Dress Up Your Life

Patience in Decorating

I’ve moved into my apartment! My roommate moved most of her stuff in and now we’re waiting on our last two roommates who happen to have almost all of the furniture for the apartment. In the meantime, I’m getting really anxious about decorating… we all are really. One roommate (with all the furniture) who has yet to move in actually asked me about how the decorating was going. Seriously. In my relatively small experience in decorating, I realize the more patience you have, the better it will look. I have this huge problem where I envision an entire room down to the last detail. So, when I go shopping I will wait up to a year for the perfect box or wall art or desk organizer… no joke. Or (maybe even worse) I’ll take the entire day driving around to my top 6: Homegoods, Marshalls, TJMaxx, Ikea, Target, & Ross (in that order nonetheless). I might be sounding a little “cray cray” as my friend would put it, but I swear it’s worth it. I have pieces in my apartment that I’ll probably keep for life because they can go with hundreds of styles and themes just by changing the color or placement. Patience is a virtue… a decorating virtue. Consider it.

Happy decorating beautiful people!

Astrology Freaks Me Out

I was watching my favorite channel—Bravo of course, and Patti was talking about astrological signs. I decided to look mine up and it freaked me out. It nailed my personality and characteristics right on the head! I got to thinking, does everyone agree with what the world has to say about their astrological sign. That’s a little weird right! Anyways, enough about my freak out.

In relation to my Aquarius imagination, I’m thoroughly enjoying my marketing internship and learning so much. It’s definitely inspiring me to pick up the blogging entries and what not (so to the few of you that follow, keep your eyes open!). I’ll leave you all with a few Aquarius inspired backyards, just because it’s terribly fun to goof around on DesignShuffle.com (You’re welcome for the free link back haha)

20 Helpful Professional Rules for Using Social Sites

This is something I had to do for an assignment, but I realize it’s actually helpful so I thought I’d post it on here.

1. Be true to who you are. Only join social network sites that make sense to what you’re trying to do. 2. Pick the right profile picture. Dress for the job you want not the job you have, and then take a picture. 3. Don’t falsify any information! Cross checking is one click away. 4. Use your best grammar. Don’t even think of abbreviating (LOL is not appropriate even on a professional social network). 5. Make your contact information visible, but don’t include too much. Usually an e-mail address will do. 6. Stay organized. Try to make your profile look like a resume. Not only does it look nice, but it immediately moves you from a social contact to a potential professional. 7. Control your friends. If friends are posting questionable things hide them, ask them to not post those kinds of things, or even remove them from your friends list. 8. Keep everything updated: your information, your picture, your status. 9. Join groups relevant to you. It will expose you to more people without appearing pushy or desperate. 10. Invite people you know who will be helpful in developing your network. 11. Post relevant topics and news stories that will catch other’s attention and draw them to your profile. 12. Comment and post on other profiles to develop relationships. You’ll seem less self-involved and that’s hard to project on these kinds of sites. 13. Follow up networking events with social network site updates. Add the people you met to your network and comment on their pages. It’s the sure-fire way to never lose a business contact. 14. Distinguish yourself by adding a personal touch. Even though it’s a professional network, it is okay to post about a recent trip you took (so long as it’s tasteful). People need to be reminded you’re a real person and have a real life, without getting too personal. 15. Reply quickly. If someone “friends” you or asks you to come to an event. Respond, even if it’s with a “maybe” at first. It shows other that you care about what you’re trying to do on these sites. 16. Be respectful and kind. It’s hard to convey emotion over the internet, but using a kind and respectful tone can take you far. 17. Offer a little something extra. Direct your followers to other sites your on and sites your interested in. Become a resource! 18. Take chances! When you get the chance, reach out to someone. Don’t be pushy, be invested and interested. It’s a great way to connect to someone that’s doing the exact thing you want to be doing, so ask them about it. 19. Help your friends and family out! The greater help you are to your friends and family with getting them set up on social networking sites, the better chance you have of opening doors to contacts you may have never gotten before. 20. Have fun with it. Social networking, to a certain extent, should be fun, and if it’s not you’re probably doing something wrong.

Can I just say…

This background is BA-NA-NAS. It’s taken me so long to find a free background that’s not boring or basic. After this and my twitter I’m starting to think I have a fetish with “wallpaper” on backgrounds. Wallpaper is a funny thing though. I always seem to think that wallpaper anywhere else other than a wall looks trendy, but as soon as you walk into a house shellacked with wallpaper, it’s outdated. Unless, of course, it’s used for texture, not redundant nasty print. Tomorrow I’ll probably feel differently I’m sure. I never knew I had such an interest in wallpaper until now.

I’m having mixed emotions…

Talk about Dressing up your walls!

<3 Liza

Goodwill and Freakin’ Cheap

Today I took a quick excursion to Goodwill. After cleaning my closet up and getting rid of some clothes I realized I needed a few more basic pieces for my closet: 1. a black sweater that’s lighter for summer, 2. a white/off-white top, and 3. a little something fun for the summer internship. I didn’t have tons of money to spend and they just opened a new Goodwill so I knew there might be a few good finds. Ten minutes into it I had a handful of stuff. Once I made sure everything fit, I was checked out and on my way. I realize now that when you go into a store like Goodwill, don’t go planning to spend hours sifting through clothes or looking for something extremely specific. Goodwill and other second hand stores are made to be visited frequently. Go a few times in a month so you know whats new to the store and what’s been stuck there for a month or two. Second, go with a color in mind, or a general idea of what kind of clothes you are looking for. The more open you are to finding things, the better off the whole experience will be. Think of it like treasure- it’s all worth something, just depends on what shines the brightest (Cheesy moment brought to you by me).

Cars and Florida

Hello design enthusiasts!

First, let me say that I never understood what a good car wash could do to a car, but my goodness my car is hot stuff. I’m getting rid of it, but for a minute there I was thinking of keeping it. Not to mention, Tuesdays are great for getting a discount on the price- totally worth it. Who says being squeaky clean isn’t tasteful and designful?

Second, after a week and a half in Florida, I realize it has it’s own flavor. Totally different than California. I spent some time in Del Rey, a beautiful little town on the Atlantic coast. Full of little shops and restaurants, it’s an artful inspiration in itself. I’m addicted to the whole nautical theme and this town only made it worse. ALSO, there was this awesome popsicle shop called “Hip Pops”…. SOOO good. I’m telling you right now it’s the next big thing in desserts (sorry Cupcakes). Icy art on a stick.

Clean, Travel, taste, get inspired people!