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 ;) 

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.

KOKO.

 

For the past few weeks I have done nothing but spend time with my dear friend Koko. I LOVE THIS GIRL! We met at our previous job (BCBG), and have remained good friends even after saying SEE YA! to the retail life. I just love spending time with her, she is a great person with such great energy. She always laughs at my jokes and even if she laughs at me she could never make me mad! It's funny how life works out, I am so glad I met her and that we are both so comfortable with each other. I always have such a good time with her even if it's staying in on a Friday night watching movies together. This may sound cheesy but I don't think I've ever met a girl like her (trust me I have had a lot of girl friends and she is like NO OTHER!). It also makes it that much better that Victor and her get along so well. We have been hanging out a lot that even some weird things have been happening. We happen to be on the same page for a lot of things. Kind of like our minds are connected and it's so crazy! Saturday we spent the day shopping and Sunday was such a relaxing fun day. We took the train downtown to the flower district and walked a ton of blocks admiring the pretty flowers and the cute succulents. She, like me, adores succulents! We didn't realize how hard it would be to pick a couple succulents to take home. We bought a ton and she started her own terrarium! I must say it looks so cute that I now need to find a bowl to make my own! 

Take a look at a couple photos from our hang out, and a photo of what Victor and I dressed up as for Halloween!

  

 

 

 

I DON'T ALWAYS YOLO BUT WHEN I DO IT'S WITH KOKO!

ALL THAT MATTERS.

 I haven't had time or room in our Mac to save photos and post a new blog post. This post is a little different (for me at least) because it is a window into my new found appreciation for the little things in life; taking notice of our surroundings and appreciating the beauty in them.  Appreciating our loved ones, the quality time we spend with them and keeping close those who matter.

I've been busy these last couple of weeks studying and trying to grow the popularity of our stationery/crafted goods shop: Palm Tree Punk

It has made me realize how time consuming a small business start up really is. It also made me realize how great it is to unwind and have a good time with friends. My circle of friends is pretty much a dot (okay maybe not but kind of), and all this has made me appreciate those who make time for me and Victor. Those who make time for you, and have no problem staying in with you or simply going to dinner and seeing what else comes up are true friends.

I guess this blog post is a self realization that life should be appreciated and celebrated, as hard as it gets know that it's still amazing to be alive (Lindsay Lohan reference). Regardless of the small group of friends you have, or feeling like you're not good enough for someone, just think about life and how wonderful it is to be alive. This is why I titled it "All that Matters" because all that truly matters is the beautiful life (Ke$ha).

Below are a couple photographs of my appreciation for my surroundings, my home, and places that I've shared great times with great people:

 I've been crafting like crazy this past week!

P.S and what a perfect timing for this blog post, my sister has a newborn Erick and this makes me an uncle yet again! Time for new beginnings! I hope I didn't bore anyone with this post.

REVISITED.

Our friend Monica aka Monflash met up with us over the weekend and we shared quite a few laughs! We went back to St. Vincent's (it was Monica's first time there), and we did a bit of browsing and shopping. Walking to our car we noticed a small shop selling antique/retro furniture by the name of 'Revival'. All 3 of us fell in love with the place. I've never seen anything like it; every piece was original and in great condition. 

Below are some photos of our 'Sunday Funday':

MONFLASH SERVING UP RAPUNZEL REALNE$$

KTWN ART WALK.

 

 

  

Last week Victor and I walked the streets of our neighborhood for Koreatown 'Art Walk'. Koreatown Art Walk takes place every last Thursday of each month. It was our first time, we have gone to the Downtown LA art walk but this art walk is totally different. The art walk in downtown is huge with blocks and blocks of local artists showcasing, and food trucks lined up along the curbs. Ktown art walk is different in the way that it is set up and this probably has to do with it just starting a couple months back. I'm sure tons more artists will start showcasing and the number of people attending will grow as well. I enjoyed the map we received at The Wiltern with 5 galleries/restaurants/studios that were participating. It was fun to look at the map and see where we were headed to. We ended up going to 3 of them and the best one was the studio of Ann Bridges (which I took most photos of). Her work is amazing and she was super sweet! Most of her work is inspired by the buildings in Koreatown, we even saw a painting that featured our apartment building. After spending a few minutes looking at her work she invited us outside to take in the incredible view of Los Angeles. Victor and I were camera crazy; taking photos of Wilshire Boulevard, Hollywood, and Koreatown. The last bad quality photo is from this guy who asked to take a photo of us two, not the best but I still like it! I'm so glad we took the time to support our community and explore our city. Can't wait for next months!

KNICK | KNACKS.

A mutual friend of ours made us these 

amazing collages:

This week I wanted to make a post about cute favorite 'knick knacks' that we have in our apartment. I've had this post in mind for a while but kept putting it off. I finally took photos of some of my favorite pieces. Our apartment is still not fully done (decoration wise) but the small stuff we do have we make it work. I give most of the credit to Victor. He pretty much puts things together and it totally works. We have a lot of pop of color, lots of orange, green and pink. I remember going to Victors old studio when we first started dating and loving the decor so I trust his decorating ideas. I love the 'Life is beautiful' piece, it's Victors beautiful writing and that actually hangs right above our bed. I think it's a great reminder to enjoy life and appreciate what we have. The collages were a Christmas gift to us from a mutual friend. Side story regarding this mutual friend, I actually met her at work and when I started talking to Victor and his mom about her we found out that they knew each other but had lost contact. Weird how life works out and how small the world is. She picked some of her favorite photos of us, made these two collages and framed them. We were so surprised when we saw them, a lot of these photos we both had forgotten about. It was a very thoughtful gift and we appreciate it so much. I am planning on making a video of our apartment soon so keep an eye out for that! Now I have to work on a small project for Victors birthday that is coming up!