Life Lately

On Alone Time

So, Joe got back from visiting family in Ohio late last night after being gone since very early Saturday morning. We missed each other. Neither of us really travels for work all that much, so it’s rare we spend more than a weekend apart, and that’s only a couple times a year. I’m glad he’s home from the “missing your other half” standpoint, but for two other reasons as well. You know that casserole I talked about making? Well, I did. And then I proceeded to eat some of it everyday for 4.5 days straight. The goat cheese tartine was thrown in there at some point too, for good measure. Speaking of measure, my pants were fitting tighter yesterday and I couldn’t figure out why until I was like, oh, perhaps it is the copious amount of delicious casserole sauce and goat cheese you have been eating. When Joe’s around, we tend to keep each other way more accountable with eating right — at least one big salad per day for a meal. I looked in the fridge yesterday and realized I hadn’t made it through anywhere near the amount of greens and veggies I/we normally do. Whoops. The things your S.O. is good for! I also went shopping in his absence, in search of a dress to wear to a rehearsal dinner (more on that in a sec). In addition to the dress(es), I also ended up buying all this workout stuff (see: casserole sauce and goat cheese) and a bunch of new glassware and linens for the kitchen. Double whoops! A good time was had by all, though.

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This dress!

Is there anything worse than being on a mission to find a dress, then not finding anything at the first three stores you go to? Luckily, I wandered into Club Monaco, which had been completely renovated since we moved away from SF (it’s decorated just like the flagship in NY now — in other words, beautifully). I tried on this dress in pink on a whim, and immediately grabbed it in black before checking out. Trust me when I say, it looks so much better in person than online. It’s the perfect go-to dress: lightweight, super comfortable, but with enough weight that you could pull it off in multiple seasons. Clings in the right places; drapes and disguises in the areas you need it to. Honestly, so, so flattering, especially if you have something going on up in the chest area. Highly recommend, especially since it’s on super sale right now (an extra 30% off the sale price). Pretty sure the black version is going to become my default little black dress. I tried on so many dresses at Anthro and other stores, and you know that feeling when it seems like you’re going to have to settle for something, either because of a just-ok fit, or a price that’s more than you really want to spend? I’m so glad I held out and discovered these dresses at CM, because trying something on that immediately makes you smile and think “Damn, I look good in this and FEEL good in this,” is the best feeling ever.

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Dr. Alkaitis Organic Nourishing Treatment Oil

I purchased a bottle of this stuff way back in mid-2012, and it actually lasted me until right after we moved to New York in the spring of 2013. In all the chaos of moving, I never picked up another bottle, and Spirit Beauty Lounge, where I had bought it before, always seemed to be out of stock. Because I used this oil all during wedding planning and even during the festivities, it always transports me back to that time. Don’t you love a good scent memory? Anyway, when I was browsing around at Credo recently, I finally picked up another bottle, even though I secretly wondered if the $90 price tag would make me regret it, seeing as how I’ve tried many other facial oils since initially using this one. I have to say, I don’t regret it one bit — I remember why it was worth paying for the first time. The scent memory is a nice plus, but this particular oil always leaves me glowing. I only use it at night, and only on my face, and always wake up with great looking skin. Plus, a little goes a very long way…I’m also remembering why it took me so long to get through one bottle. If you’re interested in checking it out, Credo, Amazon and Spirit Beauty Lounge all sell it (you can get a small sample via SBL), and you can also get it directly from Dr. Alkaitis.

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How’s work going?

Work is good! Currently, I’ve been working on two big projects: one, a tech company, the other a luxury travel goods brand. These have ended up being perfect summer clients, because with each of the projects’ work flows, I’ve found I’ve had a bit of down time at least once per week. This has allowed me to enjoy the summer even more (read: finishing work a bit early, or getting into the office later after taking Lucy to the beach in the mornings). It’s nice. All in all, I’m so pleased and proud of what the studio has accomplished so far this year. I’m excited for what’s to come in 2016 (can’t believe I’m already thinking about it!), but at the same time, I’m at that point where I’m trying to figure out what’s next and how to grow, or if I even want to. Breanna wrote a great post about this recently. Things on my mind specifically: potentially hiring someone (but I’ve been debating about how to delegate and define the role, and whether I’d even want to manage anyone).

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About those mobile Apple devices you sell, trade in, or give away…

Okay, this weird thing happened to me and it was so funny and kind of creepy and bizarre that I had to tell you about it. Many years ago, when I worked at a traditional office job, I won an iPod Touch in a raffle. I don’t think they even make them anymore! I synced it to my computer once, but never really used it, because shortly after that I got my first smart phone. Plus, it only had like 8GB of storage, so it wouldn’t hold all my music, which drove me crazy (this was obviously pre-Spotify subscription!). Fast forward to about six months ago. One day I was going through photos on my Camera Roll and saw these pictures I hadn’t taken. They were clearly of a family, hanging out, doing what families do. Weird. It was bizarre, but I figured it was some sort of cloud glitch. I did some Googling but couldn’t find a definitive answer or anyone else who had had the issue, so I ignored it. Recently, it happened again…then again, and again. Like three times within a couple months! Do you know how creepy it is to open your Camera Roll and see pictures of a 3 year old’s birthday party that you most definitely didn’t attend? I asked a friend of mine, who works for Apple, what the deal might be. That’s when he told me: log in to your iCloud account, and check to make sure no other devices are attached to it. And sure enough, when I logged in, there it was: that old, cherry red iPod Touch. It’s mind boggling because I didn’t even have an iCloud account back when I synced that iPod for the first (and only) time.  But your Apple ID follows you everywhere! I thought I had cleared the device before getting rid of it, but apparently, not well enough. So, let it be a lesson: even if you aren’t seeing some random family’s photos in your phone, it’s worth checking in on your iCloud account every now and again, to make sure everything is on the up and up. As my friend said, you never know where your old devices end up! You simply go to icloud.com, log in, and then hit ‘Settings’ to see what devices are associated with your account. Granted, it’s probably nothing to get that worked up over or worry about too much, as most vendors probably delete your data just fine. But just in case…

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What’s been going on with you? I hope you don’t mind that I basically wrote a novel with all these little updates (believe it or not, I actually had to strike two other things from this list, lest the post start to get wayyyyy too long. I’ll save ’em for next month). It’s nice to check in every now and again and digest everything that’s been happening in life! I’d love to hear what’s going on with you. How is your summer going? Have you taken any great trips? Discovered anything cool? What’s still to come? August and September are going to be nuts for me on the weekends…it’s been nice chilling a bit in June and July!