B2B Weekend Vibes #24

In this post – a free outfit planning app, my new favorite show, and a fun book series. Plus – B2B Weekend Vibes is now going to be on Substack!

(This post was supposed to go out on Friday, but with our travels this week, I’m obviously behind. Thanks for sticking with me!)

We just completed our southern migration to San Diego this week and were welcomed by a sunny 78 degree day. It’s been heavenly, especially after the chilly weather we’ve been having up north. As I’ve said, we Californians are a wimpy bunch when it comes to chilly temps.

Belle seems happy to be back too.

Wardrobe Organizing

Every time we make the switch from NorCal to SoCal (and vice versa) I have to make decisions about what clothes to bring and what to leave behind. I usually bring too many pieces of clothing that I end up not needing – the ones in the “just in case” category. It gets especially tricky to pack if we plan to travel while we’re here, so wardrobe pieces need to be as multifunctional if possible.

Friends have asked if I now buy two of everything – which makes me laugh. Wouldn’t that be nice? And can I maybe get a personal stylist who travels to and from with me too? I wish. Realistically, I don’t need two of everything because my style of dressing is different depending on where I am. Plus the climates in northern and southern California are very different, especially in the wintertime.

I’ve been looking for an app that will help me keep track of what I own and give me ideas for how to put outfits together based on what I have. I’m not really interested in paying a lot for one though. (I’d rather save my money for new clothes!) I feel like if I have more ideas for how to wear what I already own, I won’t need want to shop as often.

The Alta App

That’s why I was excited to discover the Alta app. It’s completely free, unlike some apps which say they’re “free” until you download them only to find out that they’re useless unless you “upgrade” to their paid version. It’s also run completely by AI and was created by Harvard grad Jenny Wang (who also worked for several tech companies, including DoorDash.) Alta finally brings the Clueless closet into reality. All of the outfit suggestions you see in this post were done by Alta using clothing that I already own!

Create an online “closet”

The best part about this app, in my opinion, is the ability to snap pics of your clothes and store them in a virtual “closet”. This is what I’ve been needing, a place to keep track of what I already own. Even if we didn’t pack up and move every few months, it would still be handy to have an inventory of what I already own so when I’m shopping I don’t keep buying the same style clothes over and over. (I’m looking at you, striped tops.)

Uploading clothes into the app is super simple. Simply snap a pic and it will do the rest, including identifying the item and the brand (although sometimes I had to help it.) The app can also identify what clothing you have on if you snap a full-length selfie. Plus, you can even “prettify” your photos. The app will remove the background and present the item like a stock photo. So cool!

Outfit Ideas Galore

The vibe in San Diego is so much more casual than the Bay Area that I could probably get away with wearing nothing but workout wear 24/7. That’s not really my style though, so I’ve been experimenting with different looks trying to find my own version of laid-back living. I’m hoping that the styling suggestions will help.

Alta also knows the current temp of wherever you are if you allow it to know your location. This is super helpful because people in NYC are dressed a little differently than the people in Southern California in January!

You can also get suggestions for outfits for different occasions, from heading out the farmer’s market to going out to dinner.

On Alta you can also create an Avatar to preview different looks on yourself. I haven’t had a chance to try this feature yet. Once I have my entire wardrobe catalogued I’ll focus on that.

There are a lot of possibilities with Alta. I feel like I’m just scratching the surface of what it can do. Try it out for yourself and let me know what you think!

New favorite show: Pluribus

Have you been watching this show? There’s something about it that intrigues me because I’ve never seen a show like it. I guess that’s why it’s one of the top shows on AppleTV.

Wikipedia has a better synopsis than what I can come up with, so here you go:

“Pluribus” is a post-apocalyptic science fiction series that follows Carol Sturka, a novelist who is one of the few immune individuals in a world where an alien virus has transformed the rest of humanity into a peaceful hive mind. As she navigates this new reality, Carol struggles against the hive’s attempts to assimilate her and the other immune survivors. – Wikipedia

We’ve finished the first season and now I’m dying to find out what happens next! I hope they don’t make us wait too long for Season 2!

New favorite book series:

I just discovered Octavia Butler’s books, specifically The Xenogenesis Trilogy (which is a 3 book series). The first one, titled Dawn, is a post-apocalyptic fictional story about the survivors of a nuclear war and the alien species that has decided to help the human race survive. There’s a catch though – the aliens will only save humans if they agree to interbreed with them genetically. It was so good I read it in one day.

Her books remind me a little of recently popular Hunger Games, Divergent and The Maze Runner series, with an alien twist. Dawn was originally published in 1987 at the height of the Cold War, a time that we of Gen X unfortunately remember all too well. However, the overarching themes of survival, adaptation and defining what makes us human are just as relevant today as they were then.

I’m looking forward to the rest of the series, Adulthood Rites and Imago. I’ll let you know what I think!

From the Bay to the Beach – to Substack!

This will be the last B2B Weekend Vibes you’ll receive via email. I’m going to start publishing my updates on my new Substack account. I hope you’ll stop by to check it out. (And maybe even subscribe?) You can also find the link to my Substack at the top right of the blog homepage.

I will still send out an email when I add a new post to the blog. I’m super excited about something new I have in the works with MaryJo of Master”pieces” of my Life and several other talented bloggers in 2026. Can’t wait to share!

Happiness is Homemade

Writing blog posts takes way longer than most people think. I know I was naive about how much work writing a blog is when I started it nearly two years ago. It’s been fun though!

I decided I had to make some decisions about my time commitments. In order to focus on my goals for From the Bay to the Beach this year, I’ve decided that I’ll be stepping away from being a Happiness is Homemade host after February. I’m so grateful to all of the wonderful hostesses who welcomed me into their group last year. I hope that you’ll all still stop by the Happiness is Homemade link party every Sunday.

In case you missed it

Valentines Day doesn’t have be celebrated romantically. You can celebrate the friends you love as well! In this post, I’m sharing ideas for how to plan a Galentines Day celebration for your besties, including tablescape and dinner menu ideas.

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