Oh hey, stranger.
It’s been a while since I last sat down to write a proper post of any kind… much less one related to “Fashion” (with a capital ‘F’), which was the crux of my blogging “career” once upon a time. It’s been a hot minute since a lot of things, actually, and true to form, I’ll get you all up to speed with a life update via stream of consciousness. There will be rambling. There will be run-on sentences. And I guarantee there will be so many semi-colons and em-dashes present you’ll think I’m lying about being a copy editor (amongst other things). A girl’s gotta let loose outside of our cubicle, k? In the meantime, I’ve finally published all five parts of my Greek travel guide—take a peek if a Grecian adventure is in your future.
I’m still recovering from post-vacation blues; there’s something about waking up to sun, sand, and an endless sea of white and blue that keeps the mind calm and heart happy. That, and being able to walk around in a bikini and itty-bitty pair of shorts without feeling hypersexualized. Everyone’s in a thong-kini, and quite frankly, no one gives two sh*ts about how good, bad, or hot you look. It’s freeing—literally and figuratively—and so, so easy to get dressed in the morning. I’ll admit: I went through a bit of a wardrobe crisis my first week back. Readjusting to normal clothes was not easy.
There’s a plus side to it, though, and I want to keep it real for all the girls who pop in a read this blog of mine. I’m becoming much more comfortable with my body. It’s not to say that I look in the mirror and don’t feel a shroud of self-doubt (because I do): it’s just that I now know how it feels not to care, even if the freedom lasted for just under two weeks. It feels so good. It feels good to not give a damn, and it feels even better to look in the mirror and not dismiss what you see. And so, in celebration of this break-through, I put up one of my beach pics as my phone’s wallpaper as a constant reminder of that feeling. Shameless? Hardly. In a world where women are judged by men for being too prude or too loose (whatever those two dynamics mean), celebrate you, baby girl. Keep track of the moments you feel free and continue to strive for that state of mind. If it means blowing up that photo you love of yourself, do it. (I highly recommend Social Print Studio.) If it means buying a few new pieces to up your wardrobe game, do it. (Just be wary of splurging to fill an empty void, like lack of self-love, with a high you get from new purchases.)
And I’m doing just that. I’ve been stuck in a rut for so long now that I’m itching to start fresh—what better time to start than the Back-to-School season? I bought a set of new notebooks, a stack of September issues (including, but not limited to: Glamour, for Barack Obama’s essay on feminism (!!); Harper’s Bazaar, for the cover featuring the one and only Wests; and of course, Vogue), and shiny new things. I’m easing my way into becoming a jewelry girl (the pieces are minimalist, but still). I’m experimenting with different silhouettes (see painter’s jumpsuit above). I’m into dancewear again. I’m stalking Zara for office basics, and investing in new bikinis to keep the self-love momentum going. Things are looking up, and if buying things can help a girl feel good, I’m all about it. (Within reason, of course.)
Here’s what else I’ve been up to. My girls and I performed at Salsamania, then at the New York Salsa Congress, where we lived off Juice Press and Green Symphony smoothies and celebrated post-show with a infinite chips, extra-hot salsa, and vegan quesadillas at Blockheads. I didn’t win the competition to become the new face of GFranco shoes, but the amount of support I received was more than enough. I’m directing my own team, I’m assisting another, and I’m performing more. Mercury may be in retrograde, and I may wear leggings into the office more often than I should, but hey: no complaints.
Happy September.
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xx
Your turn. Thoughts?