greetings from coachella

vintage collared shirt, gifted Siwy denim cutoffs,vintage lace-up booties, Fjallraven backpack, Ray Ban Wayfarers

My favorite outfit from the weekend on day two of Coachella! Please excuse the crappy iPhone pictures, I didn't feel like lugging around my SLR and wanted to enjoy myself as much as I could without worrying about pictures and whatnot. I'm currently sitting in my room in SF with the heater on full blast since I still can't get used to the cold. I really miss the desert. When I got off the car Monday night to go into my apartment wearing only shorts and a cropped top I was greeted by the freezing rain (and this little cutie, of course). Man, it felt good to go on vacation. We stayed in a condo in Palm Springs with some friends from SF that I didn't know very well in the beginning but ended up really getting along with by the end of the trip.

crochet one piece from UO, vintage floral maxi skirt from Painted Bird, vintage Capezio bucket bag, American Apparel floppy hat, Rachel Comey boots

Friday was cooler than the rest of the weekend so I was a little more adventurous with my outfit and wore this maxi skirt that I'd picked up at Painted Bird the day before I left. It's hard to tell in the picture but the top part ties in the back and is connected to the bottom by a crochet pattern in the front so it's more risque than what I usually wear. Oh well, I tried right? I forgot my hat in the car when we got to the festival but I was better off without it later on when I was dancing to sets by Cut Copy and Boys Noize.

Every morning I'd wake up to this suit of armor in the corner of the room in my cozy little futon. The decor was so weird. There were also two dog statues in the living room and a pair of mannequin legs outside that were upside down in the corner of the back patio next to some cacti (our condo mates scared the crap out of us with this little arrangement on the last night). So many weird (but funny) things happened this weekend that I can't even begin to list all of them.

This was actually my first time going to Coachella so I didn't know what to expect so it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Reception was the worst problem and it was difficult to get a hold of people most of the time so I had a couple bad scares after being separated from friends but everything worked out in the end.

Friday was pretty chill, I saw Interpol but wasn't very into it since 1. I've already seen them multiple times, and 2. I didn't really like their new album. Next I met up with my roommates to dance to Cut Copy which was way more fun then sat down to listen to Crystal Castles which was okay but their live shows aren't very exciting. I like that you had the option of sitting things out if you weren't very into it or tired, the music still sounded great no matter where you were. I also got to see a band from my childhood, Caifanes, who were reuniting for the first time in more than a decade and a half. It was great to see a bunch of people who flew in from Mexico and all over the world just to see them and I talked to a few in the crowd while I enjoyed songs that I used to sing in the car with my mom as a kid when they came on the radio. For the last set of the day, I had originally planned to watch Chemical Brothers with my roommates but had to meet with my condo mates at Boys Noize because my phone was dying and they were my ride home. I ended up dancing my ass off there to a KILLER set and light show which blew my mind and made my night.

So let's see. Day two? I wore a white top and these Siwy shorts that my friends and I were randomly given outside the Ace Hotel on Friday (see first picture). I swear, after I put those shorts on I refused to wear anything else, they were so perfect for the weather in Indio. Sucks that I can't really wear them here in SF save a few random days in the year where it reaches 80-90 degrees. Also, I somehow managed to forget to eat (it happens to me sometimes) on Friday so I made up for it on Saturday with Chinese food and an ice cream sandwich from the COOL HAUS truck in the VIP section while hanging out with the people from the H&M tent and listening to Gogol Bordello.

I dubbed Saturday my "high school playlist day" so most of the bands that I saw were ones that I listened to heavily at the time like Broken Social Scene, New Pornographers, Bright Eyes, Animal Collective, and Arcade Fire. Prior to this I had met up with my best friend from home, Karen, but we were separated and I ended up spending most of Saturday between 6pm-2am by myself. It was actually kind of nice to be alone while listening to bands that shaped into the person that I was back in high school and although I'd seen most of them live already it was still a new experience. Bright Eyes was the biggest surprise since my last two experiences seeing them hadn't been too fun but Conor put on an amazing show and it was awesome to sing to songs like "Lover I Don't Have To Love" and "Calendar Hung Itself" one last time while still knowing the lyrics by heart after not having heard the songs in years. During Bright Eyes' set I ended up fairly close to the right side of the stage but as soon as it ended people started pushing forward and I found myself stuck in the middle of this crowd unable to get out since Arcade Fire fans were pushing to get as close as possible to the stage. See that last picture of Mumford and Sons before my phone died? I ended up a few feet closer than I was when I took that picture so I was in the front row by the time Arcade Fire came on. Animal Collective came before them, however, and they were fantastic as usual but I felt a little silly dancing to every song while everyone around me wasn't really into it and seemed to only be there for Arcade Fire. I even heard someone ask "Who's Animal Collective?" and this one group of teenage girls made faces when the music started and started taking pictures of themselves because they were bored. Seriously? Hard to believe that at one point Animal Collective was bigger than Arcade Fire but that just shows how far they've come, I guess.

Anyway, being front row by myself for Arcade Fire was a surreal experience I'll never forget. I already saw them a few years ago but this time around it was so much more different. The Suburbs came out in the middle of a fairly difficult year for me and I would listen to the album multiple times a day all the way through during long walks or commutes while reflecting on recent events and my feelings at the time. Arcade Fire put on one of THE best performances I've ever experienced and I can't even begin to describe how it felt to dance and sing along to the lyrics without ever missing a word or beat and getting to see them perform right in front of me every single song that I wanted to hear. I'd always listened to them all throughout high school when Funeral came out and a bit in college after Neon Bible but I'd never considered them my favorite band until it kind of just hit me in the middle of the show and I felt so incredibly lucky to be there witnessing that performance. When I looked up into the sky during "Wake Up" and saw those glowing inflated balls come down at me I actually teared up a little and it's an incredible image that I'll never forget even though my phone had died and I didn't have a camera to capture it... okay, maybe the moment didn't last very long since I spent the rest of the song deflecting hundreds of balls with my arms and trying not to get hit in the head but hey, it's still something.

T By Alexander Wang striped top, Siwy denim cutoffs, vintage lace-up booties, Fjallraven backpack, Ray Ban Wayfarers

Okay, okay. I digress. Seems like most people have been concerned more with the festivities than with the music itself which I went in thinking too but ended up touched my experiences, as cheesy as that sounds. Sunday, however, was mostly spent poolside at the Ace Hotel since I was way too exhausted from the night before to be there all day again so we didn't show up until later. I made the unwise choice to forget my bathing suit (after having in on me all day the day before, too) so I could only dip my legs in the water as I jealously watched everyone else swim in the water.

Ah well, I still had fun. I ended up really liking the Ace Hotel, maybe I'll take a trip back down there sometime to actually stay there although it wouldn't be as active and bustling as it was this past weekend. I always forget how fun it is to hang out by a pool now that I've been living in the Bay Area for so long. Is this enough of a reason for me to move back to LA? Doubt it, but it's a nice luxury to have when you're on vacation at least. As I write this I am curling up further under my two layers of blankets and covers and sighing repeatedly, I never though I'd miss the warm weather this much...

Don't know what I'm doing in that last picture but everyone looks cute so whatever, I'll still post it! I never realized how great cutoffs and boots go together until this weekend and I'm glad I went with boots rather than sandals, they really saved my life at the festival. At one point in the crowd this guy passed out and his head landed right on my toe... so scary. I was really good about staying hydrated so I didn't have any problems while I was there thankfully. Anyway, after the pool party we finally piled back into the car and tried to make it in time for Duran Duran whose performance was a HUGE disappointment for me mostly because I really wanted to hear Come Undone but they didn't end up playing it and chose to focus more on newer, crappier songs. Bummer. Afterward we wandered over to the other stage to dance to Chromeo instead of seeing The Strokes (I was never really into them, don't know why) was even joined by my friend from home again for a bit. Twenty years together and counting, right?

And finally, Kanye. What else is there to say? It felt like I was witnessing a once-in-a-lifetime performance and like at Arcade Fire I felt very lucky to be there in real life. I had a lot more to say about him but I'll just keep it to myself since I already went on that long tangent about Arcade Fire. Some things are better left unsaid.

And that concludes one of the best weekends of my life, thanks to everyone who actually took the time to read all of it.