Better Than Skinny

I can't believe it's already Christmas!! In light of the season and this new season of my life, I've decided to highlight the things that make me truly happy and that have nothing to do with my body and outer beauty whatsoever. When I was young and insecure from my changing body, I thought that if I was thin then I would be truly happy. I remember watching Mary-Kate and Ashley videos and thinking that if I just looked like them with their tiny thighs in their tight low rise jeans my life would be complete. I couldn't possibly be unhappy if I were thin and beautiful right? Well my friends, I became thin and my life didn't magically become perfect. I felt good at first, but as I became more and more obsessed being thin became my life and consumed me while tossing aside the things that used to matter most--including the people that mattered most in my life. Since I've gotten better and continue in my healing process, I've realized that the things that make me happiest have nothing to do with being skinny and everything to do with family and friends that love and accept me regardless of what I look like. I only hope that every person that reads my blog have people like in their life who love them exactly as they are.

Goofing off with my crazy family is better than skinny.

Hanging out with my cat Norma Jean who could care less if I'm feeling gross and having a "fat day" is better than skinny.

Getting ready with a bunch of fun bridesmaids and taking silly Myspace pics before our dear friend walks down the aisle is better than skinny.

Getting lost in painting is better than skinny.

Having a little African girl come up to me and hold my hand while walking through her village is better than skinny.

Watching hundreds of candles light up in a dark amphitheater while hearing O' Holy Night on Christmas Eve at my wonderful church is better than skinny.

Watching a friend's face when she opens a gift she never thought she would get from me is better than skinny.

Eating a delicious Christsmas Eve dinner that my mom prepared at our beautiful table with my family and eating the entire plate full instead of trying to hide the fact that I only had a few bites is better than skinny.

What is skinny anyway? Skinny should be used to describe a person truly hungry in a third world country. Skinny should describe someone in need of nutrients to feed their body. Skinny should not be used to compliment someone on their weight loss. It should not be used as a goal for someone who feels bad about their body. Skinny should not be our beauty ideal. Beauty is in health and happiness. Beauty is in all the things I posted above and all the moments you were at your happiest just being you and being with the people that matter most to you. What are those things to you? Please tell! I hope you all are having a very Merry Christmas and are soaking up all those happy moments!

True Lightness

Goodness I feel like I've been absent from the blogging world for too long now, especially when I look at these photos which were taken almost a week ago. I love this scarf.

[Dress: Population from TJ Maxx; Scarf: From Avant Garb in Ashland; Belt: Part of a set of 3 children's belts from Fred Meyer; Shoes: Wet Seal]

Last weekend when I was amid much hustle and bustle making last minute preparations for the wedding with the eight other bridesmaids and enjoying girl time with the bride during her last hours of singledom, food and body image was one of the last things on my mind. In consequence, I ate well and had an amazing time enjoying people and celebrating. My lesson? When you're happily serving people and putting others first, you hardly have time to dwell on appearances and food issues. It was so simple and eye opening for me. On the way back we missed our connecting flight so I had plenty of time to finish reading Unbearable Lightness by Portia de Rossi. I mentioned her memoir and the fact that I wanted to read it in an earlier post and let me tell you I couldn't put it down. It was both scarily relatable and scarily extreme. I couldn't believe how long she went before realizing that she actually had an eating disorder and wasn't just on a diet. She says that the book isn't only intended for those who have eating disorders, but should be read by anyone who has ever been on a diet. It'll make you never want to diet again. I'm planning on going into more detail in the book review I am planning on writing but I want to encourage you all to start reading it now! I think it's good for all mothers and future mothers to daughters to read too. It's not a happy book, but it was truly life changing to me. So needless to say my weekend was incredibly refreshing and eye opening and made me think even more about my New Years resolutions this year. I'll keep you posted. Until then my friends!

San Diego Bound

[Sweater: Free People; Jeans: Diesel; Shoes: Bakers]

Well tomorrow I am off to San Diego with my sister to be bridesmaids for the second time this month! The wedding last weekend went splendidly and we're hoping the same will be for this one. There are a few things we're a bit more nervous about that include some public speaking which we both HATE, but sometimes you gotta face your fears and things you dread deeply for friends, right? I especially can't wait to present the newly married couple with a painting I created especially as a wedding gift.

Davina, my friend getting married loves birds. In fact I'm convinced she'd marry them if Bobby (her future husband) didn't come around. Ok, maybe she's not that crazy but she is seriously obsessed with them in a big big way so I knew I had to incorporate at least one in her painting. So I stuck one on this lady's head and I think I pulled it off! I'm pretty sure Davina doesn't read my blog so I think I'm safe.

I love the back of this sweater, even if it doesn't exactly keep me warm.

I can't get over how nice pictures look when taken on a good camera. Not that my lovely friend Jessica isn't a good photographer too :)

I love my new shoes SO much that I had to give them a double photo spread. I bought them to wear in my friend's wedding last weekend and let's just say that I was lucky to have made it down the aisle in one piece. These babies are a PAIN to walk in but I can't seem to stop wearing them because they are so fabulous.

Have a lovely weekend, my friends! Look for a weekend recap and more pictures next week!

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas...

Well my friends, today begins the twelve days to Christmas countdown. I can't believe how close it is! Time to sing the Twelve Days of Christmas song...

Tshirt: Urban Outfitters, Lace cardigan: Xhilaration for Target, Jeans: Diesel, Shoes: BCBGeneration.

On the twelfth day of Christmas I found a gift for me under the tree :)

I LOVE this sparkly Burlesque special edition nail polish by OPI. The nail polish fanatic in me took over and made me buy it over the weekend. I layered it over a purple polish I had.

Lately I have been realizing how important it is to give. Whether it be time, money, gifts letters, or even compliments. Every time make an effort to bless someone in some way I always feel on top of the world. Why do I forget this? The other day I brought my mom home chocolate and a bottle of wine (after all, what could be better?) after hearing she had been having a hard day and felt so great after giving them to her. Last weekend I finally finished a painting I had been working on to give as a wedding gift to one of my best friends who's getting married next weekend. I can't wait to give it to her and her new husband! But it's not just gifts that I want to give more. My friend Kelly and I just had a conversation about wanting to do more for people because we realized that it is one of the things that fulfills us most and keeps us happy and inspired. We are planning on holding each other accountable on doing things for people, whether big or small. It could be crafting something for someone or writing a thoughtful card or a letter, bringing someone flowers, buying a homeless person food, helping someone who's moving, or visiting someone who's sick and bringing them movies and chicken noodle soup. I'm pretty sure giving gives the same happy feeling to everyone who does it. So my friends, let's make a point to stop focusing on ourselves and try to do something every day for someone starting on this twelfth day of Christmas. I'll use my blog and Kelly to hold me accountable and I highly encourage you to find someone to do the same for you. Have you done something for someone that brightened their day and yours lately? Please do share!

I hear Wedding Bells...

Today my adorable friend Jessica (who I am lucky enough to work with) and I went on a mini adventure on our lunch break to do a photoshoot on the train tracks. I wanted to document today's outfit featuring an amazing delicate vintage blouse (a find from our resale store Avant Garb) paired with a black Forever 21 tank, a Paul and Joe for Target wrap skirt, black tights, and Steven by Steve Madden ankle booties that were a gift from my dear friend Kelly. I accessorized with pearl accented jewelry and a headband and felt very victorian chic.

How lucky am I to have my dear friend and fellow fashion blogger as a coworker?! You really must check out her blog Monster Cakes which documents her life in fashion and witty stories. You won't regret it.

Now, on to the topic of the title of this post. This weekend I get to be in the wedding of one of my dearest friends, Grace. Being the romantic that I am, I have always been a sucker for weddings and have secretly wanted to be a bridesmaid for as long as I can remember. Now that it is actually happening I am excited but also freaking out a little. My friends are getting married! Exactly a week after Grace's wedding I head down to San Diego to be a bridesmaid in one of my other dearest friend's wedding. Tis the season! I am feeling a bit sentimental and old.

In honor of this season of weddings and because of the movie fanatic that I am, I have decided to list my favorite movies from my favorite genre of chick flicks: wedding romantic comedies. There have been too many made to count, but these are the ones to weed out from all the others and watch asap!

My Best Friend's Wedding

I love love LOVE this movie so much it's gross. My sisters can vouch for the fact that I know every line by heart and have a hard time not talking along with the movie. In other words, you wouldn't want to watch it with me. This is the first movie that made me really want a gay best friend. You can't get any better than George.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding

This movie cracks me up every time. And that's saying a lot because I've probably seen it at least twenty times. It's mostly Aunt Voula that has me in stitches. "What do you mean he can't eat no MEAT?!" Classic.

The Wedding Planner

Another staple I've viewed more times than I'd like to know. This is the only role I find Matthew Mcconaughey attractive in. Who can resist Steve Edison's smoothness? As much as I want to hate him, I can't. I also love watching Mary Fiore's type A control freak personality. Perhaps because we share too much in common? I'm afraid it might be true...

27 Dresses

This movie (and Grey's Anatomy a little later) are what made me a true Katherine Heigl fan. She has a way of making you feel like you're her best friend...or at least really want to be because she is so relatable and likable and hilarious. And James Marsden? As my friend Ruby would say, let me just give God a round of applause right now.

Bride Wars

I was so surprised with this movie. I went in thinking I would get another entertaining and very predictable and over the top romantic comedy, and I ended up getting what would become the movie my sister and I watch on a regular basis because it is so freaking hilarious! I was just quoting it this evening and thinking I am due for another viewing. Anne Hathaway's annoying coworker character is the funniest part of the movie. Just watch it and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Ok, I need to now focus on warding my cat off the chocolate I'm trying to eat. Have a lovely weekend!

All Tangled Up in Vanity

Last week I finally went and saw Tangled in 3D. I was expecting a cute, entertaining animated movie with hopefully a few laughs, but what I got was one of the best movies I've seen all year. It wasn't just because this precious gem of a movie brought me back to childhood (when I repeatedly watched Disney films--especially those with princesses involved and would pretend I was one of them) though it did, but it was mostly because everything about Tangled was just plain wonderful! From the hilarious moments (especially those involving a horse which you'll learn when you see the film) to the touching ones where I actually cried, this movie grabbed me and never let go till the very end. After it was over I felt so warm and satisfied. It was worth every penny of that pricey 3D ticket. My friends, I promise you that you don't have to be a youngster to see this film and truly enjoy it. That's what's so great about it. You can bring along your little daughter or niece and get just as much out of it as they do. As embarrassing it is for me to admit, I actually got a little crush on Eugene, the attractive love interest of Rapunzel's ; )

What this movie also made me realize after thinking about the deeper message behind it is that the theme of vanity is incredibly prevalent in many Disney films through the years, especially with the villain characters. In Snow White the evil queen asks her magic mirror on a regular basis for reassurance that she is the fairest in the land. In Beauty and the Beast the prideful prince has a spell cast on him turning him into a Beast till he can find someone who loves and accepts him for who he is. In Sleeping Beauty the evil witch Maleficent puts a coma-like spell on Princess Aurora after her 16th birthday because she feels threatened by her beauty, and because she didn't receive an invitation to her christening. In The Hunchback of Notre Dame (originally an epic Victor Hugo novel) the hunchback is cooped up in the cathedral tower after being deemed too ugly to look at by his evil master and later finds love and acceptance from the beautiful Esmerelda. And in Tangled (an updated version of the classic Rapunzel story, in case you haven't figured that out yet) Rapunzel is kidnapped by an evil vanity obsessed elderly women who knows that Rapunzel possesses magic hair that will keep you young and beautiful when you sing to it. She keeps Rapunzel locked up in a tower and visits her whenever she needs her youth fix. What can we take from all these cases of vanity gone too far? In almost every one of these stories, the beautiful princess or future princess doesn't take her beauty too seriously and doesn't even realize the full extent of it. She is so full of love of her family, or creature or fairy friends and wants to please them that her own beauty seems to be one of the last things on her mind. Looks don't matter to her and in the end, I think that is what makes her most beautiful and something we women, young and old, can all learn from.

Mandy Moore does an excellent job voicing Rapunzel in Tangled and I love what she recently said about dieting and body image at the Tangled press event in Disneyland:

"I'm not obsessive about dieting. If I want to have a burger and fries like I did the other night in the park, then I'm going to do that because that's okay. [There have been times] when it's the first thing on my mind all the time. I'm so affected and driven by that diet and what I'm eating and how much I'm exercising. I've just realized in time that if it's a constant thread in the background of my life, that's when I'm the happiest and that's when I feel the best about myself."

This is the healthy mindset I hope to develop one day and in my opinion, Mandy Moore has never looked better.

Lesson to take from the lovely animated Disney characters and the voice behind one of them? Vanity should be the last thing on our mind and when it is, that is when we are our most happiest and the most beautiful. Let's practice that starting today!