A gift guide of books for the mothers on your list
PHOTO: PBS.
My love of books no doubt stems from my parents. I had my first library card before I started school (my “signature” definitely looks like I had just learned how to write my name). Some of my fondest childhood memories include my mom bringing me to the library and letting me peruse the children’s room for hours. When I started reading more substantial literature, my mom encouraged me to inscribe my name and the date I finished each book on the inside cover. What a charming way to look back years later and consider your “journey” when you first read a novel! Unfortunately, I fell out of this practice once reading for pleasure was a thing of the past (read high school and college required reading lists). I think it’s time to bring it back. Mother’s Day is such a special time to honor the women in your life, and I find there’s no better gift than just the right book. A personalized note is just as extraordinary an inscription… and a beautiful reminder of where the book came from. Here are six of the latest titles to consider for Mother’s Day. (more…)
The guy who comes up from behind and starts dancing without warning. The guy who thinks a sexist comment or an insult is a great conversation opener. The guy who thinks that making eye contact with you means he’s your boyfriend. We’ve all experienced our fair share of creeps at the bars. That said, during a passionate conversation with a friend of a friend, I found myself defending the general population of guys at bars. After all, my guy friends—most of whom are nice, respectable and respectful gentlemen—go to bars, and I would bet that yours do too. They’re not all creeps! Once you change your perception and open your eyes, you may surprise yourself at what’s right in front of you. Here is a guide to bar etiquette. Turning down a date does not have to be insulting; in fact, if you do it right you may even impress another eligible date nearby.
A friend and I were talking about people’s different thresholds of “busy.” She has a full-time office job and teaches fitness classes 3 to 4 days a week. A colleague of mine has a full-time job, teaches an extracurricular class once a week, oh, and has a husband and four kids to care for. I attest my own desire to fill my days to my early training in elementary school. My mom had my sisters and me in after-school activities galore—from ballet to swimming, speed reading (an excuse for me to spend more time at the library) to student council. Once I left school for the real world, I felt the need to continue being “involved”… I became my high school alumni association’s class representative, joined my sorority’s alumni chapter and took on a leadership role, then found other ways to use my marketing knowledge by joining my sister’s company’s team part time and decided to get back into writing by launching The Single Diaries with Jen.
The only sure thing is that we have 24 hours in a day and, when you have an inflexible office job, you have to wake up at a certain time every morning. For someone like me who can stay up all night, it is a challenge to stay committed to a bedtime when I can find other things I want to do but didn’t have time to earlier in the day (write or edit a post, read a book, watch Melrose Place). There were evenings when after work I thought I could do it all: run off to an early barre class, stop by a book club meeting, then finish editing a post scheduled to go up the next day. Other days I had to make sacrifices. Instead of organizing a boozy brunch (one of my favorite pastimes), I committed to a Saturday work session at a local cafe.
Jen recently wrote about taking up a side hustle, which is great in the years after college when making money needs to be your priority to pay for student loans and to get your feet off the ground. In those years, most of us need to work a traditional full-time job to learn the value of a paycheck and to garner experience to build our resume. A side hustle is a way for you to find your passion and develop the skills you need to make your dreams a reality. But what happens when your full-time job and your side hustle leave you with little to no free time?
I daydream about the day I can stay at four-star hotels, sharing a king bed with only one other person. At this point in our lives, the majority of us packs Vegas hotel rooms to the brim and crashes on our friends’ couches when we visit new cities. We all know how tiring it can be to live in a popular city and entertain out-of-town visitors. Regardless, it can be easy to forget our manners when the tables are turned. Here are some easy ways to be a gracious houseguest and guarantee an invitation to return.
The Single Diaries celebrates Women’s History Month with Karina Capulong and chats about visionary women, empowering girls, and a new definition of a female leader
The idea behind Inspire Girls To is that if a girl saw reflections of herself in women leaders, pioneers, and change-makers, perhaps she would find the confidence within herself and think, “If they could do it, I can too.”
Welcome back to Single Girl Brunches with the Best—a series of conversations with friends and leading ladies who are fierce, fearless and inspirational.
Karina Capulong and I met in ballet school as adolescents. Our families became friends over the years, and I got to know Karina even better when we went to the same high school. We participated in the same performing arts activities, and something I always admired about Karina was her ability to lead by example. She was never bossy and yet she possessed the qualities of a good leader. She radiated a calming and encouraging energy that put those around her at ease. I came across her project through a couple mutual friends who were involved. Inspire Girls To (or iG2) empowers girls by educating them about influential women who have paved the way for more girls and women to lead and succeed in their own special ways. As we close out Women’s History Month, I thought it perfect timing to reflect on how we can learn from the example of great women in history and continue to propel that inspiration into the rest of the year.
Karina holds a BS in Community & Regional Development with a minor in Sociology from UC Davis and a Masters in Public Administration with honors from San Francisco State University and currently works at Genentech. In her own words, “my vision for Inspire Girls To is to create a community of girls who believe in themselves, support one another, and want to lead and do good in the world. Essentially, by empowering girls now, I see a world where more women are confident, compassionate, and leading the pack.”
