The Best Apps: How To Celebrate When You Can't Be There

Do you have friends who live all over like me? Not all of my friends live in San Francisco and I can't always show them how much I love them over the phone or by texting. I love giving gifts and I have some apps that are my go-to's to send a little love to my gal pals. Whether it's a birthday present, a congrats on their engagement, or just an "I miss you" I love to send them a little somethin' somethin'. Here are my favorite apps that are easy to use and super cute.

BloomThat: I love sending fresh flowers with BloomThat. I have used them for years and they are super reliable and always fresh! Send for a birthday, a promotion, anniversary or even Valentine's Day! I also love that you can now send cute succulents for your friends who are starting a new job or just for those who don't love flowers. Use code thean70s16 for $10 off!

Farmgirl Flowers: Farm girl has the cutest little burlap wrapped flowers. I love love love how eclectic their arrangements are and buy these often! I also love how they started doing little gift bags if your friends don't love flowers. I just sent this birthday pack to my friend and she absolutely loved it.

Packed Party: Are your friends fun and quirky? Send them a fun care package from Packed Party! What I love about Packed Party is you can even send to your friend when they are having a not-so-good day or week, if they just had a breakup, for their birthday, or even if they're getting married. These cute packages will surely put a smile on your friends face.

Saucey: Are your friends celebrating something that you can't be there for? Why not send a bottle of wine, some beers or some nice champagne? Saucey is perfect for a birthday, engagement, or just to surprise a friend when they got a new job. I love using this app, especially when you're in a bind. They deliver late!

Birchbox: Is your friend a beauty queen? Does she always have a new lip color, fresh scent, or moisturizer? Then she will love Birchbox. Birchbox is a monthly subscription for beauty products. I got this as a gift 2 years ago for my birthday and it introduced me to so many fun products. I am obsessed, and have sent to a few friends! It makes for a great gift, promise!

Doughbies: YES! You can send cookies and brownies straight to your besties door with Doughbies! How amazing is this? Doughbies are seriously delicious and when someone sent it to me with this I almost started crying. It's so cute and delicious, perfect to send to your favorite people to show them how much you love them. Use this code for $10 off : qumwmnqt.

PopSugar Box: This PopSugar Box is a fashion & beauty box in one! Look at this months box to get an idea what your friend would be getting. If your friend is a fancy pants, this may be the box for her! Click this link to join: https://musthave.popsugar.com/p/must-have?utm_source=account-overview&utm_medium=account-page&utm_campaign=referral&utm_content=u:18301864  

 

The Best Hair Products To Take When You Travel

I always love having small products with me whether I'm traveling or just headed out for a full day. These products are my favorites and since there are SO many product out there I want to let you know why these ones are my go-to's.

Drybar- Money Maker- This is my favorite hairspray. I've been using this for about 2 years and I just love it. Some of the reasons I like it are a)the smell (people think I'm wearing a fresh perfume, even though it's just my hairspray) b) the fact that it isn't heavy, sticky and it doesn't leave any white flakes c) it's buildable, so you can keep adding over days and it won't look like you have tons of hairspray in your hair.

R+Co- Outer Space- This hairspray is great to take to an event or if you need your hair to stay! It is a little heavier than the Drybar one, but it has more of a hold. It would be the perfect thing to pack if you were going to be out dancing all night or taking a lot of photos!

Oribe- Thick Dry Finishing Spray- This stuff is perfect if you have thin hair and want to create a bit more volume and texture. I like taking this one on vacation, so I can keep beachy hair that doesnt look too frizzy. This product is great for messy beachy waves.

R+Co- Dry Desert Dry Shampoo- This spray comes with me wherever I go. It's in my suitcase, my backpack and sometimes even my purse. It's the best dry shampoo I've ever tried. I love it because it doesn't leave tons of white residue on your hair, and similar to the Money Maker it is buildable over days and you can keep touching up!

Oribe- Split End Seal- This product is great to use when you've just finished styling your hair and you either see a few dry ends OR you have fly aways. This product will hydrate those ends and also give you a really nice finish.

Oribe- Gold Lust Conditioner- This is the holy grail of conditioners. I have bleached hair on my ends, and I credit this conditioner to my hair still being healthy! I have been using this one for 2.5 years and have no interest in switching anytime soon. I used to have to use TONS of conditioner to make my hair feel smooth. This one the product goes a really long way, so even though it's on the pricier end I have saved money because I don't need to use very much at all.

Oribe- Gold Lust Hair Oil- This paired with the Oribe Conditioner are the two most hydrating products i've found on the market. This is another one I can't live without. I have tried so many hair oils and they either seem too oily, or that they don't hydrate enough. This one is the perfect mix!

My Beauty Philosophy: Where I Save and Spend

I have enjoyed reading up on some of my favorite bloggers social media posts on how much they spend on their beauty services and which they prioritize. Let's face it, we ALL have a routine. Some may spend less & others spend more, but everyone spends on maintenance. It's usually fun, we enjoy the pampering, and we love to feel great about ourselves. However, it can get super pricey. I like to splurge on certain things, and save on others. Here's my current beauty breakdown.

SPLURGE: Hair color
I spend more than I like to admit on hair color. To me this is my biggest spend. I was tired of hating my hair and having to spend a lot getting it done every 6 weeks, so after doing some research I found a solution. I found someone amazing and get my hair done less often (2-3x a year instead of going 6-8x a year which meant getting it done every 6-8 weeks). After doing the math I spend about the same, but now I LOVE my hair and before I was impartial to it. I see Johnny Ramirez from Ramirez|Tran Salon. He is the King of Color and I suggest EVERYONE see him once in their life.

SAVE: Eyebrows
I don't get my eyebrows done as often as I used to. I can't believe salons in SF can charge as much as they do. Instead of going every 2 weeks, I go every 4-6. In between going, I pluck and trim at my house. This saves me a lot :)

SPEND: Haircuts
Hair is everything to me. As I mentioned earlier, I have gotten so many bad dye jobs and cuts I don't mind spending on amazing color or cuts. I see Anh Co Tran from Ramirez|Tran Salon. He is a sweetheart and amazing at what he does. It doesn't hurt that he has a rolodex of celebrity clientele, see it for yourself.

SAVE: Spray Tans
I LOVE a good spray tan, but I only get them for special occasions. I have girlfriends who love getting them regularly and I don't blame them. It's just not a must for me. I have used some great self-tanning products that keep me a decent color year round. My favorite is St. Tropez bronzing mousse. Make sure you wear a glove with this one. I also really like this lotion.

SPEND: Gel Manicure's
I am someone who just loves having my nails done. I don't know why, but I love a gel manicure. I think this started when I was a personal trainer. Wearing workout clothes all the time sometimes made me feel less feminine, so I made sure to always have my nails done. I don't mind spending the money as this is a little "me time" I look forward to.

SAVE: Waxing
OK. This one depends on the person FOR SURE. I don't mind going to the cheaper salon I've been going to for years. There are other salons that cost 2-3x the price, that I personally am not willing to go broke over.

SPEND: Blowouts
I love a good blowout. I am VERY particular with what I like, but every time I tell drybar exactly what I'm looking for they deliver! I splurge a little on this as it is $65 a month for 2 blowouts. With this, I can get a 20% discount on everything in store & I can also gift blowouts to friends.

SAVE: Massages
I don't get frequent massages. Since I workout a ton, I do sometimes feel like I need to get a massage. I make this happen on a budget by going to an affordable foot spa down the street. It's way more affordable than a nice spa and another bonus is I can usually just walk in when I feel like I need a massage.

SAVE: Facials
I love a good facial, but I don't frequent to the esthetician. I try to go 2x a year, rather than a monthly visit. Over time, this may change.

I'd love to hear where you spend and save, please share!

Starting Over: My transition in to a new career

I am the first to admit. I don’t have it all figured out when it comes to my career. Does anyone though? Even if you’re satisfied where you’re at now. Are you on the path to continuously grow your role? The cool thing about work is, well a few things.

You can do whatever you want. Seriously, it’s like the… what do you want to be when you grow up question we are asked time and time again at a young age. If you decide you want to do one thing and decide to change your mind, YOU CAN! That’s one of the many blessings we have living in the USA.

I recently made a really tough decision & changed my career. Ever since I was in college I knew Kinesiology, health and fitness were my passions.  I knew I wanted to incorporate these passions in to my life & set out to start my career in fitness.

I started working in a physical therapy clinic & after about a year of doing that (knowing I wanted to branch out in to corporate fitness) I moved back to the Bay Area for my “dream job”. I started working for Plus One Health Management helping run fitness and wellness programs at a HUGE tech company. Over the 3.5 years I was there I got about 5 promotions, learned a ton, and truly met the most inspiring people. I was lucky enough to be surrounded by individuals who motivated me to be the best version of myself. Over time I sort of became unchallenged and bored. I was still super happy, but not inspired. I missed being inspired and excited about work. I enjoyed it, had fun, but wasn’t learning anything or anywhere near the compensation I wanted to be making. I discovered that I am the type of person who needs to be constantly learning to be happy at work. So what did that mean for me? I had to get a new job.

I decided to start hunting for a new role & explored many options. I landed on moving in to either sales or recruiting. Sales is sales and recruiting is people sales. My passion in health and fitness stemmed from helping people get fit & healthy. Recruiting was just that, but helping people in their career. Once I made this decision to transition in to recruiting the hunt began.

I worked with a few agencies & also applied online. Many people asked, “why the switch” & my response was that I felt ready to gain knowledge and skills in something outside of fitness. I started at GoPro & learned SO much over the next 4 months. I got used to a different schedule. Actually having my mornings to myself. Being able to in a sense disconnect my passion from my life. My manager was what I like to call a BAB (Badass Bitch). This is a compliment of course. She is motivated, hard-working, intense, and someone I learned a whole lot from. I felt like I was in boot camp some days, but wouldn’t take that experience back for anything. GoPro started feeling really weird. I felt like I wasn’t supposed to be there. The communication style for lack of better words sucked & the amount of change in such a short amount of time raised some red flags for me. Peoples demeanor changed & everyone seemed to start to feel like there was “weird stuff” going on. My gut was telling me to start looking for a new job.

I had a problem with what my gut was telling me at first. One was because I just started there, and two was for the reason that I wanted to make sure it was legitimate and me not just feeling like there was too much change. I reflected for a while and realized it wasn’t the change, it was how things were being handled and communicated that made it so shady. I quickly started looking for a new job. I interviewed a bunch of places & the most frequent question I was asked was why I was looking for the change. I had to be honest, but with my honesty I think some people could’ve mistaken it for someone leaving WAY too early after just starting a job. That didn’t bother me.

I interviewed a bunch of places, and was nervous to get an offer somewhere. You see I didn’t hate GoPro, I just knew in my gut I needed to leave. After a very promising onsite interview at a company in SF on a Wednesday night, I headed to work back at GoPro. The news was broken to me on Thursday that Friday would be my last day at GoPro. Yep, I was laid off. Me, a 26-year-old passionate capable and qualified employee. I was in shock. I also, oddly enough, felt a sense of comfort. I know its weird to say, but I then knew and trusted my intuition more than ever. There was shady stuff going on, and I had a pulse on it. I wasn’t sad like many of my other co-workers, but I was a bit stressed. I was stressed on money & wanted to make sure I had an income. I talked to my mom, my boyfriend, and a few friends & I felt good. I felt supported and I felt blessed to be moving to a new company. By Friday, I had already scheduled 3 more interviews.

The next Monday I had 5 interviews, Wednesday rolled around & I already had a job offer (I wasn’t sure if I wanted to work there). By the next week I had finalized my last interviews and by that next Wednesday I had an offer. I believe all this opportunity came about for a few reasons. One, I believe God has a plan for you even if you aren’t aware of it. Two, I truly believe life gives you exactly what you need practice in. Three, if you work really hard and are kind and amazing things will happen. Four, trust your gut.

I then got connected with my old company. Not Plus One, but the tech company we contracted with. They interviewed me via phone & then asked me onsite. I was ecstatic, because something felt right. Out of all the amazing companies I interviewed with, this one was the best. However, I had to get back to another company who extended me an offer. I had to accept or decline without having all my options laid out in front of me. I asked for more time & got it. A few days later I got an offer at Facebook. I couldn’t have been more excited. I realized at that moment that’s what it should feel like when accepting a job. You shouldn’t just be inspired by money as money won’t make you want to show up to work everyday. It’s much better to make your choice based on opportunity, growth potential, company values, impact, and culture. Facebook was the company who checked all those boxes for me. I immediately accepted and my new chapter began.

Over the last few months, I haven’t posted much. I was going through so many transitions in my career I didn’t know where to start when thinking about posting and blogging. I do believe this post is very important, especially now, because much like myself I’m sure there are others out there dealing with comparable situations. Whether you’re interested in leaving your job, trying something new,  have recently started something new. Know that it will all work out. It doesn’t mean it will be easy, but you will know when you find the right fit.

Girl Talk: What are your Musties?

After hearing about my non-negotiables or "musties", I want to know what yours are in the comments below!

Girl Talk: Weekly Podcast for Ladies

Girl Talk. Girl talk is defined by Urban Dictionary as "Deep conversation between members of the female sex. Contrary to popular believe, it is not always about boys." Wow. Women can talk about things deeper than clothes, boys, and juice cleanses? Who'da thought!

The honest truth is all those things are super fun to talk about, but I can't wait to open a forum to discuss so much more than just that. My podcast will be posted weekly and I will be chatting about my thoughts as well as answering your questions. Don't forget to post your questions in the comment section of my blog, instagram, or Youtube.

Working On Yourself: Why this time will always be the most valuable in your life

Do you find that the more caught up in life you, the less you have the chance to work on yourself? Maybe you haven’t thought about it much. Perhaps you are someone who plans out the logistics of your day and as the day goes on check things off the list. You go to meetings or work, you respond to emails, go to the gym, and catch up with an old friend. If you think of it these things are work (or to you a task). You are expending energy planning, coordinating, and doing. Now it’s time to ask yourself; What are you doing to recharge yourself or fill up that energy tank?

Working on yourself is the most important thing you can do to better your life. What would you do if you had zero responsibility for a day. I like to think of this as “free time”. The free time we had in preschool where we got to do whatever we wanted for 30 minutes. You could play house, read, color, listen to music, take a nap, etc. It’s super important for you to plan out “free time” in your busy schedule. This time can be 20 minutes to 6 hours. It’s totally your call, but just be in tune with yourself to know how much you need to allot for yourself. You can go on a walk and listen to music, sit in a bath drinking wine, watch a movie, go get a mani/pedi, or whatever else you feel like doing. Be sure during this free time you aren’t working on anything. No instagram posts, no emailing, no taking calls, no texting friends; this is YOUR time. Once you take this time for yourself recharge, you will be full of energy to do the things you love doing all week/weekend long. 

I encourage you to plan out some interruption-free free time in to your weekly plans. Tell me what you plan on doing, and how you felt afterwards. It’s truly a great way to reset and recharge.

Cheers to the weekend.

New Week New Mindset

Prepping for your week doesn't just mean updating your calendar, planning your meals, and having your clothes ready. Being prepared to means to me, getting mentally prepared. Easy to say, but sometimes hard to do.

Here are some tips I use to getting mentally prepared for my week:

1. Sunday alone time: 

I am someone who is extremely social. I often book my calendar morning until night without much time between. What keeps me in check and mentally prepped for my week is taking some time for myself on Sunday. I often wake up a little later (without an alarm if I can help it) then walk to get coffee and head towards the bridge. This allows me to think, relax, calm my mind, and enjoy my beautiful city.

2. Forget what bothered you last week at work:

Did your coworker annoy you? Even worse; your boss? Write it down, and move on. Seriously. We won't always agree with everyone, understand everyone, and you need to realize that your reaction may be debilitating your progress at work. If you can change the way you react then you might be able to diffuse any issues.

3. Didn't catch up on enough sleep?

Is Monday and you didn't get enough R&R over the weekend. Do not allow that to slow down your week! Make it a priority on Monday to get in a power nap. You need to manage your schedule!

4. Goals

What do you want to acheive this week? Besides chores & work you should be making a list of things you want to do and out them in your calendar. Sometimes we forget that is better to work to live than living to work. Make sure you prioritize doing something fun! 

5. Clean space 

I am working on this right now, but I've read a ton about having a happy clean space to come home to. This means decorating, dishes, and laundry. It's important to leave a stressful job space and come home to a relaxing spot. It's sometimes a chore, but will be worth it to kick off your shoes and relax after your place is tidy. 

6. Exercise 

You knew this was coming, didn't you? When I am stressed I usually call my dad. He will listen to me blabber, and if I am a little stressed he usually asks me one thing, "did you workout today?". My answer when I am stressed it usually, "no, not yet". He replies, "go workout, and call me after." Seriously?! That's not the answer I look for, but when I workout I usually figure out my own answers. 

I hope these tips help you find a positive mindset to start your week! Happy Monday.