I’ll admit it, there are a few things I need to work on. 1: replying to emails, and 2: being more transparent on this site. So, I felt like it’s time to catch up on some commonly asked questions, open up a bit, and post a few no makeup selfies where I thought my hair looked absolutely awesome (cheers to bed head), so you can see what the heck I look like without cropping my head off.
This shall be fun.
Let’s start with my stats:
I am 33. If you think that’s old, wait until you are 33 and realize how awesome being in your 30’s is. And, I’m sure each decade will increase in awesomeness…
I am married. My husband (who told me to use the above pics) and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary this year. Time truly flies when you’re married to your best friend.
I live in LA. I started the blog in Hawaii, and in the past 6 months moved to Seattle, and then to LA. Hopefully we will be here longer than 6 months.
What else? I have a dog, and she is my best four legged little happy pill of a friend. I drive an old beach mobile that I have to get in through the passenger side because the driver side door is broken.
And on to some questions:
I want your job, how did you get here? What do you do for work?
In response to the I want your job, how did you get here part:
I seriously could write a book. So here’s a really long run on sentence: I’ve been working since I was in middle school, in some shape or form, after college I worked on a Golf course, cleaned clubs, cleaned toilets, played on golf carts, nannied, worked at a bar (was even a bouncer), was a kickboxing instructor, went to grad school, worked as a live model on ShopNBC, nannied some more, got a paid internship, worked in a few ad agencies as an art director, was unemployed, started freelancing, freelanced for an awesome company that let me telecommute in Hawaii and Seattle, throw in a little bit of acting and old fart modeling, piecing together a bunch of things to make ends meet, and having strong faith through it all…is how I got here.
So, by doing a lot of different things (that were not always glamorous) and learning as much as I could through each experience along the way, I acquired a plethora of lessons and perspectives, that I believe, have all greatly contributed to making the blog interesting.
Which leads us to, what I do for work…
Ironically, that act of blogging itself is not my job, and I am not paid by any companies for posts on this site or my instagram. I like to have control over what goes on my site, and when….and that keeps maintaing it as fun and organic as possible. I like waking up, looking at the site as a whole and seeing what it needs on that day. I do make a little bit through affiliate links (so whoever bought that aloha tee from my dream beach bag post, thanks for helping me earn $2.) But my “work” aka how I pay the bills, is through graphic design, product photography, design collaborations, guest blogging and commissioned art. Oh yeah, being in LA, I am now an aspiring actress. So if anyone knows an agent…
I am thinking about starting a blog. Any tips?
Start the darn thing. Post consistently. Be original. Don’t over think it. It should be fun. Also, if you are posting a pic or anything that is on your site that is not yours, quote the source and link back.
What kind of watercolor book do you use? What kind of pens and paints?
It is a handmade Punjab watercolor book. I read about it 4 years ago in a post when Kimberly Gordon of Wildfox told her readers what she used. I am forever grateful for her sharing that info, so I am passing it on to you. If you google “punjab watercolor book” a bunch of sites, even some ebay stores, will come up.
For pens they are Winsor & Newton archival ink pens, and I have a little travel water color set (also by Winsor & Newton) that’s over a decade old, and travels with me everywhere.
What Kind of camera do you use:
A nikon J1, my Fujifilm xp20 for water pics (I have gone through 3 of them), and my iPhone. Then I like to play around with the colors and contrast.
I am going to (insert Hawaiian island) do you have any recommendations?
YES! And I seriously need to write them all down so I can copy and paste a proper response to this. In short, 1: rent car so you can go explore as much as possible, 2: don’t have a set agenda so you can be spontaneous and relaxed, 3: eat a ton of poke, malasadas, hit up the food trucks, and drink good coffee, and finally…4: watch the sunset on the beach. Every night. For me.
Any workout tips?
Of course, and I have a lot of them. But the big thing to start with is the five simple rules: be active, lift weights, drink lots of water, get enough sleep, and eat clean. I could give you a ton of ab workouts you could do until your heart’s content, but if you are sleeping 5 hours a night, downing fast food, drinking Sprite more than water, and watching netflix all day, they aren’t going to do much good. If you want an inspirational and motivational read to help you get on track, check out The Body Book by Cameron Diaz.
What other blogs do you follow and like?
The funny thing is I really don’t follow any blogs. I have my tumblr feed I’ll scroll through every now and then. But I think Garance Dore is the Vogue of the blog world, and my pal Lady Slider has something really special going on too.
So, what’s next?
Good question. I have a bunch of design collaborations with a few companies that will be released over the next few months, and I couldn’t be more thrilled about each one. Then, I am setting up an online art gallery where you can buy prints, original art, and who knows what else at this point.
…and maybe I will get around to writing a book.
In the mean time, I’ll keep on soaking up the saltwater and sun, racking up the frequent flier miles, enjoying summertime with my husband, cuddling with my pup, and loving life.
Thank you all for your emails, contagious positivity, and for following this little labor of love blog. It really means so much.
Love,
Rebekah