No More Thigh Gaps

Just in case you've been living under a rock for the past few months, let me introduce you to my latest fashion/model/girl crush obsession, Robyn Lawley.

Robyn is considered a "plus size" model.  Crazy, right?  She's absolutely GORGE and flawless and there is nothing PLUS size about her.  She is an Australian born 24 year old model who has dedicated her life to combating the negative, unrealistic body image that the fashion industry impresses on the minds of women today.  She was the first "plus size" model to grace the cover of Italian Vogue and Australian Vogue.  She loves food, and she has designed her own line of swimwear for the normal sized woman.  (and I want every piece from the collection)

Y'all, this girl is revolutionizing the fashion industry.  Robyn is the face of Ralph Lauren and their first plus size model.  When she started modeling at age 16, she battled the brink of eating disorders.  At 6'2" everyone told her she should model, and she was a natural.  However, as she mentions in many interviews, her body was just not meant to be sickly skinny like the high fashion models we're seeing on the catwalks today.

I love this girl.  Not only because she's obviously beautiful inside and out, but for the way she makes me feel about myself.  My whole life, I have battled body image and disordered eating.  Learning more about her and her journey has helped me truly appreciate and love my body.  Every woman should love her body NO MATTER her size.  Our bodies do so much for us every single day.  It is perfectly ok for women of all shapes and sizes to love themselves.  Because I come to love my body, I take better care of it.  I eat healthy and exercise daily because it makes me feel good and nourishes the body I love.

Women have got to abandon the negative body images.  We need to come together to encourage one another and build other women up.  I absolutely LOVE other women who love and support other women.  We are all special, unique, and beautiful.  We are made in Christ's image.  By banding together, we can change the media images we see.  By demanding we see NORMAL women, it can change the whole body image culture that has been cultivated over the past few decades.

Check out the interview Robyn did with Ellen Degeneres below.  It's so refreshing, and I truly love both of these women and everything they each stand for.

One more thing on this subject:

Have you heard about Aerie's new #AerieReal campaign?  “Get Real. Think Real. No Supermodels. No Retouching. The real you is sexy.”  I love it and will definitely be supporting this brand more!

All of this to say, just love yourself and take care of yourself.  There's nothing wrong with being curvy and there's nothing wrong with being skinny. As long as your are healthy and taking good care of yourself, every shape and size is PERFECT.

"And God made man in His own likeness. In the likeness of God He made him. He made both male and female."-Genesis 1:27

in color and in black & white

Wednesdays always lack inspiration for me.  I tend to struggle through the day while dreaming about crawling back into my pjs and bed the moment I get home and wait for Modern Family to come on.  I'm sorry, but it's true.  It's just struggle bus city on Wednesdays.

Thursday shall be better.

In the meantime, don't forget you can shop my closet on Tradesy.

this is getting serious, guys

Blazer: Charlotte Russe | Tank:  Charlotte Russe | Trousers: Target | Shoes: Tory Burch | Watch: Michael Kors (similar) | Bracelet: David Yurman

I got so many weird looks from students as work today.  By the end of the day, I wanted to yell "THEY'RE JUST PANTS!!"  I didn't though, don't worry.  They're just children.  They've never seen a fine pair of trousers like these before.  It's cool.

In other news, Whole Foods opened in Jackson today.  It makes me miss living there really bad.  I just want to be closer to a Whole Foods.  Is that too much to ask?…not that I can really afford to do my weekly grocery shopping there, but it would be really nice to have the option.  Maybe some big wig from Whole Foods will run across my little blog and take pity on me.  They'll say, "Hey! We should help that girl out.  We'll start building Whole Foods Ocean Springs, Mississippi next week! Sorry for the inconvenience, Chelsea!"….a girl can dream, right?

For the record, H&M can totally open here on the coast too.  They're opening one of them in Jackson soon, and they just opened one in New Orleans.  Something needs to give here, people!!!  Help a healthy food and fashion loving girl out, please and thank you!!

One last random thought…I REALLY wanted to wear my black Chuck Taylor Converse with this outfit today, but my Rainbow Bright shoelaces from the 7th grade are still in them.  Even though they're extremely faded, I felt a little weird about mixing Rainbow Bright with this look.  Thoughts?

Something Blue

Shirt:  Urban Outfitters (similar) | Jeans:  KUT from the Kloth | Shoes:  Guess (old) | Watch:  Michael Kors (similar) | Bracelets:  Alex+Ani, Ronaldo

Saturday, after picking up my wedding dress only to have my bridal portraits canceled due to rain, I got to spend time with my parents and high school friends.  We had a yummy dinner at Ruth's Chris (a rare occurrence for my mom's birthday), then we went to the coolest little new bar in Jackson called, Apothecary.

If you've seen the movie The Help, you've seen the outside of the bar.  Some scenes in that movie were filmed in a legendary soda fountain spot called Brent's Drugs in Jackson.  In the back of Brent's Drugs, after hours, is Apothecary.  You walk through the empty place to the back where there is a door.  You knock on it, tell the host how many in your party, and are then seated in the neatest little back room bar.  It's all so secretive like during prohibition and really dark and dreamy.  I had a drink called a Brown Derby--whisky, rye, and grapefruit. Yum.

It was so good to spend time with great, old friends and celebrate birthdays and all the fun times to come.  A very special Happy Birthday to the best mom in the whole world.  21 years young today, and she will forever be my best friend.  She's the Lorelei to my Rory, the macaroni to my cheese, and the chocolate to my peanut butter.  Love you forever and like your for always, momma!

The Ice is Melting

Coat: Michael Kors (old) | Sweater: GAP | Shirt: Target (similar) | Pants: Calvin Klein (similar) | Booties: Guess (similar) | Watch: Michael Kors (old) | Bracelets:  David Yurman, Alex + Ani, Ronaldo | Bag:  Michael Kors | Sunnies: Jondie (old) 

Fiancé was just too handsome to not document today!

As I was walking one of my first graders back to her classroom today, she pointed out all the things about my outfit that she wanted.  First it was my shoes.  She really wanted them and did all she could to convince me that they would fit her.  Next it was my sweater, then my bracelets, and finally my engagement ring.  She proceeded to tell me that she knew who gave me my ring.  When I asked her who she thought it was, she replied, "your man."  I laughed so hard while I told her she was right.  My sweet little first grader then asked me if I had gotten it for my anniversary.  I told her no, that it was my engagement ring and that I was getting married in March.  As we arrived at her room, she got the dreamiest look on her face and said, "I can't wait to get married."

Lord have mercy they start young, but isn't it every little girl's dream to be swept off her feet by their prince charming?  I could see that image in her head written all over her face.  I couldn't help but think about how blessed and lucky I am to have found my prince charming.  He is so incredibly good to me, and I can't wait to conquer life with him.

A special thanks to him for taking these pictures! I'm going to teach him how to use that camera well if it kills us!…that might be going a little overboard.  He's such a good sport and makes me laugh uncontrollably.  Hooray for melting ice, by the way!!!

10 Things That Make Me TERRIBLY Happy

Emily Lee Photo

-Fiancé (Duh!)

-Day time TV talk shows (i.e. Steve Harvey, Ellen, The Chew)

-When people win the $20,000 on Family Feud (I've obviously been watching way too much TV during these snow days…)

-My super old and worn in Ugg boots.  They're ugly and stained and perfect.

-When my fur babies want to snuggle

-Coffee…it owns me, and I'm ok with it.

-The new Budweiser commercial for this year's super bowl.  OMG they raised their already ridiculously high bar yet again.

-All the incredibly sweet friends and family Fiancé and I have who are throwing us wedding showers.  Seriously, we could not be more blessed.

-Seeing my student's eyes light up when something finally clicks with them.

-Getting to catch up my ridiculously long blog reading list

Today is not my week to be featured, but don't forget to head on over to The Southern Coterie's virtual front porch and check out all the amazing articles.  Check out my articles every third Wednesday of the month!

The Life Erratic

I have been living the life erratic lately.  I finally accepted a job last week as an assistant teacher at an elementary school.  It's not exactly what I had in mind seeing as how my degrees are in marketing and public relations, but it has been a pleasant surprise.  Career wise, though, I'm not so sure where my life is headed right now.  It's been a difficult past two months worrying about that, but I've finally just handed it over to the Lord.  He will lead me on the right path.  I have to trust that.

We did get a snow day today though! Crazy, I know! On the Mississippi Gulf Coast!  That's my Vader man up there waiting for it to hit.

Snow Day essentials.

Mashed cauliflower to substitute cold day comfort food.

Layla Bug and my man bright and early.

What I've been reading lately.

Even though my life is somewhat erratic right now, and I am MORE THAN READY to finally be settled down, I know that I am exactly where I'm supposed to be.  I have to trust God's timing and not my own, so I'm clinging to this verse:

"And don't be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God's place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there."

1 Corinthians 7:17

Everyone stay warm and safe in this crazy Polar Vortex!

xoxo

P.S.  I'm not quite sure what direction this blog is headed in.  So, for now, blog topics may be very random or simply about what's going on in my life until I find my way back into the blogosphere.  Thanks for bearing with me and sticking around.

Welcoming October

It's me, again.  I know you barely recognize me anymore.  My sincerest apologies.  Nobody warns you about the impending quarter life crisis when you're staring down the barrel of graduation with no job prospects.  It's tough, and it's hard to stay positive.

While I was catching up on all my daily blog reads, I came across the little questionnaire of sorts.  One of my favorite blogs, The Daybook, posted it.  I loved reading hers.  She's the cutest little wife and mommy.  I also found that filling this out was a great way to really step back and count my blessings instead of focusing the uncertainties of life right now.

Making: plans with friends for Southern Miss Homecoming weekend.  I can't wait to see everyone and host a pregame brunch.

Cooking: all my meals for the week on Sunday nights so I don't fall off the wagon when I'm tired and don't feel like cooking.

Drinking: skinny, cinnamon dolce lattes like they're going out of style.  Sorry, Fall weather.  I'm just not a pumpkin spice girl unless it's in candle form.

Reading: Jesus Calling daily devotional.

Wanting: Miley Cyrus' album, Bangerz, that came out today, but I have to wait until pay day.

Looking: through old photos makes me thankful for how far I have come.

Playing: John Mayer's Paradise Valley album on repeat.  I didn't like it very much at first, but now it's growing on me.  John Mayer is my all time favorite artist, so it was weird.  The album is like a trip through summer and the transition into fall.

Wasting: away in front of the TV a lot lately.  I've become addicted to The Voice.

Sewing: nothing.  I can barely thread a needle.

Wishing: for something secret every time the clock hits 11:11

Enjoying: the cooler weather by drinking my coffee on the balcony wrapped in my favorite sweatshirt.

Waiting: to get my braces off on Thursday!

Liking: when the weekend comes, and I get to spend it with the Beau.

Wondering: if I'm going to turn into an icicle while I'm in Baltimore over Thanksgiving...

Loving: the way the sun looks this time of year.  It tends to look a little hazy like it's sleepy or something.

Hoping: for more faith in God's plan for my life.

Marveling: at how much stronger I am becoming every day thanks to my new trainer and some really hard work.

Needing: the entirety of Zara to just hop inside my closet. 

Smelling: a new, vanilla pumpkin creme scented candle.  It's heavenly.

Wearing: the smallest size pants that I've ever fit into and my favorite pair of motorcycle boots.

Following: Nick's advice pertaining to my fantasy football team. 2-3 baby...oy...

Noticing: the little, sweet things Nick does that make me feel so special.

Knowing: that God's plan for my life is far better than any plan I could come up with.

Thinking: about how beautiful life really is when you stop and relish the little things.

Feeling: loved

Bookmarking: lots of blog posts, lately.

Opening: my Bible, because I haven't been doing it nearly enough lately.

Giggling: over a group text with all of my college best friends. 

Feeling: thankful for the life I've been given.

Fill this little questionnaire out, and then post a link to yours in the comments.  I'd love to have read!

Consistency is Key

Now y'all know this time of the year gets crazy for me.  If you follow me on Instagram, you've seen my all too often, "on the road again" posts.  I've been living in my car going back a forth to the Gulf Coast and to Jackson.  No, seriously.  I think half of my wardrobe is still in my car.  To say life has been hectic would be such an understatement.

That's my travel buddy back there in his kennel.  He hates traveling in that thing.

With that being said, I wanted to talk to y'all about consistency in your workouts and diet.  Over the past month, I had really hit a plateau.  I'd either stay at the exact same weight from week to week.  Or gain about two pounds, then have lost them the next.  It was so frustrating, but when I stopped to think, I realized that I had not been being very consistent.  With all the traveling I had been doing, I had been cheating on my diet more often and missing workouts.  My cheats weren't huge.  Just a little bite here and there or a small portion.  Nothing necessarily wrong with that.  I firmly believe you have to indulge every once in a while or you'll go crazy.  You can't deprive yourself forever.  It's just not possible.  There's nothing wrong with having a small cheat, except during this time, it was keeping me from hitting my next goal.

So last week, I decided I was hitting it hard.  A perfect week.  No cheating, no missed workouts, and stick to my diet 100%.  Guess what happened! IT WORKED!  There really is so much to be said for consistency in many aspects of life.  I'm starting perfect week #2 with strength and determination.

Health is having a good relationship with yourself, you can't cheat on a relationship and expect it to work.

Also, I've been posting a lot about health and fitness lately.  I will continue to post about fashion, but this is a lifestyle blog also.  Health and fitness is very large part of my lifestyle, and I love to learn more and more about it and share it will y'all!  Hope y'all don't mind! :)

xoxo-Chelsea Eli

P.S.  I take back everything I said about Miley Cyrus.  There's a difference in being yourself and doing things just for shock value.  There are other ways to separate yourself from your past while showing some self respect.  I like your music, Miles, but where is your pride?

How I Conquered My Negative Body Image

I've been putting this post off.  Remember last week when I said I had a very personal post coming?  Yeah.  It's that one.  It has to do with body image.  I've written on this topic before, and it wasn't easy then either.  It's hard for me to practice what I preach on this subject.  You see, I feel like I'm in a constant state of trying to lose weight.  I've spent most of my life being overweight.  Body image is something I STRUGGLE with.  I spent a lot of high school and early college teetering on the edge of various eating disorders.  I know I'm not alone in this, but sometimes it just plain feels lonely.

At the end of my sophomore year of college, after ending a TERRIBLY unhealthy and abusive relationship, I lost 50 pounds.  I felt incredible about myself, finally.  I really came out of my shell.  I still had a few more pounds to lose, but I felt really great about my looks for once.  I was, however, still greatly wounded from my previous relationship, and the bad thing was, I lost the weight in a very unhealthy way.  I had restricted my calories to between 700 and 800 a day while going to the gym and burning all of those calories back off in one session.  BAD BAD BAD.  It began from being depressed in that relationship, once I noticed I was losing weight pretty rapidly, I consciously began restricting my fuel intake.

I spent the next year healing from the bad relationship, and I met the beau.  We began dating, and I was extremely happy, and I sometimes these things happen, the weight began to creep back up.  I was no longer obsessively watching everything I put in my mouth, but I had gained 30 pounds back.  This past November, I realized I had to do something ASAP.  I didn't want this problem hovering over me for the rest of my life.  I wanted to do it for me and for my future family.  I would die if my children spent their life suffering from extreme body image issues like I have, and I knew it had to happen the healthy way or it wouldn't stay off this time.  So, I began researching.

I starting running every day, lifting weights, and really focusing on a balanced, clean, and healthy diet that I could maintain for a lifetime.  My body had never felt better, and I began noticing some growth in my muscles, but I wasn't losing any weight.  Don't get me wrong, the number on the scale isn't the sole thing you should be focusing on, but I knew that number had to come down because I was still considered overweight.  By March, there was still no significant change in those numbers, so I decided to talk to my doctor.  After discussing with her my issues, she decided to check my thyroid, but nothing seemed to be wrong in that area.  It was my metabolism.  It has been so significantly damaged from dropping weight the unhealthy way, I was having difficulty losing it the healthy way now.  I couldn't believe that it had come back to haunt me like that.

She gave me a few pointers for remedying this problem, and I am happy to say that after months of hard work, those 30 pounds are finally back off.  I'm not stopping here though.  I have a few more pounds to go, and when I finally hit my goal weight, I will share all the numbers with you.  I need a little more time to get comfortable with doing that!  It's scary!  I have more goals ready for when I reach that ultimate goal weight, don't worry!

From L to R:  heaviest ever, 50 pounds down, 30 pounds back up, and now

I've become so infatuated with health and nutrition and the way being healthy makes me feel.  Learning the proper way to care for your body has really pushed me to come to terms with the way I feel about my body.  Instead of hating my body for the way it looks, I've come to love it for the things it can do and the way I can make it feel.  I want to test it and push it to its limits now.  Don't get me wrong, I still have days when I don't like the way I look, and I want the rest of the weight to just fall off at once.  It feels so good, though, to truly love myself for the first time in pretty much ever.

On a side note:  I've recently just discovered that I have a gluten intolerance.  After suffering from eczema for my ENTIRE LIFE, it's become painfully clear that gluten sensitivity is the cause.  Weird, right?  Just another helpful lesson from my health and nutrition research.

I hope y'all enjoyed this post.  I know it's a little out of the ordinary compared to what I usually post, but I felt like I should share it.  If anyone ever needs to talk about your body issues, wants an accountability partner, or has any questions about my past struggles, please feel free to contact me.  I'd love to talk to you!

For more from me on learning to love yourself and body image visit this post.

Happy Hump Day!

xoxo-Chelsea Eli

Lets Talk Midi Rings

And for my latest jewelry obsession, lets talk about midi rings!  Thoughts??

I love them!  They're the coolest thing since sliced bread.  Especially since I have this AMAZING ring my daddy gave me when I was a little girl that's obviously too small now, but it makes the perfect little midi ring for grown up me.  Smart, right?  They're the perfect departure from your every day accessories that grow boring after time.

Here's some of my favorites I've seen floating around the web.

Can I get a manicure to go with the midi ring?  I'm in desperate need of one.

On a different note, if you need a little laugh tonight, let me tell you about my poor little car.  Not only has it been recently recalled (if you drive a Jeep like me, you might wanna check on that), but my back passenger side window has decided it doesn't want to stay up anymore.  So, in true Mr. Fix-It fashion, I decided to handle the situation as best I could without having to spend an arm and a leg on having it fixed.  My cute, little, bright red Jeep Liberty is now sporting peace sign duct tape.  Welcome to ghetto-fabulous. HA! I figured the plain old silver would look worse than the cute kinds.  It was a tough call between Hello Kitty and the peace signs, but I'm confident in my decision.

Tomorrow is basically Friday! HALLELUJAH! Back to the coast to see the beau!  Happy (almost) Independence Day!

xoxo-Chelsea Eli

Long Distance Relationships

Get ready for a sappy, personal post...

I'm sad.  Tomorrow, my best friend, keeper of my secrets, better-er of bad days, shoulder to cry on, joke-maker, and love of my life moves to Gulfport, and we begin our long distance relationship.

Our first picture together, ever!

I'm so proud of all of his accomplishments.  He's starting his life as an 8th grade US History teacher, and I just know he's going to impact so many children's lives.  He truly has such a passion for what he does.  He'll only be an hour and a half away, but I'm going to miss him like crazy.

We're new to this whole "long-distance relationship" thing, so if anyone has any tips, they would be greatly appreciated.  We'll be making trips to see each other every weekend and utilizing Skype during the week, but still :(

Thanks for all the love and support!

xoxo-Chelsea Eli

Quote for the Week

I'm so in love with this quote.  When I found it, it nearly floored me.  It's the end of the semester.  I only have two projects left, but that burn out feeling is definitely in place.  The beau is also nearing his graduation, therefore the burn out has set in for him too.  Lately, it seems like all we've done is complain about it all and be negative, which is terrible.  We need to take a step back and cherish these lives that we've been given.  

This week, I vow to be completely in love with every minute of my life.

I hope you do the same.

xoxo-Chelsea Eli

Family Vacation

Yesterday I returned from a week long vacation with my entire family in Seaside, Florida.  We had such an incredible time.  I can't even begin to describe the amazing memories that I will cherish for a lifetime.  My sweet beau, Nick, got to tag along as well!  Here are some pictures that captured the essence of our lovely trip.

Funny little man in a surf shop.

Holding an alligator with my little cousin, Mia.  She was TERRIFIED.

Lovely words.

Goofy golf.  I lost. :(

Beach time.

Last day of vacay.

All the girls.

My sweet Nick.

The whole family, minus one Uncle.  It's all girls.

My precious parents.

Monkey Mia showing off her Stompeez!

The Red Bar

Family truly is the most important part of life.  Cherish every minute you have with them.

xoxo-Chelsea Eli