Fields of Yellow in Half Moon Bay, Fields of Rambling Thoughts In My Mind

I got schooled by a thirteen-year-old in the ways of hip photography and also generally being cool.

(...I say like I find that to be a surprise...)

Here I was thinking I'm still somewhat in the loop of the Cool Kids Club, mostly because our CRO holds weekly sync-ups to discuss teenager lingo in order to "hold a proper conversation" with his daughter – this gives me LIFE by the way – and I'm usually aware of about 30% of the hot topics. So not to brag or anything but your girl is in. the. know. (Okay, I can hear you scoffing. Stop.)

Anyway! My source tells me that the Huji app is the new It App. Y'all. The point of this app is to make your photos look like they were taken with a disposable camera, a la 1998.

And you guys, I started feeling like my mother.

Squealing over the neon "'98" timestamp in the corner, claiming that nothing was so wonderful as the 'good old days' and how 'everything old is new again.' Momspeak.

In my own mind, I've always felt a bit like a 70-year-old - I'm wary of "youths" and pretty cynical and can think of nothing more ideal than curling up with a blanket by 8pm, a steaming cup of coffee in hand, and a procedural on TV.

But being in your early twenties comes with a strong sense of security: you're allowed to be indecisive, selfish, risky, and downright naive because you have your whole life ahead of you and there's time to learn from mistakes. And as April 17th comes around every year and I slowly start to leave my early twenties behind just as I'm getting used to it, a part of me still holds firmly onto that part of my identity and the security blanket that it offers.

Good grief, did any of that make sense to you?

These photos really have me feeling some type of way, evidently!

Anyway, this is all to say that usually I'm caught between 70 or fresh out of college in my mind, although my birth certificate indicates neither. Lately though, I've been seeing signs in my day-to-day life that remind me that I have indeed matured evolved in the last three years.

I never leave the house without antacids, for example. Indigestion is no joke.

Or the fact that I walked into the kitchen the other day to find Cassandra clipping Bed Bath & Beyond coupons even though we haven't stepped foot in Bed Bath & Beyond in the six-almost-seven years we've known each other...

Or - and this is perhaps my very favorite - that in the span of the last few months, our refrigerator has been taken over with holiday cards, wedding invitations, and sweet notes from our friends. In the nearly three years I've been living here, that space was used by our older roommates whose friends were solidly in a "has their ducks in a row" stage and ours... were not. But I glanced over the other day and all of the cards and pictures bore familiar names and faces, and it was a warm & fuzzy moment.

I bought a new shower caddy and curtain liner a few months ago, and still admire it every time I'm in the shower - patting myself on the back for such an adult purchases.

And speaking of adult purchases, for some reason long camel coats have always represented female badassery to me and after a year-long search, guess who recently added one to her closet?!

I'm starting to think fanny packs are a genius invention, favor practical shoes over ones that make your legs look killer, and always beeline for the face makeup with SPF in it at Sephora. It's become natural to take my makeup off at the end of the night, even if it's 2am and I'm falling over, half-asleep.

So here I am at alllllllllmost-25, certainly loopy by the sound of it, and definitely still trying to figure things out with the help of cool photo apps that throw it back to '98, when I was 5 years old (note to future self: you are not 5 years old in these photos).

I didn't start writing this post thinking it would turn out to be so nonsensical, but it turns out that this was the way this cookie wanted to crumble.

I started writing this post to tell you about a spontaneous day in Half Moon Bay with my best friend. So here's the 80-second version:

A too-late night out.
Woke up needing donuts.
Dunkin Donuts. Which just happened to be in Half Moon Bay.
Which, I've seen on Instagram, has been overrun with fields of yellow flowers.
Get in car; take the scenic route we've never taken before, despite it being 20 minutes from our house.
FLABBERGASTED by the Big Sur-esque views.
Jamming to ABBA.
Inhale donuts in the gas station parking lot.
Drive around aimlessly, trying to spot sunny fields.
End up at the gated Ritz Carlton; they wave us in and direct us towards the parking garage. 

Meander around the Ritz Carlton property, find a crazy-beautiful path along the ocean, ditch tights to frolic happily on a private beach and to dip our toes in the freezing cold water.
Find a couple of Adirondack chairs; sit there for an hour just enjoying the breeze and sunshine.
Stop at a seafood shack to pick up salmon and chowder for dinner.
Pull over on the shoulder of the freeway and sprint to the mustard flower field, avoiding oncoming traffic. Slightly panicking because we are rule-followers to the core, and this doesn't seem to be allowed. Pose. Pose. Pose. Switch. Pose. Pose. Pose. Run around a little. Pose, pose again. 
And we out - naptime!
I apologize - that was more like two minutes. But I'm out for real now.
Have a fabulous weekend, everyone! Also - not all of these photos were taken with Huji. Can you tell which ones were, without peeking at the timestamp? Which fits your aesthetic more?