Paper Source’s Galentine’s Day Mixer + Why Creativity Helps your Mental Health

If you follow me on Instagram (@Danieminor13 ;)), you saw that I spent my Valentine’s Day at Paper Source in Annapolis. They hosted a Galentine’s Day Mixer, which was a blast! I learned a few new crafting tricks- hello heat embossing?! How have I never learned about you before?

While I had a blast last night, I learned something more than that. If you’ve followed Defining Danie for a while, you may know that I struggle with anxiety. But, something you may not know, because I haven’t talked about it is that I have been struggling with the job hunt. Recently, because of the job search, I have felt extremely anxious and have had a few panic attacks because of it. Continue reading

How I re-created my room to be my favorite space in the house!

When I moved home in May, I felt like my room was not actually “my room.” When I originally went to college, my mom got rid of my furniture because it was so old, and honestly, it needed to go. When I would come home from breaks from college, I would stay in our guest room or our extremely comfy couch in the living room.

I felt out of place and really wanted a place of my own because I knew I would be at home for at least another year.

I didn’t know what I wanted to do with the guest room, but I knew to keep costs down, I would have to keep the bedroom furniture, but could add fun pieces to make it feel like my own space!

After looking at various Instagram pages, talking with my best friend Erin (a TON) about styles we liked and seeing one of my favorite YouTuber, Sarah Belle’s new room…I decided the Boho Chic style was the way I wanted to go!

Similarly to Sarah, I LOVE color and texture! I knew I wanted to do warmer tones, such as, corals, yellows and pinks (which are also my favorite colors). I LOVE pillows, and am not lying when I tell you I bought 20 pillows before finding the five I wanted to keep!

The decoration of my room didn’t happen over one night- it’s been four months of finding various pieces that I just wanted needed for my room! During the beginning when I was figuring out what Boho Chic meant for me, and I knew it had to include a macrame wall hanging, so that’s where I began! My friend Erin happened to be designing her room at her new townhouse, and was in HomeGoods one day and saw the most magical one for me!

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Literally knew I had to have this! Especially because it was only $24! It’s from HomeGoods, so I wasn’t able to find the exact one, but I found ones with similar colors that you might like: here, here, here and  here. Continue reading

Hair hacks to keep your hair beautiful year-round!

Hi! I hope everyone is having a great start to their new year so far. I really feel like 2018 is going to be a great year for all of us, I can just feel it!

For it to be a great year, it has to include having great hair. So, today, I am going to share some advice with you on how to have great hair, even during these dry winter months!

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Hold Your Holiday Party Using Paperless Post!

This post is in collaboration with Anagram Interactive and Paperless Post.  All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Defining Danie possible!

With the holidays in full swing now, we are all a little stressed! Even under all of this stress, we still want to have a good time though, right, ladies?!

A few weeks ago, I decided I wanted to host my first Friendsgiving! I knew what I needed was cute plates, utensils, etc., but I needed to figure out an easy way to get all of my friends here without just a basic text message.

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I decided I would use Paperless Post! Paperless Post is a beautiful electronic customizable invitation. The reason I admire Paperless Post is because they actually send an email that looks like an actual card that you would receive in the mail! It was so easy to use and let me keep track of my friends who were able to attend and those who were not all in one place!

I cannot get over how CUTE the invitation was! There were so many options for which card to use, but here is the one I ended up choosing:

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Now, that I sent my invites, I had to plan the meal! We decided that my mom would get the turkey for me, I would make the sweet potato casserole and the green beans and my friends would bring their favorite side dishes!

After the planning, I made sure to pick up the cutest plates and gold plasticware from Target (because where else would I go!?).

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Although Friendsgiving time is over, we still have so many holidays coming up! Make your life easier by using Paperless Post. I swear it will save you so much time, and it is so much more personal than a Facebook invite or a basic text.

My friends and I have our annual Wine and Onesie party coming up, and I already know that I will be using Paperless Post to coordinate! I hope you enjoy this picture from a few years ago!

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Let me know if you’ve used Paperless Post before and if you like it! To find the best invitation for your holiday party, click here!

You know where you can find me- @Danieminor13!

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7 Pieces of Advice for Staying Cool While Out of your Comfort Zone

I know we all know those moments where we get nervous and uneasy when it comes to a new situation or place. No one likes that feeling of your heart racing so fast, you can see it pumping outside of your chest, so I wanted to share some tips for how to go about staying cool outside of your comfort zone!

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It’s so important to get out of your comfort zone, especially during this time of our lives– we get invited to parties where we might only know the hosts, are on the job hunt or maybe might move to a new city where we might not know anyone!

Getting out of your comfort zone is so important because if we don’t do it now, we may never do it!

I wanted to see what my friends had to say about this because I know I am not the only one who has advice on this. It’s also helpful to surround yourself with people and brands that embody the same mission and goals as you. Companies like Tommy John, who promote wellness, balance, support and comfort are great ways to align what’s important and deserves focus in your life. To learn more about Tommy John, be sure to check out their popular men’s underwear selection here.

Our tips: 

1. Always do your research 

It helps to know what you might be getting yourself into, so knowing what you are getting yourself into can help calm those nerves! This can come in handy when you are moving, going on an interview or even are going to an event.

2. Mentally prepare ahead of time 

The way you mentally prepare is going to be different for everyone, but mentally preparing can be done by also doing your research! My friend Megan says this is what she does before a job interview. Thinking of the questions that she might be asked is what helps her not be as nervous when they start asking her questions about her experiences and what she knows about the company!

3. Bring a friend with you, if possible! 

So, when I asked my friends what they do when they are going into a new situation, a few of them said this!

I am a huge extrovert, but still get nervous sometimes at networking events, so I like bringing a friend to an event like that. I like to bring someone who knows a lot about the work I’ve done and vice versa, so we can vouch for each other when networking with someone we might not know!

Of course you cannot bring your friend or mom with you to a job interview, no matter how much we want to, but if it’s a Friendsgiving where you only know the host, but still want to join in on the fun, ask if you can bring a friend!

4. Knowing you have nothing to lose when trying something new! 

This was the advice from my friend, Brenna! I love this advice. She recently moved to D.C. from Ohio and started a new job at a really cool campaign, and is living her best life right now, so I would listen to her!

If you are thinking of trying something new, moving to a new city or thinking about asking that guy out that you’ve been crushing on, Brenna and I agree- JUST DO IT! You’ve got nothing to lose!

5. Remind yourself WHY you wanted to do a particular thing in the first place as your motivation! 

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This can be applied to so many aspects of your life, not only if you are getting out of your comfort zone! I can definitely apply this to my life right now- I recently joined a new gym and instead of thinking that people would judge me because I am out of shape, I thought about it as I am doing this for ME and so I can better my health!

6. Act with confidence 

This is combining two of my friends advice! Even if you are nervous, pretend you are not! My friend Mara says that even if she is really nervous about going into a social situation where she can’t bring a friend, she says she “channels” the energy of the bravest person she knows and does what she thinks they would do in that situation!

I have actually done this before! I often think “what would my mom do right now”? My mom never is afraid to speak her mind or go up to someone and start chatting with them- so this is what I do if I am ever nervous at one of the networking events I was speaking about earlier!

7. Remind yourself that good will come from trying new things! 

Even though it might be scary in the moment, it will all be worth it! You never know, walking up to someone you don’t know at a networking event or even a Friendsgiving could bring a whole new experience into your life!

 

I hope these tips help! Remember, you can always reach out to me for advice on social media @Danieminor13!

 

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Why You Need To Protect Your Eyes With Blue Light Glasses Now!

Little do most of us know, but we are seriously hurting our eyes with our technology. Recently, I was told about the effects that artificial Blue Light has on our eyes. I knew I needed to do something about it and needed to help all of you as well! Combat this Blue Light with special glasses- they are cute, trendy and will save your eyes!

I did a little research so I could learn more…

What is Blue Light?

According to Bluelightexposed.com, Blue Light is everywhere we turn, but it is the artificial blue light that is hurting us. This is coming from our devices, specifically the devices that use an LED back-light.

Think about how many devices that is that we use! That’s our tablets, laptop screens, computer and iPhones.

So what is the Blue Light doing to you?

If you experience eyestrain, headaches, physical or mental fatigue, it could be from these Blue Light.

How can I combat this? 

Blue light glasses! Do not worry, they are cute! Let me show you the two pairs that I bought.

I bought one pair from Felix Gray and the other from Eye Buy Direct! I wanted to test two brands that are from two different price points to see which I liked better.

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Felix Gray: 

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I bought the Jemison style, which was best for larger faces. I bought them in the Whiskey Tortoise! They were $95 because I did not need any magnification added to my lenses.

Eye Buy Direct: 

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I like this pair a lot, but I think I would have liked this brand more if I purchased a more square pair. I think the roundness of the glasses do not do anything for my extremely round face, but for around the house, this pair is amazing, especially for the price!

The pair I bought are called Thrill, and they are created for larger faces too, but they were a little tight on my face. After adding the special protection for the Blue Light, these came to about $45, which is basically half the cost of my Felix Gray pair!

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I love both pairs, but I would definitely say the quality of the pair from Felix Gray is higher. They were more expensive, but I can see why in the material they used. The pair from Eye Buy Direct is still great and gets the job done, but I could see myself breaking these accidentally because I am a klutz.

I think both pairs fit my face shape nicely and they are both really comfortable! I do not even really feel like I am wearing glasses. I wear these when I am doing any kind of work on the computer, writing blog posts and I know I will definitely bring these with me when I start a full-time job because I will be on a computer a ton!

I suggest buying from either brand! If you have any questions, please reach out to me on social! I am happy to answer anything!

 

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Warby Parker lets you try glasses at HOME for free before purchasing!

If you don’t have Warby Parker on your list of businesses you purchase from, you are not living life right!  Warby Parker is a one-for-one prescription eyewear and designer sunglasses company that gives you stylish glasses and gives back to the community, what more could we want? #AmIrightladies?

I heard about their new free Home Try-On and wanted to see if there were any sunglasses that I liked so I could try this out to share with all of you! They have a quiz on their website to help you find which glasses you like, but if you go under their sunglasses category, you can find the Home Try-On buttons underneath each pair!

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With Warby Parker’s Home Try-On, you can choose five pairs of glasses you like and then you receive them at home to see which pair you like the best! So, I chose pairs that were good for wide faces and had tortoise shell and I found this pair below! I am obsessed with this pair. I really love the blonde tortoise, and I have never seen other brands with this blonde tortoise, so I became really obsessed with these!

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After looking through the pictures I took, I realized I did not take any pictures of the glasses actually on myself, but I can tell you the pair that actually suited me well were the pair that I loved, the Reilly! (What’s funny is my middle name is Rylee, so it must be a coincidence? 😉 )

You can see the other pairs I tried on here:

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Griffin / Sheridan / Banks / Reilly / The Ellison are no longer available, but here is a similar pair!

After having a few days to try them on, you ship them back, Warby Parker sends you an email with each pair that you tried and then you can purchase the ones you loved the most! They really make it super simple for you.

In addition to already having amazing products, the company just came out with its new collection called the Sculpted Series where all of the glasses are handmade in Italy! Each pair of glasses are all various rich and stone-inspired hued colors, which are beautiful! My favorite pair from this collection is the Stella, because they are huge and rose-colored! Screen Shot 2017-08-16 at 11.43.17 AM.png

Hope everyone loves these glasses as much as I do!

If you already have your favorite pair of Warby Parker sunglasses, share them with me on social @Danieminor13!

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Reasons you HAVE to attend Her Conference 2017!

So, I have had a lot of people ask me about my blogging hiatus, and truth is– I was busy with school, and life just took over! But have no fear, Defining Danie is back and ready to tell you why this summer, you MUST attend Her Conference 2017.

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Me and my friend, Sarah at last year’s conference! We love a good step-and-repeat!

If you are a PR, marketing, journalism, English, writing or communications major, or anything related to these majors, this two-day conference could be life-changing for you. This summer will be my third time attending the conference, and let me tell you, I leave more inspired to become a better overall person each year!

So, what is Her Conference?
Her Conference is a two-day event coordinated by Her Campus, my favorite online magazine, that is filled with amazing speakers, great career advice and inspiration! Her Campus is all about women’s empowerment and educating college women, which is so apparent throughout this weekend full of famous speakers and leading women in the industries that we cannot wait to enter into.

There are breakout sessions after each keynote speaker and it’s spectacular because, after each breakout session, the women speaking on those specific topics stay a little longer so you can network with them and they can answer any specific questions you may have! (Make sure you bring your networking/business cards, ladies!)

Who are some of the past speakers I keep talking about?
Let’s see… Rebecca Minkoff (and I got to meet her!), Nastia Luikin, Joyce Chang (former EIC of Self magazine), Samantha Power (U.S. United Nations Ambassador), Vanessa De Luca (EIC of Essence Magazine) are just some of the cool keynote speakers. There are also hundreds of women from cool PR/marketing companies and leading magazines there for the breakout sessions. Last year, I got to meet and keep in touch with the former marketing director of Glamour magazine. She offered me a ton of career advice that I used to help me get my internship for this summer!

Hearing these women speak gives you a boost of confidence because you know they had to begin where we are starting now!

What are some of the panels that you could attend?
Some of my favorite panel sessions that I attended last year were:
Blogging 101: How To Grow Your Following and Engagement
How To Kickstart Your Career In Marketing
What Working In PR Really Means- And How To Do It!

There are so many awesome panels both days and sometimes it’s hard to choose which one to go to during each session because they have multiple you can choose from at a time.

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Me, Sammy, Sarah and Tori- who is a PR manager for Soul Cycle! She was a speaker on one of the panels!

Who are some of the speakers this year?
Her Campus just annouced two of the keynote speakers- they are: Amani Al-Khatahbeth, Founder and EIC of Muslimgirl.com and Gretchen Carlson, Acclaimed TV journalist and Women’s Empowerment Advocate– sounds amazing, right!?

Where is the two-day conference?
In the heart of NYC! It’s so fun because after the day is done, a lot of the women attending will grab dinner or drinks together.

If this conference didn’t already sound amazing, every year when you arrive, each person gets stuffed swag bag full of goodies and a notebook so you can take notes in each session! The notebook also includes a bio about each speaker, it’s so convenient!

If you want to see the schedule for this year’s conference, you can do so: here and for more information and tickets, make sure you visit their website! You can also find out more information by following Her Campus at @Hercampus on all social media.

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I really hope I see you all there, I am so excited!

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My Women’s March on Washington Experience!

How do I even begin writing about my experience at the Women’s March this Saturday? So many of us (over 500,000 to be exact) came together to protest various things we all believe in.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to make it back to D.C. after heading back to school in Ohio five days prior to the march, but I cannot express how happy I am that I was able to make it back down.

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So, why did I march?

I marched because I AM A FEMINIST. I marched because I believe that we all deserve equal pay, equal opportunities, control over our own bodies and because I think the people we have in office right now are outright inhumane! I cannot believe our country has elected someone who treats people the way he does and still demands to be respected. How does he think he can have my respect if he doesn’t even respect me and so many others?

The march was peaceful and throughout the whole day, I felt a sense of unity. I know most of my close friends have a lot of the same beliefs as me so I normally do not feel disconnected from humanity, but it just felt so good to be around SOOO many people who also shared a lot of the same opinions I have. It gave me a sense of hope for the next four years.

Trump and Pence being elected into office has the power to affect women all over the country. Over the past couple of days, I have read a lot of things women have posted on Facebook and other social sites about how “they do not understand feminisim” or how they “aren’t a feminist,” but I would like to challenge them on these statements. I would like to point out to these women who I see posting these things that you are LEADERS in the community and have had so many great opportunities in school and I need you to understand that you would not be there WITHOUT feminism.

I just read the best article after the march that pointed out how we wouldn’t be where we are today without these past heroic women. I am so thankful for women such as: Margaret Sanger, Eleanor Roosevelt and Susan B. Anthony (and so many others) because I AM NOT A SECOND CLASS CITIZEN and I will not sit until people across the world can see that.

As you can see, I am very passionate about this subject, because I do not understand how people (men in particular) think they have the right to make choices for us? Do they really think we are that incapable? Well, news flash, we are not!

One of the chants from Saturday went: “My body, my choice” and this is something I want everyone to understand.

I would like to have an open conversation with anyone who maybe does not agree with me on this topic. I think in order for a change to occur there needs to be dialogue.

For all of my feminists out there, please know that I am always here to fight for what is right with you!

Women’s rights are human rights.

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Three doable resolutions that need to be on your list for 2017!

Happy 2017! I cannot explain how excited I am for this fresh start, because lets face it, 2016 was kind of a nightmare for most of us. The New Year is a time when we all promise to ourselves that THIS is going to be the year I do_____, and then we feel bad about ourselves because didn’t accomplish what we were hoping to do.

But this year, I came up with three things that we all NEED to add to this list of resolutions to be a better young adult! And no, these do not include losing weight or procrastinating less.

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These are also things that I need to also add to my list of resolutions! Let’s get started…

  1. We are not getting any younger, so we all need to get on a good skin regimen! I just picked up a wrinkle cream and moisturizer to add to my daily skin routine. I realize that I do not have many wrinkles currently, but my recent research told me we stop producing collagen at the age of 16, so it all goes down from here… (haha I’m just kidding, but not kidding about not producing collagen anymore!)dsc_0053
  2.  Start saving those dollars! So, after many years of my parents yelling at me about my spending habits, I realized over this winter break how out-of-control my spending habits really can be (do I really need to eat out as often as I do?). I graduate college in August, which is crazy because I do not have any savings to my name. While it is really hard to save money when I do not have a job, I can help my parents out by not spending as much each month. My dad and I had a money conversation, and he told me what he used to do when he was starting out, was to save at least 10 percent of his paycheck each month when he started his salaried job. This allowed him to gain actual savings! While this is easier said then done, I am going to attempt to be a little bit more money conscious and you should too!dsc_0047
  3.  My third and final resolution to add to your list is to make more time for yourself! This one would actually be the hardest for me because I completely understand as college students, we are constantly busy doing work, going to this for our sorority, etc., but it important to sleep in one day, read that book that you’ve had on your list or just honestly chill and not do anything sometimes.  I am one of the biggest extroverts out there, so it hard for me to be alone for too long, because I love being with people constantly, but when I do take a few hours for myself, I realize how rejuvenated I actually feel!

I hope this list sounds like things that are doable for you! I am going to really try my hardest to accomplish these.

Did you notice the adorable champagne bottle I have in my hand? It is the Chandon and Rebecca Minkoff wine holiday collaboration! Rebecca Minkoff designed the bottles, and I am in love with them! To read more about the collection, check it out: here.

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I hope all of my amazing Defining Danie readers had a great holiday season! Thank you all for your support and I look forward what 2017 holds for us!

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Thank you to my friend, Amanda Beall for this fun photoshoot! Find her on Instagram @Onemillionwonders!

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