Category Archives: Tips

Day by Day.

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It’s so nice to be home in San Diego! I’ve barely left the house, but I couldn’t be happier. Sometimes all you need is to be surrounded by family and good food to recognize what really is important to you.

These past few months have felt like me running around like a chicken with my head cut off, so now that I’m able to slow down, I feel like I can actually breathe again.

[ My grandmother's homemade noodles. ]

[ The Macy's "Believe" sign. How pretty - I wish I had seen it at night! ]

[The entrance to Mission Beach's shopping center in San Diego. ]

[ A street vendor in LA's Garment District. ]

[ About to enjoy my bacon-wrapped hot dog with grilled onions! ]

[ The Pacific Beach pier. I felt so beach-deprived in New York! ]

[ A wall mural in LA. ]

[ Inspiring stairs in Los Angeles. ]

[ The most delicious Carne Asada fries I've ever eaten. These were from Santana's near Mission Beach in SD. ]

[ My Freshly Baked sweater. This great company views clothing as modern-day artwork. ]

What did I learn this week?

That everyone is overcome with stress at times. The key to not burning out though is finding out what helps you breathe a little easier. Some of the things I do to live less stressfully are:

1.  Move – I went for a walk on the beach the day after I got back, and it was one of the most calming things I’ve done in a long time.

2.  Step away from the electronics – Because I blog, work in PR and act, I am almost always on my phone or my laptop whether it’s for a new post, social media or to submit myself for a new project. That constant connection to electronics is stressful and keeps me on edge. It’s not the end of the world if I turn off my phone for an hour (even if it feels like it is sometimes).

3.  Declutter – I feel so claustrophobic when my room or workspace is messy or disorganized. It also gives me a reason to procrastinate – have you ever been getting ready to write a paper or do some work when you say to yourself “I can’t work at this messy desk. I’ll clean it first and then get to what I need to do!” If my space is clutter-free, I’m less stressed and much more productive.

What do you do to de-stress?

X0X0 Melanie

Let Yourself Be Happy.

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I like to think too much. I can take something beautiful and wonderful, and think about all the little things that I hate about it, instead of all the big, wonderful, fantastic things that make my heart soar.

So. I’m letting go of the reins as of now. I’m not asking any more questions. I’m not overthinking. I’m letting myself be happy.

I’ve always struggled with this idea, because I somehow grew up believing that happiness was achieved when you reached a certain goal or accomplished a certain task. I don’t believe that anymore.

Let’s see how we can apply this in the real world:

In relationships: You’re allowed to be picky, but don’t nit-pick. Noone is perfect, but sometimes you get close enough, and that’s perfectly fine. If you keep thinking about how your boyfriend or girlfriend surprised you with flowers you don’t like, you may be inclined to forget that he or she actually surprised you with them.

In the household: Realize that there’s some give and take. You may have just had the longest day of work ever, but it doesn’t mean you’re entitled to yell at your brother/mom/girlfriend just because they didn’t do the dishes even though it was their turn. If you can, do them yourself or kindly remind the person. Being angry will only make everyone’s day worse.

In the work-place: Find a job you like. No, a job that you love. It should be something that doesn’t even FEEL like work, because you enjoy it that much. That’s what acting is for me. It’s hard, time-consuming, and something where I am constantly doing something different every day, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ve done a bunch of different jobs – sales girl, babysitter, a cast member at Chuck E. Cheese (surprisingly, it was one of my favorite jobs ever), brand ambassador, assistant publicist, etc, and having done so many things I didn’t like, I can honestly say from experience that when what you’re meant to do comes along, you just know. You should love what you do.

Maybe the biggest part of letting yourself be happy is realizing that everything does not have to be perfect.  You only have this one life. Each moment will come and go, and if you spend your whole life thinking that happiness is just a iPAD, husband or mansion away, you will look back years later and realize that you let life pass you by. Let yourself be happy.

What They Don’t Tell You.

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It’s been almost two weeks since I last blogged! It feels like it’s been an eternity! So, let’s catch up on what’s been going on since we last talked (:

Here are the highlights of what I’ve been up to:

  • Graduated from college (: (: (:
  • Started my new Summer Housing Assistant Lead position
  • Celebrated 3 months with Joe
  • Moved in to a new place!

It’s been a productive two weeks, and I could not be happier. So, let’s get down to something a little more interesting.


Everyone tells you how great graduation is, and how excited they are to be going on to the real world, and it was great. I had a wonderful time, and it was phenomenal to look back and realized how much had happened over the past dozen years or so of schooling. However, here’s what they don’t tell you about graduation.

1. You may not be feeling your best – mentally, physically, or emotionally. I woke up feeling terrible. I was sneezy and coughing all over the place and my voice was reminiscent of a frog. Not cute. My graduation took place from 10am-12pm in scorching 98 degree weather with absolutely no breeze. Having to wear black in that was not enjoyable.

2. Eat breakfast. You’re going to need lots of energy for the 200+ photographs you’ll be taking. A girl behind me brought a mini cooler with food in it. I’m being totally serious.

3. It’s essentially a cattle call (that’s what we call it in the acting world – directors and all of the “important people” let almost anyone come and audition, and they give you a number and force you to wait hours for what could be 20 seconds to try to impress them). They gave all of the graduates a card for you to fill your name and information in to and then you hand it to them right before you walk the stage. If your name has more than 10 letters (as mine does), they will most likely butcher it (as they did for me).

4. Bring water. My school provided water bottles for us, but if they hadn’t we would have all had a heat stroke.

5. Decorate your cap. I didn’t decorate mine because I was afraid to mess it up, but I immediately wished I had once I saw how cool a bunch of them were. One of my favorites was a guy a few rows behind me who somehow had a teenage mutant ninja turtle on his. My second favorite was a girl (who was ridiculously fabulous, by the way) had Minnie Mouse ears attached to hers (including the big bow).

6. Wear waterproof mascara. I didn’t think I’d get emotional, but I definitely started to tear up right before they announced my name. I’m a little sentimental, I admit it.

7. Wear sunscreen. The last things you want are to be sunburned for all of your pictures and also to risk getting skin cancer.

8. Hide all of your weird pictures on FB. Your family (if they’re like mine) can and will blow them up at Kinko’s and then give them to your friends to hold up and take pictures with.

9. Go to the reception afterwards. The Theatre and Dance Department held one for their graduating seniors, and it was really important for me to tell all my professors how much they meant to me. They don’t get paid enough for not only sharing their knowledge with us, but also for sharing their lives with us.

10. Enjoy the day. This day will only happen once. Not everyone will get this same opportunity and no matter what it took to get to this big day, you made it. Be proud.

Boot It.

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My outfit yesterday. Central Falls long sleeve jean shirt, a Pashmina scarf (found in my mother’s closet) dark blue cordoroy shorts, footless floral tights, and a Michael Stevens International bag.

Running on only a few hours of sleep!

My top three tips for looking relatively fresh after a night of dancing:

1. Take your make-up off before you sleep. Your pores are bound to be clogged after wearing a bunch of make-up, so keep make-up wipes next to your bed or readily available. Slather on a layer of moisturizer on your face to re-hydrate your skin.

2. Drink water. It’s easily the best thing you can drink before heading to bed. After shaking your groove thing for hours, your skin and body will thank you for it.

3. TINTED MOISTURIZER. It will be forgiving and cover up a majority of the craziness from last night, while not completely looking like a mask. After wearing a bunch of make-up, your face needs to breathe anyway. It’s low maintenance and literally takes 30 seconds to put on.

What are your morning after tips?