Year: 2020

Uncategorized
30 Dec 2020

The Cutest Workout Weights

If you think that these are ordinary plushies, think again! They are actually the cutest workout weights you’ve ever seen. Honestly, you would think by now I would’ve acquired weights at home, but I’m still using jars and cans of soup. These, however, might push me to get real ones and maybe these ones to be exact. Inspired by Rilakkuma and friends, Japanese sports company, Mizuno, has designed the most adorable weights at one pound each.

When you’re not using them, they can simply be used as home decor. To get a set of your own, you can buy them [here] retailing at $38 USD.

[Source]

Design
29 Dec 2020

Hype Simulator

This desire to know what it’s like to be viral is so sensationalized that an app was designed to create that experience for users. Using [Hype Simulator] people will have the opportunity to see what it’s like to have 15 minutes of online fame. After downloading the app, you can choose between viral or celebrity. The app itself helps you generate a TikTok username that you decide on and within seconds, you will be bombarded with likes and follower notifications. Why this is something that people are wanting to create for themselves, I’m not so sure. However, something seems to be working because a few works ago, this was a top-rated app. In addition to follows and likes, you’ll also receive DMs similar to what people would write on the TikTok app. The entire thing is baffling to me still.

[Source]

Culture
29 Dec 2020

Favorites of 2020

Favorite Style Icon (s): BTS

Before I even started writing this post, I knew I was in for a challenge. I’ve never had an issue deciding who was the most iconic in fashion for that year because we could always go back and look at who we shared the most for “Snaps for a Snapshot.” In a year where we had fewer red carpet experiences, that made this choice harder. And yet, it was easier. BTS truly shined in their “Dynamite” era and we were served impeccable looks for every editorial, appearance, and performance. Each one continued to top the last. Over the years, the guy have come into their own on highlighting the style that they are most comfortable with. Even though they show up as an ensemble, you can tell that they make it their own.

Runner Up: Margot Robbie

We somehow managed to get one award show season before the pandemic hit and Margot Robbie continued to stun on every red carpet.

Favorite Getaway: Los Angeles

I only had two places to choose from for this category this year and honestly, I loved Los Angeles and Phuket for two very different reasons. I think what pushed me towards LA is that I had the chance to celebrate the bachelorette of one of my best friends in a city that I love. No matter how many times I visit, I’m always being introduced to something new. Celebrating moments were few and far between, but this one was so memorable.

Favorite Artist: Dua Lipa

In 2020, I listened to an unhealthy amount of Dua Lipa. “Future Nostalgia” is a superb album and with the year that we’ve had, it was just what we needed. Full of pop tracks and dance hits, it’s actually quite difficult to be upset at any part of this album. It was the soundtrack to my summer and an album I know I’ll listen to even further into 2021.

Runner Up: Griff

Griff is just starting to come into her own, but we’re so excited for what she’ll achieve in the next year.

Favorite Guilty Pleasure: Selling Sunset

It’s not easy for me to add a new reality television series into the mix, but Selling Sunset had all the right components. The series was catty, smart, and somewhat educational? I learned so much about homes and real estate just from watching the show alone without all of the drama. The episodes are short so it feels easily digestible and it is great background noise in case you don’t want to pay attention too closely.

Runner Up: Emily in Paris

How could we forget the show that we thought we’d end up hating, but actually loved?

Favorite Item Purchased This Year: [Amazon Brand – Terry Cotton & Modal Oversized-Fit Quarter-Zip Sweatshirt] – $29.50

If you had told me that lounge wear would be my aesthetic this year (pre-pandemic) I would have thought you were lying. Contrary to what some may believe, lounge wear can be stylish as well. However, this year taught us that comfort is key. That denim jeans may be a thing of the past (for now at least) and that half zips are the ultimate basic piece to own. We’ve talked about this Amazon half zip so many times now across all of our platforms, but I could live in this for a week.

Runner Up: [BLANKNYC Good Vibes Faux Leather Moto Jacket] – $98

The girl who thought she could never pull off a leather jacket finally did!

Favorite Albums (in no particular order):

  • Justin Bieber – Changes
  • The Weeknd – After Hours
  • Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia
  • Kiana Ledé – KIKI
  • Tom Misch – What Kinda Music
  • JoJo – good to know
  • Kehlani – It Was Good Until It Wasn’t
  • Kygo – Golden Hour
  • Teyana Taylor – The Album
  • Jhené Aiko – Chilombo
  • Henry Green – Half Light
  • BLACKPINK – THE ALBUM
  • TWICE – Eyes Wide Open
  • BTS – BE
  • KATIE – Our Time Is Blue
Life
28 Dec 2020

Why People on the Internet Can’t Be Nice

I spend quite a bit of time thinking about this. 2020 as a year especially has caused people to have even more of a love / hate relationship with social media than ever before. If you love it, you likely turned towards it during the pandemic by creating a second account and leaning into the possibility of being an influencer. In a time where people were forced to be more alone than ever, online validation filled that void. If you hate it, you deactivated your account or stayed off entirely. Your feed and your stories became overwhelming and you chose not to participate. In my case, nothing drastically changed. I added another platform so maybe there was just more volume. If anything felt different, it was that I started to look at the behaviors of people I follow in a new light. I paid attention to posting habits and what engagement looked like.

On my own, I love my social media when things are good. However, when things take a turn for the worse, it can crush your spirit. I don’t know why users leave comments that spread negativity or wish harm on someone. After months of observation, I’m convinced that no one can truly be strong enough to overcome this entirely. This is the part that I can’t control about social and it’s undoubtedly the worst. As a content creator there are two things I care about: I want you to like what I put out and I want to make sure I don’t offend anyone ever. Shortly after trying out some new content, I was met with criticism from random users. “STOP.” “She ruined this.” “This is terrible.” Sometimes I forget that my content gets distributed to people that a) don’t follow me to begin with b) don’t ask for it.

You would think that criticism from people I know would sting more, but criticism at all can make an impact. I shared June’s post above because it resonated with me and this post that I’ve been wanting to share for some time. June and her husband are expecting twins at the moment. They are sharing their journey on their own platform and while this is a new adventure for them, surprisingly it’s not always being embraced from their followers as seen from her caption. It begs the question, why continue following if you don’t like what you see? We all can make these choices and decisions on our own, but instead people choose to pass judgement (and not silently if I may add)

Tonight, as I was doing a live workout with Revolve, I watched the comments roll in from users. Men, who were clearly not there for the workout, instead, left sexualized comments about the instructor. It was unwanted, disgusting, and I wished in that moment that it could have been monitored better. I was glad that the instructor was occupied with teaching the class that she didn’t have to see these comments. However, she may afterwards. I don’t have a great way to wrap up this post other than that I’m heading into my 12th year of doing this and while I feel energized at certain moments, other times, I feel exhausted and discouraged by the way others behave on the internet. There is so much good that can come out of being online; why people choose otherwise I won’t understand ever.

Style
28 Dec 2020

The Closet: December 2020

[The Kooples Medium Black Emily Bag Croco Print] – $450

I always think that this post isn’t necessary in the month of December because we already do the holiday gift guide, holiday party dress guide and New Year’s Eve outfit guide. Sometimes, the things we want just don’t fall into those three categories though. And because of that, here we are showing you the things you still might want for your closet. On a typical year, we would be looking forward to Boxing Day sales – traditionally the day after Christmas. It’s the time where I splurge on winter coats that I’ve been eyeing all season and the last of the sweaters before I head into spring. Though it’s not like us, we completely avoided the sales and the posts promoting them this year. Since I’ve been spending so much time at home, I decided to invest in items that would make living and working at home more comfortable for the foreseeable future. That being said, here are some things I’m sad to pass on.

[Zara Plaid Blazer] – $89.90 – $49.99

Read more “The Closet: December 2020”
Music
27 Dec 2020

Song of the Day

Colouring – Flux

I love embracing much softer sounds when it comes to the winter season. In the summer, everything is poppy and upbeat which is completely reasonable. However in the winter, when things are colder and quiet, I also want a quieter soundtrack.

Culture
27 Dec 2020

This Weekend:

What We’re Watching: Love Life (HBO Max)

I’m a little late to the “Love Life” game, but decided to start this on Christmas. As much as I love Anna Kendrick for her work as an actress, I was surprised to find that her portrayal as Darby is wildly unlikeable. It was quite a struggle to get through the first two episodes, but after you get past that hurdle, it’s somewhat smooth sailing from there. What’s great about the series is that you feel like you’re sort of growing up with Darby. While she makes many mistakes early on, she learns from them. Part of why it’s so difficult to like Darby is because many of us watching her see ourselves. Therefore, watching the show is triggering because our mistakes are similar to the one’s she’s making herself. And with that, we’re already on episode 8 and can’t wait to see how this all unfolds.

What We’re Listening To: The Postal Service – Everything Will Change

I used to think that listening to live albums were never going to measure up to the real thing, but in a year like 2020, any and every type of music has the ability to bring someone comfort. We don’t have an option to be picky this year. We’ve talked about this a few times now, but early on in the pandemic, Ben Gibbard’s daily 4pm shows helped keep my spirits up in a time of uncertainty. Everything Will Change is a live album from their two-night performance at Berkeley’s Greek Theater back in 2014 brought back to life with it’s 2020 release. This is actually one of the few albums I have on vinyl and now I feel like I need this version as well.

What We’re Wearing: [The Drop Women’s Mirabelle Long Bell Sleeve Open Front Cozy Cardigan] –

And the coziness continues! As we drag our feet through winter looking ahead to spring, I’m starting to swap out my thick sweaters for some lighter ones including this cardigan. I actually found this through an influencer I follow and love the ease of how you can pair this with any outfit. At the moment, the cardigan is currently unavailable, but there are similar styles coming from The Drop often!

What We’re Eating: Daeho Galbijjim

For Christmas this year, we ordered from Daeho! I’m probably the last person in San Francisco to finally try this place for the first time and have spent the last year hearing from my friends how much they love going to this spot. The FOMO was real. Now that I’ve finally had it, I can confirm that it really is as good as everyone says it is. The takeout itself was awesome, but I can only imagine how better it is to have in person and can’t wait to go there myself when things open back up again and are safe.

Design
27 Dec 2020

Iran’s Hormuz Island

If you’ve grown up in a big city all your life, you often times forget about how different living spaces can look across the world. This [post] on Iran’s Hormuz Island stopped me dead in my tracks because of how unique and colorful this communal living community was. Designed as a multi-purpose project called “Presence in Hormuz” the vibrant bulb structures sit along the Persian Gulf.

Each structure serves to be used for a different purpose whether it is communal dining, laundry or for prayer. When asked about the intentions for this project, [ZAV Architects] answered:

In a country where the state struggles with political disputes outside its borders, every architectural project becomes a proposal for internal governing alternatives, asking basic questions: What are the limits of architecture and how can it suggest a political alternative for communal life? How can it attain social agency?

In our current climate, this type of living doesn’t seem possible. However, once we’re past COVID-19 it will be interesting to see whether or not ideas like this could be executed upon. And through the pandemic if other types of living are more accommodating.

[Source]

Music
26 Dec 2020

BTS at 2020 SBS

Okay, so we’ve seen enough “Dynamite” performance to last us a lifetime, but I’ll never pass up watching any of their recent performances. That’s because despite them needing to continue to promote their Grammy-nominated single, every performance is different in some way. For the recent SBS award show in Daegu on Christmas, every performance had a holiday theme to it. It was a fresh take we didn’t know we needed. Since Yoongi is still out for his shoulder, the group also made sure to have a playful nod to him by making him a snowman for the “Life Goes On” and “Dynamite” performance. You knew it was him because the camera would always pan to the snowman during Yoongi’s parts and it even had a microphone in front of him at one point. We love all of their performances, but this one might be one of my favorites.

Unrelated, but we’re also a fan of the group’s younger “siblings” Together x Tomorrow. I can’t get enough of “Blue Hour” so we’re including their SBS performance as well.

Style
26 Dec 2020

A 2021 New Year’s Eve

[& Other Stories Ribbed Sweetheart Neck Bustier Midi Dress] – $129

You may feel uncomfortable dressing up for New Year’s Eve this year without any plans. Power through. I’m a huge believer that you get what you put out into this world. If dressing up and making yourself look and feel good for one evening makes the difference, then you should do it. Every year, I kind of dread New Year’s Eve personally all while still writing this post annually. Just because I don’t have big plans doesn’t mean I don’t want you all to look great. And because this year has just been A LOT, I’m planning on treating myself in the best way possible.

[Mango Asymmetric Velvet Dress] – $79.99 – $49.99

Read more “A 2021 New Year’s Eve”