JessLizama App wahoo!

TECH: UPDATES ON MY MOBILE APP!

They say that nothing is life is free…..but my mobile app is!!! If you didn’t catch my last post on it, I’ve launched a mobile application where you interact with me and other members of our community. Available on the iPhone, iPad, Android devices, and tablet, you’re able to create your own account and start uploading photos, videos, GIFs, polls, and start hashtag stories!!!

Jess Lizama App
My app is one of the first places you’ll see my updates for everything and anything going on in my life, from new video releases, to life happenings, and I’m so excited to start podcasting and including all of your ideas and questions from the app into my series. I’ll also be reaching out to you on the app for ideas for my site as you’ll all be helping me curate content! Wahoo!

making friends

What I’ve loved most is seeing everyone add one another as friends, respond to each other’s posts and polls, and the sense of community you get when you upload a status update and get feedback from other people on the app. That most of all makes me most happy because interaction, not just with me, but with one another is community, and that’s what my goal for the app is. Inspire Encourage Empower. It all comes back to that.

Jess Lizama App

Under the “Discover” tab you’ll find people on the app, tags that are trending, you’ll be able to find new friends! Community tab holds all of the community update statuses, and and the Channel tab is where you’ll find all of my personal updates and contents that I post to the app.

If you haven’t downloaded the app yet please do, the link is HERE, all y0u have to do is set up a profile and start chatting with all of us! Make me a GIF, start a poll, upload a video, comment to other community members, or follow your favorite hashtag story! My next story will be under #VEGASBABY so look for that on the 16th when I hold my TWITTER PARTY!

Yup I’m having another Twitter Party, how it works is next Monday March 16th, at 6pm PST I’ll log onto TWITTER and chat with you guys for about 20-30 minutes, we’ll chat all things life, updates, happenings, the app, the new features, and giveaways! Just use the hashtag #JessMode each time you tweet me during the Twitter Party so I can see your responses and questions, and follow the hashtag to see the conversations!

I’ll be giving away (2) $50 Visa Gift cards so you can splurge on your favorite things and (2) surprise tech gifts! All you have to do to participate is use the hashtag (#JESSMODE) and join me next Monday – March 16th at 6pm PST for all the fun!
I love you and thank you for being a part of my app and our community!

 

Hugs!

– Jess xoxo

Griffith Park

HIKING ADVENTURES IN L.A.

Being a lover of the outdoors, Los Angeles is a dream come true to call home with its countless hiking trails, year round gorgeous weather, and hidden finds. I’ve lived in L.A. for 5 years now and I’ve chosen some of my favorite trails to feature in today’s adventure post!

Hiking trails in LA

My top 3 hiking trails would be Griffith Park, Runyon Canyon, and Malibu Creek State Park!

Griffith Park is the easiest trail for us to get to since traffic going there isn’t terrible, and the views are just breathtaking! All of the photos in this post were taken from different areas along the many trails that Griffith Park has.

Griffith Park Trails

This is actually the very first hike Joe ever took me on when we first started dating, and it will forever be special to me, but beyond the great memories, just look at these views! I love that you can take one trail one day and another trail the next, and you feel like you’re on a completely different side of town all together. The trails vary so much in difficulty level and view vantage points. If you’re looking for a nice long leisurely hike with mild incline changes, check out some of the trails at Griffith Park. You could hike a full trail in about 2-3 hours.

Probably the most famous hiking trail in L.A. is Runyon Canyon, with its ‘stairs to Heaven’ and long hike UP to one of it’s parking entrances. It’s also famous for spotting famous people apparently. I personally have yet to run into Angelina and Brad, as I huff and puff up the long straightaway that is the ‘incline death’ Runyon has to offer. They say that if you pay attention you’ll see some of your big screen idols present on the hike with you! What’s also present is the smell of dog poop. Yup, poops! I love my lil four legged babies, but whew can it get smelly at times! None the less, foul scent and all, Runyon Canyon offers a great glute workout, views of the city that are incomparable, and good ol’ fashioned nostalgia. You could hike all of Runyon in about an hour if you hustle it!

Griffith Park views

If you dig rock climbing, waterfall scavenger hunts, and geo caching, then you’ll LOOOOVE Malibu Creek State Park. I love the far away feeling and ‘woodsy’ atmosphere that this hike offers. It’s full of fragrant trees, boulders, paths of leaves, and waterfalls! Be careful if you decide to take a leap off of one of the boulders to jump into the cool waters below, many parts of the pools of water are in fact VERY shallow. But there are pools of water to swim in, cool your feet off in, and let your puppy swim in! Malibu Creek State Park is probably one of my most favorite places to hike because it feels like you’re not in the city any more and mid-hike picnics are always a good idea! You could hike to water and back to the parking lot in about 2-3 hours.

Runyon Canyon

Ruynon views wow!

These are just to name a few trails I’ve grown fond of, there are so many other places to explore and hike:

  • San Gabriel mountains
  • Pasadena
  • Topanga State Park
  • San Vicente Mountain
  • Angeles National Forest

The list goes on and on! I love Los Angeles and I’m so happy to call it home, if you’re a local you know the feeling, and if you get a chance to visit, enjoy one of these hikes that offer up the most spectacular views of the city!

Let me know what some of your favorite trails are to play on and I hope your have the most adventurous weekend!

xoxo- Jess

lighting set up

TECH: LIGHTING AND VIDEO

As a video creator, a lot of my videos are done with me sitting in front of my window in my bedroom while I talk to my camera….by myself ha! And on typical merry-weather LA days, no additional lighting is required since my camera picks up a ton of light, and natural lighting is awesome! But for days when it’s gloomy out, the light changes, or a bird flies by, I have to bring in the big guns so today I wanted to share with you my go-to lighting set up!

Below are two photos taken (untouched), one with no fill light, using only my Ring Light. The second photo features the ring light that I use in front (as in photo 1), but also features the additional fill light you see behind me.

photolightoff
No fill light used above, just my circle light was used. If you’re happy with this kind of look than you’ll be fine just using the circle light.

lightinglightON
Here in this second photo, you can see the fill light behind me, from my Flo Light and what a difference it makes. The ‘fill’ light brightens up the space behind me, gives me a nice shoulder glow from the additional light, brightens up my hair, and evens out the light overall on my face. It even appears that it’s made my face look slimmer with the even lighting all around me.

Below are the lights and the placement of them to achieve this kind of look:

My circle light is placed pretty close to my face while I film, I can reach out and adjust the brightness it’s that close. I love that it has an adjustment dial so that you can control how much light you want. It also has a place to attach your camera directly to the body of the circle light for the convenience of sticking to one rig.

The light that you see on the left side of the photo is my flo light. It is placed behind me, and just off to the side so that it spills light into the room and covers the space behind me. This light allows not only the space behind me to be brightened up, but again – gives me that hair light and shoulder pop, and really does add to the even tone of the overall lighting set up. I love that you can adjust the height with this light, and how much light you want with the flaps on the flo light. From a dim look to a bright look, this light has you covered.

light setup
I’ve linked you to the set up that I have, I use a tripod instead of the attachment that the circle light comes with just because I love having stability beneath my rig. And below is just me being silly with the lighting, right before I started filming…beacause you can’t take selfies too seriously!

Screen shot 2015-03-03 at 8.47.05 PM
I hope this post was helpful for those of you asking about my lighting equipment and what kind of set up I have. For an even easier set up, if you’re looking for something more user-friendly when it comes to working with lighting systems and being new to it all, here is the first Soft Box Lighting Kit system that I used when I started doing video for YouTube. It’s super easy to set up and figure out!

Let me know in the comments what lighting set up you have, or if you have nay other questions, or if you use something different – I love trying out new set ups, playing with techy things, and giving my reviews of them, so share away!

 

Hugs,

 

Jess xoxo

Snookie's Cookies

BEST DESSERT ON THE NORTHSIDE – LOS ANGELES

It’s up for debate what the best pizza spots are, where your favorite burger joint is . . . to list in categories all of your ‘favorites’ when it comes to the city you live in. In today’s post I’m giving you my favorite dessert on the northside. Are you sweet or savory? Do you grab or ice cream or chocolate chip cookies? Personally, I grab for sweet, warm, baked, homemade cookies!

best cookies ever
If you love chocolate chip cookies the way mom used to make them AND nostalgia, you’ll love Snookie’s Cookies! Serving up warm homemade cookies for over 30 years, Snookie’s is charming and delicious!Snookie's Cookies
When you go in, ask for Denise, she is the warmest and most inviting person you’ll ever meet! She knows everything about this city and we bonded immediately over our love for macadamia nut cookies! I had one of each to be exact and the peanut butter, macadamia nut, and snickerdoodles continue to be my favorites.

Dessert Menu
Snookie’s is best known for their famous giant hot air balloon baskets, where you can mix and match your favorite sweets, from cookies to cupcakes, and they now carry the New Orleans Sno-Ball! This island girl opted for ‘Tiger’s Blood’, a strawberry coconut flavor and it did not disappoint!

Tiger's Blood
Whether you’re craving a fresh homemade style of treat, or a refreshing sno-ball to cool down your day, check out Snookie’s in Glendale, and give Denise a hug from me!

Love Snookies!

Leave me a sweet comment and tell me what your favorite dessert spot is so I can go try them out! I love desserts, I’m a ‘dessert before meals’ kinda girl 😉

Have a beautiful week sweets!

xoxo- Jess

Jlo at the Oscars

GET THE LOOK: JLO AT THE OSCAR’S!

Award show season and New York Fashion Week are the two biggest fashion and beauty inspirations for me and I have to say, at the Oscar’s this year I had SOOO many favorites! Beyonce and JLo topped my list per the usual, so I thought I’d give you a step by step on my take on JLo’s look! So below is my tutorial and listed beneath the photo set is the method and the products I used. It’s fun to play in makeup and I hope you put your own spin on this look and TAG me! <3

makeupOne
1. Prep your skin and then blend out your favorite foundation, shown here is my favorite Chanel Vitalumiere. Then using L.A. Girl’s Concealer draw fun tribal-esque lines under your eyes, between your brows, down the bridge of your nose, and under your chin (to conceal & highlight)
2. After blending that out, fill in any sparse areas in your brows, I’m using Anastacia’s blonde duo kit in dark brown with a firm slanted brush
3. Using Anastacia’s contour kit in light/medium, take a slanted contour brush and contour your face (think a backwards ‘3’ from your temple to your chin, and contour your nose too)
4. Load up a medium flat brush with the color Sonic from the Urban Decay Vice 3  palette and press the color in from lash line to crease creating a wash of this burgundy-pinky color
makeupTwo

5. Take a fluffly crease brush, load it up with the color Alchemy from the same UD palette and brush that color into your crease, sweeping it out slightly for a baby cat eye effect
6. Line your upper lash line with your favorite black pencil and smudge it out a bit with a smudge pencil brush to again enhance that baby winged look
7. Take a slanted brush, dip it into that same Alchemy color and trace just along your lower lash line (since JLo didn’t use any liner on her water line, this enhanced her eyes without making them smaller, woot!)
8. Load up a fluffy blush brush with this beautiful and bright Stila blush and sweep them across the apples of your cheeks

makeupThree

9. Go back into that Anastasia Contour Kit and use the Fawn color to highlight your temples and bridge of nose and then use the Banana color to set the concealer under your eyes – it’s the perfect setting powder
10. Line your lips with this awesome buildable lip liner from Clinique which best matched my Patone Universe Marsala layering in Dusty Cedar
11. Take a pinky-nude gloss like the one I’m using here from Tom Ford in Tawny Pink and layer it over your liner and walaaa!

jessdone1

You are a glowy pinky-rose bombshell!!! I loved this look so much! I tied my hair back in a sleek ponytail and topped off the look with a pair of signature JLo hoop earrings and ta-daaaa! I’m totally channeling her in my final pose haha. I had a lot of fun interpretting this look and I’ll be doing it again later this week with a look from Beyonce that I’m obsessed with!
the queen!Jlo at the Oscars

Video coming soon on this look over on my beauty channel and leave it in the comments below what your favorite looks from the Oscar’s were!

x’s and o’s- Jess

Success!

What My Brand Says About Me

As online personalities, we are often asked to define what our brands represent and to describe what we do in a singular sentence. In a singular sentence, I’m a lot of things. I’m an adrenaline junkie, a foodie, a mom, a puppy lover – a lot of things. I can best describe my brand as I describe what it is that I hope to give people in the community of ‘Team Jess’, to – Inspire. Encourage. Empower.

I find inspiration in the places I visit, encouragement in my friends, and empowerment in the stories I write. It’s really refreshing when I can go places and cover stories, when I can team up with brands, and when I can get an insider look at all the things that really interest me, to then write about and share with all of you. I’ve been sharing a lot this week on the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am event that was held last week in Pebble Beach and the Foursome who shared their Fan’s Eye View of the tournament this year.

As I introduced the Foursome to you last week, I told you how I relate to each of them; being that I’m a mother of a 17 year old, an Army brat who’s moved every 3 years, and someone who also quit corporate America to pursue the dream of being creative full time. Learning about each of their stories individually helped me understand what about golf each of them loved so much. Last week I got to chat with them and these are their responses that really stuck with me.

I asked Dan what the one thing was that he’ll take away with him from this experience. He told me that the opportunity better helped him understand where he needs to be in order to reach his goal saying, “I can see that picture and I can imagine it and then I can go home and visualize it …. I know now what I need to do and where I need to be … turn the small goals into the big goal”.  As a visualizer myself, I was silently ‘wahoo-ing’ everything he was saying while taking notes.

I’d asked Tiffany the same question and if she had any advice for someone like me, who was interested in the sport but perhaps a bit intimidated by it, and for someone wanting to give up. She said, “It’s kind of like life, every day is not a great day. It’s not. And you just move on…. like anything else it takes patience, focus, commitment, you’ll be rewarded for those 3 things”. Again I was silently standing up giving her a slow clap because it couldn’t have been said any better. Patience. Focus. Commitment. Check! Check! Check!

Katie, the youngest in the group, was so poised and well spoken that you knew by talking with her that she held her own on the golf course and in life. She was also motivated by this special fan’s eye view of the event, having answered my question about what her new goals for the year were, saying, “My goal is to become a professional … this experience has motivated me go out there, give it my best and practice, and work my hardest to get to where I need to be in the future”. She’s a smart young lady and I’m so excited to see where the next 5 years takes her.

Before I let the Foursome get back to their activities, I spoke to Tim whose story really hit home for me since my dad was in the military for 23 years and I knew exactly where he was coming from. I asked Tim what about golf made the rehabilitation process for him something to look forward to, what about it changed him. He responded, “I’m the type of guy that if I do something I’m gonna do it and I’m gonna do it all out….to prove that I’m not broken. I might be scarred … I might look different and walk different, and have to live different, but I’m still me and I’m still able to do anything I wish to”.

I didn’t know what to say after that, I was pretty speechless, there were some pretty powerful statements made from these four and I’m so glad I got a chance to chat with them and get an insider view of their insider experience.

I’m inspired by each of their incredible stories, and I find it fascinating that I can relate to each of them as their brands sound a lot like mine! They each inspire, encourage, and empower and it’s wonderful to see that in this recap video reel of their “Fan’s Eye View” campaign and their week at the event here:

You can catch up on all of their behind-the-scenes photos and videos by following them on Twitter: @blackgirlsgolf @kthorsford @timlanggolf @thedanplan. Follow along in their journeys with me!

I hope you’ve had an amazing week and I can’t wait to catch you up on what happened this week!

Hugs,

Jess

ATT_PB 30 YRS-Full Logo

This post is in partnership with AT&T, celebrating 30 years of the #ATTPROAM.

 

 

 

love these girls

How To Throw The Best Bachelorette Party For Your Best Girls!

It’s wedding season! For the type A/planner in me, I couldn’t have been more excited about gift giving and surprise planning than I was for this bachelorette party! My girl Linz is getting married in 3 weeks and I’m the maid of honor!!! This past weekend we celebrated her with a fun filled weekend in Vegas with the best group of girls you’ve ever seen, and I wanted to share with you all the fun things I did that you can use for your next Bachelorette/birthday/celebration! Also I suck at surprises and it was SO hard for me not to send the girls photos of everything I was doing.

giftbags
So I had these ‘Who Doesn’t Want That‘ totes especially made for Linz’s bach party  with the date, because it’s the best party favor … cute and functional! Yes it was over Valentine’s day weekend and we had THE best ever Galentine’s day I could even have imagined #girlpower

bachbags
So in the bags I put together a lil ‘survival kit’ for the weekend complete with a hangover kit:

  • smart water because dumb decisions
  • a ‘cheers bitches’ tank since this was our theme for the weekend
  • Reese’s candy, Linz’s favorite
  • Kind bars because we were meanies to our livers
  • a ‘no ugly crying’ hankie filled with my favorite products to ensure no faces fell off
  • Moscato wine because never enough
  • a pack of polaroids for the polaroid camera I brought because polaroids are lyyyfe
  • le mieux eye masks (didn’t fit in the photo)- best evaaar for dark circles & puffiness!
  • handmade tiaras that I made…with my hands thus they later fell a part!
  • and “I regret nothing” survival/hangover kits!survivalkitsIn these kits I put all my go-to items that you just NEED the morning after any kind of partying because survival mode:
  • my FAVORITE part of the gift bags: temporary tattoos that read “I belong to Linz’s bachelorette party. If I’m lost please buy me a drink!” (I mean….genius Etsy just genius)
  • ginger tea (aids in belly aches and nausea)
  • raspberry Emergen-C (tastes delicious and you need all the vitamins you can get)
  • nausea chews (these really do work!)
  • alka seltzer
  • kissy bandaids for any booboos (kissing a booboo makes everything better)
  • “To have and to hold….your hair back” hair ties with Linz bach note on it (cutest ever)
  • altoids
  • advil
  • glow in the dark rings so I could find my girls in dark clubs! We were likePower Rangers!

hankies

The ‘no ugly crying’ hankies folded into the perfect envelopes to hold some of my favorite ‘don’t let my face fall off’ products. Weddings will make you cry so I didn’t want anyone’s beautiful face to melt off:

  • Inglot blotting tissues (my favorite brand)
  • Blinc mascara that turns any mascara into a waterproof/ cry proof/ smudge proof magic-ness
  • my favorite lip liner that can double as blush and is perfect to layer or wear alone
  • Skindinavia’s setting spray (hands down the best) it’s time released and temperature controlled so when you start to sweat it kicks in high gear, hello dancing! (oh technology)

tiaras
These were the ‘cheers bitches’ tiaras I made….after about 3 attempts, 2 trips to Michaels, a return to Marth-freaking-Stuart, and gluing 2 of my fingers together…. here they are! Post on the how to’s coming soon! I did so much DIY for this party that you’d all be so proud of me…because DIY is not my friend!

linztiara
Linz’s bag had a few extra special items that I threw in there since it’s her big day I wanted even her martini cup to be wearing a veil! I got this tank from Etsy, and the tiara and matching cup veil cup came from Party City.

linzbag
I think what makes a person a good friend is different from person to person, and what makes Linz a great friend to me, consists of too many words that deserve their own post. So I wanted her to feel just as loved, so in her bag also went her favorite Lollia Wish body wash and lotion, a bridal emergency kit, a quirky drink sleeve (because truth), and the something ‘blue’ I got her was this garter I had made for her that matches the same blue as Tiffany’s, and has Swarovski crystals surrounding the center bow. I fell in love with it when I saw it and I wanted her to have one to keep since one goes to a lucky bachelor! Every girl deserves a Tiffany blue something!

Some things I couldn’t make and bring with was the traditional penis cake….what an awkward conversation to have to the hotel concierge about baking such a cake and delivering it to the room! But it was so fun and their cake was delicious! I brought along with me the penis straws, cups, shot glasses, and all things penis I could find on the internet and it made for an amazing time!

Do it big ladies! Go ALL out and laugh until you’re swimming on a flooded bathroom suite floor with girls you absolutely adore, while having a communal bath and rubbing one another’s feet! haha yup that all happened! I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better more beautiful and supportive group of girls to be around than Bailey, Linz, Ashlee, and Meghan who I spent an incredible weekend with (Dani you were missed girl!!!)! I got so much closer to them and I’ve known them for years! There was no drama, it was all love, all laughs, and all dancing! Top night ladies!!! #buttsout

polaroids

Hope you all have a wonderful rest of your week and party til ya need an IV in the mornin 😉 We did that too!

 

xoxo- Jess

 

Jess Golfs!

SPORTS AND FASHION!

I always find a way to incorporate my sense of style into everything I do…..including sports! Today I share with you this week’s goals and all of the week’s happenings…while wearing colorful kicks! I’ve been following the #ATTProAm which is being held just a hop and a skip away from where I am in L.A., and some incredible things have happened this week!

Let’s catch you up – I’ve been following the Foursome: Tim, Katie, Tiffany, and Dan who are receiving the VIP treatment for a Fan’s Eye View at this year’s #ATTProAm. You can follow them via twitter @TimLangGolf, @KtHorsford, @BlackGirlsGolf and @TheDanPlan.

Dan McLaughlin-2

This week I got to ask them each a few questions that I’m so excited to share with you! Some things they participated in this past week so far, besides an up close and personal experience during the event, they had the opportunity to meet with Veterans at the VTC Monterey and helped deliver food. They got to interact with kids at the Boys & Girls Club and be inspired by those they inspire, and they got to tee off on one of the most beautiful courses I’ve ever seen!

I’ve been so motivated by their stories and found that I relate to each of them in a different way but in a way that reminds me that we are all so similar in life’s struggles and in life goals. So I decided to set some fun goals for myself this week!

Look I'm golfing!

My goal was to play the course in as few strokes as possible…which for me is usually an embarrassing 4+ strokes per hole. Starting off with a reasonable yet attainable goal for myself….that is key. So I took my skills out onto the golf course….yes that is a Putt Putt course. You have to start somewhere right, and for me it was just fun to focus on the basics of form and swing.

Hole in 1!
Golfing during the day with no one around, I was really able to experience how a sport like golf- when appreciated, can be so calming as it requires great focus and attention. It’s easy to find the appeal in it even if I’m not so great at it. I think people love it for that challenge and the competitiveness of it when playing against someone or in a competition. It takes strategy but it’s also fun. It doesn’t hurt that the sport is played outside, on a beautiful field, where you can also enjoy being surrounded by nature…I especially love that part of it. Here is my ‘happy nature’ smile.

Success!

Please be sure to check out the bios on each of the Foursome and see what about the sport they love so much!

Tim Lang:

Tiffany Fitzgerald:

Katie Horsford:

Dan McLaughlin:

 

Be sure to follow them for their event wrap ups! I’m looking forward to seeing what their favorite moments were! See you next week with more on next week’s goals!

xo – Jess

 

ATT_PB 30 YRS-Full Logo

This post is in partnership with AT&T, celebrating 30 years of the #ATTPROAM.

Exploring Pasadena

800 Degree Pizza And Posing…Lots Of Posing

Sometimes you don’t have to travel far to explore new sights, sometimes they’re just a hop and a skip away. This hop and skip was a quick 20 minute drive East, to Old Pasadena. The main street is full of shops, restaurants, and art galleries. It was the perfect change of scenery to round out the weekend!

800 Degree Pizza

First stop after walking around for a bit was 800 Degrees – offering up Neapolitan style hand tossed pizzas, drizzled in extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkled with imported Italian tomatoes. Perfect if you’re looking for a sit down pizzeria that features gourmet ingredients. Oh and it was sooo delicious! Crispy, cheesy, and their truffle pizza with mushrooms and arugula on top (featured above) is on my top 10 list of best pizzas ever!

Root Beer!
Of course Corrine got her favorite Root Beer, old fashioned and bubbly!

Yummy Letti Macarons
After lunch we walked around a bit, walking off the pizza and root beer, and found room for dessert of course! Lette’s Macarons drew us in with it’s sweet aroma of the classic almond treat. We got an assorted hand picked box and couldn’t have been more happy with the flavors! Chewy and just the right amount of sweet and savory. Of course we took a ton of pictures along the way….posing, always posing!

Artsy us

If you’re looking for a quick change of pace and are in the L.A. area, take a trip out to Old Pasadena, so many hidden treasures, shops, and old fashioned eateries. If you’re coming to L.A. I’d say make this one of the places you see before you leave!

I hope your weekend was awesome, let me know what kind of adventures you went on!

xo- Jess and Corrine