Links For Your Weekend

We made it to a nice, long weekend! I have a feeling I'll be working this weekend to get a leg up on my LAST semester of graduate school. Above on the left is a photo of me yesterday on what was my last first day of school ever. To the right is a photo of me on my first day of graduate school last year. I looked so much more excited back then. Truthfully, I'm a little nervous about the next 16 weeks, but at the end is a shiny master's degree, so power on!

Here are 10 links that caught my eye this week...

Five signs that you might need a fall detox.

This video made my tear up.

Great tips on customizing Ikea frames. I think I'll do the striped one soon!

Ever wonder if you should eat before exercising? Here's your answer.

This beach house was made from two barns. I'll be moving in right now.

I always love seeing Kate.

Take 20 percent off full-price clothing at ASOS this weekend.

I love this look from Jillian Harris.

Jared, we're making this pad thai sometime soon.

The manager of my favorite home store gave tips on adding details to your home.

The Last While Via iPhone

Oh summertime in NYC, how I'll miss you!

ShoeMint Loafers

Call me crazy, but I am digging these loafers from ShoeMint for the fall.

The Best Beach Chairs

I'm kicking myself a bit after our trip to the Jersey Shore. Why haven't we gone sooner?! And now summer's over! [Insert pout.]

We had such a great time over the weekend with our friends at the beach. And let me say, parents really know how to pack for a beach day. If it were just me, I would have a towel and sunblock. That's it. But our friends in New Jersey, they know how to do it right. We're talking snacks, beach toys and what I declare the best beach chairs ever. Not only are they comfortable, but when you're carrying your friend's baby on your hip and holding a three-year-old girl's hand as you all cross the street, you don't want to be juggling a beach chair, too.

These bad boys strap right onto your back like a back pack. With that and a few fruit snacks (and mozzarella sticks and drinks and apple sauce for the babes), you're in good shape.

10 Links for Your Weekend

I mentioned to a girlfriend the other night that I have yet to go to the beach this summer. She gasped. Apparently I have not kept up with the Manhattan summer way of living, which includes galavanting off to the beach during the weekends! But no longer, people! I'm off to the Jersey Shore this weekend to soak up the last drops of summer. But before I go, here are 10 links to get this beach weekend started off!

Move over kale. Dandelions are the new must-have greens in town.

A look at Eva Chen, Lucky's editor-in-chief, and how at 33, her success could help keep print magazines trendy for the younger generation.

It amazes me that spaces like this exist in Manhattan. To be wealthy in NYC!

These flats are the shoe to have this fall. I'm seeing them pop up all over the city.

A photographer in Salt Lake City is taking submissions of people with awkward teen photos to show other teens that life - and looks- get better.

Here's a piece I wrote about an eco-friendly perfume that just launched.

I keep checking in on MichelleMoney.com, where you can score amazing deals on jewelry.

I wrote this gallery with 15 cool lunch and back packs for kids, but I want all of them for my 27-year-old self.

I can't get enough of this slideshow of couples getting married at NYC's City Hall. Jared? Lunch break today? Kidding....Kidding...

Six things to do before school starts. 

(Photo: Pinterest)

That One Time I Tried Online Dating: Part 3

Read part one and part two.

Now let's make something clear before going any further. I would not agree to pick up some guy at the airport that I had talked to only via email without doing some background research. I didn't want to make headlines as a missing person and become the main character on an episode of "Dateline." Fortunately, my girlfriend, Chelsey, recognized someone in one of Jared's online pictures (oh gosh, this online dating world sounds so crazy as I type it out). It just so happened to be Chelsey's husband's cousin and after a little investigating, we learned her husband's cousin was Jared's roommate. Following?? On top of that, I have a friend who teaches at Jared's school and he confirmed that Jared was who he said he was. I considered the guy vetted.

The day of the date arrived and oh my goodness, my mind was moving a million miles a minute. I couldn't think a straight sentence! I stopped by Chelsey's house on the way to the airport to get any final words of encouragement. With her son bouncing on her hip, she tried to calm my nerves but nothing was going to stop my mind from racing. It was time to rip the Band-Aid off and do this. I said a quick prayer and off I went to the airport.

Stress Tip

A picture from one of my favorite running paths in Central Park. 

Life is feeling a little bit crazy over here today. My final semester of graduate school is rapidly approaching and I'm trying to get a leg up on my thesis beforehand while also juggling freelance work, prepping for an upcoming project, stretching my tight graduate school budget and gosh, is that it? I feel like there are at least 10 other things going on right now.

I am not an expert at handling stress, but I will say that exercise is essential at times like these. Isn't that kind of terrible? When we have a dozen other things pulling at us, that it's most crucial then to take a time out and go exercise? But even if it's only a walk through the park or a Physique 57 DVD (I am obsessed), I'm so much more efficient if I take the time to exercise and then hop into the madness.

What's most important for you when it comes to dealing with stress?

10 Running Songs For A 9-Minute Mile

My older brother spent two weeks with me in June and loved walking the New York City streets. He would walk miles taking in the city, and he began teaching me about matching walking pace with the beats per minute (BPM) of whatever song I was listening to.  Basically, we tend to walk or run faster when we're listening to music with more beats per minute. I decided to apply this concept to my running playlists, and I learned that I needed to listen to songs that had about 160 BPM when I was running to make a 9-minute mile. And voila, a new running playlist was made!

So here you are, ten songs that will help you run a 9-minute mile pace. Please appreciate the Vitamin C throwback and the back-to-back setup of Taylor Swift and Outkast.

"I Saw Her Standing There" -The Beatles (160 BPM)

"Suds in the Bucket" -Sara Evans (161 BPM)

"Sugar, We're Goin' Down" -Fall Out Boy (162 BPM)

"The Middle" -Jimmy Eat World (162 BPM)

"American Saturday Night" -Brad Paisley (158 BPM)

"Graduation (Friends Forever)" -Vitamin C (160 BPM) (BLAST FROM THE PAST!)

"Jump Then Fall" -Taylor Swift (160 BPM)

"Hey Ya!" -Outkast (160 BPM)

"Footloose" -Kenny Loggins (160 BPM)

"Gangsta's Paradise"- Coolio featuring L.V. (160 BPM)

10 Links For Your Weekend

Sneaking a pick of Jared at our neighborhood crepe place Wednesday night. The weather was perfect for crepes and a walk down Columbus. 

Happy weekend, everyone! New York City has been absolutely dreamy the past few days with the most delicious weather. I'm looking forward to lacing up my shoes this weekend and going for a long run in the park before tackling my to-do list. But first, 10 links to kick it all off...

These tips have me craving a home office. Or, you know, a work office.

A funny graphic about what it's like to search for a home.

Some great deals for last-minute summer vacations.

How to wear pastels this fall.

I must whip up this dairy-free strawberry vanilla coconut ice cream.

What do you think about the upcoming movie "Austenland"?

Jimmy Fallon talks surrogacy with Savannah Guthrie.

Nasvhille. Season two. I can hardly contain my excitement.

Thinking about snatching up these booties for fall.

Tips for shopping at vintage stores.

Q&A With Shannon Cornelius and Lori Frost from Plum Street Prints

For our Women in Business series, our next interview is with Shannon Cornelius and Lori Frost, co-owners of Plum Street Prints, a print and iPhone/tablet case company.

As wives, mothers and co-owners of Plum Street Prints, Shannon and Lori are doing it all. While they make it look easy, these women are the first to admit that running a full-time business and juggling family life can be hectic.

“We learned an important lesson early on that working from home isn’t good for parents or kids if it’s interfering with our time together,” Shannon admits. “Let’s just say our kids were a tad cranky and missing us when we first started our business!”

These women quickly learned a few tricks to help balance work and family, and now, two-and-a-half years after launching Plum Street Prints, the company has drawn the attention of Glamour magazine, Tory Burch’s merchandising team and smart phone/tablet users searching for a case they are excited to sport.

Shannon and Lori share what they’ve learned about managing a growing household and a growing business.

Free iPhone Flower Wallpaper

Considering that we look at our smart phones dozens of times a day, why not throw on an attractive graphic as your wallpaper to give you a little sight for sore eyes? I'm digging this free iPhone floral wallpaper from Parima Studio.

First Anniversary of the Big Move

Well, it's official! I have been living my dream in New York City for one glorious and crazy year. As I was getting ready for bed last night, I thought about boarding the train from Boston (I had gone there from Denver for a quick wedding before the move) and I had no idea what was before me. I expected to have at least one breakdown, but it never happened! New York City instantly became home.

In true anniversary style, I wanted to round up what has gone down in the last year. I have:

-Started graduate school.

-Covered the anniversaries of 9/11 and Occupy Wall Street, the nanny murder on the Upper West Side, the financial crisis of a downtown dance studio and a struggling Harlem food bank.

-Ran two half marathons and a handful of other races.  With Central Park as my running path, I am a lucky girl.

-Written about what's inside people's refrigerators and learned how to do a perfect squat from Heidi Klum's personal trainer.

-Met incredible girlfriends who pop open a can of Diet Coke with me and walk through Central Park whenever I need a break from graduate school madness.

-Eaten too many servings of Magnolia Bakery's banana pudding to count. And that sounds like just enough.

-Survived a hurricane.

-Gone from a long-distance relationship to having the man only two subway stops away. I never want to take that for granted.

Here's to another year, New York! How about we get me a master's degree and a full-time job next?

(Photo: WeHeartIt.com)

Engagement Ring Home Try-On Service

I still have weddings on the brain after Jared's mom's perfect garden wedding last weekend. In my post-wedding splendor, I came across a brilliant service that Ocappi, an online jewelry store, offers.  With Ocappi's Home Try-On Service, you can select up to six rings and they'll send you the settings with cubic zirconia stones. You get to try them on within the comfort of your own home, then send the rings back after you've taken them for a test drive with no sales person breathing down your back.

Is this something you would try?

10 Links For Your Weekend

I am running on fumes after picking Jared up from the Denver airport at 2 a.m. I don't remember the last time I was up that late! We flew here this week to see his mom get married in my parents' backyard. Yes, a very random venue but we're grateful to be able to see both families in one trip! I hope I'll be able to sneak in a nap before the wedding festivities kick off tonight. But first, here are 10 links to get your weekend rolling...

I'm putting this Turkish shop in Brooklyn on my to-do list when I get back to the city.

Have you been keeping up with Jenny Komenda's home renovation? I love pulling up her blog to see new projects.

I wrote a piece this week on a company that sells handmade bracelets from Namibia.

And here's a little something I wrote about creative sustainable vehicles.

Do you have any rituals that you do before you eat? They may be making your food taste better.

This new app tracks fertility.

Broadway and Newtown kids are putting on a musical this weekend.

Is Beyonce's new haircut fab or drab in your book?

Messy work spaces apparently help with creativity.

Stay healthy on your summer road trip.

 

(Photo: WeHeartIt.com)

Q&A With Rubi Jones From The Period Store

For our  Women + Business series, our first interview is with Rubi Jones, co-founder of The Period Store.

While most squirm when it comes to talking menstruation, Rubi Jones, Ashley Seil Smith and Nate Smith jump right in.

So much so that earlier this year, the three launched The Period Store, a subscription box service that delivers a period survival kit with your favorite menstruation products, herbal remedies, art work and even chocolate, right when you need it each month.

Yes, they actually make it exciting to get your period!

Rubi Jones shared how the trio came up with the concept and how they tackle the highs and lows of running a business.

Women + Business Series

I know it has been around for a while but Jared and I recently started watching "Shark Tank." We are obsessed. Entrepreneurs come on the show and pitch business ideas to five potential investors. We've had some late night marathons of the show while Jared quizzes me on how much a company is worth if the entrepreneur is offering XX percent of a company for XX dollars and I pick his brain about royalties, added contingencies and other business-related talk.

But guess what? Out of the five investors on the panel in each episode, only one is a woman. What's up with that?

Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing interviews with women who own and run their own companies. We'll discuss business ideas, the hardships of getting a business off the ground and what makes all the hard work worth it.

I'm so excited to share these interviews with you and discuss the nitty-gritty about starting a business. I've been feeling so inspired by these women and I think you will be too. I hope you enjoy!

(Photo from WeHeartIt.com)

Leather Skirts Under $100

It's only August but leather skirts are taking New York City streets by storm. Bill Cunningham, a legend fashion photographer, gives it the big thumbs up and talks about the trend in this video for The New York Times.

While leather often comes with a high price tag, here are five leather skirts that are each priced under $100 (one is even under $15!).



 

(left to right: one, two, three, four, five.)

Is this trend one you might sport this fall?

(Above photo source: Pinterest)

That One Time I Tried Online Dating: Part Two

Read part one here.

After typing in my credit card number for the required $15 membership fee, I uploaded my picture, typed in a few sentences for my profile page and filled out about 60 percent of the site's personality test.

Then....Then I didn't do a whole lot.

As I had learned during my first go-around on the dating site, I wasn't really interested in that many of the eligible men. There was actually only one man on the entire site that I thought was attractive. Some guy finishing his MBA at Ohio State. Seeing as that was hundreds of miles away, I didn't think that road was worth pursuing.

I checked the site every few days to see if there was anyone new or to respond to any "flirts" or messages sent my way. I exchanged a few messages with a guy named Sherman from Utah and a 51-year-old man invited me to take a midnight ride in his convertible. Both of those fizzled fast.

I was catching up with Margo one afternoon and telling her that the month was a total flop.

"There isn't anyone you're interested in?," she asked. I did a quick scan in my mind through the profiles I had seen.

"Nope, no one," I reported. "There was one cute guy in Ohio but, well, he's in Ohio."

Margo told me to message him and see what happens. I hesitated, but Margo and I basically came to the conclusion that I literally had nothing to lose at this point in my life.

Days later, I pulled up his profile and clicked "Message." I received a few messages during my month experiment, and let's just say there are very few ways to send an email to someone you've never met and let them know you're interested without sounding completely creepy.

So now with it being my turn to initiate a conversation, I knew I was attempting the impossible.

"A 51-year-old man is trying to date me. How's the site working out for you?"

A few days went by. No response. I figured that was that and looked forward to my move to New York City where I would more fully embrace dating.

Then one day, an email popped up in my inbox.

"Hi! Sorry it took me a while to reply. I had cancelled my subscription and was debating whether or not I should renew. I haven't had any cougar problems, but a 50-year-old woman is a lot less creepy than a 50-year-old man. Anyways, my name is Jared."

Jared. That's a name I now say and think about hundreds of times a day. But this, this was the first time.

He asked me about my life in Colorado. He told me about living in Columbus and missing the Utah mountains that he had grown accustomed to while he was going to college there. We talked about goals after school, our travel adventures, how I play a mean game of Scrabble, our families, my divorce, religion...Within a week, we were emailing several times a day and loving getting to know one another. I knew it would eventually fizzle out, seeing as we were so far apart, but it was just fun to have emails to look forward to.

Then one night, I was at Anthropologie returning something after having dinner with my parents. While the sales person was processing my refund, I pulled up my email on my phone to see another note from Jared.

"Hey, so I was looking at my itinerary for my trip to Salt Lake City next month and I have a layover in Denver. I am fairly certain that I can get a flight out of Salt Lake City a lot earlier in the day. Would you be interested in hanging out for half of the day? I thought it would be a good opportunity. If you don't want to, I understand."

I specifically remember feeling my face light up. My dad noticed too and asked what it was that I read. I quickly said something about getting a nice email from a friend. That wasn't a lie, right? It was technically a nice email from a friend. I actually kept Jared a secret for a while, except for a few girlfriends. I felt oddly protective of this new friendship and wanted to keep it safe.

It was not like me to do this. To email with some guy. To agree to meet him. Especially a guy like Jared. I had seen a few pictures of him and I felt like I was playing with someone way out of my league. I was just pretending the last few weeks. I couldn't possibly meet the guy...

Well, could I possibly meet the guy?

My girlfriend, Chelsey, was one of the few who knew about the emails. She asked me what I was going to do when I told her he wanted to meet.

"Well....I think I have to meet him."

Shine Those Boots

My Hunter boots have been in a sad, sad state since Hurricane Sandy. I've actually been fond of the scuffs and residue. They remind me of days spent in the Rockaways with my church. We helped residents by shoveling sand out of their basements, picking up moldy drywall by the handfuls and cleaning up what we could of the destruction Hurricane Sandy left behind.

But it came to the point where I knew these boots needed a little sprucing up. While Hunter sells boot buffer, I'm always looking for the inexpensive (read: free) way to get things done. I heard olive oil was great for cleaning up rain boots, so I laid out an old issue of The New York Times and got to work.

I laid my boots out flat and drizzled the olive oil along its surface. Then I scrubbed with a paper towel.

One down...



Voila! Almost as good as new.

I think if I had a few episodes of "Parks & Recreation" playing in the background and spent more time scrubbing the nooks and crannies, the boots really would look brand new. But hey, they're looking pretty good for 20 minutes and a bottle of oil!

10 Links for your Weekend

Good morning! I'm typing from my bed as my body is struggling to move after taking my first Physique 57 class yesterday. I'll have a full report on that next week, but for now, enjoy these 10 links as you head into this August weekend! 


I'm obsessed with this list of 20 gluten-free and dairy-free snacks.

Have trouble sleeping? Try white noise.

Get healthier just by living in this apartment.

Babe Ruth's home is for sale. Get a peek at the Sulton of Swat's colonial pad.

Use these tips to revamp your bedside table.

The lowdown on the half-formal, half-informal look.

This look at farm life looks oddly soothing compared to the city life.

A new radio show is launching for working mothers. Listen here!

Living with your parents? Well, you're not alone.

An interesting piece about maintaining friendships after marriage.

(Photo: Pinterest)

Daily Affirmations

Do you practice affirmations? In other words, do you say positive statements or declarations about yourself daily?

I remember when I was first introduced to the concept during some random successful living seminar. I wrote some down and said them to myself for a few days, but the whole thing felt silly. I tucked them into a book that I never reopened.

A few years later, I went through my divorce and was seeing a counselor to tackle that beast. During our conversations, we learned that I really struggled with negative self-talk. I would often say horrible things to myself, usually without even realizing it, that included "You're so stupid," "What makes you think you can ____?," "No one likes you," etc. Terrible, right? My counselor asked me if I would be friends with someone who said those kinds of things to me. Definitely not.  Yet, I was saying them to myself all the time. And you can't really get away from yourself, you know? I was stuck.

My counselor helped me outline some daily affirmations to say whenever I felt those negative thoughts creep in. I can't tell you how much of my life changed by this practice. Not only was I able to battle negative thoughts, but I actually started to really understand and believe the positive things I was saying, leading to a huge boost in self-security.  I often repeat them over and over and over and over if I'm having a hard moment so that negative thoughts don't even get a chance.

Below are the affirmations my counselor and I created that I still use to this day. Feel free to borrow them, if you'd like!

I am a unique and worthwhile human being.

I have a right to make mistakes and take responsibility for them.

I have the right to feel all of my feelings, and I have the responsibility to communicate them in healthy ways.

I deserve to be treated with respect and consideration. 

I have the right to be myself without feeling I'm not good enough.

I will give myself acceptance and validity instead of looking to others to do that. 

I have the right to move forward with my life, despite what others are doing or not doing.

My first responsibility is to my own growth and well-being. The better I feel about myself, the better I'll be toward others.

My actions may be good or bad but this does not make me good or bad. 

Every experience I have in life, whether pleasant or unpleasant, contributes to my learning and growth.

Even two years after creating them, these sentences still help me battle any seemingly negative situation or mindset in which I find myself. I'd love to hear what affirmations you have or your experience with the practice!

(Photo: WeHeartIt.com)