Let's Go to the Beach, Each!

One thing I didn't take enough advantage of growing up in California was the beach. Actually back in high school, I hated the beach. I found the sand annoying and my grumpy self proclaimed them stupid and unappealing. This was actually part of my reasoning for choosing Colgate over UCSD, a choice my parents didn't understand since UCSD is located a short walk from the beautiful La Jolla beaches. 

Since going to college in the rural farm lands of Upstate New York, my opinion of the beach has definitely changed. Now, I just dream of going to the beach, feeling the sun on my skin, and of course getting a little color. For my spring break freshman year, I went on that stereotypical Spring Break trip to Miami. And that summer I went on a whole beach hopping adventure from the beaches in Tel Aviv, to Santa Barbara and then finishing off the summer on the Cape. 

My semester abroad was rather dreary with a long cold and grey winter. So the whole semester, I tried to come up with some way to the beach. Ultimately, I never made it. My dreams of going to Greece were shattered and even my plans to go to southern France just didn't work out. So this week, I decided I just had to go to the beach before I headed back east for my internship. 

So this past Saturday, I headed over to Stinson Beach in Marin with my friends Mattie and Camille as well as my friend Albert from Colgate who is interning at WeHeartIt in San Francisco this summer. 

Beyond being just a trip to the beach, this trip was also a great lesson in Bay Area microclimates. Microclimates are when the weather can change from  this phenomenon that apparently only occurs in the Bay Area. I think it happens because we have the ocean, bay, and so many hills all smushed together.

As we headed over the bridge, we were completely engulfed in fog. But Camille, our new marinite, assured us that it would clear. And did it clear, as we reached the final tower of the bridge, suddenly the fog lifted and we saw the sun shining on the beautiful hills and water of Marin. 

Unfortunately, as we continued on the windy road to Stinson beach, the fog reappeared with a fury. In fact, the entire coast was just covered with fog that just got thicker and thicker. At this point, I was pretty nervous. We almost turned back to the city to just hang out in the dolores park, but decided we should make the whole trek since we had already spent an hour to get there. 

When we finally reached the beach, the fog was thin enough to have some sun shine through. Despite the layer of fog, the beach was pretty crowded. Throughout our time there, the fog fluctuated, coming and going. In fact, I got a slight sun burn--my first burn since third grade. Honestly, fog might be more dangerous than pure sun.

Let's go to the beach, each 

Let's go get away 

They say, what they gonna say? 

Have a drink, clink, found the bud light 

Bad b-tches like me, is hard to come by

-Nicki Minaj, Starships

Daydreaming About: SUNO NY

I have a crush. And this crush is on a clothing line, SUNO NY. I'm pretty sure I'm behind the ball on this one, but I just discovered it when I was looking through Refinery29's SF street style photos (which I've been stalking obsessively in anticipation for my upcoming return). In their latest edition of park pics, this one girl was wearing the most adorable dress and I fell in love with it. I was so intrigued by the dress that I actually looked up the label she was wearing and once I got to their website I was overwhelmed.

Everything on it was so cool! The entire line was full of this chic, light, quirky preppy look that basically describes what I envision my summer to be. And they address every element of my dream summer from my summer dresses, shorts, swimsuits and even my pj's! As I continued to peruse their website, they only got better. Their shots from their runway show included funny behind the scene shots of the models as they made funny faces walking off the catwalk. I even fell in love with all the images on their Spring 2013 inspiration board, instantly wishing that was exactly what my tumblr looked like.

For a little bit more background, SUNO is a New York based womenswear label founded in 2008 by Max Osterwis and in collaboration with designer Erin Beatty. Part of the interesting element of SUNO (that makes it even cooler than it already is) is its connection with Kenya, which Osterweis considers a second home. SUNO's first collection was launched in 2009, right after the post-election violence threatened the economy in Kenya. This first collection was produced primarily in Kenya, using vintage Kenyan textiles that Osterweis has collected over the years.
Since that first collection, SUNO has continued to use production in Keyna, India, Peru, as well as their home base of New York using a combo of traditional and local techniques with high-end tailoring. Really using the countries they produce in as more than mere factories but also as inspiration for design and technique gives SUNO something a little special in their collections.

Unfortunately, the price range for all their items are a little out of my just-came-out-of-the-most-expensive-semester-of-my-unemployed-college-student-ass. Most of the dresses range around $600, but you know I girl can always dream....

I might be able to afford the shoes though if I save! These are only $60.