L O V E !

I have been feeling super, mega, ultra fucking life thirsty lately. As in, I have been dying for a really touching, positive, life-altering, soul hugging experience. It had been so long since I'd read an amazing book, or found a beautiful new slice of music to enjoy or laughed so hard my stomach hurt. My spirit has been feeling seriously parched.

....and then, just like that - the best week I've had in a long, long, while arrives! If you follow my instagram (@veronicarafael! lets be friends!), then you're already all caught up with my shenanigans. but I'm going to rehash them again anyway because I have inspiration to share :)

First off - my book club (yes, yes, my book club) just finished a really good one. If you're feeling a little life muddled or uninspired, Chery Strayed's Tiny Beautiful Things is a perfect/short read that will satisfy most of your squishy, quarter life crisis dilemna's. My personal favorite is an entry called Write Like a Motherfucker - which has become my own personal "get it together" go-to read. If you're curious you can read my favorite entries online here!

Write Like a Motherfucker / The Baby Bird / Tiny Beautiful Things

Tuesday, I had the privilege of celebrating a woman I love and admire greatly - who at long last finished her dissertation and finally added "Dr." to her resumé. Emily was my first roommate in New York ever, which basically means that we have watched each other flourish, drown and flourish, again. We've peeled each other off the floor, danced like banshees together and laughed until our tummies hurt. It's THAT kind of sister-love that can really only exist with people you've lived with and loved with and lost with for (what feels like) a million years and two minutes all at once.

SO! Emily, being the amazingly cool person she is, took us out to celebrate and guided us to a sweaty,crowded bar on the LES to listen to bluegrass and to see this AMAZING french singer Cyrille Aimeé. I've been trying to find videos of her / her band online to share how amazing they were, but it was seriously one of those new york moments where you had to be there to witness the magic. it was incredible. And sadly, her ensemble that night was made up of a bunch of friends of hers visiting from France, making it even more impossible to find it. BUT. It was incredible and magical and I'm sharing it below anyway, just in case you're curious.



Wednesday was probably the best surprise - another one of my first BFF's in NYC invited me to be one of his dates to the AmFAR gala, which basically meant I got to dress up realz fancy and have dinner & drinks with celebrities. As in, I interrupted SJP's speech when I arrived late to my table, sat next to Michael Kors / Heidi Klum, missed LiLo in the bathroom, watched Janet Jackson accept an award, was in the same room as Jay Z, danced with CeeLo. It was amazing. epic. total NYC fun. What a week!

I also shot an adorable engagement party this weekend that I can't wait to share with everyone! It was a sweet day, and as always, I was very grateful to be part of someone's special day!

& now that I've put it off long enough - Happy Valentines Day everyone!! I hope your day is full of love (even if it's not the romantic kind) and tons of sweets (you def. don't need a lover for that!!)!

As always, I am super thankful for all of the love I have in my life! I am always blessed, but today, I feel especially grateful :)

Summer recap

Am I the only one having the best summer EVER? Well, sort of. The best ever would involve a lot more beach time and a lot less time spent in the city, but I'm doing what I can to remedy that with...

Lunchbreaks spent at Cafe Habana! aka: the best kind of lunch breaks. It's of course, no Versailles in L.A, but it definitely hits the spot when the craving hits. I'm sparing you the photo of my attempts to eat that giant ass corn on the cob covered in the cheese. It really wasn't pretty, but it was delicious!

Filling our apartment with summer flowers! The Californication/Santa Fe-esque additions continue to pile up! Guess I'm pretty fortunate that I found a Jersey boy with a (possibly) more LA aesthetic than myself / who appreciates the random bouquets of flowers I'm constantly sprinkling around our apartment. I know this is far-ish off, but I'm dreaming of the days when I'll be able to wake up early on a saturday and bring home a car load from the LA flower mart!
I also really love & recommend that issue of Beached Days if you haven't already picked it up. It's issue 001, so there's still time to catch up!
The animal head we picked up on one of our photo excursions our sophomore/junior year of college. We were only best friends back then, but we found that one together, and after trying to find the most efficient ways to clean/disinfect it without ruining it, there it is! Probably the most romantic skull that will ever exist in my life. I mean, I hope.

Pool days with my ladies! Thanks to our charm and determination to swim with bloody mary's in hand on a weekly basis, this salt water pool has become our new weekly ritual. We've made some preeeetty interesting pool friends & enjoyed some seriously delicious grub here together on many a Friday. Hands down my favorite Williamsburg gem.


Loungin' with some serious babes (see: colorful shorts man behind me)

trying new summer recipes! i've been obsessed with summer salads lately, and this is my favorite. My summer salad staple is : 10 ounces of Chickpea, a whole, sliced avocado, 10 ounces of sweet corn, 1/2 onion, lots-o-limes, an entire jalepeño + salt + pepper to taste. Pretty sure Brandon's over it, but it's definitely the summer of the chickpea for me!