Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Chloe+Isabel starter kit!

My starter kit for Chloe+Isabel arrived today!!!! Basically, when you start working with C+I, you pay a fee of $175 for startup. The startup includes your very own online boutique, a mentor, merchandising workshops and conference calls, many other online selling tools, and 14 of the most popular pieces as well as wish lists, order sheets, and look books. I got my kit today and almost peed myself. LOOK AT ALL THIS GOODNESS.

Also, my online boutique can be found RIGHT HERE!
My collection!



Necklaces



Bracelets



Earrings



Botanica: Fall/Winter 2014 Look book

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Head of the American

We just got back from Head of the American last night, and it was so amazing! We left for Sacramento early on Friday morning- the bus left campus at 6:00 AM. The bus ride took about 6 hours. We stopped for lunch along the way which took about 45 minutes so our trip was naturally a little longer, but we had to eat. When we got to the course, we rigged the boats and then went out for a practice. Later that night, we went back to the hotel and had a chance to shower before heading to dinner at the Olive Garden, and then it was off to bed.

THE NEXT MORNING WAS RACE MORNING! Each boat went for a run together for 20 minutes and stretched before breakfast at the hotel. We had a boat meeting, and then headed down to the course to get ready to race. There was a little bit of time to walk around before the race, and I bought a regatta shirt to commemorate my very first college regatta. YAY. Then it was time to launch for our race!

The race went really well. Of course I was ready to die by the end but when you feel that way you know you're doing something right. We crossed the finish line and I knew we had done our best, and that is a great feeling. We then landed on shore and loaded the trailer, which took about 20 minutes (compared to the 4 hours it used to take in high school...) and it was back on the bus! I basically fell asleep the second I walked back into my dorm room last night.

The whole experience was so fun, and I wish we could do it every weekend! I'll never forget it.


Katie and I on the bus to the Olive Garden!


At the Olive Garden with Maddie Pont...LOVE this girl

RACE DAY


Sophie (DJ) and I were stern pair of the 4th Varsity 8+!


Maddie Pont and I carrying food lookin' like twins


Maddie Shrock and I after the race!


Mikayla and I after the race!

DJ and I after the race!

My beautiful team


Final results! Our varsity 8 WON! We were the UCLA B entry, and we tied with Stanford B for 13th

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Chloe+Isabel

Hey world, I got a job!

I've been looking for a job for a while, but I needed a job that I could do on my own time: something where I could set my own hours, and maybe even work from my computer. And I found one!

I am working now as a merchandiser for a jewelry company called Chloe+Isabel. Basically, I have my very own online boutique where I can create collections and share my favorite pieces. People are then able to buy jewelry through my boutique, the website (through me) and also if I host any pop up shops. I make commission off of all purchases done through me. (25% for now, and it can increase depending on how much I sell) 

So far, I love this job! My friend Emma was a merchandiser for C+I too, and I ended up buying a pair of earrings from her over the summer. All of the jewelry is so beautiful, and it comes with a lifetime guarantee (even though the pieces are so well made, they don't even need one) 

I'm attaching a link to my online boutique HERE!!!

XOXO

The earrings I bought from Chloe+Isabel through Emma!




Some of my favorite Chloe+Isabel pieces
 

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Adidas Christmas/First day of practice

Today was a monumental day for me! I was medically cleared to row last night so today was my first official day of practice. I had to do an erg test (5000m as fast as possible) I didn't pull my personal best, but I finished with a good enough result because I get to travel with the team this weekend! We are traveling to the Head of the American regatta in Sacramento. We leave on Friday morning and are racing on Saturday. I'm racing in the 4th boat and I am so excited to be back on the water racing.

We also received all of our gear today! UCLA is sponsored by Adidas, so all of our clothes are Adidas brand. They had already given us 2 shirts, a pair of shorts, and a pair of sneakers. Today, we got a TON of stuff. (A picture of all my gear is below) I love it all!

I'll make a post about the race after this Saturday.
XO
Mikayla and I in our matching UCLA tops!

All of my new gear!

Monday, October 20, 2014

Classes

I realized that i've been posting a lot about my social life and rowing life here at UCLA, but haven't talked about my classes yet. The UCLA year is broken up into 4 quarters, with each quarter being 10 weeks. (Spring quarter, summer quarter, fall quarter, winter quarter). The first quarter you enter in as a UCLA student is the fall quarter. Each quarter you are recommended to take 3-4 classes, with freshman being strongly advised to start out with 3. 

There are 2 different types of classes here: GE's, and major requirements. I am going into school as an English major. This quarter, I am taking 2 GE's (Geography and Intro to Sociology) and English Composition 3 (a major requirement as well as a UCLA requirement). 

I have 2 lecture sections each for my Geography and Sociology classes. Each of these classes also has a much smaller (20 kids vs 200 for lecture) once-a-week discussion section with a TA. (or, for Geography, a lab) My English Comp class is basically a discussion section with about 20 kids. 

Trying to find classes that fit my rowing schedule proved to be a challenge. Luckily, next quarter i'll be able to use priority athlete enrollment to make picking and scheduling my classes a lot easier and less stressful. 

GEOGRAPHY: I surprisingly really enjoy this class. I originally only signed up because it was a GE that had a lot of spots and fit into my schedule, but it's actually pretty interesting. I love my professor: he is really into the topic and really knows what he's doing (he wrote the textbook for the class) and keeps class interesting. 

SOCIOLOGY: This class is also super interesting but has some concepts that can be hard to grasp. Basically, sociology is the study of people as groups or individuals and why they do what they do. We're currently talking about reality, which has been a really big idea and concept to wrap my head around but it's really cool.

ENGLISH COMP: This has probably been my biggest challenge as far as my classes go so far *knock on wood* In high school, I had the same English teacher for 2 years in a row, so I was really used to a certain style and expectation in my writing. Writing for my professor now is intimidating and kind of scary but it's a good challenge for me. 


My schedule!

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Santa Monica

Yesterday, my friend/teammate, Bailey, had to go to Santa Monica as a class assignment. Kc (another friend) and I went with her. It was so fun! We walked to Westwood and got on the Big Blue Bus to Santa Monica. The ride was about 30 min and cost 50 cents each way which rocked. We went down to the pier first. When we got to the pier, we walked up and down a little bit, stopping to take pictures in a photo booth and watch a street performer. We then walked back into town and checked out the Third Street promenade (shops!) I have been on the hunt for more fun tops and denim shorts. PacSun was having a huge sale and I got 5 shirts for $30. I also got a new makeup case that was Barbie themed at Forever 21 and I got 2 tops and a pair of shorts at Brandy Melville. We finished our trip with dinner at Johnny Rockets which was SO good. It was such a fun trip!
On the bus to Santa Monica! Kc is next to me and Bailey is behind her.

Photobooth strip

Ferris Wheel on the pier! Maybe i'll go on it next time

Selfies on the pier

Typical selfie

EVEN MORE SELFIES

Random iguana named Greenie (his owner was nearby)

Petting Greenie!

Kc and I trying on some earmuffs

Delicious dinner at Johnny Rockets! Fun fact: the ketchup smile is a mandatory employee procedure.

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Things I bought

Here's a well known fact about me: I am a compulsive shopper. Luckily, most of the things I buy I actually love and get a lot of use out of. I just buy a lot of things. Since being in LA, I have compulsively bought many things. Here's a quick synopsis.



WHITE CONVERSE
I got these because I soon realized that I had a lack of shoes I could wear every day and match with basically every outfit. So many girls here own white converse so i'm feeling a little basic by buying these but I am SO excited for them to come in the mail! (They should come today)

FARMERS MARKET STRAWBERRIES
I was on my way to buy a course reader for my English class when I walked by the farmers market in the middle of campus. I was pulled in because I could actually smell these strawberries as I walked by. Probably some of the best strawberries i've ever eaten and they were a great study snack!

SPRING BREAKERS POSTER
The student store here has a ton of sales that pop up, and they have them outside sometimes. These past few days, there's been a massive poster sale. I was actually on the hunt for something to hang up on the wall behind my head and I found this poster for one of my all-time favorite movies EVER. Score.

FUZZY UCLA BLANKET
Kim and I keep our room at a chilly 68 degrees which rocks because I love sleeping when it's cold. This blanket is awesome because it gives me extra warmth and when i'm doing homework its nice to wrap up in because it's pretty big.

COLOR CHANGING TEA MUG
For those who don't know me very well, I am OBSESSED with tea. Especially DavidsTEA. DavidsTEA recently released a whole Halloween collection, including this color changing mug that changes when you add hot water. EEK CAN'T WAIT. 

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Road to clearance

I've decided to take a post to elaborate something I mentioned in my last post...not being "medically cleared" to row.

Here's the story. When I was a junior, I began being able to occasionally feel my heart beating in my chest, but not in a way you'd expect. I felt my heart almost feel like it was dropping for a second, then bounce back. It's hard to describe the exact sensation, but it was happening a lot. I decided to go get an EKG (electrocardiogram) done of my heart. Basically, you lie on a table and they stick a bunch of wires to your chest and capture your heart beat. My EKG came back as normal, and they told me I probably was just having too much coffee.

FLASH FORWARD TO THIS YEAR. Freshman rowers had a physical before practices started, and we had to fill out a questionnaire. One question was, "Have you ever had an EKG?" I checked yes. When I met the doctor, he told me that they wanted to be sure my heart was really okay and scheduled me for three different tests: another EKG, an Echocardiogram (a heart ultrasound) and a treadmill stress echo test (you run on a treadmill until you're really tired and then they instantly do another Echocardiogram of your heart while its beating hard).

I have my final appointment on Monday to see if i'll be cleared or not. Fingers crossed!
The Echocardiogram machine

Hospital gown selfies!


Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Things I'm glad I learned in high school

I’ve been at UCLA for about 2.5 weeks now and there are some things I’m so happy I figured out in high school.
1. How to lift weights
I haven’t been medically cleared to row yet (long story short I had an ekg done in 11th grade and they want to make sure I’m not gonna have a heart attack in the middle of practice so I’m being retested) but I’ve been attending practice. I’ve been getting to watch my teammates at weight sessions and see them learn the lifts. Watching them learn how to do cleans makes me want to jump up and grab a bar myself. After lifting at least once a week in high school, lifting became almost second nature. I am so thankful I learned how to do it before coming here because once I’m cleared, I won’t have to awkwardly learn how to lift by myself.
2. How to take notes during a lecture
One of the biggest changes between high school and college is the teaching style. Many of my high school teachers used power points and we would take notes off the slides. However there were the few that would actually lecture with no material. In high school, figuring out what was actually important was hard. I’m glad I got some practice in during high school though because it’s all lecture here.
3. How to do laundry
I recently had to teach my roommate, Kim, how to do her laundry. I also have watched countless other kids looking clueless in the laundry room. After doing laundry all summer by myself, I consider myself to be a seasoned pro.
4. How to make my bed
You’d be surprised how many people don’t know how to do this. There is seriously nothing better than coming back to my room after class and curling up in a freshly made bed.
5. How much sleep I need
I need a lot.