New months always feel like a new beginning to me. I mean, who says you have to wait until January to try to change?
The other day, after climbing four flights of stairs, I found myself winded. I joked that I was getting to old, and had a student correct me and tell that I was just out of shape. As much as I wanted to tell the student to shut it, I realized that they were totally and utterly correct.
I used to run on the reg, but my feet would always hurt. Not enough to cry about it, but enough to discourage me from wanting to keep up with it for an extended amount of time. As a People StyleWatch Style Hunter, I was recently given the opportunity to test out the Rykä Flextras and they are seriously the most comfortable sneakers I have ever owned! So much so, that I am back at it and getting up earlier to run in the morning before work.
Don’t believe me?
Find out for yourself. Comment below about why you want to get in shape and you could win a pair!
This giveaway ends Friday, September 5th, at 11:59pm EST, so make sure to enter ASAP. Winner will be selected at random.
Don’t believe me about the running? You’ll have to take my word for it…
Often times, life gets busy. Sometimes, so busy that running errands becomes date night, and that’s just no bueno!
The manfriend and I have made it a point to do little things to show each other that we care.
Love notes. Cards are cool. Cards with money are great. Cards with sentimental messages inside are treasures. No card? No problem! Notes on paper are keepsake-worthy too.
Flowers, just because. Not only do the spruce up the place, it is alway a nice, pleasant surprise to get pretty somethings!
Writing on the walls. Well technically the mirrors, but you get the idea! I love this because with chalk markers, it’s another way to communicate that’s super fun and outside of the usual.
Pillow talk. Making it a point to catch up before bed gives us the a chance to talk about our days and connect one on one.
Back rubs. Massages are one of life’s luxuries that can be a little on the costly side. Not only does this save money, it means even more when exchanging endorphins with the one you love!
They’re having a pretty major giveaway. You have a chance to win tickets to the 1D “Where We Are” Tour Concert next month at Gillette Stadium + their makeup before it hits stores!
That’s right they’re coming out with a makeup line! I won’t lie and pretend to be a huge Directioner. But I like their songs, and I’m pretty pumped about the makeup line.
But more on that later…
Stay tuned!
xx
Bet
This post was a sponsored post, powered by BrandBacker.
Even though I often find history a tad on the dull side, that doesn’t matter when the history is about me! Going through old photos at my mom’s always ends with some great photos for #tbt.
Apparently, I have always had a thing for taking pictures. Go figure.
This just proves that photography (albeit, maybe not professionally) is and has always been something that I enjoy. Taking pictures allows me to save the moments I want to keep and express myself in a way that words cannot + believe me I’ve tried, I didn’t study English in college for nothing!
To take this pastime to the next level I decided to take Mastering Your DSLR with Candice Stringham from A Beautiful Mess.
I mentioned before that I approached Candice about her camera bag (we both have the same one + in the same color!), not realizing who she was, and ended up with the deal of a lifetime!
I have taken other A Beautiful Mess e-courses before, like Blog Life (a must take for bloggers), and Use Your Stash (which I like to call How Not to Hoard Craft Supplies) + I knew I liked her style, so I just knew I had to take Candice’s class for sure!
So far, we learned about shutter speed + aperture settings, but I swear I can feel my photos getting better! And I’ve been practicing…
Here’s some photos I took of cupcakes using natural window light + playing around with the aperture setting.
The manfriend even helped. Well technically he tried to eat my props, but I ended up with some pretty neat shots!
I work in higher education as live-in professional. I won’t bore you with what that means (but please feel free to ask questions in the comments!), but I have a tiny apartment and while I can’t complain too much about it (#rentfree), I am not completely in love with it.
I mean, I don’t hate it.
I just don’t love it.
I want to love it.
Enter Pinterest. I am currently pinning images that I believe would make my apartment feel more like home. I want to start with my bedroom, because that’s where my desk is + so I spend most of my time there.
Recently, I have across some boards that have just the feel + look that I am going for. The perfect pinspiration, if you will. If you aren’t following them, you should really check out these out!
I have expensive taste, but not so big a budget. I am thinking about DIYing a lot of projects for what I want in my space and sharing them. Also, some before + afters will be shared.
These Intagram photos of my place should hold you over until then. If not, you can always follow me on IG…
I have zero regrets of doing this, but I don’t think I will be getting another one anytime soon. I’m a wimp + I’m OK with that. I’m pretty sure that the manfriend is still in shock that I actually went through with it, but that’s just how I live my life. Like, I have five piercings and none of them were technically “planned”…
But I mean, seriously, who goes to a party, makes a new friend, and goes home with a tattoo appointment for the next day? Apparently I do!
After Alt Summit, I really wanted to at the very least attempt to get back to the heart of why I started blogging.
Simply put, I like to learn + to want to push myself to try new things.
At Alt Melissa Esplin hosted a DIY booth and shared some pointers about calligraphy. I chatted with Christa of Beatrice Clay and decided that I would redeem my Bing Rewards points for Amazon gift cards, which I used to purchase Modern Calligraphy.
Since then, I have been practicing calligraphy and painting with watercolors daily. (The two arts kind of go hand in hand, so I figured why not.)
My work is pretty rough, but since I’m only just starting out, I don’t mind it so much. I find the process rather meditative + thoroughly enjoy it, so it’s totes worth it!
Do you have a summer hobby or have you started learning something new recently? Would love some ideas of what to look into for my next something new!
Attending Alt Summit SLC Summer was one of the best experiences of my life. I wouldn’t have traded it for anything. I’ve done several free online classes through Alt Summit + Alt for Everyone. These were pretty great too, but if you ever get the chance to attend Alt Summit SLC, you NEED to take advantage of that opportunity!
The things I learned at Alt are things that I plan to use. I have gone to countless conferences where I had some good takeaways, but Alt actually taught me things to better myself + my blog. I won’t go into everything thing I learned, but I do want to sum up my Alt experience with 10 things that I learned.
1. Go out + make opportunities.
Joy Cho gave a extremely motivational keynote. She shared her experience and made it clear that you have to be a go-getter to get what you want. Figure out what you want to do and then do it!
2. Know your numbers.
Ryan Stern (@collectivelyinc) + Ashlee Prisbrey (@imtopsyturvy) showed the averages of blogs in the various stages of blogging. They encouraged us to use Google Analytics because of the information it can provide about your blog + your audience.
3. Dream BIG!
Alice Yoo + Eugene Kim of My Modern Met taught about growing your community. You should set goals, long term, and then break them down into steps. Believe in yourself and work hard! They showed this video during their session and I’m sharing it with you!
4. Share your story.
Sarah Deragon of Portraits to the People + Lisa Anderson Shaffer of Zelma Rose really broke Instagram down! I came away with SO many tips and tricks to really step up my Instagram game. They also gave us a coupon to Photojojo and I plan to use mine to get the Foldio that they showed us.
Practice, practice, practice. I’m thinking a photo challenge may need to happen…Maybe I’ll come up with my own!
5. Stop + smell the roses.
Audrey King of French Knot Studios made us get hands on with photo styling. She gave us supplies a few basic tips and said that the best way to learn is to do. So we did! The pointers she shared allowed me to take a step back, see what I was working with, and gave me the confidence to try all kinds of things…I was even asked if I was a photographer a couple of times!
6. Get growing!
These ladies (PJ Feinstein of A Girl Named PJ, Tan Rutley of Squirrelly Minds, Ciera Holzenthal of Ciera Design, Mariah Danielsen of Oh What Love, and Melissa Bahen of Lulu the Baker) kill it when it comest to collaborating, period. They inspired me to think outside the box and consider new ways to engage.
7. Media worth considering.
I use social media. Mostly Instagram + Twitter. I’ve tried Google+, but Jamie Dorobek of C.R.A.F.T. really made me want to give it another go! And Meg Conley of Meg in Progress + Kris Schoels of Young Married Chic talked about break into radio and TV. I plan to try more videos and now maybe even podcasting…
8. Sponsors are your friends.
All the Alt sponsors were amazing! I learned to see them as people, because they are, and that changed everything for me. During her keynote, Martha Stewart even spilled that Home Depot loves to work with bloggers.
I’m sad Alt is over, but it was just the spark I needed!
While I feel like I am still processing my Alt Summit experience as a whole, I have some Alt tips that I want to share in case you plan to attend Alt (or any other conference for that matter).
1. It doesn’t matter what you wear. Dress for you + have fun! I cannot stress this enough. I packed an outfit for each day and due to the weather ending up wearing clothes that were for my flights instead. No one noticed. The world didn’t end. (Unless less there’s a dress, then please follow it, just don’t stress out about it!)
2. You will regret overpacking. Especially if you are trying not to check any bags. You get A LOT of stuff at Alt. from business cards and coupons, to samples and door prizes. Having space in your luggage is a MUST. Unless you’re local. Then I envy you.
3. Sit in the front. This was a personal preference, but here me out. By sitting in the front row during sessions when ever I raised my hand the presenters noticed and I always got my questions answered. I could hear + see everything. After the sessions I was able to quickly run up and chat one-on-one with the presenters if I needed.
4. Have a thought or idea while at Alt? Write. It. Down. You do not want to forget it, and who knows you may get inspired to do the next big thing!
5. Step out of you comfort zone. If you have ever said you’re really fun or loud once you get to know me, then I’m talking to you! That’s me + typically I avoid social interactions at all costs. Unless I’m drunk. But by forcing myself to speak to others at Alt I made a ton of great connections. Like, I saw someone with the same camera bag as me. I went over to say hi + turns out it was Candice Stringham who is teaching a DSLR class via A Beautiful Mess! She even gave me a discount code to use in the A Beautiful Mess shop, which I will obviously be using to take her class. Like, what?! Imagine if I had missed that opportunity? I’d seriously have to kick myself.
Have you ever attended Alt Summit or another conference of some sort? What tips or takeaways do you have?
My travel face: 