I’m super excited to share what the Paul Mitchell School in San Diego is up to this holiday season.  They are spreading the joy of good hair while collecting toys for Toys for Tots.

A long time supporter of Toys for Tots, they wanted to increase donations, so they came up with Toys for Tresses.  I had the chance to catch up with Pamela, Social Media Specialist at the School and this is what she had to share.

Any toy and you’ll receive a complimentary Paul Mitchell salon service?

Yes! For every new, unwrapped toy that you donate, you will receive one voucher for a haircut or blow out service. It’s fabulous and it’s charitable, so it’s double fabulous!

When do the toys have to be in?

Our last day of the Toys for Tresses drive will be December 16th! So if you’re going to be double fabulous, the time is now!

When are the certificates good?

The vouchers are valid from now until January 31st! So there’s lots of opportunity to use it.

How’s the collection going?

It’s been very exciting to see how charitable our guests have been! But there’s still room in the box and we’d love to welcome you!

If you’re not familiar with the Paul Mitchell School in San Diego, it’s huge.  It’s located downtown at 401 A Street in what used to be a bank.

Students learn in the classroom and through experience.  That’s why there’s a salon open to the public.  The list of guest services is extensive and the pricing is fabulous.  You can click below to go direct to their site.

Don’t worry about your stylist being a student.  They have all completed their CORE in the classroom before passing to the salon floor.  Plus they are supervised by a licensed instructor.

I’m a total believer in the school both because of seeing & experiencing.  Above is a picture after a Blow Out I had, which you could get for a toy donation!

I highly recommend you check the Paul Mitchel School in San Diego out – you’ll feel good because you’ll look good, you’ll have saved money, and you’ll have helped someone on their journey to becoming a professional.

If you miss the Toys for Tresses program just keep on the lookout for other activities at the school by following them on IG.  Paul Mitchell is committed to giving

Giving back has always been our style! Whether that means taking steps toward sustainability, helping families in need or supporting under-served kids, Paul Mitchell® believes in doing good for people, animals and our planet, and we know our fans do too. Join our global family on social media and share why you think it’s important to give back or how you’re making a difference with #GivingIsMyStyle.

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When I saw my IG friend Candy was extending an invitation to join her as she chases the 2017 Women’s Championship – I had to find out more.

click picture above to see Candy’s video on why Candy wants to compete & what others are saying

First a little about Candy:

Candy’s a competitive downhill skateboarder from Denver, CO.  She’s been an extreme sports addict her entire life.  Her mother was one of the first female snowboarders; she taught Candy how to snowboard at a young age.

Candy’s only been skateboarding for four years.  Above she’s charging with “the boys”.  In 2016, her first year in the downhill skateboard circuit , she placed 2nd overall in the Women’s category and 33rd overall in the Open category.

She spends her days spreading female stoke through any platform available to her.  For example, she started the “Rad Girls Krew” in Colorado to bring longboarding to women by making it more accessible through group skates and instruction.

“Rad Girls Krew” started with four girls in August and now has upwards of 20 girls charging hills, safely.  Candy teaches them basics first in an encouraging environment rather than “go down the hill and pray”.

Here’s what Candy had to share about what the 2017 Women’s Championship is, where it takes place, and why she’s doing a campaign to get to it:

Racing for the downhill skateboarding world championship means participating in the International Downhill Federation (IDF) race circuit. (internationaldownhillfederation.com for more info).

In order to be competitively ranked at a world level, I need to attend 7 races on at least two different continents. The 2017 race circuit includes races in NZ, Australia, China, Philippines, South Korea, Czech Republic, Brazil, US (Vermont), and many more. 

Entering the championship is expensive.  First there’s the entrance fee of about $250/race and then there’s the travel expenses to the race and living expenses while at the race.  Most riders, especially the women, pay for all of this out of pocket because they do not have a sponsor to cover the costs.

The expense and travel time are so huge that being competitive becomes largely dependent on funding.  I work any job where I can still make the races, however, that limits my options and salary.  I freelance write, clean houses, walk dogs, work a food truck, work as a hostess/buser, but I still need this campaign in order to race in the Open Bracket which is 7 races throughout the 2017 season. 

How many enter?

You’re working with @darhorsepros – is that like a Go Fund Me?

Darkhorse Pros is best described as Kickstarter for athletes. I’m not asking for people to give me money.  I’m asking people to purchase items or experiences for themselves while simultaneously supporting me as an athlete and becoming more involved with my journey.

This is a time sensitive project so if you can help make your contribution by January 4th 2017.  Not to put pressure on you but, this is an all-or-nothing campaign, meaning that Candy must reach her $8,000 goal by January 4, 2017 in order to receive funding to race for the 2017 World Championship.

It is the holiday season, so if your funds are stretched consider a two-for-one.  If you contribute to the campaign you can have your reward sent to someone else as a gift.  Would I like if someone supported women empowerment in my name for the holidays?  I’d think it was super stylish.

Why do I think it’s important to support Candy?  More girls skateboard when they see girls skateboarding.  I don’t think every girl who skates is going down the mountain or headed to a competition, but I do think that every girl that skates can get her own rewards.  Skateboarding to me is sport, art, transportation, rolling yoga, and builds self-confidence so it makes sense to have more girls skateboarding.

As girls we get so many messages.  My message is that you can be more than one thing.  You can be sporty, stylish, smart, funny and anything else.  But first you have to have the confidence to believe you can be.  Skateboarding has given me that confidence and it’s surely given Candy some confidence so let’s keep sharing the image of empowered girls chasing and achieving their passions.

If you can’t contribute to the campaign there are still other ways to support Candy.  You can support her sponsors:

Seismic Skate, BOARDLife skate shop, Blecha Boards, Ridersfly, Shred Rebels, Lost Girls Tribe, and SkatetoFight

skateboarding has been both my coping and healing method throughout my journey from “victim” to “survivor.”  I now use skateboarding as a platform to empower other women, like it has for me. 

And yes – positive thoughts do make a difference, so follow her on IG and let her know you believe she can do this!

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I’ve been wearing Bombas Socks for awhile.  My first blog post on them was

and they’ve been mentioned in tons of my other posts both on the blog and in social media.

Why do I love Bombas socks?  

1. Well they stay up – in fact there’s a ton of technology in every Bombas sock

2.   There are also several styles.

Sometimes it’s all about the shoe – eyes on the shoe – so you need an invisible sock.

3.  There are tons of colors.

Above are just a few, there are many other colors too.  Yes, you can mix & match your socks.  It’s far better to wear mismatched socks than have smelly feet from wearing sneakers without socks.

4.  They have collections like the Americano.

5.  They have wool socks too.  Cold feet are sad feet, so keep them warm.

6.   And those wool socks don’t require special washing instructions!  I wish that everything I threw in the washing machine came back out looking the same – my Bombas stay looking great wash after wash.

7.  Bombas has a happiness guarantee.  So if for any reason you weren’t happy there’d be a simple return process.

Even the small print is reassuring

Our #1 priority here at Bombas is your happiness. Which means we stand by our product 100%, no matter what, no questions asked, no holds barred, no ifs, no ands, no buts. 

8.   They support girl skateboarders and not just me because I’m a blogger.  They’ve proudly supported EXPOSURE Skate for the past two years – supplying socks for the goody bags.

9.  The inspiration for Bombas came from a need.  Not a need to make money but a need that impacts more people then anyone would like to believe.

“Socks are the number one most requested clothing item at homeless shelters.”

10.  They saw a problem and did something.  For every pair of Bombas socks purchases a pair is donate.

The number donated is as of the time I wrote this post.  Bombas isn’t going to stop giving socks to those in need – there’s no magic number and they are done.   Bombas has always been and will always be about “Beeing Better”.

I hope you check out Bombas, buy a pair, and have them donate a pair. If you need two more reasons – 12 Days of Christmas, below are reasons 11 & 12.

Yes, if my “true love” gave me socks for 12 Days I’d be happy & grateful!

11.   The bee has “meaning”.

Bees work together to make the hive a better place. We like that. When we say Bee Better, we mean it as a mantra, a way of approaching every day. It’s stitched into the inside of every pair of Bombas for a reason. It’s a reminder to push yourself harder to be better at your athletic pursuits. 

Plus the bee is cute.  Maybe even cuter on the youth socks.

12.  They have ski & snowboard socks and it’s that time of year.

Till next time keep it stylish on & off the board!

I’ve loved Boy Meets Girl for years.  I first wore & blogged about them at EXPOSURE Skate 2014.  I was honored to be their muse back in 2015

back then my favorite Boy Meets Girl item was the Pink Alice tee

because I love the logo – a boy meeting a girl is exactly what I’m doing at the skate park. The first time I wore it was at Exposure 2014 and I loved how it symbolized yes I’m a girl but I’m also a skater – I can be a girl, skate, and look fashionable. I have the bow it came with on my helmet so the Boy Meets Girl is always with me when I skate.

Several years later, I still love that tee plus there are so many other items I love.  It’s definitely time for me to do a post on what’s current at Boy Meets Girl.

Boy Meets Girl is a brand created by Stacy Igel for the girl who’s

fun and fearless, wild yet modest, strong but soft.  She loves with her entire soul, and lives life with wonder, courage, and enthusiasm. Always on the go, her style must be easy and effortless, functional and stunning. 

The brand and I are both 2001 – it was a good year!  Ten years later Boy Meets Girl University was launched.  I’m still years away from university, but I’ve always been impressed that Stacy takes time to mentor the next generation of designers.  She’s truly passionate about her designs and once she commits to a cause it’s 110% forward.

I love Boy Meets Girl Clothing for Cause.   10% of all proceeds are donated to Young Survival Coalition.

My favorite piece in the collection is the Crop Sweatshirt.  There’s also a tank, over-sized boyfriend tee, and socks in the collection.

I wanted to find out what Stacy loves and learn more about what’s going on at Boy Meets Girl.

1.  Boy Meets Girl collaboration with Care Bears is it really only available in Paris through Colette?

Stacy: The Boy Meets Girl® x Care Bears™ collection in colette in Paris is exclusive to colette.  Our sneak peek collection released in August 2016 and we will be releasing a bigger collection in celebration of Care Bears 35th Anniversary in February 2017, which I am extremely excited about. We are also releasing some special pieces on our website in March 2017 as well as some cool partnerships in other categories!

2.   The 2016 Holiday Pop Up Shop – will there be a physical shop?  If so where?  My favorite piece is the Together We Stand Crop Box Tee – will it be available after the holiday?

Stacy:  The Holiday Pop-up Shop is a preview to our future pop-up shop – stay tuned! The Together We Stand Crop Box Tee will be available as long as supplies last.

3.   The Boy Meets Boy V-Neck Oversized BoyFriend Fit Tee which donated 10% of all sales to Equality Florida is SOLD OUT – will it be back?

Stacy:  We release new Limited Edition styles each month to an organization that we believe will impact communities in a positive way. This tee was part of our Limited Edition series and as of now, we do not have plans to come back with this style but may release a similar one in the future.

4.   So you’re a Cubs fan – originally from Chicago – is this limited edition?

Stacy:  The cubs tee is not a limited edition tee, it is a web exclusive! So all my cubbies you can come and get your special cubbies tee 🙂

5.   Why do you make time to inspire the younger generation?  Below Stacy at the Chicago Library where she spoke about fashion, entrepreneurship, design, & more and then designed custom tote bags with attendees.

Stacy:  Guiding and teaching the younger generation is something that gives me a lot of joy. I think it is important to give back.

Thank you Stacy for your designs and for being an inspiration to myself and other fashionistas around the world.

Just in time for the holidays there’s a Stocking Stuffer sale – click below for the details.

Be sure to check out the entire Boy Meets Girl collection – select pieces also available at Nordstrom.

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There’s an IG campaign

I want to help populate Instagram with comic book & children’s characters for Childhood Cancer Awareness. If you’d like to accept the challenge, give me a like and post a character! #childhoodcancerawareness #childcancerawareness #childrenshospital #cancer #cancerawareness #children

I liked Orion’s picture of Batman so it was time for me to post my character.  I absolutely believe in the power of “awareness”.  When people are aware of a problem it gives them an opportunity to act and it’s through positive actions that problems get resolved.

For my pick, I wanted a character that raises awareness and gets things done.  I wanted someone that could really be anyone who just took the time to take action.

I picked Virginia from Yes, Virginia There is a Santa Clause.

When I picked her, the Virginia I had in mind was the one on the right from the 2009 TV show.

Virginia in the TV show is based on the real life person – Virginia O’Hanlon (Virginia on the left).  In 1897, an eight year old Virginia in response to some school bullies, who did not believe in Santa, went out to find the truth.

After asking her father, she wrote a letter to The Sun Newspaper in NYC because

If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.

Virginia’s question to the editor

Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Clause?

His answer

. . . Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. . . .

click above to read the complete question & response

Virginia continues to spread hope through her story and through Macy’s Believe Campaign.

For every letter you write to Santa, Macy’s donates $1 to Make-A-Wish up to $1m.  Macy’s has been doing this since 2003 and this year will celebrate $100m in total giving to Make-A-Wish.

You can send a letter on-line just click below

or you can drop your letter to Santa off in the big red letterbox at your local Macy’s store.   Write your letters now and email or drop them off by December 24th.

You can also join the movement by tagging #SantaProject on your FB, Twitter, or IG posts.

Thank you Virginia for inspiring so many of us to believe in Santa and the importance of love & generosity.

Till next time keep it stylish on & off the board.

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