Shoes-day!

Thank you for all your lovely comments about my no-makeup picture for Faces of Beauty.  The blogworld is way too kind.  

Shoes-day Tuesday is here again.  And I’m starting Fall a day early by showcasing some boots.  But to bridge the gap, I’ve paired them with a summery pink dress: 

Summer meets Fall

 

Dress by Express ($60), shoes by Gianni Binni (<$100), belt by Steve Madden,  brown ruffle jacket purchased in LA 7 years ago. 

Gianni Binni Boots (from Dillards)

 

Can I just say that I felt fairly saucy in this outfit?  At least that’s what I thought when I decided to wear it to the  Lady Gaga concert a couple weeks ago.  I even thought I was dressing fairly scandalous for my 30-yr-old-self.  Then I got to the venue.  Let me say that I had waaayy to many clothes on.  I clearly didn’t get the memo to wrap myself in yellow “Caution” tape.   And clearly I forgot my hot pants at home.  Oh and I’m pretty sure several guys showed off hotter legs in their minskirts  

Anyway…. you may be surprised based on previous Shoes-Days to see such a short heel.  Well it’s very apropos to sport the kitten heel since Bazaar is touting the kitten heel’s comeback in its September issue.  I’m actually quite the fan of the kitten heel (and not just because of its cute name).  There is something so demure and chic about a simple low-heeled pump, slightly pointed toe and perhaps a slingback. 

Are you going to rock the kitten heel this Fall? If you have some cute ones, please describe or share a link!

Ending the Insight with no makeup

We’re back at Monday again and this will be a short week for me as I am off to Charlottesville to visit the hubby’s fam. 

Today is the last of the 30 Days of Insight, so here we go: 

Day 28- A moment you remember being completely happy in and a description of why you believe you were. What is your definition of happiness?  I’ve already said this before, but I was honestly truly elated on my wedding day.  The smile never left my face all day  

Jump for Joy!

 

Day 29- What you live for.  I live for those that I love.  

Day 30- Ways you believe you have grown over the past thirty days.  I can’t say I’ve grown because of the 30 Days of Insight, but I have grown because of the blogger community.  I am so inspired by all the women out there who are living healthy, full lives and have so much wisdom, wit, and delicious foods to share. 

One such thing I found in the blog world was in Heather’s Faces of Beauty campaign.  She challenged the bloggies out there to post a picture of themselves with little to no makeup from the shoulders up.   Accompanying the photo should be 500 words on why you are beautiful or your journey to beauty.  This also reminds me of a youtube clip that is going around that shows how much goes into a photo shoot which transforms a lovely young girl literally into someone else through the magic of photoshop.  It’s natural to want to present the best version of yourself and I am no exception.  Do I want to post a pic with spinach in the teeth? food baby making its debut through a slim dress?  hair plastered to the head after a rainstorm?  Of course not.  But sometimes there is a value in seeing someone in pure form — sans makeup, hair product, fancy clothes, and fab shoes.  So this is me: 

This is me

 

Here I am, no makeup (minus chapstick), no hair product, and all 30 years of smile lines and laugh lines in full view.  I have a hard time picking out what I think is beautiful, but I will say I’m happy with my smile, my big round eyes, and I rather like my hands (which you can’t see). 

Did you find out anything about me over this 30 Days of Insight? 

Will you continue the Faces of Beauty campaign?

Does satisfication make you complacent?

Happy Friday!  We made it through another week — woohoo!

Last night we had the 3rd Women of Silicon Valley nights and it continues to grow.  We are going to be doing some awesome stuff in the months ahead.  I didn’t take any pics, but I hope that the hostess will let me share her white bean recipe and I also need to tell you about her two chickens.  Yes, chickens   Stay tuned…

Today’s topic is complacency.  While I could easily address this in all aspects of my life, I’m going to keep it honed in.

People will ask whether you are fueled by positive or negative comments.  I thought that the positive is what motivated me.  Not true.  If something is negative, I tend to want to make it better, work harder, do more.  This goes with my weight.  I think part of the reason why I weigh myself every day is that I will never become too satisfied aka complacent.  I fear that if I get too comfortable, then I will get lazy and think I don’t need to monitor what I eat or will not need to workout that day. 

This continuous place of dissatisfaction of what my body looks like or what my current weight is, propels me to take action.  I find this comforting — to take charge, to do something. 

Admittedly this has been a theme throughout my entire life.  During college and graduate school, I never wanted revel in the A’s believing that would make me not work as hard and then I’d end up with a ‘B’.  I rarely celebrated my successes because I was too intent on how I would reach the next goal.

To me, the word content means stagnant.  And when you are stagnant, it’s obvious you are not moving forward and for some reason, I think that is wrong.

What is the downside of this mindset?  I’m rarely living in the moment.  By definition, I think being dissatisfied will motivate me to reach my goals.  I shun words like content and satisfaction when I could be living within these terms. 

This is more than the “grass is always greener somewhere else” and “not good enough.”  Why those elements can be there, this is a way-of-life for me and I’d like to begin making a shift where “in the now” is my success.

What motivates you?  Positive or negative?  Can you relate to any of my thinking?

30 Days of Insight: Day 27- Your definition of the meaning of life.  Sheesh, these last few are getting rather esoteric, no?  The meaning of life: exploring as much of who you are and the world around you as possible, while creating and nurturing relationships along the way.