Independently Stylish

I am behind on my posts for my blog, but I do want to thank all of those people who have been reading my blog.  I love to de-stress through blogging & God knows I need to release stress!  So this post is dedicated to one stylish Independence Day that I will never ever forget with my "B" family.  

 
 Fourth of July style: I went for a "grecian" up do as it helped immensely with the Miami heat (ha-ha!)and I did a very soft-natural make-up (used my Naked2 palette). My outfit: black & white striped H& M maxi dress ($12! people) and my red, white & blue flip-flops (they were a gift).  

 The best thing after a delicious dinner is dessert!  My friend & sister for life, created the dessert you see on the right and it was a masterpiece.  

It is definitely the people who make the party fun, enjoyable & you kind of never want to leave. Xo

Straight-Up

(Image source: www.bethenny.com)

This past week I started reading a new book, which I love to do, but I rarely have time.  It is such an amazing book that I finished the extensive 5,000 pages of it on my Kindle Fire in four days!  Every time I was forced to put it down (someone has to clean) I was so eager to go back to reading.  This amazing book is “Skinnygirl Solutions: Your Straight-Up Guide to Home, Health, Family, Career, Style and Sex.”  Notice that the book title starts with “Skinnygirl” and that is due to the great fact that the author is Bethenny Frankel.  Bethenny is the creator of the Skinnygirl empire which includes alcoholic beverages, shape wear and many more things which are all discussed in this book.  I am not a book critic, however I am a woman in her early twenties seeking as much knowledge about life as possible and that is exactly what I found in Bethenny’s latest book.  I am dedicating this blog to “Straight-Up” convince YOU to read her book because every girl should!

This book covers absolutely every aspect of a woman’s life from living a healthy fit life, to parenting, to understanding money, career & business.  Not only does she cover the everyday topics, but she also explores the topics of sex, marriage and all of those taboo topics women dare not talk about.  Reading this book was a “girlfriend” experience, in the sense that I felt as if my best friend was giving detailed advice about things that every girl needs to know.  Women should fully get to know who we are and this book helps us discover just that! 

Each chapter is creatively accompanied by drawings that help support the topic at hand.  I have to say that the drawings were one of my favorite details.  Also, throughout the book, Bethenny brings in expert advice from various sources to help elaborate each topic.  The book also includes up-to-date public figures (celebrities, business owners, etc.) that Bethenny uses to show the everyday woman that you can reach your full potential. 

All in all, the book is at the top of my favorite books. It has added so much valuable information that I can use in my own life as a student, wife, and ever changing woman. While reading the book there were multiple times that I told myself that I need to buy a hard copy because there is so much information I will be using in the future. The book has helped me to explore who I really am and most importantly having this new found knowledge is definitely power! 

Quick side note: the very first Skinnygirl product that I ever tried was the Margarita and I became hooked on it.  Margaritas are my favorite drink, so when I found this low-calorie, delicious drink, I fell in love.  Now I am moving onto the Skinnygirl wines. 

Don’t judge! J Xo

CC: Constantly Changing

Life is a constant revolving door, going in and out.  We call that revolving door "change" and most people rather avoid it than confront it.  As with anything in life, it is better to allow change to happen rather than to fight it and stay within your comfort zone.  I am pretty sure I could write a blog regarding change every week.  Today though, I want to focus on one aspect of change and that is the attitude with which we accept changes in our lives.  Early on we form this idea of what our world will always be like and we don't anticipate the upcoming changes.  How can one anticipate the unknown? You change your perspective and you learn to trust. 
I have experienced huge life changing experiences, some that I've brought upon myself and others that are the subsequent effects of events.  I tend to categorize all of the changes in a negative and positive category.  Lately though I've boxed all of the changes into a positive category.  Most successful people would agree that the big difference is found in the mind frame that you choose to receive and welcome changes in your personal life, at work, and even spiritually.  It is an amazing exercise to practice accepting change and it builds a muscle like no other.  Personally, I like to stop myself when I'm sinking into the endless negativity pit by figuring out how to use change to my advantage or how it can help others.  I shift my thinking to embrace and welcome change, no matter how hard it can be.  Another small activity I practice to embrace change is to do something I've never done before everyday.  It can be something as small as taking a different route to work.  This helps your brain to think outside of the box, which is a big help when learning to embrace changes. At the end of the day, change is a growing factor in the world and it will be negative or positive depending on how you decide to accept it.  Through tough times, remind yourself that change is constant and it drives us through the different cycles of our lives.
Embrace what is different, see change as constant and trust God through it all!