My darling mom surprised me with a spontaneous plane ticket for her work trip to Puerto Rico. We even surprised my dad at the airport! It was a wonderfully relaxing trip despite the rain and it was such a pleasure to spend time with my parents.
{Photo from Instagram – don’t forget to follow me @rachmartino}
My good luck kept coming with a trip Westward with Lacoste. The entire experience was incredible from the road trip from L.A. to Palm Desert with a few incredible bloggers and 1 amazing photographer to the two wild days at the Lacoste Pool Party compete with free food trucks, a refreshing pool with alligator rafts, a very open bar and a slew of celebs.
Another surreal episode of 2014 was my first real photo shoot with Refinery29 & T.J. Maxx at Jack Studios. 2 days choc-full of wardrobe changes, lights, makeup and hair, I got the chance to see first-hand what being a model would truly be like. I quickly decided it wasn’t really for me, but for those 2 days, I loved seeing the process (and of course, the fashion!) See the full feature here.
Later in April I experienced my first ‘Con.’ I’d heard a myriad of things about VidCon, ComiCon & BeautyCon and boy, was it a trip to see it for myself. Thousands of screaming girls with makeup and YouTuber gurus on their mind! I felt flattered to be speaking on a panel with quite a few girls whose careers I’ve followed and admired including Helena of Brooklyn Blonde, Amanda of MakeupbyMandy and Whitney Port. My friend Helen from Nashville even joined and I was able to sneak her into the Talent Lounge where I chatted it up with Claire Marshall, who I have a total girl-crush on.
{My ‘Day in the Life’ video from BeautyCon here.}
Without a doubt, my favorite trip of 2014 was Alex and I’s twelve day excursion in Paris. I was invited to be a part of a video project for the luxury/travel brand Maison Ullens. After wrapping the shoot
{video here}, Alex and I had an unprecedented week and change of blue skies and sunny days. The weather was so beautiful, in fact that we didn’t end up stepping foot in a single museum because we kept saying, “maybe if it rains.” Initially our itinerary out us in Marseille for the final weekend, but due to the strikes, our train was cancelled and we spent the whole trip in Paris. As bummed as we were to miss my Friend Laure down south, our last night in Paris, coincidentally La Festival de la Musique ended up being unforgettable. We watch the sunset over Notre Dame with friends as an old college pal Devon, now living in Paris played tunes along the Seine. Check out her album here.
{video here}, Alex and I had an unprecedented week and change of blue skies and sunny days. The weather was so beautiful, in fact that we didn’t end up stepping foot in a single museum because we kept saying, “maybe if it rains.” Initially our itinerary out us in Marseille for the final weekend, but due to the strikes, our train was cancelled and we spent the whole trip in Paris. As bummed as we were to miss my Friend Laure down south, our last night in Paris, coincidentally La Festival de la Musique ended up being unforgettable. We watch the sunset over Notre Dame with friends as an old college pal Devon, now living in Paris played tunes along the Seine. Check out her album here.
For most families Christmas (or sometimes Thanksgiving) is the Holiday most synonymous with family. For me the 4th of July has been the day I associate most with my big, Italian family. This year I headed from JFK to LAX to celebrate Independence Day with the Martino clan. I have almost 30 cousins on my Dad’s side so needless to say it’s a big get-together complete with swimming in my grandparents pool, tons of grub and a very competitive volleyball tournament. Being clumsy we are, my cousins Tiara, Alexie and I created our own mini-team “Duck, Swerve, Scream.” Yes, we have tee-shirts. This year in particular, I fell deeper in love with Southern California and after a particularly cold winter in NYC, the wheels in my head started turning. But, don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.
For me personally, this year was the year of the blog. My New Year’s Resolution from 2013 had been to expand and grow RachMartino.com and I’ve been so excited with the progress. I hired an incredible graphic designer, Kelly-Ann Mount of Spirit & Haven to redesign my website. The process was eye-opening and forced me to answer questions about myself and my brand. The result came to final fruition in July and I’m overjoyed with the way it looks, an expression of myself in a way I never would have expected years ago.
{See more about the process on Kelly-Ann’s site & my original Pinterest Inspiration board here.}
Another surreal moment came in August when I was featured on an episode of B.O.R.N. To Style on the FYI Network. I filmed the episode back in April, so it felt like forever to see the show live on T.V. My parents were so psyched and I’ve officially knocked ‘appear on television’ off my bucket list.
{See the full episode here.}
Another year, another year older. I still catch myself telling people I’m 22, or 23 sometimes even 21. But, alas on August 9th 2014, I turned 24 among great friends. Planning a birthday gathering in New York City can be tricky with friends spread across neighborhoods and boroughs across the city. Alex was a doll to cook for everyone at my place with a scrumptious taco bar. My best friend Michelle prepared the signature cocktail which was both delicious & dangerous field by Tequila. I set up a Photo Booth in my office and captured the moments as they unfolded.
{Blog post with more photos here.}
2014 was a year of love as my relationship with Alex continued to bloom and unfold. I had the chance to spend Labor Day weekend with his family upstate in Ithaca. I had spent a few hours with his mom and dad earlier when we visited his sister in Philadelphia, but this really felt like meeting the parents for real. Ithaca is a gorgeous city and I relished spending time with Alex’s family for a few days.
{More photos here.}
Here’s a confession – I really don’t love Fashion Week. I love fashion, yes, but NYFW doesn’t do much for me. I know it’s partially because I live here so it looses some of the destination allure. Also, I have to work so I don’t even get to attend most of the shows I’m lucky enough to be invited to. It is, however a great time to see my blogger pals and meet new ones, especially at the after-hours parties that are often more fun than the shows themselves.
Speaking of blogger friends, this year particularly I started to feel more at home in New York thanks to new friends filing my life with love. Pauline, who’s blog PaulineFashionBlog has been in inspiration for me over the year has become a lovely companion, not to mention a kick in the ass to my French vocabulary. I loved working with both Pauline and another new blogger Pal Christine of My Style Pill on the launch of this seasons collection of Mademoiselle Plumes from Comptoir des Cotonniers. Her adorable husband even shot our looks over by Central Park.
Another exciting first for me in 2014 was appearing in print! I’ve never been in a magazine so seeing my face in Lucky Magazine was an absolute thrill. I worked on an advertorial for Crest that appeared in the November & December issues.
As if one trip to Paris with my man wasn’t enough, I had the opportunity to go back to the City of Light in November to cover the unveiling of the Christmas lights at Printemps, presented this year by Burberry. It was a quick (and chilly) trip, but I enjoyed every minute of our long weekend in Paris filled with friends, cheese, and of course, wine.
For the past couple of years my mom, dad and I have spent Thanksgivings in Florida at my parents’ condo in Blue Mountain Beach. It’s always a relaxing time, filled with board games, great food and long walks on the beach. This year, it rained quite a bit which forced us to really slow down and appreciate the time together indoors. I read ‘Head in Bed’ a hilarious memoir by XX all revealing the dirty laundry behind the Hotel biz. I also totally splurged at the outlet malls especially J.Crew Factory & Kate Spade.
{Photo from Instagram, @rachmartino at Alys Beach}
For Christmas I headed home to spend time my family in Lexington, Kentucky. This year was extra special because Alex flew south with me to meet my parents for the first time the weekend before Christmas. We toured the Woodford Reserve Distillery, visited Downtown Lexington and hung out at my parents house playing Ping Pong and watching Holiday movies. Alex headed back to New York on Monday the 22nd and I spent the rest of the time seeing High School friends and chilling with my folks.
Happy New Year! I’ll admit that this photo isn’t from NYE this year. {See original blog post of this look here.} After flying home from Kentucky I had a (very painful) triple root canal on the 28th. I’ve been laying low at home with Ibuprofen and Penicillin while I recover. While it wasn’t the perfect end to 2014, it was all and all an amazing year and I can’t wait to see what 2015 brings. Thanks so much for making this past year incredible and I look forward to sharing what’s next here on the blog. {In case you’re interested: A Year in the Life 2012 & 2013.}