Problem: No activity tracker will ever match this outfit, but I need to monitor my personal daily data patterns! 

Bella's Leaf amongst the leaves turned out to be quite a camo choice for functional jewlery

Pros:

• Great marketing! 

Yes this is a pro, without it I wouldn't have known there was a Fitbit® alternative out here. I was practically ads-bombed on Facebook but TBH didn't really mind it.

• It doesn't look that bad ... 

So the current wearables market is littered with devices that are so hideous and huge, bloated with useless features, that its exciting when something new comes out.

• Key differentiator stands out

For Bellabeat, the key differentiator was that it tracked activity, sleep, STRESS, and ..  women's periods. In other words, they did not attempt a 'This will fit everyone' model,  and my hopes began to soar. Stress tracking seemed especially useful. That being said, this brings me to the cons.

Cons:

After further use, I found heartbreak after finding out there was no real key differentiator. The stress is just assumed after it sees how much sleep you got and fitness was snuck into your day. (Also if you tapped the button to tell it you'd started your period. A very unfortunate way to track... completely manual.)

• Bulky! 

First - it is nowhere as delicate as an actual leaf. Heavy, bulky, it kept getting caught on things - and as much as I wanted to wear it to bed to test- I couldn't comfortably sleep with it on..

So back in January, I thought that I'd met and fell in love with the world's perfect pair of headphones. Parrot Zik by Philippe Starck promised to have the best sound quality, technology, and a phenomenal accompanying app. (Previous post here) However, after wearing everyday for just half a year, my beautiful headphones began a speedy decay, until eventually, there was nothing left but a slight ringing when I turned on any audio.

Visual of what happened to my gorgeous headphones after only a short period of time:

Look fine from the outside...

Parrot Zik 2.0 after only months of use.

So now it is time to find my next pair of headphones. My only requirements are the following (in this order):

1. Bluetooth connectivity is a must - this is especially important for listening to audio books as I clean the house. My only entertainment during this inevitable task, I can't have a cord getting in the way of my dusting or a phone falling out of my pocket while vacuuming under the couch.
2. Good sound quality - it doesn't have to be club-level ready, but I appreciate  good sound when my favorite songs come on and I definitely don't want to have to subject my hearing to damage from needing to turn the volume up on high.
3. Comfort with Aesthetic appeal - ok so they have to be a little cute (I am a product designer) and comfortable enough to wear over glasses, while running, and during an 8-hour workday.

The runners-up.

After only two weeks, I was surprised to find the winner was Harman Kardon Soho Wireless! All I can say about the others, is bulky..heavy..and just far too big. While the sound quality of all was fairly decent, the Harman Kardon's came through with flying colors whether connected via bluetooth (great noise-cancellation for the size, very surprising) or connected via the cord for long airplane rides.

Finally, these were the only pair of headphones that made it to Milan with me. Pictured below, you can see how the size fits my face perfectly, and the white adds a nice feminine touch.


Now, before you go out and buy these, I'm going to continue to test for a few months to see if any quality issues arise.

On a recent trip touring parts of France and Switzerland, I came across the most wonderful place. The beautiful and completely unassuming village of Gruyères. This 400 year old city is mostly known for it's delicious cheese, but is also the birthplace of Swiss Science Fiction artist and designer, H.R. Giger. You have probably seen his work if you have every watched one of the most epic films of all-time, Alien. (If not, please go rent or stream it immediately.)

Gruyères was basically like opening the first page of a fairytale. This is a peek at the castle, Château de Gruyères.

The entire village.

First entrance to the museum sits at the far edge of town

Even though the place itself felt very much like a fairytale with a happy ending, walking into the entrance of the Giger legacy turned the scene quickly from fairytale into an exciting nightmare.

It's unfortunate that I could not include photos of the museum itself as they are not allowed and I wanted to respect that rule, however the Giger Bar allows anyone a glimpse at the style and intricacies of the interior. Enjoying a quick cappuccino here felt like I was in an Alien ship about to take off into outer-space.

Safety Tip: do not wear high heels while hovering

The first time I saw a hoverboard, I was thinking to myself that it looked so silly and I couldn't imagine why people would ride them. That being said, my initial plan to write a post making fun of hoverboards completely changed after riding one around for a day.



Why did I find hoverboarding helpful and fun you ask? For me, it's simply not practical to take a car to something that is just a few miles away. So while walking would take too long, and since a dress like this one is a bit too snug for a bike or a skateboard, the hoverboard was a perfect solution to an immediate requirement.

It was also really fun! For a moment, I forgot I was on a hoverboard and it felt a bit like floating or flying. This is a little terrifying for 2 reasons. 1: sometimes, to fly is to fall. 2: have you ever seen the movie "WALL·E"? I'm curious if we might forget how to walk one day. ;)

...

So yes, try it immediately and know that it does take some practice and some getting used to, so for you, I've outlined how to ride one here in a quick tutorial:

Step 1: 

Get situated.

Step 2: 

Step on quickly! No fear.

Step 3: 

Don't look at the ground, look ahead at where you want to be.

So thats it! Easy as pie. Now stand up, relax, and always be punctual for those expecting you to show up on time.

XO -Julia



Thanks for reading! All photos taken by photographer and engineer Giuseppe Ottaviano.
Find my live updates on Instagram and Twitter. These opinions are all my own.