My first guest-post for a blog was published yesterday! I was really excited when the ladies from Travelettes asked me to create a project for their new Sunday DIY feature. I took inspiration for the calling cards from one of my fave's, Pugly Pixel, and I love how they turned out - simple and effective. Check out the full post + photos here.
A BIG thanks to Travelettes for inviting me to join the fun!
I spent all day Sunday at The Papered Parlour learning how to make my own cloak (or cape, if you prefer). I am SO in love with what I stitched together and can't wait to share it with you. I had planned on blogging about it today but another project that I've been "stitching" together needs my attention so that it too can be shared. I'm shooting for next week, in fact, I'm making a definitive claim that it will launch next week. There, I wrote it down and put it out there - now it's gotta happen!
Maybe its the colder weather but I've been all about nesting lately. I recently bought some flowers to brighten up our rooms and I've realized that I'm much more of a single stem (or bunches of three) kind of gal. It's a great way to indulge in pretty petals more often :)
A silly photo? Yes.
A serious cause? Definitely.
Can you be silly and serious for a cause? Absolutely.
Today marks the beginning of Moustache Season, AKA Movember (the month formerly known as November), which aims to raise funds and awareness for men's health by growing moustaches. While I can't grow my own 'stache, I can certainly rally to support as a Mo Sista for my dear friend Brian who lost his dad to prostate cancer and for my girl Caitlin whose boyfriend is a "man behind the 'stache" at the organization.'
Read about the campaign here, spread the word, join a team, grow a moustache (if you're able), or buy these limited edition TOMS. There are plenty of ways to get involved this Mo Season.
A silly photo? Yes.
A serious cause? Definitely.
Can you be silly and serious for a cause? Absolutely.
Today marks the beginning of Moustache Season, AKA Movember (the month formerly known as November), which aims to raise funds and awareness for men's health by growing moustaches. While I can't grow my own 'stache, I can certainly rally to support as a Mo Sista for my dear friend Brian who lost his dad to prostate cancer and for my girl Caitlin whose boyfriend is a "man behind the 'stache" at the organization.'
Read about the campaign here, spread the word, join a team, grow a moustache (if you're able), or buy these limited edition TOMS. There are plenty of ways to get involved this Mo Season.
My heart is still smiling from last night's FaceTime chat with my niece, Juliana. She sang me a song, told me she missed me and even called out to her uncle Joe. I literally melt every time she says "Hiii tteee-aahhh" (tia, meaning aunt in Spanish). I miss her and Isabella so much but at least I have photos and memories like this one from when I was home in July. It's so hard to be away from them but thank god for Skype and Apple FaceTime that let me stay connected - definitely helps in not getting homesick (at least not too much).
Anyone else live far from home and rely on Skype or FaceTime to connect with family or friends?
It's the weekend again - hooray!
I snapped a photo of this Give Box while walking around Mitte in Berlin. Just before I took it there were two people taking "gifted" goods, appearing to be shopping as you would in any store except everything there was free and came with the "take something, leave something" philosophy. It was a really special thing to come across.
Soooo....in the spirit of sharing, yesterday I posted that I'd give away a copy of the Hello Etsy Handbook from last weekend's summit. Thanks to those who commented - they were so fun to read! Unfortunately I could only select one name but am happy to say Yay, the book is yours! to Jilly! And just so you know, I literally googled "how to select a random name in excel". We like to play fair here.
Have a wonderful weekend!
This week's three rad links... • For all you typeface fanatics, a beautiful branding project for the 10,000 lakes of Minnesota via No Subject LA •When the weather gets cold, drink something HOT. Love this recipe for my fave cold-weather drink, Apple Hot Toddy via Freautcake • London Shop Tours #2 and #3 by Lotus Events for Poppytalk - I shot the photos! Take a peek here and here.
I didn't really need an excuse to visit Berlin but I decided to make one anyway by attending Hello Etsy, a summit for small business and sustainability, last weekend. It was Etsy's first go at an event like this and other than the insane lines for the elevators, the entire summit went off without a glitch. Since I used to run a shop on Etsy and am currently planning for another web store (off Etsy), it seemed like the perfect opportunity to get my creative and business ideas flowing again.
The two-day event was held at ewerk, Germany's oldest preserved power plant, built in 1885; it was so so so cool. The entire event had a very relaxed feel which was nice and extremely conducive to meeting new people from all around the world (hello to anyone who I met and is reading this now!).
Between sessions ranging from Finding Your Courage to Understanding Google Analytics and Secrets to Good PR, there were sewing stations sponsored by Marimekko, lots of drinks and snacks, and a pop-up book store with plenty of inspirational books to flip through. My favorite goodies came from Moo who gave out free customized business cards - how nice, right? The entire experience was all about exchanges - be it free products to help you get your name out or speakers sharing their stories and tricks of the trade. Everyone there had something to offer and truly believed that you can make a living working your passion and doing something creatively. Whether doing it solo or with a team - anything is possible.
I took a lot of great inspiration and practical information from the weekend and I want to share a piece of it with you by giving away a copy of the Hello Etsy Handbook given to attendees. It's filled with stories and words of wisdom from the summit's speakers to make you think of the why, who, what, and how of your business. It's reaaallyy good. If you want it, comment on this post (with whatever you want to say) and I'll pick a name at random then email the lucky reader for a shipping address. I'll take care of the postage, of course ;)
A big Thank You to Etsy, the speakers, and everyone involved in creating the event - a job well done!
Berlin really captured my heart - what an incredible place full of history and relevance. I went for business but wish that I would have had more time for play and exploration.
The free time I did have was spent enjoying drinks, eating proper German food, and making our way through Mitte via rented bicycles. While we didn't go into any museums or monuments, we got a great feel for the city's center by passing by the Reichstag, Berlin Dom, and Brandenburg Gate. What I would really love to do is go back with a purely historical agenda. I saw different parts of the Berlin wall around town and we drank our morning cappuccinos next to Checkpoint Charlie but I want to explore more. Joe's uncle was stationed at Checkpoint Charlie during the Cold War and us being there, just sitting, looking at it, was absolutely crazy. Berlin has so many stories to tell and I want to hear them all.
Oh, and their taxis are super comfy Mercedes.
For more photos, click here.
Hi Everyone! I'm back in London and well, kind of back to the blog. Between day-long seminars at Hello Etsy, late night dining and drinking, and cycling through the city, Berlin really kicked my butt! In the best of ways, of course.
I've got a ton of work to get to as well as prep for our first house guest who arrives tomorrow. Sooooo...photos and more from Berlin will be up this week. If you just can't wait to hear all about the Hello Etsy Summit, check out this great write up by Travelettes.
Hasta mañana!
To Berlin, that is! Has anyone been there? Got any good tips, must see/eat/do spots? First timer here so any suggestions will be much appreciated!
I've already earmarked the Arkonaplatz flea market - it might be the only one I'll be able to fit in between Hello Etsy sessions but when there's a will there's a way ;)
Here's to having an adventure this weekend - near, far, wherever you are. Have a great one!
This week's three rad links... • Easy breezy DIY calling cards via Pugly Pixel (it's an old post but I finally got around to making these!) • Clap Your Hands Say Yeah: Hysterical new album preview via my fave LA radio station KCRW. • Awesome crumble city maps that are shove in the bottom of your purse-friendly via I ART U. I'll take one of each.
Before moving to London I was working at a 9-5 job with my own desk and set of projects. I loved the work I did in marketing and event coordination but I would often day-dream about stepping away from the office world and doing my own thing.
I had a version of my own thing going for some time with my fashion accessories line, Anamu, which is how this blog originally came to be. I attempted to turn a sewing hobby into a part-time cottage industry. I hand cut and sewed each one-of-a-kind clutch purse in the evenings and weekends, sold them on Etsy and hawked them at local craft shows. When the time came to think about scalability, making new designs, and hiring other people to sew for me, I realized that the accessories production world wasn't what I was looking for.
A lot of money, time, and energy went into Anamu but it wasn't a loss. On the contrary, I gained a lot by learning how to start a small business and simply put, just going for it. I had an idea and I tried it. It didn't stick so I'm on to the next.
Now in London, I'm fortunate that I get to explore what that next thing is. Graphic design, photography, a new web shop venture...there are some exciting things brewing here. To help keep the creative juices flowing and learn from the experts, I'll be attending Hello Etsy, a summit for small businesses, this weekend. Since it's in Berlin and it'll be our first time there, we decided to make a mini-holiday out of it (yay!). I can't wait to be inspired by a new city, new people, and fresh ideas. It feels good to get back to business.
This week was full of little yet amazing (to me) accomplishments but nothing took the cake like making my first batch of cupcakes from scratch. I've been a store-bought cake mix kind of girl my whole life and frankly, baking terrified me to no end.
As you can tell from the photo, I made a mess by using more bowls than I ever really needed. I even thought that "self raising flour" was a substitute for baking powder! Whoops. Joe, of course, had a good laugh but he eventually came to my rescue by acting as my human mixer. The results were de.li.cious!
Here's to trying new things this weekend! Have a good one!
This week's three rad links: • Andrea of Lotus Events asked me to shoot photos for her London Shop Tour posts on Poppytalk. Check out the first one in the series here. Thanks, Andrea! • Yummy zucchini fritters by Smitten Kitchen • Home-made shower scrub via Mrs. Lilien
Yesterday looked like this and it signaled that autumn in England had officially arrived. The old me, living in LA, would have been begging for autumn to begin by mid-July (was never a fan of too much constant heat) but the new London me is lamenting the fact that I hardly even knew summer this year.
I took Southern California for granted, always preferring fall and winter over its warm rays. Well, I got what I wanted and now I live where it's November year-round. I do love the cold and don't mind the rain but I think I'm developing a Vitamin D deficiency...it's just not healthy to lack consistent sunshine in your life.
Since there's nothing I can do to change the weather, I thought I'd create a mini summer escape through some photos from my warm So Cal days.
I'm already feeling better :)
This weekend I'm going to spend some quality time picking out fresh petals for our new home. Back in LA my local flower shop was practically the entire flower district, just three blocks from my apartment. Now, we've got a little corner shop that continues to impress me with their ever changing selection and sweet customer service. I love shopping for fresh flowers...anywhere, really.
Have a wonderful - and beautiful- weekend!
This week's three rad links: • As if my wonderlust wasn't strong enough, Because I'm Addicted posted these incredible travel videos (Move, Eat, Learn) by Rick Mereki. • From postcards to stickers, what to do with your Instagram shots via Ascot Friday • Dude....this girl levitates! Actually, she's just really quick on her feet and her snaps. These photos are beautiful via Honestly WTF
I always wanted to travel. Even when I was a little kid I was fascinated with seeing the world. The desire escalated when I saw that my school friends were going to Europe, Asia, or Hawaii for their summer vacations. My family didn't have the same means as my well-off peers so we went camping at Kern River just outside of LA instead. Despite having longing thoughts of being in a seaside hotel, I loved our trips up to the mountains. They taught me how to rough it, enjoy and respect the outdoors, live simply, and most important, be perfectly comfortable squatting behind a tree/boulder/bush when nature calls (I promise, this skill is strictly for the mountains).
As I got older I knew that if I wanted to see the world, I was going to have to make it happen on my own. In college I began traveling within the States to visit friends and racked up airline miles and credit card points to go to Colombia with my mom. No, I wasn't racking up debt, too. I worked at Nordstrom that has a commission based pay structure so I did pretty well for myself as a college kid.
After graduating I decided that whatever job I got, I wanted it to give me the opportunity to travel. I didn't know what type of job would grant that wish to a 22-year-old but luckily, I had interned at TOMS Shoes (now just TOMS) and was offered a position to coordinate their Shoe Drops, or shoe giving trips. I had the time of my life working there and got to travel to Argentina, Africa, and all over the States while helping children in need.
Flash forward to today, I'm living in London with my man and we're going for the "1,000 Places To See Before You Die" list. What's crazy is that six months before Joe's job offer (he works in engineering, if you're wondering) we had agreed that in 2012 we would stop whatever we were doing, quit our jobs, and travel around Europe for several months. We decided how much money we'd need to save for expenses and even put the departure date in our calendars. Now, with Joe's job contract, we're able to cover housing and other needs while having some extra cash to travel with ... it put us two years ahead!
I share this because I'm getting ready to buy tickets to Berlin and I still can't get over the fact that the world is so accessible on this side of the pond. I guess I'm just reflecting on how I got here and am feeling really grateful. Also, I'm sure some of you have wondered what Joe does for a living and how we're able to live here (I know I wonder that re: other blogs!) so there ya go.
Okay...it's time to book our next trip...
book given to me by my fellow wanderlust friend, Tina | wire bike from South Africa | map from Sicily | vintage camera bought in Margate, England
Today is the day that we say goodbye to our first London pad but more important is that we will finally be able to stand upright to get clean. You see, we haven't taken a proper shower at home in six months because our "shower hose" doesn't have any water pressure above two feet. The little that it does have barely does the job so we've been using a plastic water pitcher to make do. Yep folks, we've been bathing like it's 1859 over here in London Town! It was funny at first, then really annoying, then I forced myself to get used to it, and then I really hated it. At least I'm a small person that can comfortably fit in a tub, Joe on the other hand...poor guy.
The only showers we've taken are when we've traveled and stayed in a hotel. Those rented waterfalls were the only saving grace for my hair as shampoo became increasingly difficult to scrub out with a pour of the pitcher.
We were all the wiser for our next flat (who would have thought that you needed to test showers, anyway?) and I'm excited to say that we have AMAZING water pressure! AND it comes down from seven feet above! To add a cherry on top, our new flat's bathroom sink has a dual temperature water faucet which means we can finally use warm water. I swear, I really don't understand why using either hot or cold is the norm here. Especially when 1) kitchens do dual so they know it exists and 2) safety laws are so crazy that electrical outlets in the bathroom and wall light switches aren't allowed (you get a pull-string or the switch is placed outside the room). But burning myself with scorching hot water is okay? So strange.
I'm beyond excited to be moving into the 21st century...my hair will be happy too.
Have a great weekend!
I started looking into wall decals like this for our new flat and it got me thinking about the amazing walls we saw in Segovia, Spain.
These Sgraffito (etched plaster) designs are simple yet decorative and though they're centuries old, they still look incredibly relevant. Joe and I talked about how nice it would be to recreate this technique in our backyard one day. You know....next to the pool as a cool statement wall or something. Hey, it could happen!
I'll have these photos as inspiration for the future but for now I'll consider getting a little wild with temporary wall stickers. Has anyone used them before? What was your experience?
This week flew by and thankfully so...I'm anxious to sign off on final paperwork for the new flat and get our keys! And, maybe even start shopping for some furniture ;)
Here are this week's three rad links:
• Not too new but still amazing - free download of STROKED: A Strokes Tribute To This Is It via Stereogum • Beautiful embroidered art by Jazmin Berakha via Creature Comforts • Easy + fun tutorials on the language and ways of the web via Don't Fear The Internet
Have a wonderful weekend. Ciao!
I've posted so many vacation photos that I almost forgot about Segovia! During our last weekend in Madrid we opted for another day trip via high-speed train. We had planned on going to Avila but the train for Segovia left first and we figured we'd rather get somewhere sooner than later. It wasn't until we were en route that we looked up what there was to see and do in Segovia so you can imagine how satisfied we were with our last minute decision. I'd seen a piece about the city's ancient aqueduct on Rick Steves' PBS travel show (anyone else a fan?) so that was extra icing on the cake. I want to go everywhere Rick Steves goes, basically.
Segovia was beautiful and the 2,000 year old aqueduct could not have been more impressive. It's simply unreal to think of this sort of engineering being done without any modern technology, no less without any mortar - it's practically self sustaining! There was also a lot of incredible work inside the old city walls from the Segovia Cathedral (hello, 16th century) to the decorative relief-like patterns on building walls. I know that we missed seeing much much more (like this awesome building) but at least we know the city is only 30 minutes from Madrid. God I love high-speed trains, America...get with it!