This post is sponsored by PayPal. All opinions are my own and always will be! Thanks for supporting content that keeps Jojotastic going.
I’m one of those people who is awful at keeping in touch. Quite honestly, I do best with friendships that are the sort where you can go a few months without chatting and then pick up right where you left off. My friend Anne Sage is definitely one of those people. Over the course of our 4 year friendship, most of which has been carried out via text and FaceTime, we’ve each gone through a lot. Break ups, moves, career changes, pet adoption, being broke… so much. But no matter where we are in life, I know I can always rely on Anne for wit, wisdom, and wiener dog photos. With the help of PayPal, I’m sharing a few of my favorite memories of my friendship with Anne to celebrate friendship, plus the details of the fun new PayPal digital gifting cards (aka the best way to surprise a friend with a treat)!
Anne and I first met when I was still designing for Anthropologie during a trend shopping trip to San Francisco. She showed me and the team around, giving us inside tips on all the amazing vintage spots. We immediately hit it off and a friendship blossomed from there.
Other the years, I’ve learned so much from Anne, or Sister Bear as we call each other. For one, she coached me through a heart-wrenching break up and subsequent depression. She was always there, ready to text back or call me when I needed it. Anne is an incredibly wise and deep soul, so she is an incredible source of advice, too. Every conversation we had during that time came accompanied with a list of books I just had to read. Even still, I refer back to the many books Anne recommended and learn something new.
We spent so many hours on the phone or Facetiming while eating ice cream. I lived in Philly at the time and she had just moved to LA, but technology helped us keep the friendship alive. These days, I like to use PayPal to send Anne a digital ‘treat’ of sorts to thank her for always having my back. My favorite of the PayPal digital greeting cards is the ice cream one, mostly because we ate sooo much ice cream during the first years of our friendship! It’s a fun nod to that time.
Anne has really helped me to shape my idea of home and what my personal space means to me. It’s not that I hadn’t thrifted shopped before meeting her, but I have such a deep, rich memory of visiting Anne in LA and shopping together at the Pasadena Flea. We got up super early, armed with giant totes and comfortable shoes. It was during this trip that I learned just how important it is to create a home for yourself even if it’s just a rental and you’re afraid of having to move again in the future. Anne’s apartment was largely unfurnished at that time and I witnessed her work toward a carefully curated balance of new and old. I’d only ever furnished my apartment with Ikea stuff, so this lesson felt huge to me and is one that I have carried with me, especially now that I’m a homeowner.
She’s also the first person I ever met who really taught me the ropes of styling. During the same visit to LA, Anne needed help shooting some photos. Watching a pro at work was huge for me because I had just launched this blog. Anne inspired me to dig into styling more and more, all while creating my own content here on the blog. Heck, she even taught me how to get a good Instagram shot (before the stress of algorithms and hashtags — ha).
Even as I was shooting these photos, it’s like she knew and texted me!
PayPal digital greeting cards are available through the end of August, so be sure to surprise your friends with one — you could pay someone back for last weekend’s brunch or even just send $1 so they know you’re thinking of them!
Styling & photography by Jojotastic.
