Boho Beauty

Aren't these photographs from ELLE China just stunning? Model Liu Wen plays the perfect hippie, with clothes to match! Now, if I could only get my hands on the dress in the last photograph, in all of its tie-dye glory....

Jem

Princesses

This quote from The Little Princess is one of my faveourites. I think it might be the best quote ever. So remember, you ARE a princess! 

Jem

How To Enjoy Life

I read a blog post today called, 101 small pleasures, but I like to think I would call it "how to enjoy life." I have always believed that it is important to seek out the small pleasures in life in order to really live. Although all these small pleasures on the list are nice to enjoy, I favor some over others. In no perticular order here are a few of my fave simple ways to enjoy life (all of these were taken for the yahoo blog, shine):

• sleeping in
• laughing
• listening to your fave song (I still like listening to the radio when I'm driving, no ipod plug in the car for me!)
• old fashion photobooths
• the wind in your hair (especially when you are on the beach!)
• the smell of lavander
• smiling at a stranger
• eating with chopsicks
• happy endings...even if they are fictional
• sunshine
• spending the afternoon in a museum
• cheesy, uplifting musicals (and for that matter romantic comadies too)
• hot chocolate
• jumping in puddles
• a new magazine in the mail

Jem

Sping In Your Step

It looks like spring is a'coming! For which, I am glad. As much as I love the winter it is rather nice not to have to dress in layers and instead wear lots of pretty frocks! When I think of spring images of flowers, girls in white dresses, rainboots, that it is the begining of picnic season, and bikes all come to mind. So in celebration of the new season I present to you my faveorite "springish"  (is that even a word?) photographs.
Jem

P.S. All images are from http://www.weheartit.com/

Liberty of London

I never did a post on my birthday festivities (I turned 18 on the 18th! How fantastic is that?), so I figure... hey, why not do it now? My family and I went out to the Indian restaurant like we always do when celebrating someone's birthday. Afterwards I opened pressies, and what treasures was I gifted! My grandma and sister both know that I really adore the Liberty of London prints and the fact that one of my faveourite stores, Target, was doing a collection with them. So I got lots of Liberty of London for Target goodies; from a mini notebook set (which I really needed actually, its the perfect size to carry in my purse so I can jot down important information), to notecards (I do love sending a good handwritten note to people), a cute little tote bag, and a wallet (of which both can be seen above). And of course all of these items featured iconic Liberty prints! To make it even better everything was packaged into two Liberty print hat boxes! On saturday I went out to lunch with one of my besties, Ashley, to the tea house in town. They have such a large collection of different assortments of teas, I always feel like I am in heaven when I go their for lunch! This time though we decided to share a pot of vanilla chai tea (yummm....) since we were both craving a good cup of chai.  The party continued into the night, with family friends coming over for a little birthday party. So thats just a little wrap up of my birthday celebrations. Oh! I almost forgot to tell you the most important thing, I am now a registered voter (finally I am 18 and legal to vote)!
Jem

Magazines

If you are interested in buying good quality back issues of magazines, have I got a website for you! It's called http://www.paperpursuits.com/, and they carry all different magazines; from Vogue, to Harpers Bazaar, and international magazines. I was so excited to find that they have the two issues from 1995 and 1997, both with Princess Diana on the cover. I would love to obtain these two issues because it would be very interesting to have a look at what was important to women at that time. It would also be nice to read old interviews with Princess Diana, as she is someone who I have always admired greatly. Alas, I have put myself on a spending moratorium in order to save up for my upcoming trip to Disney World. Its really interesting to look at the women who have been on the covers of these magazines, a lot of them I recognize but some I haven't a clue who they are.
Jem

The Happiest Place Is...

I am totally pysched, I just found out I am going to the happiest place in the world! Yep, I am going to Disney World! I still have several months until my trip which I am taking with three of my friends. I am really excited because the last time I went to Disney was when I was seven years old and I don't really remember much of that vacation. So it will be fun to really be able to experience the whole atmosphere, besides I am going with one of my friends who is a total Disney freak (I mean this is the best way... she really knows the park and everything).
Jem

Thats So Vogue

I just bought my copy of Vogue's April issue and I must say, I think it might one of their best covers they have had in a long time. This cover with model Gisele Bundchen is on my list of the top five best covers; alongside Kirsten Dunst as Marie Antoinette, the issue with Kiera Knightly in Africa, Michelle Obama, and Cate Blanchett (Novemeber 2006). I love the whole Americana feeling which it has, yet at the same time it feels like a throwback to a different time. I think this might be because of the pale  peachy color used to outline the letters of Vogue and the shirt which Gisele is wearing.  Isn't it interesting that although this cover has a very "American" feel to it they used a Brazilian model? Any ways... I just adore this cover!
Jem

The Feminist Fashion

I was skimming through the Elle Collections UK magazine today when I came upon an article questioning whether fashion was feminist. They posed a really good question, a lot of people who don't know or don't care about fashion tend to believe that fashion is not feminist. The magazine asked this question to different people in the fashion industry; from designers, to journalists, and bloggers. It was so interesting to see everyone's responses to the question, the majority seemed to believe that fashion and its industry was feminist, while at the same time a few fiercely opposed this notion. Personally, I think that fashion can be feminist, but really its not the clothes which make a person a feminist its the person themselves who makes clothes feminist (does that make any sense?). If a women is a feminist then what she chooses to wear will reflect her attitude but she won't be repressed by her clothes. I think a lot of people have this notion that fashion "represses" and "restricts" women from what really matters, they are too preoccupied with their looks to care about, say, the enviroment, or finding a cure for AID's. Which is totally untrue, in fact I think that fashion helps keep feminism an important issue in todays society. The way a person dresses can show how powerful and intouch they are with the world around them. I really loved the responses of one of the people Elle interviewed, it just struck a cord with me, and perhaps it will better explain my feelings about this topic. Jane Aldridge of the blog, Sea Of Shoes, said "When women wear something they love, they feel powerful. Feminism doesn't have to be anti-beauty." I think Jane made a valid point, so often people feel that people who are feminist are against fashion and beauty, and that is not true. I mean look at me, I love fashion but yet at the same time I still consider myself a feminist, and their is nothing wrong with that. So what do you think? Is fashion feminist? Or not?
Jem

Mash Up

These Balenciaga shoes are to die for (as Rachel Zoe would say)!

I just love everything about them; from the pale color, to the

juxioposition of the geometric shapes.

This is an image of a cave  (in I believe Mexico???) where huge crystals
have naturally formed. Apparently it gets so hot in the cave

that a person can only stay in in for about ten minutes

without suffering from heat exhaustion.

Look at the neat lego details built right into the crumbling wall.

I wonder where this wall is located (I found the

photograph on weheartit.com).

One of my faveourite covers from

the spring issue of Lula. The stripes

with the dress look so awesome, I wish

I owned the whole look!

So, so true!

I am totally digging the sailor look, but this might

be because I wish summer would hurry up and get here!

Jem

What Is Beauty???

Definition of Beauty: The quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit.

Above is the definition of what beauty is according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, although they are correct on one level, I still think that beauty cannot be defined completely. Everyone has their own definition of what they think is beautiful, yet we all seem to think that everyone else agrees with our ideas. This is so not true. I have been thinking about people's perceptions and definitions about beauty a lot lately, and especially after watching Jessica Simpson's new show, The Price of Beauty. When I first read about the shows concept I was imeditatly intreged, I thought it could have the potential to be a great way to educate people about other cultures and their views on what beauty means to them. After seeing the first episoide I think I was right, it was very interesting, and hopefully people will learn a thing or two. Although we have different opinions on beauty, the following list consits of things which I think are beautiful. You might agree with some, if not all, of my list or you might think its complete bull shit. Eaither way... I would love to hear what you think is beautiful!

• I think self-confidence is beautiful. It is easy to reconize someone who is comfortable in their own skin, they just have a sense of aura about them.
• I think the people who run the website, http://www.operationbeautiful.com/, are amazing for creating a site which tackles our ideas about beauty, one post-it-note at a time!
• In Paris this past Fashion week, several "larger" models walked the runways. These curvey women are proving that skinny-mini is not the only beautiful look out there, women come in all different sizes and we need to embrace it.
• Gaboury Sidibe in the film Precious: Based on The Novel "Push" has broken through Hollywoods sterotype of beauty. YOU GO GIRL!
• Beauty is discovering that you can take a leap of faith and do something you never expected and succeed. One "plunge" which I took occured last year in my Sociology class. I have always said I would never eat anything really gross, such as crickets, but last year I had the chance to try a cricket. I was so scared, yet I knew if I didn't try the cricket I would regret that I missed the opprotunity to prove to myself that I can be daring. So I did it, I ate the cricket. And you know what? It wasn't terrible, and I am proud of doing something which I didn't know I could.
• The sound of laughter is beautiful and is easily understood in every culture.
• Beauty is reconginzing that every culture has something unique and beautiful about it, if you just know where to look.
• Beauty is standing up for yourself and others, even if other people think you are wrong
• And last but not least, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!!!

Jem

Battle Of The Wits

The idea of being a witty person has always intrigued me. To be able to respond fast to a comment with intellectual humor is one which I pride in others. I do not think I am a particularly witty person although I tend to surround myself with people who are. The majority of my friends are very intellectually smart; you know at the top of the class, always doing school work, and will laugh at a science or math joke. Not that I am complaining, but I don't think I could bare to be around dull, dimwitted people. That may sound a tad cruel but really what I am trying to say is; it is easier to be friends with smart, funny people who have the same type of humor as I do then someone who doesn't understand it at all. Some of my favourite people historically have also been known to be very witty. Dorothy Parker is probably the most famous female known for her sharp tongued wit. One of my absolute favourite humorous quotes of Mrs. Parkers is, "men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses." Her dry sense of humor doesn't appeal to everyone, but I've always found her to be an interesting character. She strikes me as the type of person who you could have a really interesting conversation with (well... if she wasn't dead and all). In Dorothy Parkers day she was like her generations Tina Fey or Amy Poehler. She was the super funny women who everyone wanted to know and work with. A good sense of humor is something which I think the majority of people value in a good friend, you want someone who will keep you in stitches of laughter!
Jem

The Brits

Ever since I was a little girl I've had a fascination with England; its culture, fashion, and people. It is one of my favourite places to visit, but that might also be in part because some of my favourite people live in the UK. England is filled with such rich culture and history, its definitely the perfect place for a history buff (like me!). Plus they have accents which make me drool, which make a lot of British guys totally dream worthy (well it also helps if they are fit and have a great personality too).
Some of my favourite actors, fashion designers/labels, stores, food items, and historical figures are British. Let me just name drop a few: Princess Diana (I think that the whole world still has a fascination with her, rightly so. Not only was she pretty and stylish but she also had a good heart), Emma Watson (she's smart and fashionable), Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter in my opinion might just be one of the best series ever), Topshop (DUH!), Burberry (its iconic), Jane Austen (I love all of her books), Marks and Spencers Gold tea (yes, yes, I know I talk about M&S tea a lot but its for a good reason, its just so dang yummy!), the Royal Family (ummm... hello! have you seen Prince Harry and William? They are totally gorgeous...), Cadbury Chocolate (yum-o), shopping in Tesco or Sainsbury(never has grocery shopping been so much fun), Thorntons Caskets (I swear you have not lived until you have tasted the nougat from a Thorntons Casket... god now I am salivating while I write this!), Stella McCartney (her clothes are so pretty and eco-friendly), ect. I could go on and on, but if I did I might loose your interest. So let me just end this by saying, Lets hear it for the British!
Jem