Winter Break.....Please come sooner! Thanks!

    

Merry Christmas Eve peeps! Here are a couple of pics from the LESGC Holiday Crafty Chicas event. My mentee wasn't able to meet, so I was paired up with a new mentee for the interim moment and had such a blast. We decorated Christmas bulbs to look like reindeers, made clove scented orange ornaments and decorated felt Christmas trees with buttons and glitter! I have to admit whenever I do crafting projects, I get so consumed with the process. I definitely want to integrate doing more crafting projects into my life for the New Year!

Tonight, Jason and I are celebrating Christmas Eve by getting dinner at the Strip House and then tomorrow morning I'll be flying into SFO to visit my family for the holidays. I am so blessed that this year I was able to see my family more than twice in one year- which is the usual for not living in the Bay. But before dinner and hitching a ride to JFK, I have to pack the rest of my ish.....since we're moving uptown! This weekend has literally been such a drag. When it comes to packing, especially when it's cold outside and Netflix is calling my name, I just want to sit on my ass all day and do nothing. If anything, I'll just pray for the willingness to pack and really give away the clothes I do not wear (I am such a hoarder when it comes to clothes)!

Anyways, just wanted to drop a line before the holidays commence and wish you all Season's Greetings, safe travels, Happy New Year, Happy Hanukkah, etc.but before I leave, check out some of the sites below:

• Plum Alley- http://plumalley.co From ethereal jewelry to beautiful floral wreaths, eclectic still-life paintings and even modern furniture, this e-commerce site features products from female founded companies. 
• MOWA- http://www.mowa.me co-founded by Alex Zatarain is a start-up that utilizes photo sharing and hashtags to help users win coveted products for free! Click on the link to sign up and receive exclusive emails on how to enter photo contests.
• Wakefield NY- http://getwakefield.com co-founded by Chris Johnson, is a site that publishes and delivers daily emails to your inbox on companies, products and people in the start-up industry. If you're looking to land a job at a start-up, this is one of the sources that should be bookmarked on your PC or MAC...stat!
• Angel List- https://angel.co a job site similar to Indeed or Monster for start-ups.

Sorry for being so MIA....

Hello Everyone! Sorry I have been so MIA, with Hurricane Sandy, work travel, Thanksgiving and Christmas rapidly approaching, writing has taken a back seat lately!

In the past couple of months, I have joined two organizations; one as a mentor and one for recreational purposes!

The Lower East Side Girls Club (LESGC) located in downtown Manhattan focuses on providing girls and young women educational after- school programs that help foster and cultivate confidence. I first heard about the organization through Gabby B's blog and became interested in the mentoring program. I quickly signed up and became a mentor for the Crafty Chicas program where once a month I meet my mentee and work on arts and crafts projects. Last month we painted signs for the Sweet Things Bake Shop located on Ave. C. Since Hurricane Sandy hit Ave. C pretty hard, the bake shop- the only source of income for LESGC- had to close down. Our painted signs served as a Thank You to the many patrons for their support throughout the years. You can view more photos from the event here at the LESGC Blog

The other organization that I recently joined is Levo League. I first heard about Levo League through another site I subscribe to; Under30CEO. While reading my favorite segment, "Young Entrepreneurs" I read about the two co-founders; Caroline Ghosn and Amanda Pouchet and felt passionate about what their mission is- building a social community of like-minded professional people by offering career advancement advice, social etiquette in the workplace and setting up local events.

Last Monday, I attended my first Levo League event, which was a book club and we read "By Invitation Only: How We Built Gilt and Changed the Way Millions Shop" by Alexis Maybank and Alexandra Wilikis Wilson. At First I was apprehensive about the event because I did not know anyone, but as soon as the discussion started, I came to realize that I was surrounded by a group of young women who, like me, were either trying to figure out their next career move, in the the early stages of their own start-up, wanted career advice or to meet like-minded individuals who were passionate and ambitious about becoming successful based on their own terms.

  A person once told me that in life, she goes towards the people, places and things she wants for herself. After a couple of experiences of trial and error, a slap in the face from the "real world" and a humble beating to my ego, I started to define how i wanted my life to look, the type of people I wanted to surround myself with, the type of job I wanted (environment, team dynamic, location, boss, tasks, etc.) and also push myself to experience and find things that I'm passionate about. I am happy that I am starting to meet like-minded individuals and others who can impart their wisdom, dish out advice and relate on the struggles and triumphs of life!

Below is a list of sites I subscribe to and maybe you might find interesting or helpful as well:

• Honest Company- Natural and eco-friendly e-commerce site co-founded by celebrity Jessica Alba
• The Skimm- The top local and international news headlines written in layman's terms to help you delivered to your inbox daily. Think of the WSJ front page.
• The Conversationist- This blog is run by Amanda De Cadenet and focuses on content that honors the questions females ask themselves in this day and age. This blog also runs synonymously with the TV series, 'The Conversation' co-produced by Demi Moore and airing on Lifetime. You can watch episodes here.
• Poshly- a beauty giveaway site that allows you to enter to win beauty products by taking a quiz that automatically enters your name in the draw.
• Women In Wireless- an organization of women in digital and mobile media with mentoring services, local networking events, etc. I attended the WIW Holiday party at the Soho House last night and met great women ranging from careers in start-ups to big media companies like Yahoo! If you're looking to network with women who understand the need for more female leaders in the digital space or a career change, join this org!

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

xo Lisa