Author: Lydia

Setting the tune for June

~ Lydia ~ Leave a comment

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I never really thought June would arrive. It’s so been so far away for so long that I assumed it would take another year or so for that pesky calendar to get around to it. Despite my resistance and by some twist of fate, here we are. June. June 4th in fact. I celebrated the end of May pretty fantastically packed with brunches, doggie dates, prosecco, mambo taxis, boyfriend time and present shopping. Which is really setting the right tune for June. June is busy busy and so expensive. My poor little credit card is not going to be happy with me after all the birthdays, brunches, wedding gifts, doggie care and travel expenses. You can thank me latter, BOA.

I’m also making some adjustments to my workout routine. As it turns out I am a pansy and anything above 83 degrees is too hot for me to get a good 6 mile run in – especially with that ferocious Texas sun beating down on my back and my dog’s black fur. And waiting till 8 or 9 PM to go running isn’t the best strategy for a good night sleep or a decent dinnertime. So I’m trying my absolute best to become a morning runner. It’s so hard. Like..guys..so hard. First off I can’t breathe in the mornings. My lungs are tight and don’t allow me to get a good breathe going. And then there’s the whole “this is so early and my bed feels like an absolute cloud” part of it that is a wee challenge to get around.

Monday was my first go at it and I loved it. It was so cool and crisp in the morning, there was hardly any traffic and I felt energized the rest of the day. But the real best part? I spent yesterday evening reading, cleaning and lounging – I even cooked a dinner that was more than a protein shake. Hell, I even read while I walked my dog – no small feat I might add. I’m still working out some kinks to the ol’ work out routine, but I am really enjoying getting my workouts done early. By 9 AM I already feel so accomplished and I am able to focus better while I’m at work. It’s also opening up my afternoons to be able to focus on a bit more on toning on my running days with some ab work, pushups and lunges.

So anyhoo, I am trying to welcome June in with energized open arms. It will be an exciting, tiring, expensive, draining and super fun month. Thank goodness for caffeine.

Read me..No really.

~ Lydia ~ 2 Comments

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I, Lydia, have a problem.

I have an addiction to buying books. I want all the books. More, I want more. Let me give you an example. As of my birthday I had 4 books in my pipeline. And then my office gave me a $20 giftcard to Amazon. So naturally I had to spend $25 to get the free shipping.. which means I bought two books. I now have SIX books to read. SIX. Now thank God I have a few trips coming up to knock a little reading out, but generally speaking I have a hard time reading for very long during the week without absolutely passing out. This means that I will likely be reading these books through December. This fact, however, will surely not deter me from continuing to purchase a book I want just as soon as I hear about it. Plus, Amazon makes it so easy to order a new book right away.

My defense is that buying a book is the best guilty pleasure there is. How mad can I logically be at myself for splurging on knowledge? Plus just look at how amazing these books are! Such a good mix of fun, educational, cultural and historical. The one I am reading now is the I Was Told There’d be Cake. It was a birthday present from fellow Tiffany’s blogger Sarah, and I’ve already laughed out loud a few times!

What’s up next?

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? Mindy Kaling.

The Republic of Suffering Drew Gilpin Faust

How to Win Friends & Influence People in the Digital Age Dale Carnegie

Joseph Anton Salman Rushdie

The Favored Daughter Fawzia Koofi

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So anyhoo, this is my endless Summer reading list, mostly aggregated from watching too much of The Daily Show and from friendly recommendations. What’s next on your reading list?

Imperfection is beauty

~ Lydia ~ Leave a comment

Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring. – Marilyn Monroe

I stumbled across this quote while doing some research at work. I could be way behind on this, but I had never heard it before. I think I speak for both Sarah and I when I say we are self-proclaimed nerds. We geek out easily over art, culture and branding. And in general consider ourselves to be ever so slightly awkward, we only hope it mostly comes across as charming.

One thing I love about finally arriving in my mid 20’s is the confidence that goes along with it. In high school if asked if I played a musical instrument, I’d shyly admit that I played the bassoon all through middle school, for the top band no less. In college I had to admit to new friends that I never drank all through high school for moral reasons and lead a generally safe life all growing up. Sometimes I’d accidentally let it slip that I love to read and I love solving math problems of any kind.

But now I’m so glad that I’ve been a little weird all my life. In fact, I’ve found that when meeting new people and talking about high school days, it’s a way more fun conversation talking about what a nerd you were are.  Being able to confidently joke to my boyfriend’s friends that hell yeah I played bassoon in middle school, and yes maybe it was a bit taller than me back then. And yes, last Friday night I didn’t feel like going out and instead chose to stay in and read my new book with my dog.

Therefore I love this quote. It’s here to say be yourself, it’s beautiful. Because you may not see it now or tomorrow, but someday you wil. Don’t waste your time trying to be someone or something that you’re not. Being who you are is just way more fun. Quirks make you interesting, help you connect with other people, and as you lean into the things that make you who you are, you can feel confidence building up inside you. You’ll start loving yourself and carry that love out into the world and in your interactions with other people.

Because personally, I’ve wasted more money than I care to admit on American Eagle Graphic t’s back in the day. I love being a little weird. Weirdness makes life way more interesting.

I hope this quote inspires you like it did me! Embrace your inner weirdness with me, folks.

Get some sleep

~ Lydia ~ 4 Comments

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This is going to seem like a strange goal for the week. But my goal is literally to get more sleep. Sometimes I’ll get in bed at 1 AM and not even think about the fact that I am getting up in 4.5 hours until the next day around 2 PM when I crash. This has been going on for months now and it’s just getting silly.

As you can imagine, this isn’t the best thing for my work life or career. I find it so difficult to think creatively and focus when I feel my eyes could close at any minute.

So yes. I want to work to get more sleep this week. I think that means timing myself for surfing the web, staying productive and just making myself get in bed around 10:30 or 11 PM to read a little before the lights go off.

I’ve read in the past and recently that people who get 8 hours of sleep a night are more productive, eat healthier, have better more efficient work outs and well they probably look better too. Plus, how can I be living intentionally if I’m too tired to get up and make myself a cup of joe?

With that said… good night.

 

Da big 2-4

~ Lydia ~ Leave a comment

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I’m not a big birthday person. I don’t really enjoy being the center of everyone’s attention and mostly just saw it as a reason to get free drinks in college. Most of High School my dad had an annual work trip on the big day, so my actual birthday was a little more laid back with friends, and then we’d go to a delicious dinner with the whole fam upon my Dad’s return and I’d leave with my stomach aching from over eating. So that’s just what I’m used to. Not making a big fuss on my birthday but having several little events with the people I cared about. Furthermore, every since my 21st birthday I’ve been dreading getting older. 22? 23? Simply not as fun.

When I turned 22 I was about to graduate college. I was leaving all of my friends and setting out into the unknown of Arizona. Plus, I was still recovering from my 21st birthday and hooked on the notion of “it’s all downhill from here.” When I turned 23 I was still figuring out life post-Arizona. Things hadn’t worked out there and then I was an unpaid intern and a barista living at my parent’s house. It simply wasn’t where I thought I would be at twenty-three (rhymed! boom). So getting another year older just meant that I was off my timeline.

But now 24. I’m so happy with everything in my life right now. I also realized early on that 2013 was going to bea great year and turning 24 is just part of it. To me, and I am brutally aware of how silly this is, to say “I’m 24” just sounds so much better. It says… I’ve been out of college for a while, I have it together, I’m mature, I am also responsible, I am working to achieve my dreams but I can still go out and have fun because I have little responsibilities to anyone but myself and no intention of settling down for quite some time. Who wouldn’t want to be all of those things? So I’ve decided not to be such a birthday bum this year. I have a quiet dinner with my boyfriend tonight, one of my very best friends is coming into town, I’ll go out and then tomorrow there’s yoga, brunch, pups, present shopping, Dave Matthews and more celebrations afterward.

Family ties

~ Lydia ~ Leave a comment
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Maryland looking ravishing

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This past weekend I spent a grand total of 26 hours in Baltimore, Maryland.

We had two big events going down. My brother and his fiance’s engagement party/BBQ and my Grandma’s 90th Birthday Brunch. As my trip grew nearer and nearer, I couldn’t contain my excitement. I found myself going on and on to my poor boyfriend’s ear about why my family was so awesome. But really it takes an afternoon of QT time with my family to fully understand.

I have a huge family. With 5-6 Aunts and Uncles on both sides, each having 2-5 children, and many cousins starting their own families.. and it just keeps getting bigger. Growing up, I spent a ton of time with cousins. They are your immediate best friends. You come out of the womb and it’s like, yep I have about 4-7 BFFs lined up. Unfortunately, my family and I left Maryland when I was in 3rd grade, 16 years ago. It’s always kind of a bummer watching from afar as everyone grew up, got older, and did things with their lives. I saw second cousins that I hadn’t seen since they were babies. Now all of a sudden they were up, walking around and were these little adults. And they’re are hilarious. There are cousins who underwent growth spurts and voice changes that I can’t even begin to comprehend. Especially since I’ve remained the same age…(ha)

Whenever I am about to embark on a treck up North, there’s always a little anxiety. An anxiety stemming from seeing a large group of people you haven’t seen in so long. But without fail, this slight anxiety is immediately washed away and filled with an immense feeling of pure love. The entire 20-something hours I was there, I was in rooms full of laughter among family members with people that I would do anything for. No matter what.

I had the gift of the opportunity to reconnect with cousins, meet second cousins, and simply learn about their lives. It was really amazing. Like, my cousins are awesome. I left that weekend on a cloud. I just..I just love my extended family. When we all get together, no matter if it’s my Mom’s or Dad’s, I leave with my sides hurting from laughter. It’s simply always a good time.

In his speech at the engagement party, my brother made an amazing point. The best part about family is that when we come into town, no matter how long we’ve been gone, we have this huge base of support. We might not pronounce “tournament” correctly and overuse “ya’ll” but when we land at BWI in Baltimore, we know we’re home. No matter what.

Different versions of living

~ Lydia ~ Leave a comment

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So I was going to write today on how I’ve been such a terrible blogger this last week and completely unmotivated. I simply couldn’t think of anything to write about. And about how having a clean car and a freshly organized closet makes me feel more put together and like an adult. But then I read Sarah’s post.

We write a lot about careers here at Finding Tiffanys so it’s no secret that Sarah and I are very career focused people. I found her article from Forbes “Why we need to take 20-somethings seriously” to be so comforting, albeit very intimidating [and encouraged my continued focus on the age old question, what’s the next step in my career?]. But again, comforting. Here’s why. When I graduated college I had no yearning to explore the world. I wanted to start my career. Although I made a big misstep post college, I was still looking to get on track. The prospect of starting out on a career in advertising was so exciting to me, and it still is. However free spirited friends caused me to have this feeling that something was wrong with me. And that I would wake up one day when I’m 35 (this is the age I assume I’ll have it together by) and regret not living.

But I’ve since learned that this whimsical “living” doesn’t have to have an exact definition.  My version of living might not be the same as yours. There’s nothing wrong with geting a high from working hard in front of a computer 9-5. And that you can’t plan your life or make rules of “I’ll never do…” Life simply doesn’t happen that way. Did I imagine that I would have to live at home working at Starbucks for a few months to restart my career track? Hell to the no. But now I look back at that time as a great experience. One where I met some amazing people, made good friends, got to know my parents again and started drinking my coffee black (one hipster point for me, yeah!).  The stories I hear of people at the ripe of age of 30 who quit their job and started traveling the world instead, sound amazing. And sometimes I think that I wish I had that kind of yearning to explore. But I don’t. At least not right now.

Basically what I am trying to get at is that this article reminded me that no life plan is right for everyone nor will your plan remain static. So when I also read articles like  “How I Became a 21-Year-Old Business Executive,” my instant reaction is to deem myself lazy and undeserving of the position I so dearly want. But then I remind myself to pause and think about it. This girl graduated college early, but hey, I loved college. I mean really loved it. Even now I wouldn’t have given that up to graduate early and to load up on the business courses. I wouldn’t trade that experience, the friendships, or meeting Sam Bradford for anything.

With all that said, I am currently undergoing a panic of “what am I doing next and where am I doing it,” as I enjoy doing every so often. Because by “currently” we’re talking about everyday since I walked across that graduation stage. So I am reminding myself to take a deep breathe. Nothing needs to be laid out or planned. As a person who changed their major like Lindsay Lohan changes rehab clinics, I can say that I’ve made dozens upon dozens of plans for my life. And have stuck to none of them. Yet, here I am. Living in a great apartment, with a boyfriend I love, a dog who has the face to get away with anything and a career that I look forward to building (oh, and did I mention the clean car and organized closet?). All you can do is work your ass off, impress your coworkers and keep striving for better. To me, this is living. At least until I change my mind that is. 😉

Eat good food. Om nom nom.

~ Lydia ~ 1 Comment

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I’ve had quite the delicious weekend. It began with a birthday dinner on Friday, the boyfriend and parents meet and greet on Saturday, and an amazing brunch today. I was so terribly spoiled. Although I did a terrible job of taking any photos while I ate, I feel a need to divulge my  #foodporn adventures nonetheless. I also had the added bonus of great company for each meal – see what I mean? So spoiled.

For the Friday birthday, we went to Lark on the Park.

We started with a few bottles of Prosecco before diving into our meals. I had the Wild Mushrooms House-made Pappardelle spinach, creme fraiche and Parmasan. It was so amazing. The pasta is homemade and thick. Lark also specializes in supporting local artist and has 6 huge chalkboards that feature selected artist. Every few months new artists and their work are selected, and the chalkboards are changed up. It has a very urban and modern feel to it, with relatively high prices to match. In fact, as an added bonus, the birthday girl had a piece of work up on the wall!

On Saturday the parents and the boyfriend went to Farnatchis.

Farnatchi’s is a family favorite. Whenever my parents are in downtown around dinner time, this is where they go. The place is small so there is usually just one or two fulltime waitstaff. My parents visited here so frequently that they got to know the waitress and she remembered their orders and name. The new waiter of the restaurant is also super friendly and good hearted. Which only adds to the positive experience. The food was heaven. I had the lemon chicken special and never looked back. The chicken was so tender and went delightfully well with the cabernet my parents brought. Not to mention, the family and the boyfriend got a long great- phew.

Sunday afternoon my amiga and I went to Odd Fellows in the Bishops Arts District.

When we put our names on the list, they told us it would be an hour. But a girl at one of the galleries assured us it was going to be well worth our wait. She wasn’t kidding. First off, this place is adorable. My roommate and Sarah have both raved about this place, so my expectations were high and were easily met if not exceeded! I had the eggs benedict. Oh. My. God. Luckily it was 2 PM and the only thing that was in my stomach was a 9 AM banana, so I had no problem fitting that whole plate into my tum tum (not that this is ever a problem for me if we’re being honest). The food was so amazing, that I enjoyed a fantastic food coma upon my return to my bed.

Now I am fully aware this doesn’t exactly go along with my dedication to the diet. But don’t you worry, I made up for my binges on my other meals and work outs. Who can turn down amazing food? Not this girl.

Inspiration: Ahimsa

~ Lydia ~ 2 Comments

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I had an amazing week on my mat.

At Gaia Flow they always emphasize focusing on your own practice and not looking at your neighbor and try to do their practice. To not go further than you can. To not strive to go somewhere your body isn’t ready for.

Prior to my Wonderlust 2013, I assumed this didn’t apply to me and I jumped right into their hardest level courses just as fast as I can. It’s not that I’m an overly competitive person, it’s that I saw people doing amazing poses and was just like “Yep, that. I want to do that. Now. Right now.”

But now we’re post euro trip. As I’ve said before, I had to start back in the easier classes. The more I’ve stuck with these so called “easier” classes it the more I realized how I was becoming more flexible and more graceful in moving from pose to pose. It’s been kind of an amazing thing to be a part of. I’ve really changed my outlook on my yoga strategy and am looking forward to mastering those foundational poses and improving my practice. One of the girls whom I I have yogi envy of, stated that she has been practicing for 8 years. I, on the other hand, am going on 8 months. So can I really expect to be at her level? Hell to the absolute no. But the improvements I’ve seen in my practice just make me so excited to continue my yoga journey, one downward facing dog at a time.

The other reason that my yoga week has been so amazing, is that we are working on practicing Ahimsa this week. Ahimsa is practicing nonviolence. Do no harm to yourself or to others. Or as the image above states, peace with yourself, peace with the world. If you have love for yourself, you’ll spread that love into the universe. Every class you go to the instructor may have a different perspective, anecdote or suggestion on how to bring this into your life. I believe that taking my yoga practice a little slower is just one way to practice Ahimsa, but that’s just on my mat. The beauty and the goal of Gaia Flow Yoga is what you bring from your mat to your life. So one of my instructor’s provided us with this little nugget:

If you truly love yourself, you could never hurt another.

– Buddha

I just loved this and really connected with it. Because truly, if you love yourself, you know how important happiness and love truly is. So you would never want to steal that away from someone. Whether it’s a stranger, a close friend or a family member. I think this is just amazing inspiration and a great goal for yogis and non yogis alike. I plan on bringing this into my everyday life. Although I do believe I never purposely cause pain or harm to those close to me, what about those strangers you pass on the street or the barista at your local coffee shop? I wouldn’t say I’m ever openly rude to them, but why not smile, ask how they are, and actually care about their response? In the end, they’ll feel great and you’ll feel great.  (The practice of ahimsa also might explain why yogis are just so happy and nice all the time)

All that to say, my yoga practice and my instructors at Gaia Flow were such an inspiration for me this week. Now excuse me why I go drink a gallon of water to recover from last night’s sweat fest on my mat. TMI?

Found Tiffany’s?

~ Lydia ~ Leave a comment

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The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet

– James Oppenhiem

I had a very Finding Tiffany’s moment the other day. My dad emailed me something about an impending family trip we are taking in May and referred to it as happening in “a few weeks.” I scoffed and said to myself “in a few weeks? There’s absolutely no way…”, my parents and their forgetfullness is just totes adorbs. And well, as it turns out May 11th is in fact just a few weeks out and as always, my dad was right.

Why is this moment so great? Maybe it’s all the yoga, new relationships or new work responsibilities  but I feel like I’ve been so lost in the today that I am no longer constantly waiting for what’s coming next or counting down the days to the weekend. There’s so much happening in my life right now, right this second, that time spent where I’ll be in five years seems wasted. Each day is presenting its own challenges, its own quirks, its own joys and its own sorrows. I feel I’ve been lavishing in each and every one and working each day to its fullest. Perhaps I should be planning a little more than I am (no need to remind me, Bank of America), but I’m okay with taking some time off from a plan to plan. Maybe I’m still on “Spain time” but this week I’m just continuing to focus on the here and now and loving each and every minute of it and those I choose to spend it with.

So, Tiffany’s found? Blog over? Not quite. The effort to live in the now while planning for the future will always be a juggling act. Plus, there’s always something to improve, something to strive for and something worth working towards. Which brings me to goal numero dos.

My other goal for the week is a bit more taboo in a sense and I actually considered not posting about it. I have come to the conclusion that I wish to lose weight. I’m not necessarily overweight nor chubby, in fact according to most BWI measurements I’m right smack dab in the middle. But there’s always been that extra 5-15 pounds that I just don’t think belongs on my body. So, I’ve decided to make a valiant effort for the first time in my life to make it go away. My desire to trim down has stemmed from several events. The first is Europe. I ate like a king and the walking tours simply didn’t provide me with the calorie burn I needed for all that pasta. The second is because my metabolism will actually let me shed some pounds (and with my 24th birthday rapidly approaching…) it’s only going to get harder as I get older. The fourth is well, I have several family and friend events coming up in the next few months and frankly I want to look damn good for those photo opps. And third because I want to see if I can do it.

The “I want to see if I can do it” is really my strongest motivator. Ever since New Years I’ve experimented with a multitude of tests for myself. The first was giving up all sugar, including the kind in breads, deli meat, past sauce etc. This wasn’t that difficult but mostly I found myself eating almost worse because if I found something with no sugar, but still high in calories, I decided that I deserved it. I also tested out the giving up of desserts. I tried this for a few months but when Valentine’s Day rolled around and I was on a first date, I simply couldn’t say no to a Lavender Vanilla milkshake and risk cutting the night short (which I have never regretted since the milkshake was the best dessert I’ve ever had and the guy turned out to be well worth the extra calories). And then it was just downhill from there. I enjoyed these little challenges to test my will power, something I thought was in the pits due to my escalating love of sweets. But I found that saying no was easy, and that days I ate well and put good nutrients in my body I felt amazing. Furthermore, I do not wish to be controlled by food nor cravings. I am also not a foodie nor a cook (and I can’t afford to eat out all the time), so eating to me is a means of getting energy and not being cranky, so I don’t really feel like I’m missing out on anything. A craving for chocolate simply should not result in maybe one, okay two, well maybe just four more halves, Snickers minis. I want to be able to think to myself ‘yes, I do want chocolate, but no it isn’t worth the calories or the terrible run I’ll have later.’

So for the next month or so I’m going to be eating cleaner. I have no real time table on this as I hope it will turn into an all over life change. And I just hate the word diet, as it leaves me with the bad taste of no carbs, starvation and desperation.

Plus, fruits and veggies are way more fun than buying a pair of Spanx. Now, I’ll be honest, I will be keeping some prosecco in my diet. I’m not a miracle worker here people.