Okay, since I spent pretty much all weekend staring at runway shows, well...it's just going to continue. I have been absolutely gushing over a new trend or in this case in particular, graphic tops. I was shopping a couple days ago in Forever 21 and took in the gloriousness that the text laden t's we saw first pop up on the runway in shows like Alexander Wang and Jeremy Scott for S/S2014, are now everywhere, and glamazon's...it's gorgeous. I just...I can't not run out and buy one of these bad boys, however glaring and in your face they are! Yes, it's not my "typical" style...but I'm trying to bust out of my banana republic wardrobe this year.
I'm not going to lie, Forever 21 is all up on the trends these days, every time I walk in there (which seems to be a lot lately) they are on top of whatever just hit the runway.
My favorite top to hit the runway though, was Jeremy Scott's I wish, wish, wish there was a dupe for this somewhere, if you see one of course, LET ME KNOW!!
Jeremy Scott S/S 2014
I mean, he just, is so on the mark. Although his collection was a little wild for me (I'd say Betty Rubble meets Judy Jetson is how I'd subscribe it...) His graphic tops were stunning and completely original. I just can't wait, did I say that already?
So another thing on my Christmas List you can say lol. What trends are you hoping show up under your tree this year??
I can't say enough about my love for everything Karl Lagerfeld, and this week, he did not disappoint! On Tuesday Karl took over Dallas, Texas for Chanel’s Métiers d’Art Show Entitled "Paris - Dallas" and the opening of his new movie about Coco Chanel called "The Return".
It of course, was epic, like everything Karl does! Done true to form, in his signature over the top style, Karl set the scene in true Americana style with what basically looks like a retro 1960's drive-in / motorway theme when the guests arrived.
After the movie opening, guests were treated to well, I would say the main rodeo. LITERALLY. Chanel set up their runway like a rodeo, with dirt floors and grandstands! AAAHHH Who could get away with that besides Mr. Lagerfeld himself?
The collection he showed was the Wild West meets Prairie Girl meets Park Avenue, and it literally was to die for. Tons of Feathers and Chanel's signature pearls, with frill and those hats that Johnny Depp rocked in the 90's especially in Benny & Joon. Just, amazing. All I can say is that somewhere down the line, Karl got ahold of Dead Man because you can see the costume's influence all over this line. Which of course, is just marvelous.
All I can say, is that every season, and every show, Karl outdoes himself...I mean to bring in Lesage to do this crazy embroidery and Lemarie to take care of the little details like painting each individual feather and flower the girls wore, puts the whole fantasy together. All of those minute details in the long run make the show/s just stand out of the crowd. They are literally on an entirely different level.
The piece that made me think of "Dead Man"
"Dead Man"
If you'd like to see the entire runway show I've embedded it below. This and the little previews of the Return movie that Karl directed make me super excited to head over to the Chanel website to watch everything over and over and OVER again!
The only thing this blogger will say bad about Chanel, is that they chose Kristen Stewart as their new face?! Why?? That girl couldn't see style if it wrestled her down and sparkled up in her face. UGH...anyways, I digress. I hope you get swoon worthy over the line and let me know your thoughts!!
I can't wait to see how this translates to main fashion in the next 6 months!
Hey guys, so I decided to combine the days, and not only offer up some video's to watch, but also tips and kind of a day to day on what it's like living with Fibromyalgia. I thought I would tackle this and then maybe the whole Thyroid/Hormone Disease some other time. These tend to go hand in hand, but it seems like it would be such a long post that I'm sure it would bore most of you.
So, the past two weeks for me have been particularly hard living with Fibro. For those of you who don't know what Fibromyalgia is, it's basically a chronic pain disease, where in my case, my mind communicates with my body telling it that it has been hit by a truck everyday. There are tons of theories on why people get Fibro. My story, the catalyst seems to have come from living too long in pain from nerve damage, so my brain is now all messed up from it. But, they have lately started thinking that it may have been earlier then that going hand in hand with having thyroid issues.
ANYWAYS, for me, Fibro has manifested in a lot of things. Like I said, everyday I wake up feeling like someone literally took a baseball bat to me while I was sleeping. Or for a better analogy, visualize when you first start working out and you've gone harder then you normally would, you know that day after or two days after where you feel exhausted and it hurts to raise your arms, and your whole body feels stiff, and you say "ow, ow, ow" every time you go to sit down? BINGO, that's me everyday.
I also have periods of time where my memory is super foggy and I can instantly turn from being in a good mood to incredibly cranky (I think the mood thing is mostly when my pain level goes up). It always hurts to be touched by people, even someone playfully squeezing my shoulder results in full out excruciating pain in my body. I've had to cut out lots of foods because I never know when having one of them will flare something up and I will literally become swollen like I have bad arthritis. Some weeks like a few weeks ago I barely got sleep but could function. This week with the changing weather, my body can't keep up and now I have to sleep like 12-14 hours. AND I'M NOT ONE TO SLEEP THAT MUCH! Even setting alarms I sleep through them, which is so weird, so.very.weird.
Lots and Lots of Sleep
The worst way that Fibro has manifested is in the anxiety I have, making plans or going out in public, which may have shown up in me not always doing regular blogposts like I have been trying to do or being at everything I RSVP to. Making plans is hard because if I don't feel good, going somewhere is the hardest thing. Sometimes putting on clothes or sitting down to do my makeup can feel like the most insurmountable task that I just get back into bed and watch movies instead and then I feel bad because I disappoint so many people including myself. Like I want to be at home when I could be doing fun things with my friends?! UH NO.
It's really hard for me to talk about all this, because for awhile, my medications were working and I was on an upward swing, but lately with my Thyroid meds being all messed up it has literally thrown me back down to a place I haven't been at in almost 6 months, which is really upsetting and hard to explain to my friends and well, everyone! I'm not the kind of person that likes to admit when I'm not feeling good or anything like that. Let's just say, my doctor's literally have to yell at me to slow down before I hit the wall, ALL OF THE TIME. Because I push myself until they yell at me, I have these crashes, where I will then be unable to literally move out of bed for days on end. It's something that we are constantly working on and I'm learning how to build up my strength and stamina to be able to do what a normal person can handle in a day at this point. It is maddening and excruciating work, as my occupational therapist says, "This is one thing that isn't going to come easy to you. You aren't going to be able to breeze through this like college, you are going to have to do real work everyday for the rest of your life, in the smallest baby steps you will ever see." AAAHHHHHHHH I don't DO baby steps!!!
Hot baths help relieve muscle tension and pain...but it's still boring
The one nice thing (well not really nice I wish this wasn't the case) is that my mom has also been diagnosed with Fibro, so I can talk to her about it, she understands how I feel, and she gets when I need to rest or sleep till 10am when I'm at her house. We both are constantly searching out new herbs and doctors to see if that will help us.
So I guess I'm telling all of you so that you can keep me in check as well, and also to understand why in some of my video's or blog posts I sigh a lot or skip out for a couple days. It's not that I'm being neglectful it's usually that just getting up and making myself tea or breakfast can feel like the only thing I can handle for the day. It isn't depression, so please don't comment about that, it's just literally being in teeth gritting pain all day everyday. It can cause a girl to eventually lose her mind.
Of course, I always get lectured that there are ways to speed the getting back to normal process along, like not getting stressed out (which is one of the ways to make it worse BUT explain to me how you can just not ever be stressed...I mean seriously) and "resting" and taking baths, but if you have a normal brain you realize how hard and unrealistic that is to do.
BUT I'M GOING TO TRY...
This guy is a little hokey, but I think he explains things really well, and it's been nice to read his book and watch his little rants about this "new" disease which actually isn't that new. I've also included his tips with dealing with someone with Fibro. Although I'm not asking you to treat me with kid gloves or hand out doses of sympathy (you guys know how I hate being looked at like a sick puppy!) It is something to keep in mind.
I guess it's hard. For a long time I woke up thinking and praying that this morning all the pain will have gone away, it took me until a couple months ago to realize that it most likely never will. Please give allowances for people with chronic pain, it literally changes everything about them, even if you can't see it! If you think you may have Fibro or Thyroid disease or anything of that nature, go talk to your doctor! Or message me and I can send you some wonderful literature about it or refer you to the doctor's I see in the greater Seattle area. Also! If you'd like to see a blog post about the diet I'm on for dealing with chronic pain please let me know!! I'd love to tell you all the things that help manage flare ups!
It's Monday!!!! I'm exhausted!! Who'd have guessed? Lol I stayed up too late reading the last book in the Divergent series and editing a video...so...my brain is drained. I thought though, since I've been holding off posting it (mainly because it took forever) that I would include for this Makeup Monday the MAC Haul ie. all the products I got from my wonderful friend Caroline.
I still can't believe how blessed I am to have such a great friend give me so many wonderful products! Caroline was the person who really got me into trying new makeup and crazy color combinations as soon as we met back in the dorms at good ol' Seattle U. I feel like she is taking me back to my crazy color roots with this gift, and if you haven't noticed in some of the newest tutorials I've put out, I'm embracing it!
Alright, so here's the vid to watch, and if you have any questions, feel free to comment!!
and if you want to see a tutorial where I use mainly the products I got from the MAC Haul check it out down below!
Guess what day it is guys? Come on! Lol Happy Humpday and Watch It Wednesday!! We are doing November Favorites in this post, can you believe it?! How is it December already?! Not that I'm complaining, I love December! It's like this magical time where twinkly lights reign supreme and everyone has a smile on their face....okay off topic!
Here are my November favorites, most of which have been featured in posts and youtube videos this past month!!
Products Mentioned in the Video
1. Sleek & Shine Sleek Finish 5-In-1 Serum Spray | Garnier Fructis, $5, Target.com
2. Texture & Volume Spray | Oscar Blandi, $25, Ulta.com
3. Color Coat Cream Eye Shadow in Shimmering Topaz & Metallic | Ulta, $8, Ulta.com
4. Paint Pot in Delft | M A C, $20, Nordstrom.com
5. 12 Hour Made To Last Eyeshadow Pencil in 01 Eternal White | Jordana, $2.99, Walgreens.com
6. Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Corrector in Brightening | Maybelline, $8.99, Ulta.com
7. Miracle Complexion Sponge | Real Techniques, $6, Ulta.com
8. Ruby Woo | MAC, $15, Nordstrom.com
9. NightMoth | MAC, $15, Nordstrom.com
10. Blush in Dandelion | Benefit, $28, Ulta.com
11. Coromandel | Chanel, $350, Nordstrom Flagship Store Only
12. Vanilla and Cinnamon Black Tea | Trader Joes, $2, Trader Joe's Stores only
13. Mortal Instrument Series by Cassandra Clare
14. "Call Your Girlfriend" by Lucy Wainwright Roche
15. Shimmering Tree A Projection by Jennifer Steinkamp on view at the TAM through January.
I love to travel, I got it from my momma, and I especially love traveling during the winter. I know that sounds weird to many, but for our family, tons of our larger family trips were scheduled around the holidays.
This Thanksgiving I went with my mom and her husband Jon to see his extended family on Whidbey Island, it was gorgeous, and always fills the need in me to be somewhere new every month. We stayed in Coupeville, which is one of the cutest towns, and reminds me so much of the East Coast that it made me want to book a ticket back there immediately!
We walked through Ebey Landing that was as if we were walking through the cliffs in Scotland and yea, I can't say enough about that little island. I took some wonderful pictures and a little video for you guys to check out.
I originally thought my Monday post would be about all the deals and ways to spend your monday on Cyber Monday, but then I just couldn't do it, when I feel like there is something a little more important to talk about, and that is #GivingTuesday
Giving Tuesday is a new movement to create a national day of giving that helps support local charities and organizations once a year to really push for the funding they need to continue helping their community. This year I've chosen to partner with Tacoma Art Museum for Giving Tuesday. I have loved that museum since I was small and it has been an integral part of who I am and how I've developed artistically, whether I was wandering around the galleries when I was kid or volunteering in high school and college with kids doing the same, I have always felt that the TAM was my home.
This year TAM is trying to raise $10,000 to help with the construction of their new wing. Every dollar raised will be matched thanks to M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, so it really isn't that hard to help them get there!! This new construction will include a new family interactive gallery and more gallery and sculptural space. The space will also house the Haub Collection of Western American Art one of the longest spanning and largest collection of "The West" out there. All of this new construction will help mold the new artists coming out of the Pierce County area, and I think that it's something we can all stand behind.
I have always loved the community the TAM has participated in developing in the downtown Tacoma area. It is one of the reasons I chose to move there. I hope that you will consider giving to this organization if not for the fact that they have housed some absolutely incredible artists and shows there (go see Shimmering Tree by Jennifer it will blow you socks off!) But because it has made an effort to create wonderful family centered free activities for the community to learn about art and to participate in the city they live in.
I will never be able to thank the Tacoma Art Museum enough for the inspiration they have given me then and now!! Please consider giving even if it's only a $1, anything helps and you know it's going toward an amazing cause!! And if you can't give, please consider passing this along on your Facebook or Twitter with the hashtag #GivingTuesday and the link provided below!!
