Have plans to attend an outdoor concert this spring? Looking for that perfect look thats comfortable enough to wear while sitting on the grass, but coordinated enough to wear out after the show? Try this simple rocker look with thin layers, and comfortable skinnies to keep you cool and looking cooler.
Recently, I downloaded a copy Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead, by Sheryl Sandberg. Released in March, this informative and sometimes autobiographical book discusses and evaluates the way both women and society hold women back in the workplace, while also emphasizing and inspiring women to become leaders in the workforce in order to drive much needed social change. Although the book is highly geared towards uplifting and motivating women to push for higher goals in their work lives, it also spends a good amount of time dealing with the reciprocal relationship that men have in the domestic sphere. As women are held back in the workforce, so are men held back in the home, and in the authors opinion, society would benefit from an increased presence of both women in leadership positions and men assisting in domestic work and child rearing.
In Sandberg’s opinion, two major things need to happen in order for true change and gender equality to occur. First, women must “lean in” and actively pursue more leadership positions instead of allowing their careers to take a backseat to domestic life (child care, home life, etc) and secondly, men need to take a more active role in the home so that their wive’s do not have to “do it all.” Yes, it is very difficult for women to balance a demanding professional career and take care of the vast majority of home care, child rearing, meal preparation, but that isn’t the ideal ends as Sandberg so rightly argues. The ideal would be for men to pick up half the domestic work especially when their highly educated wive’s are bringing in their fair share of the household income.
I highly suggest this book to anyone who is interested in the equalization of gender roles. I also suggest this book to anyone who manages women in the workplace because it includes many studies that demonstrate that certain gender stereotypes are present in the workplace and managers should be actively aware of this so that they can equalize the playing field for their female employees. Overall, for me, this book was highly inspiring and actually made me think much harder about how high I want to achieve within my own career. Women can have a thriving career and domestic life at the same time, as long as they have partners willing and able to take up their fair share of the chores and childcare, and I think Sandberg’s message is an inspiring one for the future of women’s leadership.
Recently, I had been searching for a new camera app, one that would allow me to control the aperture of my images so that I could control the depth of field in my pictures more so that I could with my iPhone’s camera app. I found Big Lens, a $.99 app for iOS with high ratings and some great user reviews. Big Lens is actually quite easy to use and surprisingly effective at achieving the natural bokeh and blur effects I was looking for. It isn’t a camera app that you would use to capture images necessarily, instead its an editing tool to use with existing images. To show you how simple and effective the app is, I am using the sample image provided in the app itself.
As you can see from these three images above, you start with your selected image, then using the brush tool in the advanced* menu you highlight the area on your image that you want to remain in focus. Don’t worry if you draw outside the lines of the subject because you can use the “Auto” selection tool and that cuts out any overage by determining the boundaries of your subject and selecting just that subject. Once your area is selected as in image two, you move on to the next step which blurs everything that wasn’t highlighted and creates a nice depth of field effect in your image.
You can control this blur in the “Aperture” tool by selecting a smaller or larger F Stop. The smaller the F Stop the larger your aperture and the more blur you get in your photo. You can also use the “Filter” tool to add some great color and lighting effects, including Lomo effects similar to those found in Instagram and other popular filter apps. Finally, you can also adjust the “Lens” options which will help you create a nice natural bokeh effect Choose the desired shape of your bokeh from a selection of hearts stars and geometric shapes. To achieve the bokeh effect, I have found that increasing the aperture will make your bokeh more prominent in your image, but there are also some filter options that also assist with creating a nice bokeh.
* This app has a Basic and an Advanced menu. I am using the Advanced menu for this review because it gives the user more precise control over the effects, however, if you were to use the Basic menu, it gives you most of the same options, but instead of the brush tool for selecting your subject, you have a standard circle or linear blur option. All else is the same between the two menus.
Overall, I am very satisfied with the Big Lens app. For $.99 its pretty powerful and creates some nice depth of field and blur effects that are much more precise than what other popular apps offer. I like how I get some functions of a DSLR camera with this app that make my subjects stand out and product some great lighting effects as well. Definitely give Big Lens a try if you are looking for more advanced focus and blur controls.
Teal and Coral are two of the hottest colors for Spring and Summer. Give mom a gift that will make her stand out with this geometric statement necklace.
Not sure what fragrance your mom wears. Try this perfume sampler from Sephora and let mom pick out her favorite. The sampler comes with a ‘Scent Certificate’ so once mom finds one she likes, she can redeem the certificate for a full sized bottle of her favorite.
So, what are giving your mom this Mother’s Day? Let us know in the comments!
One of my must have accessories for the warmer months has got to be the smartphone wallet. Whether you tote around an iPhone, Android or Windows smartphone, these awesome wallets double as clutches that keep your phone, cash and important cards all in one place. I have been using one as my primary wallet since I was gifted one for my birthday! So far, I have seen many designer brands of these wallets popping up all over the place, but you can find some stylish and sensibly priced versions in store and online if you just spend the time to look! I have done some legwork for you and scouted out a few styles at various price points, some designer names and some everyday brands, to help you find your perfect fit!
With the spring now in full force, I have been scouring my closet and stores for some great, lightweight and easy to wear items for work. Black tights paired with a lightweight metallic tunic style top and an awesome structured blazer is a chic way to stand out and keep cool in the warmer months. I am really into skulls right now (and have been for a few weeks) but I struggle with integrating them into my wardrobe in a professional way. I love these simple loafers with the skull design and desperately need to find a pair for myself immediately! My bold Warby Parker Thatchers have been my staple eyewear for a while now and I think this look really works well with my thick framed glasses. Top off the look with some silver jewels and my Rebecca Minkoff MAB Tote, Rebecca Minkoff iPhone case and my ClamCase Pro for iPad and I am all work and all play all at once!
If you were a reader of one of my previous blogs, either The Pink Mac or Strange & Charmed, you will probably notice that things have changed a bit around here. Both sites now redirect to this new fancy, shmancy WordPress site. Yes, I made the leap from Blogger to a self hosted WordPress, complete with my own URL and a lovely theme that I purchased from BluChic.com and then had my awesome graphic designerd husband customize it to fit my color scheme. The process was actually much simpler than I had imagined, but I did shell out a good amount of money, paying for the URL, the web hosting through Blue Host and the lovely theme. It was certainly money well spent on my part as it has prepared me for some awesome things to come.
In case you haven’t heard, I am going to Blogcademy in NYC in June. Blogcademy is a two day blogging workshop hosted by a triumvirate of awesome female bloggers {Gala Darling, Kat Williams, & Shauna Haider aka Nubby Twiglet}! Last month I signed up for the nearest event in the hopes of learning some important blogging skills that I am surely lacking, but to prep, I wanted to get my blog in top shape by making some changes that I felt were important and necessary in order to grow. So, this is the new site, for now! I have folded The Pink Mac into Strange & Charmed because I truly felt like The Pink Mac was the precursor to Strange & Charmed before I ever fully realized my goals and aspirations for blogging. It feels naturals that now The Pink Mac is part of Strange & Charmed and from now on it will be its own feature within the blog and magazine! It even has a dedicated link on my nav bar because to me it is a staple of my blog and of my life!
I hope you enjoy what you read here at Strange & Charmed and I hope you like the new changes with the layout and of course the increased quality of the content. I am trying my best to give my readers interesting bits throughout the week so come back soon and see what I have put together for you!
May is nearly here, so I have found a few iPhone wallpapers with some bright and inspiring florals to brighten up your month! Take note that two of these wallpapers are actually for your home screen and not your lock screen as they sort of help display your icons. Check it out and enjoy!
