I usually would send these recap issues out on Sunday evenings but I have been on autopilot pretty much all of March and have not really had a moment to think through a good cadence when having back to back travel plans. But here she is! A wordy ‘7 noteworthy things I did last week’, both big and small:
I recently visited Philly for a brand trip with Anthropologie and it has reignited a love for what I do. I’m truly so grateful to be one of 12 total brand ambassadors for Anthropologie this year. #AnthroAmbassador as we are officially called! To kick off the partnership, Anthro brought me out to their headquarters at the epic URBN campus in Philadelphia, which was an impressive visit in and of itself. The campus is built in/on(?) a 100+ years old navy yard and is just such an inspiring oasis of creativity, entrepreneurship and collaboration with a strong sense of community. It was beyond cool being in *the* hub of such iconic brands I grew up coveting and loving. And to now work so closely with one of them is just… WILD! Beyond wild. The trip was brief but jam packed with so many incredible, intimate moments of connecting with the Anthro team and my fellow ambassadors, who truly inspire me to create more and more boldly at that. I used to shutter at the word “influencer”, like so many of us who identify as one. But for every attempt to come up with another name for who I am—tastemaker, content creator, internet person, what have you—I could very well just embrace the reality of my extremely privileged position of being an influencer. Being surrounded by fellow influencers who are proud and excited about the work that they do has been monumental in my own growth as one and I’m so humbled by the brands that trust their brand identity, ethos and community within me, the work I produce and my own community. I don’t think influencers take a moment to really be fucking grateful for the opportunities that come their way. A lot of times, we’re chasing the next partnership, the next brand deal, the bigger benchmark. But the reality of our job is that it’s getting more saturated and harder to keep up with. There is something to be said about every single opportunity that comes our way and this trip was an ode to everything I’ve accomplished. I feel, and know, that there is something special in this corner of the internet I’ve curated and I will always strive to inspire others in the best way I know how.
All outfit details from the trip here (This wasn’t last week but the week before, so it’s still fresh in my mind) I went to Aspen for the first time ever on a brand trip with Halfdays, a performance-driven and design-focused skiwear brand founded and led by women. I am a total Aspen convert now. Prior to going, I was admittedly a little nervous about fitting in and embracing all that Aspen stands for: hyper luxury and often out-of-touch identities, exorbitant prices and a cringey party scene. My preconceived notions weren’t entirely off—there is all of that, indeed—but there is something so ~cute~ about this little mountain town where everyone is obsessed with talking about quality of snow and genuinely interested in how your “runs” have been. Halfdays is founded upon this idea that skiing should not only be accessible to everyone but a sport that should never be as intimidating as it is. Everyone can start at anytime and it’s not a sport limited to a certain set of people. It’s a sport that should really be a celebration of movement and the great outdoors. Aspen made me fall back in love with skiing, a sport I reluctantly learned as a child but now eager to master. I love how it allows me to connect with a season I rejected for so long. And I just love how a trip to a new place can do that for you: to flip your reality around and challenge what you thought you knew about a place or even yourself. I will be going skiing for the last time this season in Taos, New Mexico and this decision quite literally came after I visited Aspen. So yeah, the place really did something for me.
I posted on TikTok! If you know me at all, you know I absolutely hate and dread this app. I can go into many many think pieces on the toxicity of the app and how it is antithetical to the kind of content I want to produce and consume. But I also recognize the huge significance of this app for content creators, whether aspiring or established, and I want to approach the platform in a way that feels organic and just… whatever. It’s whatever! I’m still figuring out what that would look like, but you can follow me @laurasjung and perhaps help me figure out what my TikTok persona will be. I’m going to try my best to have fun with it.
I was gifted these little travel capsules from Cadence, filled them up real fast before my trip to Aspen and became OBSESSED with them. They’re currently in my toiletries bag with me now (I am, once again, on the road. More on that below). What a silly little idea that is just so practical and necessary and was probably attempted many times, but never quite perfected until Cadence came along and made travel containers so chic. They are pricy, but they’re heavy duty in quality and are probably the best-looking travel containers you’ll find on the market, if that’s important to you. I’ll be bringing these with me on all my shorter trips.
I haven’t worked out all week and I’ve learned to accept that moments of rest between the chaos of the everyday life is really ok. I know everyone, myself included, stresses the importance of a routine, but trying to keep up with one can put more stress on you when it is simply out of reach. I have been all over the map since mid-February and have not consistently worked out since and I’m learning to rid the notion that consistently working out = self control, accountability, productivity. Working out should feel intuitive and natural and I’m proud of myself for being able to accept that productivity comes in waves, and that’s ok.
I have gone off hormonal birth control. This is extremely significant for me and also a hugely personal decision I have mulled over for the past two years. I’m going to do a deeper dive on this in a separate, dedicated newsletter - to chart my experience of getting off the pill, my reasons for wanting to get off and my newfound interest in fertility awareness/me awareness! I wanna know me!!!! I want to know who I am off of these unnatural hormones that have largely shaped my emotions the past five years. I’m really looking forward to that mental clarity everyone talks about when they get off the pill.
I flew to Las Vegas, where I reunited with my mom and sister for a girls’ healing trip to one of my favorite places on the entire planet: New Mexico :) Las Vegas is a pit stop before heading to New Mexico. It’s such a chaotic, amazing place. We’re eating a lot and I might dabble in some silly slot machines. Between all the back to back work trips, I am treating this trip as a full vacation. I saw this TikTok (that I unfortunately can’t find to reference) that said March is a month that doesn’t expect anything out of you. March has always been a strange and uneventful transitory month where I’ve always carved out time to take a real vacation. Last year, I was in Paris and Thailand, and the trip prepped and propelled me into a busy spring. This year, it’s northern New Mexico. I can’t wait to share this trip with you all because it’s a place that I truly believe has healing powers.
