photography – lifeofacitygal

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 😊

Yok Ramen

Okay guys, I have a confession. After moving to LA, I’ve become overly obsessed with ramen. I mean you’re thinking it’s just noodles and broth right? In actuality, they’ve gotten really fancy with this and the combinations are unmatched. You can have chicken or thinly sliced pork, flavored egg, seaweed, mushrooms, scallions, bean sprouts and even top it with cheese at some places. The add-ons are endless.

One thing I learned to appreciate about my job is the location. I know the thing in LA is to either live by your job or live where you like to hangout. I think I live in a pretty fun area but its not my best place for hangout options and although its technically close to my job since it’s within a 9-mile radius. However, here in LA that can translate to an hour commute. My job location actually gives me life in terms of the many food options I can have for lunch or after work spots. Recently, I tried Yok Ramen located in the Sherman Oaks area. For me, I’m always looking for a good broth. The veggies and add-ons are all great compliments but the broth should be flavorful with good taste and just enough spice.

I tried the Tori Tonkotsu and this entree did not disappoint. I will say I have gotten used to a flavored egg and these were just like regular soft-boiled eggs but nonetheless the ramen was great. I also tried the Hawaiian specialty fried Moa chicken as an appetizer and this was equally as good. Flaky and fluffy with just enough crunch. The Bruce Lee theme was very captivating as well. Take a look at the pics below.

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!

Let’s get festive!

I love love love the holidays. From the décor to the carols to the butter cookies with egg nog. Count me in! Not to forget the great festive looks you get to create as well during the holiday season. Fuzzy sweaters are always a good idea for a nice, festive look. Pictured here, I have a silver $5 H&M gem I purchased during the Black Friday promos. I mean fuzziness screams “it’s the holidays” and I liked the fact it was a bit over-sized so I could pair it with a fitted jean. I also recently ventured off in search for new denim. I felt as if I needed a fresh start and lucked up at Zara’s.

To my surprise I could fit some of their tapered skinny jeans. The light denim paired well with the silver so I decided to rock these versus a darker denim. I originally pictured me wearing this sweater with black but I’m glad I opted for a lighter denim. Okay, my next obsession is the rose gold Steve Madden pumps I’m wearing here. I fell in love with these when I first saw them at Nordstrom’s and decided then I had to own them. I went online to check out reviews regarding comfort and size comparisons and here we have it. My new prized possession. Silver and gold always compliments each other nicely when I think of interior design or fashion so I thought why not rose gold too. The picture-perfect Christmas tree on Rodeo Drive made for the best festive backdrop, don’t you think? Happy Holidays and enjoy time with your family and friends. Check out more from my festive look.

Sweater- H&M (sold out ☹) Similar sweater here

Jeans- Zara

Shoes- Steve Madden

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.

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.

LA Edition: Part 1

For those of you who may not be aware, my love for LA is insurmountable and forever growing. Each time I visit, I fall more and more in love with this place. The air is different, the people are genuinely nice and the warmer weather that exists, even with winter approaching, is a major plus. I recently visited during the Thanksgiving holiday and decided to do an LA edition on the blog. The style of dress will definitely be different when looking at ensembles for the City of Angels versus the Big Apple. Known for having a more laid back vibe and chill atmosphere, this can be noticed in the pieces chosen for my LA trip. You don’t really have to overthink it. Simply a flannel or bomber jacket with nice jeans seems very fitting for the LA vibe. Pictured here, I went with a cool bomber I purchased in New Orleans at Garb Boutique back in November. Living in NY, I thought I was going to have to wait until spring to wear it but luckily I didn’t. I paired the bomber with an over-sized Calvin Klein tee from Urban Outfitters, black denim from Old Navy and my favorite adidas. Comfy and stylish all in the same. Normally I have jam packed days in LA, trying to soak it all in within the 5-day span, so comfort is key. Check out more pics below and be sure to check back for other LA posts soon to come.

Summer in October

When it peaks at 83 degrees in October in NYC, you get a little excited like myself. Perfect timing for shorts right? I purchased this Pablo tee awhile back at Dash randomly and was in search of a shoe to rock with it. Steve Madden came through in the clutch once again! I can let you know now I will be wearing these over the knee boots pretty often. I was on the hunt for just the right boot and luckily these fit perfectly. So perfect that I bought 2 pairs; one in black and the other in taupe. You can’t go wrong with a $99 boot that’s comfy and is well made. It actually stays over the knee and doesn’t bunch! I even tried the boots on with jeans and they still fit comfortably.

Seeing that I am slightly obsessed with dad hats, I decided to add a denim one with this ensemble. I thought it added a nice touch with the royal blue and black contrast. NYC you never cease to amaze me. I will appreciate any warm weather I can get, no matter the season. More looks from the citygal below.

Floral Obsession

Summer is perfect to bring out floral print. I’m absolutely obsessed! The pants pictured here, I’ve owned for at least 4 or 5 years I believe. I purchased them from Urban Outfitters and could never seem to find a top to compliment them. While looking for something else one day in my closet, I ran across these and decided it’s time to wear them. I went with a simple black cropped top purchased from H&M. Since the pants have quite a few colors in them, the black pairs well. For the shoes, I wore my favs for this summer; my go to mules from Old Navy. Purchasing these shoes may have been the best decision I’ve made all summer. I literally wear them with everything and they are so comfy. The clutch is also from H&M and was another lucky steal I’ve gotten over the summer since it was only $7. Check out the other full outfit pictures below.