Life-FINAL

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.

A Nickel For Your Thoughts

~ Sarah ~ Leave a comment

read quote cs lewis

The most magical thing about writing (and reading) is that moment of perfect synchronicity, when the reader goes “YES, me too!” I have this moment of understanding and connectivity with books and other bloggers (unbeknownst to them) often, and it is exactly that which has always motivated me to write as well. I can only hope that somebody stumbles across something I write and is encouraged, excited or if nothing else, left with a little more feeling of belonging than they had before. So it is with this hope that I broach a topic that has been weighing on me a lot lately.

I think I can speak on Lydia’s behalf when I say that healthiness is an important part in Finding Tiffany’s for us. When you feel 100% you’re better equipped to go out in the world and live life to the fullest. Whether through yoga, running, eating less sugar or finally making it to some doctor appointments, we’re always looking for ways to incorporate more of a healthy lifestyle.

health quote

So…what happens when everything you thought was eating healthily turns out to be actually slowly diminishing your immune system?

I found out this week I’m allergic to nickel, among other things. I’m afraid I’ve grown pretty boring since then, since all I’ve done ever since is research what this means and what I can do about it (Did you now 15% of the population have some sort of nickel allergy?? See, full of fun facts). You see, nickel is in basically everything. Keys, jewelry, zippers, buckles, metal buttons, pens, paper clips, cooking utensils and pans, door knobs, hangers…It’s also in food: wheat, ALL vegetables (including my favorites, spinach and mushrooms), nuts, soy, oatmeal, tuna and beans. And of course my favorites: wine (only red, thank God), chocolate and beer.

I can’t tell you how confusing it has been to retrain my brain these past couple of days. Everything I eat (and enjoy) on a daily basis that filled me with pride for taking care of my body (minus the chocolate and alcohol) was actually building up against my immune system the whole time. Huh.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because I do firmly believe that having a healthy body is paramount to living a happy, fulfilled life. Because I believe that there ARE answers out there, no matter how many times you have to visit doctors who make you feel like a crazy hypochondriac. Because I want you to know that other people know whatever it is you’re going through, whether it’s people on our blog, another blog or a random message board. And hopefully, knowing that gives you some comfort. Helps you feel understood and accepted. Makes you feel at home, wherever you are, however you are.

heart sky

As my friend told me this week, after I kinda thought I was going to be murdered while using the sketchiest bathroom of my life in an otherwise fun, quirky place (Lee Harvey’s) only to look up and see someone else had already hit my feelings spot on with the words scrawled on the bathroom wall, “This bathroom is f****** creepy as s***”…..

….Life is all about the shared human experience.

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

 

Friends for Life

~ Sarah ~ 1 Comment

brunch in McKinneyMcKinney vintage shopMcKinney Vintage Shop BookMcKinney boutiquedowntown McKinney buildingMcKinney Boutique WindowMcKinney Marketdowntown McKinney

A good friend is a connection to life – a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world.  ~ Lois Wyse

I spent a slow-paced Sunday with a friend in downtown McKinney, an adorable area that looks like it belongs in a movie about a charming small town. Couples walked hand in hand, kids rode by on bicycles laughing as the wind blew in their hair. Literally. I thought I should probably take some pictures to prove it, but turning the camera on strangers made me feel a little on the creeper side. So you’ll just have to take my word for it.

I’ve been down there (or up there, rather, as it’s about 35 minutes north of Dallas) before for the occasional wedding or client meeting, but this was the first time I finally had time to explore. After stuffing ourselves with mimosas, caffeine, eggs benedict and deep conversation, we wandered into one vintage treasure shop after another.

Our afternoon reminded me how much I have to be thankful for…Some people just make your soul richer, and this girl is definitely one of those. We’ve both come a long way personally, romantically and professionally since we first met one year ago. Sometimes seeing that growth in others is easier than seeing it in yourself, and having friends to witness that growth in (and remind you of your own) is a beautiful thing! This week I’m making an effort to hold on to that encouragement and reach out to some friends I’ve been meaning to connect with. I even picked up some cute notecards at one of the shops to help me get started.

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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.

Just Dance

~ Sarah ~ 1 Comment

Is this video not the best thing you’ve seen all day and possibly ever? Maybe you’re needing a little encouragement today (like me). Maybe you’re needing a little life-spiration to make something of your lazy Saturday…or get through your busy weekend. Maybe you just like to smile, laugh and/or dance (in which case you should probably watch some more Kid President videos).

In the words of Kid President (and Kevin Bacon/Kenny Wormald), this is our time! What do you want to do with it?

For me this question has a somewhat illusive, always evolving answer. The consistencies in that answer include spending quality time with people and learning. Learning about life, health, being a better person, other cultures, audio/visual skills. I’ve always been more of a planner and dreamer though, so I am constantly appreciative for friendly reminders about the action part of things. Writing this blog, this video and friends like co-Tiffany’s blogger Lydia (whose enviable talent is making things happen) all help hold me accountable.

All of Kid President’s videos are really great about bringing their big ideas down to an actionable level. His platform is all about dancing – both literally and figuratively. Helping people, helping yourself and making the world a better place are all ways to “dance”.

Kid President website

So. How are you going to dance this weekend? I’m getting organized financially and work-wise with a budget and long overdue inbox cleaning. I also have plans to brunch with a friend and help another strategize for her business.

I’ll leave you with what is clearly the most important question from this whole deal: “What would have happened if Michael Jordan had quit?” He wouldn’t have made Space Jam. And then where would we be?

Inspiration: All The Little Things

~ Sarah ~ Leave a comment

inspiration motivational quotes

On Finding Tiffany’s, we talk a lot about realizing goals and exploring life, but we’re only telling half the story if we don’t spend some time talking about all the things that help us get there. Inspiration is contagious and can come from anywhere. Starting this week we’ll be bringing you more about all the things that inspire us…pictures, quotes, links, random details from daily life.

This week has just been one of those weeks where inspiration has been a little harder to appreciate and hold on to…between not enough sleep and some pesky health issues, the below have been even more valuable for my sanity!

kitchen art
Italian kitchen art from Etsy that will be hanging in my kitchen: “If you want to live long, you have to eat, drink and sleep” and an Italian idiom that essentially means “At the table with friends and family, one does not grow old.”
The weather this week has been California-worthy. Driving with the windows down in the 65 degree weather instantly brightens my mood.
The weather this week has been California-worthy. Driving with the windows down in the 65 degree weather instantly brightens my mood.
Truth. If you've ever been sick (and it seems like everyone is these days) you know it, too. I've been inspired to take charge this week: revamping my diet (no sugar, lots of green tea, vegetables and protein) and finally meeting with some doctors.
Truth. If you’ve ever been sick (and it seems like everyone is these days) you know it, too. I’ve been inspired to take charge this week: revamping my diet (no sugar, lots of green tea, vegetables and protein) and finally meeting with some doctors.

Adventures in Photography

~ Sarah ~ Leave a comment

apartment decor photography christmas loft party

It might be mid-January and 65 degrees in Dallas, but it’s never too late for a little holiday reminiscing, right? After announcing in November I was in the market for a DSLR and doing some extensive research (read: asking any random person I could catch in the act of taking a picture what camera they had) I finally settled on a Canon Rebel T3i. My dream camera came just in time to capture the loft’s holiday touches and what is hopefully the first of many evenings hosting friends.

So far my tricks mostly just include playing with the aperture/depth of field – the fancy way of saying changing the focus from foreground to background (yes, I did just have to google it to be sure). I’m also going through a serious black and white picture phase. Even with my standard lenses and complete lack of knowledge, the image quality has so much more depth and detail than any camera I’ve used before.

I’m really excited about the prospect of picking up a new skill to learn all about. I’ve always been drawn to photography as an art form and envied people who could create and capture such beautiful details and moments. Photography to me is about exercising thoughtfulness and taking time to appreciate the deceivingly ordinary.

Hopefully that can one day be me! In the meantime, thank you in advance for bearing with me…

Gaia Flow Yoga

~ Lydia ~ Leave a comment

FcDeApGJ109 namastenamaste2

About two months ago I started yoga at Gaia Flow Yoga, a hot yoga studio in Addison. It’s been quite the amazing journey thus far. At Gaia, they practice with love. This means that we occasionally turn to our neighbors and say “I love you”..which really can feel a little ridiculous at times. But yoga is all about letting go, and letting go of feeling silly is certainly one of them. We are also taught to act with love and kindness, and to love ourselves. Love where you are today in your practice and love where it will take you tomorrow. When you walk into the room, you let everything go. To be distracted by work, friends or anything else is taking away from your practice. Each class is a gift you are giving yourself, and you should enjoy that gift. And it’s so unbelievably true. When I leave any of the five classes, I feel fantastic.

The overall point of practicing love is that the things you practice on your mat are to transcend into your day to day life. Every week there is something new for you to focus on during your practice and during your week, called Sadhanas (yamas or niyamas). For instance, one week was to not be greedy,  called Aparigraha. Each class I went to that week, the different instructor had a different interpretation as to how to practice it that week. It went beyond the typical money greed, and into bigger things. Perhaps to you it meant greedy with your time when you should be spending time cultivating your friendships and family relationships. Speaking of the instructors, they are all amazing and lovely people to be around. Really, everyone who attends the classes are in general, happy and nice people. But I mean, I guess we are all yogis, so how unhappy could we possibly be?

We are also a sweaty bunch. And I mean sweat – y. Oh my lanta. You leave completely drenched and your body begging for a nap. As I begin dipping my toe into more difficult classes, I am learning how weak I actually am. I’ve always had what I oh so affectionally refer to as “man arms” but despite the proud biceps and triceps definition I have gained from doing weights all year, those suckers aren’t getting me into a handstand. It’s all new muscles being worked, toned and pushed to their sweaty physical limit.

Practicing yoga has also had other affects on me outside the Gaia Flow room. I am even more interested than before in learning about other religions. Often when the yoga instructors mention a God they say “your god or my god.” I find this fascinating as it pulls religion into your practice without constricting your beliefs. I also find myself taking deep breathes when I get stressed, overwhelmed or upset. Taking a few breathes, remembering my practice, have taken helped ease stress in my day-to-day life. Another take away from Gaia Flow is they always say when we start warming up to notice the slight pains, any tightness or anything else out of the ordinary. Notice it and accept it. And then breathe into it. To not get frustrated with things you cannot change is huge for me. To not get frustrated but continue striving for more. I have also improved my diet since kicking up my yoga practice. You develop a natural desire to treat your body better (and being around super yogis twisting in all directions is definitely encouragement).

I suppose yoga isn’t for everyone, but I bet you’d be an easy convert. An activity that is physically challenging, emotionally enlightening and full of awesome people? No elliptical can quite give you that satisfaction in your workout and in your life. Well, now I must be off to my weekend warrior class to be impressed by those pretzels around me and to hopefully finally get into a headstand!

The divine light in me sees the divine light in you. All my love, namaste.

(see? I’m practically a natural.. okay so maybe I’m still mastering that downward facing dog..but no matter)

Images (1, 2, 3)

Looking Ahead

~ Sarah ~ 2 Comments

New Year Quote

happy-new-year-cupcake

 

I’ve never been one for New Year’s resolutions, but clearly we’re goal driven people around Finding Tiffany’s. I do believe in striving to my best self every day, and I’m excited to continue learning and growing in the year ahead. The new year holds exciting opportunities at work, plenty of occasions in the works to play hostess for people I care about and travel sights set on D.C. and Chicago.

2012 was the year of…

Career. I launched my first blog and received two job offers to start my first “real” job.

Travel. New York City, Austin (twice), Atlanta, Fayetteville, Boston, Norman (three times) and New Mexico.

Community. A best friend moved back, I met two roommates, bonded with coworkers, joined a bible study with 20 amazing women and reconnected with some old friends in the area.

Independence. My own apartment, a new car and bills…all paid by yours truly.

2013 will focus on…

Health. Commit to yoga, run, eat (way) less sugar and finally follow through on some long-postponed healthcare appointments.

Relationships. Practice intentionality by actually responding to Facebook messages and in a timely manner, remembering birthdays and embracing snail mail for cards and notes.

Creativity. Learn photography with my new DSLR, dedicate more time to watching documentaries and independent film again and continue writing and blogging.

 

What do you think about resolutions? Have you set any goals or themes for the new year?