fbpx

Jen A. Miller Consulting

Tag: New York City

  • National Cupcake Day + Sprinkles GIVEAWAY!

    National Cupcake Day + Sprinkles GIVEAWAY!

    Our leading ladies share their favorite cupcakes, plus a chance to win a $20 Sprinkles giftcard!

    national cupcake day

    My sisters and I baked cupcakes regularly together growing up (never mind that they were generally of the boxed variety). My affinity for cupcakes meant endless gifts of cupcake-icon gifts: a belt, a tank top, luggage tag, rain boots, and not one but two cupcake deliveries for my birthday last year. Needless to say, when Sprinkles opened its doors I jumped on that cupcake bakery bandwagon real quick. It was one of the first stops on my list to visit when I moved to Los Angeles, and I’ve been a fan ever since. Sprinkles put cupcakes on the map, and many have followed to continue the movement of one of the best baked inventions.

    To celebrate National Cupcake Day, read on to find out where our leading ladies across the country turn to curb their cupcake appetite… plus don’t miss your chance to win one of three $20 giftcards to Sprinkles!

    (more…)

  • Don’t Expect Me to Smile. Or Meow.

    Colleen Viana reflects on her experiences with catcalling and opens an important discussion about street harassment
    PHOTO: Ralph Crane.
    PHOTO: Ralph Crane.

     

    On any given day, there are three things I fear while walking the streets of New York City:

    1. Pigeons (better known as rats with wings)
    2. A sea of tourists (though less of a fear and more of an annoyance—if you work in SoHo on the weekends you’ll understand)
    3. Catcallers

     

    The inevitable “damn girl!” or “what’s up, beautiful?” while at first complimentary, is enough to ruin your walk to work, the bodega, the bars, or hell, even the laundromat. A shout-out to your derriere can even cause more frustration than those relentless pigeons, sadly. It wasn’t until recently that I started contemplating the pragmatics of these very uncomfortable situations. The other day, for instance, I had to stop myself from looking back to shout, “YOUR MOM’S CHEST HAIR” when asked “where did those luscious locks come from, sexy?” It’s a constant reminder to pick your battles; but when is enough, enough?

    There is no way to easily confront being sexually harassed; that is essentially what catcalling is, believe it or not. It’s a conversation that is easily avoidable, often uncomfortable in the same manner as experiencing it. They are not moments we wish to recount, yet it happens so often that this unhappened conversation needs to start happening.

    So here is my story about the first time I can recall being catcalled, and not liking it (but when do you, really?).
    (more…)

  • I’ll Never Be the Same

    How her volunteer experience has taught Lara Torii to live intentionally and fall in love

    P1020666

    When I started my first year of volunteer service three years ago in NYC, I was excited that I could continue to wear my fabulous pair of alligator green vintage boots. One of my program’s tenets is simplicity, but no one considered me frivolous for continuing to wear my best clothes to work. After all, my placement, which served runaway and homeless youth, was in Chelsea.

    Now, what seems like a lifetime later, I’m sitting in my single bed in a volunteer house on the edge of rural northeast Thailand. All I can hear outside are insects singing. Nowadays, my wardrobe mainly consists of t-shirts and loose elephant pants. I have about nine outfits that I’ve rotated for two years. But just as I loved putting together outfits for my days in Manhattan, I love the simplicity of my wardrobe here.

    But I’m not here to talk about how my personal look has changed the last three years (though I do love talking about my hair, so perhaps that will be a topic for another entry). This outer transformation is simply an insight into the bigger transformation within. It all happened because I decided, from day one, to live each moment deeply.
    (more…)