7.29.2015

get your friends out








 all photos and video taken with FUJIFILM X30 + FUJIFILM INSTAX

I'M BACK. I know I went dark for the last week, but it wasn't on purpose and you should be following me on instagram anyway. It's time. I was fully participating in the other side of my Hannah Montana deal, the part where I am 4-H Barbie. Our State Leadership Conference this summer was the culmination of 14 months of serving as a 2014-15 California 4-H State Ambassador, an adventure that not only brought the absolutely weirdest people ever into my life *cough* sallielylecolton *cough* but took me even deeper down the 4-H rabbit hole than I already was. As an Ambassador, I worked with my team to plan the conference, so that's what I've been doing. I also got to go to Disneyland, but if you missed the snapchats, you missed it, and there's nothing we can do (until I go again and remember my camera). I also had to wear the exact same outfit every day so there's no sartorial value at all.

The best thing about this week was that absolutely every single one of my insanely incredible friends was there. Over the last couple of months, I've had some deep thoughts about how important the people you surround yourself with are, and also realized that I've done a pretty decent job. I mean, they can't dance at all, but my humans are pretty great people. Plus, they usually have snacks on them.

I would like to put it out there that I am a terrible secret keeper because I usually am too excited to keep my mouth shut BUT in the next month, some REALLY BIG STUFF is happening, and you don't want to miss it. Stick around, bring your friends. We're about to go waaaay out there. 


Also, if your friends read this blog, they'll have one up on mine, who will probably never see this post ever and therefore never know that I say nice things about them to strangers. 





x J

ps. #ca4hsa15 (YOU'RE WELCOME)


follow A Bent Piece Of Wire on twitter|facebook|bloglovin

7.17.2015

faking fitness









Here is a thing people do in the summer instead of actual fun stuff: work on their fitness. Gyms fill up, sneakers are dragged out of hiding, and the muscle tanks are pulled on. Here is a thing people also do: worry about how much more other people appear to be working out.

Don't do that.
 
 Here are some very handy tips on how to fake fitness, as illustrated in the photos above:

1. First, don some cute workout gear. Mine is Adidas NEO. (Also make sure you are wearing the wrong footwear.) Then find a public place with other vaguely fit people milling about doing sports and whatnot.

2. Be slightly glowing already (or if you sweat, that's okay too) and lean up against walls looking like you might have just run a bit of a half marathon.

3. Get your hair in order. Make a big show of nailing the perfect messy bun for your obviously rigorous routine.

4. Boxing is easy to fake. Bounce around a bit, pretend to punch some things. Make sure you have semi-decent form so you don't look ridiculous, but don't look serious enough that someone challenges you to a fight (especially if you're holding your arms as I am demonstrating, as you will get properly thrashed.)

5.  Appear to stretch intensively every ten minutes or so, as the chances are people are rotating, and this is the easiest way to pass time without actually putting up much effort.

6. Do some poses that might be yoga, but could also maybe be more stretching. Tai chi? Who knows.


7. Show off your guns. If you believe, so will everyone else.

Not even joking, people in the park thought I knew what I was doing. I was asked if I was a fitness blogger, which is making me question every fitness blogger I've ever seen doing a handstand on instagram.

Seriously though: it's summer, and, as my friends at Adidas NEO like to say: #NOWISEVERYTHING. (hashtag and all) You only get a few beautiful weeks of the best part of the year. Don't spend your summer worrying if doing 600 more squats will make it better. Go have fun, explore, spend time with your homies.

 Or if you're really attached to the whole work out thing: drag them to a park and at least have them photograph you for instagram. 

x J

pps. I honestly have no clue what I'm doing so please don't injure yourself trying to copy me.



follow A Bent Piece Of Wire on twitter|facebook|bloglovin

7.13.2015

let's get cheeky







 I wear them, you (hopefully, if you're the person your mum and I have raised you to be) wear them.  Let's talk about underwear. I'll make it brief.

Underwear standards for women are ridiculous. Honestly. Society is trying to tell us that it is better to run about in ridiculously tiny knickers made of itchy fabric with rhinestones and lace and god knows what else. This is all a lie.  Because that is not comfortable + no way to treat ya bootay. But, as there always is when society is being silly, there is someone ~swimming against the tide~, in palm leaf printed briefs. Meet MeUndies. (Not MY undies, their name is "MeUndies", and they make MY undies. Clear?)

Lemme tell you - claiming to be "The Worlds Most Comfortable Underwear" is big talk for a small company out of LA. I was skeptical, to say the least, and determined to make them earn it. Thus launching two weeks of very serious underwear studies. (I can totally say this with a straight face too.) From their boyshorts to their cheeky briefs, I tried 'em all. Here is my conclusion: they're working black magic or something because these underwear are not a joke. Taking concepts from mens underwear (which they also make, so dudes, get at that. Girls like guys with nice underwear.) and combining their own secret techniques (voodoo?) they make underwear you wanna wear for life. Plus, they have really rad prints. Idk man, I'll take stripes and bright colors over silly slogans any day (Who is even reading those? Like really. Who?)

So if you love your butt like JLo loves hers, or if you're just sick of annoying underwear, get meundies. 

Not mine. Get your own. 
(Sorry, too easy.)

x J

ps. my talent for underwear puns has really come out these last few weeks.

pps. ((this is part of a series I'll be doing over the next couple of weeks on brands I love. Never forget my original promise - my love can't be bought with money or undies.))

follow A Bent Piece Of Wire on twitter|facebook|bloglovin

7.07.2015

into the fog | san francisco







all photos taken with Fujifilm X30

Here is the great thing about California: you are never very far from the ocean, and the cities that sit along it. I live in the North, where the Pacific gets a little dark, a little wild. If this were Game Of Thrones, it'd be wilding country. There's no place where that is better displayed than in San Francisco and the beaches surrounding it. Even when it's sunny, the fog is juuuust there on the edge waiting to literally roll over you and settle in your bones. When you get to the beaches, there's small pebbles instead of sand and the ocean is not a friendly thing to go play in, but rather a smashing reminder of exactly how small you are. It's my favorite kind of nature.

On Sunday, my family decided to take a day off, pack up, and hit the road to SF. We wandered around Chinatown, picking up lotus cakes from the Eastern Bakery, lucky cats in one of the countless tourist trap stores, and thai tea because I'm an addict. My brother got a mango-fusion-someting, and it was gross, so he wanted it noted that he does not recommend it. Then we went down to Fishermans Wharf where we got absolutely skinned for parking. Honestly, it's a car, not a small country. But the best fish and chips in the bay are down there, so ya gotta do what ya gotta do. We also stopped at the Musée Mécanique, which is basically a massive warehouse crammed full of all the old arcade and carnival machines of your dreams (and nightmares). A 113-year-old fortune telling machine told me I am great but also awful, and so to not be like that, which I appreciated. My dad got to see a warship and was really excited. Once we had been sufficiently abused by the throngs of British tourists (looking at you, dude who caught his GoPro in my hair), we went to the Marin headlands to sit in the freezing wind and wonder why on earth there were dolphins. That's right. I have no photos of this, but there were dolphins. Everyone saw them, so it wasn't something in my boba. I also climbed to the top of a massive rock edge but in every photo I look absolutely terrified in a "this is awesome but I might die" way, so I'm just gonna spare you I think.

In other exciting news: I forgot to take a jacket so I am now the proud owner of a neon pink "SAN FRANCISCO" fleece. I'm not mad about it.

x J


follow A Bent Piece Of Wire on twitter|facebook|bloglovin