embrace who you are

Sure, the title is cheesy. I felt cheesy writing it - but I mean it. All of this introspection I've been doing lately has really led me to this one little thought - people should just embrace who they really are. Obviously, if you're embracing being a pedofile or a person who is cruel to animals, I'm probably not talking to you.

I spent years of my life trying to be the person I thought every one would like. My speech, my attitude, my dress and my world views would change with each group of friends I had, each relationship I was in, and each trend that occurred. I constantly wondered why I ended up with friends who never got me - I never felt good enough. The older I've gotten, the more I've realized what I like and what I want to do and that I'm allowed to like and do these things. I no longer judge people for their decisions I used to deem weird.

Here's some things about me that I'm embracing full-force. Don't like it? Too bad.

- I hate the beach. I don't like going to it. I don't like the sun, the sand, the people, the sticky air. I effing hate it. Does that make me a poor sport? Do I turn down opportunities to hang out with friends because they're going to the beach? Yes. Does that make me feel bad? No. I don't have to do what I don't want to do and neither do you.

- I love horror movies. Cheesy, gorey, bad acting, good acting, no story plot, I don't care. It's practically all I watch anymore and anything else, to me, is a waste of time.

- I prefer my dog, and all dogs, to just about any person in the world. I value animal's lives over people's lives and I don't feel one bit bad about saying that. Animals have an innocence that no human being can ever encompass - and I feel insanely protective of that.

- I think it's weird when girls can't get along with other girls. It shows bad character. I used to be one of those girls - but I've since grown up.

- I don't like exaggerations. If I tell you you "always" do something, you'd better believe I'll have at least three examples of specific incidents and I expect the same from others.

- I love the color pink and anything glittery. I'd probably decorate my room with My Little Ponies if my fiance would allow it. I'm a super girly girl and I don't pretend not to be.

- I don't like camping! No part of not showering and sleeping on the ground sounds fun to me.

- I'm perfectly content to be marrying the guy of my dreams and spending the rest of my life with him. I don't believe in divorce and I don't like the pressure that the media puts on people to cheat or to look elsewhere for affection when things aren't 100% great at home.

- I love Kate Middleton

- I don't like art. I don't get it, can't do it and can't get into it. I'm not creative and I'm okay with that!

- I'm really old fashioned and not all that fun. I like going to bed early and I expect men to open the door for me and treat me like a lady. I like to dance and hang out and have a cocktail or two but when I'm done I'm done and I don't like people pressuring me to stay out.

- I appreciate good manners - like Emily Post good manners.

- I do what my parents want me to do. They are always right and have never steered me in the wrong direction. Any time I have veered from what they think I should do, it has always been a mistake - hands down. To me, it's the ultimate sign of respect to do what your parents expect of you. They have done without their whole lives so that I could have the things that I have. Granted, not everyone's parents have their best interest in mind, and that's a sad fact.

I'm sure there's a ton more where these came from, and I'll let them form their own posts another time perhaps. In the mean time, I'd love to know some things you've embraced about yourself recently.

What I Want Wednesday

Let's face it, life's a little more fun when you have items in mind you want. It gives you something to save for, to drool over, and to get excited over. Sorry for ending with a preposition. Here's a few items I'm lusting over right now:

(Dress from FreePeople.com)

(Tunic from FreePeople.com - how cute is this?!)

(Running dress from Lululemon.com)

30 Things I'd Like To Do (and a few I already have) Before I'm 30, Pt 1:

As I hit the end of my 24th year of life, I've been spending some time looking at a few of my accomplishments. Along the same vein, I've also been spending some time figuring things out and deciding on some things I'd like to continue to accomplish. Some are serious, and some are silly. Here is the first part of my list of 30 things I'd like to do, and may have already done, before I hit 30:

1. Be less catty: Women are practically born and bred to tear each other down. I've always admired friends who took the high rode and refused to gossip about another girl, or who always recognized the good in other people. It's not cool to be mean, and that's something I've been actively working on.
2. Travel the world: This one's in purple because I've done quite a bit of this! Though I don't think one can ever be done seeing the world, I've certainly seen enough of it at this point to feel okay until the travel bug sets in again.
3. Eat two Chipotle burritos in one sitting: Sounds fun, right?
4. Run, run, run: Like math and tomatoes, running is something I've avidly avoided my whole life. I'd like to learn to embrace it and make it part of my daily routine
5. Host a dinner party: Like, a real dinner party. With formal invitations, properly coursed meals, place cards and corresponding wines. I think the art of entertaining is somewhat lost these days and I'd love to have a group of friends that wanted to help me bring it back!

There you have it, the first five off my list of 30 things to do before I'm 30. :)

All Things Wedding Stationery!

I realize I've hardly commented at all, save for a brief mention here and there, about my wedding. While a lot of the details I prefer keeping private, I do want to share the wonderful experience with various paperies I've used for my wedding stationery.

Save The Dates
The Save The Dates (usually abbreviated as STDs, but I can't bring myself to use that) are a really fun addition to wedding stationery. They are especially appropriate if you have guests coming from out of town/state, or if you are doing a destination wedding, so that your guests can prepare appropriately. The selection is virtually endless, as far as design, customization and size goes. I've had girlfriends who've done magnets (SO cute, but a little pricey) and those who've stuck with traditional paper. My fiance and I used Minted, a popular online paper company that offers everything from wedding invitations to customized everyday stationery. We went with the following design and customized it to fit our needs:

(Photo credit: http://www.minted.com/ - obviously this isn't ours, this is the sample featured on the site)

My experience with Minted was nothing short of perfect. They are efficient, quick, and high quality. They also offer a choice of 100% recycled paper, which was important to us, since my fiance is quite the environmentalist. Some other great sites for ordering Save The Dates online are:

• Wedding Paper Divas - link, here (my bridal shower invitations are from this site, though since they haven't been sent out yet I decided not to share them)
• Zazzle - link, here (more exciting stuff about Zazzle in a sec!)

Wedding Invitations

I loved picking out invitations, and my mom and I took our sweet time doing so. In fact, they are in the final processes of getting finalized and printed as we speak. We really wanted a thick, weighty paper with gorgeous type, a direction card, of course the RSVP card, and a beautiful French envelope/sleeve to put the invitation in prior to the actual outer envelope. We found all of this and more with Smock Paper. Smock offers letterpress invitations and stationery (letterpress being one of the more expensive, but chicer, methods of printing) that are completely customizable and very modern. The following examples are not what we went with, but are some of the choices that Smock offers on their website:

(Photo Credit: http://www.smockpaper.com/)

We loved the range of choices, the beautifully thick bamboo paper (again, a huge plus to my fiance and I) and my favorite part -- custom postage stamps! Smock designed a PDF format of the stamp that would match our invites and be personal to us, and we used Zazzle to order the stamp itself. It's little personal touches like that which I think really make the invitation special!

Smock Paper wasn't cheap - luckily, my parents are traditional and are funding the whole thing (thanks, guys!!!), but it was important to us to not scrimp on such a big day. There are plenty of options out there that are just as nice for much less -- you just have to decide what is important to you, the bride, and what's not so important.

Questions or comments? Leave 'em below!

Places and Spaces: Pt 2

If you happen to be passing through SE Portland, do yourself a favor and make a pit stop at Whole Bowl - a delicious little restaurant (with two popular food carts in downtown) with just two items on the menu. The Big Bowl (16oz, $5.50) and the Bambino Bowl (12oz, $5.00). The food will knock your socks off! You get served in a paper bowl, reminiscent of a frozen yogurt bowl, filled with fresh brown rice, black and red beans, fresh avocado, salsa, sour cream, cheddar cheese and Tali sauce (aka one of the most flavorful and delicious sauces I've ever had in my life).

(Photo Credit: FoodCartsPortland.com)

The Tali sauce, named after the owner, is a pretty huge deal, with Google searches devoted to finding the recipe and recreating it at home. Just one taste of the curry-lemon-garlic sauce, and you'll be hopping on your laptop to do the same.

You leave Whole Bowl feeling satisfied and guilt-free. I can say my fiance and I will definitely be frequenting this place! Can't beat the cheap prices and the incredible taste.

Bottom line: It's a simple idea and a simple menu that packs a huge punch. GO!

Favorites 4.21.12

Stationery

It's no secret that I love a good handwritten note. Especially on thick paper with a cute envelope liner. I'm currently loving Walnut Paperie's line of customized stationery after drooling over it on Cupcakes and Cashmere. I love the chevron liners, the thick paper and the classic fonts.

Clipless Curling Irons

(photo from Conair.com)

Clipless curling irons are a great way to get out of a hair styling rut. They give hair a nice S-shaped curl that can't be achieved with a regular curling iron. You can curl just the ends with a middle part for a more mod look, or curl up to the roots for a Taylor Swift, mega-glam head of spirals.

Voluspa Candles

(photo from Google Image)

Voluspa is one of my favorite candle makers. The scents are diverse and the candles themselves take forever to be completely used up. I'm currently obsessed with the scent Laguna, which literally smells like the beach and reminds me of home. Check out Crisp Champagne and Japanese Plum Bloom as well.

Product Rave: St. Tropez Gradual Tanning Mousse

Back in 2008, I ignored my dermatologist and went tanning. I had just started dating my now-fiance, and he loved the beach. I, the pale ginger that I am, hated the beach with a passion but like most girls who are blinded by the lovey-dovey feelings of a new relationship, I became a beach person. Granted, I took some precautions - I chose a high end salon with a special bed that allegedly blocked the "bad" UV-rays and let in the "okay" ones--like that's real a thing.

Redheads don't tan the same way the rest of you people tan. Instead of a nice tan color, I turned a deep, deep reddishy-bronze that left people confused on what my heritage was. "Are you Armenian?" one man asked me. I'm sure not. "You look sunburned", my fiance commented. This is all for you, buddy!

Finally, I gave up the death beds when I developed a weird black spot on my face that turned out to be nothing. But it was enough to scare me off tanning (and the sun for that matter) for good. I've tried various self-tanners but have always been turned off by the smell. I took a leap of faith with St. Tropez's Gradual Tanning Mousse and have loved the results!

It gave my skin a natural, warm glow that resembles a legitimate tan. The mousse is incredibly easy to use and is practically streak-proof. It smells pretty similar to Betsey Johnson's original fragrance, which I love, so I can actually slather this on before leaving the house and not have to worry about smelling funny.

Bottom line: Great product, relatively well-priced ($40), doesn't have the gross self-tanner smell