Oh Happy Day :)

Today is a VERY special day. It marks the 54th anniversary of the birth of the most incredible woman I know: my mother.

I WOULD post a picture of the two of us, but she has forbidden me to do so. She has some outlandish idea that she doesn't look good in pictures, despite the fact that she is GORGEOUS and doesn't look 54 by a long shot.

The praise I could give my mom is endless. She is my hero and my role model. But instead of gushing my love for her, I would like to recount one story about her that I think demonstrates how wonderful she is.


It was Christmas and I was...seven, I believe. At that point in my life, I was OBSESSED with the Spice Girls. Obsessed. I WAS Baby Spice. I remember at that point in my life I was...confused. Because I was definitely a tom boy. Pretty much all my friends were boys from day one. And I always liked doing boy things: playing video games, biking, getting dirty, picking boogers...whatever young boys do at that age.

But as I started getting older, I started realizing that girls didn't really hang out with boys...They hung out with other girls and did girlie things. So gradually I started doing those girlie things and hanging out with girls.

Naturally, in my new found feminine circle, liking the Spice Girls was inevitable. They became my idols. Slowly it became clear to me that boys were NEVER going to like me if I kept liking the same stuff they did and acting like such a tom boy. I was always just "one of the boys". It was time to drop the whole tom boy gig and take on the ditsy, flirty, girly girl act that I was becoming more and more familiar with. THAT is what all the boys really wanted.

Come Christmas time, what did my mother find at the top of my Christmas list?

"A SET OF ALL THE SPICE GIRL BARBIE DOLLS."

And myriads of other Spice Girl paraphernalia, no doubt.

My mother faced a sizable dilemma: Get me the dolls and feed the flame to my unhealthy idolization of big breasted Brits in platform shoes; or NOT get me the dolls and have to face my melancholy face and somehow convince me that Santa doesn't make Spice Girl dolls.

Well, she decided on the latter. And come the end of Christmas morn when I had opened all my gifts with not one trace of my beloved Spice Girls, she was faced with a most downtrodden daughter. What was she to do? Obviously I didn't buy the whole Santa bit. The Spice Girls were too awesome for Santa not to like them. He had to love them. It just didn't ad up. And I wasn't comforted in the least.

As I sat sulking on my couch, shunning my other gifts, she and my dad came and stood in front of me.

"Skylie, I know you are upset that you didn't get any Spice Girl stuff for Christmas. But we don't really like the Spice Girls. And we are going to tell you why."

Well, this ought to be good. How could anyone find ANYTHING wrong with the Spice Girls?

"See, the Spice Girls use their bodies to get attention. They dress in small outfits and act silly and stupid just the get attention from boys."

Ok...not seeing anything wrong with that. I wanted to get attention from boys too. Seemed like they had the right idea of how to get it.

"But the thing is, boys don't really want that. Do you remember what 'respect' means"

I nod.

"Well, boys might LIKE girls like the Spice Girls. But they do not respect them. They only like them because they are showing off their bodies."

My parents then proceeded to act out two scenarios, both set in a bar: One where my mom played a ditsy, easy girl and one where she played a sophisticated, intelligent, dignified woman. Honestly, my parents deserve Oscars for the performances they put on. I got the message loud and clear.

My dad was incredibly repulsed by the ditsy, flirty woman thrusting her chest at him and giggling ridiculously. But how could this be? He was supposed to love that!...Right? My world was getting rocked.

It proceeded to get even more rocked as I saw him actually LIKE the smart, dignified version of my mom. Surely this was just an act. Because I knew there was no way that could ever be true. A guy liking a girl for...her BRAINS? And PERSONALITY? Psssh.

It took me until I was about 15 for me to really get this. But I finally did. And I am SO thankful I did. My mom always encouraged me to be the best woman I could possibly be and to never alter myself or lessen myself for anyone, especially a guy.

This is just one of many valuable lessons that she has taught me throughout my life. I know that I would not be half the person I am today without her guidance.

So thank you, mom. And here's to you.

Falling Slowly

Can it just be Fall already? Pleeeeeease? Goodness.

This shoot from a New Zealand fashion magazine has got me craving Fall SO bad.

I love how warm, cozy and effortless all the outfits in this shoot are--all while still maintaining a strong sense of elegance and femininity.

I love the mix of satin with tweed and the leather boots.

Another mix of luxurious satin with what would normally be a somewhat plain wool coat. The two items don't clash. They compliment and balance each other beautifully.

This shot is my favorite. It just embodies Fall to me. I just want to bundle up in that sweater and never come out. Gorgeous lighting and color in this shot too.

Ah I miss plaid. I really love the sweater she has on with the dress.

This Fall I am definitely getting a cape/poncho. It so elegant and sophisticated to me. Reminds me of Sherlock Holmes haha. I love this silhouette of a wider top with leggings and chunky boots.

More plaid :)

What a gorgeous shot.

Who would have thought bulky wools and tweeds could be so sexy and elegant?

Fall, get here soon that I might soon wear these clothes!

Shhhh Listen

Everything about this song just puts every fiber of my being at peace.

Picture of the Day

Summer lovin'

My Fair Lady

This past Sunday didn't just mark the last day of the State Fair, it also marked a night of some pretty awesome photography by my friend Marcus.

We have done many, many shoots together, but this is honestly one of my favorites because it really demonstrates how talented of a photographer Marcus is.

I hope you enjoy the pictures! You can also check out more of Marcus' work on his website.

I also have to give a shout out to Freestyle Clothing Exchange. My dress and shoes are from there...along with much of the rest of my wardrobe :)

This is my favorite shot out of all of them.

This one really blew my mind the first time I saw it. Just awesome.

One of my other favorites. The composition is great.

Unexpected/Unintended

Butterflies: 1. A cute, adorable insect that flutters around making the world seem carefree and pure. I wanted to capture the beauteous butterfly.

2. A fluttering and nauseated sensation felt in the stomach when one is nervous. When he held my hand, it gave me butterflies.

We hear a lot about butterflies when we talk about romance...and not definition number one, although I suppose actual butterflies could make a pretty romantic setting.

"You set my heart aflutter," "You give me butterflies," "You make my heart skip a beat."

You know. Those kinds of cheeseball lines.

We have all felt this way at some point in our lives. We've met someone who made us stutter, who made us giggle like a little school girl, who made it feel like a gremlin had taken up residence in our stomach.

That is what most of us call love or being in love or having a crush--whatever you want to call it.

For the longest time, I believed that I was only meant to be with a guy who I felt that way about. THAT was love and that's what I needed to feel for a guy to have a relationship with them.

But hold on one moment...Let us take a moment to analyze this.

I mean if we REALLY look at what causes those butterflies and stutters it is nervousness. Now that is either coming from your insecurities or the fact that you aren't totally comfortable with that person. And neither of those things are good, obviously.

Now, let's take a look at another form of love--one that we have seen a lot of recently. That love is the unintended/unexpected love.

This comes in different forms. Sometimes it begins with a man and a woman simply having a friendship where both parties are really not looking for anything more (When Harry Met Sally).

Other times, it can even begin with one or both parties not even liking the other one (10 Things I Hate About You). We've seen this umpteen million times in romantic movies over the years--most notably for me is Pride and Prejudice. The reason why we see it so often is that it's interesting. I mean, honestly, who wants to see two people who decide they like each other fall in love calmly and slowly with not complications or excitement? BORING. We like to see the sparks and clashing between two people.

But I digress. The point I am trying to make is that this above kind of love, I believe, is the best kind of love.

Why? Well, you find it when you are least expecting it. You have NO front up. You are completely and utterly yourself. You don't need to try to impress that person because you are not trying to win their affection. You are cool, calm and collected...hopefully--unless you are just inherently awkward and totally not smooth. But most of all, you are candid--and exposed. You show yourself completely, in ways that you would never someone that you were slightly nervous around. That person ends up knowing you inside out, all of your idiosyncrasies and quirky tendencies that you always hid.

I have never experienced this myself, but I just imagine that it is such a wonderful feeling. To have such an open, tolerant, all-encompassing friendship that blossoms into a really beautiful and strong loving bond.

Sometimes this can be right underneath our noses! Most of us are looking so hard for "true love" that we don't see it right in front of our faces.

I'm not saying that some of us don't get swept off our feet by a knight in shining armor. All I'm saying is that sometimes our knight in shining armor ends up being the commoner in the crowd that we never took the time to stop and notice.