Category: Art & Design

December 28 2017

My New Mantra: Four Words I Will Live By

I just finished the book Tribe of Mentors by Timothy Ferriss and came away from it feeling inspired. In the book, Ferriss asks the same eleven questions to some of the most accomplished people in the world. The recipients choose their favorite three to five to answer, “or more, if the spirit moves you,” he states. My next blog post will be about 20 of my favorite quotes from the book but today I’d like to expand on one particular quote that spoke to my heart. It was so simple yet so deeply personal. When asked, “If you could have a gigantic billboard anywhere, what would it say, and why?”

Raabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, a religious leader, philosopher and award-winning author stated: “Live, Give. Forgive.” I changed this to “Live, Love, Give, Forgive.”

Let’s break it down.

“Live”: Live in the present moment. Be here now. Practice mindfulness. Meditate. Celebrate each and every day.
“Love”: Connect with others. Trust people. Show compassion to yourself. Be grateful for the loved ones in your life – your family and your friends.
“Give”: Give generously of your time and money. Give but don’t expect anything in return.
“Forgive”: Let go of the pain in the past. Forgive others so that you can move on and be happier.

On the subject of “love”: I listened to the Perfect Duet by Ed Sheeran and Beyonce today. I started tearing up when Beyonce sang. It reminded me of my husband.

“Well, I found a man
Stronger than anyone I know
He shares my dreams
I hope that someday we’ll share a home
I found a love
To carry more than just my secrets
To carry love, to carry children
Of our own
We are still kids, but we’re so in love
Fightin’ against all odds
I know we’ll be alright this time
Darling, just hold my hand
Be your girl, you’ll be my man
And I see my future in your eyes.”

Beautiful, isn’t it?

December 12 2017

10 of My Favorite Things Right Now – Beauty, Books and More

Hello, all! Yes, I’m back after a long hiatus. I’ve been busy working on Skylar Yoo, it take a lot to start up a whole new company. Sorry if I’ve been neglecting this blog, I feel like I have so much to write about now. I’ll start out with just sharing ten of my favorite things – from books to beauty products.

1. The Go-Giver, Expanded Edition: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea: This short story gives you some heartfelt lessons on business and life in general. It outlines five laws for stratospheric success. I love the concept of giving without asking for anything in return. Here’s a good quote: “Watch out for the other guy. Watch out for his interests. Watch his back. Forget about fifty-fifty, son. Fifty-fifty’s a losing proposition. The only winning proposition is one hundred percent. Make your win about the other person, go after what he wants. Forget win-win – focus on the other person’s win.”

This, too: “You give, give, give. Why?…Because you love to. It’s not a strategy, it’s a way of life.”

2. Rihanna’s Red Lip Paint, “Stunna“: I’ve always admired a woman who can carry off bold red lips. It’s hard to find the perfect shade, you get me, girls?! That’s why when I finally tried Rihanna’s brand Fenty Beauty’s “Uncensored” I was extremely happy! Unlike a lot of glosses and lipsticks these days that are totally drying, this one is less so. It stays on for hours and it’s a universally great shade of red. (See Rihanna in it, above.) Give it a go! You won’t regret it. (I’m now onto trying her metallic hot pink lipstick and her glitter eyeliner in blue.

3. Thick Classic Notebook with Pen Loop – Lemome A5 Wide Ruled Hardcover Writing Notebook with Pocket + Page Dividers Gifts, Banded, Large, 180 Pages, 8.4 x 5.7 in – Lately, I’ve been waking up early to journal. It’s a great, refreshing way to start the day (or end it). There’s tons of notebooks out there but this one spoke to me because it’s timeless, it’s not too bulky or too thin, and it has this handy pen loop so you’ll never lose your pen again. I’ll still collect my notebooks, but for my journals, I think I’ll stick to this one.

4. iPhone X: I recently received my iPhone X and can’t say enough how much I love it. I used to have the iPhone 6+ and that was a giant compared to this. The X is the perfect size, it’s not too heavy and I can use it with one hand. I love the the edge to edge OLED screen, how fast it is and, most importantly, Face ID. It’s weird not having a real, touchable home button but you get used to it. Good job, Apple, on making me fall in love with Apple again! (Speaking of which, I love my AirPods, too!)

5. Bandolino ballet flats in gold: I try to avoid heels whenever I can so when I see a good pair of flats I snatch them up. These gold ones, by Bandolino, are shimmery and cute. They don’t have a lot of support at the bottom, but they’re not for hiking a hill, they’re more for casual work wear. Lord & Taylor’s having a good sale on them right now!

6. Pentel EnerGel Deluxe RTX Retractable Liquid Gel Pen,0.7mm, Fine Line, Metal Tip, Blue Ink-Value set of 5 (With Our Shop Original Product Description): This is by far the best pen I’ve ever used. It’s just so smooth and the the way it grips makes it feel so natural. I want 1000 of these. Speaking of pens, I use Kyinflose Pens, Smooth Gel Ink Roller Ball Pens, Fine Point, Black, 12-Pack (0.5mm) this black one for my journaling. Love it, too.

7. Baebody Eye Gel for Dark Circles, Puffiness, Wrinkles and Bags – The Most Effective Anti-Aging Eye Gel for Under and Around Eyes – 1.7 fl. oz.: Now that I’m past 40, I need me some eye cream. I checked Amazon and this one was far and away the best seller. Tried it on and loved it! It feels gel-like at first but then quickly absorbs into the skin. I used to suffer from dryness around my eyes but that’s all been cured.

8. Iconic Eyelashes at House of Lashes: These are my go-to eyelashes. They’re super full, I wear them daily, but you may want to save them for a special night out. House of Lashes has good eyelash glue, too.

9. Pink faux fur coat from Zara: This is one of my favorite coats right now. (I’ve started a small collection.) It’s super fluffy and warm. Who doesn’t love this color, too? It’s not too baby pink or too bright pink.

10. Today Matters: 12 Daily Practices to Guarantee Tomorrow’s Success (Maxwell, John C.) – This is kind of an older book (2005) but it still has a lot of valuable life lessons. Maxwell is a pastor so there are some references to God but overall you can learn a lot of what you can do today to be successful tomorrow. He includes a ton of quotes in this book so if that’s your jam, you’re going to love this. He narrows down the areas for critical success to 12 or what he calls the “”Daily Dozen.” This includes having a positive attitude, sticking to priorities and investing in good relationships. Solid.

October 13 2017

I Love You California Print Raises $100,000 for CA Wildfires

I love a good art print, especially if the money raised by it is going to a good cause. This one touched my heart. Called “I Love You California,” 100% of of their online sales goes to helping support the relief efforts for those affected by the California wildfires. $100,000 has already been raised. Cool thing is that Dave Pell of Next Draft will match whatever they raise this week. I bought this floral one. NorCal, we here in SoCal are thinking about you! (This red leaf one is pretty, too.)

August 28 2017

6 Interesting Things To Check out Today

I found it so cool that Lorde danced her way through the VMA’s because she had the flu and, thus, couldn’t sing. What a brave woman!

Entrepreneurs say this is the No. 1 factor in their success. Can you guess what it is?

This is for all you cheese lovers out there.

What a cute and quirky lamp. (Note: I have a thing for owls.)

Does anyone else see “cat ears“?

So much hate on the newsstands. Kinda makes you depressed.

August 8 2017

BIG, BIG ART NEWS AT THE BROAD!

One of my all-time favorite artists (and presumably yours) is having a blockbuster event at The Broad in Los Angeles! Yayoi Kusama already has one Infinity Room there but now there will be six of them! Yes, six!

The Broad is the only California stop on its six venue North American tour.

The exhibition will be on view from October 21-January 1, and advance tickets for the full run of the show will go on sale September 1. A limited number of same-day standby tickets will be available each day during the run of the exhibition. Mark your calendars, people!

Per The Broad:
“Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors will provide visitors with the unique opportunity to experience six of Kusama’s infinity rooms—the artist’s most iconic kaleidoscopic environments—alongside large-scale installations and key paintings, sculptures and works on paper from the early 1950s to the present, which contextualize the foundational role the concept of infinity has played in the artist’s work over many decades and through diverse media. The exhibition also marks the North American debut of numerous new works by the 88-year-old artist, who is still actively creating in her Tokyo studio. These include large-scale, vibrantly colored paintings and the recently realized infinity room, All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins, 2016, featuring dozens of her signature bright yellow, dotted pumpkins.”

Advance tickets $25 for adults, children 12 and under free. This will be a a must see!!!

July 5 2017

Probably the Coolest Thing You’ll See Today


Though put up on YouTube in 2012, it’s new to me. For a person who has a YouTube attention span of like 10 seconds, I thought this was well worth the two minutes.

“Dancers + camera + kaleidoscope = this infinitely gorgeous short video. (Watch in 1080p fullscreen if you can.) It’s made for TEDxSummit, an unprecedented gathering of TEDx organizers from around the world– and the video celebrates ‘the power of x’ to multiply great ideas.”

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