Style & Sensibility: I exist in two places, here and where are you.

So here's to coffee and cold mornings. Here's back to square one of tasteless food and vacation withdrawals. Cheers to another week spent in LA// Valley with my boyfriend, Victor. I've come to realize that I have a love/ hate relationship with Airports. Seriously, the signs indicate that for me. Departure and arrival. Packing and unpacking. It's sad and heart throbbing at the same time. Every time I depart San Jose Airport I get this rush of excitement, the feeling of anticipation and patience. Then, the feeling of rush of excitement goes away once I know I have to head back to Burbank Airport to fit back into reality. It's always so hard saying goodbye, especially at Airports. Whether you're an avid flyer or not, these are some of the few feelings you can't control. Northern California will always be my home but not when I feel there's something missing I begin to part with that feeling. I miss my boyfriend so much. He is my home. Last week was yet another fun getaway with him. I always seem to learn or see something new whenever I visit Southern California especially the heart of the Valley. Since my boyfriend's move, he tells me stories of Reseda, the Valley mostly. One might think of the various ways the Valley could be dangerous, less attractive, and entertaining. But it's a place where most real things happen because of such a suburban community. It may not be all glitz and glamour but living in such a place where much of it lacks is exactly its charm. Laundromats is where I first found interest in the area. It's where I first laid eyes on art and cultural diversity. At first sight I discovered that the Valley is where one holds roots and what living truly means. I guess because I was so used to seeing Los Angeles as the mecca of all roots. Unlike the Los Angeles area, there are plenty of overlooked 5 star restaurants and authentic ethnic markets that surrounds the Valley. I learned the Karate Kid was filmed on Reseda. I always recall a scene in the film when driving past the South Seas apartment. I love seeing the Valley at night. There's a quaintness about it that captures the film, American Graffiti while cruising down Van Nuys Boulevard. Even on mid-afternoon drives, the era of so many past TV shows such as Happy Days, Wonder Years, and Sandlot the Movie reminisce of these tiny moments in film history. I think this is what separates the Valley from the greater part of Los Angeles.

Heights

I know I've neglected writing new posts since my last one on Halloween costumes choices. Oddly, none of the ideas I posted was what I chose. I decided on dressing up as Daria to later find that I ended up not dressing up this Halloween. Instead, I made different plans with my boyfriend. Sometimes things don't come according to plan. And sometimes, that's okay. Indecisiveness got the best of me, especially the search for Daria's pale green blazer. Above all, my Halloween weekend was worth the wait of bargain thrills. Halloween turned into HAULoween (literally). Whenever I'm shopping in LA, I find myself doing more or less thrifting. I always seem to dig deeper and try to hit up all the vintage treasure spots including consignments. Clothing + Food sums up some of my weaknesses. Two serendipity encounters: 1. First time visiting the American Apparel Warehouse Flea Market 2. Wasteland's Sundaze Parking Lot Sale. Wasteland // HAUL PICTURES UP SOON. For more, please feel free to visit my Instagram: @luxmobehave. I actually paid two visits to Wasteland before the day of the parking lot sale I had found out about it. My boyfriend is seriously the sweetest. He dropped me off first just so I wouldn't miss anything because he had to find parking and waited for me while I shopped the racks. He knows how much I love finding great deals and never ceases to amaze me with his patience. Since the sale started at 12pm and him and I got there at 1pm, luckily there were still racks of clothing left. Such great deals that I didn't want to pass up. Downfall of that shop walk was the fact that I had to find an ATM on Ventura because they weren't accepting debit so I had to put my items on hold so I can run and withdraw cash. Tip: Always bring cash with you. Sometimes places like outdoor sales, sample sales, and restaurants don't take debit/ credit. Another highlight of my week stay (excluding the almost 5 count car accidents I witnessed during senseless traffic + rushy idiotic drivers) is Roscoe's House of Chicken & Waffles on Pico Blvd. Roscoe's hype could be turned down a notch just because the cornbread cannot be compared to Hard Knox // (San Francisco) buttery cornbread but my boyfriend and I stayed satisfied with our Soul Food cravings of fried chicken, perfectly cooked collared greens, mac n' cheese, and gravy mashed potatoes. You might be thinking why I hadn't tried the waffles with the fried chicken but my palette wasn't feeling the duo. I'm glad I finally had the chance to grub at Roscoe's.