Jen A. Miller Consulting

Category: Obsessions

What I Love About My City | Berlin

Jessica Buenaventura tells us why Berlin is “poor but sexy”… plus her tips on overcoming homesickness abroad

PHOTO: Pinterest.

Welcome back to What I Love About My City—a series in which our favorite single girls dish on everything from the best places for a single girls weekend to the secret spots only the locals know about. If you’re thinking about moving or just planning your next trip, we’ll fill you in with all the essential details on the cities our crew knows best.

Germany as a whole seems to be underrated to us in the States, so after hearing from a few close friends just how amazing the country is I was eager to get the lowdown from someone who lived there for an extended period. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Jessica Buenaventura attended UC Santa Barbara and studied abroad in Berlin, Germany. After a semester as an international student, Jessica fell in love with the city and looked for opportunities to stay post-graduation. Here she sheds light on the different layers of Berlin and its inhabitants and dishes on the must-see sights and sounds awaiting us in this German stadt… as well as shares her tips on avoiding inevitable homesickness while living away from your friends and family.

Berliners are the work-hard, party-hard generation whose affinity for travel, impressive knowledge of global politics, and nonchalant hipster style make you ogle at how freaking über cool it is to be living in Berlin.

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March 19, 2014
Single Girl Reads: Divergent

“Human beings as a whole cannot be good for long before the bad creeps back in and poisons us again.”

It’s a triology. It’s about a “dystopian” society that’s taken over Chicago… one that’s divided into organized groups based on human qualities that rule individual mentality: Abnegation (the selfless), Candor (the honest), Amity (the friendly), Erudite (the intellectuals), and Dauntless (the brave). Despite the outward similarities with the coming-of-age strong female lead and the ability of the protagonist to outwit the central dictatorship, The Hunger Games this is not. With a slow start and elementary literary features, Divergent lacks the depth that attracted me to The Hunger Games. With that said, I did enjoy the read and am looking forward to the release of the film starring Shailene Woodley next Friday, March 21st. Don’t let the 487 pages scare you; you can finish the novel in the next week if you start this weekend!

At the age of 16, every citizen takes an aptitude test that reveals to them where their qualities will help them most succeed in their society. Each citizen considers their results and at the Choosing Ceremony publicly declares where their mind and heart has led them. Many choose to stay within their own faction, but others choose to “abandon” their families and the ideals they were raised to uphold and switch to another. Any decision to leave is often seen as a betrayal to their family and to their faction, and they believe that you can never return home afterward. Each 16-year-old becomes an initiate that goes through a process of training into the new ideals of their adulthood and sometimes new faction before they undergo a test that accepts them into their new faction… or doesn’t.

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March 14, 2014
Mondays Don’t Have to Suck | A Guide to Weekday Activities

Catherine’s guide to weekdays activities and a more socially rewarding work week

PHOTO: Courtesy of Pinterest.

A couple months ago I shared my suggestions on how to craft the perfect weekend, but I am not one to live for the weekends. A couple years into joining the workforce, I came to terms with the fact that living for two days a week was a waste of 5/7 of my 20s (and 30s and 40s). Plus in a car-culture commuter city like L.A., you can go an entire day, week, month without encountering anyone you don’t work with. To compensate for the fact that I have to work for a living (that’s how I buy things…), I make a point of incorporating something to look forward to every day of the week. There are the obvious happy hour and dinner dates or the daily work-out sessions, but there are other ways to have fun without messing with your routine productivity. Here are five of my favorite not-so-obvious choices of weekday activities to break up your work week.

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March 13, 2014
A Love Affair with Fashion | Single Girl Obsessions

The Tale of One Superbly Single Girl’s Lifelong Relationship with Fashion

When I first stumbled across Helena Levin’s Facebook profile page shock and awe were my immediate reactions. For good reason too. This vivacious blonde’s social media profile encapsulates a storybook of superbly styled selfies that you simply can’t walk away from. From the a-line dresses to the perfectly coifed bouffants, each picture illustrates a chapter in the life of a fashion fanatic. I could tell from her shots that she must be notoriously known for chubby bunny bows and expertly assembled outfits. What I couldn’t tell was why? To find out what was driving this queen of all things coordinated I asked Helena herself to share her story with The Single Diaries. Read on for the delicious details behind her affair with fashion.

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March 12, 2014
Zola Acai Morning Smoothie Recipe

Avant-Barre offers Zola chia pudding and smoothie recipes to kick-off spring

In honor of National Nutrition Month, Avant-Barre founder Char “Nini” Gueco created two easy delicious recipes using Zola Açaí. Whether you’re trying to eat healthier for Lent, in anticipation of summer, or to keep going with your New Year’s resolutions, this is a way to ensure that your conscious choices aren’t boring your taste buds.

Speaking of New Year’s resolutions, if one of yours is to travel more Zola wants to help… by sending you on a trip to Brazil! Find more details on Facebook and enter by April 9th for your chance to win.

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March 7, 2014