Do You Really Need to 'Check In'?

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Jolie O'Dell posted the article "Why You & Your Girlfriends Should Stop Checking In" last week on VentureBeat. As an avid user of FourSquare & Facebook Places check-in (with many girlfriends who are just as geeky as I am), this article was long-overdue wake-up call.

Why the hell do we use LBS (location-based services) like FourSquare & Facebook Places so freely? Why am I using it?

My friends and I checking in while waiting for dinner. Typical

I started "checking in" a few months after FourSquare's launch at SXSW just over three years ago, drawn by the appeal of learning about places in the city and competing with my friends for points, badges and mayorships. The game factor is fun, and for a long while it's kept all of my friends and I checking in wherever and whenever we can. I've left a lot of tips at various venues, held my share of mayorships, and collected my fair share of badges.

Over time, though, I've cut my check-ins down significantly by stopping to ask myself what I'm gaining out of sharing my location with others. I'm not sure how much longer it'll be before I lose interest in FourSquare altogether. More than anything, I just try to be smart about how I'm checking in. I am thankful nothing has threatened my livelihood, although I've had my share of creepy "I saw you check in here on FourSquare" introductions.

I know this doesn't even apply to most of you since just over a tenth of the U.S. population even uses location-based services. Jolie's article sheds light on creeper apps like Girls Around Me (though FourSquare has since pulled that app's API access.) We are incredibly lucky to live in a country and culture where we have the freedom to say and go where we want, but maybe we take our safety and security for granted.

If you're 'checking in' constantly (especially you, lovely ladies!), I offer a couple of tips to keep in mind: 

Choose your friends wisely.

Like any other social media network, you approve friend requests and have the option of adding them or not. Do you know who you're friending? Take a look at who your mutual friends are, where the person is located and why you'd want to share check-in information with that person. If any of that makes you feel unsure - it's best not to friend them at all.

Never check in alone!

This might sound like a no-brainer, but it has to be said. I only check in at events where I'm with a bunch of people I know, or with my boyfriend.

Hide your check-in location.

FourSquare has the option of making your location public or not. If you absolutely must check in everywhere, use that option when you are checking in places alone.

Think twice.

Ask yourself if checking in is worth the awkward or even scary encounter. Because it's really not.

Do you check in on FourSquare, Facebook or Yelp? What are your thoughts?

Fresh Style: Katniss in the Woods

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After reading the first book on my cruise last month, rushing home to finish the other two then seeing the movie multiple times, I think it's safe to say I'm a little taken by the Hunger Games trilogy right now. I've even made a Pinterest board with some of my equally-obsessed friends.

So indulge me for a few minutes. 

There are scores of posts on fashion blogs and even an official Capitol Couture site - but what stuck with me was how very Northwest Katniss' woods and the 74th Hunger Games arena was. Who knows, maybe District 12 is where Seattle could've once been?

Image credit IMDB

I had a lot of fun with this style post, finding some stylish alternatives to the tributes' arena uniforms. While I hope I never have to go through anything like the Hunger Games, if I did I'd gravitate towards these pieces. Enjoy!

AllSaints New Military Boot (similar here)

And if you're curious about the boots in the opening scene...they're Frye Melissa Tall Lace Boot!

Image credit LA Times

Happy Hunger Games!

Vision Boards: Keeping Your Goals in Sight

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Vision boards are a powerful way to keep your goals and ambitions top-of-mind. It's always very humbling when people ask me how I stay on top of it all, and I'm quick to tell them that I have to work really hard to stay focused on what I want to accomplish. It's super easy to lose sight of our goals, and super tough to figure out how to balance our day-to-day responsibilities with the steps needed to reach the goals we set out for ourselves.

Inspired by Jammie (@VAFashionGirl)'s post on making vision boards for the new year, and prompted further by my friend & art director Byron Gronseth, I made a couple of vision boards in January. One for my goals for the year, and one for my blog. Here they are below:

In both, I put plenty of images of strong, confident women, bold colors and words to motivate me. I decided to go the old-school vision boarding route so I could hang these in my closet, where I'll see them every day when I'm picking out my outfit. 

I strongly encourage you to make a vision board whenever you feel unproductive, uninspired or need something to get your mind back to the goals you want to accomplish in life. You can cut & paste out of old magazines like I did, or take your vision boards online via Pinterest or Polyvore. Oprah even has a few tips for you in making a great vision board here.

If you do make one (or have already), I'd love to see them! Leave me a comment with a link.

Get Your Coachella Wardrobe Ready!

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I had so much fun at Coachella last year, and definitely recommend it if you're a big fan of the artists on the bill. This year's festival is just three years away, and my girl Andrea over at SkinnyPurse has a few of her favorite Coachella-inspired looks from ThreadSence's latest lookbook. 

Check out the rest of Andrea's faves over at SkinnyPurse!

Fresh Style: Umbrella Love

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The weather in Seattle lately has been downright miserable. Blustery winds, pouring rain mixed with sheets of snow, and milliseconds of sunshine leave me wanting to just bundle up in my sweats and a blanket at home.

There's a stereotype that "real" Seattleites don't carry umbrellas - but I walk to work and I'd prefer not to be drenched and windblown when I get there! 

Here are some pretty parasols I found to bring a small ray of light into our grey days:

Bella Umbrella Pagoda ($129) (magenta here)

Yellow Bubble Umbrella ($18) (black here, dotted here, similar here)

Marc by Marc Jacobs Logo Umbrella ($58) (more Marc Jacobs here and here)

Printed Sky Umbrella ($38) (similar here)

ModCloth Polka Dot Umbrella ($24.99) (more fun prints here)

Tray6 Floral Print Umbrella ($29.99) (more florals here and here)

Wondershare Your Spring Break

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Heading to Paris, London, Rome, Sydney or somewhere tropical this spring break? Wondershare, the photo& video editing software, is making spring break this year a little bit sweeter!

From now until April 16th, share your vacation highlights with Wondershare and rally your friends over on Wondershare's Facebook page. The story submission with the most FB likes will win the new iPad (released just last week.)

Every day of the contest, 20 lucky participants will also receive a copy of Wondershare's video editor - so you can make your memories last in the form of fun videos to share on your FB profile or at your next family reunion.

Happy travels! For full contest details, check out the official page on Wondershare.

Wonderful software, wonderful life.®

*Grand Prize winner will be announced online April 20th, 2012, Wondershare reserves the right in its sole and absolute discretion to award a substitute prize of equal or greater value if a prize described in these Official Rules is unavailable or cannot be awarded, in whole or in part, for any reason.

This is a sponsored post, fully written and reviewed by me. All opinions expressed in this post, as with all posts on Fresh Jess, are mine.

Infographic Fun with Guinness & St. Patrick's Day

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What's nerdier than incorporating beer and St. Patrick's Day into some fun infographics? Luckily I'm a big nerd and never one to turn down an infographic :)

Here's a quick post with some fun facts for you as St. Patty's Day approaches:

Help GUINNESS® & Fresh Jess make this the biggest St. Patty's Day ever! Take the pledge & enter the code "JESS" over at Guinness.com. For every pledge I bring in, I'm donating $1 to Bulldog Haven NW. It's totally free & takes just a minute. Thanks for your help!

Fresh Eats: A Guinness Feast

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With St. Patrick's Day, fast approaching, I'm sure you're getting ready to indulge in a pint of Guinness or two. But did you know there are a ton of recipes you can make with the dry stout?

You may be familiar with the famous Guinness & steak pie already. I've pulled a few recipes from Guinness' site, but there are a couple of great ones over at AllRecipes and Endless Summer. From starters to desserts, you can infuse a bit of Guinness love into every part of your St. Patty's Day.

I present to you...the Fresh Jess St. Patty's Day feast, featuring Guinness!

Braised Beef w/Onions, Carrots & GUINNESS®

  • Serves 4
  • 2lb Boned stewing steak / 1 large onion / ½ lb carrots
  • 1 cup soaked prunes and hazelnuts (optional)
  • 3 bay leaves / 2 tbsp flour / 2 tbsp cooking oil / 1 tbsp chopped parsley
  • ¼ pint GUINNESS® Draught
  • ¼ pint water / Salt and pepper

Trim the meat and cut into convenient serving pieces; do not make them too small. Heat the oil or fat and put in the bay leaves. Let them crackle, but put the lid on, then add the beef and fry on both sides. When half done, add sliced onions and let that gently colour to pale gold. Sprinkle the flour over and let it brown then add the GUINNESS® and water. A little more liquid may be needed, in which case make it water or stock to just cover the meat. Season to taste and add the parsley and carrots cut into circles. Put the lid on and braise in a slow to moderate oven 275°F – 300°F, gas 1 – 2, for about 2 hours. In the nineteenth century, soaked and stoned prunes (about 1 cup) stuffed with grilled hazelnuts were added half an hour before the meat was ready. They make a marvelously rich garnish.

Other great starter dishes: The Best Warm Oysters Ever & Mushrooms on Toast

Crispy GUINNESS® Battered Cod Fillet

Serves 3

  • 3 fresh fillets of cod
  • Batter:
  • ½ can of GUINNESS® Draught / 1 ½ cups of flour / ¼ cup of baking powder
  • Teaspoon of salt / ¼ teaspoon of pepper

Pour the GUINNESS® into a large bowl and add the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. Then whisk until it is light and frothy. Let the batter sit for 15 minutes - remember good things come to those who wait! Meanwhile, heat a deep fryer to 180° C. When the batter is ready, dust the fish with flour and coat evenly with batter. Fry for 5 - 6 minutes turning once halfway. Then serve with chunky chips, salad and a cool GUINNESS®. Get your batter ready and then knock it up for the lads at half time. TIP To stop your batter sticking to the wire mesh of your deep fat fryer, simply take the mesh out and use a slotted spoon to lift your fish instead.

More delicious main dishes: Beef & Guinness Pancakes w/Smoked Cheddar & Rack of Lamb w/Guinness & Mustard

GUINNESS® Cake

Serves 6

  • 8oz. butter / 8oz. brown sugar / 4 eggs lightly beaten
  • 10oz plain flour & 2 level tsps of mixed spice sieved together
  • 8oz seedless raisins / 8oz sultanas / 4oz mixed peel
  • 8-12 tsps of GUINNESS Draught
  • 4oz walnuts

Cream butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Gradually beat in eggs. Fold in the flour and mixed spice. Then add the raisins, sultanas, mixed peel and walnuts. Mix well together. Stir 4tbps of GUINNESS® into the mixture. Mix to a soft dropping consistency. Turn into a prepared 7 inch cake tin. Bake in a very moderate oven, Gas mark 3 / 300° F for 1 hour. Then reduce and cook for another one and a half hours. Allow it to become cool. Remove from cake tin. Prick the base of the cake with a skewer and spoon over the remaining 4-8 tsps of GUINNESS®. Keep the cake for 1 week before eating.

Additional delectable desserts: Irish Cake Bombs & Guinness Brownies

Check all the recipes at the GUINNESS® Good Food Guide, plus 100 Ways to Cook w/Guinness

Help GUINNESS® & Fresh Jess make this the biggest St. Patty's Day ever! Take the pledge & enter the code "JESS" over at Guinness.com. For every pledge I bring in, I'm donating $1 to Bulldog Haven NW. It's totally free & takes just a minute. Thanks for your help!

Volunteering for Bulldog Haven NW at the Seattle Dog Show this weekend!

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This weekend, Spike, bf and I will be volunteering in the Bulldog Haven NW booth at the Seattle Kennel Club's 2012 Dog Show!

Come watch the pedigree dog shows & fun entertainment. Stay and hang with us in the BHNW booth to learn about the rescue, available foster dogs, volunteer opportunities and more.

Admission is just $10!

The 2012 SKC Dog Show is at CenturyLink Field Events Center, this Saturday & Sunday from 8:00a.m. to 6:00p.m.

Let me know if you'll be there!

More info on Bulldog Haven NW

Seattle Kennel Club Dog Show website

Fresh Faves: Byron Gronseth & a Re:Fresh Jess

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People ask me all the time how I manage to work, blog, be out and have a life. The truth is, you never get anywhere (sanely) without the help of a great team, and for mine, I'm grateful. I enlisted the help of one of my dear friends, Byron Gronseth, to help me breathe some new life into the look and feel of Fresh Jess. What he is giving me in return is so much more.

Byron is definitely not your cookie cutter graphic designer. At least not to me. He sat me down in a coffee shop for a few hours and walked me through a ton of questions, delving deep into my interests, passions and visual stimuli to come up with a whole new branding identity. 

What you now see here on FreshJess.com is one piece of that. "Pretty, witty, girly, worldly" - I also wanted imagery to reflect the West Coast and Pacific Northwest without a cliche shot of the Space Needle and me holding an umbrella or something. We both agreed on a darker palette too. Take one look at my Pinterest style boards and you'll see I'm not one for frills and sequins and glitter (unless I have to be.) 

I also wanted to reflect my insistence on keeping FreshJess a lifestyle blog, even though I'm classified as a fashion blogger about 90% of the time. It's fine, but I still want to cover other things that mean a lot to me: the causes I support, the celebrities and mentors who inspire me, the books I read, the places I eat, etc.

All things fresh in the eyes of a young Seattleite. Life + style, if you will.

Anywho, I'm so extremely thankful for Byron's help in making FreshJess look so fly. Thank you thank you thank you!!!

Check out ByronGronseth.com and his Behance gallery.

Guinness & FreshJess = The Largest St. Patty's Day Celebration Ever!

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What's a holiday like St. Patty's Day without a little fun & games? 

This year, Guinness is setting its sights high with a mission to set a Guinness World Record for The Largest St. Patty's Day Celebration Ever. They've partnered with me to lead the efforts here in Washington State!

How can you help make this The Largest St. Patty's Day Celebration Ever?

It's easy:

1) Head over to Guinness.com

2) Fill out the form to confirm you're over 21 (sorry kiddos)

3) Click "Join the Party"

4) Fill out the pledge form & enter "JESS" in the optional code

5) Share it on Facebook

Simple as that!

Master Brewer Fergal Murray

For each pledge made that includes code "JESS", I'm donating a dollar to my dear Bulldog Haven NW in support of their efforts to provide better lives to rescued bulldogs.

Drink responsibly - it's for a good cause this time!

Fresh Style: Fight Night

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My boyfriend had his second pro mixed martial arts fight last night (and came home with the win!)

I love fight nights. People always ask me if I get scared or nervous watching him fight, but I always tell them that MMA is a sport and like every other athlete, he goes through training, conditioning and strict dieting to prep for the fight. I do get nervous during the fight because I want him to win :)

Dressing for fight nights is always a lot of fun. I like to think of the significant others of famous boxers and ultimate fighters, while keeping it fun, functional and fresh. In a sea of jeans and tees though, it's not that hard to stand out!

This time I took my Jeffrey Campbell Night Walks for a spin. You can find them at SoleStruck!

Dimepiece Designs dress / Jeffrey Campbell Night Walks / MNG wool coat / Vintage Pendelton scarf / Bracelets from: Sustalux, Moksha & gifted (from my grandma in the Philippines)

Fresh Style in NYC

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Snaps of my outfits while in NYC. Shouts to Mollie for taking these! 

With Mollie & Michelle (Amuse Bouche) outside Chelsea Market

Climbing the steps up to the Highline

Illin' in Soho

H&M denim shirt / Vintage crossbody bag & sunnies / Necklace & speckled denim from Moksha / Steve Madden boots

At the tents!

Uniqlo J+ kimono down coat / H&M colored denim / Zara booties

Had a blast with Mollie!

Rebecca Minkoff F/W '12 Runway Show

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I had the privilege of catching the Rebecca Minkoff fall/winter '12 runway show thanks to Mollie of MollieInSeattle. Theophilus London performed briefly before the models took the stage in beautiful leather, metallic, sherbet tones and geometric prints. I'm not sure there was a bag in this collection worthy of taking the Morning After's place as "It Bag", but there were a few cute accessories in the mix.

Check out some of my favorite looks from the show, then my video of the final walk (all photos via Fashionista.com):

Erin Fetherston F/W '12 Presentation at Milk Studios

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I had the pleasure of attending Erin Fetherston's F/W 2012 presentation at Milk Studios last night. Ms. Fetherston's collection is packed with tons of chiffon, berry tones, brocade and lovely, flattering lines. These are perfect for every occasion from a night out on the town to a fancy gala. The presentation attracted a beautiful crowd of celebrities, industry professionals and bloggers alike.

Enjoy the pics!

Fresh Style: Eazy Breezy

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After weeks of cold temps and even a few days of snow and ice, the sun came out in the Emerald City and decided to bring some (relative) warmth with it! In upper-50 degree weather, it only made sense to reach for some shorts, my vintage Eazy-E tee and my current staple, the denim shirt, for a few errands and a casual chocolate cooking demo at my best friend Sara's boutique, SPUN Sustainable Collective.

H&M denim shirt & faux leather shorts / Vintage Eazy-E tee / Marc by Marc Jacobs necklace / Steve Madden military boots (another staple of mine)

Traipsing the city & catching reflections

Illin at home after a great day!

IFB Conference Feb 2012 - Recap

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The February 2012  IFB conference was the perfect way to kick off New York Fashion Week! This was my third time attending and my first as a speaker, moderating the "Media Goes Mobile" panel.

The audience was full of fresh faces and judging by the #IFBcon tweets, they had a great time and learned a lot from all of the speakers!

I hadn't really considered myself a "veteran" blogger - in fact, I still don't since I have a lot to learn and do! However, it was really fulfilling to be onstage sharing information and advice on social media and blogging.

Milk Studios was absolutely PACKED to the walls for each panel, so my pictures are mostly backstage. Enjoy!

Vintage plaid cape, bib necklace, belt & clutch from Sustalux; bracelets from Moksha, Sustalux & Urban Xchange

The panel! Karen Moon (StyleMusee), Macala Wright (Fashionably Marketing Me), Tom & Lorenzo, Bryan Boy & Aliza Licht (DKNY PR Girl)

H&M sleeveless top w/back cutout; vintage belt from Sustalux

With Jennine Jacob, founder of IFB

With Karen Moon & Bryan Boy

With Aliza Licht in our capes

With Macala & Aliza before our panel

Tom & Lorenzo

Met one of my favorite bloggers, Vintage Vandalizm!

Another fabulous panel

bling!

Guest of a Guest has their conference photos up already. Check them out!

I am in town for the rest of the week catching a few shows and catching up with some great friends. Tweet at me if you're around! @JessEstrada

Fresh Style: Alive and Well

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Alive and Well might only stock menswear for now, but that doesn't mean the stylish ladies can't work some pieces into their wardrobe. After getting a sneak peek last week, I came back for a couple of beanies, from the house brand as well as Seattle's own Actual Pain.

Remember that HUF x Haroshi deck I posted? We got that too! It'll stay in our home as a collector piece though. No skating here :)

Black leather jacket / Grey short sleeve drape tee / Deena & Ozzy python print leggings / Black/metallic gold TOMS from Coastal / Vintage Ray-Ban aviators from Sustalux