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)