COASTAL CITY

I have an extremely large family and a countless number of very close family friends. One couple being my dad's very close friends, Megan and Josh who became close to my mother and I as well. Josh proposed to Megan a couple months back, after being together for years, and of course, she said yes. My dad was later asked by the happy couple to be the best man of their wedding, to which my dad very excitedly agreed to. The wedding was gorgeous and set in one of my favourite places in California this weekend, a small coastal city called Half Moon Bay, about 45 minutes away from San Francisco. I am quite the crier, especially at weddings, and this one just happened to make me shed a tear or two (i think it was the beautiful vows), but I kept myself together and held back the waterfall. I took a couple photos on the drive there and at the wedding itself. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did! Congratulations Megosh!

ari xx. 

WANNABE HIPSTER LIFE

I have an extremely odd admiration for hidden places in big cities.  I love exploring and finding new cafes, libraries, bookstores or little towns to chill in.  I find comfort in a quite, isolated surrounding.  I absolutely love Berkeley and Little Italy in North Beach, San Francisco because of the friendly people who I can only describe as hipsters.  Being in areas like these not only make me feel happy because of the people, but because I can vision myself as a college student, studying at U.C. Berkeley, having my own adorable, run-down apartment, and working at one of the many shops and cafes I love so much.  It is definitely important for me to enjoy my time as a teenager, without worries that I will have to stress about independently... without my mum, but thinking about my future, which I hope will be absolutely amazing, makes me excited for what's to come in my life.  I'm getting off topic, as per usual, but I took a little time to find photos of places I love to be, and people I love to be with, I hope you think they are as adorable and wicked as they look. (some photos are Nicole's shh).

ari xx.

NY + CA

About 17 weeks ago, a photo on the explorer page of Instagram caught my eye.  Naturally, I clicked on the owner of the photos username.  @anoulac.  A gossip girl fan.  A Topshop enthusiast.  Never, did I think that she and I would become such close friends.  It started off with a small comment, asking where she got her boots from, and ended up into a full on conversation of our interests and passions.  We ended up having a lot more in common than expected.  I still don't remember how we became so close in such a short period of time.

Anoula and I went from DMing each other on Instagram, to exchanging numbers and Facetiming.  We talk nearly everyday and can both agree that it feels as if we've known each other for such a long time.  We had talked about meeting for the longest time.  Around Christmas time, she mentioned that her mother had thought hard about buying tickets to come to San Francisco.  We were both ecstatic.

Sunday, February 15, 1:11pm, Anoula and I met, making complete fools of ourselves, hugging and screaming while strangers walked by staring in confusion.  We had the most amazing day with her family who I fell in love with right away.  I experienced my first San Francisco bus ride with her, which was not pleasant in any way, but we still had fun.

Meeting Anoula has been one of the most fun, enjoyable things I have ever done.  I can't wait until we meet again when I go to New York!  These are just a couple photos from our adventures.  Enjoy!

ari xx.

FEMINISM. SEXISM. EQUALITY.

I have been meaning to make a post on this for a while now. And a close friend of mine, Anoula Cilento ((Cilento Chic)), has been encouraging me to stop my procrastination. So here I am, at 10:13 pm with nothing to do, but writing this. Many are probably wondering what I am even talking about. Feminism. Sexism. Equality. I was inspired to write this after I wore a halter top to school on a very hot day. I received a "warning" from the Vice Principal of my school. He claimed that if the straps on tank-tops that GIRLS wear are not three fingers wide, we would have to change into our gym clothes. This was a rule for girls because apparently, shoulders are distracting towards boys during class. I will have you know that this rule only applies to girls and there are no enforced dress codes towards boys at my school. It is okay for boys to sag their pants to their knees but if my tank-top strap is not three fingers wide, all hell breaks loose. The sexism in that is sickening. It is disrespectful and I will not act as if I am okay with it because I am infuriated. After that day, I began to notice more acts of sexism everyday.

Sadly, I believe that women will never get the credit they deserve. There was a time where woman were disregarded, a time when they did not even have the right to vote. Then, there came a time when woman finally gained the power they deserved, or at least some of it. That was a time of confidence and respect. I feel as though it has been a cycle, and woman are again not given the credit they deserve. These days, girls think that acting uneducated and stupid for a boy is attractive for some reason. Because degrading yourself is extremely appealing ((sense the sarcasm)).

   

There is so much more I have to say on this. It being 10 at night and me being exhausted is causing me to forget what else I would like to say, so prepare yourselves for a follow up post on this in the next couple of days when my eyelids are not heavy.  Let's work together to eliminate ignorance !

fem·i·nism

ˈfeməˌnizəm

noun

the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.

sex·ism

ˈsekˌsizəm

noun

prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex.

e·qual·i·ty

əˈkwälədē

noun

the state of being equal, especially in status, rights, and opportunities.

ari xx. 

SAN FRANCISCO

I spent my Sunday exploring many ins and outs of San Francisco with my friend Nicole. Although I live near, I have never spent as much time in the city as I did yesterday. We drove into the city and went downtown first, knowing that neither of us could hold back from shopping a little bit. Getting our shopping out of the way, we walked to Union Square, a big tourist attraction, which was once used for rallies for the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was crucial that I take a photo with the giant heart that had the Golden Gate bridge painted on it. Maiden Lane was next. Once being a "red-light district," Maiden Lane is now filled with boutiques, beautiful art galleries and a cafe. Nicole had mentioned going to the Yerba Buena Gardens, which I had never been to and my curiosity got the best of me, making that our next stop. The beautiful waterfall fountain was the first thing we saw yet we did not get a proper photo of the actual fountain. The day of being pretend tourists had come to an end and we headed home.

ari xx.