Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Dear Diary, Blair is going to be so pissed

Snaps to Blake for landing her fourth Vogue cover before her 27th birthday
All hail the tall, caucasian, blonde Queen B! My favorite girl Blake Lively has made headlines has once again made headlines in a purely positive way (starlets and B-Listers take note) by launching her own website. Preserve is the shop/blog/editorial's title and serves as an ode to 'preserving' artisan craftsmanship. Guests can find a range of prices and products from curry ketchup to a wooden cutting board in the shape of the continental United States. 
This Lindsey Thornburg wrap dress sold out in 8 hours. 
Aside from the shopping, there is a feel-good aspect to the e-commerce site. Preserve is a proud partner with Covenant House, an organization dedicated to providing to the homeless, as well as the trafficked and abused youth. They state on their Greater Good page: 
"We have set our first goal of giving 5,000 children a meal, 2,000 children a blanket, and 2,700 children a warm hoodie, all within the U.S."
Sounds pretty sweet to me! 

I can't afford to buy this bandana for $62, but you know Serena could and would. 
Many people look at this turn to the local, handmade industry with hope that it's popularity will last for years to come. I certainly hope so! It's a return to the way (I'm assuming) things used to be, before factories and machines made everything we touched. That may be the reason our generation is so nostalgic for hand-crafted goods and farmer's markets, they're things we only heard or read about, not something we experienced growing up. For me, homemade food has always been part of my life because I am blessed with a mother and grandmothers who have a passion for cooking, but it leaves most of my friends shocked. I've made blackberry ice cream at my grandmother's house in northern California, and not from berries in a plastic carton. We would pick them wild off the trail near the river and carry them in sacks over our bike handles back to her house. My mother makes her own tomato sauce and no, she's not Italian. Just this weekend I used Mom's recipe to make cinnamon rolls from scratch (it's so easy I swear) and my friends who ate them with me were bamboozled. 
My 20th birthday gift made by my Jamma - easily the best thing I've ever received! 
I love the direction our popular culture is swinging and I love Blake's latest endeavor. If you'd like to read more about the growing local industry, check out this article from Seattle Pi and if you'd like to read more about Preserve check out any of these articles: 
It's unclear who the 'us' is that the website keeps referring to, or who else is contributing to the web design, marketing or editorial aspects. Maybe Mrs. Ryan Reynolds will be looking for an intern soon? I'll keep my fingers crossed. 

XOXO

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Dear Diary, SNL is no longer my primary news source

Co-Founders Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin on The Today Show
I'm ashamed but willing to admit that for the past few years, the primary way I kept up with the news was Saturday Night Live. Keeping up with entertainment news is easy, that's what People is for. Keeping up with major events is also easy thanks to the world's fastest news source, Twitter. But the real action, the day-to-day important events in politics and the world, I generally knew nothing about. The news is so depressing, and the idea of dragging myself through even one lengthy article about anything going on in a Washington D.C. that didn't involve Olivia Pope just seemed miserable. Yet I felt compelled to have some grasp on what's going on outside the Starbucks drive-through line. What's a girl to do?
The top of Friday's Skimm
Luckily, a few months ago I discovered TheSkimm, a daily email that appears in your inbox by the time you wake up that contains a quick collection of top news stories. Its written in an easy format by women, for women and is actually fun to read. You can bet your bottom dollar at least one Mean Girls reference will be made a week and they understand that Uggs are so 2003. TheSkimm only comes on work days, and I inevitably wake up on Saturday mornings a little peeved I don't have a Skimm. That's right, somehow the genius ladies at TheSkimm HQ have trained this formerly ignorant 21-year-old to crave the news. They deserve an award! I feel like if Weekend Reporter Tina Fey and Elle Woods teamed up to write a daily email, this would be the product. So if you're looking to be in the loop on what's going on in our world without crying yourself to sleep after watching the nightly news, or think that being able to participate in small talk about current events might help you pave the way for an extra Like, a promotion, or even a boyfriend, TheSkimm might be the answer for you.

XOXO

Friday, July 11, 2014

Poem of the Week: Summertime Sadness

An original poem by Sophie Orlich

The summer sun,
Has been lots of fun,
But I’m not ready to beat,
The crazy Texas heat!
I’ve had lots of time to scrapbook,
And even some time to cook!
It seems like there’s always something more to do,
With fall approaching its true.
But all I want is for a little more time,

To lay by the pool and drink some wine!

XOXO