Allow Me to Re-Introduce Myself

Hi there, welcome back to Stylish and Starving at Twenty-Something! My name is Chloe Sekhran and I am your resident twenty-something blogger. I started this blog the day I turned 20, and I figured now that I am 24, I should provide a life update; a lot happens in four years!

When I first introduced myself, I was attending the University of Iowa, pursing degrees in Marketing and Dance. Well, now I can say that I am a proud alumna of the University of Iowa and have both a BBA and BA!

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Let me create a quick list of some of my most recent life changes and then we can dive into them a little more:

• Got a new puppy
• Graduated from the University of Iowa
• Started a new career and traveled the country
• Experienced Nashville, Tennessee
• Moved back to Minnesota
• Currently: wearing a mask because we’re in the middle of a pandemic

We’ll start with a quick puppy update. My family got another Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in 2017, named Luna. She is the sweetest little munchkin and easily one of the most outgoing dogs I have ever met. Except she hates getting her picture taken so please enjoy this photo of her as a puppy.

We already covered the college graduation part, but that was back in 2018. So it’s been a hot minute.

For the past two years (2018-2020) I worked for my sorority’s headquarters (Alpha Chi Omega) as a chapter consultant. In this role, I had the opportunity to travel across the country and visit 28 college campuses. Oh, and I mastered the art of living out of three suitcases (see below). This truly was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me and was the best post-grad job I could have asked for. I also met some of my best friends! Over the course of these two years, I got to travel to all of these states: Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. This role is still hard for me to summarize sometimes, as it was so multi-faceted. But among others things, I focused on leadership development, creating strategic marketing plans, conflict resolution, risk management and harm reduction and assisting chapters during the planning process for formal recruitment, as well as during recruitment. Being a sorority woman is something that has shaped my life unlike anything else, and I am so thankful for every opportunity it has given me.

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In my summarized list, I mentioned that I experienced Nashville, aka my second favorite place on earth (Minnesota comes in first, obviously), for the first time. With the rooftops, live country music and fun neighborhoods, I seriously could not love that city more if I tried. But if I had to recommend one thing and one thing only to do, it would be to go on a party wagon with Off The Wagon Tractor Tours. Trust me, it will be the best two hours and is an excellent way to see different areas of Nashville!

I am now back in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and am writing this post in the midst of COVID-19. As we all know, this has certainly turned many of our lives upside down. But it has allowed me to pick up some new hobbies, including: baking sourdough bread (duh!), reading, running and going for 5+ mile walks with friends. Oh, and Hamilton just came out on Disney+ so watching that a million and two times.

Also a quick PSA: wear a dang mask, wash your hands and for the love of God, stop going to bars. Rant over.

As far as what comes next? I am currently in the job search process for roles in buying/planning/merchandising or marketing. I am super excited to see what life has in store for me next and am ready to start a new chapter of my twenties!

Thank you for reading my little life update, I am hoping to have more fashion, food and fun content for y’all soon! Until next time, stay safe and healthy and again, WEAR A MASK!

XOXO, Chloe

Stylish and Starving at Twenty-Something

Hello…it’s me

Hi there, welcome to Stylish and Starving at Twenty-Something! My name is Chloe Sekhran, and I thought for my first post I would introduce myself to the world, so here goes nothing!

As I mentioned, my name is Chloe, and to start out with a little fun fact, I’m publishing my very first post for this blog on my twentieth birthday, which means I’m actually a twenty-something who is writing about being twenty-something; shocking, I know. I am currently attending The University of Iowa to earn degrees in Marketing and Dance, as well as a certificate in Event Planning. Being in college leads me to have a little inner conflict about where I call “home”. I am originally from Saint Paul, Minnesota, but I spend a majority of my year in Iowa City, Iowa. Overall, lets just say the Twin Cities have my heart way more than the cornfields of Iowa (no offense to Iowa, southern Minnesota has lots of corn too).

More about me, I am an only child, and I have a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Daisy who is just the most precious little thing. The hardest part about leaving for college is saying goodbye to her and my parents, but her excitement when I come home makes it worth it. Here’s a picture of my sweet girl:

Being able to come home to the Twin Cities during school breaks is such an amazing thing; as much as I love Iowa City, it’s great to be able to escape to a major metropolitan area for months at a time. The Twin Cities have so much to offer, whether it’s cute boutiques, a wide variety of cuisine, or one of 10,000 (actually 11,842, we should really update our license plates) lakes to jump in when the summer weather gets too hot. I’m not going to lie, my dream would be to live in either New York City or Seattle, but growing up in Saint Paul and Minneapolis has been the greatest thing I could have ever asked for.

You might have noticed above that I said I was double majoring in Marketing and Dance. No, I am not planning on marketing myself as I dance. Yes, I do get asked that question almost every time I tell people what I am majoring in. So to avoid further questions, let me tell you what I really want to do with my life (as of this second, be prepared for it to change, like, tomorrow). With my dance degree, I hope to perform in a contemporary ballet company after college, and then go on to teach. With my marketing degree, I hope to have a career as a fashion buyer. This all being said, I also have a slight interest in going to Law School post-graduation, but this is partially due to the fact that Elle Woods is low-key my spirit animal.

I guess one major thing that I forgot to mention about me is that I am in a sorority. Yes I love my sorority, yes I love my big, yes I love my little, and yes I hate sorority stereotypes. I  am so proud to call myself a sorority woman, and I couldn’t be happier that I have the chance to be surrounded by 150 other women who share the same values as me, and are always there to love and support me.  I am a member of the Sigma chapter of Alpha Chi Omega, and I am currently serving on the Executive Board for my chapter. As far as stereotypes go, I just think they are insensitive, because all sorority women have different qualities and personalities, and you can’t expect hundreds of thousands of women across the nation to act a certain way simply because they are part of an incredible organization. All in all, I love Greek life, and I think I’m so blessed to have the opportunity to be part of it.

Now, you’re probably wondering what this blog will be about; basically it’s all in the name. I love fashion, hence my interest in becoming a fashion buyer. While I will post articles detailing my outfits for all different sorts of functions, I also hope to feature other posh people on my site. For reference, I would categorize my style as preppy but also fashion forward; I have a pretty wide range when it comes to what I like to wear. You’ll notice a lot of J Crew when I note the details of my outfits, so I think that fact alone speaks to what I like to wear.

In addition to loving all things fashion, I also consider myself a foodie. Although I may be a picky eater, I still am always on the lookout for new restaurants, and have a list on my iPhone of a bunch of places I have yet to try but want to. My weakness when it comes to finding new places to eat is bakeries; more specifically donut shops. The best way to put it is that I am currently on the search to find the world’s greatest donut, and you can bet that when I find it, you all will be the first to know. In addition to donut shops, I have a great love for ice cream, especially during the summer months, and luckily Minnesota does not fall short of ice cream shoppes, so please plan accordingly.

All in all, I want this blog to be a lifestyle guide where I can share my fun adventures with you all. Thank you so much for reading my very first post, cheers for many more to come!

XOXO, Chloe

Stylish and Starving at Twenty-Something