New York (internship) is always a good idea

Whew! I just started my internship for Dormify a few days ago and it’s been a whirlwind of excitement, nerves, and new experiences. When I got the news in April that I had been accepted for the internship I was amazed, and knew that it would be a great experience. I was 90% excited and 10% nervous about things like figuring out how to get to work (I've visited New York, but never lived here!), how many people would I be working with, what would I do all day, where were the other interns from, and... could I really do this??

Well, I'm happy to say that all my questions are answered and that even though I just started, I am already obsessed with the whole company. It’s girls only (#girlboss) so the work environment is more fun than I could have imagined. Think great music blasting, chatting about which color and style RayBans are the best, and talking all things creative. Really, it’s that fun.

But, like any job, it is a lot of work, which I love. On the first day I was busy from 10am until 7pm. I spent half of the day researching for upcoming projects and then the other half of the day styling and shooting new products for a super cute desk setting. There’s a sneak peek on Instagram, so be sure to follow us (@popcosmo).

One thing that I was most nervous about my internship was, of course, what to wear. I definitely love more simple and casual clothes, so I’m happy to report that jeans and cute tees are 100% welcome in my office. Woo! I didn’t actually bring that many clothes because I wanted to see what the other girls wore in the office and then go shopping. I mean hello, how could I not go on a major shopping spree while in NYC?

I’ll keep you posted on the internship, but be sure to follow us on Instagram for behind the scenes fun!

What are your summer plans? Are you interning, if so, where?

xox, Chloe

Ginger Peach Smoothies

Ginger Peach Smoothies Smoothies are a fantastic breakfast; they are fast, easy, and incredibly healthy. It is the height of peach season, so I decided to make a smoothie with them. I also added some ginger, a low-calorie boost of flavor packed with Vitamin B and Potassium. To sweeten my smoothie, I used brown sugar instead of plain granulated sugar for a hint of molasses. I would reduce the sugar and then add more to taste depending on how sweet your peaches are. It is as healthy as breakfast can get, and delicious, too.

Ginger Peach Smoothie

2 Cups Diced Fresh Peaches (2 Medium) 1 1/4 Cups Milk 3 T Brown Sugar 2 tsp Grated Fresh Ginger

Pulse the peaches, sugar, and ginger in a food processor or blender until chopped. Add the milk and blend until mostly smooth.

Serves 2, Recipe Adapted from Food Network Magazine

Vanilla Peach Popsicles

These popsicles will satisfy your sweet tooth while still being relatively healthy. They are full of peaches, and I cut down on the cream by using tart and tangy Greek yogurt. It gives the popsicles amazing texture and another dimension of flavor.

I happen to have popsicle molds, but disposable cups and popsicle sticks are a wonderful alternative. You can adjust the size of your popsicles by changing the size of the cup, and only the time needed to freeze completely will change. To unmold them, simply run the mold or cup under hot water until the outside melts enough to release.

Peaches and vanilla are a wonderful combination, and this is a delicious way to enjoy them! My popsicles are cold, creamy, sweet, and tart, and they are perfect for an after-school snack.

Peach Popsicle

1/2 Cup + 2 T Sugar 1 Vanilla Bean 24 oz Peaches 2/3 Cup Cream 1/3 Cup Vanilla Greek Yogurt

Peel and dice the peaches.

Combine the sugar and 1/2 cup water in a small pot. Add the seeds and pod of the vanilla bean and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Chill and discard the vanilla bean pod.

Pulse the vanilla syrup and the peaches in a food processor until smooth. Strain; there should be about 3 cups. Whisk in the cream and yogurt.

Pour the base into popsicle molds or cups and freeze until solid, pressing in popsicle sticks (if necessary) when somewhat firm.

Recipe Adapted from Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez

Flirting 101

“Beeennnd… & snap!” “Bat your eyelashes.”

“Touch him. A lot.”

“Talk sports.”

“Ask him about himself.”

These are just some of the pieces of advice I’ve received about flirting. But I’m not very good about putting them into practice. Why? Well, online I might come across as a typical teenage girl. However, that couldn't be further from the truth in more ways than one, because you should know I’m awkward and weird. I like to think that I’m awkward and weird in the most adork-able way possible — Zooey Deschanel style. With my adork-able personality comes the complete inability to flirt with guys. I’m 110% incapable and it would probably make you uncomfortable to watch me try. It even makes me uncomfortable to try.

So anyways, earlier this week I walked over to a nearby coffee shop to buy my mom and I some coffees. I frequent this coffee shop pretty often because it’s so close to my house, but I rarely go alone. I managed to buy our coffees without any problems, so props to me and pats on the back.

As I was waiting for my coffee I looked up and saw a super cute guy looking at me from across the coffee shop. He looked two or three years older and I felt like he was kind of staring at me in a “do I know her, wait I think I know her, no, I don’t think I know her” kind of way. When I noticed he was looking at me though, I glanced down (because maintaining eye contact with super cute guys is impossible for me.) I thought “whatever” and brushed it off. I figured he was probably staring at the artwork behind me or another girl beside me.

But as I was walking out of the coffee shop he appeared beside me and said, “Don’t I know you from somewhere?”

I mumbled, “I don’t think so…” and then I giggled (yes, giggled) because he was talking to me. I probably turned bright red too, because that’s the adorkable thing I do when cute boys talk to me.

Then he asked, “Didn’t you go to The Temple?”

Instead of just answering, all I could do was think, “wow, this super cute guy knows me, is talking to me, and is actually really handsome. How have I never noticed him at Temple before?”

So what do I do? I not so smoothly said, “Oh, yeah. Well it was good to see you!” And then I promptly left the coffee shop. Because I’m a flirting prodigy, and clearly know my way around talking to boys. I cringed the whole way home and now have a coffee shop to avoid.

Entering the house, I told my mom what happened hoping for some sympathy. She laughed. She knows how bad I am at talking to boys and she even said I should bring my laptop back to the coffee shop and try to actually flirt with him. (Which led a mini-course in Flirting 101 – can this day get any more awkward?!!) But I’m too much of a wimp to do that so I’m typing this in my room by myself… because I’m cool like that.

So yeah, I’m 18 and am getting flirting tips from movies, friends and family. I like to think it’s because boys are intimidated by how similar I look to Heidi Klum, but I have a feeling that’s not the case.

If you have awkward stories involving guys, dating, etc, please tell me in the comments so I can feel better about myself. ;) Or hey, want to offer any flirting tips? I’m adding to the collection!

Creative Classes online

Summer's here which means: No. More. School. So why am I so excited to start learning? Because now I can learn exactly what I want! Say what? That's right... I'm ready to start taking even more classes in all things creative. You know, those skills that aren't taught in school,  I'm looking at some creative classes online in photography, calligraphy, some more blogging skills, in-depth photoshop, and... well, I could just keep going. But there are classes for just about anything. I'm interested in more photography and photoshop and my mom wants to learn about coding, and basic DSLR cameras, and maybe even knitting. I'll let her tell you more about creative classes online. Let's get crafting!

CreativeLive has free live classes in photo & video, art & design, music & audio, craft & maker, money & life. Yeah, so just about everything! I've watched classes on dog photography, but I think I need beginner DSLR classes first. Chloe's interested in Advanced Lightroom and thinks posing and video sound fun too! What I like is that if you miss the classes, or you want to rematch them, you can pay a fee and have them forever. Perfect for bloggers are the graphic design class and a class for redesigning your blog

Lifehacker is a website that has some amazing tips. Simply search photography and you'll get some fantastic ideas and tips. They also have some information about classes occasionally. So, it's not a class or school, but there's always something useful.

Alt on Topic - most of you have hear of Alt Summit, a creative blog conference. While you may not have attended, you can attend classes online. About 1x per month, there are online blogging classes from blogging experts and social media gurus. The classes run all day and could be a quick fix to pick up a lot of info you would get at a conference. There's a cost... but hey, there's no airfare or hotel fees!

Infinite Skills - I like how you join and can learn any area you want for the time period. There is such a diverse range of topics from graphic design, web design, video editing, training in all the Adobe suite, to learning Excel.  You join per month, and have unlimited access to every video in all categories available. I've tried a course and enjoy how the videos are broken down into very small chunks of time.

Skillshare has classes in branding, digital illustration, digital photography entrepreneurship, fashion design, and Chloe's favorite: lettering! She's taken Calligraphy, Lettering for Designers, & Drawing Techniques for Pencil Portraits. I took the Basics of Photoshop. My recommendation as to whether or not the class will be good is to look at the approval rating and the number of students who have taken it.

Craftsy is more arts oriented and looks like you would be going to arts and crafts camp online. There are a ton of classes in knitting, quilting, cake decorating and even photography, jewelry making and paper crafts. I haven't taken any here, but this looks like a fun way to learn a new craft skill. This would be perfect for me to pick up knitting, but also for any day when someone, later this summer, dares to utter the dreaded, "I'm bored." There are a zillion solutions right here for everyone in our family!!

I'm ready for a free afternoon to take new creative classes online and gain a new skill or just try something different and fun... and with all the options literally at our fingertips, anything is possible!

Let me know if I missed one of your favorite places to learn online!

Links I Love

Whew! I survived Junior year (just barely) and all the exams that come with the whole experience. I’m officially on summer break, and you know what that means, time for nothing. Not having the responsibilities of school work means that I can aimlessly scroll through the deepest darkest parts of the internet and have no regrets for spending my whole day doing just that. So if you’re not quite on summer break but still want to know what’s trending then you’re in the right spot.

via Pinterest

These are the links I love lately.

Dying to try this summer fruit salsa, it looks so delicious that I started drooling while reading the recipe.

Becky from Chipper Things is my new idol. Plus, her Etsy shop is amazing, I’m kinda feelin’ like I need this print in my life.

My family and I are moving into a new house this summer and I’m brainstorming how I want my room to look. Cue all things minimalistic and pretty.

I’ve been dying to go to the beach lately, and this picture has me dreaming of a sojourn in Mexico.

I’m dying to try all of these fruity smoothie recipes, especially that peach & ginger one.

Continuously reminding myself this quote.

Do you have any links that I need to know about? If so, be sure to share them with me in the comments!

xox ~chloe

Raw Chocolate Pudding Recipe

I’ve always been a fan of trying new and weird foods. Raw oysters? Yep, tried ‘em when I was 7 and fell in looove. Ranch dressing on pizza? Oh yeah, love it. Chocolate avocado ice cream? Yes, and ate the whole bowl. I loved the chocolate avocado ice cream so much that I knew I had to figure out how to recreate it so that I could make it in the comfort of my own home and not have to pay for overpriced presentation. When I stumbled upon a raw chocolate pudding recipe made with avocados from the new site Mother Magazine I knew I had to try it. So I did; although I did change up the recipe just a tad to fit my taste buds. It’s seriously gold, easy to make, and you’ll never want a chocolate pudding cup from the refrigerated section again. Like never ever ever.

Here’s how you make it…

Ingredients:

2 large avocados 3/4 cup agave (or maple syrup) 1/2 cup cocoa powder 3 tablespoons coconut oil 1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Put all your ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. {It's really that easy, but I hand mixed the ingredients together first so that the blender could do it’s job better.}

The best part about this recipe is that it’s raw chocolate pudding. That means that you aren’t putting unnecessary gross things into your body, plus you’ll fill up faster because raw foods are awesome like that. This recipe make about 2 servings worth of normal pudding, but you could most likely share it with about four people because it’s so filling.

If you try this recipe, be sure to Tweet / Instagram a picture (and tag us) so that we can see your awesome chocolate pudding!

xox ~chloe