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Change of plans!

Happy Monday, everyone! You might have noticed that I've been blogging, pinning, posting, tumbling, and tweeting quite a bit more this past week so let's cut to the chase: I quit my job and I'm moving on to greener pastures! Sometimes you just know when something isn't a good fit and have to acknowledge that your head and your heart are pulling you in a different direction. I'm grateful for the learning experience and excited to reconnect with the things I love: blogging, writing, and a few other fun projects that I have up my sleeve! 
Because I'll be spending some time on these projects before thinking about looking for a full-time job, I'd love to hear from any of you who are or have been self-employed. What is the most rewarding aspect and what is your biggest challenge? I would be so happy to hear from you!


{image via Note to Self}

Happy Weekend!

Good morning! What do you have planned for the weekend? Last night I had dinner with a few of my blogger faves: Ashlina, Cassie, Crissie, Morgan, and Tyler. Then this morning my boyfriend and I took my puppies for a coffee run and a walk in the park. Of course my phone was dead or I would have been Instagram-ing left and right! Tomorrow I'll be back in the city as my darling cousin is running the New York marathon for charity! I'm so excited to cheer her on and congratulate her when she crosses the finish line in Central Park. What are you up to? 

{Gwyneth Paltrow shot by Mario Testino for Vanity Fair}

Merci, Misikko!

I was so flattered when the hair care site Misikko reached out and asked if I'd be willing to review one of their hair dryers on Design Darling. I've vented several times before that my hair is the bane of my existence so I was extremely excited to try to turn that around! Misikko generously gifted me their best-selling HANAair Professional Hair Dryer and surprised me with a host of other goodies including Bobbi Brown make-up brushes, an eyelash curler, and Paul Mitchell shampoo and leave-in conditioner. Christmas came early!
I'm no pro at blow drying (no seriously, I'm the girl who went to class with wet hair) but I loved the way this made my hair feel! They say it's something about ionic technology that conditions your hair and reduces static electricity (the enemy of anyone with frizzy hair), but all I know is my hair felt shiny and soft — a look I've never achieved without a hairdresser on hand. I've also always associated blow drying with an hour long commitment for my unruly mane but I seriously sailed through it in twenty minutes on the high setting. Finally the encouragement I needed to stop leaving the house with wet hair in the dead of winter refine my technique! ;) Thank you, Misikko!