Home, comfort, breathe freely

I am a size 32B. Easy for me to say. So I’m going to say it. Ditch the bra when you can.

The US has a culture that thinks if your nipples show through a dress, you’re probably turned On. Though this is not true, it’s just not work or social situation friendly to do so.

The American cancer society thinks bra’s don’t cause or exacerbate cancer. While some other studies think they do. We here at the research lab of passion of possibility think they’re uncomfortable and dispensable. My paternal aunt died of breast cancer and my chiropractor told me bras cause Cancer so I looked into some subs and don’t want to go back. It’s been the hottest Summer in Seattle too.

Bra subs

 

 

1. Thick material
2. Pleats and layers
3. Bralettes
4. Sequins
5. Crop tops
6. Bra tops
7. Gathers
8. In-built soft padding
9. Lace shift

The dresses in the pictures may not be but the styles are definitely good subs for a bra. I wore the one with gathers on a hot day to work and to meet a friend for dinner and salsa afterward. My bras and bralettes are from VS, Aerie and Soma. I’m still so much more comfortable without them. Plus I don’t need to wash an extra delicate garment. This brilliant 30s hack has added hours, days back to my life. I know True & Co etc have come up with more comfortable styles but seriously, I have a dozen bras, I don’t need more. I don’t have the money and mindspace to invest on any more experiments. Some of my corsets, and crop tops have wires, yes. Still more comfortable than bras.

Now imagine not having to stuff these pesky things in a travel bag…. *BLISS*

Pro Travel Tip 11: Avoid bras

Pssst: I slept in the dress I wore to work yesterday because I didn’t feel like changing 🙂

Georgetown, Seattle

Georgetown is my favorite neighborhood in Seattle for creative exposure.

If you have an alert observation, there are so many things that give Georgetown its character. If you’ve been to the Georgetown in Washington DC, you’ll notice they have some similar history though not the same aesthetic. Georgetown is 15 min South of the heart of Seattle, Belltown, run down looking, often lacking an obvious buzz.

Georgetown art attack, Dead baby downhill, Acoustic Armageddon, Haunted History tour, Via Tribunali, Georgetown Trailer Park Mall are my favorite things here. Ok may be not dead baby downhill which gets too crazy. There was an after party shooting in 2011 at 4:30 a.m.. What was through through this person’s mind? “Hey I am going to a party and drinking. Let me take my gun just in case I get pissed off…”. All great scenes for something new, something different every time. My pictures above and below are from a time I went about taking fall pictures of random things with strangers from meetup.com.

Apart from the obvious, notice the dog with one green and one brown eye. Notice the warehouse through it’s peephole.

So what’s common with the one in DC? Well they both were former industrial districts and now hella polluted. Both have an artistic vibe. And they’re both called Georgetown 🙂

Pro Travel Tip 10: Go with the eyes of an artist sometimes

A photographer, a painter, a blogger, whatever floats your boat. You’ll notice things you wouldn’t otherwise.

Vegas

It was only my third time in Vegas but I reached my Vegas Moksha.

Rio Hotel, Vegas

My first time was with my ex bf and now good friend and business partner. We saw Ka by Cirque Du Soleil. I got us premium tickets at MGM and all. Best theater ever. The second time, I went with a childhood friend. We had our second lap-dance together from the same person. This was post yelling and pulling out skeletons from our 8th grade closets at the main stripper stage. Good time again. The third time was, ahem, a divorsary. This was my favorite time.

My very good friend got a multi-story divorsary cake for herself. It had a bride figure on top, a mangled, supposedly dead groom at the bottom and cranberry sauce for blood, the groom’s blood of course. We had the VIP section at Rio hotel, bottle service as we chatted with various groups of the opposite species from around the world. One of our friends got us in Mirage free through connections the night before.

Fast forward next afternoon.

Friend (who has a bf): Ladies, are you sure you want me to draw the curtain?

Other (hungover and sleeping) friends: Yeah sure

*Curtains drawn*

*Room-wide cringe ensues*

Which brings me to my next two pro-tips:

Pro Travel Tip 8: Travel with the pros

You don’t want to be wandering by yourself asking, “hey if you were drunk, where would you look for another drunk person?”

Pro Travel Tip 9: Strip-club rules:

1. Carry cash only. No credit cards
2. Keep your mouth shut. No exchange of fluids
3. Make them earn it

Also, if you’re not a gambling pro, keep your stakes low. You’ll have a better time 🙂

 

 

Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery

This is a very classy venue

And like all fancy venues, it costs an arm and a leg. I saw Mark Knopfler in 2015. The weather, the sunset and the relaxing music made it the most beautiful evening of the year.

I saw Santana this year. Another very lovely evening. I strained my neck for a couple of days I danced so hard. Random strangers danced with each other. Full-on party! I subscribed to their events and will go to Gypsy Kings this year as well. I went for a bachelorette last year. I don’t need to tell you about the wine…

This one, I would say is kid-unfriendly, not family-unfriendly. The tickets can be a few hundred dollars so not worth spending on kids. Mark Knopfler was $300 ish per ticket and Santana $200 ish. I’ll pay that much for artists I’ve been listening to for decades. Plus wine and kids don’t mix very well.

Pro Travel Tip 7: A good concert is worth a few hundred $s

It’s a memory for life.

Anjuna beach, Goa, India

Some of my first tastes of freedom were in Goa.

I grew up in Mumbai. It’s like NYC but add more people and make it really ghetto. Like any metropolitan city, it pays your bills but stresses you out. Goa is a 600 kilometer drive South of Mumbai. If you’re a foreign tourist, Goa, close to end of the year, is your safest bet.

The pictures above are at Anjuna beach, Goa taken 13 years ago. Mumbai has beaches too. India has a lot of beaches. But you’ll get stares if you wear a bikini there. Most Indian beaches are like fairs with vendors and merry-go-rounds. It’s Ok to wear a bikini in India in Goa if you are with company or at private beaches. I’m a bit of a nudist so this was pretty exciting for me 🙂

Goa has an illegal weed scene. Marijuana (Cannabis flower) is illegal in India. But bhang (Cannabis seeds and leaves) is Ok on Holi (Hindu festival). Worst high ever…

More family unfriendly activities include rave parties, riding mopeds in that crazy traffic and roads, shopping at late night flea markets and drinking in shacks (temporary restaurants).

Pro Travel (life) Tip 6: There’s always a place to be yourself

Goa: Fond memories forever ❤

Doe bay Resort and Retreat

My first solo healing retreat, doe bay resort.

I pulled an 80 hour week and needed a break. An actual healing retreat costs a bomb. So I went DIY. A 1.5 hour from Seattle to Anacortes -> a ferry ride with my car -> A drive to the other side of the island and I was there.

Thumbs up features: Birthday suit Sauna and Jacuzzi, yoga classes at 9:00 a.m. with a water-view <3, massage parlor, store, restaurant, a yard adjacent to the bay, a farm, suites with an attached kitchenette, library, wifi, camping space

Thumbs down features: Spotty wifi, mediocre room service, not good value for money for the suite, restaurant closes early and is closed a couple of days of the week, distance from grocery store

The best thing was going offline for a bit. I could be spontaneous. Ask around what’s an offbeat thing to do and go for it. I went to Lambiel’s museum, drove to Rosario, went to the farmer’s market, took a random hike but mostly chilled at the resort. Moran state park, kayaking and hanging out at the boutique shops are the standard things to do and I’d covered them all in a previous trip. It was a good hippie experience 🙂

Pro Travel Tip 5: Make a solo trip once in your life

You’ll discover new interests and learn your own pace

Vance Creek Railroad Bridge

I lied. This one’s illegal.

Vance Creek Viaduct Trail, Shelton, WA 98584 is popular one if you’re in the mood for risk and nature. The bridge is illegal because it needs you to trespass private property to get there. There are no signboards obviously. There is a gate that warns you you are entering private property. It is a short dirt hike to the bridge. It has no railings on either side. Leave your Vertigo at home. This one is 347 feet over the Skokomish river. It is now abandoned. So not to worry about trains passing by. The trail is wide and in good enough condition to walk across. It has lovely views on both sides and the perfect sunset!

Pro Travel Tip 4: No pull-ups on Vance Creek bridge

Scary for everyone

Passion for Possibility

I try new things a lot. My main motivation for this blog was the fact that though I have platforms to publish family friendly excerpts of my travel elsewhere, I need one that isn’t. So I’ll share some perfectly legal things to do around the hood here 😉 I’ll keep the content short and sweet. No full itineraries and minimum scrolling.

The picture above was taken at Cacimba do padre, Fernando De Noronha, Brazil. To give you some context, I made the mistake of not wearing a bikini that day. So some friendly locals invited me to a BBQ and a lady took my dress off till my waist. I hung out in my bra and my dress as a sarong. The picture above is photoshopped some to add contrast and make it not look obviously like a bra.

Pro Travel Tip 1 ladies and gentlemen: – Carry swimwear for every day of your trip in Brazil. Somebody is going to drag you in the water 😉

Pro Travel Tip 2: Carry condoms

Pro Travel Tip 3: Learn the local translations of 5 words at a MINIMUM wherever you go:

1. Yes
2. No
3. Slow
4. Fast
5. Toilet

Thank me later