The Bravery Of Women

Cardi – Smart Set; Dress – Trashy Diva; Tights – Hue; Shoes – Payless.

 It’s a focus on Kenya, where the rich go to private hospitals with clean floors and the poor go to public hospitals with blood and cockroaches as the stomping ground, in this post on world birth.  According to the article, the country has made absolutely no progress in improving maternal and infant care.  Teenage pregnancy, unsafe abortions, and HIV plague women in this African country.  But what is the worst thing?  The conditions and statistics  mentioned in this article are considered an improvement over a few years ago. 

Every new country that is examined just makes me more and more thankful for the blessedly wonderful conditions I had surrounding my labour: a clean hospital, two midwives and a student, my husband, my mother, and my best friend there to comfort and support me.  I can’t imagine going it alone, afraid to eat the food, or touch anything, and worrying about the possibility of contracting HIV during my labour.  I applaud the bravery of all these women.

p.s. I promised you guys something good when I hit 200 on GFC and I haven’t forgotten.  We’re almost there and I’ll have a good surprise for you all!

Tomorrow’s Daily Challenge:
Call your mama and thank her…for anything.

Tuesday In Review: Mini-Tens Baby Mitts

Mimi-Tens

I have this little problem.  My precious baby hates to wear mittens.  We put them on her and she flaps her arms like a little bird desperate to take flight until she has flapped them completely off.  I thought that the freezing cold would propel her to keep them on, but no.  I often end up chasing her around with a mitten in my hand – case in point.   But help has arrived! Recently on my way from the doctor’s office I walked past a shop that had these delightful things in the window.  I popped in and nabbed them ASAP. The stretchy cuff goes over her arm.  In fact we put it on over her long sleeve shirt and it reaches almost up to her armpit.  The jacket then goes over everything and voila!  Gloves stay on!

No amount of arm flapping gets these puppies off.
Trust me, she’s tried.
It’s really funny to see her flap for five minutes straight.
Plus, they’re lined with thinsulate so they’re nice and cozy for the winter.

They are a little pricey for me – about $40 after taxes – but I bought them a size larger so theoretically she can use them for three winters.  And if we do that, they’re just over $10 per winter.  I think that’s a good deal.

Bold Blue And Radiant Red

Top – thrifted; Dress & Socks – Ruche (sold out, but available at Modcloth) ; Tights – Hue; Shoes – Clarks; Pinwheel pin – c/o Blue Eyed Owl.

I wanted to wear something fun and innocent today, and for some reason lately I’m reaching for bold blues, or radiant reds, so it was only natural that at some point I would combine the two.  I need to thank the two fabulous make-up artists, Jessica and Francesca, on the set of my recent film shoot *here and here* for showing my that I can indeed where bright red lipstick despite my thinner than desired lips.  Oh and by the way, I’m loving this neutral eye palette I recently got, it goes amazing with everything!  Today I wore Virgin, Sidecar, and Darkhorse.

This royal blue dress has become a beloved item in my closet, and whenever I wear it simply can not resist the urge to wear these gorgeous pins I received from Liz from the Blue Eyed Owl.  It’s like they were made for each other.

p.s.  if you like this look, please go here and ‘like’ it for the world to see.  Thanks!

Tomorrow’s Daily Challenge:
Look at yourself in the mirror, ignore all your “flaws,” and list five features you really like about your physical appearance. 
*if you’re willing to, I’d love to hear what they are in the comments*

Naked

I haven’t bought make-up in over a year, not counting the odd lipgloss, and since I was running really low on my basics I decided to treat myself to this amazing neutral palette from Urban Decay.  I mostly wear neutrals and only occasionally add a dash of green, purple, or blue to the mix, so this set was ideal.  It has matte, and shimmer and ranges from super soft to daring bold colors.   This is definitely my perfect everyday kit. Done and done.

Random Sundays: Two Goodies

I just finished shooting a film so I’m going to go enjoy a glass of wine and relax. Tomorrow I’ll be back with lots of fun posts and outfits. I’ll leave you with these two darling shots of the family at the park. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

’60s Look

Me as “Dr. Martha MacTagger” on the set of Writer’s Room.

Remember how I told you I’m on set for the next three days on a film?  Well, check out my acting blog for some fun behind-the-scenes shots.  The first day went really well.  We ran a little behind, but that’s normal, and I had a blast working with the crew.  But I do have to give a big shout out to the make-up and hair department for making a great ’60s look.  They’ll be plenty more shots from the next few days as well.

To Bang Or Not To Bang

Top – H&M; Sweater – F21; Scarf – somewhere in Europe; Jeans – Guess; Shoes – Payless.

I flip flop back and forth as to whether I should keep my bangs or not. Granted, I’m very happy that this is my biggest concern right now.  So yesterday, I chop, chop, chopped them off! This is what I do, I grow them out and chop them off, always in the midst of indecision.

Do you guys have a things like that?

And speaking of bangs, I’ve decided that I’m not going to give Baby bangs.  My mama always did that whole bowl haircut thing, and though I know it was the easy choice and I totally understand that now that I’m a mama, I always hated the bangs.  Straight across and blunt cut.  Ugh!  Gives me shivers just thinking about those grade school pics right now.  So I’m going to try to persevere and resist the temptation to cut and give her bangs too.

First, she has to grow some hair though.  The little baldy has hair on the top and back, makin’ an awesome mohawk, but she’s seriously lacking some side coverage.

p.s.  I’m not crazy about this outfit, but my commitment to you guys is honesty, so in that vein I was obliged to show you what I wore. 

 *Are you as excited for True Stories and Quote Of Today to come back as I am?  Well, just a few more days until December.  I’ve got some goodies for you!*

A Great Tip For Mixing Prints

Shirt – AE; Sweater – F21; Jeans – Guess; Shoes – Payless.

How much do I love the fact that I’m wearing nerdy chic with ripped jeans?  A lot!  It’s so much fun to mix styles and patterns together that “shouldn’t” go together.  Like the fact that I’m wearing a checkered shirt with a poodle sweater.  I read a great tip today in December’s Marie Claire about mixing prints: “Lay out the items that you plan to mix.  Now squint your eyes.  Each item should remain separate and distinct when examined in this way.” Isn’t that a great little tip?

I’m on set for the next three days, so I’m going to try to keep posting, but you’ll forgive me if I’m a little lax about it until Monday, right?  I’ll be sure to have lots of pictures for you to see over on my acting site.

Tomorrow’s Daily Challenge:
Give someone you care about a great big hug!

Crafty

Ruche has a wonderful holiday DIY guide, and recently I tried to do two of their ‘crafts.’  I made the Pomegranate Kiss (minus the alcohol and added a bit of orange juice), and their holiday nails.  So fun!

I’d love to know what crafts and DIYs you’re up to this holiday season.

Tomorrow’s Daily Challenge:
Find a situation to exercise patience where you wouldn’t normally do so.

The Privilege Of Giving Thanks

Sweater – made by my Babcia; Infinity scarf/hood – Smart Set; Shorts – Ruche; Tights – H&M; Boots – Feet First.

Continuing with the Toronto Star’s focus on childbirth around the world, today we talk about Afghanistan.  I was reading the article when this sentence struck me like baseball bat to the back of the heart, “In this benighted nation, a woman dies in childbirth every 29 minutes.”  This country has the world’s highest maternal mortality rate.

Then right on the heels of that came this: One out of every five children dies before its fifth birthday.  The maternal mortality rate is 10 times higher than the number of civilians killed in conflict annually.”  This is just the cusp of the harsh and cruel reality that faces women there everyday.  During this week of Thanksgiving for our friends south of the border, I join them in giving thanks that I live in such a privileged place.

Tomorrow’s Daily Challenge:
Whether in the U.S. or not, today give thanks for 10 things you have.
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