The same concept of using “white space” can be applied to our careers. As young professionals, it’s so easy to open our mouths as a way to overcompensate for our lack of experience or to fill the silence with rhetoric. Consider your favorite leaders: they choose their words carefully. Sometimes they nod and think rather than speak. Great public speakers have learned to master (and rely on) white space.
Via Ms. Career Girl.
With all the lay-offs this year, chances are one of your good friends is working on their own. Here are some gifts for your newly self-employed friend and their motivation.
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| Linkable Lined Notebook, $14, lined pages that open flat with front cover pocket linking system. | Blu Dot Rack, $90, from flat to fabulous in no time. | Oh Joy! File Collection, $17, perfect starter kit for a home office or a cubicle. |
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| Bonox Clock, $18, wake up! Petite vintage-inspired alarm clock. | 2010 Color a Month Planner, $25, keep track of plans and promises, with plenty of room for notes and musings. | Marimekko Mousepad, $20, Finnish and modern. |
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| Great Ideas Bottle Journal, $18, fabric hardbound journal with lined or blank paper. | Elephant Paper Clips, $7, for good luck. | Design Inspiration Poster, $20, start their collection. |
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| Kraft Paper Notepad, $12, elevate grocery lists and honey-do notes. |
I was at brunch with Ryan this morning and I was asking him about the upcoming holidays and the gifts I had planned for different people. And I asked him if he knew what he was getting different people.
“No, it’s too early to be thinking about gifts,” he replied.
“Really? You think so? People start shopping the day after Thanksgiving though.”
“Yeah, way too early.”
“So when do you buy gifts? The day before Christmas?”
“Exactly. That’s the best time.”
Which, okay, really doesn’t surprise me because my mom used to tell me my father did the same thing. But just in case you want to give it a little more thought, I’ve put together a gift guide chock-full of great gifts, most under $100 , a ton under $50, and a few luxuries thrown in here and there.
I’ll do one or two posts a day throughout the week, starting tomorrow. Hope you guys love it!
PS – Make sure you don’t miss any gift guide posts, subscribe to Design & Style on Modite.
This bin is made from a single cut and folded piece of leather, and it comes in difference sizes. Pictured above is the medium, although I think the small would be best in my place. It can hold cellphones, loose change and other small treasures.
Leather Bin from Gildem, $20.
photo via WeHeartIt.
As all my friends have coupled up, life is dramatically different. In short, my girlfriends and I got a little boring, we rarely have girls’ nights anymore and worse yet, they went and chose partners that aren’t all that compatible with my boyfriend and I. Sometimes it’s awkward to hang out with other couples and Ryan and I have only found a few couples that we genuinely enjoy going on a night on the town with.
The dynamics are complicated. The females need to get along and the males need to get along so that even though you’re going out as a couple, you get in your girl and guy time accordingly. Also, the other female needs to be able to talk to your boyfriend and vice versa without being too painstakingly boring. In short, everyone needs to get along and like eachother whatever way you cross it. At least for a drink’s worth amount of time. The WSJ reports:
Take the experience of Ben Van Houten and his wife, who’ve “dated” an array of couples since moving to Grand Rapids, Mich., three years ago: “They had one ‘date’ where the woman was self-absorbed, another, Mr. Van Houten recalls, where the man was ‘a complete dud with no sense of humor,’ and a third that was ruined by politics. When Mr. Van Houten got up his nerve and asked a neighbor and his wife out to dinner, the man replied, ‘I don’t like people.’”
And the date, Elizabeth says, is merely where the stress begins. “Because what if they don’t call? Should you contact them? And if you do, and you still don’t hear back, what does that say about your relationship with your partner? Are you irritating? Insufferable? Uninteresting as a team?” …
“Research shows that couples who are friends with other couples have happier, longer-lasting relationships with each other,” Elizabeth writes. “The reasons are simple. If you have friends who enjoy you as a couple, you may feel better about your union. These other couples can be a support network. And the process of making new friends together may inject energy into your relationship and give you something to bond over.”
Did They Like Us? via The Wall Street Journal.
I don’t own an SUV or a dog, but I would love a dog if I had a dog-walker for the Winter months… I was surprised to learn that a dog could be just as bad an SUV according to some new research. Either way, SUVs still suck.
New Scientist took a look at the relative carbon impact of owning a dog (or cat, or hamster) and owning an SUV like a Toyota Land Cruiser. The results, plotted in the chart above, may surprise you. Take a look at the original article to see if you agree with the methodology, or if you can even put an environmental price on your furkid.
Via Good Magazine.
Frank Chimero has an entire set of inspirational design posters about the creative process and designers’ monologues amongst themselves. These were my favorites.
Shortcuts & Looking Is Not Making, $20 each.
photo via WeHeartIt.
Marie McKinney argues:
Prenups at face value seem to fly in the face of pretty much everything a marriage stands for. Prenuptial agreements seem to say “I promise to love you forever… but when that doesn’t work out I want $500,000 for every year we were married”
… What I’m trying to say is that we don’t like the idea of prenups because they suggest a lack of faith in the marriage when the marriage contract itself seems to have little to no faith in the marriage either.
I actually think prenups suggest some maturity in communication. If you can communicate well-enough on the what ifs of your relationship, you’re probably in a good place, right? Because those what-ifs will come up – you will wonder and life is anything but predictable. Prenups also have to do with more than infidelity, so it’s easy to start the conversation in another area of the document, and then get down the gritty parts.
Also, it’s quite possible that I will out-earn my spouse over the course of my life, and no matter how much I love them, I want to be protected financially. And even if that’s not the case, your non-financial contributions are worth something too.
I mean, I guess I look at it like this. If you can’t imagine going through the worst with someone in amicable manner, than why are you with them? Too many of us just shut our eyes and hope for the best.
via Marriage Studio.
Spool No 72 added some fabulous new items for Fall. The Sage Ring ($32) would be a perfect everyday piece, while the Law Blouse ($32) adds some studious charm to Fall, and the Cedar Leather Tote ($162) presents itself in the best auburn color.
Photo by The Sartorialist.
Are we still having this conversation about jeans at work? Give me a break. Let’s be honest. It’s less about jeans and more about style. And even more than that, the issue is if women can wear jeans at work. Because men have been doing it forever. The Wall Street Journal reports:
The thing most power-jeans looks have in common is that the denim is dark and plain, and worn with the executive uniform: dark jacket, crisp buttoned shirt, good shoes. It’s as though the pants say, ‘I’m cool,’ and the rest of the outfit says, “I know how to conform.”
Jeans can suggest a leader is modern and confident, innovative, and willing to roll up those sleeves and work. There’s a bit of James Dean in the right kind of jeans (those worn without metal studs, acid washes, embroidery, skinny cuts or worn very low) and that hint of rebel can read as creative in a board room.
Via WeHeartIt.
My loneliness has definitely increased since my last job. I’m much happier, but I don’t interact with as many people daily. Maybe I should blog more? The New York Times reports that may not be such a bad idea:
Hundreds of daily updates come from friends on Facebook and Twitter, but do people actually feel closer to each other? It turns out the size of the average American’s social circle is smaller today than 20 years ago, as measured by the number of self-reported confidants in a person’s life. Yet contrary to popular opinion, use of cellphones and the Internet is not to blame, according to a new study released Wednesday by the Pew Internet and American Life Project.
In fact, people who regularly use digital technologies are more social than the average American and more likely to visit parks and cafes, or volunteer for local organizations, according to the study, which was based on telephone interviews with a national sample of 2,512 adults living in the continental United States.
Does Technology Reduce Social Isolation? via The New York Times.