Sticking with Beacon Hill as my neighborhood highlight for a few reasons; it’s my own neighborhood, there are several qualities and local businesses to mention, and the last shop I highlighted is no longer in BH, so sad!

Next up is Paridaez, the most versatile clothing for life’s everyday experiences.  Their mission statement is this:

“You should feel empowered rather than limited by the clothes you wear – That’s why each piece changes into completely different articles of clothing.  Our collection provides you with looks suitable for travel, work, workout and night out, so that you don’t miss out on experiences.”

My personal favorite piece is the jogger, I have them in three colors!  They have literally saved me from wearing leggings every single day throughout the winter (otherwise, leggings + oversized sweaters all day, every day it is).  What I love about the style of Paridaez pieces is that they are minimalistic, clean and sleek.  You really can dress them up or down.  Wear them all together for a mono-chromatic statement look, or mix them with other pieces in your wardrobe.  About the design, straight from the makers:

“We apply minimalistic and utilitarian principles with clean architectural lines. We value classics over trendy, short-lived styles.  We don’t follow a typical fashion calendar and create new pieces that compliment our already existing collection.  We cross fashion merchandising categories and take a systematic approach.  Each piece that is added to the collection greatly increases outfit variants.  Our fabric is a unique premium blend that’s breathable, comfortable and seasonless.  We care about sustainability and ethical production: everything is ethically produced in the USA.  We also hold patents for some of our innovative pieces.”

Paridaez adds more than their quality clothing items to the community here in Beacon Hill, they also host many events in their space.  I met Allison Daroie, owner of Paridaez + pictured above, one day simply by stopping into the shop out of curiosity.  Once I tried on (and bought) a few pieces and chatted with Alison a bit, I realized we had a whole lot in common.  Good news for me, Allison holds events right down the street from me with other like-women (and men, men are totally invited, too) on a monthly, if not weekly, basis!  I began attending these events and realized what an amazing community of creative, social, accomplished yet still curious people Alison was building.  I’ve since met several new friends through this network, and I am proud of what Alison has accomplished, clothing and community.

“We curate one-of-a-kind highly experiential lifestyle events based around fashion, beauty, wellness, fitness, education, art, music & female empowerment.  We know you care about experiences, so we make clothes that help you get there, wherever there may be”

Visit Paridaez to shop or attend an event at 127 Charles Street, Boston, MA.  Follow them on instagram for more information and updates.

What better neighborhood to kick off my monthly neighborhood highlight segment other than my blog namesake and current home; Beacon Hill!  There are many reasons to love this quaint area of Boston, from the picturesque cobble stone alleyways adorned with flower boxes and American flags, to the central nature of the neighborhood, which is walkable to almost any other section of Boston, including Cambridge and Charlestown.  What’s most special about this neighborhood, aside from the history and architecture, is the people, the community, and the businesses that reside here.

Each month in my neighborhood highlight I will dive into the success of a particular business in various neighborhoods.  This month is one of Beacon Hill’s newest and most chic additions, Salon.

“Salon on Charles is part showroom, part gallery, and part incubator for innovative studio-created works in furniture, lighting rugs, wallpaper and textiles.  The Salon collection is distinguished by its creative content and strong curatorial focus. Pieces have been sourced from around the world with a focus on innovative design and craftsmanship.”

Salon hit the scene in BH just under 2 years ago and continues to thrive.  What makes this space extra special is the inviting coffee shop inside where people are welcome to come and lounge in this gorgeous space surrounded by creativity and positivity.  Whether you are purchasing merchandise or not, the welcoming staff and locals who pop in to say hello make you feel right at home no matter if you are there to shop, browse, grab a coffee, work on your computer or all of the above!

  

Aesthetically, this space is clearly set apart from the other businesses on touristy Charles Street.  While I love vintage and antiques, I think this modern wonder is exactly what this old neighborhood needs.  The show room is a revolving door for emerging and incredibly talented artists, hand selected by the owner of Salon to showcase their pieces in the gallery right next door to the coffee shop.

 

  

The selection of pieces are exquisite, refined, and different.  If you are a resident of Beacon Hill and want to add a modern and eclectic edge to your traditional brownstone, Salon has accent pieces that will surely add something unique to your interiors.

Salon is located at 126 Charles Street in Boston, MA.

Finding the right career.  Well, this hasn’t always been my strong suit in the sense that I’m not that person who knew exactly what I wanted to do and stayed on the straight and narrow career path through and through.  But I will say, I always follow my intuition.  Has this led me to a long tenure in any which industry?  Certainly not.  However, it has given me experience in a lot of different areas, which I find to be incredibly valuable.

The evolution of the driver behind each career decision I made began with pure passion and excitement, when I graduated college and moved to NYC to pursue a career in acting (not my major).  NYC has always been like a second home to me.  After college, it was all consuming, I just HAD to live there!  I don’t regret it for a second.  I had experiences most people only dream of.  However, actually “making it” as an actor takes a lot of money (and talent, sometimes).  I definitely didn’t have the money, I worked constantly in restaurants and bars just to get by and enjoy the city.  Whether I had the talent is ever to be determined, as I only ever got as far as mostly being a “featured extra”  in popular tv shows and films.  To get an audition, you needed an agent or manager.  To get an agent or manager, you needed a reel.  How do you create a reel without having an agent or manager to get you actual roles to put on said reel?  At the very least, you’ll need headshots.  Take classes.  Come to find out, ALL of these things are quite expensive.  Long story short, it became more of a rat race than I was willing to continue after 5 years.

My driver went from passion and excitement to stability and money, and I wound up working in a Hedge Fund (also, not my major).

Hedge Fund + Money + Corporate life = Work hard, play hard, security and stability.  I could get used to this!  And I did.  From NYC Hedge Fund to Boston Liquid Alts Firm, I was motivated and made my way to Director of Marketing in an industry I originally knew nothing about (still questionable).  After almost 5 years, I realized this was all well and good, I’m making good money, learning a ton, but mentally and emotionally I was not happy or fulfilled.  It was time for another change.

This time, I needed to make sure it was something that I could see myself doing for the long haul, that I would not tire of easily, or get beaten down by.  I realized my happiness was more important than a pay check.  Of course, a paycheck is still quite important.  But, not at the actual expense of happiness.

Current driver = Happiness. What are my current passions?  What do I find interesting?  I love furniture, interior design and decor, thrifting, all home related things, I could spend an entire day searching apartments and houses online…

Real Estate.

My mother is a broker, my father is an architect, my uncles and cousins are mostly real estate attorneys and developers.  It felt so natural, and how did it take me THIS long to realize it?!  Not important… I realized it.  I believe timing is everything, and it all happened exactly when it was supposed to.

Now, I am happily part of a great team at Compass, The Caulfield Properties Team, as a Real Estate Agent, working with buyers and sellers, including developers.  I also handle marketing initiatives for the team (my actual major in college).  My role is dynamic, creative, I meet countless new people every day, I am learning an entirely new industry at an incredibly fast rate, and I am interested in the things I am learning!  I get to have a hand in things like staging multi-million dollar units and posting on our team social pages.  I get to help people find their dream home.  Fun!  Now I am on the right track, and it feels so good.

Why am I writing about this?  I know I am not the only one with this struggle in life.  Sometimes hearing someone else’s story can be an inspiration.  I know I have been inspired by plenty of bloggers, even if it’s just in a short instagram post, to either change my career, perspective on life, or make time for side passions.  Entering the real estate industry earlier this year has been all consuming, but in that time I did start a vintage furniture business with my Mom, which we plan to grow.  I missed blogging, so here I am, picking that back up.

If sharing my journey up to this point is motivating for even one person, then I’ll be happy.  I hope the take away is that things will work out as long as you keep moving forward, stay motivated, and don’t lose sight of what makes you happy and feel alive.  If you want something, make it happen for yourself.  It’s not easy, I’ve been stuck in more than one rut, I’m still a work in progress and know I always will be.  But knowing that, enjoying the journey, and learning along the way while making the right changes is key.

If you made it all the way to the end of this, thank you for reading 🙂  Feel free to leave a comment or send me a message with feedback!