Girl of The (Violet) Hour

Ashley Greene is known to many as the face of Alice Cullen from the increasingly popular Twilight series. However, Ms. Greene has taken her time in the spotlight to show us how talented she is in both her acting as well as her self-styling! If you haven’t already, I suggest you take some inspiration from Ashley the next time you are getting ready for the next (and swiftly approaching!) cocktail or holiday party. Chances are, you will receive a lot of compliments for your chic, sleek, unique look.

To mimic Ashley’s look, go for gravity-defying hair, smoky (brown) eyes, a single statement accessory, and bold but solid clothes.

So Here's The Skinny- The Skinny CHALLENGE!

   After going through a pretty rough period in late 2008 and early 2009, I realized that the emotional stress I was going through lead me to gaining quite a bit of weight- I'll admit that at one point I was 30lbs. heavier!  Since my realization, I have had no luck with working out (mostly because I am so busy that if I don't see quick results, then I move on to the next thing).  Being a senior, I want to get back down to a healthy weight and regain my old energy before moving onto the next stage of my life.
   For the last few months, I have been toying with the idea of going vegetarian.  I have a very serious admiration for fruits, veggies, beans, etc. ... but there are just some days where a slider just sounds too good to pass up.  So, I am making a full-fledged commitment to going vegetarian.  Shile some may argue that vegetarian is for the "granola communities" or is "an excuse of an ating disorder", I do have strong reasons for deiding that this is the right choice:

• getting more vitamins/minerals/antioxidants than from chemical/hormone fed meats
• lessens carbon footprint
• easier on digestive system
• there have been enough gory movies and disgustingly-visual-poster-wielding activists to freak me out into buying humane mousetraps!
• healthier lifestyle/diet! (as long as sensible portions are still maintained- BUT I still make sure my body is getting all that it needs)

I decided to go vegetarian, rather than vegan, because #1 it's too hard to be vegan in school because you practically have to pack your own food to go to a party! #2 I feel like taking eggs and milk out of my diet would be doing more harm than helping.  I am also not going to beat myself up over having a sensible portion of fish (what do you think- maybe only special occassions?), as long as they are wild caught AND on MarthaStewart's/WholeFood's list of seafood that is acceptible to fish. (Something everyone should check out before you go shopping, to make sure that you aren't supporting the breaking down of otherwise sustainable underwater ecosystems)
   In addition to going vegetarian, I am also going to cut processed sugars out of my diet!  Crazy, right?  Well, actually, my mother and sister have bothalready done this and raved about how much better they looked and felt.  I will still be using natural sweeteners and treating myself to a sugar-free chocolate every now and then (FYI to anyone trying to cut sugar- limit yourself to 1-2 a day, as too many can have a laxative effect and that is NOT a healthy way to live!).  But, this will mean no more sugary cereals, cookies at lunch, or big bowls of ice cream!  And that's the problem: my biggest weakness IS ice cream, and I know from experience that store-bought sugar-free ice cream is nothing like the real deal.  Guess who's pulled out the old ice cream maker to make some natural-sweetener ice cream? Errr... Ice Milk? haha I'll give you a hint- you're reading her blog right now!
   Periodically, I will be posting about my progress, vegetarian/sugar-free recipes to try (great for bringing to parties!), and new things I learn from my diet experience on my other blog: Quelle Est La Cote.  Check it out to keep up and support my progress (please☺)!  My hope for this "experiment" is, after the 3 month test period, that I will be looking and feeling as well, if not better, than I used to.  And how great must be that extra kick of confidence when you try on a killer outift and you know that you look as wonderful as you've been feeling.  Since I hear that the early period of dieting can eave you in a bit of a fog, maybe, in my chocolate and met and chocolate meat drought, some incredible inspiration and fashion revelation will cometo me like wonderfully stylish manna from heaven!  All I can hope is that early period is very short lived and the fashion (slash fashion blogging) stays fresh, fabulous, and more fierce than ever before!
♥♥♥♥♥
Thanks to you all!

How To Handle The August Rush

For many of us, August is a scramble to get all that one can out of the last few weeks of vacation, the starting of a new school year, stocking up for fall fashion, the end of all that summer sun, digging out that bag of no-goods for you fall yard sale, or one of the many other grand tasks that can make life seem that much more hectic.  And, to top it all of, it's as humid as the God above could make it.
So, while you're busy in that hot, heavy August air that seems to weigh you down and keep you indoors, here are some things to remember:

• Pack only the essentials in your purse!  No one wants to lug around a sack of bricks.  All the better to accumulate some nasty underarm stains, my dear.
• A packet of tissues and face wipes (such as Ponds) are perfect and easy to carry with you to tackle the worst of your smudge and fudge make-up drama
• Keep a hair tie and boby pins handy, just in case your hair can't stand up against the level of humidity.  If you know their may be some level of endurance put to the test (even doing your groceries on foot counts in this weather!), bring a cute headband or more decorative hair clip to fasten to your pony tail, so that you still look put together but your bangs aren't sticking to your face...because that's not cute
• Don't forget to drink los of water!  Even with all that moisture in the air, it's hot and heavy and making your own body cool itself off by means of perspiration.  Sooo, replenish what you're body is releasing and drink up! (drink up your H2O, that is)  When you stay hydrated, your body feels much better and stepping outside won't seem like such a crazy idea.

Hope these tips help!  Tell me: how else do you handle the August heat?