Decorating with Branches

One of my jobs as a kid was picking up branches. We lived on a farm with a grove of trees, so every spring we had to pick up branches off the ground so we could mow the lawn. Though the job was tedious and I always dreaded it, my dad offered us one cent for each branch we picked up as an incentive. It sounded like a great deal at the time, considering how many branches were strew around.

I love the feeling of natural elements inside a home.

Little Lessons

It was Saturday morning in Oakland. A number of creators and makers set up stands displaying their proudest collections of things for sale. Pretty stone rings, woven blankets, and vintage purses were waiting for someone to snatch them up. After briefly meeting one of the shop owners and exchanging business cards, I was complimented on my necklace. I thanked her and she followed with the usual question, "who makes it?" I was attending an event that celebrates small businesses and the handmade. So I proceeded to answer her question with my honest answer, American Eagle. The raised eyebrow staring back at me was a bit surprising. Should I not have told the truth?

Happy Friday!

On Saturday we're going to the launch party of the new book, This Is Oakland. It's a book that explores the best boutiques, shops, restaurants, and bars that make Oakland the fun and culturally diverse city that it is. I've had the chance to visit a few shops here and there, but I can't wait to wander around the beautiful stores this weekend. The photos in the book are amazing and I'm itching all week to check them out in person.

Have a great weekend! Stay tuned next week for a new video (If I can figure out how to make it not so blurry after I upload it. Any ideas?) I'm really trying to get back on schedule and post every Monday, Wednesday, Friday like I used to. Life is busy but I miss posting more frequently. I'm also finishing up the final touches to the new website so I can finally share it with you guys! 

Images via

Domino Nails Summer Style

I have always loved magazines. When I was in 7th grade I subscribed to Lucky magazine when it first came out. Mostly because my older sister read it, so naturally that meant I should to. Turned out I loved the magazine and currently am a happy subscriber. These days I have less free time to sit down and read my favorites, but this past weekend I picked up the summer Domino issue. You must g`o get your pretty little hands on an issue NOW.

Transition

Today was my first week as the marketing intern at Apartment 34 and I am still pinching myself that I get to work with such amazingly talented people! It was a great work week with fun people and I'm so excited for upcoming projects and just learning the ropes. Refinery29 showed a sneak peek of Apartment 34's office this week, so if you haven't already you can check out where I'm spending time this summer :) And yes, it is just as gorgeous in person as it is in photos. Erin, the founder of Apartment 34, has mastered the modern design and I'm so obsessed with her clean and airy aesthetic.

Big News

As you know I have been working on a blog design for the past month now. It's time to step up my design game and have a professional website with my own domain. The plan is to finish it in the next few weeks! It's been fun working on the project, but I'm getting anxious to show it to you all! While I redesign my site, I'm also thinking about new ways to approach blogging and bring new, exciting content every week. Part of my reason for posting less on here lately is not only because of my busy schedule and moving headache, but also because I want to be more conscious about what I'm posting. I want you all to the love the content, and  I want as much of it as possible to be original. Which of course is also the most time-consuming to create.

Generation Beauty Recap + Swag Bag Haul

The goods

My favorites

Hello again! It's officially been one week since moving out West to California for the summer. Honestly, it seems like I have been here longer than a week. I'm coming off a great weekend and apparently I got a little excited when writing the recap and got a little carried away...so I will forewarn you this post is quite long. Those strictly interested in the swag bag haul might want to jump to the bottom. For those of you interested in my life story...read on :)

My sister and brother-in-law's home is spacious and comfortable (and well-decorated might I add. I'll give you a tour soon!) so I'm fitting right in. They have a small spare room where I keep my stuff, but it was used as a storage room before so it needs a little reorganizing. My decorating instincts are coming out so I'm already brainstorming organization ideas to save on space in the small room.

During the day I'm found working on the Powder Room app from home and running errands with my brother-in-law, Chris. I've already been to a few delicious restaurants and eat out more than I did in a whole month in Iowa. There are just so many good options and it's part of experiencing the city, right? Last Friday I had a job interview in San Francisco, but got lost for about an hour and walked up and down the same street looking for a nonexistent address. Turns out I was given the wrong address for the interview, but on the plus side I was able to see more of the city and came across some beautiful homes.

Friday night my sister and I flew to LA for the Generation Beauty event to promote Powder Room and meet bloggers. My sister, Ida, is the co-founder of Powder Room, and despite being ten years apart, we have similar tastes and interests so it's fun getting to work with her. The Powder Room website launched this weekend so be sure to check it out and sign up for updates so you can participate in beta testing when we are ready to launch!

Friday night my sister and I flew to LA for the Generation Beauty event to promote Powder Room and meet bloggers. My sister, Ida, is the co-founder of Powder Room, and despite being ten years apart, we have similar tastes and interests so it's fun getting to work with her. The Powder Room website launched this weekend so be sure to check it out and sign up for updates so you can participate in beta testing when we are ready to launch!

I wasn't sure exactly what to expect at Generation Beauty. I had never attended a beauty conference before, nor had I traveled to LA. When we arrived at the event that morning the whole place was buzzing with excitement. Music was blaring and hundreds of girls were beaming and dolled up, ready to chat about all things beauty. I'm aware of the YouTube phenomenon and have my favorite vloggers I turn to for beauty advice, but you can't fully understand the capacity of YouTubers until you experience it first hand. These are young women, some top vloggers as young as 14, that love makeup and managed to build a huge following by being honest, fun, and genuine in their videos. The event attendants in general skewed below the age of 21, and it's incredible to see how many impressionable teenagers are flocking to beauty. They certainly know way more about makeup than I did at that age. It's truly inspiring knowing the whole Generation Beauty event was created because of YouTube bloggers. In today's society more and more are turning to bloggers for advice on makeup and beauty, and turning less to brands and traditional marketing.

Throughout the two-day event we stood in lines, chatted with brands, got our hair braided, and tested some amazing, new products. We also had the chance to meet Josie Maran, the founder of Josie Maran Cosmetics. She had fantastic advice for budding entrepreneurs. She invited us to sit on the ground in a circle as she opened the floor to questions. You can't get any cooler than that, and now I'm coming away with more respect and maybe even a little biased towards her natural products. What can I say, her down-to-earth boho personality is contagious. We also met Michelle Phan (who we embarrassingly towered over), the most poised and respectful woman despite being hugely successful. Even after the line kept growing and growing, she never turned down fans during the meet and greet.

The event was inspiring to say the least after witnessing the power of video and how it's given people amazing opportunities to share their opinions with millions of viewers. Of course, I can't talk about Generation Beauty and not mention the swag bags. All of the brands at the event provided products for swag bags that were given at the end of both days. I've never seen so many girls make a mad dash like that before.

While I'm not a beauty blogger, I did want to share with you some of my favorite products from the swag bag. We received about 40 products and based on my first impressions, these are my favorites.
The EM Cosmetics lipsticks by Michelle Phan are super creamy and moisturizing. The Dirty Girl mask by Pur Minerals instantly made my skin clear and really soft the next morning. Cream blushes are huge lately, and while I'm still mastering the application, they have serious payout in color. So I don't make this post any longer than it already is, let me know if you have specific questions about products and I'll cover them in more detail.