MUSINGS | A ROAD TRIP

picture by new legs via flickr

Ever since I thought of the Golden State of Mind idea I haven’t been able to get it out of my head. The thought of driving across the state sounds like a beautiful daydream. If you aren’t familiar with GSM then let me enlighten you. Golden State of Mind is the name of the road trip I want to take. I called it that because this road trip is meant to push me to a better, more positive mindset by surrounding me with beautiful scenery, new experiences and good friends . Also, the trip will be across California and since it’s known as the golden state, I thought it funny and ironically, very fitting.

At first I wasn’t sure about what I wanted from this road trip but I knew I didn't want to take an epic road trip (so epic  that I named it) without me getting or doing something important with it. Being amazed with all the new places I'm  going too see and visit is not sufficient enough. Experiences are what I strive for but I want more. Then I came across an article on The Atlantic regarding the lack of women protagonist in books. The post, written by Kelsey McKinney, made some  valid points about the role of women in books and generally in life. You don’t hear a story about a woman without having it related to love and men somehow. That slightly alarmed me.  

“There are no Jack Kerouac or Holden Coalfields for girls. Literary girls don’t take road-trips to find themselves; they take trips to find men.

“Great” books, as defined by the Western canon, didn’t contain female protagonists I could admire. In fact, they barely contained female protagonists at all.”

– Kelsey McKinney, The Atlantic  

She's completely right! Books we read in school rarely have female protagonist. Classic novels by authors like Ernest Hemingway or Jack Kerouac have amazing stories but with male leads. Don't get me wrong, I love the classics and I appreciate how they've influenced the world. These stories are exciting and fun but like Kelsey, I want something/someone I could admire. I also think it's fine for women to want to find love or men or both! I think it's great when you're able to find someone to share your adventures and life with but that's not all we strive for in life....right???   Anyway, this article made me realize that, that  "more" that I was looking for was actually a purpose. A purpose to motivate me  to  make my Golden State of Mind road trip actually happen in the future. My purpose is to be able to tell my story throughout this road trip. The one with a female cast, their thoughts and adventures. I want something real and raw that girls can relate to and be inspired by. 

I think it's time the world hears the story about a bunch of girls traveling in an RV across California looking for adventure. 

Carolina 

SHORT BUT SWEET

 Beach days are rare for us even though we live less than an hour away from a few beaches. When we do go we like to be there all day and just absorb the sunshine. My favorite beach is Rosie's  in Long Beach because I can bring my miniature schnauzer, Lilo, along with us! Lilo makes beach days a lot more entertaining.

During our first Beach Day of the summer I filmed a short but sweet video of our day. I've been consecutively watching Casey Neistat's vlogs and he's mentioned that his reason to vlog is to be able to constantly have a new videos to work on. I totally understand him because filming and editing are things he actually enjoys so vlogs are perfect for him. He's inspired me to do the same, unfortunately my life isn't interesting enough to daily vlog. Instead I'll be posting these short videos about random activities in my life.

I think it's a great way to keep myself busy and creative during my vacation.

Talk to you soon!

Carolina

PALMA VIOLETS

Palma Violets 

Palma Violets 

Public Access T.V

Palma Violets

Public Access T.V  ( Xan in the trench coat)

It has been 3 concerts later and I think its time for me to share our experience.
If any of you haven't heard of Palma Violets you haven't been living. The British Band released their debut Album, 180, February of 2013. And ever since their exposure in LA I have tried to make it to every show I can. So the moment I heard they were coming to LA I immediately texted Carolina with a screen shot of the tickets I had just purchased. Yes I got us both our tickets because that is how much I believe in this band. (lol) I couldn't let Carolina or money get me out of this one! The only set back though, was that it was on a Wednesday night and the venue was in Echo Park which is like reeeeaallly far from Long Beach for Carolina to drive. So we took an Uber (of course)

Chilli Jesson

Backstory: Last time we saw P.V we were the first ones to get to the venue therefore we got a really good view (; and I wasn't about to have a sucky experience this year so I skipped my last two classes and rushed over to Echo Park.  And let me tell you we got a GREAT view( the photos say it all) I think the bassist is so damn cute so I prompted myself right in front of him. Now the good looks of the band members aren't the only reason I am so keen to making it front row. Listening to this band live is all an experience on its own. I believe the reason this band made it is because they're so darn good live! In their interviews they mention they've never had an online presence until after they were signed. It reminds you of how effective word of mouth is to this day.
Anyways fast forward to June 5, yes we saw them again. They had just released their sophomore album, Danger in the Club, and I was not going to miss hearing them play it live.  Plus we are now in summer break so we had the whole day to ourselves, no homework or skipping of classes this time. We decided to make it a metro adventure because Uber would have been too expensive. When we finally arrived at the last stop we realized we were in the heart of Downtown LA and I guess we were mesmerized by the towering buildings that we started walking the opposite direction. When we discovered our mistake we decided to continue in the general direction of the venue and ended up taking a very unnecessary route. When we reached the venue we were too exhausted to look for a restaurant so we ordered a pizza. THE DARN PIZZA ARRIVED 10 MINUETS BEFORE THEY OPENED THE VENUE DOORS. So we stood outside stuffing our faces with pizza like maniacs, we even started handing out pizzas to people in line! (always make friends by providing food, it works every time) The show was great like always, but the best part was not the concert but what was happening during it. Carolina was standing behind me to get a better camera angle (she's taller she doesn't have to stand in the front *insert eye roll*) but as the band was getting ready to perform she met some people, and it turns out these people are great. They are truly experienced concert go-ers they know all the good spots. *wink wink* Anyway, Carolina befriended them as they were gushing over their amazing encounters. And I guess they had a great impression because after the concert they saw we were getting ready to leave and they offered us a ride, WARNING NEVER RIDE WITH STRANGERS, but these were different kind of strangers. I think these are the kind of strangers who help you during a zombie apocalypse. They honestly seemed so genuine we did not get any sketchy vibes, I mean c'mon we were going to take an Uber FORGAWDSAKES. As we were arranging our plans guess who just happens to be walking by, motherfucking Alex Turner just waltzes into the venue and not only 3 minuets later he walks right out, He stopped to take a few photos and headed back to a bar. Apparently all the rockstars hang out at this bar. So there you go, we saw Palma Violets for the 3rd time, met great people, and ran into Alex Turner.

KIDS ON THE RUN

photo via Free People

About a month ago (or two) I started following BabyNative aka Melodi Meadows on Instagram. At the time she and her boyfriend were working together on a short film they planned to shoot throughout their move from Texas to California and Free People went with them and created the video below. I love all the videos Free People post because they come with a feeling of nostalgia...if that even makes sense. And it was perfect inspiration for me because I've had an obsession with the desert and the video included so many nice scenes in it! Free People also interviewed them so if you'd like to know more click here.

The duo actually collaborate under the name Moss + Meadows. Melodi is an artist and stylist while Asher (her boyfriend) is a photographer, director and musician. They constantly collaborate on projects together, especially those that include photography or filming. I think it's very exciting that they not only had a love connection but went further and were also able to connect on a creative level. I feel that with that connection  Melodi and Asher have been able to create a very genuine and beautiful style together. Love and creativity are two very different and complicated parts of people so when you're able to make a connection with both of those parts it results in magic.




Free People obviously focuses more on what they are wearing and their overall aesthetic. Regardless, it's an awesome video that, I think, embodies their aesthetic perfectly. The actual film that they (Moss + Meadows) worked on during their road trip is the one below. I knew the film was going to be amazing just based on her cool Insta feed.The film didn't disappoint me at all, it was full of amazing scenery, cool fashion, and inspirational passion that they have for their work. This film is a lot more personal and very different from the one above.




Looking at all their pictures and videos has made my desire to go to the desert even worse. Maybe this summer is the summer I finally talk someone into taking me.. anyway let me know what you think of Moss + Meadows!

Carolina

SUMMER FLICKS

Today I'd like to share the 5 movies I tend to re watch every summer.  I personally watch movies for two reasons, 1) the cinematography and 2) the style in which  it was filmed. I use movies as a main source of inspiration so I can appreciate when a cliche story is being told with different style. I think the movies below were able to do a good job with that. I'll give you a brief, probably not that great, summary and hopefully you'll make the right choice and watch all of them.
Also, be warned that all the movies have similar plots (you'll see) but I think each are fun to watch and contain something that makes them special.

1. TRES METROS SOBRE EL CIELO (THREE STEPS ABOVE HEAVEN)

 









           A bad boy that goes by H falls for Babi, a good girl. They fall in love. Typical, I know. The ending is pretty crazy though so it makes up for how typical the story line is. Honestly, I think this movie starts as one of those cute, romantic, cliche stories and then slaps you in the face in reality. This movie is real af . If you need more of H and Babi then don't fear because there is a second movie!! This is a Spanish film but if you don't understand Spanish don't let it stop you, just watch it with subtitles. I actually recommend subtitles anyway because they talk fast and tend to use Spanish lingo. If you're not that into the plot then watch it for the cool cinematography and superb camera angles.

2. TONIGHT YOU'RE MINE

This movie is absolutely great because it has 3 things I love ; music festivals, cute boys, and cool shots throughout the film(like the one above). Basically, the guy and the girl don't get along and some random dude handcuffs them together and so they are forced to spend the rest of the night together. Somewhere along the way they fall in love. Typical, I know. But it contains cool music and the movie itself was actually filmed during the weekend of a real music festival in Europe so..ya tonknow,that's pretty cool too.

3. LOVE & OTHER DISASTERS

I watched this movie because I was obsessed with Brittany Murphy. I've watched every single one of her movies available on Netflix and this one is #2 on my list (Uptown Girls is #1). Brittany plays "Jacks" a British girl that grew up in the U.S but now lives in Europe which results in a funny accent. She works for British Vogue, has lovely friends that always meet for brunch, and she keeps sleeping with her ex-boyfriend because she's afraid of change. I'm not sure how to describe the way the plot is told/ the movie itself was edited...there was a lot of imaginary v.s reality scenes and self-irony . It's a funny story and you'll appreciate Brittany's outfits/style throughout the movie.

4. 500 DAYS OF SUMMER

I feel like there isn't many people that haven't seen this movie. Can you believe I spent an entire summer watching this every night and not until the end of the year did it finally dawn on me that it really wasn't a love story (if you haven't watched it you won't understand just how stupid I was). Anyway, Summer (Zooey) and Tom (Joseph) start going out. Tom is, I guess, in love with her while Summer is unsure about her feelings. I think, just like Three Feet Above Heaven, this movie is a slap in the face and portrays a genuine love story (or a genuine not love story, I'm not sure. Depends on how you see it).

5. AQUAMARINE

This movie probably doesn't fit the same viewer age range as the ones above but nonetheless it's a must see. Alex and I used to build forts and watch this on my portable DVD player every Friday. It's about Hailey and Claire, best friends that will soon be separated due to Hailey moving to Australia. They encounter Aquamarine and decide to help her prove that love exists and in exchange she will give them one wish (which they plan on using to make Hailey's mom change her mom about the wish to Australia). It's an adorable movie full of friendship, a hopeful message and an absolutely necessary shopping montage!



If you watch any of these let me know if you like them or not!
Carolina

I don't own the images in this post