The A List: 5.13.16

It’s been super dreary around here this week; with the constant rain we’ve been having. I’m not going to lie though, a mini-road trip and cooler temps has me looking forward to the weekend!

In the meantime, here’s a roundup of things I’ve been loving this week.

Richard Jefferson’s Snapchat

You’ve probably heard of the adventures of Little Kev by now, and “Rich” loves to document his whereabouts daily on his snapchat. But this week’s snaps have been better than most, thanks to a week of rest for the Cavs, and we’ve seen even more glimpses of basketball’s biggest stars behind-the-scenes. Think Starbucks runs, team dinners, and other random outings around town. Thanks Rich for pulling back the curtain on an NBA playoff run, you make the Cavs easy to cheer for (almost!) with the snapchat shenanigans. (Follow him at RJeff24)

So Delicious Coconut Milk Mint Chip Ice Cream

While I haven’t yet given up the traditional diary ice cream (#teamJenis), for a weeknight treat I’ve been looking for a great dairy-free option. What I’ve learned is good dairy-free ice cream is hard to come by – especially when your favorite is over 400 miles away (see you in July Bang Bang!). But So Delicious’ combo of coconut milk with mint chip hits the spot for a must see tv snack. I’m a self-professed lover of coconut and love what the flavor adds to the ice cream, but the coconut isn’t so strong that it overpowers the mint and chocolate. And since it’s dairy-free, it has to be guilt-free, right?

Giving Keys Raw Copper Collection

I don’t have enough hands to count how many times people have asked me if I’m wearing my house key around my neck when I wear my Giving Key necklace, but I absolutely adore the mission and message it sends. My word is CREATE, and it reminds me on a daily basis to keep up my creative spirit and share it with those around me. And now that the Giving Keys has launched their raw copper line, it might be time to add another inspiration to my collection.

R.M. Drake

Remember in Sex and the City when Carrie checks out the library book of love letters from great men? I kind of feel like RM Drake’s words are like that. Another poetic instagram find of mine, his daily words are inspiration, they’re poetic and most of all they’re beautiful. The wanderlust in me wishes to one day be on the receiving end of words like that, they’re straight out of a fairy tale.

Walking in the rain

Like I mentioned earlier, much of this week it has rained, dampening any real plans to do anything outdoors (I’ve got puns for days). But as long as I planned ahead for meetings, there’s a certain poetry in a spring rain. Walks in my neighborhood have been a chance to clear my head, and the sidewalks aren’t nearly as busy as they normally are. Plus the air always smells a bit cleaner after a fresh rain and ground has reaped its benefits in lush green. It’s not always sunshine and rainbows after all and as long as I have my umbrella, that’s okay. (Image via)

The A List: 4.22.16

It’s the return of the A List!  The crazy season of my job has finally winded down and with the return of my social life and my free time has started. And while I’ll miss the excitement and adrenaline of the season, I’m thrilled this “me” time is coinciding with daylight hours. Anyways, here’s a collection of things I’ve been loving this past week (or month) or so.

Grey’s Anatomy

TV isn’t doing much for me these days, I don’t have a whole lot of time to watch it at the moment and nothing seems too enticing to tear me away from my web videos. So it’s a little bizarre to me that the one show I do make time for, is the one I picked back up again last year. Grey’s Anatomy is under a refresh to me with Meredith Grey leading the way. Her journey back to herself and her social life is great tv at the moment, and I’m loving the Jackson and April dynamic too.  And can we talk about how amazing the Denzel Washington directed episode was? #TGIT

Tyler Knott Daily Love Haiku’s

Romantic. Dreamy. ALL THE FEELS. Every one of Tyler’s daily haiku’s that he posts to his instagram just speak to me, even when I don’t even expect them to. What makes them even more special is that he handwrites them, making them all that more emotional to read each and every day. Seriously, ALL THE FEELS.

Style Code Live

Speaking of web videos, there’s another appointment video for me at the moment, Amazon’s Style Code Live. Streamed nightly at 9pm, it’s a half hour of fashion and beauty and I’m obsessed. And the geniuses at Amazon have made everything on the show available for purchase, so it’s essentially one big commercial without feeling like one. Miss an ep? They’re handily available on Amazon’s Video App – great for binge-watching all of the latest trends (and safely tucked away from that pesky "one-click" purchase button).  =)

InStyle Redesign

Despite my addition to online magazines and lifestyle blogs, I still try and find time each month to catch up on my old magazine standbys. (My Texture app makes this infinitely easier – if you haven’t purchased it yet, do so now). InStyle has long been one of my favorite glossies, I love how they deconstruct outfits each month and how their editorials are a bit more approachable than some of the other high fashion pubs. But what I’m loving right now is their latest redesign, it’s fresh and sleek, and somehow remains luxurious, all while looking totally modern. So fabulous.

Lilacs

If daffodils are my favorite spring flower, lilacs might be my favorite other flower. Our place lucked into a huge lilac bush surrounding our back patio, and on slightly breezy springs days, especially the ones we’ve been super fortunate to have of late, the fragrance of them is transcendent. A bit feminine, but still fresh, right now they’re quite literally a breath of fresh air.

The A List: 01.01.16

 

Happy New Year!

For the first A-List of 2016, here's a look back at some of my faves discovered over the holiday break.

Into the Gloss Meat the Team profiles: there are few websites that are on my daily must-reads list but Into the Gloss is one of them. From tutorials on Korean beauty to intros to some of my favorite products (moon mask!), I visit daily to discover the latest beauty ideas and profiles of top fashion influencers. Recently they’ve been profiling their own staff and I LOVE it. It’s so cool to connect with the people running the site and I love the behind-the-scenes look at their jobs, their favorite products and their lives.

Things Liz Wants Instagram: Eva Chen’s instagram is the best. A gold-mine for shoes (via her #evachenpose), cute pics of her kid, and beauty reviews, she also finds the coolest fashion insiders to spotlight to her followers as well. Recently she posted the cutest flamingo holiday video from illustrator Liz Tafaro linking to Liz’s feed, which a feed which is chock full of fashion illustrations injected with a dose of wit. Super cute, super fun, and a super new insta follow from me.

Amazon Music: My beloved Songza was bought by Google earlier in 2015 and will cease to exist this month. Songza was perfect for music listening when you really didn’t know what you wanted to listen to, you just knew the current vibe you were feeling. Also, it barely played any ads if you didn’t skip a bunch of songs. Songza’s founders are encouraging Google Play music, but it’s not the SAME. Too many ads, too much to be overwhelmed by, I just can’t. I had no idea Amazon Music came with my prime subscription, and their playlists are a great second choice to my beloved former app. (My current fave). RIP Songza.

Casual: during the holiday break I had every intention of catching up on some of my favorite tv shows. Shows like Scandal, Nashville, and Jane the Virgin – all who’s winter finales I have yet to see. But what did I do? Instead I found a new series to love, Casual on Hulu. I’ve been in lust with Tommy Dewey ever since his run on the Mindy Project (I loved his character and Mindy’s together!) and he’s hilarious with the rest of the cast here. This show has some “I can’t believe they just did that" moments and it’s perfect for a winter binge viewing.

Late July Organic Dude Ranch Chips: confession: cool ranch doritos are a guilty pleasure of mine. So good yet so bad for you and your breath. I was killing time at the new Whole Foods at Easton before Christmas (don’t do this – your wallet will hate you) and came upon these Dude Ranch chips and they’re awesome. At their heart they’re a multi-grain chip with just a hint of ranch flavoring. Since they’re multi-grain – they have to healthy, right?

Best of 2015

 

If you've been on instagram the last few days, you can't help but notice the #2015bestnine photos in everyone's feeds.

I kind of love this.

Best nine is a great and easy tool to remember the highlights of my year, or at least my photos that trended throughout 2015.

And how genius are the app developers who are collecting all of this data from people (like myself) giving them access to their insta profiles? #nerdalert

Anyways, my #2015bestnine did a pretty good job of summing up some of the highlights of my year. Here's a little more into what my 2015 looked like.

(L to R, top to bottom)

1. Rose gold iphone! I remember the day I squealed with delight when my rose gold iphone arrived in the office. Of course my case was already purchased (Rose all day!) but the real hero of this photo is my co-worker Maggie, who let me take this pic on her phone and then texted it to me. (For the record, I'm still in love with my phone).
2. Pan-Am Games Opening Ceremony. It's no secret I wear the love of my hometown on my sleeve, so when I saw this photo from the opening ceremony of the Pan Am Games in Toronto, I had to regram it. My annual weeklong visit to TO came about a week or so later, which prompted my excitement to post the photo.
3. Goal Digger. Chalk this photo up to a cold winter, a new fashion app, and my love for witty and wordy sweaters and tees. It's a hashtag trifecta and a warm sweatshirt too.
4. Home. You might think from the picture directly below this one that Christmas is my favorite holiday, but if I had to choose, I think Valentine's Day might be #1 in my <3. (See what I did there?) This find from Target sat outside our front door for the first few months of the year and grabbed a few more likes than normal with some help from #targetstyle.
5. Morning breakfast. Confession: I love a good #viewfromthetop photo, especially if it has something to do with food. But there's little more meaning to this pic - it's one of the first photos I took from our new office, after it was set up from moving a few weeks earlier. I'm not a fan of moving, but I am a fan of great morning light in an insta snap.
6. NHL All-Star Weekend. A rare glimpse into my work life hit my feed, thanks to some last-minute unreal seats to the NHL All-Star game. This pic to me reminds me of an amazing last weekend in January, a weekend that combined professional success with a love for showing off and experiencing the best Columbus has to offer.
7. Holiday decor. I love decorating my home for the holidays and am quite proud of the aesthetic i've created over the last couple years. Here's a peek into that aesthetic, hints of silver and gold and soft lighting mixed with our mostly neutral decor and my favorite #Toronto poster.
8. Macaroons and Petit Choux at Nadege. One of the many instas from my trip to Toronto, this one came from the cutest french patisserie on West Queen West, just before Trinity Bellwoods. We had traipsed around much of downtown earlier that day and this was the perfect (and cutest) pitstop for a mid-afternoon break. Fun fact, I found this place via instagram too!
9. First trip to Roosevelt Coffee. I hold 90% of my meetings outside the office at coffee shops and had been hearing about Roosevelt for weeks leading up to this pic. The space doesn't dissapoint - open and airy with big tables for collaboration, located in a great part of town, and of course, fabulous coffee, i've been back many times since first snapping this pic.