Aspiring Kennedy: friday faces

Showing posts with label friday faces. Show all posts

Friday Faces: Ana Pettus of Ana Pettus Diaries

It's two days before Christmas.

I can't believe it's already here...

it seems surreal that this time tomorrow,

we will be landing in the states.

My flat is packed up and moved to storage

until we return in the early summer from Paris...

let me tell you,

constant moving & schlepping your possessions

is the very unglamorous side to life on the road.

But do you know what is completely glamorous?

Ana Pettus.

Do you know her?

Do you read her blog?

This girl is fancy.

In fact, before we connected via blogging-

I actually met Ana.

It was several years ago,

and I was in the store I used to work for

one afternoon setting up for an event.

Right before we locked up the shop for the evening,

a gorgeous car rolls up and parks out front.

Out of the giant SUV,

climbed tiny little Ana.

She swept into the store

and in about 5 minutes,

had curated an assortment

of our store's coolest merchandise

in a neat stack at the register.

I knew then and there:

I liked her style.

And I think you will, too.

If you ever want a dose of the fabulous life...

like lunches with designers,

soirees in runway gowns,

& celebrity style beauty products-

read her blog, Ana Pettus Diaries.

You may feel a bit starstruck

with this socialite's daily lifestyle...

it's pretty easy to see how Ana has become

the queen bee of the socialite blogging scene.

Fashion has always been a part of life for me.

For as long as I can remember, I have supported the motto: quality over quantity.

At the age of twenty, I saved all of my money working to buy my first pair of Chanel ballet flats...

that I still have today!

I hope that my love for style, beauty, fashion,

and the little things that make life more pleasurable will inspire readers

and their own individual lifestyles.

I was born in Brazil and lived in Paris for ten years...

and worked with both Cartier & Hermes in professional roles.

Dallas, Texas

hello, dream vanity. ana's personal primp space in her dallas, texas home.

I'm an up and coming handbag designer. I will also host an array of signature fragrances.

I blog to express my personal opinion and share my experiences

with products in the fashion, beauty, design, and lifestyle industries.

If my experiences can save others money and time, I have accomplished my goal.

I blog from a variety of places:

the plane on my iPad, my kitchen table, from my bed...

and even my shoe closet!

I blog whenever I feel inspired!

You will rarely (if ever) find me in color.

I always wear all black and then have fun accessorizing!

Being on the cover of the WSJ Journal and Styles section.

(Editor's Note: Yes! That would be a pretty shocking moment. What a dream!)

Wherever life takes me!

That I personally iron everything! Sheets, t-shirts, you name it.

And, I do it on my own.

Everything in my house is ironed!

Ha! That personally made me laugh...

I wouldn't have seen that one coming!

Isn't Ana fabulous?

Check out her blog, Ana Pettus Diaries,

or keep up with her jet-setting tweets on twitter...

ooh, or look at the fabulous giveaway I won on her blog this summer.

(For sure the most luxe giveaway in blogging history!)

Friday Faces: Victoria of vmac+cheese

I am just LOVING the Friday Faces series.

Every time I receive answers from the featured bloggers,

I can't help but feel really lucky to interact with such cool people.

For example,

meet Victoria.

The girl is just plain cool...

beyond being a Texan (ahem!) who lives in San Fran (love!)

Victoria is also the person who encouraged me

to take a simple post and turn it into a series getting to know bloggers better.

And I did!

I started a little series called "Friday Faces..." all thanks to her!

***

Happy Friday, everyone! My name's Victoria and I write the blog vmac+cheese. I was honored when Lauren asked me to participate in the Friday Faces series. Her blog is one of my faves! I always look forward to reading about her adventures abroad, don't you?

So, let's get right to it.

Who am I?

Where do I live?

What do I do?

By day I work at a local university, specifically at their dental school.

I assist one of the deans,

and focus on a myriad of other projects in the Academic Affairs department.

Why do I blog?

[via]

I blog because I love being creative, I love connecting with other people,

and I love sharing things that make me happy or make my life better.

And above all -- blogging is fun!

I definitely dream about having my blog become a bigger part of my career future.

My hope is that it will be a great launchpad for other projects I want to work on!

Where do I blog?

I typically blog right here, in my home office. It's a little tiny space that's all my own.

My desk directly faces a gallery wall filled with lots of framed art work that is meaningful to me;

to the right of my desk is a big "inspiration board" made with string and clothespins,

so that I can swap images out whenever I want.

My office is also the first and last place I visit in my apartment

before leaving and when coming home, so it features a big gallery of shoes.

It's easy for me to dump off my kicks here!

When do I blog?

When I first became serious about posting to my blog everyday, I had to work out a schedule with my boyfriend so that he would know what to expect and when. (Sidenote: I have found one of the biggest secrets to communicating well with a man is to manage expectations. Seriously.) So, I typically blog on Sundays, and Wednesday evenings. On Sundays, I'm designing graphics and photo editing for the week, as well as coming up with post ideas. I'll also write Monday and Tuesdays posts (Wednesday is always a guest series post -- that helps take off some of the pressure!). On Wednesday night, I'll write Thursday's post and get a skeleton for Friday's post ready to go. It works out well!

What looks suit me best?

[via 1 2 3 4 5 6]

As much as I wish I could be more daring with my fashion, I'm definitely no glamazon.

I stick to pretty classic, basic pieces --

straight leg jeans, skinny black pants for work, lots of sweaters and stripes.

As a third piece, I almost always opt for a cardigan or blazer of some kind.

This time of year, I love wearing flat riding boots and mid-length coats. It works for me!

What's been the most shocking moment of my blogging career?

Hmm...probably when I realized people were actually reading what I wrote--

and that they related to it!

When you first start blogging, sometimes it really feels like you're talking to no one.

So that was exciting.

Earlier this summer, one of my posts also got 'freshly pressed' by WordPress,

which means that post showed up on the front page of WordPress.com.

That was pretty shocking AND exciting!

Where do I want to be in five years?

[via 1 2 3]

I have so many ideas and plans for the next few years of my life,

but I'm totally one of those "idea of the week" kind of girls.

I come up with genius ideas all the time...but I'm terrible at executing.

Trust me, I'm working on that!

So, for now, I'd say that in five years,

I'd still like to be happy and in love,

I want to have traveled to many more places,

and I'd like to be enjoying the good life

(complete with a glass of Champagne every now and then).

Readers of vmac+cheese would be surprised to learn...

That I'm messier and more of a pack rat than I let on.

I just realized this when I was taking photos for this post... my desk was a disaster!

And I almost always have a huge pile of clothes sitting on a chair in our bedroom.

I LOVE a clean, organized closet, but I despise putting laundry away.

Can't have it both ways --

I've decided I need to work on these habits, stat!

***

Thanks SO much Lauren, for having me visit today! This was a blast to put together. Have a great weekend, everyone! xo

Friday Faces: Piper from One Sydney Road

I'm not sure many of us would be telling the truth

if we said we didn't blog in hopes of turning the hobby

into a full-time, lucratively-paying job.

When I got into blogging a little over a year ago,

it was right as Piper was starting to shift her career

from the corporate world to the online world.

Soon after we "met" blogging,

Piper quit her job & started the online boutique, One Sydney Road.

A year later, the shop is doing great-

and I'm still as impressed as I watch her dreams grow into a reality.

Not only did I love getting to know more about a blogger I've interacted with for so long, but after reading Piper's comments,

I realized that Piper is a great resource & inspiration

for any of us wanting to take our little websites & dreams...

and turn them into an income.

I'm Piper Toth and I enjoy walking in the rain & pina coladas...

oh wait, that might be for something else.

I live in a neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio called West Park

with my husband & 2 dogs in an old colonial house that,

and this is putting it nicely,

"needs a bit of work!"

I actually took the big leap one year ago,

quit my corporate-made-my-skin-crawl job and went after my dream!

I started my online boutique, one sydney road, just about a year ago

and having been working days, nights & weekends since.

It's definitely a labor of love and a learning experience everyday...

but I wouldn't trade it in for anything!

Blogging has quickly become one of my passions.

I started blogging to just catalog things I found reading magazines or trolling the internet. But I quickly became absorbed in the amazing blog community out there.

It's hard to believe that I've actually met and become friends

with people I met through blogging!

I wish I had more time to blog

- but I have to confess that I use it as a way to procrastinate -

instead of working on something challenging for the store,

I'll end up blogging!

I tend to move around the house when I work!

But I typically blog from my desk - it has a great view of our street and our yard

and with the window open in summer, it's very inspiring

(or distracting, depending on how the day is going!)

Either in the morning when I'm feeling fresh & excited (and I have my cup of coffee!)

Or in the evening when I'm feeling creative (or wanting to get inspired)

I don't know if it suits me,

but my favorite outfit would be shorts or jeans, a tee & sandals or flip flops.

Nice & easy & still chic.

In Cleveland though, I only get a few months of that!

Honestly, I think it's how welcoming and supportive other bloggers have been...

and that friendships have formed.

When I was working on starting my business,

I couldn't believe how supportive people were -

and how they cared about my story and encouraged me!

Someplace where it's warm all year!

But seriously I would love to be growing my business, traveling more

and if I'm dreaming,

having my husband be able to quit his job so we can work together.

That would be the ultimate dream!

Well, it's not a surprise that my husband & I love music -

but you may be surprised to know that we have over 1500 CDs

that take up almost an entire wall in our living room!

I'm hoping I can get my hubby to go all the way digital!

It's a work in progress :)

Friday Faces: Megan from Across the Pond

What can I say about Megan other than
I want to be just like her.

Sure, she may be an American girl...
that moved to the UK last summer...
because of a masters program...
and all of those facts might sound eerily similar to my own life.

But just wait until you see her body & jawline.

You'll feel my pain.

And for the same reasons that I loved my friend Beth
for her ability to always catch me off guard with her confidence...
I feel endeared to Megan.

Once you read question ten,
I know you will, too.

***

1. Who are you?

I am Megan. I am going to be 26 in December, and that makes me feel old.

2. Where do you live?

I like to consider myself bi-coastal...bi-continents? I currenty just moved from England to Scotland, but I am from sunny Los Angeles, CA. Yes, it is freaking cold here. I know.


my street in Scotland


my favorite home-town diner in SO-CAL. doesnt get much more american then that there folks.

University of Nottingham, England. My home away from home for a year.

3. What do you do... outside of blogging?
Who are you in the real world?

I am a former fashion industry girl, who recently graduated with my Masters in Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging. I don't even know how that evolution happened.

Really though, im just a normal girl who cant seem to adjust to the idea of public transportation,
and loves to eat. everything.

4. Why do you blog?

I began blogging to keep family and friends up to date with my life overseas. That is still part of why I blog. However, I have also been fortunate enough to connect with some amazing people through blogging, and that is what keeps me here...

oh, and all the fame and fortune.

5. Where do you blog?

Either from this chair, or my bed.

6. When do you blog?

either in the evening or in the morning when I wake up.

7. What look suits you best?

I might have a slight obsession with blazers.

8. What’s been the most shocking moment
of your blogging career?

I think I have had two different types of shock, one good, one bad. The good shock was when I realized how many people made up this blogger world, and how many were so kind and amazing. I am still shocked on a daily basis by the friendships I've made and level of encouragement and support I receive daily. The bad was when I got my first negative anon comment..which I'm sorta convinced was from someone from my real life world in response to an unfortunate circumstance that occured in my life that I shared on my blog..nevertheless, it means I've arrived right?

totally.

9. Where do you want to be in five years?

Happy and Healthy. with puppies. and babies. and a house in both the UK and California.

10. What’s one thing that your readers would be surprised to learn about you?

I'm only 5'5. Rumor has it that people around the blogosphere thought I was like 6'.

and...

sometimes I pick my nose and wipe it on things other then a tissue. I don't like the way Kleenex feels on my hands..what??