VICTORIA AND MARIE X RAW ARTISTS

AYE, IT'S A POP-UP PARTY

What a way to bring in 2017. Last night, Abbie and I had our first pop-up shop for Victoria and Marie at 1015 Folsom, a venue we are very familiar with. We've attended so many shows there over the years! At some point in the night, Abbie looked at me and said, "I never thought I'd be making chokers in this venue." It felt pretty unreal, but we had such a good time being in our creative element.

Truly, we did not anticipate to sell as many chokers as we did, nor did we expect to get that much interest in our pieces! Abbie and I are so hard on ourselves sometimes, but last night reminded us why we love what we do, and why we keep going. It's those moments of "oohs" and "awws" when we are drunk on our own creative ideas, and bring them to life. To make things even better, so many of our loved ones came to celebrate with us.

If the rest of the year looks anything like last night did, then 2017, I'm so ready for you. 

Making final adjustments on our table before doors opened!

The calm before the storm. A quiet start to a crazy fun and busy night!

Our muse, Anjuli. #1 supporter, friend and brand baddie.

All the chokers we had at the beginning of the night. We sold over 20 chokers!

We get it from our mamas, and our mamas get their chokers from us! ;)

Watch out for the next V&M pop-up soon!

Setting Intentions for the New Year

New year, new theme. 

Happy New Year all! New year, new me...right? We know there are many resolutions that have been set coming into this new year. However, the word resolution is defined as "the action of solving a problem, dispute, or contentious matter."

Maybe, what you want to achieve isn't a problem in your life. Maybe, it's something you are already doing wonderful at, but you want to create more focus around something and step it up a bit. By setting an intention for the year, you are able to have a loose structured guide to stay focused, yet remain flexible no matter what twist or turn occurs all year long. 

Planning a better self for the new year is more about sitting yourself down to reflect. Think about where you're currently at in your life, and where you want to be one year from now. Then it's about naming the habits that will help you get there.

For example, my 2016 was a year of growth and learning, and now it's about putting that new knowledge into action. I've chosen to focus on "TRANSFORMATION" for 2017!

1. Select one word or phrase that you will use as an anchor throughout the year.

This could be a mantra, phrase or word. With your intention always in mind, it will help guide you when faced with decisions throughout the year.

Example: my intention for 2017 is about transformation. For me, this means creating habits that will help me blossom and transform my life into who I want to become. This includes transforming my body, transforming my home, transforming our brand, even transforming my mind to learn to relax.

2. Create actionable steps to bring your intention to life.

Now that you have a goal, it's about creating habit goals that will help you achieve this intention all year long. To be well rounded, I like to select a habit for each of the following categories: mind, body, spirit, heart, work, and home. Here are mine to kickstart ideas for your own!

2017:  The year of transformation

• Mind | Take classes, watch videos or read books once a month to learn more about growing social media platforms, creative communication and visual marketing.

• Body | track my macronutrients daily, and exercise 3-5 times a week

• Spirit | spend 10 minutes everyday to meditate to relax and ground myself

• Heart | fill out my daily gratitude log in my bullet journal

• Work | continue to build the brand and post daily for Victoria and Marie

• Home | complete the konmari method for tidying up my belongings before the end of the year

It's important to create habits that lead to the goal, but are also realistic! 

3. Last but most importantly, take action.

Now, keep that phrase somewhere with you where you'll always be reminded. In your phone's notes, or even write it in your planner. Better yet, make it your phone's wallpaper. Wherever it is, make sure it's somewhere that will keep you aware of it. As the year progresses, take time to check in with yourself and ask "have I been living intentionally?

Happy New Year!
Wish you all the best in an intentional 2017 life!

Portland, Oregon | Food and Drink Guide

Oh man, I feel like I ate my way through the trip...but I expected nothing less.  Note, some bites were taken so quickly they didn't make into the pictures. Sorry, not very sorry for enjoying it in the moment! Before arriving, Tigran and I asked a lot of people we knew for suggestions. Here's a small list of some of the places we made it to, that were worth the visit!

Coffee at Stumptown

One of the Portland recommendations we were given time and time again. For me, I had a simple cold brew coffee. Yes, it was worth it, and yes, I was bouncing off walls.

Brunch at Screendoor Restaurant

Screendoor was the first restaurant we visited once settling in, and that started off our trip with a massive food coma that was absolutely worth it. I got bacon praline waffles. My sweet tooth didn't know how to handle all of it at once, so I took some back to the room for leftovers....and devoured them later that evening. 

Twisted Treats at Voo Doo Donuts

We had a lot of donut options while we were there. We were warned that Voo Doo Donuts would have a long line, but somewhere in between our bikes and bar hopping, we made our way for a late night visit and the line was practically non-existent. I loved voo doo's because the recipe reminded me of the good ol' small mom-and-pop bakeries with classic fluffy donuts, with an extreme and twisted makeover.

Romantic Dinner at Portland City Grill

An absolute must if you are going to Portland for a romantic getaway. Along with the 30-story view of the Portland cityscape, the delicious food is like american steakhouse meets asian fusion. I got the macadamia nut chicken dish, which came with sushi rice and a sweet passion fruit sauce. So unique in taste,  and I loved the sweet touch! (Yes, I have a massive sweet tooth, it might be obvious now).

....and of course, and a whiskey drink. An old fashioned to be exact, because why not? ;)

Casual Taqueria Lunch at Por Que No?

If you are a San Franciscan, Por Que No reminded me so much of one of my hometown favorites, the Taco Shop at Underdogs on Irving Street. It's a great place for a casual brunch or lunch!

I ordered my go-to favorite, just like back home...a crispy double layered carne asada taco, with chips with guacamole to top it off. One thing Por Que No had that Underdog's didn't...the cafe borracha drink. The cafe borracha is a spiked housemade horchata, shaken with ristretto cold-brewed coffee and haitian rum. Something I'm still missing about the trip!

Did I mention how cute the patio was in the middle of Portland's Missisisspi District?

Thanks for the delicious eats, Portland! My tastebuds thank you...but the few extra pounds of fluff can't agree as easily. :P