Picking Out the Poison

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Black Bomber Jacket: Forever 21

Lace Crop Top: Primark

Olive Pants: Walmart

Black Quilted Clutch: Forever 21

Black Timberland Boots: Savers

In the world we live in today we are told “GO, GO, GO!” We are encouraged to put aside emotions, life, family, friends, and life moments all because we need to work. Then as life goes by we notice ourselves feeling weak, and sick from dealing with the daily poisons of the world all because we put our well being aside. 

All my life I have been told that I am all about “fun” and that I need to come down to reality. This always made me frustrated as I don’t think I am all about fun, as much as I am all about living my life. People put aside so much to go to work every day, and that is a really sad cultural norm that we have created for ourselves.

Fall is my favorite season for so many reasons, as I have mentioned before. It is a time of year where people come together to fulfill season traditions and holidays that celebrate expression & being thankful. Our culture is very much consumed by the need to push aside personal time in order to make money, and I do completely understand money makes the world go round, but not your well being.

Every fall I try to go to one of my favorite places in the world, Gould Hill Farm. It is an incredible place to go apple picking as it is high up in the mountains surrounded by the treasures of the world. I have been going to this particular orchard with my family since I was extremely little, and I really do try to go each and every year. It is important to take time for yourself, your family, your friends, even your pets, and you will realize that by taking time you are taking care of yourself.

 People push aside time as if the world has endless amounts of it when in reality we all have a ticking clock. Part of health and beauty is to take moments off from the restless culture to appreciate the world & people around us. Going to places we went to as a child and bringing the ones you love to create new memories is truly a gift. We may all have to grow up and join the real world, but we also need to remember how important it is to stay connected to our youth.

As I was walking around the orchard watching my boyfriend monkey his way up the trees I looked out at the incredible horizon and took a deep breath. It may not have been a long moment of gratitude, but it certainly was pure and full. Nature has a way of giving back to you just by you being engulfed in it. If you find yourself feeling sad, angry, stressed, anxious, depressed, restless, or any other negative feeling take a walk and focus on everything around you. I know it seems silly since this won’t make the pains go away, but being appreciative can sooth the soul.

Apple picking in this incredible orchard is one tradition I will always make an effort to uphold as it is just one day to be in the beauty of nature. As I get older I am able to take time for myself less and less, but I know it is sooooo important to do so! Take this season of thanks as a way to appreciate the things we have, the people that bless us, and the beauty of nature. Remember that traditions are here to give us a sense of stability in this forever changing life, and as much as life tends to consume us we have to make sure we step back.

I know you may be confused as a first time reader that I am writing about tradition as this is a “fashion, health & beauty blog,” but as I mentioned before health and beauty start with your mind and then your body. It is important to use these moments to heal our souls. For the fashion element I will say that this can also be a great time of expression and fun too! A lot of people will get all dressed up to go out and feel the fall. Families will get dolled up and use these beautiful places as backgrounds for Christmas cards.

As I mentioned in my Fall Shades & Color History post (see post below) during the fall season people are surrounded by color giving them a sense of excitement to dress up. Apple picking is always so fun for me as it gives me a chance to be inspired by color, and I usually wear candy apple reds, granny smith greens, or McIntosh maroons. Every year I get excited to celebrate the tradition of not only Gould Hill Farm, but also dressing up to feel my very best while enjoying every part of my day.

I always say if you look good you feel good, and how much more fun is it to look good & feel good while making memories you will carry with you forever? Dressing up doesn’t have to mean “dressing up” either! It simply means feeling good in what you are wearing. I notice a lot of people wear dresses to apple pick which I have done in the past too, as it is usually still hot out. This year I went very casual and wanted to feel good even if I wanted to climb a tree.

Remember to take time for yourself, remember to take time on your appearance maybe not all the time, but sometimes to feel good. Remember to enjoy the beauty of nature that we tend to forget about on day to day, and remember to create traditions that celebrate you & the ones you love! We don’t have endless time in this world, and it is a gorgeous one. Find those places that bring you a sense of bliss, and make an effort to go to them at least once a year! You will surely find that you will enjoy your life a lot more if you do, and remember we all must pick out the poisons life brings by appreciating the things we do have!

Where do you love to go apple picking? Is there a place you go every year? What traditions in your life bring you bliss? Let me know! The best way to make new traditions is by sharing them with others and finding new places to explore! If you too would like to visit my piece of heaven visit: http://www.gouldhillfarm.com/ 

Fashion Nova Jeans Obsession

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Black Turtleneck: Marshall's 

Moon Necklace: Moonglow.com 

Wool Tan Cape: Amazon.com 

Sunglasses: Primark 

Jeans: Fashion Nova (of course)

Black Booties: Target

Finding that perfect pair of jeans is basically impossible. I know that I personally haven’t worn a pair of jeans in years! I have very high hips and a very dis-proportioned figure, so finding a pair of jeans I feel physically comfortable in is extremely hard. I would love the way I looked wearing jeans, but then I would sit down and literally lose circulation in my stomach because they rise higher on my stomach and lower on my back (due to my figure). I would get cramps and have to unbutton my pants whenever I could just because jeans gave me such physical pain.

I hate when people tell me I can wear whatever I want because I am tiny… that is the most frustrating thing I hear about clothes. No one, I repeat, no one has an easy time finding clothes, especially not petite women. Every pant I find that I like is too long for me, and I don’t like to spend a lot of money on pants since they usually get ruined (aka stretch out in between my thighs and eventually rip), so why would i get them tailored? Remember people... we all have something!

For years now I watched the girls around me put together these gorgeous ensembles wearing beautiful pairs of denim, and to be honest I felt really bad about myself because I couldn't wear them too. I just wanted to wear a pair of jeans and not lose circulation and get cramps… I just wanted to be “normal.” I started talking to my co-workers about my problems and my amazing boyfriend, and they all were very encouraging telling me that I shouldn’t give up on that perfect pair of jeans! So a couple weeks ago I decided to take a risk.

 I have been ordering a few items here and there from a website called Fashion Nova, and have been happy with my orders. They were, however, all spandex items so I wasn’t really worried about the fit. I love the site because they cater to trendy, affordable fashion, but also to girls with curves. They carry plus size items, as well as cropped so they really hit all of the “hard to find” sizes. The biggest issue in retail I used to hear day in and day out is that when you are a certain size it’s not necessarily that you can’t find clothes that fit it's that you can’t find cute clothes that fit you.

I am ecstatic to say I ordered a pair of jeans (shown above) and have never been so happy with a pair of pants! They fit perfectly, I mean perfectly and I cannot even believe it! When I pulled them on the first time I felt like I was in the movie The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, as if they were some kind of miracle. They are high wasted which is why they fit me so well; other pants dig into my stomach (as I mentioned above) due to the fact that I really need pants to come up higher. They are also cropped so the length is perfect too! 

The shipping took longer than they said it would, which did frustrate me to be honest. The promised time is 2 business days, but they don’t mention that it is 2 business days after they ship it, and for me personally it took them about a week to ship it. However, the fact that they fit me so perfectly, felt so incredibly comfortable, and look like they cost me $50.00 or more when they actually only cost $28.40 with shipping (and a discount code) they are more than worth the wait.

I am now going to be ordering a few more pairs to wear to work (aka ones without rips) because I just can’t tell you enough that this is such an amazing site! I can’t speak for all the products, and I do know that the other items I ordered (aka skin tight body suits) were a bit thin, but still so comfortable and chic. I recently recommended Fashion Nova to one of my old co-workers she was skeptic about the site because they have bad reviews, but now is obsessed and keeps ordering! 

I think shopping online is always a risk since I learned in my fashion design courses that every store has their “croquis,” which is simply a basic sizing chart that may not be accurate, but is what the store bases their sizing off of. For example when you go to certain stores such as H&M you go grab your normal size 6 pants. You go into the dressing room or take them home and try to slide them on and can’t get past your calf!

Why is that? It’s because that stores “croquis” starts at a smaller size than a normal size 6. So they might start at a size 2 and call it a 6. You always have to be careful with sizing in general. I will go into more detail about this issue in another post as it is a HUGE problem with the industry. For now I will finish by saying I was a bit unsure about sizing until I slid them on, and felt like I was in a whole new world!

Try out the site yourself, and let me know! Have you ever ordered from this site before? How was your experience? Do you have a site to find those perfect jeans that you can’t stop raving about? I am always in the market to find new places and try new things, and I love to hear your feedback!

Below I listed a few different examples of some Fashion Nova jeans available on the site, and if you would like to try this incredible site out yourself, here you go: https://www.fashionnova.com/  

Fall Shades & Color History

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Burgundy Dress: Charlotte Ruse

Timberland Boots: Savers

Sunglasses: Primark 

Gold Rings: Aldo 

Moon Necklace: Moonglow.com

Watch: DKNY

Choker: Stole from sister ;) 

With every season comes a new color. Fall is especially known as the time of year where colors such as: ox blood, aubergine (French for eggplant), pumpkin, and olive green are featured as if they were not something we have seen before. This fall season the color Burgundy seems to be what everyone is raving about. Last year the color maroon was the main color, the year before that it was aubergine, and a few years before that it was ox blood.

            Color has been a key element of fashion for many, many years. It has been used to define royalty back during the Elizabethan Era between 1558-1603, and it was a law that if you were not of Nobel blood you could not wear it. The purple dye used to create garments of this color was created by the crushing of thousands of sea sells. It would take ten thousand murex mollusks to make the dye for just one toga. In this era this purple dye was worth more than its weight in gold & this became the reason it represented wealth & power (Facts from: http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/color-purple.htm).

            Purple isn’t the only fall color we have seen dictating history however, olive green has been a very important color for years and years due to the Army. In fact, the army has actually been a HUGE influencer for both color, pattern (camouflage), and tailoring. You can see how we still use this influence in our modern day fashion culture. The color Olive Green was originally called “Olive Drab,” and was used as camouflage for uniforms in the U.S. Army since WWII, and has influenced fashion ever since.

            Every color has a history and it is so amazing how influential color still is today. Whenever we see those fall shades we are excited and awakened for all the season traditions to come. Apple picking, pumpkin picking, corn mazes, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Apple Cider, Pumpkin pie, etc. Fall is a very unique season in the sense that colors seem to go through a cycle and come back around every couple years. This is not as common in Spring, Summer, and Winter, although, of course it does happen.

            The other day my boyfriend and I visited a local farm and saw all the gorgeous colors that made us feel the autumn spirit. I think one of the obvious reasons we get excited about color more this season than others is because of the changing leaves. Fall is a time of a change in pace, and it is represented by the change in shades our fellow trees endure. It is something that people from all over the world come to see and bask in the beauty of nature.

            Just as fashion cycles through color so does nature, and the colors of fall fashion seem to emulate those we see around us. This season I want to challenge you to use those colors as an experiment. A lot of people are afraid of color and once the season hits we resort back to our all black everything. This year be a little bolder; engage yourself in the history behind the colors you see. Play around with different shades and see if you find something that defines and flatters you.

            Below I listed the definitions and some brief history behind some of our most popular fall colors in recent fashion history. When I took my fashion history course one summer in California I learned so many interesting facts about how much fashion really influenced our world. I think it is important to know why we wear the things that are popular in today’s fashion, because it always stems from our past.

            In the outfit above I wore a burgundy midi dress with my black choker, my black timberland boots, and this very special necklace from https://moonglow.com/ to which I will be writing a whole article about in the near future!

            I hope you enjoyed the little fashion history I wanted to share, and found it very interesting, as well. Fashion was something that used to be decided for us, now we have style and the ability to determine our own fashion. It is really cool to know the history of colors and fashion and know that it still influences what we wear now.

            The next time you reach for your all black ensemble try to encourage yourself to expand your horizons by adding a little burgundy, olive green, or maybe even aubergine? Remember that once upon a time you couldn’t wear purple unless you were of Nobel blood, or olive unless you were in the army. Times have certainly changed and given us the opportunity to choose our own style. It is a blessing we take for granted that is for sure, and we are lucky we no longer have to live by any “rules of fashion.”

Olive Green:  is a dark yellowish-green color like that of unripe or green olives. The first recorded use of olive drab as a color name in English was in 1892.

Burgundy: a reddish purple color; Burgundy is a deep shade of red. It is named after Burgundy wine. This wine is named after the Burgundy region of France.

Maroon: is a dark brownish red color which takes its name from the French word marron, or chestnut. 

Aubergine: Eggplant is a dark purple or brownish-purple color that resembles the color of the outer skin of European eggplants. Another name for the color eggplant is aubergine (the French, German and British English word for eggplant).

Ox Blood: The first use of the term oxblood as a color name in the English language dates back to 1695–1705. The name is derived from the color of the blood of an ox. The ox blood was used as a pigment to dye fabric, leather and paint. It is most commonly described as a dark red with purple and brown undertones.

(All definitions found on google.com)

Boston Fashion Week

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Burgundy Bomber Jacket: Forever 21

Burgundy Crop Top: Forever 21

Black Leggings: Walmart

Rose Choker: Primark

Maroon Heels: Nine West 

Everyone has a journey, a story that they tell to others. Every story is filled with chapters that are leading us one step closer to our goals, and our purpose. My story begins when I was not even one years old. My mother used to find her infant child going through her dresser drawers as if she was Cinderella trying to find the perfect look for the ball. That little child was, of course, me.

Ever since I can remember I have had some sort of engraved ability and passion for clothes, fashion, and style. I was homeschool and very sheltered as a child so I used clothes and my imagination to create the life I wished I had. I remember being nine years old sitting on the floor of my bedroom. I used to stare up at the many magazine pictures I had displayed across my walls picking out the makeup I wanted to try, and the outfit I wanted to pair with it.

Clothes were always my escape and my refuge. They were what I clung to as my identity; because I felt that I had to fit the mold I was taught. Now I use them as a way to help people feel good about themselves, and understand that fashion doesn’t have to be a negative thing. The question is, however, how did I acquire all this knowledge? Because I can assure you that it not just from just my natural love & passion.

When I was nineteen I attended School of Fashion Design, Boston right on Newbury Street. At the time I was living in New Hampshire and making the commute down to Boston a couple times a week. I stayed there for a year and a half and realized two things: one that the commute was too much for someone learning to sew, and two that I didn’t really want to sew clothes all day long, I wanted to help people.

So I took a few months off all the while working in retail. Eventually I enrolled at Southern New Hampshire University and graduated with a degree in Fashion Merchandising. Along the way I worked at many retail stores such as: Aldo Shoes, DKNY, Forever 21, etc. There I learned how to dress people based off their figure, their desires, or a specific need.

When I went to Boston school of fashion design I had an amazing professor who taught me A LOT about design, clothes, and fashion, of course. His name is Jay Calderin. He is actually the founder of Boston Fashion Week and wrote an incredible book: Form, Fit, and Fashion. It is a really cool book about the world of fashion and I was lucky enough to get a signed copy!

The other night my roommate & best friend Alison invited me to a fashion show. Ali works for the company Tom James and is a professional clothier. She suits people and custom fits them into the incredible Tom James custom clothes. One of her clients invited us to see his sister’s incredible designs. It was such a wonderful experience, and even more amazing because it was actually run by Jay Calderin, and my old school.

It was wonderful to see someone who influenced me so much, and so amazing looking back at my journey vs. where I am now. I have accomplished so many things since I went to School of Fashion Design, Boston, and truly know that I am exactly where I need to be. We all go through different experiences in order to lead us to our destiny! Maybe I am corny, but I have taken so many strange paths in my life, but they have all lead me back to blogging and using fashion to help others.

I feel honored to have met all the amazing people who have taught me about the different elements of the industry, so my knowledge can be transferred to others. I am so happy I started blogging again, and I am happy I went through so much to get back here. You see I had to take a break from my fashion career to start other things too, but life always brings you back to where you need to be at the right time.

I posted what I wore the night of the show, as it was a fashion event, and one can only go with their most fashionable outfit! It was so fun to Dress to the 9’s for something that turned out to be a flash from the past. The venue of the event was so beautiful with complimentary wine, cocktails, and coffee drinks. Waiters and waitresses walked around carrying fine dining appetizers, while we were able to meet the featured designers.

Two of the designers caught my eye and made my heart drop with their fabulous designs. One of the designers was the one we went to see. Her name & company is J. DOSI and her stuff is incredible! The finest fabrics, the most beautiful tailoring, and the most amazing designs! Her website is: https://jdosi.com/ Please check her out she is simply wonderful! 

The other designer was this lovely woman I met Graciela Rivas. Her stuff was so unique, gorgeous, incredible… I could go on! The colors were so bold, vibrant, and used perfectly. She is clearly a fan of rouging and I am simply obsessed. I saw her getting a drink at the bar before the show/event began, and I fell in love with her dress. Then later I found out she was a designer, and really loved not only her fashion, but her sweet personality as well! I hope that eventually I can interview them both for my blog. If you would like to check her out her website is: http://gracielarivas.com/ Please visit her as well.

It is always a pleasure to meet people, and be inspired by those who create. This world is filled with talented people. But when we find our path the universe has a way of bringing us to the people & places we are supposed to be surrounded by. How funny it is to now live in Boston, and end up at event for my old design school! I don’t usually like to make posts about myself, but I thought it would be fun to share a little bit of my history with you.

Let me know what you think! Let me know what experiences brought you where you are today. Was there someone who influenced your life the way Jay Calderin influenced mine? I always want to hear your feedback…. As they say you can never stop improving and I plan on expanding and growing for as long as my life will let me!

Designer: Graciela Rivas 

Wearing her own design

                If you would like to learn more about Jay Calderin or buy any of his incredible books his website is as follows: http://calderin3.com/ He really is quite an inspiring human, and I am just lucky to have been one of his students! 

Moon Fairy

As the leaves start to turn so does my spirit, and I am filled with excitement about all the fun activities the fall brings! This is my favorite time of year for so many reasons, but my favorite reason is the change in wardrobe. Even when the days are hot (like it was in the photos above) you can still find some fall cheer in the color schemes that are brought back with the autumn season.

Not only do I love the olive greens, the heightened black, the burgundy, aubergines, and caramel tones, but I also love how excited people are to express themselves. Every fall I watch as the people around me who usually don’t care about what they wear are now excited to wear their favorite poncho, or their brand new boots, etc. It is nice to see others get excited to look good, feel good!

Even though in my ensemble above I am still sporting a “summer look” I still went with the fall vibes wearing a burgundy, lace crop top, a black choker (for a witchy feel), and a black midi skirt, paired with some (witchy) pointed toe flats. I wanted to give off that dark fairy vibe that makes my tummy flutter with excitement for the holiday to come.

I love Halloween just as much as the fall season because it gets people excited to be expressive and creative. I love how everyone feels drawn to the moon and the wonders of the night like I do every evening. I recently started reading a book about lunar patterns and how to use them to manifest your desires. The book is called Moonology. Now before you think I am mad let me explain a little…

If you have ever watched the documentary The Secret or heard of the book Ask and It Is Given you are familiar with this idea. If you have not please look into those two things and see how much it benefits your life! It is a way of changing your mindset to set out positive energy into the universe. How does this relate to fashion or style you ask?

The whole point of getting ready for the day is to feel like your best self; to express yourself feel good in your own skin, and be happy with yourself. When we feel out of control in our lives we tend to feel less excited to self-express. So not only do I want to encourage you to feel like your best self physically, but I also want to help you feel amazing mentally (In the best way I can!).

I have seen many examples of the power of manifestation in my life. This means thinking, picturing, believing, and sending out your wishes into the universe in order for the universe to grant your wishes… okay so now you think I am really crazy… Actually I am not as crazy as one may think. A lot of extremely successful people all throughout history use these mantras, and the people that followed it are in fact the people who changed our nation & our world!

The book Moonology follows this same idea of both The Secret & Ask and It Is Given, but this idea follows the patterns of the moon in order to have more powerful manifestations. What are manifestations? Ever want something really bad, like a vacation or a new job? Did you know that the universe wants you to be your very best self and will actually assist you in this process if only you believe it as a fact and ask?

This past New Moon I used the guide given to me in my Moonology book that said a great way to manifest your desires (in order to feel like your best self) is to make a “New Moon List.” It is an amazing way to begin this season by making a list of things you want to make reality. All you have to do is think of some things you have been dealing with, such as: troubles with a relationship, the desire to find a new place to live… maybe you have a big dream like I do that you want to accomplish one day, but don’t believe it is possible! This is the time to ask the universe for the things you desire.

Whether or not you believe this idea of manifestation to be true I still urge you to give it a try! Your brain is soooo powerful, but when we are not focused it is hard for us to accomplish the things we want to make our reality. I know I have had a very hard time this year and faced  many tough trials in my life. I needed a clean slate and a pure mindset. So I created a New Moon List with my two roommates.

We sat down on the couch together played some relaxing music, lit some candles, and sat quietly as we wrote down each item on our list. In the book it says to stick to 10 things you want to become a reality in your life. As you write down each item picture it as a fact, imagine it as if you were telling your friends/family it has happened. When you write them use key words like, “I will,” or “I am” if you believe something or crave something sometimes the universe (or God or whomever you believe in) will grant those wishes.

After you have visualized and written down your ten wishes (or goals if this seems more like you) read them allowed to your group or to yourself. Re-imagine them as you say them out loud and then after you are done say, “These are the things I desire, I ask you grant them, but you know best not I… whatever will be, will be… Thank you for blessing me.” Sounds a little silly, but I promise you won’t feel silly… you will feel cleansed.

Think I am crazy? Do more research, read the books, or watch the documentary. Whether or not you believe it a lot of people use this practice of manifestation, and it has benefited them immensely! I know I truly have seen many examples of this working in my life before I even knew I was using manifestation. Just believing in the things you want can make them real, but you can’t believe it once and expect it to appear. Some things (wishes) take time and many moons to manifest so don’t count it out if it doesn’t happen after one try.

Make your own New Moon Wish List, and see what happens. The author of Moonology, Yasmin Boland says to make it fun! Doodle, maybe even draw out your list, be creative with paint or colored pencils… keep it out & remind yourself of what you want in order to keep your mind focused. Then next new moon look back on your list see what manifested. You know how things happen in funny ways… well they say everything happens for a reason, and the universe has a funny way of bringing things to you. All you have to do is ask!

If you are interested in learning about these books or the documentary I mentioned here is how:

v  Moonology- Available at Amazon.com or through the author’s website http://www.moonology.com/

v  The Secret- Available on Netflix.com, and/or Hulu.com

v  Ask and It Is Given- Available at Amazon.com or the author’s website http://www.abraham-hicks.com/lawofattractionsource/askitisgiven.php