IIT #10: Roots Bringing Down You Down? Not Anymore.

Who knew that this crisis would bring about so many existential questions? There are some big ones that instantly come to mind about equity and classism, as an example. Let’s call those “A list” crises. Just like there are B, C and D list celebrities, there are D list crises. We adore our D list celebrities and they matter to us — think Jerry on Cheer (by the way, this will make you feel very good.)

In the same way, we’ve got “D list” quarantine crises. Some of the most prominent involve how to look and feel good everyday without regular visits to the hairstylist. That can be hard to do when your grey is growing out or your roots are four inches long. Whether or not to go natural is a big decision for women. Are you someone who wants to embrace the grey and find beauty in the natural or do you find it depressing? We’re all strongly in one camp or the other.

Personally, my roots are dark brown and fortunately, they work as they grow out. But, if all of my hair was brown, I would feel that a large part of my identity was lost. After all, can you imagine me without red hair? I didn’t think so.

With that in mind I asked my hairstylist, Lindsay Brabank, to help the Poplin community solve two of the biggest hair challenges in quarantine: 1. How do I cut my own bangs and 2. What do I do about my roots? She has generously offered up advice for both. So, this post will be split into two.

Before we dive into her post, you should know that Lindsay has been the genius behind my hair color and cuts for the past few years. Every product she uses is chemical free and she has a wealth of information, having been a hairstylist for over 17 years. She also gives back to the community generously including hosting a successful fundraiser to help provide food and water to folks crossing the border. In short, she’s amazing and I hope that you find her info helpful AND that you support her as a small businesswoman hit hard by the pandemic.

Here we go!

A Professional’s Guide to Hiding Your Roots from Lindsay Brabank, Spruce Salon and Spa

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In It Together #9: Want Something New? It Just Might Be Hiding In Your Jewelry Box

Today is our 8 week anniversary of captivity. Sure, it’s dark. But, I’ve decided we’ll celebrate eight weeks of togetherness with a party for three including my first baking project of the pandemic and some good quality television. Let’s face it, there are some major ups and downs while in quarantine. Sometimes you’re productive. Sometimes you are panicked. Sometimes you are energized and sometimes you are exhausted. Hence, the In It Together Series. My clients and readers have told me about the ups and downs of their quarantine experiences. This series is intended to offer inspiration, guidance and support during this unprecedented time.

As a personal stylist for women, my posts are generally focused on transformation- with style as your vehicle. Right now, I think my community is served best by bringing together my small business community and my client community through this series. I hope you agree.

Today, I’ve asked one of my client favorites to offer up her guidance on rediscovering your jewelry. Adrienne Krieger is the powerhouse behind Everling Jewelry. You can see me gush about her and her business here. In short, she’s all about beauty, sustainability, resourcefulness and expressing yourself. I think you’ll find that reorganizing your jewelry is another way to both exert some control over a chaotic world and to rediscover beautiful pieces that you can wear right now. Enjoy!

Everling Jewelry Owner, Adrienne Krieger,

on Bringing New Life to Your Jewelry Collection

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In it Together #8: How to Embrace Your Inner European

Man, everyday life in quarantine is filled with an array of unexpected daily challenges that seem small, but add up quickly. The In It Together Series will make your day to day easier thanks to expert advice from female business owners in Seattle. As a personal stylist for women in Seattle, I’m fortunate to be a part of a community of bright, generous, resourceful women who have the power to improve our situations. Today’s post is from an old friend of mine and the force behind Bold Spirit Travel, Regina Winkle- Bryan. She’s been all over the word and now focuses her energy empowering women through travel. I loved this post so much that I’m posting it earlier than I’d planned. It’s just that good. I hope it inspires you the way it did me.

We do many things well in the United States, but relaxation is not one of them. Short vacays, working weekends, crammed social calendars, and never-ending to-do lists are commonplace. Now, forced to stay home and social-distance, you may not be run-ragged by long commutes and packed workdays, but new stressors have sprung up to replace them.

I lived in Barcelona for a decade next to the warm sands of the Mediterranean Sea. I was often scolded by my Spanish family for working too much and not knowing when to disconnect. It took a while, but I realized that they were right. When it comes to enjoying life, Europeans—especially Southern Europeans—know what they are doing. They’ve been perfecting the lifestyle for millennia.

In this season of uncertainty and anxiety, let’s look to the Spaniards for some schooling on how to calm the hell down.

Your Beginner’s Guide to Relaxing Like a Spaniard

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In It Together #7: Easy Tips to Cook A Great Meal When You Don't Have All the Desired Ingredients

Man, everyday life in quarantine is filled with an array of unexpected daily challenges that seem small, but add up quickly. The In It Together Series will make your day to day easier thanks to expert advice from female business owners in Seattle. As a personal stylist for women in Seattle, I’m fortunate to be a part of a community of bright, generous, resourceful women who have the power to improve our situations. Today’s post is from the Chef Owner of Miri’s Golden Gardens, Miri Plowman. This is sure to be a post you bookmark and come back to repeatedly. Enjoy!

First, I want to acknowledge that everyone is approaching this time in the kitchen differently. I think some find it a time to dive into cooking projects that maybe otherwise they would never dare to take on, others are looking at their kitchen with dread and overwhelm and for some, cooking is business as usual, just more of it. 

For me personally, running a business and a restaurant means that my partner and I end up eating at odd hours, and not very consistently. I have enjoyed this time for reinstating important habits that have fallen to the wayside-like eating three square meals a day all at reasonable hours and mostly at the table. I’ve been really enjoying having a big delicious lunch followed by a smaller, more leftover-y or salad-y dinner.

All this to say, if I could offer one suggestion in this weird time, listen to what your body wants and needs! Try to relish in the slow down and savor mealtime if you can!

The other thing that typically dominates my home cooking style lately is to make do with the ingredients I have. The other day I was looking to make Prad Pri King. A Thai dish with red curry paste, green beans and a protein- typically pork or beef. I had maybe half the ingredients and zero interest in braving the grocery store. 😱


In lieu of the red curry paste I blended some chili pepper flakes, shallot (an onion would have also been fine), a squeeze of 1/2 a lime and some fish sauce. I added some chicken broth for some extra umami. It wasn’t perfect, but it also wasn’t bad. Learning to make do with the ingredients you have means wasting less and also saves time and energy. Over time, you will find that doing this will help you to be more creative in the kitchen. Recipes will only get you so far! I want to be clear this is far more helpful for cooking than it is for baking!

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In It Together #6: What to Wear While You are in Quarantine

As a personal stylist for women, this is a very weird time. I want to provide my community with the support you need while also not pretending that we live in a vacuum. I’ve been laying low on clothing suggestions, but I’ve had SO many questions about what to wear now. As your resource for how to wear pieces that make you feel like your authentic self by embracing your personal style, I’m hearing from many folks that you need me now more than ever.

So, let’s solve this problem of what to wear each day, shall we? And, as always, thanks for letting me know what content you need right now.

By the way, today’s recommendations are all from Nordstrom. After all, shopping local right now is VERY important and Nordstrom is our hometown hero. The company’s HQ is here including thousands of incredible folks who have my life and likely yours much better over the last several years. So, let’s help make sure this company is with us on the other side. If you are shopping, start with local shops, brands and makers, if you can.

How to Choose Your Outfit of the Day During the COVID-19 Crisis

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In It Together #5: How to Reinvent Your Space Right Now

The next several weeks are devoted to making your days better. We’ll be solving problems, decreasing anxiety, making you look and feel better. It’s all happening here. And, it’s all happening thanks to the genius of local small businesses in the Poplin community. Welcome to another installment of, “In it Together.”

As I’ve mentioned in the blog, we’ve been doing some major repurposing over here. We turned our garage into my husband’s “loft like” office by cannibalizing lots of swanky furniture from around the house and building some tables with old doors and sawhorses. We reorganized our son’s room including repainting and putting up a mural on the wall. And, of course, we’ve been building planter boxes and more out front. The point is, we live for this stuff and now is the best time to do it. Not only does it make our space more appealing during Quarantine, but it also is a great way to be creative, productive and achieve flow. I heard from readers that this sort of thing doesn’t necessarily come naturally to everyone. So, I reached out to my longtime friend, Poplin client and genius Interior Architect and Designer, Amy May. Enjoy!

P.S. Next up, I’ll be guiding you through getting dressed everyday in Quarantine. See you Friday!

Reinventing Your Space With Amy May, Founder of May Designs

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In It Together #4: How to Work From Home in the Time of Pandemic

The next several weeks are devoted to making your days better. We’ll be solving problems, decreasing anxiety, making you look and feel better. It’s all happening here. And, it’s all happening thanks to the genius of local small businesses in the Poplin community. Welcome to another installment of, “In it Together.”

Happy Monday, Dear Reader. Whether you just wrapped up spring break for the kids, are kicking it off today or are in a land where spring break for the kids is meaningless to you, the In It Together Series is here to give you some momentum every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I’m elated to offer tips from my good friend, Poplin client, Executive Coach and founder of the Essential Group, Kore Koubourlis. She’s an insightful resource who primarily works remotely with her clients and offers online trainings. In a word, this is her wheelhouse. Dive in and let me know what you think.

And when you wrap up your reading, go outside (if you can) and listen to this. See you Wednesday!

-Mellicia

We need strategies to take care of ourselves and our mindset; especially so during times of rapid change and uncertainty. In case you are interested, here is my personal top ten list (well, it's a list of 12 actually). These are things I am including in my life right now to stay sane amidst all this "family togetherness time". I hope you find it useful.

12 Strategies to Stay Sane While Working at Home Right Now

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Must Know Now: In It Together #3

I’m deep into the, “In It Together” Series. I hope you are finding it useful and that it makes you feel better. Despite operating as if I’m in a remote cabin with my family, I find there are all sorts of things I want to make sure you know. So, here’s a post just for that. Enjoy and thanks VERY much for all the emails, messages, etc. They are delightful and are inspiring content for the blog. Mwah!

All The Things

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In It Together #2: Do Your Mani Like a Pro with this DIY Tutorial

The next several weeks are devoted to making your days better. We’ll be solving problems, decreasing anxiety, making you look and feel better. It’s all happening here. And, it’s all happening thanks to the genius of local small businesses in the Poplin community. Welcome to another installment of, “In it Together.”

While I have lots of great qualities, doing an attractive mani or pedi is certainly not one of them. A few years ago, i discovered how much better I feel when someone else makes my nails look amazing. This is not because I enjoy the process so much. In fact, I often find myself anxious about my schedule when I’m getting my nails done. Nope, it’s because I can’t seem to make them look as beautiful as I’d like.

And, apparently, I’m not alone.

So, today’s IIT post is courtesy of my good friend who is also an incredible resource, Courean Napolitano, owner of Vixen Day Spa and Boutique in Magnolia. It’s a magical land where you can get spa services and pick up a hip and affordable vegan leather jacket before you leave. I’m a big fan.

Enjoy Courean’s tutorial on doing the perfect mani at home.

Friday’s post is all about how to dress for yourself (and your Zoom calls) from yours truly. On deck, how to rearrange your place from Amy May, set yourself up for professional success on your Zoom calls from Kore Kobourlis and much more. Thanks for being here and take very good care.

How to do a Mani Like a Pro

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In It Together Post #1: Stress Eating Survival Tips

In it Together

Welcome to the inaugural post for our April blog series: In it Together. The entire month of April is going to be devoted to making your days better. We’ll be solving problems, decreasing anxiety, making you look and feel better. It’s all happening here. And, it’s all happening thanks to the genius of local small businesses in the Poplin community.

First up, Nutrition Coach and Personal Trainer, Natalie Joffe, dives right into one of the questions so many of us are struggling with right now, how to avoid stress eating during this crisis. Natalie Joffe is a long time friend, client, coach and all around inspiration. Our work to help every woman embrace her authentic inner voice and express herself has obvious cross over. Despite that, I learn something new from her every time we are together. Natalie is the friend you wish you had who knows all about food and having a healthy lifestyle, but who listens and advises with compassion and an understanding of what is actually realistic for your day to day. I’m a big fan.

From Nutritionist and Personal Trainer, Natalie Joffe:

COVID-19 Stress Eating Survival Tips

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Launching: In It Together

While we all might be physically separate, we are very much in it together. Over the past month or so, I’ve had all sorts of delightful interactions with my clients and the Poplin community. Of course, this is certainly not a delightful time to be home. And, if you can, please support local food banks and other organizations working tirelessly to help folks affected in an endless number of ways right now. Really. Anything you can give does matter. (For that matter, supporting your favorite candidates for office matters quite a bit, too. )

The thing is, it’s all very abstract. We’re not interacting with one another IRL, which means we are missing the nuances of in person communication. We aren’t taking in nonverbal cues from one another. We can’t comfort with a hug or an impromptu get together. While we all may be finding the silver lining in this (and yes, there are many), it can also be lonely, frustrating, and unpredictable.

Add to that, we have the daily annoyances of real life. Likely, we feel guilty about caring about our roots growing out or lacking a pedicure. But, trust me, Dear Reader, those things matter because they are reminders to us everyday that life is not the same. It can be depressing to feel like there’s no reason to put yourself together each day. But, My Dear, there absolutely is. You are the reason.

If you get that, but you still don’t know exactly how to execute, that’s where this series comes in. Get ready. It’s awesome.

Over the next few weeks (maybe more?) you’ll be the lucky recipient of blog posts that aim to solve your daily challenges. And, I won’t be the only one solving them. I’ve turned to my very favorite local experts to answer those nagging questions with detailed, helpful guidance made just for you. Here are some examples:

A Sample: In It Together Blog Post Topics

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Hot Tips to Improve Your Mood During Quarantine: from a Stylist who Works from Home

I know, it’s been a while. In the words of one of my clients, “you know I love clothes, but my heart just isn’t in it right now.” True story.

So, my Dear Reader, I can promise you this: I’ll only be writing when my heart IS in it. Because, as far as I’m concerned, I owe that to the both of us. Today, my heart is absolutely in it. Yes, I’ve got a sea of content that I never shared. Spring fashion just isn’t speaking to me right now. I’m going to guess you feel the same way. What is speaking to me? All the hot tips I have for you. After all, not only do I work from home (when I’m not with clients) but I also have been predominantly home since the end of February. So, I’m further down the road than most. Get ready for some ideas that will hopefully inspire you, and if nothing else, give you a few minutes of distraction from the other media. One quick thing before we begin: Remember to listen to the experts and local officials. I especially find the Daily from the NY Times helpful. Wash your hands, stay at home. Okay- Off we go!

10 Ways to Feel Better While You are at Home

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Everybody's Doin' It: Your Poplin COVID-19 Update.

Let me ask you this: When is the last time you wore a bra?

I, for one, haven’t worn one in weeks. Welcome to life with the Corona Virus. Home quarantine can mean lots of things to you: working from home, lots of time with your immediate family, a sea of comfort food and little exercise, lots of wine, maybe a board game or two. Whatever this unprecedented time is in your world, it’s highly likely it involves skipping your bra and spending most days in oversized sweatpants.

Understood. Why bother putting on makeup or doing your hair if you aren’t leaving the house?

With the newest updates on school closures (our son is out until late April, at least), it’s time to make a plan for the temporary new normal. Here’s mine:

On the home front

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Must Haves for Spring 2020: Bermuda Shorts

If you’ve been looking around and feeling like shorts are getting shorter all the time, you are correct. In fact, short shorts and hot pants are coming on strong for spring and summer. But, rest assured, if that isn’t your jam, there’s a new alternative that is on trend and crazy comfortable.

As a personal stylist for women, it’s on me to find pieces that are just right for the real world and also make you look and feel your best. I’m also having the time of my life digging into spring fashion trends so expect to see a number of different choices popping up in your inbox over the coming weeks. The last post featured my favorite colored leather and vegan leather for the season. In case you missed it, you can find it here. Next up: Your latest 90’s flashback, Bermuda Shorts.

Spring Must Have: Bermuda Shorts (Especially as Part of a Summer Suit)

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Must Haves for Spring 2020: Colorful Leather

Man, if you are stuck in the house working from home on this beautiful spring day, this is just what you need to put yourself in a positive head space. Spring Fashion. Let me say it again, Spring Fashion. As a personal stylist for women, I pay attention to trends, naturally, but my work is really about helping women translate those trends into their everyday looks.

Here are some pieces that are sure to bring you joy.

Spring Trend: Colorful Leather (and Vegan Leather)

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Hot Tips From a Client: 3 Ways to Effortlessly Save Money While You Shop Online

You know how much I love talking about the Poplin Community. You, Dear Reader, are a valuable member. Poplin clients are members, too. As a personal stylist for women, I spend my time both sharing with and learning from members of my community. And let me tell you, I learn a lot. So, I’ve decided to start offering up periodic blog posts filled with expertise from my clients that I am confident will be helpful to you. These tips are from one of my new clients in the Bay Area, Daniela. Enjoy!

Daniela’s Words of Wisdom: 3 Ways to Get the Best Deal

When You Shop Online

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Buy 2nd Hand Pieces at Nordstrom. That's Right. Nordstrom.

As a personal stylist for women, it’s important that my recommendations align with my client’s values. Whether she is going for affordable options to keep her budget in check or she’s more interested in sustainability or Fair Trade, it’s all about honoring those values as best we can.

Over the past year or so, the requests for second hand pieces have sky rocketed. While we always catered to our the values of each client, now things are more explicit with sustainability modifications on every package. But things just got a whole lot easier.

Seattle Fav Nordstrom Offers Curated Second Hand Pieces

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Beyond Seattle: Poplin Goes National

As a personal stylist for women in Seattle, I spend the majority of my time working with individual local women to help her elevate her style. Starting with her personal style, body type, budget and lifestyle, we create a strategy for her to look and feel like her authentic self every day- whether she’s giving a presentation or sitting at home in her pajamas.

From the outside, it may seem like all of this goodness is here in Seattle. But, actually, Poplin’s reach goes beyond the Pacific Northwest and lately, I’ve found that lots of folks have questions about that. So, let’s do some celebrating, shall we?

10 Game Changing Ways that Poplin Style Goes Way Beyond Seattle

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Fashion and Function: Over 30 Winter Coats that are Just Right for your Body and your Style

If the snow storm has taught us anything, it’s that it’s vital to have a winter coat that you adore and is also ready for crazy cold weather. As a personal stylist for women, I’m all about making sure that your pieces are functional AND communicate your authentic personal style.

Remember, if you can only afford to upgrade one piece in your wardrobe, it should be your coat. You make the majority of your first impressions wearing your coat. Whether you are walking in the door for a coffee meeting, heading from building to building or ready for a night out, your coat can make or break your look. Here are some favs! Enjoy.

The 30 Best Winter Coats for Your Body Type. Go!

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5 Tips to Make Your Hair Look Amazing (Without Killing Yourself to Make it Happen)

Happy New Year, Dear Reader!

As a personal stylist for women based in Seattle, I spend a whole lot of time chatting about which socks work with these shoes and what undergarments make this dress flattering and how do I simplify my morning routine without sacrificing my style. Yes, this is how I spend my days.

But it doesn’t stop with clothing. I get lots and lots of questions about laser hair removal, microblading, skincare, body positivity and of course, hair. So, let’s kick off the New Year with some hot tips on making your hair make your day.

5 Easy Ways to Make Your Hair Look Amazing

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