that I love. Hopefully reading this post gave you a breath of fresh air or encouraged you to get just that. More content coming your way. Thanks for your continued support!

LA Vibes

Moving from NYC to LA has definitely required some major adjustments. After landing the perfect place, finding a fulfilling job and trying to build a new network you still have something very vital to think about in your day to day; that something being style. I never want to compromise my style no matter where I live but I can say living in LA, you lean more towards cute and casual. I found myself completely overdressed during my early visits to LA for like a nice outing or dinner because I was so used to the NY way of life. Here you can simply wear a plain tee, biker jacket over the arm as a complimenting accessory or actually wear it once the night falls with nice booties and you’re all set. Heels aren’t a must here in LA (thank goodness)

I say all that to say, I’ve adding a ton of tees to my everyday wardrobe. Simplicity is key. A nice tee with boyfriend or slim jeans and a fresh pair of vans can be worn Sunday-Monday and I’m loving it. The look below showcases a Mondo Taco tee I grabbed from Goodwill for $1 and light washed jeans I snagged from Uniqlo for $9. To lighten the look a bit, I wore classic neon yellow Van’s. I thought this complimented well with the light denim and added a pop of color for a casual, spring look. LA, I’m still learning and adjusting to the vibes here. One thing for sure I am definitely becoming more aligned with comfy looks. Be on the lookout for more comfy, casual looks from this citygal 😊

All-Star Weekend LA

As we all know, all-star weekend took place in Los Angeles, CA this past weekend. This is the biggest event for the NBA organization and I was elated to participate in some of the festivities. My first all-star experience happened to be in New York and I thought to myself, now what’s going to be able to top when I met Paul George. There were a number of events going on that weekend so you had to make yourself an itinerary and stick with it; discipline is key people. Trust me on this 😊

To kick off the all-star weekend, I went to see Black Panther. Although this has nothing to do with the actual all-star event whatsoever, the fact that it was released during this weekend meant I had to go and see this. I mean, I think everyone put this on their agenda for opening weekend. Now back to the NBA. I had the pleasure of meeting both Andre Drummond and Lou Will at the Kia Loft space. Their setup was cool as you could take on a match of NBA 2K, try to beat the escape room within the 10 minutes allotted or post to your social using their hashtag and get an instant Polaroid printout of that picture. Pretty cool stuff, right? I also was able to check out the American Express event in partnership with Shaquille O’Neal. It was cool to see the converted bank safe that stored a few of the Lakers prized possessions including and autographed Shaq’s jersey, a replica of the championship trophy and the king’s chair with the crown made perfect photo ops. Not to forget the infamous slam dunk gif that I had way too much fun with.

Of course, there were events like the rookie game, the dunk contest and celebrity basketball match-ups. I was able to catch the celebrity game at the convention center which was cool to see people with other talents showcasing their basketball skills or lack thereof lol. Overall still something cool to catch to be a part of the festivities. In addition to that, I was also able to stop by an event sponsored by Spalding that showcased customized basketballs and featured Demar Derozan and my favorite, Damian Lillard aka Dame Dolla, in a 2K match.

As if the sporting events weren’t enough, there were also a ton of exclusive releases happening as well. From the Dame 4 Bapes that dropped at the Adidas 747 St Warehouse, to Russell Westbrook’s pop-up featuring his new fashion collection ‘Inner City’, to the Kobe Protos made available at Nike’s own ‘Makers of the Game’ and even a pop-up from the NYC-flagship store, Kith; soon to have a home in LA as well. If you’re a fan of the NBA, all-star is definitely something you would want to experience at least just once. Checkout some of the shots I was able to capture during this LA All-Star weekend.

Bloggers Who Brunch

I made a commitment to myself to be more consistent with my blog and dish out as much content as I can for you guys. The blogging community is huge in LA and I’ve been more active in terms of finding social events centered around blogging. I’m so happy to have discovered Bloggers Who Brunch. I mean it’s the best of both worlds. Nearly everyone has a blog, has a favorite blog they follow or nearing to create one in the future and EVERYONE loves brunch. So, this concept in itself is dope and will bring together a lot of like-minded individuals.

I had the pleasure of attending this event in collaboration with Bumble Bizz at the Grove in Los Angeles. Bumble Bizz is also focused on creating a space for creators and networking. Upon entry, you received 2 drink tickets which already was a good sign to me. Convos go so much better over a glass of prosecco or a cocktail right? They also had various set-ups for cute photo ops and many giveaways including a swag bag, t-shirt, mini notebooks and stickers. Oh not to mention they passed around mini chicken sandwiches and mini lobster roll hors d’oeurves. Another win for the event.

There were no formal introductions of the creators of Bloggers Who Brunch or panels with the other influencers in the blogging community so it was all up to you to get out of your comfort zone and actually talk to people; I did like that aspect. I met some cool people including those that were starting to blog as well, creators of new YouTube pages, up and coming photographers and a brand consultant/stylist. All of whom I never would have met or spoken with if it weren’t for this event. I will definitely be staying up to date with this group and upcoming events for the future.

A Better Me

With the new year comes all sorts of dieting, fitness goals and abrupt changes to accomplish being “a better YOU”. I’ve never really been into resolutions for the new year or implementing new life goals for the new year. However, this year my aunt spoke with me about the Daniel Fast and asked me to participate along with her. Since she told me this 2 days beforehand, I agreed to fast but with modifications. I had to mentally prepare for this thing you know since it started on New Years day. I decided to eliminate all meats, bread and sweets for the duration of 21 days and I started this commitment on January 2nd.

Just to give you guys a little background about me, I absolutely love food! It’s kind of my thing being a foodie and all. I jot down restaurants that I see on my drive home, follow other foodies and see their suggestions and pretty much indulge in anything food related. So, to commit to this fast was a big deal for me. The first couple of days were a bit tough because I didn’t realize how much stuff I consumed that had bread as the base and neither did I realize I ate so many sweets. After the harsh first few days, my body became acclimated somewhat quickly. The mornings were simple. My favorites were fruit and smoothies. For lunch and dinner, I normally sautéed veggies and I ate a ton of sweet potatoes and avocados. While on this fast, I learned about various vegan and vegetarian restaurants in the LA area too. I hadn’t paid attention before but there are a lot of options if you’re a part of the vegan community.

On the last day, I called my aunt and told her I made it through the fast. I will be truthful and say I had 2 French fries and 2 alcoholic beverages during the 21 days. I didn’t commit to giving up fried foods or alcohol but those kind of fall in that “don’t eat category” when I thought about this fast so I just gave those up as well. Water became my best friend and now I just go for water more now as my first beverage choice as I should anyways. I haven’t even indulged in coffee since the fast ended on 1/23 and I feel pretty good about that since I normally start my day with a fresh cup of coffee. The fast helped me to see and appreciate a lot of principles that I normally don’t pay attention to. Discipline, faith and commitment are the biggest ones I would like to mention. We often doubt ourselves and say we can’t do or commit to something before we even try. I was so proud of myself throughout this journey because to be frank it was quite tough to go out and order the “healthy food” or all veggies or NOT stop by neither of the 100 donut shops in LA you pass everyday. I can say I feel better energy wise and overall I just feel more connected and in tune with myself. Now I will not say I’m not eating meat again but I will be mindful of the intake of it along with other things that I was so use to consuming before. I’m a continuous work in progress so here’s to a better me!

ComplexCon 2017

I had the pleasure of attending the 2nd annual ComplexCon event held at the Long Beach Convention Center this past weekend. This was my first time going to this so I had no idea what to expect. I looked online to see all the brands that were listed to be there, looked at people listed to be on the different panels, researched the food trucks that were slated to be there, backed by “First We Feast”, and lastly curated a schedule in line with all the things I wanted to do that weekend.

I attended the expo on both days and neither day disappointed. I will admit on Saturday I was a bit overwhelmed. There were over 150+ brands there, a number of panels I wanted to attend but start times overlapped of course to keep the crowds regulated, food trucks near the main and back entrance towards the arena, and a ton of exclusive releases just for this event. The highlight for me on that Saturday was attending the “We in Here: Injecting the Culture into Hollywood” panel with Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler. Both spoke about their individual journey taken in the film industry, how their involvement in the industry has paved the way for other successful projects and key takeaways on following your dreams and creating your own path/way to what is that you want and are passionate about. After this panel, I saw tons of people just walking around like myself and being a part of “the culture”; whatever this means right lol. I mean celebrity sightings went on for days. G-Eazy casually walked through the crowd and stopped occasionally for pics, Andre 3000 relaxed in the center of an art exhibit and hand drew a portrait of a fan, Pharrell strolled through and admired a few art exhibitions, Jaden Smith signaled his entourage to his booth after a great live performance on the Pigeons & Planes stage, Superduper Kyle had a dance off with his dad in his booth, Big Sean walked to Puma to show off a recent sneaker collab, Gary Vee dropped free gems to people seeking advice on their own ventures and Virgil Abloh personally customized an Air Jordan 1 , instantly creating a 1 of 1 on the spot. I mean what more could you ask for.

I just knew Sunday would be more chill and sightings would be few but boy was I wrong. Sunday may have been equally as eventful. The highlight of Sunday in my opinion was the iamOTHER #begreat party hosted by Pharrell. Up and coming artists opened the show and later the audience was surprised with guests such as Kap G, 2chainz, Ty Dolla $ign, Wiz Khalifa, Lil Uzi Vert and Migos. The schedule did say surprise guests but whoa I didn’t expect anything of this magnitude. I decided Sunday would be catered to picking up a few items since most things were designed and sold only here at this event. PUMA was celebrating their 50th anniversary and released some dope kicks; specifically, a gray suede pair with a floral design. Unfortunately, those weren’t for sale until 2018 and were only being displayed to heighten the anxiety for people like myself. I did snag a tee from Wish Atlanta that I’d been eyeing for 2 consecutive days; the shirt lists all of the zones of Atlanta. Definitely wanted to support the home team. Overall, Complexcon exceeded my expectations. I left inspired and excited to be a part of an event designed to blend people of all over with similar interests and like minds. I will definitely be back next year to partake in these festivities and I can’t wait to see how it evolves over the years. Fantastic job Complex! Checkout my gallery below.

Birthday Bae

10/27….The best day of the year (to me 😊) So here we are in October in LA and its peaking at above 85 degrees. Talk about a good birthday gift. Over the weeks leading up to my special day, I went over a number of things that I could do and just settled on the fact that I wanted to have loads of fun. So my first trip for this fun adventure began by making it to the infamous Paul Smith “Pink Wall” on Melrose for photo ops. I finally made it!!! Yay. For my day birthday fit, I decided to work with what I had in my closet. It was such nice weather so I went with a black cropped top, my favorite ripped jeans from Zara and an all-black suede Steve Madden mule. If you don’t know by now, I love me a nice mule. I gave so many retro chic 90s vibes with this look. I recently cut my hair so that added a different element to this vibe too of course. Although it is definitely fall, LA allows you to dress for the weather not season.

Afterwards, I went for margaritas at Velvet Margarita and decided to give Halloween Horror Nights a try for the evening. I’m not one that desires to be scared but I went for it and had such a wonderful time. Of course, a night in a theme park required a quick wardrobe change but overall this birthday was one of the best. Doing something that was actually fun (including an impromptu photo shoot lol) First birthday in LA in the books! Check out the great birthday shots I was able to get.

California Dreaming: A Leap of Faith

As of June 9, 2017, new beginnings were just ahead for me. That was my official last day at my current 9-5 and my final night living in NYC. My husband and I decided we’ve conquered the jungle and wanted to change the pace just a bit. Be somewhere more aligned with our lifestyle and actually be more at comfort while at it. We decided to take our talents west. All the way west to the City of Angels better known as Los Angeles. The next morning we finished packing, loaded a Caravan and started a journey towards our true dreams. When I shared this story, a lot of people could not wrap their finger around the decision to quit a full time job without having another one and the idea of abruptly leaving NYC to road trip it to California. We also didn’t have a place of our own just yet. This just added to the craziness and idea of packing up and taking it across country with pretty much ourselves, clothes and shoes.

It took 3 days to make it to California with 2 pit stops in Texas; one in Dallas and the other in El Paso. After trying to capture all of the state welcome signs, I finally saw the one I had been waiting to desperately see after over 30 hours of travel. Welcome to California!! Within 2 weeks, I landed a job and a little before 3 weeks secured an apartment. I say all this to say, never give up on your dreams and do not live a life with fear. With the faith of a mustard seed, things were able to come into fruition and just fell into place so perfectly. I’ve made a number of trips to LA and decided awhile back this would be my next home. So many things I have yet to do but I now can scratch off move to Los Angeles 🙂

Thank you for staying with me on the journey with Lifeofacitygal. This is a passion project of mine and I will continue to bring great content, food recommendations and a bit of fashion sense. That being said, this cute little number came from one of my favs, H&M, and is absolutely perfect for LA nights. I paired it with my classic neutral mule to give me a little height due to the length of the dress. Stay tuned for more greatness and again thank you for your continued support. Don’t forget to share this with a friend!

Keep it 4Hunnid

I was able to get my hands on this hoodie awhile back at YG’s pop up in NYC. I love, love camo so getting this was a no-brainer for me. I finally decided to pop the plastic and wear this. Just an FYI, this hoodie is greatly made and the material inside feels wonderful on my skin. Now that that’s been covered back to the basics. I simply paired this with black ripped denim from Old Navy. Since its fairly cold, I wore fishnets underneath. I thought this gave a pretty cool look to have the nets show through the rips. Also, fishnets keep you quite warm. For the shoes, I immediately thought about a chill, Cali look. You know what that means. Bring out the classic vans! These paired well with the camo and black. Simple street style at its best. Check out more pics below.

LA Edition: Part 2

To continue with my LA edition, I wanted to share yet another casual look fitting for Cali. It was so easy to pack for this trip! For starters, you eliminate packing a huge coat. Also you’d probably only wear a pair of sneakers and need a casual shoe or booties for the nightlife. On this particular day, the high expected was around 70 during the day and low 60s towards the night hours. This was perfect flannel weather to me. I decided to wear a blue and black plaid flannel along with a gray sweater cardigan on top of it, both from Old Navy. The cardigan was light enough to not get too warm throughout the day but heavy enough for the cool breeze expected at night. This paired nicely with a normal washed denim boyfriend jean with the small cuffs, also from Old Navy. If you cannot tell by now, Old Navy is one of my go to’s. Especially since it’s close by my job :-). There’s literally a sale everyday so how could you not indulge? To add to my casual look, I wore my favorites again; NMDs by Adidas. These have to be some of the most comfortable sneakers I’ve ever owned (I probably told you guys this before too). I think I mastered the chill, laid back look for my day in LA, not forgetting my sunnies and Prince pin. Check out more pics below and be sure to follow along my LA journey.