Author: Lydia

Status quo

~ Lydia ~ Leave a comment

2675ebbe8222bbedddd9c4778bb80458 88349d98c2181c1b6a725236898b5de1

Every third Thursday, myself and all my coworkers pick a place and enjoy a good happy hour full of laughs and Blue Moons in the warm Texas sun – on the company card [the best kind of happy hours!]. Literally heaven. We have a new graphic designer and she started asking our Creative Director about his past life experiences. And let me tell ya, he’s lived quite the life. Home schooled, graduated at 14, had his first paying design gig at 15, trained horses, became a solid DJ, owned a record store and at the ripe age of 28 is second in command at our agency. He’s the kind of person that makes you feel like your experience in a public school system, in a suburban bubble, and going off to a state college is completely inadequate. 

I’ve been having this thought for quite some time now. I feel like growing up in suburbia trains your mind to think in a certain way. I never challenged the status quo, didn’t question authority, and was completely content playing [and kicking some major bootay *humble brag*] in tennis and eating at Chili’s. I dressed to try to fit in and gain the acceptance of my peers. And then I went to college because that is what you’re supposed to do after high school. College taught me how to memorize a text book, why joining a sorority is the best thing for your social ife, and what major I should choose if I actually wanted to get a job after graduation, whether you’d really enjoy it or not.

Now lucky for me, I’m terrible at memorizing text books, couldn’t really afford a sorority/wasn’t completely sold on the idea of sharing a house with a few hundred girls, and chose a career that I would do even if money wasn’t a concern. At the same time, dressing like everyone else, loving High School Musical (guilty as charged), attending a few date parties and going to a big state school is what made me happy at the time. Maybe this is all part of being in your 20’s (at least I hope I’m not alone on this), but I want nothing more than to throw the status quo and normal out the window. Have my own opinions that aren’t swayed by those around me. Even now when I want to do something, have an opinion, or date someone, a little voice in the back of my head says “what will everyone think? what will they think about me?” My question is, how do you shut that voice up?

Because sure, maybe I didn’t always choose the path less taken, but is there anything wrong with the more worn path? In the end after all, it brought me to today. I’ve had a fantastic weekend filled with laughter and pure happiness, so is there really anything wrong with that? Because truly, I loved college football, I think Justin Timberlake and I would make a great couple, guys simply look good in Polo button downs and I happen to love blasting Taylor Swift in my car. But I also genuinely dislike most major brand names, am a complete book and art nerd, relish quiet and alone time on a Friday night and tend to enjoy a weird variety of tunes from americana, jazz and African tribal music.

Perhaps the important thing is to take a moment and look at your options or opinions. Ask yourself, do I really like this? Is this actually me? And to be honest, I’m not really sure on this one. I’m still figuring it all out which is probably obvious by the heavy use of question marks in the post. But hey, what else are your 20’s for?

Less lazy, more crazy

~ Lydia ~ Leave a comment

tulips4 tulip1 tulip2 tulip3

I had a ridiculous lazy time last week and like Sarah, finished an entire box of Mac ‘n Cheese all on my own. In my defense, it was Annie’s – practically healthy right?

Win at phone tag. While blissfully signing my adorable Valentines last week, I realized that several of these long distance friendships that I cherish hadn’t been receiving much TLC as of late. I’m not much of a phone talker. And the fact that my iPhone is on the fritz and the screen doesn’t lock when I hold it up to my cheek certainly isn’t doing me any favors. I prefer to do all my phone catch ups while I’m driving (dangerous) or walking my dog (windy). I absolutely hate talking on the phone in my apartment, unable to accomplish anything else on my to do list. This week I need to just get over it. Good friends are hard to find and hard to keep if you don’t make a valiant effort to reach out. So get ready AT&T, I’m actually going to use all those minutes you give me.

Read, dangit. Like Sarah, I have a book that’s been hanging over my head for months. With several books in the pipeline, I need to hunker down and actually read the thing. I mean, it’s a great book! But I so easily get distracted by emails, blogs and Gawker (guilty pleasure) that by the time my head hits that pillow, it’s lights out for me.

Speaking of lights out. Last week I put myself through a terrible sleep cycle with going to bed after midnight and waking up between 4 and 5 AM. Luckily, I love coffee and will take an excuse to drink more of it, but I know this isn’t good for my mental or physical health. Plus, I was so pooped by Friday night I stayed in with just The Avengers and my pup (oh, and my mac and cheese). So this week I want to work on getting in bed at a reasonable hour. Hopefully this will play into the reading goal as well!

Make it into a headstand. As you may or may not know, I’m a yoga addict. They have me hooked. And I am SO close to being able to get that handstand! All I can really do is try my absolute hardest and practice focus. I also plan on staying super hydrated all week in preparation for Saturday’s workshop class where I get to do some handstand practice. Wish me luck!

The tulips featured above, by the way, have absolutely nothing to do with this post. In the community I live in though, the city is planting them EVERYWHERE and I am loving it! They’re so cute how they open during the day, face towards the sun, and close up at night. The added array of colors is like a real live rainbow everyday of the week. I just can’t get over them!

A clean home is a happy home (and a happy Lydia)

~ Lydia ~ Leave a comment

2da52368ded3726f1f06188d8803980d 77ce041312b6604eb83122d5ee107e0a 6043450953e961b76b63dfc51bf98d35

I’m ordinarily a pretty neat person – with the exception of the clothing tornado that happens each and every morning I get dressed. I like to have a place for everything and consider organizing a great hobby. When my room is a mess, I feel like a mess.

Yet apparently when my roommate goes out of town for the weekend, I become a 13 year old boy with no care for seeing the floor of my room. So I spent the first half of the weekend making a huge mess for myself. That macaroni and cheese pot from Friday night that I regrettably finished all on my own? Feel free to soak till Saturday when I muster up the energy and courage to tackle you. The living room became both my closet and kitchen. Consequently the second half of the weekend I spent cleaning. I came home on Sunday morning [feeling a little rough from too much fun on Saturday night] and couldn’t believe the mess I had created. A few hours of elbow grease later, my apartment now has the oh so sweet aroma of bleach and Windex. Not that this did much to help my headache, but the clean smell is delicious nonetheless. My clothes are back on their hangers and sanity is back in my head.

It’s amazing what organized surroundings can do to change your attitude on well, everything. It energizes you, makes your hair less frizzy and I’m pretty sure I lost weight – okay, maybe that’s excessive. But it really does play so much into how I feel. This whole week has just felt kind of messy. As a result, my dog had shortened walks and my Finding Tiffanys blog posts were lacking. I feel that clean surroundings are part of my 2013 vow to live and eat healthier. Furthermore, when my the items in my life are in place and organized, it’s setting the stage for me to live. And not spend 30 minutes looking for my keys.

I would also like to add on a completely different note, that this weekend I found the jeans. The jeans I’ve been looking for since 1989. Skinny jeans that don’t make me look like a Jonas Brother,  fit around the waist, and are comfortable enough to sit criss cross at work. Thank you Urban Outfitters and your $39 BDG Jean sale, you made this jean seeker incredibly happy.

New York City Where All the Girls are Pretty

~ Lydia ~ Leave a comment

It seems Sarah and I have switched motivation levels. Mine is quite low this week. I couldn’t even get enthused over a solid Co. Design email newsletter. Furthermore it’s raining today, and with every drop that falls, my energy falls with it. But we can’t be super energetic and productive all the time can we? I don’t know if I can afford that much coffee..The only concern I have about this is that I have no idea what I’m going to do for my “1 Second Everyday” videos this week..there are sure to be a lot of boring (to everyone but me) reading shots. Anyhoo, instead I’d like to give you a nice pretty tune that I have on repeat today. Is it helping me get motivated? Not in the least. Is it beautiful and do I love singing it loud in my car? Absolutely. Enjoy.

We’ll – correction – I’ll always have Paris.

~ Lydia ~ 5 Comments

8124506761_e7591c7e8f_b paris2 paris3 paris4

I don’t want to brag, but I had a pretty fantastic weekend. I hung out with three great friends and met so many new and amazing people. I kicked some serious bootay in Jumbo Jenga (but in girls vs boys, girls always win, am I right?), watched a terribly awkward comedy show that at the very least provided for a good story, and brunched with a group of great girls courtesy of fellow Tiffanys blogger Sarah Drew. My motto to just say “Yes, I’d love to!” was definitely exercised to the fullest. It might be the lack of sleep, but all that socializing has this introvert completely worn out. I digress.

In about a month and a half I will be taking a bit of a tour of Europe. I’m headed to Paris, Sevilla, Rome, Prague and Berlin. I’ve never been out of the country, so to say I am excited is likely the understatement of the decade. But due to a few unavoidable obstacles, it appears I will be exploring Paris solo.

At first, I was totally freaked. I mean, I’ve seen Taken, ya’ll. Plus, Paris is the romance capital of the world. As a single 20-something, looking up at the eiffel tower, surrounded by couples in love, with no beau waiting for me back home, sounded mildly depressing. I saw Paris at Midnight. What if I get transported back to the 1920’s? Actually.. that part I wouldn’t mind.

Lucky for me, the first two friends I consulted are super independent and well traveled women. They assured me it wouldn’t be as bad or as scary as I imagined. I’ve been instructed to study up on Rick Steve’s travel guides, carry my journal with me and keep a good book on hand. After a week of digesting the new version of my trip, I am actually really excited to explore Paris by myself. I can choose whatever I want to do each day and spend however long I choose doing it. True to geeky nature, I’ll be a Paris history expert in no time.

Although I would love to be joined in Paris with friends so we can gush about the trip for years to come, I think I’ll get something different out of traveling solo. The rest of my travels I’ll be accompanied by two other great friends, but Paris is all mine. It will be such an exciting adventure!

So, mom, dad, brother and several concerned friends, if you’re reading this….. ne vous inquiétez pas. 

Yep, I Google translated that – like a boss.

Inspiration: Creative Folk

~ Lydia ~ Leave a comment

379221_4351317231612_1899099777_n Erik-Marinovich-FoT-Coolifornia-1250x781 FoT-EM-Gigantic-03-1250x1170 FoT-JHughes-FBDO-x-FoT-Etsy-1250x1870

This week I was inspired by three powerfully creative people, and it is totally worth waiting for this page to load with all its images and videos to make your day too.

Like Sarah in her in Media High + Finding freedom post, I was also inspired by some industry genius. This week was another installment of DSVC [Dallas Society of Visual Communication] meeting. Now, folks, I am not a designer. But I love learning from designers about communication, as it all plays into my passion for branding. (I also happen to secretly wish I had the natural inspiration for the perspiration it takes to be an artist and/or designer, but I digress). Our speaker this week was Erik Marinovich, a letterer and designer. Aside from his amazing talent, what I also found interesting about Erik was his initial career path. When he graduated he couldn’t get a job or internship (preach it). So he took to following in his father’s footsteps and taking over the brick laying business and had completely let go the idea of being a designer. Until his girlfriend, later turned wife, told him she was selling all her things and moving to NYC. He could either do the same, or she was breaking up with him. So he went. He took an internship, worked till 6 AM most nights, had some amazing mentors, and went on to becoming this amazing letterer. I think all young career driven people love hearing these stories, the ones that sound like theirs. It gives us confidence that if we do continue to work hard, we will succeed. And the fact that no one would hire us straight out of college, has no bearing on our lifetime success. I think I speak for Sarah and I when I say that we both had a rougher time than expected finding positions in our industry, and it was such an initial blow to our confidence and determination. We, as a 20-something, often struggle with the idea of why am I not there yet. Or at least, I do. To survive, we need mentors and role models like Erik to tell us to calm the freak down. Erik also reminisced about his time interning as a time of learning and great inspiration, he was young and still finding his way. Erik reminded me to work hard, work smart and stay passionate. In his presentation he instructed us to follow up on an idea. If you have a good one, go for it. Worst case scenario, it won’t work out, and life goes on. Erik was incredibly relate-able and truly put some fire under my feet this week at work.

Also, a quick note on the images above. They are from a site that Erik and Aaron Carámbula started one night a few years back around 4 AM via iChat, called FriendsofType.com. It’s awesome and you will no doubt get stuck clicking through the pages for a few hours. So be sure to only visit the site when you have at least 10 minutes to spare. Kidding, kinda. The wood one featured above was actually painstakingly carved into wood. Talk about dedication to a craft.

The following two videos are other nuggets of inspiration for me this week. I’m going through a Beethoven phase and believe everyone should be in on it too. It also happens to be fantastic work music. The other is poem by the Austin-based poet, Anis Mojgani, that a friend posted on my Facebook page. I love his message and the almost rap-like style of presentation. I haven’t had a real opportunity to explore his work further, but it is certainly on my list.

Have a great weekend everyone!


 

All work and no play, but there are monkey valentines so who cares.

~ Lydia ~ Leave a comment

ParisTraveler_Drinks_pinupPicture 11 666c7b94ee5c9f8c475df3dddcdd0108Welp. It’s going to be another busy week! Luckily, this time I woke up right on time at 5 AM to get it started right – phew.

Work in and of itself is going to be pretty stressful this week, but in a particularly good way. I am a freak who actually enjoys having to go to work early to get a head start on the day when there’s a lot to do. Especially when I am having the opportunity to work on projects I’m really interested and invested in.

There’s also a kitchen to be cleaned, laundry to be folded and a car’s interior that is desperate for some TLC. But those will just have to wait. My real goal this week is to catch up on the newsletters that have filled my inbox over the last two weeks. There literally is not enough time in the day to do all the reading I would like to.

Plus, I purchased the most adorable Valentine’s Day Cards at World Market [featured above.] I mean come on. Pop up monkeys? It could only get better if they were sloths. Ever since I moved into a new apartment, I have been single handedly keeping the USPS in business with congratulations cards, Christmas cards, change of address cards, just saying hello cards, and more cards cards cards. I would love to get these suckers written, licked and stamped this week to get it off my plate. The longer I keep them, the more attached I become. And although a single girl sending herself flowers is perfectly acceptable, I have a slight feeling sending myself a popup monkey might keep me singing “All the Single Ladies” a bit longer.

I am also finalizing Euro Trip 2013 this week! My plane ticket is purchased, passport application submitted, but the flights and trains between countries are TBD. I can’t wait for this adventure! It’s costing me an arm and leg, but I think it is upholding my New Year’s Resolution to spend less on things and more on experiences quite nicely. 🙂

Have a great week! If you’re having anything like the weather we’re having in Dallas, it’ll be hard not to.

 

Stewpot

~ Lydia ~ Leave a comment

stewpotsign

Aside from my weekend routine of dog parks, yoga, and a cappuccino addiction, I really only have one interesting thing to share from this weekend.

A few months ago I read about an organization called The Stewpot. They were featured in an article by the Dallas Observer showcasing their art show they recently had at the Dallas Library. The Stewpot is an organization dedicated to helping the Dallas homeless get back on their feet, and art classes are just part of that. What was so beautiful about this art show was the unexpected (or should it be expected?) talent among the group. The Dallas Observer blogger, Betsy Lewis, described her reaction to one artist in particular’s wall of art work, Charles Williams:

Then I arrived at a wall full of work by an artist named Charles William

I kept saying, out loud, to no one in the room, “holy shit” and “Jesus” and, again, “holy shit.” I even wrote down “holy shit” in case I might forget it later. I know nothing about this person but I know he has mastered, MASTERED, Cubism.

Charles William Faciall Velietta Dickens RogersAs an obsessor of all that is creativity, this obviously caught my attention. I read on to discover that The Stewpot offers services such as helping individuals apply for social security checks, obtain birth certificates, and overall guidance to help acclimate their ‘clients’ to a new job and living on their own.

Around the same time I stumbled across the article, I had been feeling pretty selfish. My mind constantly revolves around where I’ll go next in my career, how I am going to afford Europe in a few months, and where the next coffee shop is opening up in Dallas. Me, me, me, me. I used to enjoy this. As a single 20 something, this is the time in my life I am allowed to be pretty selfish. But I wasn’t sure if I was giving proper thanks to where I was and what I had. If I was always looking to what’s next, how am I supposed to make sure I am appreciative of the today?

All that to say I was compelled to sign up to volunteer. Unforunately, apparantly everyone has these same thoughts around the holiday season so they were pretty booked for weekends through January. So I had to book pretty far in advance, but finally the weekend arrived!

Initially, I was kinda freaked. When I got there there were a bunch of ‘clients’ walking around and I  had no idea where I was going and it was still dark outside. I couldn’t help but entertain the idea of getting back in my car to my warm, cozy and inviting bed. Luckily a fellow lost volunteer found me and together we navigated the unfamiliar “bad part of Dallas” to find where we were supposed to be. After a brief orientation, I was assigned the task of walking around and filling up water cups with a pitcher. Frankly, I was nervous. I don’t think this is unusual. I had no idea what types of personalities I was about to encounter. Plus, I was nervous I would spill the water – waitressing was never exactly my forté.

In the end, I had a great time. While walking around filling water, I chatted with many of the clients and found so many of them to be warm, kind and genuinely good people. The volunteers were no different. They were engaging, fun, and again, genuinely good people. The place where the meals were served was called “The Bridge.” It felt like a campus. They had one huge hall for sleeping, a library, computer lab, showers and lockers. In my opinion, by Stewpot respecting and keeping “The Bridge” clean, their clients have equal respect for the place they call home and those that make it possible.

The best thing that Stewpot is able to provide this group is a feeling of community and safety. The provide it, and they do a great job.

For more information on Stewpot and how you can get involved, check out TheStewpot.org.

xo L

1 Second Everyday

~ Lydia ~ 1 Comment

Clockbangs succulent

I woke up late this passed Monday. Two hours late. There is nothing worse than starting the day cursing at the world. But, it turns out, I can easily get ready for work and walk my dog in 40 quick minutes. I’m actually a little impressed with myself. But I adore my mornings. I wake up, make a cappuccino and lazily start getting ready for the day with a little Colbert Report. I sneak in a few of my favorite blogs and trade articles, and am fully alert, awake, ready for the day by the time the sun comes up. Not to mention, this is kind of a busy week. So to make it worse, I woke up late to a big week. I am still confused as to what happened between me setting all of my alarms and me racing around to get ready. As a result of this happening far too many times, I’ve lost all faith in my iPhone alarm and purchased an alarm clock. Frankly, I am just relieved stores still sell them. So now I have an old school (but not in a cute way) alarm clock shining its “Time to wake up!” from across the room, forcing me to get my lazy butt out of bed! I am pretty excited. I got up 15 minutes before my 6 AM alarm clock and was so inspired that I even arrived to work super early.

Luckily, I’ve found a much better use for my iPhone. About a month ago I learned about Cesar Kuriyama, a man who took a year off of his life to travel the world. In this year, he recorded one second of everyday. At the end of the year, he compiled the clips to form a 365 second recap of his last year. He plans on continuing this plan for essentially the rest of his life. How awesome is that? So when he’s 85, he’ll have these fantastic video clips of every day for the last 55 years! He says his goal and purpose is to not forget a single day of his life and to make sure that everyday he is doing something video worthy.

1 Second Everyday – Age 30 from Cesar Kuriyama on Vimeo.

And now, thanks to Kickstarter, he has created an app so you can create your own video compilation masterpiece for just $.99! Which brings me to this week’s goal. I have a pretty busy week with meetings all around DFW, appointments, sticking to a work out routine and volunteering. So I hope to take the time to start this one second a day adventure. My biggest challenge will be finding something to record. Clips of my running or rushing to yoga class are going to get old pprettyyy quickly. But it is worth the challenge. It’s so simple to do! And very Finding Tiffanys.

1 second

 

On the path

~ Lydia ~ Leave a comment

My roommate and I, over homemade cappuccinos and freshly baked muffins on Saturday morning, had a brief discussion on our conflicted feelings about our career paths. Depending on our mood, time of the month and amount of caffeine we’ve had, our perspective about our place on our career path changes. There are two basic attitudes we have. The first is the good days. When we are like, I love being young! Being in your early 20’s is aw-some because we can really direct our career path wherever we choose and finding this path is exhilarating and exactly what we daydreamed about in our boring university courses. We are putting one foot in front of another, excited to see where we land.

lifeled

The other is when we aren’t eating desserts to shed some pounds, had an exhausting day and the dog is acting up. It’s when we feel so stressed and tired just thinking about the next years in our career. We have a desire to move around and work hard, yet we are still working to prove to everyone that we are capable. We get frustrated and ask, “Why am I not there yet?” Keep in mind we are both 23, a fresh 2 years out of college and both realized our career passions later in our college life. Our mentors, parents and bosses all say that we will have an enticing path ahead of us, but on these particular days we don’t buy it. We get frustrated not knowing exactly what it is we want to do. We’ve narrowed it down to an industry, shouldn’t that be enough? What if we take a wrong job, in the wrong city for the wrong company and completely ruin our chance to be something great and realize our full potential. What if…we fail.

uncertainty

On this particular, caffeinated morning at Ascension Coffee I am feeling the first. Despite my dog being mauled by a pit bull on an early run, the depressing look at my bank account after purchasing my ticket to Europe (can I even really complain about that?) and the grotesque burn on my chin from my curling iron, I am feeling optimistic. Tomorrow might be another story (it will be a Monday after all), so I thought I should take note of this optimism and positive energy so that maybe when I’m feeling a little down I can look back. And hopefully think to myself, “I was so right yesterday.” I can choose to revel in the uncertainty of my future, take a nice long sip of my coffee and continue to daydream, work hard and set goals.

First and second image  both found on Pinterest.