Currently Obsessed: 5 Things

A few things I'm swooning over this week...

1.) Emily Henderson's patio makeover:

Do you follow Emily on insta?  I've never met her but I've got quite a girl crush from watching her stories.  Home girl keeps it real with all her followers.  She might have a design empire at this point, but she never hesitates to level with her audience and share how hard the hustle can be, especially with two young kids- and I really dig that.

2.) The Rules Do Not Apply by Ariel Levy

I bought this book on my iPhone and have been reading it on subway rides, before I go to bed, while waiting in line at lunch, and any other time I have idle minutes to spare.  Author Ariel Levy is a staff writer for The New Yorker and recently published her memoir, The Rules Do Not Apply.  The book chronicles a period of her life in which she experienced significant losses- both the loss of a marriage and of an expected child.  Ariel's writing is so beautifully raw that I've found myself absolutely mesmerized by her stories. You can read more about the book in this New York Times article.

{Ariel Levy}

3.) How to Murder Your Life by Cat Marnell

Another memoir that captured all my attention for the 3 days I read it is Cat Marnell's How to Murder Your Life.  Cat, at the age of 26, was the beauty editor at now-defunct Lucky magazine and lived a seemingly glamorous life.  However, behind the scenes, she was struggling with a prescription drug addiction and doctor shopping all over Manhattan.  Cat shares her years of balancing a life in the beauty industry with the self-destruction and sabotage she was going through behind the scenes.  Although the subject matter is very dark, Cat's writing is witty, candid, and often hilarious as she takes us through the privilege and destruction that painted her teens and 20s.

{Cat Marnell}

4.) This quote is everything to me right now:

5.) Loving the St. Frank pop-up shop in East Hampton.  If you go out east this summer, be sure you stop in and check it out.  While there I had to walk away with this keychain. It's full of gorgeousness:

Shop pillows here.

Shop their framed textiles here.

Shop juju hats here.

Have a great Wednesday!

XOXO,

Sam

Chick Lit: 6 Books I'm Loving Right Now

Reviewing the last 4 books I've read, they all center around one common theme:  women!  While I've always been an unabashed feminist, I'd like to think I'm a little too dignified to be grouped in with the easy reading, skim-the-surface chick lit crew.  I'm most drawn to non-fiction, specifically biographies and memoirs, because they allow me to jump in to someone else's brain for a bit and see what life looks like from their vantage point.   So today, I am sharing 6 books I've read/am reading/plan to read soon that are based on an individual's life and work and what they learned along the way. 

1.) The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo $28/2.) You'll Grow Out of It $17.57/3.) Wildflower by Drew Barrymore $9.75/4.) Lab Girl $26.95/5.) Milk and Honey $8.99/6.) Slim Aarons: Women $51.97

1.) The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer

I started reading Amy's book last week on the plane home to OKC and love the stream-of-consciousness writing style.   Reading her cringe-worthy (but completely relatable) coming of age tales is both enjoyable an enlightening- 

2.) You'll Grow Out of It by Jessi Klein

Comedian Jessi Klein wrote this book in a similar manner as Amy Schumer- sharing hilarious stories of an awkward adolescence and the odd experience of developing in to a modern, 21st century woman.  She throws in splashes of wisdom, as well-

Amen, sistah. 

3.) Lab Girl by Hope Jahren

One of my former professors shared this title with me and I can't wait to dive in to the story. Lab Girl is about the life and work of scientist Hope Jahren, who has built 3 laboratories over the years where she studies the life of seeds, flowers, trees, and soil. The book also touches on the relationships she's formed over the years and the incredible experiences she's encountered living the life of a female scientist. 

4.) Wildflower by Drew Barrymore

My old boss Amanda gave me this book and I treasured reading every bit of it.  I've always liked Drew Barrymore but I've never been any sort of super fan.  Still, like most people, I am intrigued by her childhood and her sudden rise to fame and all the drama that came along with that new Hollywood life.  I was surprised to find that many of the chapters made me tear up because of the purity and honesty in her writing.  You truly feel that Drew is baring her soul in this book, and I loved hearing how she'd made peace with all the pain and hardship she's experienced.  I also loved reading about her memories of being on various movie sets throughout the years.

5.)  Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

I always look up Rupi's instagram when I'm feeling wistful, or nostalgic, or pensive, or angry...  and can't seem to adequately describe the specific feeling with my own words.   Scrolling through her beautifully written essays and quotes always touch me in some unique way.  Rupi put together a collection of her writings in her new book, Milk and Honey, and I think it's a must-buy.  I'm waiting for my copy to arrive now.

6.) Slim Aarons: Women 

As an avid Slim Aarons fan (two of his photographs currently hang in my bedroom), I was thrilled to see author Laura Hawk released a new coffee table book chock full of Slim's best female photographs.  Many of the 200+ photos never been published in book format before.

{The photograph on the right hangs above my bedroom dresser}

What's on your current reading list?  Any great books I must know about?

Checking In On New Year's Resolutions

Today marks the 60th day since I shared my 2015 New Year's Resolutions with you all.  In my own life, I've found that there was something magically transcendent about 60 days.   If I commit myself to doing something for 2 months, whether it be picking up a healthy habit or dropping a negative one, I find that I can usually stick with it from there.  When I stopped eating meat in 2008, I promised myself I'd give my new-found vegetarianism 60 days before throwing in the towel.  To my amazement, I was pretty hooked on a meat-free lifestyle from day 1, but it wasn't until 2 months in that it felt natural (note:  I introduced fish back in to my diet in 2010 after a summer in Barcelona, so now I'm technically a pescatarian). Also, I've  always instituted the no-contact-for-60-days rule after tough breakups.  Even if I have really wanted to clear the air or talk over something with an ex, I find that once the dust settles and you give yourself some distance from the situation (i.e. 1440 hours- 60 days!) you can communicate much more authentically and without the weight of fresh emotion.

So, where's this post going, you ask?  Well I'm here to check in on my resolutions, as the post title explains- and now that I've been working on them for 60+ days, they're becoming more and more a part of who I am.

Resolution 1.)  Read a New Book Each Month

Since 2014 was pretty dismal in terms of my extracurricular reading activity, I decided to set a goal of reading as many books as possible "for fun" this year, with the minimum being 1 a month.  This month's book was Scary Close by Donald Miller, and I would strongly recommend it to anyone.  If you aren't familiar with Donald Miller, he wrote two of my other favorites, New York Times bestsellers Blue Like Jazz and A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.  I love Donald for his gut-wrenching honesty and transparency, and his ability to transpose very raw and relatable human experiences in such a beautiful way.  Because I've often struggled to identify clearly with Christianity (or any religion for that matter), I always feel so relieved to read Miller's own personal stories and struggles with his faith.

Favorite quotes from Scary Close:

 "The whole experience made me wonder if the time we spend trying to become somebody people will love isn't wasted because the most powerful, most attractive person we can be is who we already are, an ever-changing being that is becoming and will never arrive, but has opinions about what is seen along the journey." 

 And...

 “Frankl theorized a sense of meaning was existential, that it was something that passed through us not unlike the recognition of beauty or a feeling of gratitude. And he believed life could be structured in such a way people would experience meaning. 

His prescription to experience a deep sense of meaning, then, was remarkably pragmatic. He had three recommendations: 

1. Have a project to work on, some reason to get out of bed in the morning and preferably something that serves other people. 

2. Have a redemptive perspective on life’s challenges. That is, when something difficult happens, recognize the ways that difficulty also serves you. 

3. Share your life with a person or people who love you unconditionally.”

The other books I've read this year are Daring Greatly, The Empathy Exams, What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding, and Not That Kind of Girl with a few other shorter books sprinkled in.  I've enjoyed all of them, but especially Daring Greatly.

Resolution 2.) Workout 4 Times a Week

Ok, so admittedly, it's been closer to 3 times a week.  No one's perfect, right?!  But I feel healthy and love my Define classes, which offset my occasional Dr. Pepper.  Nothing is better than a Dr. Pepper, people.  It's also been discovered as the fountain of youth.

Resolution 3.)  Buy Less, Choose Well

I am doing very well with this resolution.  I read this book, which gave me a new perspective on cleaning out my closet and helped me let go of items I felt a connection to but hadn't worn in years.  I haven't bought any "trendy" clothes this year, which was my goal, but have invested in a few great pieces.  As you can tell from my closet below, I am almost always in a dress.  Right now I'm saving up for these flats.

Resolution 4.) Embrace solitude

I have been getting better at this, but I still need to work at it.  I'm starting to feel more comfortable spending extending periods of time alone, but it doesn't yet feel natural or relaxed.  It actually still makes me a bit nervous and a bit sad- and I don't want it to!  I think it's been conditioned in me to always be talking/texting/communicating/driving from one activity to the next, so it feels odd to be alone with my thoughts for long enough to examine them.  I've been thinking about starting a meditation practice.  Anyone out there have words of wisdom on this?

Did you have any resolutions in 2015?  If so, let me know how they're going!

Reading List

Last night, I finished reading What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding by Kristin Newman.  Kristin has written for many popular comedy sitcoms including How I Met Your Mother and That '70s Show, and her memoir shares what she learned while putting off settling down in her 20s and most of her 30s and choosing to travel the world instead.  I loved her insights and stories, and of course all her travels gave me a healthy dose of wanderlust. 

Throughout the book, Kristin grapples with her desire to roam free as a single woman and see the world, while society seems to be pushing her to get married and settle down:

"Life is almost never about choosing between one thing you really want and another thing you don't want at all.  If you're lucky, and healthy, and live in a country where you have enough to eat and no fear that you're going to get shot when you walk out your door, life is an endless series of choosing between two things you want almost equally as much.  And you have to evaluate and determine which awesome thing you want infinitesimally more, and then give up that other awesome thing you want almost exactly as much.  You have to trade awesome for awesome.  Everyone I knew, no matter what they chose, was at least a little in mourning for that other thing," Kristin says.

I loved reading her perspective and found it gave me a lot to think about.  And, of course, I added about 10 new places to my travel list.  

Next on my reading list is Daring Greatly by Brene Brown:

I first discovered Brene Brown through her popular TED talk, "The Power of Vulnerability."  If you have a few minutes, I highly recommend listening to what she shares here:

I then heard about her book, which compiles all her research on vulnerability, while listening to a Mating Grounds podcast.  Truthfully, I am embarrassed to admit this because The Mating Grounds is a website geared towards helping men have better relationships with women.  So why do I love listening to their podcasts?  Who knows.  Probably because I feel it allows me to see dating and relationships through the lens of men, which is pretty interesting!  Recently, they started a series focused on helping a 26 year-old guy Joe, who lives in Austin, have better success with women.  In this particular podcast, they begin to tap in to Joe's vulnerabilities and fears that have resulted from painful experiences in his past and rave about Brene Brown's Daring Greatly. 

To keep up with my New Year's Resolution of reading 1 book a month, I have about 7 days to  finish this book.  I've been a little behind on my reading mainly because work has been crazy, but I've heard the book is so good that I'm sure I'll want to take my time absorbing everything Brene has to say.

You can go here to see what other books I've read this year and also what my other New Year's Resolutions were.

So tell me- do you have any good book recommendations? 

4 Books Worth Reading

Happy Monday!  Did you have a good weekend?  I spent mine getting things done around the house and devouring Lena Dunham's new book, Not That Kind of Girl.  I'm an avid fan of her HBO series Girls (in my dream world I would be Jessa) and the honest, raw way it depicts life for 20-something girls as they struggle to find their footing post college.  I certainly can relate to some of the complexities and disappointments the characters must navigate through in their work lives and love lives.  What I love about Girls is that it doesn't glamourize the character's lives; instead, it depicts each of them coming to terms in their own unique way with the realization that the idyllic world we picture post college isn't necessarily handed to us.  You have to really take an active part in creating the life you envision for yourself while at the same time maintaining a sense of humor, because the struggles are going to come.  Lena's book has a similar self-deprecating tone as her show, but she also mixes in lots of hilarious stories and embarrassing moments that make her both relatable and lovable. 

1.) Not that Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham

{Instagram snap- I know I did that horrible thing us bloggers are so guilty of- "creating" a vignette for a picture rather than just posting it as is.  But aesthetics matter to me!  So please forgive.}

Favorite quotes (I'm that nerdy girl that underlines things that stick out to her as she reads):

"Don't put yourself in situations you'd like to run away from. But when you run, run back to yourself."

"There's a certain grace to having your heart broken."

“I have the nagging sense that my true friends are waiting for me beyond college, unusual women whose ambitions are as big as their past transgressions, whose hair is piled high, dramatic like topiaries at Versailles, and who never, ever say ‘too much information’ when you mention a sex dream you had about your father.”

“Over time, my belief in many things has wavered: marriage, the afterlife, Woody Allen.”

Since I wanted to share my love for Lena's book with you, I also thought I'd share a few other great reads I've come across lately.

2. Wild by Cheryl Strayed

With the movie coming out this winter and Oprah popularizing this biography via her book club, I am sure most of you are familiar with the story.  Author Cheryl Strayed tragically lost her mother when she was only 22.  The grief of losing her mother nearly destroyed her as she was soon divorced from her husband and turning to heroin, promiscuity, and anything else to numb the pain.  After wandering aimlessly through her life for four years after her mother's death, she makes the impulsive decision to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert to Canada, covering nearly 1,000 miles by foot alone.  Cheryl shares her struggles- both physically and emotionally- so candidly as she makes her trek that I found myself often in tears as I read along. She powerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of her journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her.  The trailer for the film came out about a month ago, and Reece Witherspoon will play Cheryl.  I cannot wait to see it!

Favorite quotes:

"I'd walk and think about my entire life.  I'd find my strength again, far from everything that had made my life ridiculous." -Cheryl Strayed

"I had to change.  Not in to a different person, but back to the person I used to be."

“I knew that if I allowed fear to overtake me, my journey was doomed. Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves, and so I chose to tell myself a different story from the one women are told.  I decided I was safe. I was strong. I  was brave.  Nothing could vanquish me.”  

“Nobody will protect you from your suffering. You can't cry it away or eat it away or starve it away or walk it away or punch it away or even therapy it away. It's just there, and you have to survive it. You have to endure it. You have to live through it and love it and move on and be better for it and run as far as you can in the direction of your best and happiest dreams across the bridge that was built by your own desire to heal.”

“What if I forgave myself? I thought. What if I forgave myself even though I'd done something I shouldn't have? What if I was a liar and a cheat and there was no excuse for what I'd done other than because it was what I wanted and needed to do? What if I was sorry, but if I could go back in time I wouldn't do anything differently than I had done? What if I'd actually wanted to fuck every one of those men? What if heroin taught me something? What if yes was the right answer instead of no? What if what made me do all those things everyone thought I shouldn't have done was what also had got me here? What if I was never redeemed? What if I already was?”  

3. Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Not to be hyperbolic, but this book changed my life.  I read it for the first time about 5 years ago, and recently found the audio book and gave it another listen.  According to author Clarissa Estes, wolves and women share a psychic bond in their fierceness, grace and devotion. This comparison defines the archetype of the Wild Woman, a female in touch with her primitive side and able to rely on gut feelings to make choices. The tales here, from various cultures, are not necessarily about wolves; instead, they illuminate fresh perspectives on relationships, self-image, even addiction.  I think it's a must read for any woman.

Favorite Quotes:

“It is worse to stay where one does not belong at all than to wander about lost for a while, looking for the psychic and soulful kinship one requires.”  

“Tears are a river that takes you somewhere…Tears lift your boat off the rocks, off dry ground, carrying it downriver to someplace better.”  

“Though fairy tales end after ten pages, our lives do not. We are multi-volume sets. In our lives, even though one episode amounts to a crash and burn, there is always another episode awaiting us and then another. There are always more opportunities to get it right, to fashion our lives in the ways we deserve to have them. Don't waste your time hating a failure. Failure is a greater teacher than success.”  

“How does one know if she has forgiven? You tend to feel sorrow over the circumstance instead of rage, you tend to feel sorry for the person rather than angry with him. You tend to have nothing left to say about it all.”  

"Mindful choosing of friends and lovers, not to mention teachers, is critical to remaining conscious, remaining intuitive, remaining in charge of the fiery light that sees and knows.”  

4.) Elements of Style by Erin Gates

 I had the pleasure of meeting Erin Gates, author and interior designer behind the popular blog Elements of Style, this past Wednesday in Houston.  She was in town promoting her new coffee table book, Elements of Style- Designing a Home & a Life.  The book not only includes gorgeous pictures of her design work, but also hilarious and honest stories of her personal life as well as her career.

{Erin and me at the signing.  She's fab! And tall.}

Sorry for the wordy post!  I have been wanting to share a few book recommendations for a while now, so maybe I'll create a series of it and do a new reading list post each month.

Any good books you've read lately?