I have had the amazing opportunity this month to work at Austin Fashion Week! It officially ended last night at the Austin Fashion Awards. It was all wonderful! But one of my favorite things that I got to participate in was a makeover for a random Austinite. We found someone on the street, who had just moved to Austin from New York, and gave her an Austin makeover!! Click the before-and-after photo below to see details of her makeover!
I tend to travel a lot, and getting through the airport can be a pain. You have to push through crowds of people while holding on to your luggage, carry-on items and laptops or other “personal items.” And once you get to security, you have to unload all of this, take off your shoes and get your ticket and ID checked. But wait, where the hell did you put that stupid ticket?
You check your pants pocket, jacket pockets, every pouch of every bag and then finally pull out that ticket. While you are lost in your digging, the guy next to you just pulls out his cell phone, puts it to a scanner and moves on!
A ticket on a cell phone? YES!
You can now receive a paperless boarding pass on your PDA or mobile device. It is valid at security and at the gate. I will say, I was skeptical at first considering how tight security can be some days. But as long as the scanners are working, your PDA boarding pass will too! Not to mention, you are much more likely to keep track of your beloved cell phone than a slip of paper while traveling. Plus, its completely paperless!
But what if the scanner doesn’t work? Airport lines are long. Well, that happened to me. Security gave me a pass that let me jump to the front of the check-in line to get a paper ticket, and then jump right back up to the front of the security line! So no matter what, you are ahead of the game and have one less thing to keep track of!
In a recent post by GeekSugar titled “Work It: 10 Apps Every Businesswoman Should Have: Best iPhone Apps For Work and Productivity,” one in particular caught my eye: the Business Card Reader for iPhone.
It instantly recognizes business cards and files the information under your contacts. This will help make sure you never type in a phone number, name, email address or business name incorrectly in your phone. I would love this, as I have the terrible habit of entering half the information now, and forgetting the second half when I go to enter it later. If I had an iPhone, I would definitely buy this app!
Too bad its 6 bucks!
Breast Cancer Awareness Month is celebrated every October, but funds are needed all year round. In this economy, though, many people don’t have the money to support themselves and the causes that are important to them. Well if you want to donate a mammogram without donating more than a click of your mouse, just go to The Breast Cancer Site. Click on the large, pink link that says, “Click Here to Give – it’s Free!” and you are done. You have donated a mammogram to someone who needs it. The best part? You can go give it a click EVERY DAY!!!
So go and click! You have no excuse and you can help make a difference! On this site, you can also click-to-donate to Hunger, Child Health, Literacy, the Rainforest and Animal Rescue.
Like I said before, I was lucky enough to get to attend the sold out Lady Gaga: Monster Ball tour on Sunday at the Toyota Center in Houston. And I again repeat that I am officially a devout Little Monster! I love, love, LOVED her show! Lady Gaga is an incredible performer with an incredible message for all!
Equality. Self love. Truth of Self.
But all of this aside, it was simply a ton of fun! My friends and I got dressed up and I was in charge of makeup. It was one of my first chances to try some crazier looks I have not had the opportunity to play with before. Any anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE makeup. Below are some of our pictures from the night.
Not bad for a first timer!
I have only one bad thing to say about the show, which I will qualify before. Although Lady Gaga’s costume and makeup changes were incredible, as always, some of the “quick changes” were not so quick. And during these moments, we only had Gaga videos to fill the time. It created too much dead space for me. BUT, like I said, the costumes were incredible!
As soon as it was over, I told my friends I would happily go back again, with crazier outfits and for better seats! Some of my favorites moments were (in no particular order):
1. I got made fun of a lot in high school, so I really milk this part of the show. Do you think I’m sexy? (CHEERS!) Do you think I’m beautiful? (CHEERS!)
2. I’m like Tinkerbell, if you don’t clap for me, I’ll die! DO YOU WANT ME TO DIE?!??! CLAP FOR ME!
3. The phone call to an audience member (that my friends and I desperately wanted to receive.)
4. Her great outfits and personalized interactions with her dancers, talking to and with them, calling them by name.
5. Making every audience member feel like she is talking directly to them. I was like a mesmerized child!
6. She was very clearly thankful for all she had.
7. Though we assumed we would fit right in with a decked out crowd or little monsters, we stood out with out makeup and clothes, and we loved it!
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Not long ago, I learned that a friend of mine could not use the Lady Gaga ticket she bought, and I therefore inherited it (for the price of the ticket of course.) I was EXTREMELY excited, as I expected the show would be a spectacle. I truly thought that I would listen to Gaga’s un-autotuned voice which I would only forgive because of her crazy/amazing costumes and theatrics. (Not to mention, my friends and I were planning on getting dressed up, and I was in charge of makeup!) But boy was I WRONG!
First of all, yes, the theatrics and costumes were everything I hoped that would be. But, I was wrong about Lady Gaga. Not only does she have an amazing voice, but she puts on an amazing show, costumes and theatrics aside. She uses this opportunity to raise awareness about LGBT rights. She also uses this opportunity to support all her “little monsters,” enforcing self-confidence and self-awareness. Lady Gaga then follows with a few life anecdotes, including letting everyone know that, yes, she was made fun of in high school for being herself, but look where she is now. She shows unending gratitude to her fans and supporters. She even calls one person in attendance in the middle of the concert and moves them to better seats after a quick convo. Sometimes, she will even agree to meet them after the show ends! (I won’t lie, my friends and I were DYING to be the ones that got called.)
All in all, Lady Gaga not on puts on a great show, but uses the opportunity to send out a great message. Did she say F*** a lot? Yes. Were her dance moves and costumes extremely sexual? Yes. Did that make for some awkward for us and the 10-year-olds sitting in front of us? Yes.
Did she apologize for being herself? No. Would I change any little bit of it? NO!
For these reasons and more I am officially one of Lady Gaga’s little monsters.
Job hunting is no easy task. First there is the competition, then the connections you or others may have and finally location, location, location. I have already pondered the ethics of using a friends address to make yourself seem local on a job application. (Give your opinion here.) Now I will talk about connections.
Some people have them, some don’t. So what do you do to try to connect with someone at the company or office at which you are applying? Many people go to LinkedIn. You can search and search and search for people, but then it is not always easy to contact them, or they can reject the network request. One feature that I have made great use of is the Groups on LinkedIn.
I joined my university’s alumni group and searched within those people for someone who may be able to help me. Those from within this group are often much more helpful than someone I have no connection with at all. And once I get a job, I know I will be happy to help lead my fellow Longhorns in the right direction. So give this a shot, find your alumni page and start searching!
Tell me about some tips you have for forming network connections or using LinkedIn!
Bellasugar’s Monday Giveaway this week is a Living Proof Straight Making Styling System. I am a happy convert from loads of mousse and gel to Living Proof. Though I am a curly girl, don’t miss YOUR chance at winning this Straight Making Styling System!
Just go to bellasugar.com to enter!
And for all you curly girls like me, check out my review of their Wave Shaping System!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my AMAZING GRANDPA!!! Today he is 84 years young! WE LOVE YOU!!!
Grandpa with his 10 grandchildren and first great-grandchild!
Do you have sorta-curly hair? Some days it’s curly, and others it’s just…BLAH! On those days do you just slap on some more mousse or a little extra gel? And all that leads to is junky, crunchy hair. I was the same way until I found Living Proof Wave Shaping Hair Serum at Sephora (the exclusive beauty retailer).
It is lighter, easier to use and does less damage to my hair. Not to mention, it is touchable and soft with no crunchiness! My hand no longer gets stuck in my strands when I am fluffing mid-day! I have yet to give the shampoo and conditioner a try, but am tempted by Thickening Cream, No Frizz Styling Spray and their new Restyling Spray! I am in love! Give it a try all you curly haired ladies (and men) and let me know how you like it!
(The instructions for long hair say to use 3 quarter-size drops. That is too much for my hair and makes it a bit greasy. I use just a quarter size amount, but try it out for yourself and see what works best for you!)
