Wooooh whoooooo! A Free Book from my favorite author, Neil Gaiman! (THIS PROMOTION IS OVER)

You might know him as the guy who wrote Coraline and American Gods. 
Neil Gaiman, is quite possibly the best author of his generation. And right now, 
you can get book #1 of his graphic novel, Sandman for absolutely free! 
This deal is for this week only. 
The book is available for free digital download on Amazon.com as a Kindle Edition
 and Barnes and Noble for Nook.

Even if you don't pick up the book for free, I highly recommend buying anything by Gaiman and
reading it! His stories never let me down. They are always full of surprises and excitement! :)

Head on over to my style blog at Kindred Closets for the scoop!

Introducing Kindred Closets and the threads that connect!

On July 1st I launched my new blog, Kindred Closets. After I realized that I had friends all over the world connected together by the internet, I came up with the idea for this blog about people who are connected by some tiny thread across the globe.

Here's a screen shot of my first post! Check out www.kindredclosets.blogspot.com for more posts!

The theme for Saving With Selena, though near and dear to my heart, severely limits my choices of blog topics. At Saving With Selena I focus on tips for simple ways to save money and be sustainable with a secondary life hacks/re-purposing theme. Kindred Closets will utilize my dreamier, artistic skills and will hopefully give me a chance to interview people I admire. 

Here are three exampled of my most recent inspirational images. 

I would love for you to subscribe to Kindred Closets and get one in your inbox every day! <3

While you are at it, I would love for you to subscribe to Saving With Selena as well, if you want to!

I will still be posting occasionally about sustainability,as well as sharing life hacks and money saving tips here on Saving With Selena.

Kindred Closets will feature art, travel, fashion, beauty tips, and more! Also I post an inspiring quote and sketch every day. You can check out the launch page and work your way through the posts to today, or you can go straight to today's post.

Check out my new blog at www.kindredclosets.blogspot.com

Let me know what you think! 

Sheryl Sandberg: Why we have too few women leaders

Sometimes the best way to save money is to make more money, to reach for more responsibility, to work harder. That's why I love this speech given by Sheryl Sandberg.

Sandberg on the cover of Time Magazine

In this eye-opening TEDtalks event, Sandberg reveals a study that shows that like-ability and  success in women are reversely related, due to sociological patterns and viewpoints that continue the growth of career inequalities between men and women.

A few key quotes & paraphrases:

- Career choices for women are better than they were 50 years ago.

- "We still have a problem: women are not making it to the top of any profession anywhere in the world."

- "Of all the people in Parliament [level governmental jobs] in the world, only 13% are women."

- In the corporate sector, board level jobs for women "tops out at 5%- 16%."

- Because of social expectatons, women are stuck with harder choices to make between careers and personal fulfillment: "Of married Sr. Managers 2/3 of male Sr. Managers have children and only 1/3 of female Sr. Managers have children."

- "Women systematically underestimate their abilities & do not negotiate for themselves in the workplace."

- Men typically attribute their success to themselves. Women typically attribute their success to others who helped them along the way, to luck, etc.

- "Success and likeability are positively correlated for men and negatively correlated for women." (watch the video to hear more about the famous study).

Sandberg's Tips:

1. Sit at the table.

2. Make your partner a real partner.

3. Don't leave before you leave.

You will need to watch the video to understand what she means by each of those. The video is about 15 minutes and is well worth the time. I highly recommend it!

VIDEO: Sheryl Sandberg: Why we have too few women leaders

This rings true for me especially because I am someone who cares about people and wants to be successful. I hope one day we can change perceptions so that women can also be successful and be liked for it as well.

How do we change this? How do we as individuals affect these numbers so that one day it becomes a 50/50 percentage of men and women in leadership roles? How do we encourage women to reach for success?

 Subscribe to Saving With Selena

Save Lives: billboard produces potable water from humidity in the air

MAYO DRAFTFCB / UTEC VIA TECHLAND.TIME.COM

I am all about saving- saving money, time, and the Earth through green(er) living. But I don't believe in saving things just to save (otherwise you end up with a closet -er, garage- full of junk you don't need). What it boils down to is this. Saving money and time, and making things last longer helps us so we can use our time and money for enjoying and supporting our lives. And being greener is really about saving our future. This is why I absolutely loved this short video when I saw it. I am amazed by technology and all that we can accomplish simply because of ingenuity, a little determination, and hard work. What a great way to promote education, by supporting the local people at the level of their basic needs. Brilliant!

It sounds like magic, right? But it's not! Here's a basic outline of how it works:

MAYO DRAFTFCB / UTEC viA TECHLAND.TIME.COM

This is a short video introducing the billboard water source! This could revolutionize the lives of people living in places with a clean water shortage. Please share!

 What are your thoughts on this?

I believe that doing the right thing, and helping people can in fact be profitable and save money and resources. How could these and other similar technologies be implemented in a business setting to be both financially stimulating and philanthropic without charging the people for water outright?