Day Trip: Sleepy Hollow

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery

Procession of the Ghouls

So, last year we came across a random website detailing how awesome St. John the Divine is. By that I mean some "Vigilant Citizen" ranting about how the Episcopalian church is actually a satanic church with satanic rituals. (It's a good read: http://vigilantcitizen.com/sinistersites/sinister-sites-st-john-the-divine-cathedral/  )

So this year we MADE SURE to go to one of the satanic rituals: The Procession of the Ghouls. AND it was awesome! My camera died, so I managed to get some shitty cell phone shots, but here's some photos from the internet. The costumes were super elaborate, and some of them were these half-puppet, half-costume costumes. Before the procession, they played The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, which I wasn't a fan of. Guess not every silent film could be as good as Metropolis. But it was awesome. If you're ever in NYC you should check this out..

Boston

Sorry I've been gone! I just came back from Boston. I was kind of ho-hum about going at first, but the city won me over pretty quick. My midnight walk through the cobblestone streets of Beacon Hill was probably my favorite part. This section of the city is so colonial...you just feel instantly transported.

Plan for a trip! Week's worth of outfits in one small suitcase

Read about the challenge here.

So, I'd consider myself an expert at packing. I've traveled a bit (usually not for an entire week, but about 3 days at a time). I've been flying Spirit lately cause it's dirt cheap--IF and only IF you don't have any bags. So, I pack everything in a 16 X 14 X 12 inch "personal item" bag. It can be done! I also recently went to Florida: you can see what I packed in this post.

warm climates are pretty easy, cause summer clothes are small.

Wear this to the airport:

1. your sun hat--takes up too much space in your bag
2. warm thing--even if you're going somewhere hot. you want to be prepared. I know a few beach trips I went on where I ended up wearing only the one warm thing I brought. 
3. jewelry--you don't want it smashed up or lost in your bag. also (problems only goths have!) wear something that WILL get you past the security checkpoint!!! 
4. pants--always bring pants
5. your "suitcase" of course
6. if you are bringing 2 pairs of shoes on the trip, wear the larger pair.

Pack this:

1. all your underwear
2. sandals (you can pack less socks if you have sandals). Also useful if you're grossed out by hotel floors.
3. 5 shirts+2 bottoms, 1 dress, and whatever you wore to the airport are enough to get by for one week. If you can't make it work for some reason, hand wash something. I'd recommend something that's a blend of cotton/manmade or all manmade. natural fabric gets hard with handwashing. use shampoo.
4. fancy swimsuit that could also work as a club top. I just thought of this... if i had the money. 
5. else, a bralette that you could wear as a top too, if need be. that brings your bra count up to 2. Hand wash if need be.
6. chargers, toothbrush, phone. I usually buy travel-sized toiletries (or use the hotel's) when I get at the destination. I never pack them. Pack this shit in a smaller, everyday purse that you'll pack into your suitcase.
7. (not pictured) whatever you sleep in. 

Seriously, I've never had problems traveling with what's essentially a large purse for a suitcase. It's so much easier (and cheaper). You can store it in the seat in front of you (no check-in or overhead bins) and it's also lighter. What on earth are people packing that requires rolling suitcases!?!? With warm climate travel, you also actually have some room for souvenirs--that's been my problem in the past. 

Thoughts?

Red and Black: Big Bar

So, for today, I'm going to move away from fashion/beauty to offer a--surprise!--bar review. Stay with me. This is for Big Bar in NYC. What kind of bar is Big Bar? well, from yelp:

Don't be mistaken by the name, Big Bar is tiny.  Surprisingly, it was fairly empty when we stopped by Saturday night but it filled up shortly before we took off on a quest for our next destination. 

No frills. One beer on tap.

Big Bar is nothing you'd stop in your tracks for.  You would not think twice about this bar.  It is: Unnotable, Unimportant, Easily Overlooked

EXCEPT for one thing: the RED lights everywhere, coloring EVERYTHING in red and black (full size of the place, btw):

I'm back!

Sorry for the lack of posts. I'm back from Florida! Here's a few instagram pictures of my trip (I'm axp259 if anyone wants to follow). Normal on-topic blogging will resume after this post!! We went to some of the everglade and wetland parks and also took a trip down to Key West. The drive to Key West, as you may know, has one of the longest bridges in the world, the Seven Mile Bridge. The bridge, incredibly, is also almost sea level. Really an amazing drive.

yep a gator!

MORE AFTER JUMP!
MORE AFTER JUMP!!

Packing for Florida!

So I'm leaving for Florida in a few days to visit my dad. He lives in a retirement community not too far from the Everglades. I'll be there for about 7 days and am really looking forward to it, especially after all these cold days. When I travel, I like to match the local colors...greys for Nantucket, browns and oranges for leaf-peeping in Vermont, lame cruise wear for cruises. So... I've basically got to match my outfits to this

and this

and maybe this