Things I Love

Sometimes, you see something you just adore. Something you need in your life, almost more than breath itself. The things listed in this post...are not quite that important. They're still pretty great though, so it's time to share them with you!

1. Glitter Unicorn Necklace

$12 from shanalogic.com
Check out this total cutie pegacorn! I have a soft spot for ponies of all kinds, rainbows, and glitter and this guy fits all three so perfectly!!


2. Blue Sequin Tank Top



$29.99 from Torrid.com
Glitter again guys, I know! What can I say? I love sparkles! I love all the hues in this tank, and the shape is sublime! Can you imagine the light catching perfectly on all those sequins on a snowy night? Of course you'd need a sweater too, so....

3. Drapeneck Cozy Cardi

$24.99 from fashionbug.com
This cardigan looks snuggly, swingy, and soft! Those are all the things a stylish sweater should be!! It would look lovely over the sequin tank above or even just a cozy t-shirt! Put a skinny belt over the top? Tres chic!

4. You Never Forget Your First Doctor

$15.99-18.99 from thinkgeek.com
I would wear it over this comfy t-shirt. The ninth doctor was my first, but 10 is sublime. **nerdgasm** Any doctor's companion would be proud to wear this amazing tee!

5. Twilight Woods Fragrance Set

Currently $10.50-29.50 at bathandbodyworks.com
I'm not a huge Twilight fan, and I'm pretty sure based on the product design this was meant to appeal to fans of the genre. I'm still in love with this cozy, fall scent! It makes me feel like wrapping myself up in a fuzzy blanket and sipping chai tea. This scent comes in a variety of products and luckily this store always has sales.

So go out and stimulate our economy while looking smokin hot!!

Disclaimer: This was supposed to happen on Sunday but I lost track, so just an fyi the next posting this style will appear on Sunday.

Confi-Dance

I love to dance. When I dance, I feel sexy, and talented, and beautiful, and confident. Confidence is a huge deal for me, because for so long I've worn ill fitting clothes, sports bras that don't really do anything, and skipped make-up and styling my hair on a daily basis because I didn't think it would make me look any better. I assumed people would look at my body and think I'm disgusting no matter what, so why would I put make-up on a pig? When I decided I didn't want to feel this way anymore, I needed something to force me into being proud of how I look.

I used to always put music on while I prepared for the day, and that's what started it. I straightened my bangs, put on the best sports bra I had (note: buy a normal bra), a black tank top with glittery rhinestone clasps, a pair of jeans that hugged my butt, and the best shoes in the world. I made a quick playlist of my favorite girly, pop songs with a great beat, and I pushed play. For maybe 20 minutes I just danced around the house, and sang. And it was silly. It was ridiculous. It was entirely humiliating, or it would've been if anyone were watching. It was just me though, and it made me realize that I am a pretty great dancer. Could I be that excited to shake my butt in public yet? I don't know, but I think that now, I would try. I can shake my tush just as well as any of the size four girls I see when I go out, I just have more to shake. And really, have you ever heard anybody say a little more booty is a bad thing?

So, get up right now, style your hair, put on a smoky eyeshadow and enough lip gloss to make glass look dull, and just dance. You are beautiful, and sexy, and when you move the joy stays with you after the playlist is over. Every step you take after that will be a catwalk strut to a sexy rhythm if you remind yourself of what you did. Because you are a superstar. You deserve to be that confident. Throw on a sassy scarf on your trip to Wal-mart! Find a pair of red tennis shoes to wear to the gym. Get an extra long super fashionable necklace and wear it to work. Find one item that you absolutely love, but have always been scared to wear, that makes you feel amazing, and buy it! Wear it when you dance every morning right after you wake up, and then slip it into your outfit somehow. Every time you see it, or touch it you'll be reminded of your fabulous moves from earlier, and then the strut starts.

If you're a stay-at-home mom, maybe you've fallen into the pattern I did. I'd shower if I needed to go somewhere, and wear the same shirt until it got spit up on. I'd stay in my pajamas until I needed to get the mail and I didn't care at all, then my mom told me something. It was something her grandmother told her. She said "Get up, shower, get dressed, do your make-up and hair, and make yourself look like you're going to leave the house for something important at least five days a week, and you'll feel so much better." I haven't always done it five days a week, but it does make me feel SO much more like an actual human being, and not just Mom-bot 500 Series.

So go dance! Go get gussied up, find your confidence item, and put on your 5 favorite songs and dance like you've never danced before. Dance with emotion, and style, and grace, and be the best, absolutely best you that you can be! Don't be embarrassed either, because someone, somewhere in the world is I'm sure at that exact moment dancing alone in their house too.

Big Words

There are a lot of big words for big girls. There are a million ways to describe us. Chunky, curvy, buxom, rubenesque, voluptuous, plus sized, big...and then there's fat. Fat is such an ugly word. What I have on my stomach? THAT is fat. Fat is what's on my arms, and my thighs, and my butt, and on the same places on every other normal person in this world. I might have a little more than other people, but I still get called beautiful. It might be in different places than it is on others, but that doesn't stop my fiance from loving me.

I've been called fat before, and it used to hurt, but I've realized something. I am not fat, the stored calories in my body are. I am not fat. I am Andrea. It's time for me, and everyone else who's felt this way, to realize that and start to live like themselves, not how other people tell them they look. C.S. Lewis said "You don't have a soul. You have a body. You are a soul." and I entirely agree with this.

I want to be defined by my mind, my words, how I treat others, and how I treat myself, not by the shape of my body. Yes, I am "curvy", but I'm also intelligent, caring, a great mother, sister, and friend, and an entire plethora of other word. Most of all, I am Andrea, and I'm opening my eyes every morning so proud to be who I am.