When I lived in New York, I think I bought an article of clothing or an accessory once a week. That doesn’t speak well about my spending habits, but that’s just what happens when you’re in a pedestrian-friendly city. I’d walk everywhere, pass by H&M, and walk out with something I probably didn’t need but loved nonetheless. Fashion was really important to me as a young person in a big city, working in a creative field.
But those style habits came to a screeching halt when I backpacked for a year and then moved to laid-back SoCal and began working from home. When I moved to San Diego, I was either working at the kitchen table or playing at the dog park. Plus, to grossly generalize, I felt like no one else here cared about style, so why should I?
Well now the sartorial tides have shifted. For starters, I’m working in an office (at San Diego Magazine while an editor is on maternity leave) and the motivation to dress up is so much greater. But more than that, I’m realizing that frankly, I do give a damn. And though San Diego doesn’t embody the epitome of style, there are some really stylish women who give a damn, too.
I recently stumbled upon ModCloth, an online curiosity shop of clothes that veer hipster, home decor that veers funky, and odds and ends that seem just a little out there. You might not fill every room with things like a quirky creamer or plasma bulb night light, but I do think a piece here or there makes for a great gift or conversation starter. Here are some of my favorite finds from the site:
You may have seen some exciting news on my Twitter and Instagram feeds this past weekend: I got to attend the Grammys for Cosmopolitan! It was an incredible weekend that included a backstage tour, major glam makeover session with Cover Girl, Herbal Essences and Olay, and of course the big show. Imagine going to the best concert of your life where Madonna, Beyonce, Pharrell and so many more are the main acts. Oh, and 34 happy couples get married by Queen Latifah. It was incredible. I’m still on a high from it all.
I’ll keep it short because I’m exhausted from being so fabulous working around the clock this weekend, but you can read my scoop on behind-the-scenes Grammy fun right here and my recap of what it felt like to play celebrity for the day.
I never used to need to write things down. I had a sick memory that was able to retain everything in my head. But as I get older, juggle freelance work and feel altogether a little more scatter-brained, I feel the need to write every single task down, even if it’s “dog park.”
When you have a lot of things running through your mind, your task list can seem endless, but I also know that once I write everything down, the list seems a lot less daunting. And of course there are those feelings of sheer joy when I cross a finished task off my list. Some people may be wed to their Google calendar, but I’m wed to my pen and paper.
I made the mistake of buying a too-big weekly planner from Target at the start of the year, so this year I’m looking for one that doesn’t take up a third of my desk. Here are six I’m eying:
Have you heard of Brika? It’s an online boutique filled with handmade crafts and the stories behind them. There’s everything from home goods and jewelry to kids items and pet accessories, but the one thing that unites them all is an attention to detail and an appreciation of the handmade craft. If you’re all about supporting small business owners, this is a good site for you.
I recently went through a little window shopping spree on the site and thought I’d share seven of my favorite products.
When we went backpacking for a year, one of my main concerns was that I wouldn’t be able to slather on body lotion post shower. I’m a skincare freak. I’m obsessed with face scrubs, diligent about washing my face before bed and you’d better believe SPF is no joke to me.
Remember how I recently found out my beloved Neutrogena Sheer-Touch isn’t as great as we think? And remember how I recently blogged about wanting to use a skincare routine to achieve some calm? Around the same time, I also heard about Beautycounter, a new L.A.-based skincare brand that’s committed to responsible, healthy and safe skincare products. Here’s a little food for thought: 1300 chemical ingredients are banned in the European Union; 11 are banned in the U.S.
For their part, Beautycounter prescribes to a Never List, a lengthy list of harmful ingredients that you’ll never find in their products — obvious ones like parabens and phthalates as well as not-so-obvious ingredients like mineral oil, which sounds totally fine, right? (Mineral oil is actually a by-product of petroleum distillation that can cause contact dermatitis. Yikes!)
Here are a few of my favorite (Beauty Counter) things:
I’d love to say I have a particular style, but it tends to change with every new city I live in — and in a big way. I loved dressing up in New York, where it’s perfectly normal to head out to work at 9 a.m. in a ruffle skirt, chartreuse silk button-down and ankle booties. My tops went from dressy to dressier. My jewelry ranged from big to bigger. The only t-shirts I owned were the ones I wore to bed. I once went to work in neon pink tights.
I may keep Twitter at an arm’s-length distance, but I’ve always been unabashedly in love with Instagram. Yes, it turns anyone and everyone into a photographer, but I can’t deny how wonderful it is to connect and share beautiful images and get behind-the-scenes glimpses at the lives of some of my favorite people.
Today I’ve combed through the 167 friends, celebrities, designers, bloggers and travelers I follow to share with you my four favorites.
