MODERN MAP ART: MY PIECE OF HOME

PHEW! I can't believe it's almost MAY! Its almost 6 months since deciding to move to Portland!  About a month ago I got settled into my own 1BDR. I haven't sent anything from Texas yet (long story) but I was lucky enough for Jennifer from Modern Map Art to gift me a print of my hometown! My room is shades of Black, gray and white so it fits in so perfect. I am still in the process of slowly decorating and will share more as time passes.

I love these map art prints! They are such a good thick quality and come shipped in a poster tube to avoid any damage. I also talked about them here. I love great wall art and wanted to share a little inspiration if you are looking to newly decorate a room. I am really into simple industrial things right now. The one thing missing from my bed is a headboard, only because I haven't found one I love yet. My bed is between two ladder bookshelves that I found online as a set of 2 for around $90. I was super excited by how cheap that was! I wasn't so excited to build them. Each ladder has 4 shelves and in a "small" place I like being able to stack many things vertical. On the bottom shelves I am looking for some stylish boxes to use as storage. 

I found these clamp on industrial lamps at Ikea! These are black but I want to spray paint the silver parts gold soooo bad. they were $8 each and the bulbs were $3 for a set of 2. What a steal! Lamps can get expensive and all of the ones I liked similar to this from Target were $30 each. I love how these move around with the arms, but i kind of noticed they remind me of the dentist or doctors office. I mean... I did say industrial inspiration. The lamps also come in white, yellow and green. I was so close to buying yellow but I am happy with Black. 

The frame for this print is also from Amazon, I found a 24x36 frame in black for $26. My bed is from Zinus and is seriously the most comfortable mattress I have ever purchased! I will make a post on this bed specifically next month. If you are are an urban living individual this is one of the best sleep solutions ever. Again, I need a headboard ....and probably another set of pillows. 

Its fun putting together this space with my personality. It is really challenging because this place is not Texas sized, but it has been ok so far. I'm making it. I hear summer is coming to the PNW soooo we will see what an "amazing summer " is. This winter was record breaking cold and snow, this spring is record breaking rain. If this summer has record breaking heat I will feel right at home! Who is laughing at my 5% tint now? Can I just get some sun?
If you are interested in a print there are many more cities and other colors to choose from at https://www.modernmapart.com .

LOVE, MARA

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WEEKEND WRAPUP: Big Freedia & Kid Fury Girl Weekend

I've been looking forward to this weekend for a while! Grace and I headed to Big Freedia and Kid Fury. Friday Night was the magic that is Big Freedia. I have seen her before, but besides wanting to know what the crowd in the Pacific North West (PNW) would look like, My BF Grace wanted to experience in person. Freedia puts on such a show, I wouldn't mind seeing her anytime she is in whatever city I am in.

KKW X KYLIE

I have at least 15 shades of nude lips colors and apparently that is not enough. I don't own any Kylie lip kit colors because most of my collection is made of colourpop (for those of you who don't know, they're the same company and 30% of the cost of Kylie's Kits) 

When Kim and Kylie both posted their upcoming lipkit collab I kind of fell for it. Colurpop generally does a take down a month after Kylie, so maybe I will keep an eye out because I have a feeling this collab will be very hard to buy. They sell out as fast as some sneakers.

Bubble N Tea, A PDX Foodie Chronicle

On Saturday I ventured off to find this boba place I came across on Instagram. Since I got to Portland I have found Instagram is the easiest place to find food, activities, or areas of town to visit. Bubble N Tea is outside of Portland in the Beaverton area. They have a tea topped with cotton candy that I want to try next! I started off with Matcha milk green tea with boba. The boba (tapioca bubbles) were really fresh and you could definitely tell they use premium teas.  The large bucket cups are really cute but do not fit a car cupholder. The shop is cute but small, it maybe has five 2 person tables. I would say to just hang out there to enjoy your tea. On my way home I didn't want to take any chances so I put mine in the seatbelt!

MUSIC MONDAY : NOCHELLA VIBES

My music Monday is an OLD project that I am working on resurrecting. Remember when I used to make mixtapes? Well, I accidentally deleted them all from media fire. I really miss this project and I hope to start mixing again VERY SOON. I liked the emotions I had while making this tape, thats what music is to me. There are certain songs I associate with times in my life, and this is no different. I can't wait to start mixing again. 

Can We Talk About Stan Smith?

On my first real day of work at Adidas I wore my classic Navy Stan Smiths. The adidas Stan Smith has been on the market for over 40 years. Its one of my favorite leather sneakers because its very minimal with some variation on the heel and tongue. There are many limited variations outside of this but its a sneaker that is another classic in the adidas vault. At work I had the great pleasure of meeting Stan Smith and having him sign a pair for me. I went back and forth with having him sign my personal beaters since I wore them my first day... but I couldn't.  I bought a pair of classic green and let the Icon sign them.

I've met a lot of really cool people throughout the years, but now that I am a part of this company, this was a really cool experience for me and I'm glad I have a true iconic pair of kicks to remember these moments by.

LOVE, MARA

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FRIDAY INSPIRATION | GOOD FRIDAY

I feel like since I got to Portland I could never set my feet in my personal life. I've moved a few times since I got here, some plans haven't gone as smooth as I wanted, some people showed their true colors, a few people have betrayed me. I've been a little sporadic with posting because I am finding myself trying to set my feet. I struggle with wanting to share everything and wanting to share nothing. I took some time to think about why I started blogging in the first place. In college, I just wanted to document the journey. Since then I've made thousands of dollars writing about what I used to do for free. I'm in a different stage of my life, and definitely in a different mindset as I was when I started... But my purpose is the same. After all these years, I just want to document the journey.

Gary Vaynerchuk has been a big force in my motivation when I feel like shit. He's probably one of the reasons I ever thought within myself that I could move to Portland alone and do my dream job. Sometimes I have to listen to a few dailyvees and remind myself to take it back to the basics. I wasn't the most fancy in college, but that's when I had the most fun with my blog. Just writing about trends I liked, songs I was obsessed with, I made mixtapes, vlogs, and I documented the journey. I don't want to lose that. 

CURRENT CRAVES : STELLA MCCARTNEY ELYSE

Insert heart emojis everywhere.

I've had my eye on the Stella McCartney Elyse wedges for a while but now that its spring/summer I think they are such a fun addition to any outfit. I'm only 5'2 so the height advantage is what I need in my life. The Stella stuff for adidas is so fun , its not surprise her signature line is full of great items. I'm also just here for the street style. I still have the majority of my items in Texas and it seems like at this point its cheaper to start over. Ya girl needs to just buy new clothes. A lot of my clothes are business casual and thats just not the wave anymore. I wear sneakers everyday.

CAN WE TALK ABOUT TRAVELING TO JAPAN?

It's been a goal of mine to head to Japan on vacation. The best time will be on my way to or from the Philippines, and I'm really only going to eat. Portland has cherry blossoms that bloom along the river every year and I will say it is so pretty! In Japan when this happens, the sakura themed food is too cute.

@taramilktea

japanlover.me

For now, its definitely a better idea to order sakura themed food to PDX from amazon. I have no business traveling overseas now but there are so many places I want to visit. I have mentioned the Kit-Kat Chocolatory is HIGH on my must see list. My top 5 places to visit in Japan are:

1) Kit Kat Chocolatory

2) Harajuku for Fashion

3)FOOD. All of it.

4) The art island of Nashoshima (to visit my favorite artist Yayoi Kusama's pumpkin)

5) Shibuya to shop. The trends there are unreal.

Does anyone else have wanderlust? I do only because this is the longest I have been cold. I don't know if I can get used to this!

LOVE, MARA

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ORIGINS #MYPERFECTWORLD

Influenster hosted their first in person event and it was with Origins, the skincare company. I have heard of them in the past  but since I already have some staples in this category I haven't ventured anywhere else. Lucky for me Origins sent me 5 mini samples ahead of the party. My favorite trick for trying new skincare is requesting a small sample from the beauty counter or just buying a small travel size. If the place you are buying from has a great return policy then it shouldn't be a problem to just return something that doesn't work for you. Otherwise, these little samples always help convince me if I want to buy a large version or not. They also make the perfect travel companions.

HELLO APRIL.

I can't believe it's already SPRING and its already APRIL. I can't believe I live in Portland. I'm not sure when that feeling is supposed to set in. Now that it's spring its very wet. Lots of showers but the days the sun does peek out, its so pretty. I also think SAD-- seasonal affective disorder is real. I think thats why I didn't create a lot of content until recently. I have come to the conclusion that I definitely hate Winter.