I first became interested in Jenni Kayne, the L.A. based fashion designer, when I read about the monthly, lunchtime cooking classes she and nutrition guru Pamela Salzman host in Kayne’s Los Angeles home. I was so taken by Kayne and Salzman’s easy, stylish way of turning their friends on to eating — and preparing — simple, elegant meals made from locally sourced, unrefined and largely plant-based ingredients. As a former vegetarian, I loved their sense of moderation. While plant-based foods predominate their menus, meat is not off the table by any stretch. And as someone who just loves life, I fell deeply, madly, platonically in love with Kayne, who’s living the kind of robust, authentic, fully-realized life I aspire to.

The 30 year-old Kayne launched her eponymous clothing line at the age of 19. Since then, she’s married, become a mother, and continued to grow her business into a lifestyle brand that reflects the way she lives her life. Rip+Tan, the blog she launched last year and named for her two children, Ripley and Tanner, became a fast favorite when I discovered it earlier this month. In lengthy posts filled with beautiful images that invoke a specific lifestyle point of view, Kayne shares her life and offers tips, information and ideas that we might want to incorporate into our own. I’m in love with the profiles she does with other creative, inspirational women, and I love the front-row seat Kayne gives us into her own life, from the very posh yet very “kid” pirate party she and son Tanner planned for his 4th birthday, to her favorite safe and non-toxic cleaning products, to the glamping trip she and her family of four took to El Capitan with their friends Jessica and Jed and daughter James.

Of course, we can’t all live Kayne’s life. As an entrepreneur working in a creative field, she has more flexibility than most, if not more time. But replicating her life isn’t the point. Being inspired by it is.

Maybe you host your friends for a communal cooking and dining experience once a quarter on a Saturday afternoon because it bonds you to your community in a way that dinner out just won’t do. Maybe you throw yourself a Moroccan theme birthday party in your own backyard, or turn your child’s next birthday into an opportunity for you and your child to spend time together making crafts and creating a world and making costumes that bring their dream birthday party theme to life. Or maybe you try out one of Kayne’s non-toxic product recommendations for your hair, skin or home.

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IMAGE BY RIP+TAN

Tags: Blogs, Lifestyle, Realized Life, Rip+Tan, The Culture