4th July Pt. 2 Brooklyn African Arts Festival

So it's been a while and I have been DYING to post all my pictures from my AHHHHMAZING summer holiday in New York and Vegas. Here are a few photos from our 4th of July afternoon with our favourite  sisters Gabby and Candice from Trinidad. So it is a long story and I must tell it properly but basically the wonderful Gabby contacted me and offered to show us around while we visited. It was almost instant...after being 2 hours late (getting lost and all that) she graciously took us under her wings and we left New York with two new sisters :) 

It was a challenge to meet up with everyone as people were still working and studying. I did catch up with Deja though. It was short but very sweet :) So that post will definitely be coming up soon. But back to 4th of July....Gabby and her dancers were performing for Diblo Dibala and we most definitely had to go and cheer for her.

Gosh there was no shortage of colour and pattern. Young and old alike....they brought a mean fashion game, and it was all effortless. People of Australia; take note because this is how you do it.

My lovelies Ruthless, Candice and Theresa

Just flawless. Boobs and booty? No need when your game is this tight!

Punch to survive the heat wave

Dress: Thrifted $5 /  Glasses $5 Street Vendor / Shoes: Converse $50 / Bag: Thrifted .50c

Big Love,

Falala Mele xo

4th July pt.1 2012

Hello Readers,

How are you all? At the moment it is Sunday and we are enjoying a lazy day in Las Vegas. We have been on the go in New York for the past 10 days running on an average of 4 hours of sleep per night. Now that it is not so busy we have finally had a chance to have a good sleep and a good feed! Our last meal was with our beautiful Trinidadian sisters who treated us to our last meal in New York. We ate curried goat HELLLL YES, curried lentils and split peas roti, curried mango and some grapefruit juice. It was perhaps my most favourite meal in New York and that is a big call because we ate a lot of good food.

Anyways back to the 4th of July post. We started our day with a 4:30am wake up call. Why? Well we had to get up to watch the State of Origin decider between New South Wales and Queensland. It was being played live at The Australian. The bar was jam packed with Australians who were all there for the same reason; to support our home states. It was sooooo full we had to wait outside for the first 10minutes and it started to rain. It was all part of the fun I guess standing outside in the rain cheering on our team.

This picture doesn't really show how packed it was but believe me. It was CHOC-A-BLOCK!

Repping the blue for New South Wales

Louisa, Mele, Pulu & Ruth at the State of Origin screening at the Australian in NYC.

It was a nail biting game and our beloved New South Wales lost the game by one point *sobs quietly* but after the game we spotted another lone Polynesian (there aren't very many in NY....I think she was the only other one we saw) so I walked over to say hello. After a quick chat about the game we decided to sit down and have breakfast. It was so very nice to find out that Louisa  and I follow some of the same Polynesian blogs including the very talented author Lani Wendt Young.

Like us; she is a fellow lover of music and musicals so we swapped our 'must see' suggestions and chatted about what we have done and what we still want to do while visiting. It was so lovely to meet her and to hear about all the interesting places she has lived (like Japan and Hawaii to name a few) and to hear about her plans for the future. I wish her all the best in her future endeavors and I am sure we will be seeing big things from her. Polynesians keep an eye out.

After that we caught the subway over to Brooklyn to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge with Ruth. We did this last year after Coney Island so it was nice to take Ruth to see it. But before we did, we made a stop at Grimaldi's woodfired authentic pizza (some say the best in New York).

We got there 15minutes before it opened. I LOVE IT WHEN TIMING IS JUST RIGHT and before the doors opened there was a line heading down the street. People were waiting in line and it was really hot so that alone told me that the pizza would be good.

The service was really friendly and fast and we got the first pizza for the day. These guys don't play. It took about 10 minutes for them to roll the dough, place the fresh mozzarella and basil on the pizza before it was steaming in front of you. The base was light and crispy and it was just so very fresh. I should have asked for extra basil because we love it. Other than that, I have no complaints.

After pizza we made our way down the road to find some frozen yogurt and another beautiful view of the city.

 What I wore:

So it has been VERY hot this visit. I am not complaining. I love the sun and I'm glad I'm not stuck in the cold winter but a lot of the pretty clothes I have packed have been too hot to wear because the material is not cotton.

So on this day I wore my blue top from Kmart. I wore it back to front because I liked it better with the high neck and the lower back.
It was also blue for my team.

Basic black tights because they are comfortable and cool. Red chucks for colour and comfort (we walked a lot so I had to be sensible) and my cute orange glasses that I picked up from a street store for $5 on Fifth Ave.

Chain and earrings were thrifted.

Happy 4th of July

Stay tuned for pt.2 we went to the 41st annual African arts festival in Brooklyn.


Big Love,



Falala Mele

NYC now

I have been very very busy. There is so much to share and so many new wonderful friends to tell you all about. 4th July was HOT and we spent our time dancing and sweating front row of the 41st annual African Arts festival.  The amazing Gabby and her sister Candice and friends were all so welcoming and really so much jeffing fun to hang out with! We ate jerk chicken and greens, fruit punch and coconut cake. We have been a lot actually and I hope to share it all with you!

This is a super quick one to let you all know that I am alive and that NY has been super fabulous to us on our second visit.

Big Love,

Falala Mele

4th July pt.1

Well my lovely followers.....this is my second week in my new job and I feel as though my wonderful summer holiday went by so quickly....it kinda feels like a dream....but then I log onto my facebook and I see that I my blogger friend Deja from Just Daisy tagged me in her summer album and then I realise....OH WAIT...just a few weeks ago...I was in NY!!!

So Im smack bang in the middle of winter and my summer glow is hidden by the layers of warm clothes....I do however have the photographic evidence that sweeps me back to the warmth, the sounds and the vibrancy of NYC. I was so very lucky to meet my friend Deja. It was so surreal and definitely THE highlight of my trip....aside from meeting the city itself...I met someone who belonged there....a REAL NEW YORKER! So Im a total tourist...I even told Deja we were so excited to walk around with a local to act like we belonged (and by we I mean my sister Pulu, Emma and other girlies from our tour).

So we met at about 8:30pm on the 3rd of July. We had just watched Jersey Boys (OH EM FRIKKEN GEEEEEEEE). Yes it was THAT GOOD....... and we had a belly full or Carmine's Italian food and we were pumped to meet Deja and just excited to hang out.......We spent the evening (and some US dollars) in the Times Square Forever 21 on some beautiful clothes.....I was surprised that most pieces I looked at were around $20 USD. In Australia I like to find stuff around $20 and under.....I'm a fan of bright colours and I couldn't wait to wear my new brights and stripes dress on the 4th of July. It was a little loose around the top but I love flowy clothes as well so I didn't mind.

 Meeting Deja was so much fun. I'm a newbie to blogging so I have never met up with any bloggers before. My friends and I were having dinner and they were sharing their crazy net stories......but I have followed her blog for a while now and I have always been impressed with her maturity and understanding of self and the revolving world so I knew we would get along.......AND DID WE GET ALONG!!! In a few hours we shared shopping, gelato, late night subway rides, giggles, roof top adventures, lost cute boys peering in our room, a hotel sleepover, strawberries and croissants. And just like a Sex in the City episode...it was so much fun and over too soon.

I loved listening to her talk about her city.....knowing that she knew her shit......I love that now when I think of New York...its no longer an abstract dream....it's a place that houses my friend...shes there...and she'll be there when I go back....and she'll fill me in on all the crazy things the city has done, what its been through and what's new....whats worth it...and what's not.

After we parted ways we made our way down to the Rockerfeller Centre to see the wonderful view.....we also tried our first giant pretzel (I did warn you in saying that I'm such a tourist) and bro it was GOOOOOD!
Then we jumped on the subway and made our way over to Coney Island!! It was the most fun just people watching....seeing everyone soak up the sun and buzz through the crazy crowd.

After that we made our way over the Brooklyn Bridge.....I hate walking where I'm supposed to so imagine all the angry people ringing their bike bells telling me to get out of their lane....oh well I made it over alive..........

and we found some delicious flower mangoes......YUMMY! Stay tuned for 4th July pt.2.......Thanks for reading....and if your in New York right now....please tell the city that I miss it.

Please note some of the shots featured is the work of my little sister Theresa.....we kinda grabbed each others camera throughout the trip and we basically share everything anyways....so instead of keeping and sharing only the ones we took...we just share them all.

Big Love,

Falala Mele xo