THE BEST WAY TO COLLECT MEMORIES WHEN TRAVELING

"You can’t plan moments like these , it has to happen impromptu and I’m glad I have a great coat to remind me of that feeling ."

| style , travel

People collect pins , magnets , flags , shot glasses . They take an incessant amount of photos of their friends , random people , plenty of landscape or cityscape . They record , snap , insta story their entire trips to quantify and catalogue their memories . None of those things work for me . Items sit in boxes , or maybe on walls for some people . Photos and videos join hard drives next to plenty of other cherished .mov or .jpgs . I have them all . 

The thing that’s worked for me the best when traveling is buying clothes or anything I can wear . You may think that clothes is just another item , way bigger than any of the other forms of momento and take way more space to store . While all those things are true , the main difference is that clothes is something you can wear , after your trips are long over . And I’m not talking about shirts that say “theme park” or any of the countries name you visited (though those may work for you) . I’m just talking about clothes I find anywhere . Street Markets , convenient stores , even chain stores like Zara or H&M . Some of my favorite pieces in my closet are classic staples from all over the world that I wear often and cherish . For example , brown loafers from a Zara on Champs-Elysées in Paris , a silver ring from a street market in Ecuador , or the brown trench coat I’m wearing in these photos from a thrift store in Chicago . All of these items have stories behind them .

The loafers I bought was on an European tour with LMFAO and some of the Quest Crew . It was my first time in Paris and me , Ryanimay (Quest) and Jordan (drummer of LMFAO) randomly wanted to checked out the famed street in the few spare free hours we had (when on tour , free time to roam is a rare gift ) . We checked out a couple stores , I bought the loafers and we decided to venture back to our hotel without maps or GPA . We got lost for about an hour but the extremely helpful Parisians helped guide our way back . 

the memory is an exceptional one because it was my first time in Paris . I was with great people . And It was fun just to get lost for a bit and discovering Paris and it’s beauty as well as it’s wonderful people (despite stereotypes) . And what's great is that every time I look at or wear the loafers , I remember the glimpses of the streets , I remember walking long distances chatting with Ryan and Jordan about various things . and I remember how fun it all was because it was the beginnings of many tours with LMFAO . That was the first big trip . 

The coat is another great story . Quest Crew was set to perform at Northwestern University that night and we had just finished stage tech . On our walk back to the hotel , me , Hok , Mark , and Andi , stumble upon this amazing coat in front of this thrift store that was 50% off . We all thought Mark would look dope in it so we all went into the shop . We ended up shooting a little video of us dancing in the store with the coats we all found and we each ended up buying one (video below). The lady was extremely nice in letting us play around in her store . This story doesn’t sound as great in print but this is one of the greatest things about traveling with your friends . You can’t plan moments like these , it has to happen impromptu and I’m glad I have a great coat to remind me of that feeling .

I’m lucky that my closet is full of great memories like this from all over the world , and whenever I go through them to pick for the day , or for shoots , or for trips , it’s like going down memory lane every time . 

Coat - Thrifted

Beanie - Topo Design (courtesy of the General Store)

Glasses/notebook - The Goods

Photographer - Hey Yeh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EATING FOOD WHILE IT'S HOT

"I sometimes can get to a clean plate when the food is cold but it takes a lot of discipline . It often gets left out there cold and unfinished . No one gets prizes for food unfinished . Not even participation trophies ."

| style

It’s always best when it’s hot . The flavors are at their most flavorful , the smells fill entire rooms , and all I can think about is taking the first bite . That’s when the food is at it’s truest form and meant to be experienced . I am most likely to finish all of my food when it’s hot . The plate always gets cleaned . That’s when the food is at it's best . Hot .

When it’s warm , I can still eat it , it still tastes pretty good . All the original flavors are still kind of there and I still remember my first bites while it was hot . I might get distracted a little but I always come back to my food and it will get finished .  

When the food gets cold it’s tough . It just doesn’t have the flavor and enticing quality it once had . It doesn’t make me salivate . When I’m away , cold food doesn’t make me think about it and make me wanna rush home to finish it . I sometimes can get to a clean plate when the food is cold but it takes a lot of discipline . It often gets left out there cold and unfinished . No one gets prizes for food unfinished . Not even participation trophies .

Reheating food . I can do that . I mean , it’s definitely not as great as it was when it was originally hot . but it’s technically hot again , I can get through it . I sometimes can get to the end and get to my clean plate when I try to reheat food . 

When food is cold , eating feels more like work than pleasure . That’s why I have to try to finish my food while it’s hot no matter where I am or what I’m doing . Or at least take my first couple bites out of it so that when I have to reheat it later , I can imagine what it tasted like when I first bit into it while it was hot . To try to recreate that experience .

This is also why I try not to eat too many different dishes at once . Maybe 2 or 3 MAX and that’s even stretching it thin because you have to switch between the dishes before any one of them gets cold . Its tough to juggle . Maybe with fast-food you can juggle easier , but if you’re out at a nice restaurant with quality food ? Food that puts fire into your heart ? I highly recommend eating one hot dish at a time . 

This is really just a reminder to myself to focus on one hot meal so that I can really develop that one hot meal and produce one exceptional and extremely clean plate . A plate that will let the audience know how the food made me feel when it was hot and fresh and moved me to eat it . 

Jacket - Obey

Shirt - Zara

Pants - Top Man

Shoes - Toms

Photographer - Hey Yeh

*** This outfit was thought of while I was on a trip to Chicago . I came home to shoot it the next day to try to recreate the feeling I had when I first tried it on in the store and imagined a version of myself that would wear this jacket .  

A Lover's Love Letter To Love

"As i got older , Crush and I had an understanding and she said , “learn from me , because in me you will learn about yourself , so that when you meet love , you won’t waste it"

| style

My Valentines Day Outfit

Dear Love . 

It’s hard to put into words exactly how I feel about you . When I first thought I had met you , it wasn’t actually you but your little sister , Crush . She was young , beautiful , but pretty cruel . I actually ran into her a couple of times over the years mistaking her for you . I mean you’re related so please understand my confusion . As I got older , Crush and I had an understanding and she said , “learn from me , because in me you will learn about yourself , so that when you meet love , you won’t waste it .” She was oddly cool about me looking to date her sister . 

I waited quite some time for you , but before I had the chance I ran into someone that I could of swore was you but wasn’t .  One drunken night , I bumped into Infatuation . Now she was an experience . I can’t tell if it was the alcohol or her but either way I felt intoxicated and filled so much with inhibition that I just threw myself into her thinking that this must be you . All the love songs and poetry and romantic comedy’s say so , I was so sure . But after a couple of weeks , when I sobered up , infatuation just disappeared on me . I woke up and she she was just gone , no note , no messages . Gone .  Out of my window and into the winds . 

I ran into infatuation a couple of times after that but even as I’ve come to recognized her particular brand of inebriation , I still took the drink .  Although not great for the morning after , it helped me through the nights and the judgement of Facebook relationship status’s .

I thought this was going to be my life . I thought maybe I had met Love and that I wasn’t a match for her . I mean , compatibility is a tricky thing . So I figured maybe I wasn’t meant to meet Love , and I would partner better with Freedom . she’s particularly seductive and romantic , I’ve fallen for freedom many a times . Maybe she’s the gal for me . That’s a respectable thing to believe . Freedom is no second prize . Wars have been fought and people have been killed in her honor . I would tell people this story boldly until of course I met love . Finally . It wasn’t easy to recognize at first , I thought maybe she was just Crush having a lonely night and wanted company , or maybe it was Infatuation , she comes and goes as she pleases you know , I never could tell . 

But something about this was different . she lingered . She touched longingly and slowly , not in a rush or expecting . it felt exciting yet strangely … easy . She took my breath away , not metaphorically , but literally I stopped breathing for a bit because she caught the attention of my entire being and my body just forgot that I needed oxygen for a second . It got distracting . I lost time talking to her because she didn’t care about time or place . she made the super market strangely fun . She was Love

But then I lost Love . I messed up . I had met Love and I thought that this was it , I was done , I have reached the finish line in life because who else was there to meet after I’ve met Love ?  I thought I could never confused infatuation or Crush for Love because I’d seen the real thing , I knew it was different . I thought that when you met Love , all that was left was walking into the sunset . I know there are sad songs about losing Love but that wasn’t gonna be me . They were confusing Love with someone else , I had the real thing . 

She didn’t leave me suddenly , but slowly , first she packed away small things . Then she would slowly decline my invitations and advances , always politely but definitely . I saw less and less of her . I was foolish and just thought , maybe she’s just busy , you know ? Just preoccupied . She was Love and she would never leave me . I was wrong . Soon there were packed boxes and suitcases at the door and there was a note , it said "You don't understand yet"

What didn't I understand ? Wasn't Love all there is ? All you need is Love . I went through rounds and more meeting ups with Crush and Infatuation and had a long standing relationship with Freedom . But soon , Loneliness visited . She sat with me for quite some time . Night after night . It took a long time . It took a lot of looking for Love again to see it . 

I lost Love . I lost Love because I hadn’t recognize her other half her twin . Work . I met Love and I stopped trying . I was satisfied . Everyone had told me that when I found Love , it would be over . the rest of it would be history . All the movies end when Love is found , they rarely talk about her neglected other half . Work . Work gets a bad rep which is probably why no one talks about her . I knew of her but didn’t know that her and Love were related . It seems that in order for Love to be happy , Work needs some attention as well . And for being twins , they seem nothing alike . In fact , one would hardly know that they were twins unless you asked them . You see , love is easy and beautiful but Convenience isn’t someone that Love meets half way . Neither does Trust . You thought Convenience was hard to cross paths with , try to get Trust over to your house everyday . And who goes out to build a bridge with Convenience ? Who goes out to make a relationship with Trust ? Who goes out to make sure that Love has everything she needs to survive when Convenience and Trust doesn’t come around ? Work does . She's important . She stays in the shadows so that Love can be easy and beautiful ,  and Love can star in your favorite films and Love can have songs written in her honor . But Work is the one that makes this possible , Don't neglect her . 

I’ve learned my lesson . I’m gonna get real acquainted with Work . Love is hard to find but you can find work around every corner . We’re going to become bloody best freakin friends . So that next time I meet Love , she’ll see it , she’ll know , she’ll recognize that she’s met someone who knows her worth , who is willing to put in the time with Work to hold on to her . 

I miss you , I need you , and when I find you , I’m never letting you go 

Jacket - The Fifth Label

Shirt - Rag & Bone

Hat - Yellow 108

Sunglasses - RayBan

Bag - Hex

Photographer - Heyyeh