NEW BEGINNINGS.

In just one month Victor and I will be moving out of the studio we shared for a little more than a year and moving into a new building! This is the start of something NEW! So new that we decided to merge our blogs TOGETHER and relaunch Palm Tree Punk - not only as our stationery shop BUT as a lifestyle/DIY/mens fashion/daily looks/ and a look into our life. 

GO NOW TO WWW.PALMTREEPUNK.COM TO CHECK IT OUT! 

It's been fun - and this isn't a goodbye! SEE YOU ALL THERE ;) 

Stepping out.

I've been reading a lot of thought catalog lately (thoughtcatalog.com) and I read such a good article about never truly coming out. I found myself agreeing with the article - I believe this to be true. Sure as a gay man/woman you come out to your family when you feel comfortable but truth is, you come out almost every day. When people ask about you, when meeting new people, making new friends, when talking about your personal life, when people kindly or rudely ask if you're gay or "you're gay right?". It pretty much never ends. I guess you just can't let this bother especially if you're confident and comfortable with yourself and who you are. It's part of being gay - it comes with it and it must be hard for those who are still new to being an openly gay man or who recently came out of the closet. I'm comfortable with my sexuality but I do know that sometimes depending on who I'm with I feel a bit intimidated when that topic comes up. It sucks that straight people don't have to deal with this or won't ever know how it feels to deal with this. Just felt like jotting this down and put it out there.

UP STYLE!

     DIY!- ELEVATE YOUR STYLE!

Add a pop of color and elegance to your living or work area!

We purchased this simple and pretty boring ceramic bowl from the after-Valentines Day sale at Target for a few bucks and up styled it with a few easy steps and tools! We had decided upon purchasing it that this would look so great with a succulents in it! The final product is a Jonathan Adler inspired piece! Just see below! 

Tools needed: 

• Spray paint (gold/silver/whatever you want!) 

• Soil 

• Succulents 

This goes to show that you can purchase anything and make it look expensive! Grab a few ceramic pieces that you think are boring and want to get rid of and give them a facelift! This new piece looked perfect in our new black bookshelf case! 

    When in doubt UP STYLE!

B • DAY.

Valentines weekend was one for the books! We celebrated by spending it all with our friend Koko. It was seriously so much fun! We did some karaoke to start off, went to a club in downtown, estate sale shopping and a roof top brunch to close it down. See the photos below (ESPECIALLY THE PANCAKE LASAGNA! And the valentines cards we made for each other!):

This is the cutest valentines card I've ever received! Me and victor as kittens!

There's nothing like going out of the norm and enjoying every single minute of it. 

Revelations.

This is a bit of a different post, it has nothing to do with what I did this week or photos I took etc. It's more just about getting my thoughts out there. I was on my break one day at work and just started jotting down ideas. This post is somewhat about the idea that people have of "finding themselves" or taking the time to find themselves. 

Let me start by saying that I think everyone is trying to find themselves. Regardless of what age they are. Growing up, getting older we learn to live as if we know what we are doing - where we need to be in life - and how we are going to get here.

I'm a planner, I plan ahead and my mind is constantly going. I swear if anyone stepped foot inside my brain they would come out completely drained - with their energy sucked right out of them. All this planning for years and days but you can't really plan your future. I mean just look at me: life brought me to moving out of my parents and living in koreatown. This wasn't necessarily planned, it sort of just "happened". It didn't happen overnight though. Sure in a way I had envisioned moving out and moving in with Victor, just maybe not as soon as it did or how it did. This isn't to say I'm unhappy, I'm actually very happy and do not regret it one bit. It just goes to show that nothing is ever truly planned. I look back to 3/4 years ago or even when I was in high school and I think wow look at where I am now. I would have never imagined my life to turn this way. Life has a funny way of switching things up. 

I think this is one thing that worries me about life. About the years to come. Where will I be 10 years from now? How will I be living? As I'm busy trying to figure out the future - I'm busy trying to figure out myself. You think "this is who I am! I am meant to be here!" But then life is like "not so fast! Here's a curb ball! Now alter your life!" I spoke to Koko about this and she had a good interesting point: "when you finally find out who you are that is when you passover".

Hopefully this year I won't worry about things like this as much because some things just shouldn't be explained. Maybe letting the chips fall where they may is best. 

I'm trying to just take deep breaths and live in the now. It's just not as easy as it sounds.

TEASE?

As a way to celebrate both our monthaversary and valentines day - I planned a surprise date night on the 7th of this month. I had this planned since a month ago but as you will see below, I failed a bit when it came to actually knowing where the venue would be. The venue was tricky to find - it's a restaurant and way in the back, behind tables and waiters is the foggy burlesque room!  It was AMAZING! I loved it and I'm sure Victor did too! He had no idea what to expect - Miss Donna Hood blew me away. Her body is insane, and I might be bias but her closing number was incredible (a gothic remix of Britney's 'Toxic' with a leather chair, whips, chains, corset, and a lace rabbit ears mask)! It was so dark and a perfect way to end the show. Unfortunately there was a no photos and video rule :(((( that was the only sucky part! 

r i d e .

I met Victor and my friend Tiffany in downtown LA this past Friday to support Tiffany in a shoot she was having for her new business. Tiffany used my old coworker/friend Ally to model her product that she created. I rushed home, changed and headed towards the Normandie metro station. It was my first time riding the metro by myself! I was nervous and excited all together. I was ready for the adventure! And what an adventure it was! I ended up taking the wrong train and the estimated 6 minute train ride turned into as 40 minute ride! I ended up making a new friend (who helped me hop on the correct train) and was surprisingly calm throughout this experience. 

I found my way to downtown on my own and embraced the confusion and frustration. This was kind of like a checkmark to my fearless resolution.  I think sometimes we need to feel lost - finding your way out of a situation is the best feeling. We have to go out and take chances. 

BE COMFORTABLE WITH BEING UNCOMFORTABLE.