pacific northwest ballet :: emergence

two weeks ago, my boyfriend greg and i had the
pleasure of attending pacific northwest ballet's
performance, emergence! i haven't been to the ballet in several
years, and it was an incredible experience--from the beautiful

sets, live orchestra, and awe-inspiring dancing, it
was a performance i will never forget. 

disclosure: a special thank you to karya schanilec and

pacific northwest ballet (pnb) for providing greg and i complimentary

tickets to this performance. we had a wonderful time! 

as per usual, all opinions are my own.

although i grew up dancing ballet, as an adult, 

i have come to appreciate the immense talent required to put 

on a performance like emergence. the talent possessed by 

those dancers? oh my!

emergence is broken up into three performances: 

alejandro cerrudo's little mortal jump, yuri possokhav's

raku, and crystal pite's emergence. the trio is equally

amazing, but my favorite was yuri passokhav's raku!

based on true events, the story is contemporary 

and passionate, yet violent. to see this story choreographed

in a ballet was inspirational (and somewhat
indescribable). 

'the central theme of his score [...] is burning.

the burning of desire, of passion, of loyalty; the burn

of suffering, of jealousy; finally the burning of death--

emotions that are so strong that they overcome the

discipline of a zen monk and overcome the loyalties 

of a samurai.'

--cheryl a. ossola

i think greg was unsure of what to expect

when i mentioned attending the ballet, but he greatly 

enjoyed the performance (his favorite was also raku)!

greg and i went to dinner in seattle before heading

to mccaw hall. once there, we ordered drinks and found

our seats; we were fortunate to sit close to the stage

and popped by to see the orchestra during intermission.

 as an aspiring fashionista, what to wear

to the ballet was an important part of the night :)

i opted for a spring dress, patent boots, and a blush pink

crossbody bag. i love any excuse to dress up and the

ballet was no exception!

photos by karya schanilec photography

dress: parker (thrifted via seattle goodwill),

boots: zara, purse: nine west, rings: forever 21

thank you again, karya, for providing us tickets

to the ballet. we had a wonderful time, and i look forward

to attending future pacific northwest ballet (pnb) 

performances! 

you can watch the trailer for emergence here 

and see upcoming performances for the 2017-2018 

season by pnb here.

xoxo.

'give a sh!rt' :: celebrating earth day with value village

'you cannot get through a single day without

having an impact on the world around you. what you

do makes a difference, and you have to decide

what kind of difference you want to make.'

--jane goodall

did you know? it takes over 700 gallons of water to
make one new t-shirt!
source

 in celebration of earth day (april 22, 2018),

i have partnered with value village to support and

promote environmental awareness in the greater

seattle community! 

value village has more than 330 locations 

and is a for-profit, global retailer. they are

dedicated to keeping recyclable goods 

(including: clothing, shoes, and household
items) out of our landfills. in 2017, value village

recycled more than 700 million pounds of used
goods. additionally, last year, value

village partnered with 120

charitable organizations nation-wide!

disclosure: a special thank you to value village for providing

me a gift certificate to purchase items featured in today's post. as per

usual, all opinions are my own!

sadly, many people simply throw away

unwanted clothing and household items

when a large percentage of these items

could be recycled. the average u.s. citizen threw

away 81 pounds of clothing in 2017. this number is

alarming, particularly when you consider the

environmental implications!

source 

to further promote environmental
awareness, value village launched their 'give a sh!rt
campaign,' encouraging consumers to recycle unused

items of clothing and purchase 'new' items
second hand from value village (instead

of buying new at other retailers). with more than
10,000 items introduced in stores daily, the
selection of goodies (that could be yours) is
rather amazing!

if i had to guess, i would estimate
more than 50 perfect of my clothes, shoes,
and accessories were purchased second hand.
this is partly an effort to spend
conservatively, but also due to environmental
considerations. why purchase new when
i can find the same (or close to the same) recycled
at value village for a fraction of
the cost? when cleaning out my closet, i
enjoy donating items, allowing them to
find a second-hand home!

i purchased this ann taylor dress,
bb dakota faux leather jacket, and target
cross-body bag all for less than 40 dollars--
talk about savings!

photos by karya schanilec photography

dress: ann taylor (c/o value village),

jacket: bb dakota (c/o value village),

purse: target (c/o value village), necklace: topshop,

shoes: franco sarto

 how do you celebrate earth day?

are you a thrift shopper, and where do

you typically donate unused items?

i may have to celebrate earth day with a shopping

trip to value village :)

30 years strong :: setting new health and wellness goals

happy monday, everyone!

my 'out-of-office' reply is on, and

i am officially on vacation. i write to you

from kona, hawaii, where i am relaxing in

paradise--with family--for the next

week. however, i couldn't stay away from blogging

and wanted to share a few health and

wellness goals i have been working toward

over the past several weeks.

disclosure: a special thank you to brooks running for providing me

the jacket, top, sports bra, running tights, and shoes pictured in this post.

i am grateful for the opportunity to be a brand partner of brooks running.

as per usual, all opinions are my own! 

i celebrated my thirtieth birthday

in march, and over the past year (or two), i have

noticed significant changes in my body.

no longer can eat french fries and pizza and

chocolate chip cookies without 1. getting

a terrible stomach ache (gluten and dairy products

are not my friend), and 2. adding quick

weight to my arms, thighs, and stomach.

additionally, i have prominent laugh lines--which

i am 100% okay with--but

that furrow on my brow--eh, i could

live without it.

staying up late, not drinking enough

water, a few too many glasses of

wine at happy hour? sheesh! my 20-something 

self would laugh and seemingly be horrified at how 

poorly i tolerate these! in an effort to feel great, both

physically and emotionally, during my thirtieth 

year, i have made a conscious effort to practice better 

self-care. this includes finding activities that 

support my overall health and wellness.

i should preface this by stating that
i am happy, healthy, and eager to see what
this new decade (hello, 30!) has to offer.
i simply want to document the personal
goals i have set as a means of holding myself
accountable :)

1. exercise, exercise, exercise.
(and no, not extra fries, unfortunately.)
whether going for a walk, visiting the gym,
or running stairs, i am determined to
exercise five days a week. getting in 30
minutes of cardio is one of my favorite
ways to alleviate stress. while i don't mind
going to the gym (i belong to a local
la fitness), i prefer to be active outdoors!

believe it or not, i greatly enjoy running
the stairs. seattle has several scenic staircases
worth visiting; my favorites include the
howe street stairs (capitol hill), thornton
creek water channel stairs (northgate, seattle),
the staircase over western avenue
leading into pike place market (downtown
seattle), and of course, the stairs featured
in today's post on upper queen anne!

^^^ i cannot get enough of these shoes! 

i'm wearing the purecadence 7 road running shoe,

and the purple is my absolute favorite. ^^^

2. breathe. stretch.

you may or may not believe this, but

i have never practiced yoga. stretching

has never been a strong suit of mine, but

with increased stress and back pain (again,

hello, 30), i think it may be time to make

stretching a priority. i think the best way

to do this is by attending a yoga class so i can

learn the introductory-level poses!

my gym offers complimentary classes

as part of my membership, but if you're 

local to seattle and have a studio you love,

please send recommendations my way.

3. prioritize my skincare routine and

accompanying products.

i have always been diligent about

washing my face (i never sleep in my makeup),

but until recently, i would skimp on skincare

products. affordable and easily

accessible washes and moisturizers were

my go-to products, but i have realized that 

i am not only skimping on cost, but

also on the quality of the ingredients. in

the past few months, i have been

better about reading labels and ingredient

lists in order to know what it is i

am applying to my face. 

and unlike my teenage self, apply

spf and eye cream daily!

photos by karya schanilec photography

ghost short sleeve top: c/o brooks (exact here),

uprise crossback sports bra: c/o brooks (exact here),

canopy jacket: c/o brooks (exact here),

ghost high-waist mesh crop tights: c/o brooks (exact here),

purecadence 7 road running shoes: c/o brooks (exact here)

**these pieces are part of brooks running's spring

collection. items run true to size, and i love how supportive

the sports bra and running shoes are, whether i'm exercising

outdoors or at the gym.

a few others goals i recently set?

read! instead of scrolling through instagram

or watching tv before bed, i choose, instead, to read.

dedicate time to family. cherish time spent with

friends. and lastly, be happy! this last goal

may seem silly, but at times, i can be a 'glass half

empty' kind of gal. i am working to be more

positive and have a better outlook on things, especially

when i feel stressed.

do you enjoy setting goals for yourself?

how do you like to document these goals?

and most importantly, how do you

hold yourself accountable?

xoxo.