You'll thank yourself for it

The wisdom to know the difference...Happy 26th Birthday!

Happy belated 26th Birthday to myself!

I asked my other 26 year old friends what advice they had for this new year and next box of life...most responded with "there is no difference", "forget the number and go with you're in your 20s", or even a "stop analyzing and just forget it." While we know the latter will never happen, because self reflection is the key to growth. I still must say, I've already felt the difference.

The resounding feeling has been to downsize. Downsize the objects that surround me, the things I focus on, and the people I give my heart to. While my early 20's were spent acquiring and populating my life with everything that felt necessary, I find so far, all I want to do is hold on to the small few and ditch the rest. Disappointment is a plague to the heart for the ones who hold expectations, remove that and let's see what we end up with. We all know actions speak louder than words so while I'd love to say I can forget the past wrongs by even those closer ones, I do know some things wont change. But, that's where the living and learning part comes into play. I can also say with certainty that time still does heals all pain and things that are meant to be will surely be. So in this next year, I hope to hold on to what matters and let go of the rest.
Thus, the key to 26 will be to find the wisdom to know the difference.

<3

"Down On Me" - Keenan Cahill featuring 50 Cent from Chelsea Lately (Full...

I love how 50 Cent knows the viral marketing game. His cool factor just increased 5 points.
Plus this song is on repeat in my head! Gooo Keenan, Get it!

Giants win the World Series

San Francisco Giants win the 2010 World Series!
What an amazing time to be in the city and experience the joy and passion we feel for this great city and this great team.


World Series title caps ‘City’ life
By: Brian Murphy

SAN FRANCISCO – To understand what Wednesday’s World Series parade through the streets of San Francisco will mean to lifelong Giants fans, you probably have to start with geography; with the confluence of longitude and latitude that creates the fog-swept romance, eye-watering views and quirky hills of the city this team has called home since 1958.

It’s a helluva place, San Francisco.

I admit. I’m biased. I grew up 6 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge, in an impossibly idyllic town called Mill Valley, in the shadow of a graceful mountain called Tamalpais. Coastal Miwok Indians gave it that name because its signature ridges resembled a “Sleeping Lady.” If you drive or hike the 2,571-foot peak of Mount Tam, you can gaze down at a unforgettable sight: the entire panorama of San Francisco. From there, you can watch the snow-white fog creep in, through the narrow passage of water called the Golden Gate, linking San Francisco Bay to the mighty Pacific Ocean. You look past the architectural marvel that is the Golden Gate Bridge, and thank whatever forces rule this universe that your seed happened to germinate here, in the region called the Bay Area, with San Francisco at its center.

I’ve traveled to a lot of places in this world. Never seen a place like ours.

This place, well, it shapes your soul, is what it does.

So, yeah. We do “civic pride” here pretty well.

Thus is the wellspring of all the intense emotion you felt through your TV sets when you watched Giants playoff games at AT&T Park this October. We love this place. And we love anything that has to do with this place – from the soothing clang of a cable car bell to the memory of Joe Montana rolling to his right to the muffled sound of a foghorn at night to, yes, the baseball played by the 2010 World Series champions.

We understand that other American cities are marvelous; that New York is the most exciting place in the world; that Boston’s historic pedigree is second to none; that New Orleans is the most joyous party on Earth; and that Seattle rivals San Francisco for sheer physical beauty. But our love is parochial, and when we have a chance to exhibit that love, well … you have 43,000 people, full-throated, in the middle of the 8th inning of a World Series Game 2 on an October night at Third and King, belting out the lyrics to a 32-year-old Journey rock anthem:

“When the lights go down/In the City
And the sun shiines on the Baaaayyyyyy …”

Read More here

My military inspiration looks like this

Tommy Ton <3

Champagne & Sequins

Garance Dores by Sartorialist

Keep your coins

butt love

a blog of a blog of a blog

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience…

I will dispense this advice now.


Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.

But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you imagine.

Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum.

The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you.

Sing.

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children,maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…

What ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.

Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.

Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good.

Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on.

Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live

in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen…

A blog post, of a blog post, of a blog post.
Sometimes the best part of blogging is finding inspiration from others that says exactly what your thinking.xoxo

Worn Soles

<3

notice actions more than words

So I have this friend, Daniel, who is probably one of the most flamboyant, self assured, spotlight-seeking, yet genuinely caring persons I know. He is the one you would turn to if you needed a personal cheerleader, dance partner or reality check .

Following a string of disappointments and awakening moments I started chatting with Daniel about what friendship is and at what point you realize a change is needed.

One of the best tips I took away from him was that friendship does not depend on the length of time you have known someone, it is based on the love, consideration, support and positivity they bring into your life. Notice negativity, notice happiness, notice meanies. Notice actions you would not do to others. Notice kindness and embraces. Notice actions more than words. And do not be afraid to remove hurtful things/people from your life.

Never make someone a priority in your life, who only makes you an option.

Sometimes the hardest part of change is re-evaluating the people in your life. But as any wise person will tell you, it's about quality not quantity. So go forth and look for greatness in your relationships and relinquish the ones that drain the greatness from you.

DVF

A dear friend of mine, who is currently off in search of her own Travel's Muse in Australia, sent me this picture today. She said it reminded her of me. I don't know if I'm more touched by DVF's thoughts or that something about DVF reminds people of me. Her views on Women, love, relationships and fashion are inspirational to say the least.

I recently watched a behind the scenes documentary for her Fall 2010 runway show, and when asked by a journalist on Valentines day "What are the 3 things you love the most?" DVF smiled and said, "My children, my grandchildren, and myself."


Sometimes we should all be reminded to love ourselves just a little bit more.

The Levels of Change

A few weeks back, I had a meeting with the most inspirational, grounding and motivating man I know...my father. We conversed about life, the journeys we take, and the plans we make that will always fall victim to chances we take and it was here that he told me about this idea his mother told him. My grandmother once said that every 7 years in a person's life something drastic will change.

Change...the one constant in life, can lead to amazing possibilities or fearful anxieties. The only thing I know is that change is the one thing I need at this very moment in life. But what does change look like when you are making the decision to change something in your life? Is it your job, your home, your relationship, you environment, your body, your education or your outlook? Trying to change all of these things at once will leave you more lost and confused and definitely in a sea of anxiety...trust me I'm on a life raft in that sea.

So where does change begin? This week in my quest for clarity and improved decision making logic I began to read some information about the levels of change. And this is what I found:

The first level of change is Environment.
This being the most external part of you, it is the easiest thing to change, therefore is the first part to transformation. Environment: your home, your job, your office space, your bedroom, your city, the pictures on your walls, the position of your furniture, the route you take to work, the places you frequent, and the friends you have.

The second level of change is Behavior.
This is again an external part of you. Your actions. This is the 2nd easiest thing to change, therefore is the 2nd tier of transformation. Behaviors: the routines you have, the smiles you give, the things you say, the generosity you lend, the time you take for others/ yourself, the exercise you do, the places you visit, and the activities that occupy your time. Say YES to the things that scare you and YES to the invitations around you.

The third level of change is Capabilities.
This is the first internal change you make along the line of transformation. So often we are defined by our capabilities. What can you do? Where does your experience lay? What are you good at? Changing your capabilities is a huge transformational step but probably will feel the most rewarding. Capabilities: your education, your talents, your wisdom, your experiences, your creative savvy, your technical skill, your passions, your unused time to dedicate to something else, your ability to love and embrace and journey.

The final level of change is Identity.
This is the final level of change because it is the ultimate part to transformation. If you make it through each level then you have changed your Identity. This can be the identity that others persevere you to be, the identity you have know of yourself, or the identity of the person you want to be.

Thinking about the Identity you want to have (who do you want to be? how do you want others to see you?), can help you select the little changes to make alone the way.

Examples: I want to be a traveler.
1st: I hang up pictures of destination I wish to travel to. 2nd: I look for airfare deals, adventure programs and talk to strangers at bars with accents. 3rd: Pick a destination and start to learn a language. Please and Thank You is always the 1st step. 4th: you embark.

Or more simply, I want to be healthier. 1st: Remove unnecessary junk food items from kitchen. 2nd: Walk to work, from work, replace escalator with stairs. 3rd: seek new ways to move..take a yoga class, a swimming class, rent a bike. 4th: do you feel better?

Now, this of course doesn't mean you have to do each step and conclude at an Identity but the key to change is that any step along the way is a change, a growth and a step in the right direction.

So on my personal quest for change I'm going to see how many things in my environment I can change. I've never been a small step kind of person. First step, getting rid of excess. Local SF charities get your trucks ready!

Hurricane

Ink

some of my fav tats in the most unique of places. get a little ink inspiration.

Monday is for Lovers

Love is the most vulnerable situation and state that i have ever experienced. The place that your control has no bearing and what happens to you could be the most suicidal attempt ever created. Yet we live our lives in the search of it and all factors contribute to its hopeful prosperity.

YSL

"the most beautiful clothes that can dress a woman are the arms of the man she loves...but for those who haven't had the fortune of finding this happiness, I am there" -Yves Saint Laurent

Thoughts on a Thursday

Refuse to accept the many reasons why it can't be done and ask if there are any reasons that it can be done - Hanoch McCarty

Nike and their digital dominance

Nike is becoming the leader in digital marketing trends. Utilizing their fan base, athletes, and brand awareness they are maximizing the web advertising stratosphere to meet the next generation of Nike athletes. No matter what industry you work in, fashion, technology, or payment processing you can take a marketing queue from the mega sports wear giant Nike.

With over 10 million views, Write the Future became the promotional buzz during the FIFA 2010 World Cup. Take a look below:

If a photo is worth a 1,000 words than a video like this must be worth 10 million. To follow up Write the Future, Nike has come out with the Nike Elite Series to showcase their latest futbol shoes in the best way possible, in action, with some of the greatest futbol players of this generation. Check out the Aguero Bait & Switch.

Marketers take note: let's stop saying what our products and services offer, and lets start showing it.

Nike has incorporated their digital marketing and communications strategy to reach their customer usage and branding goals but they are now developing digital products and service platforms to break ground on their products. " Integrated digital technology will become what people expect," said Mark Parker, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nike, in a highly insightful and wide-ranging interview with Berlin-based magazine 032c.

To read more about this topic check out the recent article by Vikram Alexei Kansara for Business of Fashion.

We Cry by The Script

New song currently on rotation: We Cry by The Script

One of the most important parts to being an inspired person is having ambitions. Woman wanting to change the world in any way they can is the definition of my pursuits. So here's my fav verse from the song that gives this idea a shout out.

Oh... Mary's ambitious
She wanna to be a politician
She been dreaming about it since she was a girl
She thought that she'd be the one who could change the world
Always trying to pave the way for women in a... man's world

See the music video here!

Freedom..that's the start of happiness

My mother, who knew the peak of the feminist movement, always thought for an accomplished life, the most essential thing was independence. Don’t depend on anyone, she’d say to me, that’s freedom. And freedom, that’s the start of happiness. Simple as that.

-Garance Dore- Read more here

Daily Celebrations

One more for the day...

"Every breath you take is another chance to transform your life into a celebration"-unknown

Thoreau

" It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see."

-Henry David Thoreau

SF Street Inspirations

Net-A-Porter by Business of Fashion

I love blogs and Business of Fashion is a great source of the inside dish on the business behind the fashion industry. Imran Amed the editor, just got an exclusive with Natalie Massenet from Net-a-Porter. Recently sold to luxury powerhouse Richemont for a pretty penny, Massenet is a business woman to take a queue from. Taking luxury apparel online and into the webosphere, Net-a-Porter lead the trend of the fashion-edited-online-marketplace. Take a look at the Behind the Scenes video from Business of Fashion interview tour with Natalie Massenet.

More on the interview here.

Adventures in Sailing

One ofthe best things about living in San Francisco is being next to the bay. Having traveled extensively throughout my life and growing up on an island- the most important element to make a city a home for me is to be near water. But far too often, I neglect my sanctuary in the city and remain on dry land. Until last weekend, thanks to OCSC Sailing in Berkeley, my friend Kris and I had a blast sailing the high seas.

Note to self: Get out and enjoy the water more. Even if it is just a toe dip in the sea.

The Next Magazine

Launching today: Flipboard

A cool new App for the iPad that pulls content from your social media networks and creates a "magazine" based on what is being shared around you. While the connection to social media networks is cool and all, I see the next exciting step for print magazines are to take the glossy pages digital. Imagine flipping through your Vogue on the Ipad and selecting a Kors runway shot, only to have it be a video of the runway show glimpsing the ensemble live and in motion. Can't wait for the adaptations to start... maybe i can get in early and help make it happen. WSJ and NYTimes will be next...

waiting

...there are people waiting to be helped, there are souls waiting to be touched,

there are friendships waiting to be made, there is canvas waiting for paint,

there are men and women with hearts waiting to fall in love,

it is my job and your job to find them...

~Father O'Neil

the demon of men

Not necessity, not desire - no, the love of power is the demon of men.
Let them have everything - health, food, a place to live, entertainment -
they are and remain unhappy and low-spirited:
for the demon waits and waits and will be satisfied.

-Friedrich Nietzsche

Inspiration can come for anywhere...but when it comes from a dear friend its even better. Because I could not have said it better myself...

I once smoked a cigar with Fidel Castro.

I used to discuss UN politics with His Majesty

Empreor Hallie Selassie. I occasionally engage

Cornel West in political discourse on the state of

the black union. I've argued with Al Greenspan

about what was the best move for the current economy,

happens to be. I've explained to Bush his foreign policy

is a detriment to our society but he didn't listen,

so I spoke to him of his demise from power....

When I was done with this, I decided to rest myself

I sat at the thrown drinking nectar with Allah.

I proceeded to sit naked on the Sahara desert

letting my body glisten in the sun.

My voluptuous limbs absorbed the rays and radiated

back the light that created the blue sky,

the gentle breeze, and the passing of the clouds.