Oh Seattle…you are looking more and more like San Francisco every day!
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Tagged with Travel …
A Collection Part 36
Without even noticing, every “A Collection” post has some sort of a theme. I always enjoy going back and looking at the different sets asking myself what the common theme was. What was I feeling that day? Why did I select this photo, that photo, and this series of photos? I started writing this about a fourth into completing this post and I noticed that all of the photographs are pretty simplistic, but also muted. There are times when I won’t remember why there is a theme, but I think this completely embodies how I’m feeling right now. Somewhat muted, but it’s a refreshing time right now because there is so much that is unknown. Also – Seattle has the hottest weather in all of the country right now, which is incredible and NEVER happens. Funny, because you would think that these photos would be much brighter to resemble that, but they are not. Surprise!
The New Google Maps
I kind of love the emphasis on food in their new features, but who doesn’t love food AMIRITE?
Oh Google, how you always know the way to win over my heart.
BHLDN Traveling Trunk Show
photo cred | Brides
A trend that I am loving with retail stores is when they take their goods out on the road with them. Urban Outfitters had their pop-up shop. Warby Parker is spending weeks in different cities interacting with the locals and meeting their fans. Now, BHLDN is introducing their traveling trunk show to celebrate the third location of their newest store in California. They will hit up 6 Anthropologie stores on their travels (including Seattle!) and bringing with them their gowns for brides-to-be. BHLDN gowns are gorgeous, classic, and vintage, but a girl’s wedding day is going to be one of the most important days of her life so selecting one without trying it on can be a little nerve-wracking.
The Recycled House
photos provided by Airbnb
I’ve brought up Airbnb several times on Yow Yow! and in the past I’ve discussed their business and how well it is being received by users all over the world. What you don’t know is that I also like to peruse Airbnb sometimes just for fun so that I can be awakened to some of the most amazing spaces that exist without us even knowing. Today, I came across The Recycled House located in Charlottesville, VA and you won’t believe how incredible it looks inside. For $250 a night? Why yes, I’d love to stay for a visit!
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22 Of The Coolest Places To Get Married In America
photo cred | A City Wedding
Good morning readers!
It’s Monday morning which means that every day we get through means that we’re just a little bit closer to the weekend. This past weekend, however, was centered around one aspect of my life – a community that I had grown to love. Through a visit, I was finally able to close the door on one chapter and say goodbye to a beautiful space that taught me how to love, to share, to forgive, and to heal. Camp Don Bosco, what an amazing place you are.
On that note, I wanted to share with you all a few more spaces – but in the sense of Weddings because it is after all, Wedding Mondays here on Yow Yow! Buzzfeed recently compiled a list of 22 venues that are some of the coolest places to get married and Washington has snagged two of those spots with Sodo Park and Treehouse Point in Issaquah. Click here to view the rest of the list!
The People You Meet At McDonald’s
No matter how many movies they make or how many articles they write about how unhealthy McDonald’s can be, there is still something that draws people to this restaurant. I was just telling Kevin tonight that all I wanted was a Big Mac, Fish Fillet, and 2 for $1 baked apple pies. Obviously, this would not have been consumed all at once, but it is still what I wanted.
People from all walks of life all over the country are consuming McDonald’s. One man named Nolan Conway was intrigued by this diversity and spent the past year traveling all over the country to photograph hundreds of different people eating at McDonald’s restaurants. Check out a snippet of the photo series here.
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Where We Should Be:
I’ve got the travel bug! Who has any time for vacations when you’re a working 20-something though, right? Apparently, many of my friends. We wish we could just hop on a plane over to Phuket Island! The Sri Panwa Resort is gorgeous.
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Makanyane Safari Lodge
The problem with traveling is that when you are able to travel, you sometimes don’t have the money. And when you have the money, you don’t have the time to travel. How do people win at this?
I’m not in any place where I can travel right now, but it’s not like I don’t think about it. Often. I came across this photograph of the Makanyane Safari Lodge in South Africa today on The Fancy and instantly fell into swoon. What an incredible image and experience this could be. I don’t even want to talk about how much this experience would cost though.
Free People Presents Roshambo: Rock
I am such a sucker for love story webisodes. We all remember my obsession with Casual: The Series, don’t we? Of course we do. Well this is the second installment from Free People’s “Roshambo” series that we were first introduced to back in January. In this video, we are taken back to a time before Sheila and Chris reunite on the streets of New York and are shown how Sheila copes with her breakup with Chris. A trip to Rio with her best friends? Can’t get any better than that. I am so excited about this series because even without a lot of dialogue Sheila’s feelings are relatable. It’s a beautiful series altogether, but there needs to be more Chris Abbott, please.
Watch the first video under the cut:
Vivienne Westwood x Virgin Atlantic
Designer Vivienne Westwood is bringing her creativity to the new uniforms that the Virgin Atlantic crew will be donning. Above is just a snippet of what we may find – the airline’s signature red, but the designer’s famous cut and folds. So how did this partnership come to be? Apparently Vivienne and Westwood and Richard Branson are old pals. Sort of. Back when Branson was well into the music scene, he signed Malcolm McLaren’s (Vivienne’s old flame) band, The Sex Pistols, to his record label. The collection will debut on the runway this coming July.
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Job We Want Today:
I’ve read my fair share of odd job postings, but this one might take the cake. Norway is currently seeking someone who would be willing to spend three weeks in the Arctic wilderness spotting polar bears. Yes, that is the job. Three weeks. Bring your music devices.
The governor’s office on the remote northern islands of Svalbard is seeking a polar bear spotter to warn researchers doing projects in the region.
The job starts July 8 and also requires previous experience with the outdoors, good polar bear spotting skills and a competence with firearms. But Helge Solli from the governor’s office says the successful candidate likely won’t have to use a gun “just as long as they have a loud voice” to scare off any bears.
There are an estimated 3,000 polar bears in the Svalbard archipelago, which has a human population of about 2,400.
I’m not really sure about the firearms, but I think if you’ve got good polar bear spotting skills, you’re in!
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Virgin America – The Matchmaker
It’s no secret that flying on Virgin America is what we call a good decision. Everything that you can do on your flight makes traveling go by so much faster! With music, food, movies, chatting from seat-to-seat, Richard Branson is now tapping into another hot market. Dating. For the past couple of weeks, we’ve been talking about how difficult it can be to date these days, but would you believe that many people actually…meet on flights? Everything starts with a good conversation and Branson knows that. A new feature that you can find on Virgin America flights is the ability for passengers to send each other anonymous drinks, snacks, and meals…because nothing says ‘I’m into you’ more than filling a person’s stomach! If that isn’t obvious enough, you can also send a passenger a pretty blunt text about your feelings. That’s a little too much for us, but to each his/her own.
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A Collection Part 35
It used to take me over six months to go back to a blog that I haven’t visited in a while. With my new routine and schedule and the absence of homework, I am able to get through my blogs a lot quicker which frees up more time for me to be creative and to spend more time on posts that mean a lot to me instead of just posting and being done with it. Most of the photographs in this A Collection post came from one blog and go figure it’s called Thriving Twenties so of course we can relate hence why we love it.
Meet: Molly Young
photo cred | Into the Gloss
For the past several years, I have been following a blogger who goes by the name of Molly Young (AKA Magic Molly) – Molly is an extremely talented writer who freelances for GQ and New York Magazine, but on top of that she’s also an employee working for one of my favorite brands – Warby Parker – over in New York. Over the last few years, I have followed her writing, but also pieces in which she has been featured in by others who are just as intrigued with Molly as I am. She’s a gorgeous 20-something who has a way with her words, but is also just witty as hell. Enjoy!
Q: What does a day in the life of Molly Young look like?
Molly: Wake up early. Get an issue of the New York Times, walk to the office, and make myself breakfast. Usually peanut butter on crackers and a monstrous cup of coffee. Then work-work-work. Everyone works long hours, so I break it up by going for walks throughout the day. After work, I’ll go get a drink with a friend, walk home, read a book, do some writing, attempt a crossword puzzle, fall asleep. That’s a typical weekday. I have a very PG-rated schedule.
Q: Can you tell us about a piece that you are working on right now and who it is for?
Molly: I’m writing a piece about corporate culture for the New York Times.
Q: How long have you been writing and when and how did you develop a passion for it?
Molly: I started writing as soon as I started reading. It was the only way to solve a problem that I kept encountering, which was the problem of reading a good book and then having it end. I hated when good books ended! So I started writing sequels. It seemed like a rational way to address the issue. I had no concept of authorship—the stories I read seemed like common property, so I was happy to pick up their plots where the authors left off.
Q: As a freelancer you probably accept stories to write and throw out your own pitches. How do you become inspired with a pitch?
Molly: The process of creating a pitch goes like this: 1) Identify something that interests me; 2) Figure out if it is relevant to other people. That’s all. If an idea passes both tests, I go into research mode.
Q: You work at one of my favorite brands – Warby Parker in NYC – what is your role and what are your favorite things about working there?
Molly: I work on content and creative strategy for Warby Parker. There are a million things to love about the company, but I’ll pick a few: the people who work here are smart and kind, the products are beautiful, and for every pair of glasses sold, a pair is distributed to someone in need.
photo cred | Molly’s Instagram
Q: What are your favorite pair of glasses that you own from them?
Molly: I wear the Zagg in Tennessee Whiskey, because they make me feel like a cartoon scientist. My work ethic seems to improve when I wear them. (Not joking.)
Q: Molly, I heard that you were a San Francisco native! I’ve become fond over the city in the last year, can you let us in on some of your favorite spots?
Molly: Yes! I’ll tell you my favorite way to spend an afternoon. Start at Green Apple Books on Clement Street for used books (be sure to explore the cramped, dusty sections upstairs—especially the Sociology section, which is filled with crazy shit.) Next, walk a few blocks down the street to Good Luck Dim Sum, at 736 Clement Street. Ask for one order of har gau (shrimp dumplings). Then, reverse your course and proceed to Toy Boat Dessert Cafe, at 401 Clement Street. Get an espresso and some ice cream, read your books, and stare at all the freaky Pee-Wee Herman toys on display. If you have any energy left, walk to Goodwill at 820 Clement and find a pair of cool orange platform shoes for $2.
Q: Everyone has always advised me that when you move to a completely new place for the first time, life can be a little bit rough. Did you have any struggles when you left the west coast for the east?
Molly: Of course. I was constantly lonely. It helps to sit yourself down and say, “Self, you’re going to feel low for a while and it will take time to adjust. But don’t worry, it’s normal and it’s temporary.”
Q: When I first came across your blog a few years back, you went by Magic Molly. How did that nickname come about?
Molly: I started teaching myself rudimentary HTML in grade school, and my first website was designed for my family’s viewing pleasure. I called it “Magic Molly” because that’s the first thing that occurred to my 6th-grade mind. Now I’m stuck with it. Ha! But I have to admit, it pleases me to have this remnant of my 12-year-old self trailing me around. She was a weird kid.
Q: I’ve read several articles in which you’ve been called an “It girl.” When you hear that, what do you think?
Molly: It reminds me of the IT department of my office, so I reflexively read it as “Information Technology girl”, which is way cooler than what it actually means.
photo cred | Your Pal Mal
Q: Quick! What was your favorite article to write ever?
Molly: For a piece called “Leading Mannequins” in GQ, I flew out to Los Angeles and immersed myself in the world of Hollywood fashion stylists for a week. It was like being an alien. I love exploring pockets of the economy and figuring out how they work.
Q: Is there ever an interview that you’ve done that you wish you could have had a do-over on?
Molly: I did a Longform podcast recently and couldn’t bear to listen to more than two minutes of my voice. The podcast appeared in my iTunes, I started listening, and instantly did a full-body cringe: that’s what I sound like? Oh god….
Q: Since you’re a blogger yourself, do you have any other favorite blogs? If so, what are they?
Molly: The blogs I read are mostly aggregators of longform pieces—sites like Byliner or Longform. I’ve also been been combing through Dwight Garner’s pieces for the New York Times and admiring how energetic and precise his writing is.
Q: Molly, this year on Yow Yow! we are focusing on the life of a 20-something and being a recent post grad transitioning out of college. What advice do you have for young adults our age and moving into the adult world?
Molly: Find a company or a publication that you love and do whatever it takes to get in the door. It doesn’t matter where you start. Working at a place (and with people) you respect will bring out the best in you.
Also, avoid journalism school. Here’s why.
Q: At your age, many would consider you an incredibly accomplished writer. What is next for you? Are there any future endeavors that you would like to pursue outside of writing?
Molly: I’d love to continue pouring my heart and head into Warby Parker. We want to prove that businesses can be clean, lean, smart, and responsible. I spend every day working to show that companies can do good in the world—and of course, when I get the chance, I love writing the occasional article too!
Check out Molly’s blog here and follow her on Twitter @magicmolly
