Take the time.

Lunch yesterday with my dad at CArtHop.

With every moment that passes, I realize more and more that it's the little things that matter the most. Perhaps my most favorite thing in the world is when I can make someone else smile; it doesn't get any better than that. 

Going to college across the country has been nothing short of a humbling experience. I have grown to learn that the most important thing you spend is not money but time. Even if you can only give someone a few moments of your time, it's automatically better than any present you could buy.

Time is irreplaceable. You can't get it back if you wasted it. You must spend it wisely. 

By giving someone a moment of your time, you're showing that you care. You're showing that they mean something to you. You're spreading love, in its most basic form. And I believe that's the greatest thing that we can do in life, spreading love. 

These days, it seems like its increasingly difficult to manage our time. We believe we never have enough, and yet we still find ourselves spending it on things and people that we could care less about. We become so obsessed with reaching a certain goal, or an ideal life, that we lose sight of what has and continues to support us. 

We look ahead instead of looking around us. 

In my final few days of summer on the west coast, I am trying to spend my time wisely--by spreading love. Family and friends come first. They are my heart, my home. The least I can do is give them a moment of my time. 

I adore...

Decorating with pink. Lately, I've been loving the trend of pink accents in interiors. Lonny Magazine's slideshow has inspired me to incorporate the color into my bedroom in my new apartment (with lots of white and grey as well). 

Woody Allen's life lessons. Esquire Magazine recently did a feature on Woody Allen and what he's learned over the 77 years of his life. I particularly like his point about showers. 

Eva Chen for Lucky Magazine. I have been in love with Eva since her early days at Teen Vogue. After hearing her speak at Teen Vogue Fashion University my freshman year, she became my ultimate role model. Now, she's being heralded as the first Editor in Chief of our generation by the New York Times. Read her first editor's letter for Lucky here. 

Lara Casey. I love everything that Lara Casey does. From her constantly inspirational blog, Southern Weddings Magazine, and so much more, she never fails to remind me how beautiful life is and how we can work to make it even more beautiful. Make life happen. 

Happy Friday!

August.

A week or so ago, I came across the phrase, "August is to summer what Sundays are to the weekend." Nothing has rung so true for me in quite some time. 

Sundays are one of my favorite days of the week--but the feeling of overwhelming dread is also often inevitable after crawling into bed on a Sunday night. Sundays are meant to be long and lazy--a day of enjoyment and a moment to breathe. Sundays are partnered with homemade pancakes and drives to nowhere. Yet Sundays are also the bittersweet signal that ends the rushed weekend. 

August signals the dog days of summer. Somehow, sunsets seem to take just a little longer to fade. There's a bit of sadness about them, like they're trying to warn you that you won't be able to enjoy many more until next year. The days blur together as they become filled with last-minute lunches and family vacations. Summer's end is on the horizon. 

August has become difficult for me. As I try to soak up the last sun-drenched moments of summer, the thought of my inevitable cross-country venture lurks in the back of my mind. Part of me reminds myself of how much I love autumn in New York, how I can't wait to see all my friends again and move into my first apartment. Yet another part of me wants to run in the opposite direction, determined to reach out for one last California sunset with a certain someone by my side. 

August is bittersweet, like so many other things in life. I think that I've grown to appreciate that bittersweet feeling, however. This summer, more than any other, I've learned from those nearest to me that these feelings shouldn't be repressed. There's a time to be happy, and there's a time to be sad. 

Most importantly, now is still the time to be happy. Now is the time to enjoy moments with those that I love the most. It's time to be here. Now. 

Phillip Lim for Target

Designer collaborations are among my favorite things. As a poor college student, these collaborations are often the closest I could ever dream of getting to wearing a designer label. 

Of course, designer collaborations are not new. If anything, they're getting rather old. Since the first groundbreaking cross of Isaac Mizrahi and Target in 2002, the rush to buy any and all items has quickly died down. The Neiman Marcus x Target collaboration last year was perhaps the biggest example of this--items lingered on the floor for so long that they were eventually placed on clearance for 70% off. 

Yet while designer collaborations don't have the same novelty that they used to, many of the fashion set and those attempting to join it still salivate over the prospect of a well-designed collaboration. Occasionally, a designer seems to pull through and put his or her aesthetic into the collection--making it worth it to participate in the race to buy the items. 

Phillip Lim has done this for Target. Preparing a collection that fits the needs of both the average Target customer and Phillip Lim devotees is no easy task, yet he's managed to do it. The collection is separated into three sections of lasting wardrobe staples for morning, noon, and night. 

Here are some of my favorites from the collection that will leave me desperately waiting for September 15 (view the whole collection here):

All images via Refinery29 and Target

Just keep running.

Everyone has that one something. It's that something that keeps us going day after day, that reminds us to breathe, that settles our racing minds. We need that something to break up our routines to remind us exactly where we are and where we want to be. 

For me, it's running. I've never really considered myself to be a runner, or even to be athletic. While I played tennis all throughout middle school and high school at a competitive level, I just never saw myself as a true 'athlete' (whatever that means anyways). 

However, my college didn't have tennis courts and I quickly got too caught up in getting involved to even think about working out. Last fall, the extent of my athleticism consisted of running from one end of the Times Square subway station to the other as I tried to get to my internship in Chelsea Market on time. 

This past semester my sorority decided to participate in the Bronx Zoo's Run for the Wild 5K to benefit the Wildlife Conservation Society. I decided right away that I wanted to participate, and suddenly I had a goal to work towards. 

I began running almost every day, or at least spending an hour at the gym to get back into shape. I quickly found myself not merely going to run to get it out of the way so I could get closer to being able to complete a 5K in a reasonable amount of time, but to melt away stress from the day. 

Running quickly became my one solace, my time when I didn't have to think about anything except getting in that extra mile. I stopped running because I had to, and started because I wanted to. I loved the feeling of not only being active but the feeling of calmness that came with it. 

I love using running as a means to get away from the daily trivialities of life. It reminds me to strip away excess negativity, and to focus on what matters most to me. I love running because it's so simple, but it can take you so far. I may not yet be a 'runner,' but I do run. 

There's days when I feel like I'm running away from things, and there's days where I want to run towards something as quickly as possible. Life's path may not always be clear, but I'm going to just keep running. 

Favorite find: Olivia Bee Photography

Sometimes you find the best things in the strangest of ways. I think that is one of the most prominent characteristics of life--spontaneity. You can't force many things. You simply have to do as much as you can, and let life take its course. And funnily enough, everything tends to be okay in the end. And if it's not okay, it's not the end. 

Recently I stumbled across Olivia Bee's photography portfolio via a friend's Facebook.She's only 19, yet she captures the eccentricities and simplicities of life in the most beautiful ways. I particularly love her 'Everyday' and 'Lovers' projects, as they examine life's little moments. 

This quote on her About Me page sums up exactly how I feel about her photos, and speaks to how I've been thinking a lot lately about the importance of recognizing even the simplest moments in life: "I strive to capture the ordinary, in an extraordinary way. Life is beautiful, perfect, and cinematic, if you look at the right moments. It's not always an accurate summary of life in general, but it is those specific moments that make it worth living anyway."

Turn to love, always.

It's easy to become bogged down with the trivialities of life. Our routines consume us, turning us into robots that do not think, but merely do. As we become sucked into the drive to complete tasks, we often forget the qualities that make us most human: kindness and love. 

Of course, I am all too guilty of this. Whether it's pushing to get to the front of the library's coffee line or snapping at an innocent question from a family member, we all fall prey to these moments of insensitivity. Yet when I reflect upon life (overthinking is a well-honed skill of mine), I realize that being kind is one of the simplest yet most important things you can do. 

I came across this graduation speech on Maxie McCoy's blog Ilo Inspired, and I was instantly entranced. 

Choose love. Always.

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George Saunders’s Advice to Graduates at Syracuse University

By JOEL LOVELL