Happy Friday & A Pat on the Back

Happy Friday, November 11, 2011, dear readers! I hope you have as much fun this weekend as that kid is having being swung around by her arms. Just look at that face. Pure joy. May all of you enjoy this day and proclaim twice to all people in your vicinity that it's 11:11 AM/PM on 11.11.11.

Today marks the fifth day in a row I have woken up, dragged my butt out of bed, and made a concentrated effort to blog. I loved it and am giving myself a big ol' pat on the back! I don't think I need to post every single day, however, the daily act of writing has been very enjoyable and believe it or not has increased my level of happiness. Blogging FTW! Ashley commented at the beginning of the week that she often writes several posts at one time and then publishes them later. The idea of writing and not immediately publishing seems foreign to me since I am so impatient and like instant gratification, but I think this is a method I will try to embrace. If anything I think it would allow for more thoughtful posts if they gelled around for a few days before I posted them. 

This weekend I have plans of cleaning/laundry, painting chevron stripes on a cabinet in my kitchen, and attending my school's annual Holiday boutique on Sunday. If the forecast holds, I am looking forward to enjoying the rain tomorrow by snuggling in my house and drinking tea and watching Gossip Girl reading. Rain in Southern California is so sparse it needs to be treasured! 

What do you have planned this weekend? Anything exciting? Tell me in the comments!

Peace, love & the weekend,

♥LJ♥

TILT: The Blog, The Desk, The Holiday Spirit

It's Day 4 of my week long blogging run, and I got a later start today than usual but the important thing is that I am writing and I am loving it!

In honor of Gala Darling, a fabulous fashion and lifestyle blogger, I want to return to my weekly Things I Love Thursday. It's important to regularly check in and examine what is making your life better and what deserves some love.

So without further ado, le list!





♥ Getting back to blogging. I didn't realize how much I missed it until I stopped. I love you blog, don't ever leave me again. To my handful of loyal readers, I love you too. Don't ever leave me.

♥ Finding a super amazing desk on Craigslist. This may or may not have something to do with why I started blogging again. Having a dedicated space for my writing is super amazing and I love it. I got $210 worth of furniture for $80. Crappy pic but isn't it awesome??

I have since added drawer pulls and it's even more amazing. Non blurry pic to come soon, promise!

♥ Something else making me happy is the cold weather and the impending holidays. I am apprehensive about being home with family for a variety of reasons, but I am going to decorate the shit out of my apartment! Tree, ornaments, cute etsy stuff, cute handmade stuff, etc. Tacky decorations need not apply. It makes me happy and it makes the holidays feel better and less sad. Especially this year.

♥ Little things which made me smile: Pinterest, lots of coffee, pantone mugs, these kids who are seriously THE best, I hope my future kids are that awesome:

♥ What do you love this week? Tell me in the comments!! ♥


Peace, love, & sneaky moms,


♥LJ♥

Check In Time: New Daily Ritual and Why I Blog

Source: cicekingdom.tumblr.com via Erynn on Pinterest

It is Wednesday and this is my third successful day waking up BEFORE 6 AM to blog. I have to say I am loving this new routine, and waking up early to write has much more of a draw than waking up early to exercise. Maybe someday I can wake up early and do both, but for now, I am happy with blogging!

Some would question why I would even do this (not my blogger buddies!), so I thought I would write about why I blog. I have never considered myself a writer, nor is it something I want to do professionally. However, my blog has become a creative outlet where I can put thoughts and ideas into words that I am having trouble articulating to people in my life. Before I get carried away, it's not all about the important things. It's also a place to share ideas and give my fellow bloggers a peak into my life. I love reading other blogs and find so much inspiration in so many different areas, just from reading about what goes on in their lives.

I wrote yesterday about facebook, and how the idealized version of life presented by people I don't really care about gets me down. It makes it too easy to compare myself to others, and I kind of hate it. Blogging lets me see how other people all over the country are dealing with being in their 20s, sans the drunk bar photos and bullshit of facebook, and it is refreshing. (I'm not trying to be judge-y, of course I frequent bars and have posted pics on fb, I just get annoyed when that becomes a measure of how awesome your life is.) I rather like connecting with people my age that have similar goals and dreams. There is always the chance that sneaky jealousy can creep in when I come across an awesome blog and wonder how they get it all done, but more often than not, I come away inspired and motivated to realize that I can always do more.

My 20something world often feels sad, big and lonely. Blogging helps that world feel smaller and more welcoming. What's not to love? There are so many other things about blogging that I love, but right now they are too many to cram into words. I am going to create a running list of reasons I blog, and share more at a later time. Now it's time for me to get ready for work and pick out my outfit. Heels are a must, of course!

Now it's your turn. Why do you blog? I would love to hear about it in the comments!

Peace and love early in the morning,

♥LJ♥

Why I Don't "Like" Facebook

I was very productive this Sunday, and made it through the entire day before I even thought about checking facebook. You see, like so many other people I know, it is pretty standard to wake up, check your phone and all social media, and then go about your day. So when I finally signed on and it was almost 9 PM, I was surprised to find I didn't miss it at all. 

I am not the first person to be all "down with facebook," but I thought I would offer my perspective on the subject. I've been on facebook since it was first introduced to colleges when I was an undergrad at Cal. At that point, anyone you ever ran into at a coffee shop became your facebook friend. Just like in The Social Network, "facebook me" became the most popular way of communicating.

In addition to my college friends, now my family, friends, coworkers and losers from high school clog up my newsfeed. You would think that's all well and good, except, do you know how awkward it is to unfriend a family member or coworker? They just don't understand that you truly think they are idiotic and should never have been granted the right to post information online. Thanksgiving gets kind of awkward when your cousin asks you why you aren't facebook friends anymore. 

The high school crowd is another beast entirely. I don't want to see pictures of your house. I don't want to see pictures of your 17th child. I don't want to hear about how much our hometown sucks. I get it, that's why I left. 

At the bottom of all this is me and my life. I don't "like" facebook because it makes it much too easy to compare myself to others. Facebook is a place where people present an idealistic view of themselves. For every picture posted, for every status update, for every check-in to that cool new club, there is fucked up shit that no one wants to talk about. If you end up using facebook to talk about the fucked up shit, people get all hush hush and say that this really isn't the place for this - don't they know what they put on here stays on here FOREVER??

So if you can't get real on facebook without offending the masses, what's the point? If I posted my halloween costume pic a nearly naked photo of myself I would get a ton of "likes," but if I posted about something uncomfortable and emotional, it would go into the void ignored and "disliked." I guess I have a hard time understanding why I should continue to use a social media tool that actually makes me feel kind of bad for unimportant reasons.

Without facebook, I wouldn't need to know a bunch of useless information about people I don't care about. It wouldn't take up space in my head and in my life, and that would make me feel much better. I haven't yet decided if I want to deactivate my account, or do a serious friend list purge. I think if I started over, I could keep up with the people that are really important to me, and I would be able to stomach their annoying updates because I actually want to be friends with them.

Are you a facebook lover or hater? Facebook indifferent? Tell me in the comments!

♥LJ♥

DST and a New Daily Ritual

It is 6 AM as I start to write this, and I'm already half way done with my first cup of coffee. I sprang out of bed (okay, maybe there was no spring to my step) at 5:30 AM, and got my morning going with breakfast and everything.

Who am I?? This girl is the queen of the snooze button, which usually results in dirty hair and lots of pony tails. Also, I have no shame. As I sleepily began to think about what was giving me so much energy this morning, I realized it's that pesky little bugger Daylight Savings Time. You see, last night, I was in bed by 9:05 PM. That is basically unheard of in my life. As someone so accurately stated:

Source: bethbrigham.tumblr.com via LisaJennea on Pinterest

The above is essentially the story of my life. How good I feel in this moment is enough to motivate me to get my ass out of bed in the morning and begin a new daily ritual. It will be difficult, but I vow on the internet (this shit's fo real, yo) that for the rest of this week, I will wake up, make coffee, eat breakfast, and actually write a blog post.

I am so busy once my day gets started it is easy to let the blog slip. No one holds me accountable to my blog but me, so it's time I gave you some lovin', blog. Don't you feel better already?

Thank you, loyal readers, for joining me on this journey. For those of you that update your blog like 3 times a day, how do you find time to get it all done? Got any tips for this girl?

Peace and blog love,

♥LJ♥

That's So Pinteresting

All the cool kids know about Pinterest by now, but as I've just started to actually find it useful, I felt it was time to give it a little love. In my quest to find my signature style, it has come in very handy because as I'm perusing images or website online, I can quickly pin my image to an online inspiration board that I can reference later. 

Here are some of the images I've found and pinned via Pinterest for my style pinboard:

One of my favorite things about pinning is that the tactile feel of actually pinning something to a bulletin board is conveyed through the website. Obviously it's a virtual bulletin board, but the way it is arranged makes it feel more like you are actually cutting and pasting from magazines for inspiration. The other cool feature is the social aspect. Your twitter followers or facebook followers can follow your boards and repin and like what you have pinned. It is very collaborative and fun, not to mention addicting. You can use it for everything, from personal style to remodeling your bathroom! 

If you haven't yet started pinning, go forth my friends, and get inspired! If you are a seasoned pinner, what are your favorite uses for the site?

Peace, love, & happy pinning,

♥LJ♥

Finding a Signature Style

Some people have an effortless sense of style and, others, well, let's just say Stacey and Clinton would love to whip them into shape. I am drawn to classic and simple styles, and often find myself looking to the 40s, 50s, and 60s for inspiration. I love the shapes, colors and patterns; it just works for me. If I could pick a Mad Men lady to emulate, it would be some sort of hybrid between Betty Draper and Peggy Olson. 

Lately I have been making more of a creative effort with my clothing, mostly for work but a little bit in my casual wear as well. Not only is it making me get more out of my wardrobe, I am finding that there are so many different ways to combine things, as long as I have the right staples. So far, I've found a pair of black dress pants, a classic white shirt, a few cardigans and some flattering dresses the most useful items I own.

Despite my lofty style goals, most of the time, I end up wearing plain black dress pants, an interesting top, and a cardigan (heels too, of course!). One would think in this day and age I could get away without a sweater, but true story, I was told my shoulders were too provocative, and I better cover them up. I know, right?? Cray cray.

So anyway, I have started playing around more with my wardrobe staples, and have decided that I should have started wearing button downs under cardigans way sooner. It is so easy and flattering, and instantly ups your "professional" vibe. I always felt it was too bulky, but no longer! Add a string of pearls and I am good to go! 

I am attempting to take daily outfit photos but unfortunately they keep turning out like shitty myspace photos. I will start posting them if I can become more successful. I also think the photos will help hone my style, because pictures don't lie and will help me pin down exactly what works for me. 

Peace, love, & sensational style,

♥LJ♥