Tuesday, April 30, 2013

A Little Insta-Update

Because why not
1) When I asked my dad for money to go out for the night, because my paycheck was late. Two dollars, really??! 2) Heart shaped sunglasses 3) Zac Efron, no explanation necessary 4) I need to find an excuse to get some personalized glasses like this. These aren't mine, but my friends. What a party that must've been! 5) Some of the photographs inside The Common Table. 6) Katy Trail Ice House. The weather was perfect, we were waiting to meet up with friends who never showed. Eh, who needs 'em?
Anyone else have instagram? My username is juliakingsley.
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Friday, April 26, 2013

Travel: Guide Books vs. Internet

As I mentally prepare myself for the impending summer, travel ideas are being passed back and forth between friend and family member. Some places are new, some places are old favorites, and all of them  are going to be amazing experiences. One difficult thing, though... finding things to do in places is tough business. If you're from somewhere, you know the neighborhoods, you know what's overrated, what's not. As a visitor, all you have to go by is the ghostly whisper of some traveler in a forum, or an outdated guide book.
I don't know about you, but I hate traveling somewhere and being... underwhelmed.
Photo via Beach Hunter (minus the letters)
Sometimes going somewhere unexpected, like taking that detour through the woodier part or eating in that small restaurant at the top of the hill can be some of the best experiences ever. I'm not talking about those mistakes. I'm talking about visiting somewhere during the worst weather of the season or taking a romantic vacation and arriving sleep deprived to your hotel above the city's most popular bar. Or perhaps going to a big city, visiting all the popular museums and gardens, and yet you still feel culturally unfulfilled. Of course you can make the best out of a bad situation, but these are things you may like to avoid.
You can't just travel to the popular parts of a city, because similar to real life, the popular things can be full of themselves, overrated, and have really dry hair. Not always, but a lot of the times. Think of how many up and coming museums have dedicated hours and hours of thought and time to an exhibition! There are other things out there seeing, things I want to see, that aren't in tour books. Not just museums but gardens, bed and breakfasts, cities, etc. 
Key West isn't where I would normally choose in Florida (Orlando has all the theme parks, Miami has the beaches, Seaside is just... where people go), but my family accidentally traveled there last year during hurricane season. We weren't in an actual hurricane, but the front end of one. My little sister and I swam in the pool while it was raining so hard. Imagine opening your eyes under a pool of water, looking up, and seeing a thousand shifting drops of water, and hearing a muffled sound of forceful rain, but feeling yourself immersed in a warm pool of water. Unforgettable. 
 Bonus picture! The one day it was sunny, flying in.
 Driving up one of the mountains (?) in Maui and being above the cloudbank at sunset.
Stopping at the random fruit stand and finding a hot Italian student is the one selling you your pineapples and mangoes. Grazie per tutti, amore.
 Taking the backroads and finding a completely different landscape
 Going the wrong way and finding the pug life is real
Finally walking into that castle and finding original paintings on the wall.
So, perhaps this post is suggesting, or at least begging an audience of, spontaneity on a trip. But if that makes you nervous, there are at least some other resources for you.
1. The Eat.Shop guides (Now called the HUNT guides) are full of indie things to do in different part of the world. Meaning: they find interesting, "off-the-beaten-path" restaurants, cafes, stores, that sell really cool, unique things! Awesome on the julia-meter. Their website is here (please add more European cities/ I'm here to do the dirty work if you need it!), while the old eat.shop guidebooks are still available on amazon here. They include Austin, Twin Cities, LA, Paris, London, etc.
2. Atlas Obscura is full of curious and unique things to do whilst traveling. All you have to do is type in  the name of the city or area you'll be visiting and it pulls up unique places for you to visit! For example, near Dallas, TX it has a few things listed, such as
2/3 ain't bad. These are usually quirky, but sometimes they have natural wonders that you don't always hear about. Definitely worth checking out.
3. Traveling alone and scared? These girls over at the Solo Traveler Blog basically have everything covered, including Couch Surfing. They have advice on pub crawls, meeting new people, and more, so if fear is what's keeping you and your single self from traveling, look no further.
4. Browse your independent bookstore for options. No seriously, Barnes & Nobles (or any other major bookstore) is lacking in the good book section department. Or maybe the good book department, I haven't decided. Go local, if there are any left, and shop around. Visit a travel store and browse their book section. You should probably avoid Rick Steve's or any kind of generic book that's like, "tour Italy" unless you're a serious newbie. They tend to be full of repetitive fluff. No offense, Rick!
5. Amazon has a pretty good list of the absolute best travel books, though they are more overarching and not specific to a location. Still great though! What makes one good to me? Combining the history and culture of an area with the modern, mixing the tried and true good things with newer or underrepresented unique spots (i.e. cafe's, corner shops, etc.) If where you are going is less frequently traveled, stick to Trip Advisor forums for places to go, Urbanspoon for food, and maybe National Geographic for nature. Otherwise, just browse the internet a ton. Have fun, and good luck!

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Wednesday, April 24, 2013

A Few Birthday Gifts...

As I said earlier, on Saturday I went out with some friends to a mall here in Dallas to do some make-up shopping, because that's all I seem to be interested in lately. Aside from the Bite lipstick that I reviewed a few days ago, I got some other items I'm going to show you now! I also posted a photo of something I've wanted I think since high school and that's the Louis Vuitton key ring card holder. 
The first item I purchased was a Bare Minerals foundation. I got a sample from Nordstrom's with one of my orders and I actually really liked the coverage and how it made my skin feel (soft!)
Normally I don't choose the powders in a compact but this one had SPF 20 and all the rest had SPF 15. I like getting the maximum SPF possible because it's such an easy way to protect your skin if it's already in the make-up. The photo above has the powder on one half of the face (the one closest to you) and the other half has no make up on. It has enough coverage that quite a lot of my freckles are covered, so it's pretty decent, which I was surprised by. No scent, and no real powdery residue. I like it! Purchased at Sephora for $29.  
The next item I purchased was a Chanel lipgloss, #174 (Glossimer). I have a few Chanel lipsticks that I love but not the lip glosses. If you've been following my blog for a while, you know that I have an addiction/ problem with becoming obsessed with one color and buying too much of it. I was having a tough time with light pink, and finally decided to get something different. 
I like this color, even if it's kind of more fall/ winter than summer. Oh well, I can be patient :) Plus maybe there will be a look I can come up with that will work with this color. Who knows? I definitely want to buy more lip glosses, especially from Dior and Clarins so those colors will be more spring/ summery. It was $29.50 at Nordstrom, or at the Chanel website.
The last item I purchased for myself was a Laura Mercier eye liner in black turquoise. Of course I love her products because I think they are so high quality and great for natural looks. The color I chose was faintly aquamarine and has a subtle ocean-y vibe about it that I like. Definitely will be using in Maui this June!
 I like that it's a subtle amount of color without being too in your face. Also, please remind me to get my eyebrows waxed tomorrow?? This is getting out of control. Can be purchased here or here for $20.
Last but not least, the LV card holder. Love at first sight to be honest. 
A few things: it comes inside a box with a freaking leather handle how awesome is that. They really pay attention to the details. Then you have the soft little bag to store it in, which is perfect because then you're things don't get ruined! My mom said they were amazing-- she ordered the product online, they delivered promptly via fedex with a tracking device. Also, it's still made in France, which not all major companies (at least French or British based) are doing anymore. Very proud of you, Louis Vuitton, keep up the good work.
What can I say, I love using it. I love how it feels, I love how it holds my keys. It's the perfect size for a few cards and some petty cash and great for going out and not wanting to bring in a whole wallet. I love the checker print design. The one concern I have is the wearing off of the gold tone. I'm worried that will disappear quickly. Or that the chain will break? We'll see. Basically I can't wait to order my next item from them! Neverfull, you're mine within the year! 
Hope everyone had a great wednesday. Is it the weekend yet?


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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Sneak Peek: Birthday Post

I was so lucky today, I really was. After I fought off the exhaustion of being woken up early to help my mom out with some office work, I realized/ remembered that I cry every birthday. Am I the only one with this issue? Every year I cry on my birthday. I get overwhelmed and I'm not sure if it's the sudden attention or a feeling that I don't deserve it but I always cry for some reason. This year, after my cry, I decided I wanted to do nice things for people instead of being treated on all day. So I helped my mom, and I felt better.
My parents blindfolded me at dinnertime and took me to III Forks, an incredible steak house here in Dallas that oozes class. I mean stained glass behind the bar, a piano player and singer every night, the works. The service is spot-on, they are always polite and courteous, and tonight the (manager?) came by and asked if I was enjoying my birthday. How did he know? Awesome.
Aside from the service the food is incredible. Their steaks are out of this world tender, cooked to perfection, seasoned well, no fat. The bread is a perfect flakey starter, and the sides include snap peas, creamed corn (my fav), mashed potatoes, and seasoned tomatoes and onions. They also brought out their delicious six layer chocolate cake with a sparkler on top. Tonight, I was in a travel brochure for Dallas, I swear.
At home I opened the presents my parents gave me. Adorable and perfect, like every year. Here's a spoiler on the presents.
I hope everyone had a wonderful day! I'm so excited for all the blog posts coming up. Stick with me, things will get better and more organized.
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Monday, April 22, 2013

Thoughts: On Turning 25 (LOTS of photos)

I've got 24 more minutes left on the clock before I'm legally 25 years old. As a very nostalgic person, I've of course spent the past few weeks going back and forth about this birthday. To me, the number is so big. I had so much I thought I would have accomplished by this birthday. When you're a teenager you think that your twenties are so far away. I've found old conversations between friends through letters, messages, and e-mails where we talk about where we would be around this age. I know I thought I'd be married, have a job, and know where my life was going. With 20 minutes till 25, I can tell you I have no idea where my life is going.
These years have been full of ups and downs.
High school was the best and the worst:
 woops how did that get in there
College was basically just my travel phase where I explored the world and realized there were a lot more people than just me. And lots of people had it harder than me, and I was pretty lucky. I learned humility and I learned respect for cultures. I found a passion for languages and traveling, networking and meeting genuine people. I really fell in love with the world, all parts of it. 
I only have three minutes left, and I have to say, I'm sad to see the past 24 years go. I'm so lucky to have lived them. It reminds me of a poem I once read, Lucky Life by Gerald Stern:

Each year I go down to the island I add
one more year to the darkness;
and though I sit up with my dear friends
trying to separate the one year from the other,
this one from the last, that one from the former,
another from another,
after a while they all get lumped together,
the year we walked to Holgate,
the year our shoes got washed away,
the year it rained,
the year my tooth brought misery to us all.

. . .
My dream is I sleep upstairs over the honey locust
and sit on the side porch overlooking the stone culvert
with a whole new set of friends, mostly old and humorless.

Dear waves, what will you do for me this year?
Will you drown out my scream?
Will you let me rise through the fog?
Will you fill me with that old salt feeling?
Will you let me take my long steps in the cold sand?
Will you let me lie on the white bedspread and study
the black clouds with the blue holes in them?
Will you let me see the rusty trees and the old monoplanes one more year?
Will you still let me draw my sacred figures
and move the kites and the birds around with my dark mind?

Lucky life is like this. Lucky there is an ocean to come to.
Lucky you can judge yourself in this water.
Lucky you can be purified over and over again.
Lucky there is the same cleanliness for everyone.
Lucky life is like that. Lucky life. Oh lucky life.
Oh lucky lucky life. Lucky life. 


Lucky life. I'm not going to lie and say it's been a really easy journey. I've dealt with a lot of emotional problems, health problems, personal grief, and just plain drama. I know there will be more of that in the years to come. But...
I'm excited to see what I will do with my future. I hope I can make it better than my past. I hope I can fight apathy and lethargy and make every day count for something and not waste my time. I hope I can keep traveling and documenting my life in a way that spurs my creativity. Thanks if you're reading this. Happy earthday, happy birthday, happy un birthday. I hope everyone is happy today.





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