Black, white and red

Outfit details:  top - Cato // leggings - Torrid // shoes - Forever21

Photos by Wilson Mcalester

http://www.wilsonmcalester.com/

The Golden Hour

Outfit Details:  Dress - thrifted // Sandals - Forever 21 // Necklace - Cato 

Photos by Tara MacDonald

Hippy Dippy

Things my Mom gave me

This is a special Mother’s Day outfit post, because this shirt was a gift from my Mom.  The shirt is from one of my favorite affordable boutiques, Cato, and I really adore the delicate floral print over the cloudy blue along with the crisscross detailing at the neck.  I’ve styled it with a black miniskirt and sandals since the weather has been warming up lately.  

(Side note - I’m wearing my rhodochrosite pendant with this and I’ll just put a little excerpt about rhodochrosite’s emotionally healing properties:

Rhodochrosite balances and enhances love on all levels. It allows fuller love to enter one's life, in part by calming excessive passions. It balances the mental and emotional processes. It is also said to be a stone of freedom because of this helping to balance inner conflicts. This can bring a deep sense of happiness and relief from ongoing stress.

I know these things can’t be scientifically proven - yet - but I do feel that this particular pendent has been helpful to me during some troubling parts of my life.)

Anyway, onto the theme of this blog post….Things that my Mom gave me.

A love of music.

I was first introduced to music through going to Mass each Sunday with my mom and family.  I remember going to the daily mass once that had no music as a child and I was so very upset that we had to speak the words instead of singing them that I cried during the whole service.  My sister and I joined the choir and I sang in choirs from the age of seven or eight until I graduated high school.  When I expressed an interest in the violin at age nine, I was encouraged to follow it and was able to have private violin lessons.  Both my parents made it possible for me to audition for music school and eventually earn my degree.

To this day my mom is the biggest supporter of my music.  If I post a video she will show it to all her friends.  She has been supportive of every venture I make, whether to join a choir or audition for music school or learn how to teach early childhood music.

The mental clarity of cleanliness

My mom always kept an immaculate house and although I'm not quite as good at housekeeping as her, she taught me the importance of cleaning and the mental clarity a clean room brings!

My mom always would clean the surfaces and open a window, and the light cleanses the space and makes it more attractive and comfortable.  It’s such a good way to work with positive energy, and I learned it from my mom.

A sense of independence

My mom and I both moved away from home when we grew up.  So did my dad.  My family are explorers, wayfarers.  We want to see and experience new things.

When my mom wanted to homeschool her kids, she just did it.  When dad needed to move to Cyprus for a few years, she just went with him.  She’s not afraid to do things that are different and own it.

I love my mom! Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there. :)

Thanks for reading,

Rebecca

Outfit Details

Top - Cato (1x)

Skirt - Charlotte Russe (2x)

Shoes - Forever 21

Mother Moon, Father Sun

Hello dear readers!

I’m finally here with a new blog post, and I’m so excited to share these photos with you. My dear friend Wilson Mcalester and I went out on an adventure downtown and we found some really cool little spots.  

My outfit for this post was a good one for those cold Spring days we are still having here in the Southern Midwest.  I chose a comfy jersey top with some great detailing on the sleeve paired with a cargo vest for casual but put together look.  Of course, my leggings and black boots are a staple for colder weather. (I'm a "leggings e'ry day" kind of girl ;)

This was my second order from Boohoo. The online plus size community has really been raving about their clothes, and I have to say I see why! The quality of the pieces is very good and you can find current styles for plus sizes.  If you haven’t heard of Boohoo, they are a UK based online retailer with clothes for every size and gender. Their prices are what I’d call mid range for online plus shopping, comparable to ASOS or Torrid.  They always have a sales section, so I recommend perusing that and seeing what you can find.  Everything I’ve ordered has been from the sale section...budget restrictions, y'all know...

I glammed it up with a makeup look using eyeshadow colors from Tarte and Lorac.  I really love this dramatic look; it's very winter. On these cold days, it still feels like winter to this raise-in-Florida girl...

Hope you’re all having a great week!  I’m going to try and post more regularly this month, so stay tuned!

Love,

Rebecca

Outfit details (I'm a size 18/20 USA):

Top - Boohoo (18/20)

Vest - Ross (2x)

Leggings - Torrid (1x)

Boots - Steve Madden

Lipstick - Kapow by Colourpop

There you are.

“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” - Krishnamurti

I heard this quote the other day and it really resonated with me on many levels.  I’ve been having a hard time feeling “adjusted” to the world as an adult.  My priorities in life are in many ways the opposite of societal norms.  I wish to be childless, I don’t care about making a ton of money, and I am queer, among other things.  Also, I am fat and love myself.

Our society doesn’t like the idea of fat people loving themselves.  We are bombarded daily with ads for weight loss.  How to get a flat tummy.  Lose this much weight in this many days.  Drink detox tea.  Feel guilty about the food you eat.

The pervasiveness of body negativity is a sign that our society is sick.  I know sick is a pretty hard term, but think about its meaning. Unwell.  Not healthy.  There is nothing healthy about hating your body and being obsessed with weight loss at whatever cost, which is what our media promotes. Simultaneously we are encouraged to modify other parts of our bodies through lip injections, plastic surgery, etc.

I don’t bring this up to shame anyone who has had plastic surgery.  Everyone is on their own journey with their body. For me, I feel best about my body when I let it be and focus on eating healthy plant based foods, exercising, and taking care of my mental health.

Vests and sleeveless cardigans like this one have become a new favorite of mine.  They add interest to basics and no one will know that you’re wearing just a bralette (or gasp! Going braless) underneath.  I love the forest green color of this dress too.  It’s the first green thing I’ve owned that I’ve really felt comfortable in, so I’ll be going for this shade again.

Thanks for reading,

Rebecca

Dress - Ross

Cardigan - Thrifted

Sandals - Cato

You are safe with me.

We took these photos in November, shortly after the election.

The days immediately following the election were days of fear and shock for me and for many minority communities.  As a uteris-owner, an LGBTQA person, and an artist, I am personally affected by the discriminatory and anti-progressive policies being put forth by the conservatives and their current leader.  Many other women and immigrant families I knew, including my father, were open with me about their distress at the situation.  I exchanged many a tearful hug that first week.

If you are part of one of these communities, I have a message for you.

I know that we are all feeling particularly downtrodden right now.  It’s hard not to give into that helpless feeling, that sense of being vulnerable.  You have to be patient with yourself.  Take care of yourself and remember the things that are good in life.  Things that are deeper and more real than government and politics.

You know what things I’m talking about.  Your favorite song, or a beautiful healthy plant.  The sun on your skin while you swim, talking with your best friend, holding a newborn baby.

Remember the good in life.  Be aware of the bad, but don’t let it consume you.  And please know that whatever happens, you are safe with me.

I choose to wear the safety pin as a sign to others in my communities that I am an ally.  If I see injustice being done, I will speak up and I will act to protect my brothers and sisters.

You are safe with me.

Thanks for reading,

Rebecca

Photos by Wilson McAlester

Outfit Details:
Dress - Ross

Jacket - Torrid

Boots - Steve Madden

OOTD // Coffee & Pajamas

I’m addicted to coffee.  I freely admit it.  While I have successfully gone without it for months at a time, I always ending up coming back for that wonderful caffeine buzz.  Which is why these pajamas spoke to me.

Not only do they proclaim my love for coffee, but they are cute and soft and girly without being too much.  The top is loosely fitting and sleeveless, and the shorts hang sort of like a skirt, which I really like (regretfully, I did not remember to get a photo of those).

Let me just rant for a moment...as a plus size girl, I never really had cute pajamas.  I remember going to sleepovers and summer camps as a teenager and always feeling self conscious about the fact that my pajamas weren’t really pajamas, just old T shirts and if I was lucky, some fleece pants.  The cute pajama sets were for thin girls, along with pretty much all other clothing options.  

I’m so glad that we are now starting to see more options for plus size girls not only in places like Forever 21 and Charlotte Russe, but even small independent companies.  Fat girls deserve to feel cute all the time, even at home or in bed.

...anyway.  Rant over.

I added a bright pink Torrid bralette to make this look a little more put together!  Bralettes are all the rage right now with plus size bloggers and for good reason!  They are the easy yet adorable compromise between a restrictive underwire bra and going braless. They keep your breasts from moving around without contorting their natural shape. And they come in super cute colors patterns at Torrid and Lovesick.

I love wearing these with tanks on a casual day and letting them peek through.  No shame, honey.

I want to thank my friend Wilson McAlester for the lovely photoshoot.  Take a look at Wilson McAlester's photography blog, I am always so inspired by their work!

Thanks for reading,

Rebecca

Photos by Wilson McAlester

Pajamas - Ross

Bralette - Torrid