Truly Julie paddle boarding with the ladies in Venice!
I’ve moved about 20 times in my life. The good that comes out of being a modern day gypsy is you learn to adapt and assimilate to your new environment: you don’t sink…you float! I’d say I’m adjusting to Cali life rather well…wouldn’t you? Peace, love and sunshine! **Fashion front: Truly Julie’s wetsuit by Cynthia Rowley for Roxy.
Truly Julie striking an “Asian pose” with Vistamar as well as Da Vinci high school students.
Never did I think when my parents left me in America at age 15…alone…that I would have THIS life. I had a dream and I went after it with my own will…and I only hope I can inspire others to do the same. With that in mind, I had a great time sharing my colorful career path 
with Vistamar and Da Vinci high school students today in the South Bay area. Thank you so much for inviting me to be a part of your career day (big shout out to Ms. Lissa Eidelman and Mr. Rhett Broderick)! It felt surreal to roam the hallways of a high school again, but it also made me feel like I came full circle. It seems like yesterday I was a vulnerable 15 year old girl trying to survive high school sans family and here I am today, sharing my story on how I was able to thrive. I wish every one of these students success and I hope that one day they, too, get to pay it forward. Remember, make the choice to challenge yourself…and only then, will you see change.
It’s back…Truly Julie segments!!
I first launched the Truly Julie franchise in New York at WPIX-CW 11, gosh, about 8 years ago! The morning show TV segments started off randomly. It would air once every few weeks. But with higher viewership/ratings, it eventually aired twice a week for about 3 years. From food, fashion, culture, travel, entertainment, human interest, etc., the goal of each Truly Julie segment was to showcase anything fun under the sun (with a strong touch of my wackiness). For example, I flew all the way to the tiny South Korean Island of Jeju to go deep sea diving with Haenyeos…I entered competitions for double-dutch jump roping and break dancing…I trained for the NYC marathon with the world’s fastest blind marathoner…I cooked with the finest chefs and ate the most exotic foods such as a giant scorpion and a live squid (with moving tentacles!) and the list goes on. When I switched jobs and moved over to WNYW, Fox 5 New York, I put Truly Julie on hiatus. But I tell you what, the viewers from those original “Changsta Gangsta” days have stayed with me! And if this is you: THANK YOU. It’s been about 5 years since I last aired a Truly Julie story in NYC and till this day, when I walk down the streets of the Big Apple, a few people will still yell, “Hey, it’s Truly Julie!”. I rarely hear folks call me Julie Chang…it’s almost always, “Truly Julie”. The success of Truly Julie and loyalty from so many viewers inspired the name of this blog! So with that..I felt it was only natural for me to bring Truly Julie back…but this time in LA!! If the goal is to feature things that are fun in the sun…um…where else is more fitting than Southern California??! I’m fortunate that the folks at Fox 11 LA share my vision. Slowly but surely we are getting Truly Julie back up and running. You can catch it/me every Sunday, around 10:30PM, somedays on Good Day LA & always online. Your’s Truly, Julie
Truly Julie loves babies and puppies! Who doesn’t?!!
I’m glad I’m an unthreatening woman with a somewhat disarming quality because, otherwise, my obsession with
babies might be viewed slightly creepy. I think my 
reverence for babies is a mix of many things. The fact that they smell like sweet buttermilk…that they have zero jadedness…that they seem to have a heightened sense in detecting good vs. bad people…and my fav, they have the softest skin right underneath their jawline which I call “chop-sal-duk” (that’s Korean for rice cake). When my nephew was a toddler…I’d always 
say, “Odin, can emo (aunt in Korean) have a little chop-sal-duk?” If he was in a good mood, he’d tilt his little head and let me nuzzle my big face in there. I ADORE babies to the point that I always ask strangers if I can hold their little munchkin. There should really be warning posters all around town that say: watch out for crazy, baby obsessed Asian woman who will squeal and ask to hold your baby. And the same affection for cute dogs! I’ve
shared my baby/puppy exaltation a few times on Good Day LA and boy, such awesome response! You guys made my heart smile by sending me so many pictures of your cuties via facebook, twitter, and email (my apologies if your lil’ one didn’t make it onto this post, but twitter only goes back so far). THANK YOU. And if you’re ever feeling down…just watch this Gangnam Style baby video and the universe will be all good. I hope one day if I’m lucky enough to become a mom…my baby will have Gangnam reflex:)
Truly Julie paddle boarding in Venice…and cruising with dolphins!
Southern Cali folks, if you can brave the rather chilly Pacific Ocean…GET OUT THERE NOW. It’s peak whale migration season so there’s a lot of mesmerizing marine life just yards away from the coast. Two weeks ago, I chilled with 3 dolphins just 15 yards off of 
Venice Beach. I have to admit, though, I had incredible luck. My long time Cali resident friend Leslie told me dolphin sitings, especially so close in proximity (5 feet away!) and for that long (they hung out with us for 20 mins!) are rather rare. In her 10 years here, she said she’s had about 4 similar experiences. So you can imagine my jubilation when on my very first and only paddle board outing…3 of my “cousins” joined us. If you watch Good Day LA, you
know the joke on the show is that my outrageous giggle sounds quite similar to a dolphin/sea otter:) Maybe they heard my laugh and swam over! Perhaps because I’m a pisces I’ve always been fascinated by marine life; and as a scuba diver, I’m shattered to know that their habitat is being destroyed daily. I cried when I spotted a giant sea turtle wash up shore in Uruguay. The locals there told me, they see sea creatures die all the time from eating pollution:( Currently, I’m looking for volunteer opportunities dealing with marine wild life 
and/or ocean conservation. I’d love to hear any suggestions so hit me up on twitter: @JulieChang or facebook: JulieChangFox11. Caveat: while the Cynthia Rowley wetsuit is super cute, you’ll need a full length one for this time of year (I wore black spandex underneath mine to cover up my legs, which did nothing for warmth—total rookie move). Also…try to find some hot dude to carry your paddle board into the water for you. It’s really heavy and I was beat before I even began paddling! And fellow dolphin lovers! The easiest 
way get involved is to adopt a dolphin!!! Thanks to a very thoughtful Valentine’s Day present, I’m now the proud mama of Mozza (short for Mozzarella!). The bottlenose dolphin has been spotted only in the coastal waters of Santa Monica Bay. With the adoption…the Ocean Conservation Society in conjunction with the L.A. Dolphin Project Research Team will help protect Mozza and his habitat. As a token…they’ll send you a certificate and a cute stuffed animal bottlenose that converts to a pillow! And who knows…maybe Mozza was one of the dolphins I saw in Venice! Now that’s worth a: Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah..fin flap!!
Holla at your girl on www.facebook.com/juliechangfox11
So after someone stole my identity on Facebook last year…I got a little spooked and vouched to steer clear of the social networking site. But now I’m back! It seems Facebook has beefed up security…plus, I missed having a space where YOU get the most say on my content. On TrulyJulieChang.com, I blog about what I want to…travel, food, fashion, family, friends, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “reckless stardown”, etc. On twitter: @JulieChang, I tweet about my 140 character thoughts. On Instagram and pinterest: @TrulyJulieChang, I photograph what I find intriguing or beautiful. So…I thought the least I could do is to have one place: www.facebook.com/juliechangfox11, where you can tell me your input on what kind of posts you want to see (PLEASE NO PERVY REQUESTS). Or just share a comment, thought, picture or story about YOU or what you find interesting. I want it to be a healthy forum where it’s fun and friendly. You wanna hear about the trip that changed my life…or what I whipped up for dinner…or what volunteer organizations pique my interests…or what color lipgloss I was wearing on-air, etc…we can have that dialogue here. I just launched the page, so I need your help on getting some more “likes”. I hope you stop by soon!
Truly Julie with interior designer extraordinaire Hillary Thomas! Watch the segment here! 
Hi. For those of you still wondering who is that new girl on Good Day LA…I’m Julie! And I’ve been an Angeleno for, oh, 2 months or so. I am beyond thrilled for my new opportunity and since you allow me and the Good Day LA gang vicariously into your homes, I thought I’d return the favor here! For 9 years, I lived in a 600 sq ft apartment in NYC. I kept my shoes in the oven, seriously! So, when I made the 3000 mile leap to Southern California…I knew I needed one thing for sure: SPACE. Room that would allow me to have a real couch…and perhaps a view that screams CALIFORNIA! After 2 months of gruesome searching and the extremely kind hospitality of my dear family friend Cat, I found a place. I teamed up with interior designer Hillary Thomas to transform my new LA pad to fab in 2 weeks! Well, excluding the week everyone took off for the holidays. I wasn’t going to be the crazy lady/Scrooge who demands an ottoman on Christmas:) It was aggressive…but Hillary and her associates were fast, talented, and resourceful enough to work with my 
shoestring budget. Cheap turned to chic on their watch and this is how: a) Always work with a floor plan, i.e. picture on the right. Get one of those graph papers and measure out everything! (For ex: you can love a square coffee table, but if you see that it eats up 80% of your carpet space, you’ll opt for the rectangular) b) Ikea, CB2, Homes Goods, Cost Plus World Market, JossAndMain.com, BallardDesigns.com, OneKingsLane.com and flea markets are your wallet’s bff. c) Think bigger picture. Before Hillary, I would just get an item because it’s bold or cool. But does it 
work with everything else? You can’t have the table, the chairs, the artwork, the carpet, the shelves all be statement pieces. It’ll be overpowering and clash. d)Window treatments and lighting fixtures can upgrade a place like jewelry and hot heels can amp up an outfit. Ok..with these lessons in full play…here’s mi casa: before and after!
The Wild Horses of Sable Island prints by Roberto Dutesco, acoustic guitar, and my 
Celerie Kemble by Merida rugs (made in USA) were shipped from the East Coast. These pieces were the inspiration starting point for the rest of the place. Couch: Sofa U Love (made in LA) Coffee table: West Elm, Poufs: OneKingsLane.com Wooden accent chairs: flea market Dining table: Etsy.com Dining chairs: Cost Plus World Market Rope chandelier: flea market.
My absolute favorite part about the master bedroom is the paint color. It’s hard to find a hue that’s seductive yet serene…but Elephant Gray by Benjamin Moore is just that. It’s not quite gray…or purple…it’s just damn pretty and sexy. It pairs perfectly with the purplish-gray part of my Merida ombre carpet. And my favorite trick to turn cheap into chic? Change just the hardware on fixtures. For example, I ordered fancy mother-of-pearl knobsfrom Anthropologie to transform my Ikea dresser to uber fancy in all of 5 mins. No tools needed! In smilar fashion, I added a touch of luxury to my Lamps Plus lamps by adding finials (which is like fun jewelry for the top of your lamps!). Close up pics of both in the photo gallery below. The hardest part was 
choosing which one because Hillary designs dozens of finials…and they’re all divine. One thing I will not skimp on is bedding. I sleep about 5 hours a night, so each minute of sleep must feel like heaven. I got 400 thread count Charisma sheets and bedding, on sale at Bloomingdales. So glad I was moving right after Christmas…lots of clearance, including my upholstered bed from Gilthome.com.
Now for my dressing room! I turned my 2nd bedroom into what I call a “Fashion Nascar Pit”…a room where I can step into at 3AM and get TV ready in a jiffy. It’s still functional in a 
sense because the couch in there is a full size pullout sleeper, so it’s still a “guest room”.
However, the Cisco ottoman and Pottery Barn Teen disco ball lights are fun fun fun. And since I always viewed shoes as wearable art…I have them on display! I also painted the wall in thick pink stripes (Benjamin Moore in Powder Pink) because…well…I’m girly, damn it!
My sunroom is also a nice little sanctuary. The Stockholm style dining chairs were a steal from Overstock.com. The chaise is from Ikea…and the super chic garden stool is from
Cost Plus World Market. Below is the complete list of where Hillary and her teamfound all the items. As well as more photos of my new digs (watch the Good Day LA segment here!). Last but not least, a special thanks to Hillary’s associate, Lexi…who spent so much time and effort to make my home a special place. To be so young and so talented!
Truly Julie in Santa Barbara…laughing, riding, dancing like no one’s watching!
Happy New Year, everyone! It’s time to saddle up and make 2013 OUR year. In fact…we have the choice to make each year, day, hour…our best! It’s all through the power of your perspective…and you choosing to steer your mind past obstacles, pitfalls, and negativity. The quote below has helped me through some of life’s bumpy rides. Furthermore, it’s inspired me to take the reigns…sit tight in the saddle…give a firm kick…and ride with conviction. I hope it’ll do the same for you. Into 2013 we go! Yeeeehaw!
Do the things you used to talk about doing but never did. Know when to let go and when to hold on tight. Stop rushing. Don’t be intimidated to say it like it is. Stop apologizing all the time. Learn to say no, so your yes has some oomph. Spend time with the friends who lift you up, and cut loose the ones who bring you down. Stop giving your power away. Be more concerned with being interested than being interesting. Be old enough to enjoy your freedom, and young enough to enjoy it. Finally…know who you are.
–Kristin Armstrong
Truly Julie keeping it classy with Good Day LA colleagues Lisa Breck, Hayley Herst, & mini Lisas:)
Uprooting your life and moving across the country can be a bit jarring and lonesome. But how blessed am I?! The Good Day LA gang not only welcomed me with open arms on-air…but the true magic of their warmth…is when the TV cameras are off. I ate like a queen this week at the lovely homes of Bob Decastro (AKA Bobby D) and Lisa Breckenridge. Each gathering was full of laughter, love and light…a Merry Christmas indeed.
Truly Julie reveling in the warmth of new friends and Good Day LA colleagues Bob Decastro and Lauren Sivan.
