A quick music update!

Wiz Khalifa- 'Remember me' ft The Weeknd (Music video)

When this song was first released I was immediately hooked. It's nice to see something a little different from Wiz Khalifa, in fact it sounded a lot like a track The Weeknd would create, (and if you didn't know already, I love The Weeknd!). I definitely think The Weeknd's  vocals make this track special but I also really like Wiz Khalifa's minimalistic verse and how late he comes in on the track. I feel that it leaves us anticipating, and when it finally does come in you're certainly not disappointed!... 

However the real reason why I made this post was because of the video. If you want to put video to a song it's important to have great visual (otherwise you're better of without one). I feel that this video has a bit of creativity and edge to it, and that's what I love! It may not be everyone's cup of tea but personally, after doing a bit of filming for my course and learning some of the ropes, I can really appreciate some of these shots. 

Yetz xx

My Labor Day Weekend: LOS ANGELES

I have always loved my own company and being independent, even travelling alone has its major benefits. In fact, being in Utah - a state where I have had to establish new friendships - has made me even more independent. When I found that after a week of being in the states, I had not met as many people as I thought I would, I looked at my academic calender and scouted for when the next long weekend would be; it was Labor Day.

I wondered where I could go that was close enough and cheap enough to suffice as a long weekend away...I thought of LA. I thought it would be a liberating experience, like that of my travelling alone to Paris earlier this year, but what I found instead was that it was a complete education and culture shock. Whilst I was in LA I learnt some very valuable lessons:

1) Your stereotypes of hood people like you see on LHHATL (Love and Hip Hop Atlanta) are true.

Against the advice of the people in my sorority (yes, I came to an American college and joined a sorority), I decided to ride the metro from Long Beach all the way to my accommodation in Koreatown, LA thinking it would be much like the tube system in London. How wrong I was. On my journey I witnessed some of the things I have only ever seen on television, in music videos or in movies. I didn't realise 'baby daddy' was a commonly used phrase, nor did I think people actually had tear tattoos on their faces. Needless to say I never rode the metro again.

2) It is said the people of LA don't walk anywhere...because they don't!!!

When I was in Paris I walked the whole city, so much so that I came home in pain. I went with the impression that the same could be done in LA...I mean, that's a city too, right? How wrong I was. On the first morning of my arrival I intended to walk a short distance to my destination. The short distance ended up being nearly two hours away by foot and nearly being followed by a middle aged short Mexican dude. The size of the city completely threw me and as such I failed to do 3/4 of the things I wanted. Taking the tour buses everywhere (I was now scared of the metro and didn't understand the bus system) and not having a comprehensive enough plan failed me. In LA, you most definitely need access to a car.

3) Just because there's a stupidly rich community, does not mean there is no poverty.

Just a Bugatti parked up on Rodeo Drive. Casj.

What I witnessed in LA was one of the most shocking things I've ever encountered. I assumed that because there were the rich, there would be less poor simply because the rich would be philanthropic How naive I was. Not only does there seem to be more homeless people in LA than in any other city I've been to, but the  stark paradox becomes all the more apparent when you have the extremes less than a twenty minute drive from each other. When asking about homeless shelters, soup kitchens and other such like aids usually available to the homeless, I was told there weren't that many. This was shocking to me as I would have assumed the celebrities and the rich living in Beverly Hills, shopping on Rodeo Drive etc would have and could have afforded to give more than what they do instead of focusing on themselves (Jennifer Aniston has three houses on one plot of land. Necessary? I think not).

4) You can find good food in America!!!

Lobster and Garlic Noodles, Crustaceans
Beverly Hills:  http://www.houseofan.com/ 

Pink's Hot Dogs:
http://www.pinkshollywood.com/ 

It may be true that America has the highest obesity rate, but it is also true that there may be a reason for it: good food. When I say good food, I mean food which makes me want to become a food critic once more it was that good. Whilst in LA I ate some of the best food I have probably ever eaten among these being 'Crustacean', a seafood restaurant in Beverly Hills. The price tag goes with the Beverly Hills stigma, but oh my gosh is it worth it. Not a big hot dog fan, I decided to bite the bullet and eat one anyway at Pink's Hot Dog stand. Again, one of the best things I've ever eaten. The chili melts in your mouth, and it is just amazing. My descriptions can really never do these two places justice, you just NEED to go.

LA was definitely not one of my favourite cities in the world, but I would most certainly visit it again simply to do everything I didn't do this time. But, take note from my mistakes: if you ever go to the City of Angels, please take a car.

Stay tuned, for my next travel experience to Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Houston (to see Aniesha) in Fall Break!!

Rachael xx

Wish List

Haven't been shopping in a while so I had a quick 

flick online and came across a few things...

1. Leather backpack - Claire's Accessories

Claire's Accessories has pleasantly surprised me with this one.

2. Sparkle & Fade stripe shirt  - Urban Outfitters

Love the detail on the collar and shoulder detail.

3. Utility blouse - ASOS

I love khaki and this works well for the military trend.

4. Textured pleat tunic - Topshop

Can't go wrong with an LBD and this is only £26. I wish I had bought this before I came to Houston!

5. Blazers - Nike

Still wanting a pair of Blazers and I love black trainers.

6. Easy Jean - American Apparel

The perfect high waisted jeans.

I've been in Houston for over a month and still managed to fill up a basket on urbanoutfitters.co.uk, so I thought I'd put up my favourite sale items anyway.

Vogue's Fashion Night Out

So yesterday was Vogue's Fashion Night Out worldwide and unfortunately 0 out of 4 of could make it in any of the cities we're in.

Yetunde and I went last year though and this was originally meant to be our first blog post ONE WHOLE YEAR AGO, so in the spirit of mourning our lack of presence there this year I thought I'd upload the photos we took anyway. And we met Daisy Lowe, who seemed really sweet, even if it was really briefly :) 

Mr. Hudson at Louis Vuitton 

 Tracy Emin art work

 Louboutin galore

Aniesha.

Is Your Love Big Enough?

Lianne La Havas. Where do I even begin? Maybe I should explain my character and why this album seems to have struck a chord that not many others have managed to find. I’ve never been expressive, not one to extensively discuss feelings or thoughts with others and definitely not one to mull over emotions alone. I haven’t ever really understood what people mean when they say that an artist really speaks to them or that they find a particular song touching. I haven’t ever understood until now.

I discovered Lianne La Havas just a couple of months ago when a friend sent me the video of ‘No Room For Doubt’ telling me to wait for the chorus in an attempt to tease me about past “mistakes” he thought I had made, needless to say that was quickly forgotten as I listened to the song and fell in love with Lianne La Havas’ voice. Not only did I fall in love with her voice but now I’ve fallen in love with every song in ‘Is Your Love Big Enough?’ . There are songs that make you think, songs to make you laugh and to make you cry, she takes you on a different journey with each one.

I’m going to try my absolute hardest to pick my favourite three.

This is very hard.

1. Lost & Found. It’s so beautifully sung, and managed to evoke some kind of emotion from me. Something that I can’t really say any other song has done and like many other songs on this album I think many people will be able to relate to it on some level.

2.  Au Cinйma. I chose this because it made me imagine sitting and watching my life, and wonder what I’d think of it so far. Think its about time to make my movie a lot more interesting, I think this song reminded me that I really needed to.

3. Forget. What better way to tell someone how over them you are? There’s so much attitude I love it!

If you haven’t got ‘Is Your Love Big Enough?’ then I’d advise you do, a stunning album by a stunning artist who I cannot wait to see live!

Lula 

Natural history Museum, the V&A and Camden Market!

Two weeks ago, we decided to be tourists and rediscover some of our favourite past times in London, visiting the Natural History Museum, the V & A and finally hitting up Camden town. It was a fun filled day, with lots of laughs despite the fact that it was our last time being with each other this year (Aniesha is off to Houston and Rachael is going to Utah).

Here are some pictures from the day:

All white converses, grey jeggings from Primark, a Black blazer from H and M, blouse from Zara, a  Faux Fur Collar from Ebay, Casio watch ,and gold chain from Topshop 

Dress from Asos, Topshop sandals, Levis Denim jacket, bag from eBay.

These seats were Mopeds! 

An artist drawing Ghandi on the pavements of Camden (Whoever you are we are so sorry we had no change to give you ..... but this was truly amazing!) 

Topshop camouflage jacket & high waisted jeans, H&M cropped blouse, bag & shoes, ASOS collar tips

Dining at Masala Zone, Camden Town - http://www.masalazone.com/

We had to help her finish it and it tasted so good! 

Aqua

Aqua is another brand I've liked for a while after seeing their clothes on ASOS. Their eye-catching designs exude both simplicity and extravagance with ease. For those who find Little Black Dresses, or white ones, boring I guarantee you will change your mind. What initially caught, and held, my attention was how the front of a garment can be classic yet the back will have an interesting cut out, making it stand out from similar styles.

Their items can be quite expensive but, similar to Virgos Lounge, are ideal for special occasions, it is definitely a go to place for statement clothing and jewelry.They also have the best sales.

I recently bought the flapper mini dress in black. I'd wanted it for the longest time but didn't have a spare £150 lying around, so obviously when it came down to £30 in the sale I didn't hang around. It's a popular dress, however anyone I know who owns it has a different colour (white/ mustard/ orange) or length (the full-length one is amazing too). The fringe skirt is also detachable making it more versatile, so it can be worn as a plain bodycon dress or under a skirt/ with shorts.

Their current mid-season sale is amazing. At the moment there is also a further 15% off the sale with a discount code found on the website (www.aquabyaqua.com), so even more reason to have a look! Happy shopping :)

Starbright bodysuit - £20.00 (also in nude)

Nicky bodysuit - £36.00 (also in mint green, pale yellow and in black, white and nude at full price)

Philip dress - £48.00 (also available in black and mint green)

Manilow dress - £40.00 (also in cream and mint green)

I'm a fan of a blazer as much as the next person and I love the cork detailing on the back as an alternative to a classic blazer.

Cork spineless jacket - £73.00 (also in orange)

After looking through the sale I had a peek through the rest of their stock and these caught my eye...

 Sting midi dress - £65.00

Rory shirt (has a cork collar) - £85.00

Liza ring - £45.00

Jerry Necklace - £120.00

Cher Earrings - Scott Wilson for Aqua - £65.00

One can only hope that one day they'll be less than half price... Or I'll have an outstanding reason to buy them...

Aniesha.

(All photos from aquabyaqua.com and check out their blog at http://12fp.com/)

Channel Orange: What did "...Excuse Us, We're Young" think?

Earlier this week Frank Ocean’s debut album ‘Channel Orange’ was released, shooting straight to Number One on both the American and UK iTunes charts, but was it as good as we had all hoped? In short, we think yes. The album as a whole can be described as a masterpiece with the diverse tracks flowing effortlessly from beginning to end. Accompanied with the raspy, yet smooth voice of Frank; some features from other artists including Andre 3000 and fellow Odd Future-ite, Earl Sweatshirt; some heartfelt lyrics; this could possibly be the album of the year. There is no doubt that Frank has the balance perfect: a masterful songwriter with a beautiful voice.

Our individual thoughts.... 

"This album has an authentic and fluid feel about it-that’s what I like about Frank Ocean, he writes so beautifully and it translates into his music, like he’s writing a novel beginning to end. I'm not saying that his music is easy to understand and that I know the meaning of every song fully, but that’s what’s great about it because as you listen to it you discover new things and put more of the pieces together. My Favourite songs have to be Lost, Super- rich kids (simply because I love the fact that he sampled Mary J Blige's 'real love') , Pilot Jones and Forrest Gump. However, like his last mix tape I'll probably keep on changing my mind as to what my favourites are. The question we will probably all ask is whether this album is better than Nostalgia (BIG PAUSE)... I can honestly say that he hasn't quite topped it (but that may just be because it was his first creation and the first time we all fell in love with his music)- It's so hard when you set the bar so high! I'm excited to see what he has in store for his fans in the future"

Yetz xx 

"When I first heard 'Channel Orange', I was blown away. Everything from the beats to Frank's voice intrigued me and I constantly wanted more. Now, on it's [insert ridiculous number] play I still love it, but there are now certain songs such as 'Pyramids' (I severely overplayed this song when it was leaked) and 'Pilot Jones' which I automatically skip. I feel like with 'Nostalgia, Ultra' I still haven't reached that point with any of the songs.

My favourite tracks would have to be: 'Sweet Life' for the beat, Frank's voice, the message ('Why see the world when you got the beach' seems to me like Frank's saying the woman in the song has the attitude that she can turn her back to the real problems of life and she never has to leave 'the beach'); 'Forrest Gump', not only because it's one of my favourite films, but also again because of the beat and Frank's voice; and finally 'Bad Religion' simply because of the emotion you can hear when Frank sings and the simplicity of the message. It's even better live and if you haven't I'd urge you to view the video of him singing it live on the Jimmy Falcon show. Amazing.

'Channel Orange' as a whole does live up to my expectations, but is it better than 'Nostalgia, Ultra'? I don't think so."

Rachael.

"I think its so refreshing to have an artist like Frank Ocean on the rise, as so many 'R&B artists' of recent times really don't do much for me. His voice is amaze, and his songs have a message - a step up from auto-tune and songs about turning your swag on. Although I reeaally do not see myself getting bored of this album anytime, I also prefer Nostalgia, Ultra too.. maybe mixtapes are better; maybe I'm wrong.. Anyway, my top three songs on this album are:

1. Bad Religion; his voice is just too much for my life, and is like the song that needed to come out with his letter.

2. Pink Matter; probably because of Andre 3000 but I just think its a beautiful song. I love the metaphors used throughout the song every time I listen there's always something new I notice.

3.Sierra Leone/Super Rich Kids/Lost/Thinking About You/Sweet Life/Forrest Gump; because I can't choose and its my blog so I get to do what I want.

Genuinely hope that more talent like Mr. Ocean comes about because I cant deal with the crapola released these days, either that or take me back to the 90s."
Lula

"Where to even start. Frank Ocean himself is a masterpiece, Nostalgia, Ultra was a masterpiece and Channel Orange is also a masterpiece. I was always (and still am) going to buy this but I was so happy to see it on his tumblr. After playing it once it was decided that it would be my summer album and I've played it every morning since.


Yetunde introduced me to Frank Ocean in first year of uni and I played Nostalgia, Ultra through the whole of my revision period and then downloaded The Lonny Breaux Collection. I also love him as a songwriter and Quickly (John Legend & Brandy) and I Miss You (Beyonce) are flawless.

Choosing my top 3 is actually just dishonest; I like every song, could write about them all and my top 3 will most definitely change so I wrote the first 3 I really remembered from the first day I played the album (all morning):

1. Sweet Life probably held my attention first and foremost. Everything about it is so pretty. It fits so perfectly after Sierra Leone. Why see the world, when you got the beach?

2. Super Rich Kids. It's different, I like it.

3. Pink Matter. The day I heard Andre 3000 was featuring was a good day in my book. The guy is a genius, this song did not disappoint.

The remastered version of Thinking About You is, in my opinion, easily one of the best songs Ocean has ever done, the instruments get me every time I listen to it. Forrest Gump is genius, Crack Rock is a favourite, and Pilot Jones reminds me slightly of Justin Timberlake on Justified, never a bad thing. I also love the interludes.

I'm not sure whether to even compare it to Nostalgia, Ultra. I think mixtapes are always "better" in a way as they are more raw and fresh. It's one of the best mixtapes and debuts I've ever heard. Anyone who uses samples and makes the song THAT good deserves applause. I'm not sure which I prefer, BUT I think they're different, you can see the growth from Nostalgia, Ultra to Channel Orange.

Now, I NEED to see him live."

Aniesha.

Festival wear

Who says you can't be suave in the rain?

Typical British weather ey? It has been raining non stop these past few weeks... so how to overcome this and still look fierce during festival season? 

• Wellington boots - This goes without saying, they are perfect for miserable festival weather, they keep your feet dry and you can get as muddy as you like. 

My favourites have to be Hunter wellies! I personally think that they are one of the best brands out there, not only are they great quality but they also come in an assortment of colours and patterns. They sell them in most stores but you can also just go straight to their on-line store (Hunter-boot.com) 

These particular styles caught my eye... 

Hunter original Brit £104- allsole.com

Hunter regent Montpelier brown leopard  £195- Coggles.com 

Hunter original high gloss rubber £85- John Lewis 

Although Hunter wellies are quite pricey they are absolutely worth every penny! However you can purchase alternatives which are just as fabulous... 

Dandy riding wellies £32 - Topshop

Scholl foldover luxe wellies was £85 but now £20 - flannelsfashion.com (currently on sale so hurry!)

Star buy: Vivienne Westwood studded booties (I loved these when they first came out and I would still rock them now) - £63 ASOS 

Low on stock as it is in the sale but alternatively have a look on Ebay but just be careful that you're buying genuine merchandise and at a reasonable price :) 

Wireless festival 2012 (photo from vogue)

• A nice warm beanie! 

I first saw this  XXX limited edition beanie in the Rita Ora R.I.P video, and then I later stumbled across it again this time worn by an individual at the wireless festival and it looked even more fabulous close up! It has been difficult to track this down but I finally found it...The XXX limited edition beanie can be found here >>> http://rapraprap.bigcartel.com/

And last but not least.... 

• A  lightweight Jacket 

If anyone told you that raincoats weren't cool, think again! Spotted on the S/S 2012 Mulberry Catwalk were raincoats which looked rather stylish and wearable.

Photo taken from Mulberry

I found some nice ones in Topshop and on ASOS but I am still searching for the perfect mac (If anyone has any suggestions holla atcha gurrl!) 

The last jacket that I've  been seeing around quite a lot are the Camo Jackets and I love them. Before these became popular I had a friend who had bought an old army jacket and had customised it with flags, and band badges and I thought it looked pretty cool. Here's a picture taken last year of me wearing it (It was taken on webcam so its not very clear sorry).

Since these jackets are fast becoming popular, why not make it more unique by customising it with studs, different bits of fabric or whatever you like! Here are some Camo Jackets you can buy and customise yourself! 

Camo army Jacket £48- topshop.com (If you're not great with customising Topshop also do a studded one)

Vintage surplus Camo F2 army jacket £48 - Urban Outfitters

I hope this  has been useful, I'm open to any suggestions!

Yetz xx