Saturday, February 12, 2011

The Original "Chick Flick"

I happened to tune into the TCM 31 Days of Oscar this evening.

I don't care what you say...

Gone with the Wind is truly the most beautiful and original chick flick. I'll give it to you that Scarlett O'Hara can be totally crazy at times. But Mr. Butler's love is so unconditional.



Clark Gable = SWOOON!! :)

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Happy 10th Anniversary Ben!

I realize that it's been EONS since I last posted. In an effort to change that I thought it only right to get back into it as I celebrate a very special anniversary in my life. Exactly ten years ago this weekend I fell in love with a musician that changed my life.

On September 4th, 2000 I joined 10,000 folks at the Memorial Stadium Amphitheater in Seattle Center to listen to the musical stylings of Ben Harper. Like many people in the audience I wasn't familiar with the music of Mr. Harper. I'd heard a couple of his songs on a CD my cousin had given me and I liked what I heard but I had no idea I was about to fall in love. I had no idea that what I was about to hear would blow my mind. His music would go on to develop the soundtrack of my life.

Ben's music has helped me through the peaks and the valleys of the last ten years. His song Diamonds on the Inside is even the namesake for my blog. There's nothing important in my life that he hasn't touched. Birthdays, graduations, break-ups, heartaches and even falling in love. Bad days, good days, happy/sad, times of change and learning. He's shared them all with me.

When he performed at Bumbershoot that year he opened with Glory & Consequence. So it's only fitting that when I turned on Ben Harper Pandora Radio today, on the eve of his concert at the Gorge Amphitheatre, that Glory & Consequence was the first song that played. It was the perfect way to begin our 10 year celebration.



Tomorrow night, on the eve of our anniversary, Ben Harper will open for Dave Matthews at the Gorge, to what I am sure will be a sold out crowd of 25,000 screaming fans. I will be among them, joined by my incredible boyfriend and hundreds of strangers.

Ben you are more than a musician, you are an artist. It has been an honor to share this journey with you. Thank you for an amazing ten years Ben, here's to ten more!

Monday, February 8, 2010

New Year; New...EVERYTHING!

Whew! January flew by and with it came lots of change and new beginnings. As the dust on the whirlwind begins to settle I figured it was time for me to update everyone on my life! Like many of you I started off 2010 with goals and resolutions - stay fit/healthy, continue to develop lasting relationships with friends, and try new things. I am working hard to diligently to keep these "resolutions" God threw me a couple of giant curve balls.

I spent the long New Years Eve weekend in Portland visiting two of my best girlfriends. I had an amazing time and it was non-stop fun the whole weekend; definitely the trip of a lifetime. When I got home on Sunday evening after New Year's I got a phone call inviting me to join the team at CRAVESeattle. I jumped at the opportunity and started working with the organization the next day! I have been with CRAVE for about a month working diligently to empower entreprenesses and celebrate phenomenal women in the Seattle area. I am so happy to be a part of such an exciting organization and look forward to the experience in the months to come.

That same week I started two classes - French 1 at Bellevue Community College and Lifestyle Design at Stratejoy. I am still learning Francais and am thrilled about expanding my cultural knowledge and learning a new language - but last week I finished up my Stratejoy class. There is only one word to describe my Lifestyle Design experience - INCREDIBLE! I learned so much about myself, identified my goals and my values, developed my definition of success and developed some lasting relationships with a incredible group of like-minded girls. To anyone who struggles with a quarter-life crisis I HIGHLY recommend this workshop. If you are serious about changing your life this is the best way to do it!

Finally, just last week I was offered a position as a Social Media Analyst at Banyan Branch. After a week on the job I can honestly say that I love what I'm doing and have been enjoying getting to know the rockstar team! I'm still learning to ropes and adjusting to being back on a regular schedule but I look forward to the days, weeks and months ahead learning and growing.

So the dust from all this change is starting to settle and my head has stopped spinning; and there are a couple of people I have to thank because without you none of this would have been possible - my parents, Jess Estrada, Molly Hoyne, my friends, my family and everyone who has supported or influenced me over the years!

So exciting things are happening and I'm excited to embrace things to come no matter what life might throw at me! I know that I am where I am meant to be right now and I wouldn't trade it for the world! On top of it all there will be some cool things happening on the blog and a few other surprises coming this spring. So STAY TUNED.

Friday, December 18, 2009

My Favorite Holiday Tradition

My favorite Christmas memory growing up was our annual Christmas pinata. Filled with goodies and gifts and goodies it was a great way to tide the kids over until the "big" presents were opened after dinner on Christmas eve. In my family the pinata was made with an entire roll of wrapping paper made into a large bag, filled with presents and attached to a curtain rod.

Gifts typically included socks, calendars, t-shirts, books, gift certificates and other things. Each family member got one of each gift and the gifts inside were individually wrapped and were usually specific for the individual. With the exception of the one year we all ended up in a similar type of athletic sweatshirts - made for a good family photo! Kids and adults alike would take turns taking blindfolded whacks at the pinata until it came crashing down to a chorus of loud cheers and enthusiastic hoorahs!



The majority of the cousins in my family have grown up and the pinata tradition has come to an end but it is a tradition I will greatly miss and hope to begin again when I start my own family some day. My families style of pinata required a large amount of wrapping paper and tape and wasn't very estetically pleasing. So in the interest of design and being eco-friendly below are instructions for a DIY Christmas Pinata couresty of Craftbits.com.

Materials needed are PaperMache, Balloon, Christmas tinsel, decorative bows, and a bag of mixed wrapped sweets. (I figure you could probably use small gifts or trinkets as well for the filling).



1. Start by blowing up your Balloon and tie it off to secure.

2. Now make a paper mache mix. (paper mache mix is White wood glue with small amount of water or flour and water to make a gluing paste)

3. Cut some brown paper or newspaper into strips. Dip it into the glue then place it down onto the balloon. Keep doing this in single layers until the balloon is covered then allow that layer to dry before adding another layer. Keep doing this until it is around 3-4 layers thick.

4. Once it has dried using a large pin push a hole through the paper mache to pop the balloon inside.

5. Use a blade to cut a flap into the bottom of the paper mache pinata. It needs to be big enough to add the sweets. Place your sweets in then sticky tape the whole closed.

6. Tie some string to the top and then coat the whole ball with spray paint and allow to dry before decorating with tinsel and bows.

Viola! You have a Christmas pinata! A tradition I have enjoyed for years and I hope your family enjoys just as much! :)

Dreaming of Disney

I'm dreaming of Disney this Christmas, particularly the awesome Disney Dreams collection by Annie Leibovitz. Featuring a incredible collection of award winning celebrities including Scarlett Johansson, Rachel Weisz, Jessica Biel, Roger Federer, Mikhail Baryshinikov, Tina Fey, Gisele Bundchen, David Beckham, Julie Andrews, Abigail Breslin, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Beyonce, Lyle Lovett, Oliver Platt and Whoopi Goldberg. The stars were photographed recreating epic scenes from Disney Classics like Aladdin, Peter Pan, Pocahontas and Cinderella.

"Where Every Cinderella Story Comes True"
Scarlett Johansson as Cinderella




Annie Leibovitz was able to capture moments and portray the infamous Disney magic in a way that only she could resulting in a truly remarkable and timeless collection of photographs - not to mention a killer advertising campaign for the Disney Parks. I've been dreaming of a Disney vacation since I came home from my last trip about six years ago. Unfortunately due to finances and other limitations a trip is not in my future, so for now I'll just get lost in the magic of the Disney Dreams photographs and hope they hold me over until I can make the journey to "never, neverland." I'm dreaming of Disney this Christmas, how about you?

Below are a couple of my favorite photos from the series courtesy of Miss Geeky's blog - for a complete look and more information on the at photograph series check out the article in USA Today.

"Where Wonderland is Your Destiny"
Beyonce as Alice, Lyle Lovett as the March Hare & Olive Platt as the Mad Hatter


Monday, December 7, 2009

Radio Show Sign-Off

On Saturday night my parents and I snuggled up by the Christmas tree and fire and watched what is sure to become an instant holiday classic - Terminator Salvation. Okay so maybe it won't be on the list with The Holiday, Love Actually and White Christmas in terms of feel good holiday movies but it definitely had character.

So the basic plot line is that John Connor (played by the fabulous Christian Bale) is leading the "Resistance" against SkyNet and the Terminator machines. The "Resistance" is made up of surviving humans all over the globe who will unite together to take down SkyNet. About half way into the movie John Connor conducts a radio broadcast and launches call to arms for "Resistance" fighters across the globe. At the end of the scene John utters a line that has stood out to me since the first time I saw this movie in the theater - "This is John Connor, if your listening to this you are the resistance."



After viewing this again it got me thinking - this totally awesome phrase could be used for a lot of things. "Resistance" could mean/be different things for different people. Whatever your believe in or your fighting for or whatever your passionate about could be your "resistance".

So I started thinking about how I would use it in my life - I thought about using it if I became a radio DJ or TV Show host. Walter Cronkite had "That's the way it is." - Edward R. Murrow used "Good night and good luck" - and Al Roker has definitely coined "That's what's going on around the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods." So if I were a newscaster or had my own radio show I think my sign-off would be "This is Jade Sepolen, if your listening to this you are the resistance." I think it could definitely catch on. What phrase would you use to sign-off?

As always, thanks for listening! ;)

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Holiday Dresses - PDX Style

Two weekends ago I was in Portland visiting friends and catching the So You Think You Can Dance tour. My short weekend visit was filled with non-profit volunteering and incredible dancing - but my typical Portland trips usually consist of intensive shopping therapy including a trip to Mabel & Zora in Portland's Pearl District.



The fabulous Mabel & Zora features items from fabulous designers like Trina Turk, Ella Moss and Michael Stars and items from local organizations and designers. With items like clothing, accessories, luggage and more they offer a little bit of everything with a range of price tags that match any pocketbook.

In anticipation of the holiday season and the parties and celebrations that go along with it - this weeks post highlight some fabulous options for the season. Whether your celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or New Years you are sure to look fabulous in these Mabel & Zora styles.

LA MADE BELTED WRAP DRESS


MAX AND CLEO LACE BUST 2FER DRESS












ISAAC HERS LINDY DRESS
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