Friend Friday: Body Image

This week's Modly Chic's questions are really interesting, so read on and don't forget to check out other people's answers as well.

1. Since you started blogging has your image of yourself changed?

I wouldn't say that for myself. Not really. Change in self-image for me started a year ago, before I started blogging. It was the beginning of January 2010 when I realized I had two months left to work my butt off before I get to see my high school classmates after more than 10 years. I was at my heaviest and I needed to lose at least 10 lbs. When we finally got to meet, I only managed to lose 5, but that triggered the whole quest of getting back into shape. It was for a silly reason in the beginning, but that changed my lifestyle and introduced me to a healthier, leaner me. I just kept on eating right, exercising 2-3 times a week and the pounds just kept shedding. Now, I've lost 15 lbs. so far. Call me vain and shallow, but I do think I look sexy now hehehe... The blog world was then strange to me and I had no idea there were a lot of fashion blogs out there. Call me a techie dinosaur LOL. I am pretty active on facebook and in June 2010, started an album called Everyday @ Work, where I would post my daily outfits at work, Monday to Friday. I thought it was an original idea back then LOL.

2. Are you self-conscious about any aspect of yourself? If so, do you go out of your way to avoid it or do you post it/talk about it anyway?

I don't consciously avoid talking about it, nor do I really want to talk about it. Not so much that I really hate that part of my body so much it consumes my life. It's because when I do mention it, people always have the reaction of "What the hell are you talking about? I don't see it!". The way I see it, we are all our own worst critics, and yes, they may not see it, but I do see it. Every single day.

3. Based on how you are feeling now, what do you think the future holds in the evolution of your body image?

The outlook is not that great for me, unfortunately. I don't plan on Sofia being an only child so this "sexy" image I have of myself is not going to last long. The good part is, I know that if I've done it once, I can do it again. As soon as I pop out a sister or brother for Sofia, I'm going to need to work hard on getting that "sexy" back again.

4. Do you photograph yourself for your blog? If so, how do you feel about the experience when you're having your picture taken? If you choose not to post pictures of yourself, what prompted that decision?

I so do photograph myself for my blog. If I don't, who else would do it? I don't feel like waiting for my husband to come home. I want to change into my jammies as soon as I get home. So the daily routine is, take my photos right after I walk into the door, then change. I actually love taking photographs, although not in the "photography" sense of way. I like taking photographs purely for documentation. I couldn't care less how nice the photos turn out to be. I only care that I have that photo to remind me of that moment.

5. What would you want every person who struggles with body image to take to heart?

Fall in love with yourself over and over again - for all its imperfections and perfections. Remember what it's like when you first met that special someone in your life? How you were willing to go to great lengths to have him/her? Give that same zealous attitude towards yourself. If you do, you will do anything to achieve the best body image you potentially have. On the other hand, let's not lose sight of the fact that the term "body image" is really relative to the person concerned. If a positive body image for me was being 20 lbs. heavier, that's fine too. Nothing wrong with that!

Outfit 30

{blazer, skinny pants and accessories: RW&Co. | tunic and belt: Smart Set | boots: Nine West | knee-high socks: Ardene's}

Whew, made it to 30! Yaay! It's more than 30 days since I started blogging but I don't usually post outfits on the weekends. It's too busy and crazy and by the time I get home, makeup's gone and outfit's disheveled. You'd have to kill me to get me to face the camera. Never mind, setting it up myself, and doing the whole usual routine of setting it up on timer, run towards the "pose" area, smile and click! Naah, won't do it. Monday to Friday is good enough. Those are the only times I really make an effort of dressing up anyway!

Tonight we went out with a couple and their son for a buffet dinner at Rajdoot. It's an East Indian restaurant by the Mission area. We've had this dealfind vouchers for a long time and we decided to use it tonight. Food was pretty good. I like East Indian food so tonight was a treat! Our poor kids (meaning their son and my daughter) didn't find the food appealing though. It was too spicy for them. I'm so used to eating spicy that I don't even feel it. But Sofia kept asking for water and wouldn't touch anything except rice and naan bread. Bad mama! I should have at least fed her pizza or something before we headed out. But I seriously thought she would love the butter chicken because she loves rice and chicken and sauce. But even that, she found spicy as well. Oh well, lesson learned. We still have another voucher so we will need to use it next time.  I was so full and bloated when we came home. I ate way too much! Much more than I can handle, that's for sure!

Outfit 29

{blazer: Ricki's | top and skinny pants: RW&Co. | shoes: Pegabo | belt & accessories: RW&Co., Reitman's}

I planned to wear something red for Valentine's Day, but changed my mind at the last minute. I opted to wear a black and white ensemble instead. Back in my high school days, there was such a stigma about wearing red on Valentine's Day. It signified that you are looking for love, which meant you don't have anyone in your life, which meant no one wants you LOL. I know! It doesn't make sense. But that's what we thought and so everyone was afraid to wear red. Some of my classmates even refused to wear red the entire month of February. Just in case someone gets the wrong impression you know :P Now I think about it, it would have made more sense to wear red just for the sake of celebrating the day. But noooo, someone had to make up something weird and ruin it for everyone. So this is why I never wear red on Valentine's Day. a. Because I wasn't looking and b. Because even if I was, I wouldn't want to shout it out to the world that I was! Hahahaha.... Of course, I grew up, grew some brains. I'm out of this and am over this stigma for a long time now. Or am I? Where's my red???? :P

Today, I sent out an email to two friends and suggested the idea of taking turns babysitting for Valentine's week. I got eager responses which was no surprise. Everyone is just dying to have a date night. I didn't want to go out tonight not because I'm anti-Valentine's but because I've done it before and it's a zoo out there. Nothing kills romance than fighting for your table and enduring bad customer service. So tonight we babysat two boys, and Sofia had so much fun playing with them. This Thursday will be our turn for our date night. Speaking of which, I better get on making that reservation. I'm thinking of going to that French restaurant in downtown. Hmmm, sounds romantic already!

Outfit 28

 

{blazer: Costa Blanca | tops: RW&Co. | jeans: Reitman's | shoes: Nine West}

Notice the lack of Day something in the title? It's supposed to be Day 11 but I've decided to discontinue my 30 for 30 Remix. I have way too many clothes I haven't worn yet, too many shoes that haven't been out of the box yet, and I'm still shopping! These shoes I'm wearing today for instance has been sitting in its box unworn since December! I'm not really following any of the rules either. I looked at my outfits for the past 10 days, and I've remixed very very very little, if even! I love to wear my clothes and really, to limit myself to 30 pieces when I feel there's a lot in my closet that needs my attention, it's just too darned hard. No use kidding myself. I am sooo done! So this morning, I went inside my closet, put back some of the remaining unworn items I took out for the remix, and in a swoop, gave my clothes a big well deserved welcome back hug :P I think they were happy with my decision too LOL...I know, I'm not really all sane up there.

On another non-fashion related note, we were invited to have dinner at a friend's house for surf and turf dinner. It was so awesome! We had oh so juicy beef tenderloin and grilled lobster with mashed beets and potatoes. To finish off the scrumptious dinner, my friend made tiramisu for dessert. It was to die for! I'm so happy we have such good friends who are really good cooks. Although it's not good for my waistline, the company and camaraderie and of course, good food, all make it worth the extra sessions of Zumba and Turbo Jam I'd have to endure later. Sofia also gets to hang out with their kids. She is the happiest when playing and being surrounded by kids around her age. She didn't want to go home and was throwing a fit when we mentioned the word, "home". I had to bribe her with chocolate LOL...

Friend Friday: Color Wars

Well it’s Friday again and I have some answers for you on a very interesting topic of questions brought to you by ModlyChic. Join us! It's a good way of getting to know other fashion bloggers who share the same interests as you - fashion and style. What else? LOL...

1. What color dominates your closet?

I hate to admit it but it’s mostly grey and black. That needs to change and I’ve made a silent pledge to my closet that I would give it life! Lately, I’ve been buying mostly things that are either colored or patterned. No more black and grey. Although in terms of pants, I always stick to black, grey or brown still. I still have to convince myself to divert from that, but so far no success there yet. I don’t know. It’s just so easy to fall back into going back to what’s safe and comfortable.

2. If money weren't an issue how would you change the color emphasis in your closet?

All colors! I’m not fair skinned so I think I can get away with wearing any color and avoid looking washed out, especially when it comes to paler shades. So if money weren’t an issue, if I like something, I would buy them in the same style in all colors. Wouldn’t that be nice? LOL. I especially love red and green, although I would never put them together in one outfit. Except maybe during an ugly sweater contest on Christmas day hahaha…. Mustards and camels are also starting to find its way into my shopping bags too!

3. What is your mantra about mixing colors?

While I used to like the all black outfit before, I am all about putting a flash of color in everything I wear now. Somehow, just blacks or just greys, or just black and grey don’t cut it anymore. I find it too boring now. Since I’ve been blogging and reading all these fashion blogs and reviewing my outfit photos, I find that I love the ones that have colors in them. So I’ve made a promise to myself that I will always wear colors to add life to my outfit. Monotony has gone out this closet. Or is that the right term? Oh well, you know what I mean:P

4. For you, how do you incorporate color into your outfits?

Not necessarily in this order: bold or subtle patterns, accessories, tops, blazers or cardigans, shoes, bright lipstick haha.. 

5. Which blogger(s) do you think do a good job of incorporating color

This is just in alphabetical order, nothing else:

A Day in the Life Too - http://adayinlifetoo.blogspot.com/

day2daywear - http://day2daywear.blogspot.com/

Dwelling & Telling - http://dwellingandtelling.blogspot.com/

Kendi Everyday - http://kendieveryday.blogspot.com/

The Odd and Chic - http://www.oddandchic.com/

Seriously, I can’t enumerate all of them here or this blog post will never end. Really, there’s just way too many of them and it wouldn’t do them justice if I just put some and leave some out. But since you insisted, I didn’t really have a choice, did I? :P

Outfit 27 & Day 10

{blazer: Ricki's | top: RW&Co. | skirt: Smart Set | tights: Old Navy | boots: Nine West}

Aah, behind on the posting again. I've been going to bed so early these days. I've been so hard at work that I'm just exhausted by the end of the day. Of course the life of a working mommy doesn't end at 5:00PM. That's where the real work begins. If you are reading this and you have a toddler you know what I mean. There are tea parties to attend, grocery shopping (Sofia has a pretend grocery cart), then there's baking cakes for a birthday party. Sometimes I get "sick" and need a doctor. Sometimes I apparently need a hero, so she can say, "To the rescue!". Yes, my days are jampacked with lots of activities LOL... It's a good thing she thinks photo shoots are part of her play. Otherwise, I don't know how the heck I'd do it. This girl wants attention!

And that's my excuse for getting behind on my posting! Again, if you are a mommy, and working full time on top of that, you would totally understand where I'm coming from :) And I know that this whole post is not related to fashion (other than my outfit photos), but it's my blog! LOL...

Outfit #26 and Day 9

{grey cardigan and blue turtleneck: RW&Co. | pants: Le Chateau | belt: Reitman's | pumps: Nine West | accessories: Smart Set, Reitman's, LA Express, RW&Co.}

This is going to be short and sweet. It's way past my bedtime and I can't think straight so before I blabber about some nonsense, I leave you all with my outfit post of today. Goodnight :)

Outfit #25 and Day 8 and EBEW Blazer Day

{blazer & scarf: RW&Co. | mustard tunic: Smart Set | boots: Jessica}

It's like outfit posting marathon today -four outfits to be exact. This is just the last out of the four and I'm all caught up. Yaaayyy! Thank goodness, I'm running out of things to say and I brought work home too so I have that to take care of next. Hubby says I obviously have my priorities straight - blog first before work lol. I guess he knows me better than anyone else :P

I'm wearing a blazer today in support of the Everybody, Everywear challenge. Today is the day for the classic blazer challenge. I took a peek this morning (shh...while at work) at their website to see what everyone's doing for the challenge. I see a lot of cuteness and sophistication there! As soon as I'm done here, I'm going to take a peek again. Uh oh, getting distracted from work again hahahaha... Ya gotta admit though, checking the Everybody, Everywear website is a lot more fun than work :) I love to participate in easy challenges and this is one thing I look forward to each time. I've only done two challenges so far - the Breton Stripes and this blazer one. After all, I only started blogging in January. Hmm, I wonder what's next in line. Can't wait :)

 

Outfit #24 and Day 7

{dress: Kensie | top: Sirens | cardigan: Reitman's | shoes: Aldo}

You could say I'm wearing the wrong outfit for the season. I've been wanting to wear this Kensie dress I recently bought for a really good deal. I blogged about this here. Anyhow, today I thought was a good day to wear it. Until I opened the garage door and realized it was snowing heavily the past night! Served me right for not checking the weather network! I really should do that! I wanted to change into a warmer, more weather appropriate outfit but no chance for that. I was already running late as it is! I still had to drop off Sofia at her dayhome. I only had time to change my open toed shoes into a winter boot. And I was out the door. But, I brought my booties to work. Winter boots was just not going to work with this springy getup lol... I covered it up with a remixed red cardigan and a purple top, which picked up the colors of the humongous beautiful flower that attracted me to this dress in the first place.

While at work, every person I met commented about my dress - that it was pretty but I'm wearing it at the wrong season. So I had to say the same story over and over again. In my defense, it was feeling a little springy the past few days before we got dumped with all this snow. We even braved one day and went out for a short walk without our coats. So people, I'm still sane up there. It was all just a misunderstanding between me and the weather :P