see ya america.

Acne Scuba Star Leather Jacket

I've been livin in hotels. On the road again. Just got the call that I'll be going to Paris soon again for work so I stepped out yesterday and bought myself the new Acne Scuba Star Leather Jacket to arrive in. Love.

The past few months have been hectic. Work has consumed my life for better and for worse but I truly do love my job. I got the opportunity to work in Dublin, Barcelona, Dusseldorf, Amsterdam, Paris and Stuttgart for two months with American Apparel in the early spring. I went back to New York for a minute, moved out of my apartment and now I'm in Pittsburgh for another week.

The most exciting news is that I was offered my dream position for the that company that I love so much AND my European work visa has been approved. I'm leaving in the next 3-4 weeks. If only one year ago I could have seen where my life would have taken me in present times. Funny how much things change, no?

See ya later America. I'll keep you updated along the new journey my life is taking.

pourquoi pas?

I've spent the past few weeks reassessing my life.
What is important? What do I want from life? What do I want to do?
Learn. Experience. Create.

I'm going to go on a year or more long journey around the globe.

I've studied Graphic Design, Photography, French, Advertising.. yet I've spent little to no time cultivating any of them. I've come up with a list of goals.

I want to spend a significant, undivided amount of time on my artwork. I'll spend a few months in an inspiring yet remote location in order to make my Design portfolio what it deserves to be. Limited or no internet access. I am unable to focus on this in New York with my obsession with work, a bustling night life and one too many distractions.

I will not return to New York until I am at least tri-lingual. I'll spend enough time in a French speaking country in order to perfect the French that I already possess. I also have to decide which third language I would like to learn. Berlin is affordable, has an inspiring and exciting art scene and will also have opportunities to work on Design internships. Ideas in their beginning stages.

Then I want to go explore places that I have never been before. Explore them through my lens; God knows over the past few months enough dust has collected on my camera to make it seem as though I'd never picked it up in my life.

Once I feel as though I've accomplished all intellectual and artistic pursuits I set out to achieve abroad, I will move back to a major city and get serious about my career.
Hopefully by this time I'll have enough experience and knowledge to begin a career creating movie credit sequences and working with motion graphics.

For the next year or so though, I'll stay in my beloved city of New York, continue to work around the clock and save, save, save.

Thats the plan, thus far, anyways.

indulging in: Sense and Sensibility.
[photo © Kristen Schultz; please don't use without permission]

august.

August.
Brooklyn and the Hamptons.

indulging in: Kaliyugavaradana by U. Srinivas.
[photo source: my camera; please don't use without permission]

city living.

Celebrating Swedish midsommer, working and running about Brooklyn.
Hey summer.

[photo © Kristen Schultz; please don't use without permission]

nesjavellir.

[photo © Kristen Schultz; please don't use without permission]

marker vomit.

I want to ride a motorcycle through South America Che Guevara style, get lost on a beach somewhere and spend 3 months making drawings with prismacolour markers and then throw watercolor around the rain forest.

3OH!3 and besties.

Meg and I met our new room mate Sean at 3oh!3's new video shoot in Greenpoint.
Sake, cigarettes and besties.

I look kinda shit, but that's me on my new block in BK.
blazer: H&M // circle scarf: AA // pants: Poly-Knit High Waist Pleat Pants from AA // bag: Vera Wang

indulging in: Cecilia by Simon and Garfunkel.
[photo source: my phone]

bk.

Moving to Brooklyn in a little over a month.
Ahhhhh I want it to be now.
hello summer.

indulging in: Psycho Killer by Talking Heads.
[image source: brooklyn bridge; braid - tell me if you know, I forgot; feather]

anti-nationalism, burn me at the stake.

warning: A wee rant that may or may not offend you. It takes a lot to get me this frustrated, apologizing in advanced for my impulse vent sesh.

I haven't spent more than 3 months in the US in the past 4 years without going out and exploring other countries and cultures. It was a mix of an addiction to the unknown, alternate perspectives and finding new inspiration for my work. When I got back from Paris a month or two ago, for the first time in a long time was content with just spending a decent amount of time in my own country. In fact, I was excited to come 'home'. I found a new respect and love for New York. The music and art scene, the creative open mindedness and my good friends.

But then I remembered why I couldn't stand being in this country in the first place. As cliche or silly as it sounds, the more American men I have interactions with the more I count the seconds until I get the chance to move back overseas. Are men here so spoiled by easy girls that it means no effort needs to be put in for anything? Has anyone noticed the lack of passion or spontaneity in this country? Well its official, the past month has cemented my previous idea's that American men are unmotivated, selfish and quite frankly undatable. And until one proves me wrong I'm officially a traitor. Monumental Disappointment.

Missing and craving some good ole fashioned European romance, because New England ain't got shit.

Paris, te me manque.

indulging in: Melody of a Fallen Tree by Windsor for the Derby.
[photo source: eugenio recuenco]

paris.

I've been to Paris once before but didn't really get a taste for it's cultural flare being that I visited during the summer when most Parisians are out of town on holiday.

We got to spend time with some of my Parisian friends, going for coffee and dinner and made some new ones over cocktails.
Versailles was the most gorgeous, awe inspiring architectural brilliance that I've had the pleasure of experiencing.. (and photographing).

Speeding down the Champs Elysees with my friend Alayssia and some French guys we met, in a Porsche blasting 'Empire State of Mind' on our last night.
Parfait.

indulging in: Ativan by Atlas Sound.
[photo © Kristen Schultz; please don't use without permission]

dublin.

I went back to Dublin for the first time in a year.
When I first arrived, I teared up and never felt more at home in a place as I did in that one moment.
After all of the drama that went down there in my past I wasn't sure how I'd feel and had genuinely surprised myself with how excited I was to be back.
I was so happy to be back that I didn't even want to leave for Paris the next day.

When we got back for two days after Paris, went out for a lovely lunch, spent time with my old room mate Joe and then went drinking again with my Irish friends.
I had the best night in Dublin that I'd ever had and I left for New York the next morning excited to go home to my city knowing that I couldn't have had a better time, or more perfect closure as I did.

indulging in: Red Cave by Yeasayer.
[photo © Kristen Schultz; please don't use without permission]

vampire weekend 'contra' album release party.

A few night before I went away, a friend of mine and myself went to Vampire Weekend's 'Contra' Album Release Party in Manhattan.

Good music, open bar, men in skinny jeans and ping pong.
Score.

Throughout the night we keep seeing this red headed woman wandering around who looks suspiciously like Susan Sarandon.
So naturally we spent the rest of the night making jokes about fucking Susan Sarandon over there in the corner.


Little did we know she owned the bar.. which explained a lot.
All in all, it was an amazing night and I recommend everyone goes out and has a listen to Contra if you haven't heard it already.. but it seems to be all over the radio here in NY and in Europe so I'm guessing most of you have.

[photo source: my phone; spin magazine]

vraiment.

indulging in: Epilogue by The Antlers.
[photo source: sunshine-monologue]

[photo source: ffffound, and the middle photo © Kristen Schultz; please don't use without permission]

jetset.

Just booked flights to Dublin and Paris.
Now lets just hope I survive the rest of the semester so I can actually go.

indulging in: Golden Ticket by Manchester Orchestra.
[photos © Kristen Schultz; please don't use without permission]

time machine.

Sometimes I wish I had a time machine, and then a pause and rewind button to relive memories.
This movie reminds me of those times I'd go back to.
What would you go back to?

[source: loafing odysseys]

weekends.

My past few weekends summed up.

Pants - Disco Pants from AA // Black Sweater - Express // Bandeau Top - American Apparel // Sweater Cardigan - H&M // Black Dress - H&M // Shoes - Forever 21

iceland.

If I had one place from all of my travels that I had to recommend for people to go.. it would without a doubt be Iceland. I've never seen such gorgeous landscapes in my life, I literally felt like I was on another planet.

We got in at 6 am, hadn't slept and while we're about to get off the plane the air host we made friends with lets us in on a little secret - Bjork is on the plane. What are the chances that our first time to Iceland Bjork is on our plane!? We get to baggage claim and she happens to be the only person there, in lime green tights and shoes. I try to strike up a conversation and she hurries off with the creepiest smile I've ever seen. Needless to say, she wasn't as interested in talking to us. Once exiting the airport in sleeveless shirts and skirts realized we should have packed warmer clothes because it was bloody ]FREEZING. We couldn't check into our hostel until 2pm so we call our friend Stefán to come have breakfast with us before he heads off to work, where we get to try the Icelandic food 'Skyr' (note me holding it up with a big smile on the bottom right photo).

Later in the day when Stefán gets out of work we meet up with him and his friend Eydis and he takes us to the Blue Lagoon, which isn't too far from Reykjavik. It was beyond incredible. It was like a gigantic hot tub full of cyan water and gorgeous backdrops. We took about a million photos and harassed some of the old Europeans floating around.

The next day Stefán set us up with a private tour with this crazy amazing Icelandic man named Yonni with 'Choice Tours Iceland'. For $90 he takes us all around South Eastern Iceland for 9 hours seeing Volcanoes, Glaciers, Mountains, Craters, Waterfalls - everything. We couldn't get enough of him, he was beyond entertaining. So if you ever take a trip there, you MUST use him as you're guide. He told us he weighed 260lbs and lost 80lbs dancing on his own which we were like.. hmm ok. But little did we know we'd wander into a pub later that night to see Yonni dancing by him self in the corner to Pink Floyd.

Iceland was definitely the most incredible place I've ever been. The people were seriously so nice that I constantly thought I was about to be robbed or sold into sex slavery (the New Yorker in me). That's the one place I wish we had more time in.

indulging in: Isobel by Bjork.
[photo © Kristen Schultz; please don't use without permission]

london.

We take a very long and expensive train ride from Paris to London where I'm not the MOST excited to go, figuring it'll be just like Dublin (where I lived for awhile) - just more metropolitan. It was almost like a mix of New York and Dublin, to me, and I had so much fucking fun. Our hostel pretty much looked like Hogwarts and we met some crazy Dutch men there who accompanied us on most of our late night adventures.

Our first night there we go to reception at the hostel and I simply say 'just tell us where the men in skinny jeans go' and I get a one word reply 'Camdentown'. So Camdentown it was. Unfortunately when we got there, the entire town was closed down due to a drug bust and after walking around for awhile we found ONE pub, that everyone else had seemed to find as well, that was open. London is no Berlin, doors closed at midnight and a platinum blonde man (in white skinny jeans) with Michael Jackson's voice + an English accent asked us to accompany him to this other bar, Bartok. The skinny jeans clearly seduced us (me) there. Little did we know it was a gay bar, which we didn't mind in the least but our man friends, from the hotel, weren't too thrilled about. The rest of the night was a bit of a blur, with a few funny/shocking things happening here and there - an overall success.

The next morning we crankily decided we should maybe sight see a bit. We stumbled around central London with coffee after coffee, only speaking in Spice Girl quotes (because we're so very cultured like that) and layed in the grass of Westminster Abbey for a good hour or so. We decided to get an early start this night in hopes to have some fun before all of London closes at midnight again. We go to this one place 'Zoo Bar' in Lester Square and realize its full of WANKERS and head back to the land of skinny jeans to find that everything is fucking closed - again. We make two friends while in Camden, one gorgeous man who spent the rest of the night running around London with us and being my English 'boyfriend' for the night and one crackhead named Brooklyn..who also spent the rest of the night running around London with us. They bring us all over, with no plan or destination - which I think made it even better. We have a hilarious video of 'Brooklyn the Crackhead' laughing maniacally and telling us about 'Midas' but I'm not sure how to post that.

Anyways, all in all, London was great fun. Like Berlin, not so culturally stimulating being that we mostly only came out at night but it was an amazing time and I'd love to go back.

indulging in: Oh What a Night by Billy Joel.
[photo © Kristen Schultz; please don't use without permission]

paris.

Paris was absolutely wonderful and beautiful. We lived off of baguettes and cheese (cliche), rode bikes through Monmartre at 3am, smoked Cuban cigars in front of the Eiffel Tower, told my good friend Kelley (the blonde one) that 'J'aime ton cul dans ce jean moulant' means 'Hi how are you?', and drank more wine than we can remember. We made friends with a Frenchman while in Stockholm and he had us over for an amazing dinner one night and I swear his apartment was actually Versailles. There's a photo of his 'music' room above. We wanted to swim in a fountain, but unfortunately the only one we found had no water. We made due.

[oh and if anyone was wondering, I'm the brunette often times wearing nutty lime green wayfarers]

indulging in: Glittering Clouds by Cut Copy.
[photo © Kristen Schultz; please don't use without permission]