A Proposal fit for a Princess!

Are you crying yet?

How about now?

Ok, you’re definitely crying… NOW!

This video is one of the many reasons I am obsessed with love. It is proof that fairy tales really do come true. What do you think?

After all of this incredible proposal excitement, Allison & Craig are finally getting married today at Belle Mer in Newport, RI! They came into town lastnight, and I don’t think they have stopped smiling since!

I can’t wait to see them as they get ready to walk down the aisle!

Ps. Couples have brands too! Their wedding was entirely designed by Allison (the invitations, escort cards, and aisle runner all have a logo that Allison designed on Illustrator! Adorable!)

Why Not?

Don’t ask why you need your own brand. You just do. Everyone does! Happy Friday Inspiration!!!

The Betch-Factor

Alright, So… This book is absurdly hysterical. Although… a lot of the time I feel like am being made fun of. Regardless – it is ironically VERY truthful and similar to Kelly Cutrone’s
If you Have to Cry, Go Outside, and Normal Gets you Nowhere.
Good for these Betches to speak their minds and share it with the world.

What is a Betch? Well, this is the definition from The Betches themselves: 

Betch // The girl who has guys wrapped around her finger, whose outfit is always perfectly conceived, and who magically accomplishes whatever she wants, whether it’s getting an amazing job at twenty-two or engaged at 25, and she does it effortlessly. She may see unapproachable, but those who are lucky enough to know her are likely to claim that she’s “really great if you’re friends with her, but she can be a huge bitch.”

They break down the Betch-Factor for each major city in the country. So naturally, since I have lived closest to Boston my whole life, I’ll go with that!
(The Betches are pretty harsh about it… Poor Boston!)

BETCH-OGRAPHY: BOSTON
Betch-Factor: A mere 3/10!!! (and people say it’s the bitchiest city in the country!)

The Betch Who Lives There: Wishes she didn’t and will leave as soon as she’s done with school. Since there’s no fashion or PR in Boston, any girl with a job in this city is probably doing something like working in a hospital or a lab. That clearly means she’s a nice girl. We don’t have to explain why wearing a long white lab coat every day is a betch’s worst nightmare. To cope with the pain of living around so many girls who wear eyeglasses without even trying to make a trendy statement, the Boston betch spends most weekends on Newbury Street. This street is like an oasis for the Boston betch in the midst of a fat, Dunkin Donuts eating, beer guzzling, guys with weirdly-buzzed Frankenstein haircuts city. She can get brunch at Sonsie with her fellow miserable betches, buy some decently hot outfits, and pretend for an afternoon that she’s in New York.

She Avoids: Virtually every bar in the city. A betch never goes into a pub. This city is crawling with pubs with names like Flanagan O’Malley’s. If any word is the opposite of betch, it’s pub. Avoid at all costs.

A Betch Who Visits Should: Have her fucking head examined. If for some reason you find yourself here, find a bro at a hotel bar and make him take you to the Celtics/Red Sox game. Of course, anything less than courtside seats or a luxury box is extremely unbetchy. Also, hang out in Harvard Square and see if you can find a Harvard Business School bro, and like, never work. Work is like any awful life-ruining addiction, once you start it becomes much harder to stop. Best to avoid in the first place.

Redeeming Factor: You’ll be the hottest girl in the city, and you might even be able to eat more than 1000 calories a day and still maintain that honor. We know, we’d never really do that, but it’s good to know we could. Also, the Boston metro area is not entirely awful. If you need to escape the actual city – and you do – there are a few places on the Cape, or even better, Nantucket, where a betch can easily throw on enormous sunglasses, have bros buy her overpriced drinks, and dress cute without getting nasty looks from girls who actually wear normal-sized football jerseys in public.

Y-I-K-E-S x A MILLION!!!
For those of you who love Boston, I told ya it was going to be harsh!
** NOTE: Boston & Philadelphia (also 3/10) are the lowest scoring cities; aka, full of nicegirls. While New York and LA are ranked the highest (9.5/10!!) aka, full of Betches, no surprise there! 

Personal Betch-Factor Quiz
Add your points as you go to see what your Betch-Factor is!
Sorry, you’ll have to make your own if your not from Boston.
More Cities here

1. Guys Wrapped Around her Finger: Guys (plural) does not apply -> 0

2. Perfectly Conceived Outfit: I really try with this one, give it to me! -> +1

3. Amazing Job at 22: CHECKKKK! -> +1

4. Engaged by 25: Engaged? Engaged with/in what? -> 0

5. Unapproachable: No Way, No How, approach away! -> +1

6. Newbury Street Hang-Out: Where else is there to go? -> +1

7. Sonsie For Lunch: Best Tuna Melt on the Planet! -> +1
—-The Tuna Melt is Definitely Over 1,000 Calories (oh well!)

8. Irish Pub: Never Been in Boston, but I DESPISE Obrien’s in Newport -> +1

9. Bro Out at a Sports Game: Box/Courtside Seats? Unnecessary -> 0

10. Weekends on Cape/Nantucket: I’m from the Cape! Wooo! #FTW -> +1                     

Betch-o-Meter Total: 7/10

Turns out I have a little more Betch in me than I thought, but according to these girls… that’s not a bad thing. And hey! I still have a whole three points of nicegirl in me! That is enough. AND I have the Betch-Factor of San Francisco…
That’s just fate telling me I need to move, right? RIGHT!

What is your Betch-Factor? Is being a Betch a bad or good thing?
Getting what you want seems great, but being obnoxiously rude is horrible and completely unattractive in the long haul… another one of life’s great balancing acts!

I will continue to read this book (even though it is slightly offensive)
for the sole reason of it being incredibly funny.

And who doesn’t need a laugh and some food for thought
at the end of a long workday??

The Mecca of all Fitness Gear

The mecca of all fitness gear – lululemon – is the most sought after luxury athletic clothing brand. From Vancouver, to Boston, to Los Angeles, and Dallas, Lululemon has inspired thousands of devoted clientele to spend
$58 on a tank, $90 on leggings, and $14 for ONE headband!

YEP, I am one of them! I can’t help myself… the colors… the fabric… the patterns!

Ommmmmmmmmmm  My!!!

Surprisingly, their almost “cult-like” following has stemmed from virtually zero advertising.

|| The Brand Speaks for Itself ||

“The law of attraction” — the central tenet of The Secret,
that visualizing goals is the key to attaining them
is the fundamental law that Chip Wilson built Lululemon on in its 1998 inception.“
— Danielle Sacks @ Fast Company

For those of you who have not read/watched ‘The Secret’ I HIGHLY recommend you do so… tonight. It is the most inspirational documentary you will ever see, and will change your outlook on life forever!

The attitude Chip instilled in his company is the backbone of every decision made by Lulu. It’s the reason they became seemingly successful overnight. It’s the reason they are able to sell headbands for $14, and the reason people view them as such a great company.

When you buy Lululemon – you buy for what it stands for: Peace, Community, Positivity, a Lifestyle sans Negativity. These words give the buyer a sense of empowerment – which is far more important than a piece of clothing.
– It is an investment for the feeling!

Even their {reusable} bags show off their positive mantra!

The sustainability of their brand was just proven recently during the recall of accidental ‘see through’ yoga pants. see full story here! Even after this slight mishap, I am still a fan & I know I’m not the only one! I know a good brand when I see one.

To relate back to your personal brand:

why would people want to be around you? what do you stand for? why should people invest in you? what will they feel like after investing in you?

Growing a brand is the same whether on a personal or corporate level. Figuring out your fundamental law (the handle to your umbrella!) will ground everything else you want your brand to stand for, and ensure that with the right attitude you can sky rocket in no time!

Day off… optional

{ M O N D A Y }

For me, monday means: relax, recharge & grow. Working in the hospitality industry allows me to have this day to myself, as the rest of the world begins a new work week. The peacefulness of my mondays are something I crave & desperately need in order to feel connected and grounded to my own life.

I believe it is so important to spend time with yourself to develop new hobbies, new interests, meet new people, find new adventures & just have peace. Of course I always find myself growing my brand and figuring out how to get a handle on this social media crazed world we live in.

So today I am beginning the book: Likeable Social Media { Recommended by my friend and fellow blogger, Emma at Thin Mint: A blog for the girl on a budget }

I am so excited because I have been investing a lot of time, creativity, and passion to revamp the social media presence + appearance for Longwood Events. I have recently hit a wall and am in serious need of new material to help me out.

I am obsessed with the book already:

“In memory of my PopPop, the Honorable Steven W. Fisher. You knew nothing about social media or marketing, but you knew everything about integrity and family.”

This tells me that the book is not going to be boring or stuffy like some social media//marketing books can be. There is going to be { love + passion } involved… two of my favorite things!

I’ll let you know how it goes, anyone read it yet?!

A Brand is Born!

Getting to know your umbrella:

Ask friends & family what pops into their head when they think of you

Ask a Sales Associate in Nordstrom what brand they would pair you with
{ this could get awkward… }

Look at what kinds of pins you are repinning and uploading to Pinterest

Find some common ground between all of these findings and voilà!

{ A BRAND IS BORN }

Split Personality

Remember when I said ‘varying interests are a good thing’?
This picture will definitely help explain that:

Kudos to my Dad for naming me. Sam for my sporty side and Samantha for my glam side. I couldn’t think of anything more perfect myself!

In the top picture we have Sam — Bundle’O’Bubbles + Athletic
In the bottom picture we have Samantha — ModernPrep + Romantic 

Two personalities. Two different styles. Two hair colors even…?
YET, they’re the same person. ME 🙂 

My point of showing you my obvious split personalities is to demonstrate that your brand should be diverse. It should allow you to be all of who you are – without holding anything back. Pieces of your personality should never be left behind, so find a way to make all of them work with your overall image.

F O O D . F O R .  T H O U G H T
{ obviously blondes do not have more fun: brunette hanging from the ceiling — blonde going to work }

Your Umbrella

“Build an authentic brand: there is no other kind” — You, Inc.

Breaking into the so called ‘real world’ is no joke. We’ve been warned by our parents, professors, and career mentors that we will one day have to make a name for ourselves. THIS is by far the hardest part of the real world. Who do you want to be? Whether this is your first attempt at creating your brand – or you are reinventing it – remember, consistency is KEY!

The image you present to the world starts with the most basic elements of yourself:

— What brand of clothing do you wear most days?  { J.Crew }
— Favorite restaurant to dine at?  { Clarke Cooke House }
— Your go-to movie?  { Serendipity }
— Admired Celebrity?  { Kate Middleton + Lauren Conrad }

Do your answers to all these questions mesh well together?

If not, you may have a little bit of a problem on your hands. It’s ok if your answers are a little bit scattered, having a bit of variety in your interests is a good thing, and important. But it is also important to keep all those interests under one uniform umbrella!