Election Day

I’ve never talked politics on here before. It’s something I don’t feel properly educated enough to share statistics or quotes or thoughts or whatever. Of course, I read and watch the news and try to stay as up to date as possible., but, for whatever reason, I feel like political talk is so out of my realm of fully comprehending and regurgitating. It’s this world that feels untouchable to me. The electoral college still doesn’t really make sense to me. Yes, I understand how it works and why it works, but at the same time, I’m like. “huh?”

But, all that being said, if you haven’t voted already, I highly encourage you to go out to the polls today. This is a day that will undoubtedly make history, whichever way it ends.

This year, I’m voting for women’s rights, human rights, environmental rights, equality, and humankind as a whole. Take that for what you will.

So, whichever way you plan on voting, I truly encourage you to get out there and vote. It’s something so special that we get to do.

Vote. Vote. Vote. And then vote again in four years.

Thanks for reading!
xo
chloe

Wedding Gifts

I recently went to a wedding for a co-worker, and, if we’re being honest, picking out the gift was harder than figuring out what to wear. I didn’t know the appropriate amount to spend or what would be fitting for the couple or.. really anything at all. Every wedding I’ve been to so far has been for a family member so my parents always purchased the gift. But this time, it was my turn. And let me tell you, purchasing a wedding gift is no joke.

To be honest, I checked the couple’s registry but all of the things that I wanted to purchase for them had already been purchased. I wanted to gift them something more special than a set of silverware or anything like that. I also had a budget in mind and didn’t want to go too far away from it.

So, what do you do when the registry is basically purchased? You call in the help of your 80-year old best friend. I need to write a whole post on her, but she’s the best. Anyway, she did some online shopping for me and sent me pictures of items she thought would be good. I decided on a serving platter that she recommended and called the store to purchase it, but unfortunately, it had sold out. I asked if they could help recommend something in a similar price range and she sent me a picture of a gorgeous vase that was around the same price. The sales lady mentioned that it was an extremely popular gift for weddings and that was the end of that.

This whole process of picking a gift was a little more difficult than I thought it would be so I decided to put together a little list of gift recommendations. Obviously everyone’s budgets are in a different price range so I thought it would be helpful to do a list with a few different price points. Obviously, keep in mind who you’re purchasing the gift for if you’re not buying something off their registry, but here’s a small batch of items to choose from.

Let me know the best wedding gift you ever gave or received in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
xo
chloe

What Do I Even Do?

So, what do you do?

It’s a question, as an “AduLt,” I thought I would have a clear and concise answer to.

I studied Strategic Communications at the University of Colorado at Boulder and I thought I’d be on a clear and dry path in the advertising world. I thought I’d be a copywriter. I thought I’d know exactly what I was doing and know the path to the top. Do I? Not even close.

I don’t even work in an advertising agency for crying out loud. But, as I’ve grown into my post-grad self, I’ve come to understand that the name of your company matters way less than the culture of the company. I’ve learned that a title doesn’t mean anything. And, most importantly, I’ve learned that, sometimes, the amount of money you make is less important than the way the job makes you feel.

via

I started my job search after an internship after graduation. It was my absolute DREAM of an internship. It was at a a top ad agency, Crispin, Porter, Bogusky. I was working alongside five other interns that were selected from a pool of over 1,000 people, and I was the youngest intern. I was proud to be there and as sad as it is, I rarely find myself being proud of myself (or at least realizing how monumental something is in the actual moment). But anyway, I didn’t get hired after the internship so I packed all. my belongings and moved in with my grandpa in Alabama so I could spend time with him while I was searching for a job. I had no expectations of staying in Alabama. I interviewed for jobs in New York, California, Seatle. All over, really.

But, as fate would have it, I found a job here and it’s been a wild ride. No amount of school or preparation can make you ready for the difference between school life and job life. In school life, you know what to expect. You have the same schedule every day. If you don’t do your work it’s on you. You know when things are due, and the due dates rarely ever change. You are responsible for only your own fate.

In the job life, you’re working as a team and working for each other. Due dates fluctuate daily. If you don’t do your work, you’re letting everyone down. But, not only that, your entire job can change in a snap. Obviously, times are weird with COVID, and I realize how extremely lucky I am to have kept my job throughout this entire process. But, I figured this post would be interesting to read in the future and see how COVID has affected everything.

So, when I started my job, my title was “Creative Manager” at a sports marketing and event planning company. I helped with all things creative. From designing and sending emails for all our events. To helping create graphics for social media. To helping with photography. To helping brainstorm strategic pop-ups and takeovers. It was a ton of fun and I was learning new things every single day.

Then, COVID hit which meant that sporting events stopped. I was extremely worried that I was going to lose my job. I mean I started in January and COVID hit in March. I was barely two months in. But, the company I work for is awesome and really made sure that I felt secure and safe during these times, which I am forever grateful for.

So, how did I keep my job you ask? Great question, my company pivoted and started helping with the operations and management of COVID test sites for the universities and colleges in Alabama. It was a huge undertaking, but it was (and is). quite the experience. I first started by going to Troy, AL with my boss and that’s it. We spent three weeks in the middle of nowhere and worked from 7 am till 7 pm. I literally ate frozen or premade food from the local grocery store every night. I’m not going to lie, this was extremely hard mentally. But it pushed me to be a more “go with the flow” type of person and just learn to take things day by day. I also will never take my own bed for granted.

Now, I’m doing less of that specific type of testing and now I’m working at a big university in Alabama working on the COVID Housing team helping students that are sick or exposed go into separate COVID housing. It’s actually super fun to be hands-on with a university and learning in the in and outs of how it functions. I’ve also really enjoyed helping the students because they are going through such a scary and tough time, so I genuinely feel like I’m doing something good in the world. Which is great, because I rarely feel that way about anything graphic design related.

Anyways, this post is kind of a hodgepodge of thoughts, but the point is that I’m learning to be more of a go with the flow when it comes to my job. I need to realize that I can’t control everything and that’s ok. I need to remind myself what the most important part of a job is. I need to remind myself that the people you work with can make the job. I need to remember that everything always works itself out.

Thanks for reading!
xo
chloe

Outfit Anatomy

I’m obsessed with Pinterest. Like way too obsessed. It’s been a problem ever since I discovered the website. But it’s seriously the best. There’s so much inspiration and visual beauty. It’s also super easy to keep it organized and all pocketed away for future reference which makes it all the better.

I love looking at it the night before work so I can be inspired on what to wear for the next day. I realize that that’s super nerdy of me, but it’s fun to think about, ok? OK?

Today I have a new post for ya called “outfit anatomy,” because I’m going to break down three outfits that I love that I found on Pinterest and share similar pieces with links. This post was super fun for me to put together, and I hope it’s just as fun to read through and find pieces that inspire you too. I tried to find reasonably priced pieces, but there are some splurge items in the mix as well!

First, we have, what I like to call, the “Blue Period” look. I’m obsessed with blue sweaters paired with blue jeans. I think it’s such a fun twist on a “neutral” outfit. Monotone, but muted. You feel?

Sweater | Jeans | Earrings 

Next we have the “All Black” look. Something about this look just SCREAMS “cool girl.” It’s effortless, looks comfortable, and is definitely easy to achieve. Highly recommend this look for travel or just for wearing to a hungover brunch. Love it, live it, wear it, need it. Ok I’m done.

Jacket | Shoes | Pants | Beanie

Can’t have an all-black outfit without an all-white one, can we? I guess this whole list is full of monochromatic outfits in general. Maybe I’ll start doing a theme for these kinds of posts. Only the future knows.

Scarf | Pants | Boots | Sweater

That’s all for now! Stay tuned for more outfit anatomy posts in the future!

Thanks for reading!
xo
Chloe

The Queen's Gambit

You know that feeling after you finish watch a Netflix series and you feel like your life has come to an end and you don’t know what to do with yourself and you feel like you have no more virtual friends and you stare at your ceiling hoping that something interesting happens so you won’t be bored for the rest of your life?

You know that feeling, right?

Well, I do. And it just happened to me. My nightly routine of showering, watching an episode of Emily in Paris and then FaceTiming my boyfriend all kind of halted. I mean, I still shower, but I finished Emily in Paris and my boy friend has been extremely busy this week so we’ve been having shorter FaceTimes than usual. The fact that my series ended exactly during his time of being busy was very unfortunate. I was lost and bored all at the same time which is maybe a worse feeling than when you’re hungry at work with no snacks and no time to leave to buy snacks.

So what did I do? I had to trust the Netflix algorithm. Something I never have luck with. The recommended shows and movies usually suck and I didn’t feel like researching a new show or movie because I knew that would just end in an internet black hole.

So I trusted the recommendation for “The Queen’s Gambit.”

But you know what? I got lucky. It’s probably the best show I’ve seen in forever, if not ever. It’s beautifully filmed, the acting is incredible, I’m on the edge of my seat. All the reasons why I get hooked. I watched two one-hour long episodes last night, and now I’m amped to get home and watch more. Seriously, so good.

If you’ve watched it or are watching it, let me know and I’d love to chat about it!

Thanks for reading!
xo
Chloe

Long Distance Friendships

Pretty much all of my friends live somewhere far away. I’m in Alabama, and they’re all spread out. I have some in California, Colorado, New York, and then my boyfriend lives in New Orleans. Of course, I have friends and family close to where I live, but the things I would do to have everyone in the same city as me are pretty extreme.

I’m not going to claim that I’m an expert on long-distance relationships. In fact, I’m probably far from it. But, I have a few ways to make them a little less brutal.

When it comes to my college friends, we went from all to literally nothing. I lived with my closest friends, and then the ones I didn’t live with I saw pretty much every day anyway. We’d do everything together. From going to the library to study (aka gossip) to going out to dinner to grocery shopping to eating breakfast before class to watching TV to walking to Walgreens down the street. I was very rarely without at least one of them by my side. And I loved it. I’m the kind of person that would much rather be with someone than alone, and most of them were the same way.

That being said, once we all left our little college houses and dispersed back into the real world, it hit us hard. I mean now we’re all in different time zones and on different work schedules and hanging out with our new friends. It’s depressing. It sucks, frankly. For example, I randomly called one of my friends on Sunday afternoon when I was taking my dog for a walk, but she had just gotten to her brother’s house. She didn’t end up leaving until like 11 pm my time and I was already asleep. Then I called her back yesterday when she was on her way home from work but then she had to meet someone else. We squeezed in a good 10-minute conversation and it was nice to catch up, but it’s not the same.

I had another friend who went through a health scare recently and it killed me not being there for her in person. I didn’t know whether to check in on her daily (or hourly) or just let her be with her family. I didn’t know how she really was. I didn’t know anything. And I hated it. I sent her flowers just to let her know that I was thinking of her, but she was my roommate for three of the four years of college, and her going through that made me realize how much I miss not being with my friends constantly.

I think the biggest piece of advice I can give you if you’re also away from your friends is to just check-in. When they cross your mind or you see a picture of them on your Instagram, send them a quick text that you miss them or you’re thinking of them. It’s small, but when my friends do that it makes my day.

Anyway, if any of my long-distance friends are reading this, I miss you. More than you know.

I miss snuggling on the couch and eating late-night snacks. I miss watching hours and hours of YouTube videos on random Sunday nights. I miss going to Happy Hours every night of the week and knowing exactly which restaurants had what Happy Hour and when. I miss randomly running into you on campus, even though that rarely happened because we knew each other’s schedules like the back of our hands and met up on the quad when we did have overlap. I miss date dashes and mixers even though we were the worst sorority girls in our pledge class. I miss waiting in line for The Downer, Press Play, and The Walrus with you. Remember The Walrus? I miss Rio Thursdays and Karaoke Wednesdays. I miss telling you about my professors and homework assignments. I miss sitting in the library and hiding from people we didn’t want to see. I miss sneaking into our sorority house and “stealing” snacks and food and chaser. I miss getting Indian Food with you and eating it on our front porch. I miss that front porch and the nights, and afternoons, and mornings, and tailgates, and parties on it.

I miss you!!!

Thanks for reading!
xo
Chloe