Project 365: Reflections, Week 1

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I’m so excited to launch a personal project for 2019 – the daily photo challenge, also known as #project365. Each week, my photography partner and I choose a new theme, and each day we must take a photo within that theme. It’s a very hard challenge – but I love it for a few reasons. 1) It stretches you creatively. You don’t necessarily see new and interesting things or places each day, so you have to figure out how to capture the ordinary sometimes in new and creative ways. 2) It forces you to be observant to what’s around you. I literally now carry my camera everywhere. I keep my eyes open, and my brain thinking. It’s really cool the things you notice when you pay attention. 3) It lets me try new ideas, techniques, and editing styles – and ultimately I can apply these in my photography, design and marketing roles.

So to kick off the year, here’s week 1 (short week) with the theme REFLECTIONS.

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Layover Entertainment | Shows to binge while you’re waiting

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Between movies and series, I will always choose series. I’ve always preferred extended storylines, in smaller bits, with gradual character development and storytelling. While I like movies, I would much prefer to watch a couple episodes of a series, than sit down for a 2.5 hour movie any day. Funny enough – as a girl who loves TV series, I actually don’t pay for cable! Instead, I’m an avid user of Netflix, Hulu, Crunchyroll, Viki, HBO Go and YouTube TV. I’d say my favorite genres are often supernatural/fantasy series, dramas (such as crime or suspense), romantic comedies, and anime.

I find that when I’m traveling, I catch up on old series and start some new ones too. One of my favorite features of Netflix is the download capability. When there’s a show I want to watch on Netflix, I get pumped that I can save locally and watch with zero Wifi access! But today, I feel most airports and hotels (in my experience) have wifi available, at least in my experience – so even if you can’t download your episodes, streaming is still an option!  Ready to fill that extended layover or those long in-flight hours with something new? Here are my current top 5 show favorites that are available for streaming…

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Packing Light | Mastering the Carry-On Challenge

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Long lines. Extra fees. Baggage claim. Skip that – I’m an avid fan of the carry-on bag. But one thing that can be challenging – getting ALL of your stuff into that one small roller bag. I know, you never know the occasion, or you’ve been looking for a place to wear those cute new shoes (and vacation dinner seems like the perfect time).

Let me tell you: travel light! Less weight to lug around, less decisions you have to make, and less stress when you’re trying to fit all those souvenirs into your already stuffed bag! My tips to succeeding at the carry-on challenge: 1) pack only what you need; 2) think layers and recycling; 3) be reasonable and realistic.

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Iceland Excursion | 48 Hour Trip

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Iceland, a Nordic island nation, with unique landscapes and gorgeous views. As part of our Norway adventure in late May, we decided to add on a little side excursion to Iceland, since it seemed it would be a layover anyways… and totally worth it. During our two days (and two days within the almost-Midnight Sun period too), we got to explore so much of Iceland, although there’s so much more to see. This will definitely be a place to come back someday.

Here are my favorite 4 places we visited, observations from the trip, and a gallery of images from our excursions at the very end:

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May 2018 | Beauteque Monthly

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I was always the kid who saw the grab bags and HAD to have one – whether it was a $1 grab bag or a $10 grab bag, the element was surprise had me so interested in what was inside. I like to call the subscription boxes the “modern grab bag” – much more exciting, and a little more expensive (ha!).

I read about the Beauteque Monthly box, and thought I’d give it a go. I love Korean beauty products (and when I say “I”, I mean my skin), and wanted to check out this beauty box filled with products straight from South Korea. I’ve tried other beauty boxes before, including the Sephora monthly play, but felt like the samples were too small or from a leftover stash, or I kept getting sent products that I’d never use… I mean, how many red lipsticks can this girl wear?! Fire engine red lipstick is NOT my color.

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New Orleans | Holiday Vacation

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The “Big Easy”… New Orleans, LA. We’d been there once before as a porting city for a cruise years ago, and fortunately got a taste of the city overnight before we embarked. As we approached the holidays this year, we wanted to take a short winter vacation while things were quiet, and decided to take a trip BACK to New Orleans, and experience it all for much longer.

New Orleans is such a pretty place to go during the holidays! The weather was perfect, the decorations were up, and honestly it wasn’t overly crowded. We spent a few days, walking around, eating lots of (excellent) cuisine, and more.

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