Standing Out In A Sea Of Beauty

Top – Ruche; Maxi – Spotted Moth; Booties – Aldo.

 A friend and I were recently talking about beauty.  We were discussing the prevalence of a certain standard of beauty in society and the pressure we both feel to live up to it, and the fact that we both deviate from said standard in highly “negative” ways.  So it’s kind of interesting that in the September issue of Flare magazine (a Canadian fashion magazine) there was a whole reader survey about beauty, standards, and pressures.

Us Canucks had some interesting things to say:
The images we see on the internet, and social networking sites on a daily basis heighten our expectations of beauty and perfection in ourselves.  This sets the bar higher and higher for ourselves, and we feel a pressure to live up to it daily.  And while most of us have a dissatisfaction with our body shape and weight, overall we feel beautiful.

Do you agree?

This sort of goes along with what my friend and I were talking about.  The prevalence of amazing photos, and such a huge assortment of beautiful women makes both of us feel we have to live up to some unachievable bar of beauty.

Do you struggle with weight and body image?  Do you feel beautiful?  In such a menagerie of beauty, how do you stand out?

Just a side note since we’re talking about photos, I’ve been just using curves and color balance exclusively in my photos recently.  So how do you like it?

Quote of Today:
“You’re evil Justin Bieber! You’re mistreating that bear in your castle!”

Random Sundays: All About People

Here’s who was lurking in my garden…

The lovely Miss Olivia channeling the ’70’s with her awesome hair.

Mark, showing me his “pick-up” face.  Ladies, if you see this face, you’re about to be hooked!

Just a random straight on portrait of me.
Happy Sunday!  See y’all tomorrow!

True Story:
Baby tried to pick up Drake the Dog like one of her toys.  
Didn’t go over so well with him.  
Large grunt and running away onto the couch.  
On his part, not hers.

Hau Hau!!

Top & Belt – F21; Skirt – Old Navy; Sandals – Zellers.

Husband came home last night.  And he brought me a truffle brownie and his magic foot massage hands!  That made me feel better. And I finally got a shower – once Baby went to bed mind you – but still, I got my shower.  Hope you guys have a happy Saturday!  I’m going to work tonight.  I also have to memorize a script and make a self video for an interview/audition I can’t get to since I’m going away to a B&B for my seven year anniversary next weekend.  Can you believe it?  It’s been almost seven years of marriage?  That’s nuts!  Nuts I tell you!

True Story:
Yesterday I realized that Baby has been saying something for a while now.  You know that I speak to Baby exclusively in Polish, right?  So the sound a dog makes in Polish is roughly “hau hau”   not “woof woof.”  That’s how we do it (phonetically it’s said ‘how how’ but it’s spelled h-a-u).  Anyway, yesterday I noticed that when Baby sees a dog she points at it and does an improper version of “hau hau.” *it’s more of a consistent sounding grunt*  So now we ask her “what does a doggie do?”  or “what does Drake do?”  and she makes the same noise.  We’re sooo excited!  It’s really thrilling for us to see her starting to understand language and to really react to it.  The idea that this little person is communicating with us is incredible.  
Sorry, long story.  And maybe not that thrilling to you guys.  
Soo…
“Hau Hau!”

Flaking Out, But Honestly, Can You Blame Me?

Shirt – H&M; Shorts – AE; Sandals – Zellers.

No shower.  No outfit.  Ratty old black cotton dress.  Baby crying for the third day in a row.  She’s teething so nothing is right.  I feed her.  Cry.  I stop feeding her. Cry.  I pick her up. Cry. I put her down. Cry.  I take her for a walk. Cry. I bring her back inside. Cry.  Everything is wrong for her today.  Nothing is to her liking. 

*sigh*
Of course, I’m doing this all by myself since Husband is away on a canoe trip. So you get an outfit from a few days ago.   Oh the joys of Motherhood.  I’m going to go watch tv.  Top Gear, in case you’re interested.  
At least Baby’s lungs are healthy and strong. 
True Story: 
Sorry, I’m flaking out on this one today.  

Let The Sunshine In

Belt – H&M; Wedges – Payless.

I thought about wearing white shoes with this outfit but I don’t really like it when things are too matchy-matchy; so instead, I went with nude wedges.  I think it looks better.  This has to be one of the easiest dresses to wear.  It’s comfy, breathable, and styles so easily.  And its available in so many varying options.  I bought mine from Ruche, but you can get one in jade from Dress 911, or a green one from Spotted Moth one as well.   And if you’re plus size, pick up this ivory one from Modcloth, or this coral one from Ruche.

Remember, when I swore off shopping? Yeah, I’ve failed miserably at this.  Well, not “miserably” – it’s not like I’m in debt or have gone outside my means.  Just done really poorly in terms of will power.  But I keep trying.  And I’ve got a renewed energy to do so.  Partly because of the sunshine.  Partly because things have really picked up.  I’m hopefully going to have some exciting stuff to share with you in the coming months. 

Quote of Today:
“It’s like flopping down on a sofa made of Chuck Norris.”

Always Something There To Remind Me

This model ship was built by my late-Godfather.  He loved to build models of all sorts, and he would completely craft everything himself whenever possible.  This model stands about two and a half feet tall and it’s absolutely amazing!  Whenever I’m at my Mom’s house I enjoy looking at it, not just for the beauty but for the memory of my Godfather as well.  And the name always makes me laugh too ’cause it’s a not-nice nickname he had for my Mama *she’s his big sister*    And that reminds me of him too.  tee, hee.

When You Get Between A Mother And Her Avocado

Tank – Mango; Skirt – hand me down; Belt & Booties – Ruche.

Though you can’t really tell from these shots, it’s overcast, rainy, hot and humid here all at the same time.  Crazy!  So what better pick me up on a dreary overcast day than a bright and happy skirt?  I wanted to add a necklace and make-up to this outfit, but since I’m spending the day at home with Baby I drew the line at the belt.  The necklace would’ve made it a little too dressy for bumming ’round the house with a toddler *can you believe she’s a toddler already???*  And make-up?  Well, if I’m not meeting anyone, or working on tv then I’d rather not bother.  It’s better for your skin anyway.

True Story:
Went to the grocery store to get avocados (a must in our house because of Baby’s love of them);  they were out.  
Went to local fruit market; they were out.
Went to other grocery store in search of elusive avocados.  They had three!  
Over ripe. 
Near rotten.  
Went up to produce guy, “Do you have any more avocados?”  
Guy: “Yes, they’ll be out soon.” 
Continues stocking cauliflowers.
Me: “Okay, I’ll wait.”  
Guy continues working.  I just stand there looking at him
Guy: “Why don’t I go get them.”
Me:  “Thanks”
Maybe a little too pushy (I don’t usually like to be so), but like I said, they’re life and death at our house.

Pizza! Pizza!

We order pizza at our house once every two months or so, and this time we decided to share.  
So Baby had pizza for the first time.  
And here’s no surprise:  she loooooved it! 

Stripey McStripe

Glasses & Shirt – F21; Khakis – Banana Republic; Necklace – Ruche; Bag – Matt by Matt&Nat; Shoes – Payless.

This was a great outfit to wear to the studio and on air because it kept me cool outside since the pants and top are of a light material, but it also kept me warm inside the over air-conditioned studio.  And I love that I still remained very professional looking.  True, I don’t need to since my job as an on-air personality is just to look cute, cool, or otherwise interesting, but it’s nice to sometimes exercise the option of looking professional. 

And can I just share how much I’m loving stripes recently?  So much!

Quote of Today:
in conversation at the studio I heard this,
“My greatest fear is irony” 

Tuesday In Review: Uncle Goose Blocks

Finding great children’s toys is hard, harder than I thought it would be.  You want them to be educational, and to promote creativity, but you also want them to be fun.  And if you’re of a foreign language, you’d also like them to be in Polish.  To get Polish toys it’s not as simple as going down to the local toy store.  Here, when I find them I have to snatch them up.  Enter the Uncle Goose blocks.  

They’re handmade and non-toxic.  The company is 30 years young and is comprised of artisans who personally make these toys.  I think that supporting local business and craftsmen is important.  And though the U.S.A. isn’t local to me per se, I like that it’s not made overseas like almost everything else these days.  They come in regular English, but best of all they come in specialty sets as well.  There are dozens of foreign language sets to choose from, and there’s also two braille sets.  Made of real wood, they are sturdy and hefty – and won’t break easily.  And I love that Baby can grow with them.

Right now, she flings them around, and puts them in and out of the box.  But as she grows, the words, letters, and numbers written on them in Polish will be fantastic teaching tools.  Already she loves when I describe each color for her and stack them to build a tower *which she can them demolish*   Yes, I could go to a local big toy store and get plastic blocks *and risk a toxic recall – everyone remembers that fiasco* – but they wouldn’t be handmade, and most of all they wouldn’t be Polish.  So essentially, if you need a specialty set of blocks – get these.  They’re completely worth the slightly higher price point.

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