Moments of my day Feb 27

I listen to Chopin, while I read long articles about hedge funds for client research. Cheese and crackers with licorice root tea make up my breakfast.
 My face gets pampered with a French facial mask made for beauty queens. I turn in my french assignment and make a wish that I haven't mucked it up.

 I check tumblr obsessively, to see if anything will inspire me, and find I am being inspired by everything. I force myself to log out only to log back on, and continue to be filled with too much desire of things I never will see of have.

I find myself getting nervous about exams and expectations from clients so I pull out a coloring book and calm myself with hues of purple and blue on fishes and balloons.

Yann Tiersen begins to over take Chopin and the swift impassioned violin tune remind me the day is going and I need to resume work and study.

My phone is shut off and I miss a call, but I'm also too busy to call right back, or so I tell myself. 

I miss lunch, because I can't decide what to eat. Instead, I munch on raw pumpkin seeds to keep my energy up. I take out beef for a roast beef supper. Though the more I think about it the more I see I'm craving chicken.

I finish the draft for a client and consider myself productive for the morning, though a pile of work await me for the afternoon.

I want to rush through it, but my health forces me to do things in small increments. I move like a snail. I feel as if nothing gets 'done' and I am always playing catch up. I tell myself to stop getting myself down for lack of energy and use whatever I have to do the task in front of me.

I get a lovely message from a follower, which put a bright spot in my day and take a moment to listen to the silence while I breath in and out, giving thanks for the day.  

Mod Cloth Haul/Review

After years of simply browsing, I finally did my first mod cloth haul! Modcloth.com is a online shop that features clothes, accessories and home items that are vintage inspired. Being a girl who loves 50's and 60's style, the site always draws me back to look at what they have in stock. However, I've always found their things a little pricey (unless they have a huge sale.) But a particular item, made me decide to go from browser to buyer and I managed to get all the items for less than their original price. Checkout the video above to learn more about my shopping experience and the items I purchased.

Lessons from the Swan Princess

The Swan Princess is a 1994 animated film based off the ballet Swan Lake. It was never one of my favorite movies, but now, looking back, I found it offered some more insightful lessons than many Disney movies.

The movie is about a girl, Odette, who is supposed to marry prince Derek, her childhood playmate. Every summer their parents had the two of them meet in hopes that they would one day fall in love and marry. As children, they really can't stand each other and dread their summer's together. But as the years go on and they enter early adulthood they begin to grow fond of eachother. Meanwhile, there is an evil enchanter, Rothbart, wants to take the kindgdom. His plans are foiled in the beginning but he vows that one day everything Odette's father loves will belong to Rothbart. 

At a great ball, Prince Derek expresses his desire to marry Odette. And this is where the lessons begin

Odette asks him why he like her and prince Derek admits it is because she is so beautiful. Odette then asks, "what else?" And prince Derek says a pretty heart hitting line, "What else is there?"
Hurt by his response. Odette rejects him and leaves the ball.

Society has made it so being thought of as beautiful by someone you like should be enough. As if somehow if a girl can get a guy to be satified with her looks than she has accomplished something. Even as a child, I watched Odette leave that ball feeling proud of her and any woman who had the sense to demand her man see her as more than a pretty face.

Yes, it's nice to get a compliment but you can't mistake someone liking your appearance with real love.

I have actually used the line "what else?" with guys because it's amazing to see how suddenly the guy has to try and consider who you are as a person rather than feeling like he did some good deed for calling you pretty.

 Girls are being raised to accept any "pretty" compliment they can get (guys aren't off the hook either)

If their "prince" thinks they are attractive and nothing more, they accept it. They don't even ask if he sees more to her. Even if she is talented, full of good virtue, and an all around great person a guy will still rely on saying "you're pretty" to entertain her ego.

Prince Derek was so excited to see himself married to a pretty girl and that's all he saw. This is repulsive and fearsome for a number of ways.

 Odette as pretty as she is was not responsible for her looks. No one is because no one decides how they come out of the womb or grow up physically.

If your blue eyes are stunning that's God's doing not yours. Even if you change your physical appreance through surgery it's still someone else who had a hand in it. Thus "you're beautiful" never has been or will be a compliment. It's like when someone says I like your top, but you didn't make it. It means nothing.

For Prince Derek to think he was giving Odette a compliment proves he is a very vain man.

 When he no longer finds you beautiful, he will move on and the fact that he believes a girl has some role in her beauty means he expects you to do whatever it takes to remain beautiful. That is a rather cruel task to put on any human.

 It means, for the rest of your life you owe your selfworth to being appreciated by something you actually have no control over.

This is why a girl or guy will skip meals just to be a certain weight. Or why they will mentally put themselves down until their self esteem is so low they can't even imagine liking themselves.

You have a resposibilty to be a good person not a good looking one!

Odette was smart enough to see through Prince Derek and left. She may have cared about him, but she loved herself more; she knew she was more than just a pretty face and decided to take a personal stand against being some doll for Prince Derek.

It wasn't until Prince Derek could love Odette for more than her looks that she decided to be with him. I wish more girls and guys would do that.You may be attracted to someone physically and they may like your features but you shouldn't make someone feel they always have to be "pretty" for you. Nor should you feel like you have to look a certain way for them. If looks is all there is in the relationship, you have no real relationship

The Swan Princess is a movie that shows girls it's ok to walk away from someone, even if you like them, if they don't value you as more.

Review of Aubrey Blue Algae Soothing Mask

The Aubrey Blue Green Algae Soothing Mask is toted as being an organic facial mask that will sooth stressed skin while gently exfoliating. I've been using it for a little over a month and wanted to share a review highlighting some of the pros and cons of this facial product.

PROS:

No skin irriatation: Over the past couple years, my skin has become sensitive, breaking out over virtually every product. I'm happy to say however that Aubrey's blue green algae soothing mask does not irritate my skin at all. Instead, it makes my skin feel soothed and suble.

Moisturising: This product contains grapeseed extract and that may count for the fact that this product is not drying on the skin. Unlike other facial masks that dry hard like clay, this one is very creamy and does not dry out. While on, my skin feels very moisturized and warm.

Soothing: While I wouldn't say this product is a miracle product that gets rid of acne or blemishes, it does not add to pre-existing ones. The mask opens up the pores and gets out impurites which helps to improve the look of the skin. I find the benefits are subtle. It's the type of mask that you add to your ongoing skin care regime, but I wouldn't use it alone to tame skin problems. It works well with other products and helps to change the texture of your skin in subtle ways so over time your skin looks and feels better. One thing I will say is it did greatly reduce the size of my pores!

CONS:

I didn't have any real cons with this product, but if I had to choose I'd have to name price as a factor. It often sells for 10+ dollars and can really only be found online so you'd have to consider shipping costs. But you can find it on vitacost and get a couple dollars off. Those who are looking for a product that dramatically improves their skin may also be a little disappointed because this product, while helpful, does not immediately change your skin.

Overall: I love this product! Personally, I find it works great as part of my skin care regime. It's easy to use. Contains no harmful products and I consider it much more cost friendly than other products that perform similarly and/or contain the same ingredients. I wish I could get it locally, but I am willing to dish out the shipping costs to have this product. I recommend it to anyone looking to add an organic mask to their facial care regime.

Blushing

Blushing by ladyadelaide featuring a black trench coat

Shift dress
sheinside.com

Ted Baker black trench coat
$365 - johnlewis.com

H M bracelets jewelry
$6.32 - hm.com



Your heels click the pavement as you walk towards the rose gardens. The springtime sun is setting, adding a perfect backdrop to what you hope will be a perfect evening. Beside a little fountain, he waits for you. He is all smiles, as he admires your outfit and the sweet smell of vanilla that you spritzed in your hair just before leaving. After handing you a rose, he kisses you on the cheek and whispers to you "you look flawless". You blush, like a rose.