Category — A week in Pictures

My week in pictures is a few days late. I’m finally getting in some photo-editing time after a week of travel, lots of catching up and a few life-changing events. Where do I even begin?

Well. Let’s start with last weekend. A few friends and I stopped by Luis de Jesus Gallery to see the group exhibition – The Road . The exhibition is about all of the choices presented in a journey. It explores free-will, fate, irony and irrationality and represents the achievements and failures experienced along the way. And may I also add that this exhibition was quite indicative of the week that waited for me (A week of inspiration, a car accident and my boyfriend relocating to Los Angeles). I am in an entirely new chapter in my life right now. And where will this road lead me? I think this time around, I’m going to just go for the ride. Too much over-thinking in my 20s. Too much trying to have it all in my 30s. Tomorrow – I turn 40. I’m gonna go ahead and pat myself on the back for all those accomplishments and equally embrace all those failures as well. Because without them, there would be no successes. This is really an amazing time.

I flew up to San Fran this week for the Alt Summit conference, which was amazing. This was sort of a mini version of the main conferences held in Salt Lake City and NYC but I certainly left feeling very inspired. I will share all of those details this week. But seriously, the aerial views from LA up north are breathtaking.

And viva los avocados! My friend Maura (and awesome food blogger at The Other Side of the Tortilla) hosted an lunch for our client Avocados from Mexico. About 10 food and lifestyle bloggers were invited to partake in an afternoon of fruitful indulgence.

This. Best foot bath ever after admittedly wearing heels throughout a conference. Not advised. But if you’re anything like me and need/must wear heels (even if you’re on foot all day), this is an awesome little recipe to help relax those muscles. And speaking of travel, I also wrote an article about my partner in crime, Ana, who has the whole beauty/travel regimen down to a science. Here are her tips. I also did a round-up with Maura, who is also an Editor for . And if you’re into bright lip color this summer, my orange lips were featured (and in good company) on Mamiverse.

My son hasn’t even landed in Philadelphia yet and I already miss him. He’s on his way to visit with his family and attend film camp. He loves visiting the east coast. He feels his roots are planted there, although he was too young to remember much of what happened when we lived there. He was 5 when we moved to Los Angeles. I’m so happy and thankful to loving family members – He gets to travel and have different experiences. This kid is certainly loved by many. In fact, the picture you see below is right before we moved here. Time goes by so fast.

Aside from helping my son get ready for his trip, I only have online ventures to share this week. I have seriously been in front of the computer non-stop for the exception of having lunch at Stanley’s and a quick run to Nordstrom Rack, where I picked up this putty colored (all-purpose) Vince Camuto Satchel. I just had to have it. It has snaps on the side and opens up into a tote. I also stopped by Macy’s to look around, and picked up this pretty Metal Paddle necklace from Lucky Brand.

This week on Babble, I shared my recommendations for rose and peach colored blushes for olive skin, I had fun listing 5 candy colored nail polishes to brighten up your work day and I got a lot of great responses from my 5 Things I learned from Dominican Hair Salons. Also, we had a really fun Twitter Party with Neutrogena this week, where we talked about how we protect ourselves and loved ones from the sun. We have another Twitter Party this week with with special guest celebrity stylist . That should definitely be a fun one. I’m looking forward to her tips. Oh, and did I mention I will be moderating the Twitter Party from San Francisco? As I mentioned in my previous post, I will be at Alt Summit SF. Very busy and exciting week up ahead. I better rest up this weekend!

Watching last night’s fireworks – with my son – while relaxing on a blanket under the star-lit sky – was perfection. It felt incredibly good to relax and watch the sky light up in awe.

So I dusted off the old sketchpad this week! While watching sitcoms and snacking on the couch with my son, I sketched a few things. I remembered how wonderful (and frustratingly good) it felt to draw a portrait. I will work on a few more sketches before I start posting them on the blog. I’m a bit rusty!

In anticipation, I’ve been putting aside a jewelry pieces and outfits in preparation for my Alt Summit San Fransisco trip this month. It’s a short trip but I’m very excited about going. Can’t wait to be around the creative energy in one of my favorite cities – San Fran.

Also, this week – You can find me on Babble sharing my beauty tips for turning 40, my skincare tips for teen boys and my favorite vivid lips colors for summer. We also have a fun and yummy campaign with Avocados from Mexico over at LBConnect – There will be awesome recipes running about the blogosphere.

Have a great weekend!

The only time I got a chance to throw on a pair of sexy heels this week was when I went to the Hammer Museum last Friday evening. Every time I go, I have to stop at Gustave Moreau’s Salomé Dancing before Herod. It is by far my favorite depiction of Salomé, who I became obsessed with when I first saw Regnault’s version at the Met (many moons ago). I can’t explain why my subconscious mind is drawn to this femme fatale, but it is. Oh, who am I kidding. The story of Salomé is enthralling and full of sex and violence. It’s like watching a captivating film except in this case your mind finishes the story. For example, Moreau’s painting does not show the head of John the Baptist. It focuses solely on Salomé, who appears magical. Her posture is delicate and demanding at the same time. And being the Baudelaire and Delacroix junkie that I am (like Moreau), I just cannot get enough of the drama and passion. And the black cat. Of course, she rests in the shadows of the painting. This is why I love art history. It’s an escape into a romanticized world. Even in tragedy.

I also received this wonderful little book from the Princeton University Art Museum as a gift. I kept it by my computer the last few days as a little reminder to surround myself with more art.

My week in pictures is short this week. My son and I have both been feeling under the weather. A few trips to the doctor caused work to pile up, so I have spent a great deal of the week catching up. My lovely cat Athena always senses when I’m not feeling well, and tends to keep her eye on me throughout the day. She didn’t leave my side while I worked.

In other news, I started a workout routine a couple of weeks ago, and found that I am in love with coconut water. In fact, I’ve been using coconut for its overall awesomeness (inside and out) for years but I seriously cannot get enough of this stuff. I wrote an article about its beauty and health benefits for , have a look.

My son started the week off with soccer camp but wasn’t up to going yesterday. He’s been relaxing at home, but hopes to go today. His sneakers are barely worn in. Although we have not been feeling like our regular selves, the gestures of love that I’ve received this week have not gone unnoticed. Sometimes everything else needs to stop in order for you to really live those moments of gratitude and take care of yourself – mind, body and spirit.

Lately I’ve been feeling that my ultimate source of inspiration has been missing from my life – Art. I’ve been working so much and have gotten so caught up in the day to day, I’ve completely neglected my greatest passion – with the exception of an occasional art show here and there. Looking at, talking about and creating art is what keeps me most inspired, and I’m at my happiest when I surround myself with beautiful and thought provoking images. To remedy this, I decided I needed to take moments out of the day to grab an art book, sketch something simple or photograph all the things that inspire me throughout the week. To start, I organized all of the art books I love the most and the ones I’ve collected during grad school to make them more visible in my living room. In doing so, I noticed that I had quite the little collection of Frida related books. Something about her work invigorates me, and it was just what I needed after several long few weeks in front of a computer screen.

There have been a few last minute events I needed to attend (and dress quickly for) in the last few weeks. I have to say that I’m in love with Mary kay’s Zen collection for spring. The Pink Pagado lip laquer has been my go-to color and absolute perfection for day and night.

I’d been wanting get a pair of beige ankle strap heels, and fell in love with these. So much so, I bought the flat version too! I’m not a fan of flats but there’s no way to get around it. I’m not going to kill myself shopping at Von’s for eggs in 5 inch heels. These two are perfect for those days when your outfit is versatile enough to change shoes for a quick day-to-night look. I’m always thinking of on-the-go solutions, which was the case when my friends and I decided to take on an impromptu visit to Bergamont Station to catch a few shows before they closed.

We caught the very end of the Herb Alpert exhibit at Robert Berman Gallery.

And this week we also said goodbye to the seventh grade. We celebrated the beginning of summer vacation with cherry snow cones at the Farmer’s Market, which was also a perfect way to end the week.