hi, i'm Danielle!
I grew up good & slow in the desert of West Texas...
I spent my childhood on the back of a horse, with my nose in a book, or playing pretend on a stage. Most everyone I knew planned on staying in our hometown or going somewhere else in Texas for college. Never being one to go with the crowd, I was determined to go where I didn't know a soul so I could see what my sparkle chops were really made of.
I somehow landed on the University of Southern California...
Unlike everyone else there, I had never heard of it before applying on a whim. Nonetheless, I had the most idyllic four cardinal red & gold years at the true "Happiest Place On Earth" and earned my degree from the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
After coming into my own in the heart of sunny LA...
I took one look at a "for rent" sign on a unicorn apartment a block from the ocean in Hermosa Beach (a sleepy beach town just south of LAX) and haven't budged since.
Since graduating I worked...
My way up the ladder! I was most recently the Director of Events at The Golden State Company – a Los Angeles based media agency that specializes in branding, digital media, print, and film.
I started there in early 2015 doing social media + digital marketing and eventually took the reigns on building out the experiential arm of the business. Early 2020, I took the leap of all leaps and quit to take an opportunity to live in Provence, France so I could learn to cook. However, COVID-19’s shutdown put a wrench in those plans. What timing! (More on that here.)
story time:
I had been laid off from my first job out of college along with 1/3 of the rest of the company. #LastHiredFirstFired
The deal with my parents has always been that they would send me to college, but I was on my own after that (and would always have my bed waiting for me if I ever needed to come home).
After being laid off, I needed to make rent so I freelanced doing everything little thing I could think of while I followed each job lead I could get my hands on. Eventually, I talked myself into an informational interview with The Golden State Company where I ended up convincing them to create a position for me and started by answering the phones. No job was too big or small!
I have since worn many hats in several departments– social media, digital marketing, sales, and now, three years later... I'm heading our events department!
Currently –
I am bouncing between Manhattan Beach, CA and Austin, TX while the world is still a bit frozen with COVID.
In addition to consulting in email and social media marketing for a few different brands, I’m spending my days learning to cook (albeit not in France), creative writing, and creating with likeminded brands on She’s Fun! Oh… and accidentally making my Dad go viral on TikTok. His most popular video has 2.8 million views and counting, lol!
I hope what you find here makes you smile.
Perhaps help you know you’re not alone. That you found something honest or helpful or at the very least a dang good recipe and some colorful & covered in confetti inspo.
XO,
Danielle 💫