Striped Crop + Floral Skirt.

Photos by Aidan Bradbury-Aranda

sunglasses: Warby Parker

earrings: gifted

bag: Rebecca Minkoff (via Crossroads Trading Co.)

jacket: Crossroads Trading Co.

crop top: Charlotte Russe

skirt: Charlotte Russe

slip-ons: Madden Girl (via Crossroads Trading Co.)

The moment we hit rush hour traffic as we entered LA with my entire life in the backseat of my car, I second-guessed every single reason I wanted to be here in the first place. It's been about a month since the move and for a majority of the time, I was still second-guessing. This weekend, however, everything changed. 

Driving home after a work meeting on the most perfect sunny Saturday morning, something clicked. Maybe it was the empty road that allowed me to detach my focus and take in the Romanian techno blasting through my speakers, or the legendary palm trees paving the sidewalk in perfect formation. Maybe it was the fact that this drive, which I usually experience in the dark after 8 hours of physical drainage, was actually beautiful during the day- but I had no idea. 

That's the day and moment I realized how happy and grateful I am to be here; in this beautiful, overwhelming city that oftentimes strikes the wrong chord with many of its newbies. The rest of the day only reinforced my revelation; it was date day in Echo Park, where we rented a boat, pedaled our way around the lake and entertained ourselves with books from the temporary Floating Library. We ended the day with inexpensive Cuban food from La Caridad, an authentic restaurant which I wholeheartedly recommend. 

And here I stand, thinking of so many reasons I want to be here (aside from a boyfriend conveniently located right by my side). Because being young in this city, near this energy and variety of people, culture and cuisine- it's a pretty sweet deal.