It’s been a while since I’ve shared some of my favorite links, so here’s a hearty helping of all the things I’m currently loving. I started doing something called “Talk About it Tuesday” in the travel group I created, Fat Girls Traveling and I want to bring that to my blog. I want to continue talking about fashion, beauty, and travel. But I want to sprinkle in some of the more difficult topics, like race relations and appropriation. I hope you enjoy reading this post as much as I enjoyed getting these things off my chest!
Life
As we get older we start making major life decisions. Some of us move away, others start families the possibilities are endless. One of the most difficult things is maintaining friendships when things like distance, relationships, and children are added to the equation. I found the article, How to Maintain a Friendship When You’re in Different Life Stages super helpful. The one that resonated with me was Making Time For New Memories. I’m a self-professed Planner. Some of my friends love it and others hate it. But when I’m only in town for a week or two, it’s difficult to spontaneously bump into 10 friends that I haven’t seen in months or maybe even years. So, I plan it out. I recently visited my college bestie. I stayed with her and her family in L.A. for two weeks before coming to North Carolina for three months. Within that two weeks we; ate at some of our favorite L.A. eateries, binge-watched a few shows, watched Finding Dory and Moana countless times with her youngest daughter and had the time of our lives at Coachella.
Jessie & I after lunch at Porto’s Bakery
Have you heard of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)? It’s the term scientists are using to try to explain why an estimated 10 million beehives have been wiped out in the last six years. Scientists discover what’s killing the bees and it’s worse than you thought, it would be easy blame a corporation for the mass die-off of honey bees. But the problem is much more complicated and neglecting to find a solution will cost billions. Honey bees pollinate 70 out of 100 crops species that feed 90% of the world’s population. That’s about $30 billion dollars in crops. US bee populations are so low that it currently takes 60% of the countries surviving colonies to pollinate one California crop, almonds. Those numbers might sound dramatic but California supplies 80% of the world’s almonds.
I’m LOUD and I’m proud! But sometimes my lack of volume control can cause drama. In my opinion, you either love me or hate me, there’s no middle ground and I’m 1000% ok with that. Someone recently called me out for being loud. Better yet, he was talking shit behind my back, so I called him out. Soon after, I saw this post; 17 Life Struggles Of Women Who Are Naturally Loud and I was like, YASSS! This list is honest, funny and very relatable. I grew up with a mother who doesn’t know the meaning of an inside voice. So, I quickly learned the difference between her pissed voice and her passionate voice. That’s one of the things on the list I related to the most.
Photo Via: Women Of Green
Fashion & Beauty
I’m going to be honest, I didn’t know there was a lack of halal-certified nail polishes. So when I saw that Orly’s New Collection Finally Makes It Possible For Muslims to Wear Nail Polish I was inspired and intrigued. I’m happy to hear the beauty brand has teamed up with Muslim Girl.com to release a new collection of six halal-certified polishes created by Muslim Women for Muslim Women. “This line is important because there are so many girls and young women who aren’t represented in mainstream beauty.” says Muslim Girl chief of staff Azmia Magane.
Photo: Courtesy of Orly
While plus size fashion is more accessible and fashionable than ever before. There is still a long ways to go. Bloggers like Sarah Chiwaya of Curvily created the hashtag #PlusSizePlease to show that the curvy 60% of American Women want to wear fashion forward style. Others like Jessica Torres are showing that style has no size with her recent post, I Dressed like My Skinny Best Friend for a Week — Here’s Everything We Wore. I loved that her bestie got a better understanding of how complicated it REALLY is to shop for simple things, like a white crop top when you have a bigger body.
Photo Via: Revelist/Brittany Fowler
Travel
I literally laughed out loud reading THE 21 UNWRITTEN RULES OF FLYING YOU’RE PROBABLY BREAKING. I must admit, I’m guilty of number 10. I almost always fly Coach and am usually up all night the night before packing, so I sleep on the plane. Which often times requires a little reclining. However, I do abide by rule number 11, the person in the middle seat gets the armrests.
Photo Via: Daniel Fishel/Thrillist
Body Positive
It’s true that love comes in all shapes and sizes. I wouldn’t say that I have a physical “type” but I’ve dated Fit Guys, Fat Guys and every type of guy in between. So the article Couple’s Bathing Suit Photo Is Going Viral For An Inspiring Reason caught my eye for multiple reasons. I’m sure everyone can relate to feeling inadequate at some point in a relationship. However, what stood out to me was how supportive and real Jasmine’s husband kept it with her. Sometimes you can find truth in the comment section. There are over 4,000 comments on this picture and the one that keeps it super trill was in response to Jasmine’s caption. One commenter wrote, “Girl, my body claps too, can I get a round of applause?! Love this!”.
In the words of Hugh Hefner “Once a Playmate, always a Playmate”. These 7 Playboy Playmates Recreate Their Own Magazine Covers Around 30 Years Later showing that beauty doesn’t fade and you can be sexy at any age.
It’s always been taboo for men to talk about their insecurities. Especially when it comes things that are deemed feminine. A man talking about his weight can be seen as weak, but men experience body issues too! This video is a perfect example of how the Body Positivity Movement and mental health are related. Men have just as many body anxieties as women and they should be able to talk about them publically without being body shamed.
Race Relations
You may remember the controversial post I wrote about Cultural Appropriation. Well, this Makeup Artist is taking things to an entirely different level. I just don’t see how painting a white model in blackface makeup isn’t about race. In the mid-1800’s Minstrel Shows were seen as American Art and soon white actors in blackface performing racist stereotypes could be seen in theaters all over the world.
Kim K was recently accused of using blackface in a promotional image for her new beauty brand. Personally, I think that it’s all lighting and photoshop but I also think that Mrs. Kardashian West appropriates black culture and there’s nothing wrong with that. We’re all guilty of a little appropriation. However, this makeup artist takes it too far in my opinion.
If you follow me on IG you already know I love me some colorful hair. Unicorn Hair is a huge trend this summer but I do feel like there is a double standard so I really enjoyed reading Double Standard? Why is it Considered “Hood” when Black Women Experiment with Color? I’m the first to say, I loathe this whole “woke” thing. I say, be aware and knowledgeable about what’s going on in the world. I feel like being “woke” is an easy way to differentiate yourself and put others down for feeling differently about an issue that you have strong feelings about. To me, it’s ok for people to have passionate feelings about different social issues. For example, I feel strongly about race relations, because I’m a minority. While some of my white friends feel just as strongly about animal issues. I think that’s because they didn’t grow up being called an Oreo or being racially profiled. They just don’t understand the plight of being black in America. But that doesn’t mean they’re not sensitive to it, or not “woke”. They’re just observers. Sometimes, it’s the “woke” that try to put me down for having “unprofessional” colorful hair, but I doubt they would give two shits if a white woman was sporting the same rainbow hairstyle. But that’s just an educated guess. There is a double standard and sometimes the harshest judgment comes from within the community you’re a part of.
Photo via: Black Girl With Long Hair
The internet is an amazing thing! I didn’t know that there is a massive Afro-Mexican population. Seeing these young women dancing to reconnect with their roots and learning the steps through YouTube makes me realize the scope of the internet. How many lives a video or blog post can change.
I would love to know your thoughts on the links I shared. Please feel free to comment below.
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