Political Style: March 2013

31.3.13

This week I've been reading...

Let's Lean In

Women in the World 2013 Summit Agenda

Boston's Mayor won't seek re-election

FLOTUS to talk youth violence in Chicago

30.3.13

I love Keds and Kate Spade, and my dream has come true with both brands teaming up!

These fantastic Keds sneakers come in Kate Spade approved patterns, and are perfect for spring, summer- and fall!

Will you opt for gingham or spots?

Kate Spade

To shop the collection click here.

Discovering DC: Lexington Park, MD

29.3.13

For this week's Discovering DC we're in Lexington Park, MD with Val of The Daily Distraction.

What’s your history with Lexington Park and DC?
I fell in love with DC the first time I visited as a high school senior on our big senior trip. Not long after, my dad moved to Virginia and I’ve been visiting and dreaming of moving here ever since. Last November, my husband, our pug, our corgi, and I made the 5 day drive from California to move to Southern Maryland and we love it! Our hope is to eventually move closer to DC, possibly settling in Alexandria, but for now, we’re enjoying our small town and cannot wait for Spring to come so farmer’s markets start back up (we’re from the desert…fresh flowers and produce excites us to no end).

Discovering Lexington Park – what are your favorite places to shop/eat/go with friends/people watch?
For being such a small town, Lexington Park, MD has some great food! Especially sea food (duh) which we definitely didn’t get to enjoy when we lived in the desert in CA. Our favorite restaurants in our area are The Blue Wind Gourmet, CD Cafe, and The Lotus Kitchen featuring Kim’s Key Lime Pies. We get into DC as often as we can and our favorite meals there so far have been at Oyamel (you can’t go wrong with any of Jose Andres’ restaurants really) and Central. We just picked up The Washingtonian 100 Very Best Restaurants and we can’t wait to try them all!

Perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon in Lexington Park?
The CD Café and The Lotus Kitchen mentioned above are both on Solomons Island over the bridge from where we live. Solomons has quickly become our favorite place to spend a Sunday afternoon; walking on the pier, stopping into the shops, and checking out all the beautiful homes and boats. Recently we spent a Sunday sitting in The Lotus Kitchen’s screened in porch, drinking a whole bottle of wine while we enjoyed their delicious appetizers, and stared out at the water. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Val of Daily Distraction

You can follow Val on Twitter here. For more posts in the Discovering DC archive click here.

Kate Spade Saturday

28.3.13

The invitation email landed in my inbox yesterday, and I'm glad to say I am suitably impressed!

With free shipping and free returns to all 50 states, Kate Spade Saturday is quite possibly one of the most exciting and innovative ways to shop online.

New products are released each Saturday, and you can earn points for free items just by signing up for regular emails. So what are some of my top picks?

Modern Trench

Snap Hoody in French Terry

Slip Neck Ponte Top

Circle Around Earrings

Days of the Week Pencils

For more info on Kate Spade Saturday and to sign up, click here.

Family Life Exhibition at The Kennedy's Museum, Berlin

26.3.13

JFK Library

Make sure you check out the 'Family Life' exhibition being held from March 26- June 9 at the Kennedy Museum, Berlin.

Over sixty photographs, rare photo series from magazines and private film recordings form part of this special exhibition.

For more information on the exhibition click here.

New Arrivals at J Crew

25.3.13

I always smile when a J Crew new arrivals email pops into my inbox. Here's what I am currently digging...

Stripe silk popover

Schoolboy blazer in crosshatch linen

Iridescent earrings

Lace stripe dress

Embroidered scout chino

Seville stripe espadrilles

Origami dress in wool crepe

Ribbon necklace

Mostly Women Doing Digital (#mwdd13)

24.3.13

I had the great pleasure of taking part in the Mostly Women Doing Digital event held at Indycube, Swansea yesterday.

Whilst I was a little nervous about my public speaking, it was fantastic to talk about Political Style, and hopefully inspire other bloggers who are thinking about blogging or need confidence with their writing.

It was fantastic to meet the other speakers including Juliet Fay, Esther Negle, Jess Hughes, Sangeet Bhullar and Helen Reynolds and listen to their experiences about digital media and social networking.

Eleanor Beer

Thanks to Eleanor Beer for this great graphic summary of my talk! Inspiring stuff!

And of course, a big thank you to Pippa and Chris for all their hard work and kind words.

Lean In: Women, Work and The Will to Lead

23.3.13

Like many others, I've been curious to read Sheryl Sandberg's 'feminist manifesto' encouraging women and girls to lean in and make a difference.

As the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, Sandberg is breaking barriers in both the digital world and the workplace. I first came to learn of Sandberg through her now famous TED Talk on why few women are 'at the table.' I wanted to find out more about Sandberg, and her book arrived at the perfect time.

Lean In isn't strictly a business manual nor a personal memoir. It's best to describe it as a unique fusion of both, and testimonials from individuals such as Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Branson and Condoleezza Rice made me want to begin reading immediately.

In the US, women receive 57% of undergraduate degrees, and 60% of masters degrees. In the UK, women are similarly at 57% in receiving undergraduate degrees, yet these percentages aren't mirrored throughout the workforce. Sandberg offers several explanations for this.

Female accomplishments come at a cost, with descriptions such as aggressive and ambitious when attributed to a woman not seen as compliments. Similarly, taking risks and advocating for oneself are traits that girls are discouraged from exhibiting. This may offer some explanation for why academic gains are not being translated into top jobs for women across all sectors.

It was interesting to read theories such as the impostor syndrome, which I can certainly testify to experiencing. The impostor syndrome is described as an individual feeling like a fraud and plagued by feelings of self doubt. Sandberg argues that this is a symptom of a greater issue of underestimating ourselves, and I can agree that is something that we should all work on. We need to have more confidence in our accomplishments and our goals, and to feel and demonstrate that anything is possible.

Sandberg is right to say that women often attribute their success to external factors, such as working hard, luck and help from others. Who can't say that this mix hasn't 'helped' them? I certainly can't. Failure demonstrates a lack of ability, and Sandberg argues that this pattern has long term negative consequences. Let's banish this feeling of failure as a lack of ability. Sure things go wrong for all of us, but by no means does it mean that we are unable to achieve.

I loved the term 'jungle gym,' and was surprised that I had not come across it before. To be in the jungle gym is to participate in creative exploration of the job market- and not just have one foot on the ladder. Sandberg provides encouragement that a career doesn't need to be mapped out from the beginning, and discusses a dual approach to your professional career. The long term dream and the 18 month plan really are simple to understand, work with and provide that reassurance that you can evolve and travel along the career road. It is certainly one that I will be implementing as I look at my own career and what I hope to achieve.

It was great to read more about mentoring, something which I am a big supporter of. Studies have shown that mentors select proteges based on performance and potential. Instead of seeking out a mentor before deciding what you'd like to achieve or even what problem you'd like to solve, Sandberg suggests that you need to 'excel' to get a mentor. From personal experience, I can say that this approach has been successful, and is continuing to this very day. My mentors assist and inspire me in different ways, and the two way process of helping, inspiring and working with each other brings surprising and welcome results and experiences.

Sandberg's book is not just for women, and I am so glad that she advocates for senior men mentoring women and helping to champion and sponsor them. Any male leader serious about moving toward a more equivalent society and workplace should make this a priority and help to play their part in the solution towards achieving this goal.

Lean In has many inspiring quotes and one of my favourites is "What would you do if you weren't afraid?"

I'd encourage you to purchase a copy of Lean In and visit the website which is supporting women to take their confidence to the next level, and participate in the online discussion or Lean In Circles.

Let's speak up and encourage others to do the same.

Lean In

Discovering DC: 14th Street/Logan Circle

22.3.13

For this week's Discovering DC, we're back in the District and exploring the 14th Street/Logan Circle area with Elle from Wonderful World!

What's your history with 14th Street/Logan Circle and DC?
I moved to Washington, DC almost 10 years ago to attend The George Washington University and lived in Foggy Bottom for my first couple years in DC. I moved off campus in 2005 to live in the 14th Street/Logan Circle area - originally living with my sister and then later with my husband. It was really up and coming at the time and it's been interesting to see how much the neighborhood has evolved over the years. After 7 years in the neighborhood, we recently moved a few blocks east near the Convention Center, but still spend a lot of time on 14th street as it's close to both our offices.

Discovering 14th Street/Logan Circle- what are your favourite places to shop/eat/go with friends/people watch?
For shopping I love Rue 14 for contemporary clothing and Muleh for a well-curated selection of furniture and designer fashion. There are so many restaurant options in the area (and 14 more opening soon), but some of my favorites include the Zentan or Rice for a date night, Estadio or Cork Wine Bar for small bites and cocktails with friends, Masa 14 or El Centro for bottomless brunches. People watching on the rooftop of the Donovan House hotel is fabulous!

Perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon in 14th Street/Logan Circle?
I'd spend most of the afternoon at Logan 14 Salon Spa getting a facial (from Nellie) and a blowout (from the owner Michael - he's amazing!), then pick up wine and cheese at Cork Market before a stop for gelato at Pitango on the way home!

You can follow Elle on Twitter here. For more posts in the Discovering DC archive click here.

Marta Sgubin: Cooking for the Kennedy's

21.3.13

This is such a lovely mini film with Marta Sgubin, nanny and former cook for Jacqueline Kennedy and her children. Kennedy's granddaughter, Tatiana is interviewed in this great insight piece.

Watch More News Videos at ABC
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2012 Presidential Election
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Prescriptives Live Chat Custom Blend Service

20.3.13

I recently took part in Prescriptive's Online Live Chat Custom Blend Foundation service, and was really impressed by the whole experience.

Prescriptives is really embracing digital innovation by offering this kind of service, and is the first beauty brand in the US to use this technology to meet face to face with a Beauty Genius.

Like many other women, finding the perfect foundation is a challenge. It is up there in terms of finding the perfect pair of jeans or the ideal white shirt. But my fears have disappeared thanks to Prescriptives!

I booked my appointment, and logged on to meet my advisor, Erica. This was the first time I had ever participated in a consultation of this sort, so I was clueless really on what to expect. Talking to Erica was completely natural, and she asked a few questions about my current foundation/s, my skin type and what I was after from the experience. I provided a photograph for the consultation for Erica to work out my skin tone in conjunction with the use of the webcam.

We discussed the type of formula I was after, and which shade and undertones would best suit my skin. The whole process took about 20 minutes, and was hassle free. Erica explained that it was an employee at Prescriptives who originally had the idea of face to face consultations, after she began to offer a similar service to customers over Skype. The Live Chat has been active for six months, and is available exclusively to customers in the US.

The foundation was easy to apply, and comes in an attractive glass bottle which will look fantastic on your beauty counter! The texture was smooth, easy to blend and felt like I wasn't wearing any make-up at all.

Prescriptives offers one of the largest range of standard foundation shades, making them popular with women of all ethnicities. The Custom Blend Service takes the original wide selection to a whole new level!

Thanks to StyleHousePR for offering me this opportunity, and to find out more about Prescriptive's Live Chat Custom Blend Foundation service click here.