Halloween Style File 10/31/11

 Happy Halloween, everyone! So far today I am a bit behind, thanks to skipping my run and heading back to bed. BUT! I will run after work. Brad and I need to get better about going to sleep at nine instead of 10 or 10:30. :)

I thought I would do a special Halloween Edition Style File!

 Look! It's Brad! He gets to be part of the Style File. We went to a Halloween party on Saturday evening, and it required us to dress up. I always have fun with these sorts of things. After some back and forth between a couple costumes, Brad decided to go as my counterpart, a 20's ganster/speakeasy owner. The story is that he owns the speak easy I work in.

 I went as (hopefully) obviously, a flapper. You might remember these costumes from a Murder Mystery party we went to last winter. But we re-used them and added an accessory or two.

 I added the feather boa this time around and Brad added the cane. Let me tell you, those feathers went EVERYWHERE. But it added to the look, so it's all good, right?

 This dress came from Target. It's not exactly a flapper dress, but it's close enough with the ruffles on the bottom (that's aren't well seen here). But When paired with the rest of the outfit, it looks remarkably flapper ish to me. My favorite part of the costume was doing the make up. I read several tutorials and if you had seen me in person, you would have seen just how much make up I was wearing. Dark eyes, red lips, and a lot of rouge! Can I just say it was bizarre how they used to wear their lips. Go look it up. They didn't fill in all of them.

And look, we go together! :) Happy Halloween! I'm sure many of you already did your costuming this weekend, so you should link me to your pictures! I love seeing what others went as.

Shameless plug!

Please like my entry in Mod Cloth's contest. I would love to have a shot at winning! :)

http://apps.facebook.com/offerpop/Contest.psp?c=38443&u=406&a=100142423390621&p=9481787170&v=Entry&id=118301&rest=1

To like me you'll also have to like Mod Cloth's page. Thanks!

Style File 10-21-11

 I loved this outfit. Unfortunately my pictures don't do it justice! I still don't know how to not lose details. My pants are actually Navy but they look black, and since they look black, it's hard to make out my awesome boots. I know it probably has to do with the lighting (I did take these later in the evening) but I've had this happen before when I took them when it was lighter out.  All you awesome style bloggers, how do you get pictures that preserve your details (especially in dark colors)? I must be using my camera wrong, but I don't even know what to google to learn how to fix it! Anyway... onto the Style File!

I put this outfit on, at little unsure of how I would like it on me. It was inspired by the lovely Jen at Jenloveskev (one of my favorite style bloggers!). But I loved it. I sort of felt like I needed a hat and a horse and I would be ready to go riding!

 Again... my pants are navy and I'm wearing awesome black boots that come up to just below my knee... but you can't tell very well. I was sort of sad by that.

This is the part of the outfit I was unsure if I would like. I don't typically button all the way up, but I gave it a try and I loved it. The patterns conflict, but I think they go well together. I bought this sweater from Chloe Loves Charlie, thanks to a giveaway on Jen's blog. So not only was this look partly inspired by Jen, but it was brought to you thanks to Jen! :)

Happy Friday!


Outfit Rundown:
Button Up: JC Penney
Pants: H and M
Sweater: Chloe Loves Charlie
Boots: DSW
Earrings: Vintage

Motivation?

WARNING: The following post contains pictures of women with their stomachs exposed, bikinis, and cleavage. It is for a purpose and a point, but if you would prefer not to see them you have been warned.

I don't get on my soapbox too often, but this is something that has really been bothering me lately. These are all pictures I've seen on pinterest that are under "fitness". Many of them are tagged "motivation" or "healthy" or "inspiration" or very commonly "I aspire to this". There about a bajillion worse photos taken from maxim that are labeled as such. Since when did maxim become the standard for fitness? The photos I selected for here, though, are tame compared to lots of them.

So what's my problem with this? Well I have a couple, so we'll start with the first. The first is that these bodies are unrealistic for most people. These pictures might have  been photo shopped to accentuate muscles, make waists tinier, boobs bigger, whatever. Even if these are real photos, those girls hit the genetic jackpot. I think it's safe to say most people do not look like this naturally. Or maybe these girls have had surgery to enhance themselves (I am not making a statement about surgery, just throwing out a possibility). I do recognize that it is a naturally occurring phenomenon for a small girl to have a big chest. Or that small girls get made fun of because they are "boyish". Women of all shapes and sizes have reasons to be down on themselves thanks to cultural pressure. As such, I'm not trying to be down on these women in these photos. I am just trying to make the point that these bodies are the exception and not the rule. Are the girls in these photos sexy? yes. Are they considered beautiful? yes. Is it healthy? Not necessairly. Which brings me to this photo:

This one bothered me the most. What sort of message does this send? That skinny is supposed to make you feel better? It's supposed to make you happy? That's my second problem with all of these photos. They're framed in a way that makes it sound like if you can just get to look like this, life is better. You'll have everything you want because being skinny made you feel happy.

How twisted is that? Skinny people have great lives and normal, average, or fat people have terrible lives. What the hell is that all about?

Even worse, these pictures seem to say that your worth is based on how skinny you are. That you cannot accept and love yourself, and others certainly won't accept and love you, unless you look like this.

I am here to tell you that no matter your size or shape, you matter. You matter a great deal and I wish you didn't have to deal with this kind of crap. I want you to know that if people want to treat you differently because you are skinny or fat, those are not the type of people you want to associate with (i know, easier said than done).

These photos bother me so much because they showcase only the outside. The motivation in these photos is not to live longer because you're healthy. It isn't that living a healthy lifestyle is good for you in any way. No, it's to look better on the outside because it's going to bring you happiness. That motivation isn't going to last because happiness is kind of fleeting. That sort of motivation is shallow and if you stick it out and attain your goal, I'll bet you notice something else about yourself that makes you unhappy.

These pictures actually make me angry. They make me sad for the millions of women (and men) who buy into this crap. It makes my heart hurt for the people who resort to eating disorders, or become obsessed with a number on the scale, or any number of other issues that comes along with this type of motivation. I'm not going to go on and on about what should motivate us. But I am going to say that these photos definitely shouldn't.  So please, stop repinning these and trumpeting these messages.

They're nothing but lies that will bring you down in the end. Please don't believe them.

What's for Dinner? Thai Inspired Stir Fry!

Another eat clean recipe! This was adapted from Tosca's book, but I changed it up enough to call it my own rendition. Here's what you'll need:

-Cooked Brown Rice (I think I have about a cup and a half there)
-Chopped onion (I used too much onion in this one according to my husband. I would say probably a half cup or less of chopped onion)
-3 cloves garlic, minced
-3 small to medium chiles
-Cooked chicken cubes (I used four tenderloins)
-Soy sauce
-Fish sauce
-Basil

The great thing about stir frys, is that you can basically put whatever you want in them. Want some more greens in this? Throw in some broccoli or peas. Be creative!

 Put some olive oil in a stir fry pan and saute the onions, garlic, and chiles until onions are a bit translucent.

 Add your chicken and stir it around a bit for a couple minutes.

 Add 1 tbsp fish sauce, 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce, basil, and rice. Stir fry for a couple minutes so it's all mixed up and heated through. The basil is however much your heart desires (but probably at least 2 tsp).

Serve and enjoy! :)

Style File 10/14/11

 My dress for today looks kind of similar to Stylish White Female's dress. I love my white eyelet dress! I just bought it off a clearance rack and I was debating whether or not to follow the "No white after labor day" rule. And I decided that rule is stupid, you can wear white whenever the heck you want. You just might need to readjust how you style it. So here is my Fallified version of my White Eyelet dress (except that it's definitely 80 degrees out today).

 I love these boots. I was counting down the days until it was cool enough and far enough into the fall for it to be considered appropriate to wear boots. I just love boots! I am really wanting to get some flat, brown riding boots too.

Can I take a moment to say how much I adore ruffles? I do. And I like the ruffle on this dress. I think it's cute. I also wanted to take a minute to point out the chevron stripes that the eyelets make. I think it's cute. :)

Outfit Rundown:
Dress: target
Sweater: target
Earrings: ??
Boots: DSW

Neptune Festival 8k

 In lieu of a Style File this week, I'm going to show you what I did this morning. :) I ran the Neptune Festival 8k. You may remember when I ran the Shamrock 8k last year. This was a much smaller race, but I had so much fun! My over all time wasn't as fast as it was at the Shamrock, but I still had a blast.

 Just crossing the start. I can tell because I'm way too happy, haha.

 Somewhere in the middle. I think I'm wiping my face or something? This was right after an epic fail at trying to drink water and run at the same time.

 Approaching the finish...

 Almost there...

 YAY! I think I was trying to be Rocky? Maybe.

 Post race. This was before final results came out... I wasn't expecting to win anything because, well, I felt I was slow. My time was officially 41:54, which was slower than the last road race I ran. Which was disappointing to me, but...

 ...I got first in my age group! I was very very surprised. I think Brad was actually more excited, haha. It didn't really register with me that, oh hey, I won something...

Until I got my prestigious award (1 point to whoever can tell me what movie this is a reference to. HINT: it is a classic) from King Neptune himself.

I had a blast. I hope you will forgive the lack of style file today. Since I got home, I've been busy running to three different stores to find the stuff to make my Mom's Home Made Laundry Soap. Turns out, none of the Targets I went to had all the ingredients. But walmart did! It was the first time I stepped foot into Walmart in a good six months. I was reminded why I don't go there, but I think I can make a trip every so often for some washing soda and fels naptha soap. Since I am going all natual in my eating, I started thinking, 'Why not just go for it in all areas of my life?' Plus, making my own cleaning products is cheaper than buying them. As I use up the standard products I already have, I am going to begin using cheaper, safer home made cleaning products. Did you know with only a few ingredients you can clean basically any surface of your home? Borax, washing soda, baking soda, and vinegar will get you a long way. If you want to use an antibacterial, you can also use hydrogen peroxide. I'll be updating you as I begin making other things. My Mom blogs about simple living, and I think she's onto something. There is a reason our great great grandmothers cooked and cleaned the way they did: it was healthier, safer, and best of all...CHEAPER. :)

I've also been busy making a meal for a gal in our small group. She just had baby number 2, so we try to provide a few weeks of meals. I made some pizzas and a batch of healthy brownies. The brownies taste a little weird, but they're passable. If you don't call them a brownie, they are much more palatable.

I think that's all I have to update all of my (two) loyal readers. :) Have a great weekend!