sunnies – lifeofacitygal

The Jamaica Edition

OMG! The day was finally here. May 5, 2018. No, I’m not referring to Cinco de Mayo. On this day my best friend of 24 years and counting graduated from college. I was so happy I was able to take part in this celebratory moment and be there for such a huge accomplishment. Congrats again bestie!!! So after the party, there’s an after party right? That after party for us was in Montego Bay, Jamaica. A group of 13 family members and friends all came together to help celebrate this special occasion.

We resided at the Royalton Blue Waters Resort during our stay. After my first experience with this property in Punta Cana, I was excited to be staying with another Royalton property again. Upon arrival, the host gave us cool, scented towels to help relieve some of the heat from the sun. I thought to myself, man this is going to be a great trip after such a great gesture because I was literally dying from the heat on the shuttle over to the resort 😊 After check-in and all the introductory hotel meetings, it was time for some fun.

On the first night of our trip we decided to chill out a bit since this was our travel day and just planned for a nice, late night dinner. For me, that meant time for a quick swim before dinner! The best part of the resort for me was the swim-out room we had. At any given moment I could just go out for swim, no matter the time of day. Vacations allow me to actually decompress and enjoy the things most people may take for granted on a typical day. Things such as the calming feeling you get from the sounds of the beach waves or the joy found in watching the pink tresses that line the sky before the sun sets. With all the things planned on our itinerary, the main thing I wanted to make sure I did was RELAX. A huge thank you to the lazy river too!

The following day we had an early start and was able to catch breakfast and spend some much needed time on the beach. It was then on the beach when I spotted a boat that said “Parasail”. At that moment, I decided I was finally going to do this. I have quite a few things on my bucket list and it was time to scratch this one off. Before the parasailing adventure, we enjoyed the many festivities the resort offered; one of my favorites being the swim-up bar. Bob Marley’s and mojitos became pretty popular drinks for our vacation crew. A couple of photo shoots later, it was time to concur my fear and take the ride in the air for lack of better words. I was so happy a group of us decided to do the parasailing together. It’s always more comforting when others join along and face a fear together. I watched my friends parasail first and thought oh man this is going to be a breeze (literally). It wasn’t until I was hooked on with my sister when I thought “okay are we really going through with this”. A few moments later, we were up in the air and thinking that’s it! While parasailing, it’s really just you and the wind. No noise, no fears, no worries. Man, I’m so glad I did this. Not to forget the jerk hut we found right before going. OMG, this place did not disappoint. Not sure of the sauce that they use but man oh man if only I had known about this gem sooner. Great for lunch and just overall some of the best jerk chicken I’ve had!

The day before we left we decided to visit Chukka Adventure Park. It offered a handful of activities such as ATVs, ziplining, kayaking, etc. Boy did we have our day cut out for us!! This day was definitely a workout. Another thing on my bucket list was ziplining. A lot of us had never done this before either so it was nice to see all of us conquer this together as well. We didn’t know that it was a zipline trail of like 5 ziplines. Whew! After the first two I could of called it quits on this adventure but we all made it through! Of course, we couldn’t come to this park and not partake in an ATV ride. This was so fun!! Not that I haven’t rode an ATV before but since it was such a big group I think it made it that much more fun to experience together. Lunch was provided as well so I was definitely excited about that. If you haven’t noticed, I love food. All of the Jamaican cuisine was a hit for me.

Overall, Jamaica was everything I imagined. I had only been here once as a teenager so it was nice to travel here as an adult. The resort gave me some of the best views, food and memories of a lifetime. I really enjoyed the fact that this resort was all-inclusive. All you can eat and drink sounds like a good combo to me. Oh and let me not forget to mention the other hidden gem we stumbled upon that had the braised oxtails. I doubled back twice because they were that good!!! We definitely made great memories and I’m so glad I was able to share this experience with my best friend and family. Here’s to more success and a bright future with endless opportunities. Until next time…..

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 😊

Sweet Chick

Brunch always seems like a good idea to me. On Sundays, I normally try to venture out and find new brunch spots but on this particular Sunday I decided to do a repeat. Good ol’ Sweet Chick. I was first introduced to this chicken and waffle staple in Brooklyn, New York. Hop off the L train at Bedford Ave and just a few steps away is Sweet Chick in Williamsburg. Why not do a repeat while on the west coast?

Fairfax Ave is a trendy street/area in Los Angeles. You can literally stop for coffee, grab lunch, dinner and or drinks, stop at Supreme, check out kicks at Flight Club or grab brunch at Sweet Chick 😊. As you can see, I opted for the latter option. Sweet Chick is very popular and known for their take on chicken and waffles. You can get a classic waffle of course but why not try one of their many flavors like bacon cheddar, apple cinnamon or spiced pecan? I was torn between the shrimp & grits or chicken and waffles; from the luck of the draw I went with the apple cinnamon waffle and fried chicken. Probably the best decision I made on that Sunday was stopping for a bite to eat here. Something about the perfect crisp of their chicken that gets me every time. Not to forget, the three butters they serve with the waffle; regular, vegetable/herb and like a raspberry one I believe. Try them all if you haven’t before. Each offers a different taste that will not disappoint. There are a ton of other entrees too that I still need to try So if you’re ever in LA and are looking for a good brunch spot, stop on Fairfax and try Sweet Chick. Tell them I sent you 😊

LA Edition: Part 3

LA is a place known for many notable things. Hollywood, celeb sightings, production and die-hard Lakers fans to name a few. Whenever I travel, I’m always in search of the best food and LA does a good job of providing new places to try. Being a foodie at heart, I will always fit in a nice dinner, new dessert place or quick bite to go. While in LA for the Thanksgiving holiday, I was able to add some new places to my growing list of favorite food spots. I also came to find out a lot of places are open extremely late or, even better, 24 hours! One of those 24-hour places happens to be Birdie’s in DTLA. I made it by here to try some of their delicious donuts. Another place, famously shown in a John Singleton classic film ‘Baby Boy’, called Lucy’s is also open all day and night and the food here is definitely comforting when its late night.

On this trip, I was actually able to spend a lot of time in Los Angeles. I didn’t even make it to Santa Monica this time around or Malibu and both are 2 of my favorite hangouts, particularly for the beaches. I did stop by Venice beach, because its only right that you do and had cocktails at Wabi Sabi on Abbot Kinney. This is also one of my favorite areas and I made a point to enjoy at least an hour or so in the area. I saw the Farmer’s Market in the Grove on a ton of vlogs so I definitely made a stop there. The Farmers Market seems like a good place to visit when you’re indecisive about what you want to eat because the market offers a variety of food and different types of cuisine. I think I grabbed tacos and a horchata to hold me until we made it to the infamous In-N-Out Burger. In-N-Out is a must try if you never had this before. The menu is so simple and apparently, the way to go, is animal style for your fries. Never disappoints. I also went to another market, Grand Central, located in DTLA solely to try the bacon, egg and cheese sandwich from Eggslut. Eggslut is a pretty popular sandwich joint, so much, that another one has opened in Venice. The line was pretty long at the time I went but it was definitely worth the wait. To go with this, I went to G&B coffee for a nice cup of coffee and later found out this is one of the most popular coffee shops in LA, according to Time Out magazine.

BOA Steakhouse was the choice for the LA finale dinner. I normally do at least one nice restaurant when vacating here so why not spend it in West Hollywood for that evening? We started with the blue colossal crab cocktail. As the entrée, I went with their rib eye and added both mac and cheese and creamed spinach with crispy shallots. Wayyyyyy too much food to indulge in at once but I couldn’t resist. Everything sounded so good. Not to forget the cocktail I had for the evening too. I cannot recall the name of it but it was a great choice! To say the least, LA never ceases to amaze me. The vibe is enough to fall in love with but when you start adding all of the other great things like picture perfect sunsets, countless beaches and warm weather all year; it’s just a place you never want to leave. Check out pics of some of the food I was able to enjoy while there. Until next time LA….

http://www.eggslut.com (Grand Central Market 317 S Broadway Los Angeles, CA 90013)

http://www.gandbcoffee.com (Grand Central Market 317 S Broadway Los Angeles, CA 90013)

http://www.loteriagrill.com (The Original Farmers Market 6333 W 3rd St Los Angles, CA 90036)

http://www.rockandbrews.com (143 Main St El Segundo, CA 90245)

http://www.birdiesla.com (314 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90015)

http://www.in-n-out.com (7009 Sunset Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90028)

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.