Sunday 22 June 2014

Stop, Drop and Roll!



Ah! Yes! Those perfectly rolled curls, the ones that, during the 40's, indicated a woman of both elegance and sophistication! I remember envying the perfection of each ornate roll as I'd gaze upon the coifs of the leading ladies that graced the silver screen back in the 40's.

 

 So perfect, so polished and so elegant... and so up to date, as they're making a comeback on the heads of current models gracing the runway,


countless actresses...



and musicians have also been spotted donning this chic and classic look, proving it to be perfectly appropriate for modern day style.



So, what are you waiting for? Ready to give this trendy yet classic look a whirl? Here's a tutorial below with both a tutorial on that perfect 1940's/50's Pinup hair/ Victory Rolls + the makeup tutorial for that rockabilly look by the lovely Miss Kayley Melissa as well! Ta da! Everything you need to achieve this gorgeous look right in front of you! Enjoy!



Until next time, Lovelies! xoxo ~ Erin



Friday 13 June 2014

Happiness




Ah! happiness, one of the rarest gifts in the universe. It comes in passing moments every now and again. You know what I'm talking about? Those little moments where you get this outrageous burst of blissfulness and that smile that just won't go away! Those are moments I wish I could hold onto for an eternity... but then, I suppose the value of happiness would decrease should we become accustomed to it's presence in our lives. Like diamonds for instance... would "real diamonds" make us all that happy once we been blessed with an unprecedented access to them? No! They'd be as common to us as paper plates once were and we'd begin to take it fore-granted. I suppose that's why we need those little tunnels of darkness, to show us just how valuable those little spurts of happiness really are. Will we every be completely satisfied as far as happy goes? I can't say. Maybe happiness comes in the final hour of one's last breath, their crossing between the dimension  of the earth all the way to Heaven and all of it's indescribable beauty and wonders. I suppose in that sense, we can most assuredly say we're "finding happiness".


"I want to be happy" or "My only goal in life is to be happy"... how many times have we heard such phrases? And I suppose to some, happiness is the discovering of temporal pleasures, the having reached wealth in a financial aspect, or perhaps even the adoration from others for one's outer beauty. The other day, being as self-centered as I (a meager human) being can be, I carelessly placed on hold a $98 dress. I suppose it's incredible that something so little could spark such a deep sense of wonder inside of me. First-off, however, my mind began to race with all sorts of shallow thoughts. "Well, I'll need expensive shoes to go with the dress..." I muttered to myself as I drove home from the boutique where my exquisite sundress awaited me. "And then of course, I'll need a new handbag. The one I have will just look tacky with my new dress!" I clutched by finger between my teeth depicting my inner state of anxiety. The anxiety of... "where on earth am I going to get all the money I need to afford these things?" And then, today (payday), I clasped my crisp paycheck between my fingers, opened it to my reality. The reality that any girl with the meager benefits of what a minimum waged paycheck could possibly offer. "Well," I justified. "the dress will probably be worth it!" I reassured myself as I cashed that check and recounted my money, trying to make sense of the outrageous purchase I was about to make. "But, just how happy will this dress make me? after-all, it's only a mere piece woven with fabrics! it's not going to change my life for Pete's sake!" I dismissed and let go of the thought of that $98 dress and all of the temporary pleasures it could offer and you know something? I was relieved! I think it was with this bout faced with reality that I was able to finally realize the minimal happiness that a mere purchase has the ability to offer one. And instead, I found true happiness with the shopping for gifts for others. Father's Day of course and my sister's Birthday. Even if gifts may only be a token of just how much you care about another person... it makes me happy to think of their face expression when they pull apart the tissue paper and find the gift that I so carefully picked out for them. I could live my life giving what I can to others, whether it be: comforting them, being there for them during depressions, aiding those who are injured or struggling and even take a moment to buy someone a card or a gift to show them just how much you really care about them.





A little piece to show them of my love and affection for them. I also realized that it makes me happier shopping for others than shopping for myself. I find that I am much happier shopping for what I hope will bring happiness to my neighbor in opposition to myself. And I've found that being granted the two hands that God has given me... 





I am more than capable of helping my less fortunate neighbor. and with every passing year have grown to realize the true merit found in kind deeds or acts of charity. Or like I said, just doing simple things to make a family member or friend happy. So, no more frowning, no more contemplating on "your" troubles, selflessness is a destroyer of depression so I've found. A happy girl who gives her all to the helping of others, is by far the prettiest girl one could ever aspire to be. In opposition, that is, of any girl who wastes her time away, caught up in HER and HER OWN life, spending money on the bettering of superficial things like her outward appearance... those girls hardly compare to the woman who gives herself entirely to acts of kindness and sacrifice as well as selfless love for her neighbor, God being her # 1 priority, a woman who doesn't waste time on powders and cosmetics, doesn't spend her time cooped up in hair or nail salons and expensive boutiques to prove her beauty but lets her heart do all the talking. A beautiful soul, I think, shines through both the eyes and smile of a person and reveals far more beauty than any mascara or lipstick ever could!



So stop the focus on yourself and how you can, through cosmetics, perfect your outward appearance but focus instead, on the helping of our less fortunate neighbors. Focus on both loving and giving as much as possible. Give as much as you are capable! That's when you'll discover true happiness! Selflessness is the key, I think, to genuine happiness. 



Everyone of us needs to show how much we care for each other and, in the process, care for ourselves. Princess Diana - See more at: http://www.verybestquotes.com/princess-diana-quotes-35-best-inspirational-and-touching-quotes/#sthash.Z1NFqnz7.dpuf
Everyone of us needs to show how much we care for each other and, in the process, care for ourselves. Princess Diana - See more at: http://www.verybestquotes.com/princess-diana-quotes-35-best-inspirational-and-touching-quotes/#sthash.Z1NFqnz7.dpuf
Everyone of us needs to show how much we care for each other and, in the process, care for ourselves. Princess Diana - See more at: http://www.verybestquotes.com/princess-diana-quotes-35-best-inspirational-and-touching-quotes/#sthash.Z1NFqnz7.dpuf
"Everyone of us needs to show how much we care for each other and, in the process, care for ourselves." ~ Princess Diana

Wednesday 4 June 2014

Labels








“Labels are for filing. Labels are for clothing. Labels are not for people.” 
Martina Navratilova










Princess Diana on the Royal family's reaction to her postnatal depression...







"Well, it gave everybody a wonderful new label is, Diana's unstable and, Diana's mentally imbalanced.' (Diana expresses) 




'And unfortunately, that seems to have stuck on and off over the years."







Martin Bashir (her interviewer) asks: "Are you saying that that label stuck within your marriage?"






to which Diana answers:"I think people used it, and it stuck. yes."





Why do people feel it their write to file labels for everyone who crosses their path? Why do people feed off of the weaknesses of others, their struggles, their vulnerable aspects? They eat them up, so merrily while composing those labels. Ah! how some people just feed off of other people's blunders... I suppose why they rejoice has primarily to do with the fact that they've indeed discovered yet another label to paste over you. Yes! those narrow-minded, one worded and usually negative means for describing their kin... those are the ones that are most given. I suppose it's those sorts of people that are able to deem themselves as somewhat of a superior being in comparison to their brother. Are they free of all imperfections and have they perhaps been given the right to "label" others with such cruel and, like I said... very narrow-minded, very limited descriptions... "labels"? In my opinion... labels should be left for jars of pickles and peaches... and like the quote above states "not for people." 





Names hurt! And I feel that one of the most untrue sayings ever made reside inside of these very words, the ones we used to echo as children, trying to pretend that the cruel names others called us... didn't bother us. "Sticks and stones may break my bones but, names will never hurt me." But in reality, names do hurt and are in fact probably one of the most painful parts of growing up. Learning to drown out the labels others will eagerly thrust upon us. 




"They feel that it gives them some sort of privilege to walk up and say anything to you!" ~ Marilyn Monroe

and I don't mean to sound bitter towards people... but it's true! And yeah, yeah... well, perhaps not everyone is cruel hearted like that, but in my personal experience... I've, I suppose had the misfortune of crossing paths with several of them! And it's sad... it's truly sad, just how bad certain people can hurt you... and for that matter, the fact that they have such an ability, such a power they have to make you cry. 





I suppose a lot of us forget though... that we and we ourselves alone are the only ones capable of granting them that right, that privilege. In time, I've found that some of the closest people in one's life... will hurt you. I suppose in the end, and through these experiences, I have learned that God is all Who really matters. Human nature is constructed a great deal by weakness. Why do you think we make so many mistakes? We're only human! I just think it's sad that certain people enjoy so much, pointing out the mistakes that others make, the imperfections that infect their brethren, especially when they too have just as many and sometimes even more!


to which her interviewer, Richard Meryman, an esteemed journalist, would elaborate with "I think she felt that, on some level, she was being treated as a joke"



^^^ A feeling that I think all of us can relate to.




 I feel that one of the greatest species of hatred exists in such expressions, in labeling, or in such demeaning behavior. Not only does it make us feel ill of our whole being, our character, but it also seems to infect inside of us, a sense of feeling unloved.


And I don't mean to feel sorry for myself (Heaven knows how fortunate I am in comparison to the many suffering people around the world) but, I know the effects of such demeaning behavior. I've suffered with it for years. I'm fragile and I'm not afraid to admit it... not anymore. It caused a great deal of insecurity which later conjured up a sense of disdain towards myself. I know now, however, through a series of empowering moments that I've experienced in my life, that is... that I am indeed stronger... a lot stronger than I could've ever imagined myself becoming. And I feel that I am beginning to grow fonder and fonder of myself with each passing day. I suppose I'm starting to see the beauty that at one time, the words of others had indeed drowned out.



And, I suppose, my fear of what others think of me, how they label me has lessened, lessened greatly for that matter! I've been called all sorts of names. One of the worst by certain people who I had at one time thought of as some of the closest people in my life, and behind my back too! It was a horrifying label... and it was, needless to say, very disheartening to have been deemed with with a word conjured by such a lewd interpretation of myself, and who I strive to be in life. Yes! It hurt, very badly and still hurts as a matter of fact but, deep down inside... I know that their perception of me is wrong. I don't believe the words people label me with anymore. I brush it off my shoulder like a leaf and don't let it shroud over me like a raincloud anymore. 




I'm much happier now! Able to see myself in my own perspective, my eyesight no longer blurred by the harsh and crippling words of others. As for the people out there who still get a kick in belittling other people, they can take their labeling skills to the Pepin Pickle Factory! Cans of food, clothes, etc., are meant to be labeled... and again I quote; "Not people". 



~Erin <3 xoxo

Tuesday 3 June 2014

Spring's Return


Learning to never give up on your future. Learning to keep on believing in the beauty that has yet to come. and remembering to cherish and savor your "inner-spring".

   

               

              

 








9 months previous...














               I suppose, the briefness of even some of the most beautiful things that life has to offer, is not to be missed. Especially whilst reflecting upon the tragic stories of others. I suppose it's the tragic stories of misfortune in love that we read from early on that affixes this reality inside of us. 




There's also been those anguishing endings of some of the most notorious love stories ever to be depicted on screen that just as well, infest a familiarity with just how brief some of life's most beautiful moments can be, or how quickly some of the greatest romances can disperse into nothing more than the dusk of time.


    Even past experiences ring as a constant reminder of just how fast things can disintegrate from one's life. It somehow reminds me of catching butterflies or what ever little insects my tiny hands could clasp and trying to confine them in a jar for what (at the time) or at least what my naive brain could fathom ought to have been an eternity. I recall how reality would set in, and I'd have to let them go. I suppose those are an innocent child's earliest tampering with the grief of loss.




It also rings in astounding similarity, the metaphor of losing a beautiful relationship in comparison to the withering of a blossom upon winter's frost. 




Both the passing of the butterfly and the death of the flower serving as the perfect metaphor for such losses when it comes to relationships between human beings. I suppose the hardest part is trying to nourish the sprouting of yet another flower. Another flower to take the other's place. It's rigorous and it takes a lot of faith, like, for instance, finding love again. 






Even after losing someone. Even after bidding farewell to one's truest love after losing them through death... there's still hope for finding happiness again.


"He was 25 years my senior and eternally young. I could hardly keep up with him. He was the most energetic man I've ever known and he made our short 18 months together one of the most intensely glorious times of my life. ... I have had two great loves in my life. Mike Todd was the first." 



A short documentary on the happy marriage of Mike and Liz. The entire documentary narrated by just the two of them. 



Liz and Mike in the back of a car not long before Mike's tragic plane crash (1958)



Liz, grief-stricken and heartbroken in the back of a car on her way to Mike's funeral.



So blissful and happy together during the brief time they'd had together.



Liz with the couple's baby girl, Liza during one of Mike's home videos.


But then of course, Liz would again discover happiness with Richard Burton, whom she would later refer to as her second love, after Mike of course.


So, I suppose that goes to show, that even after one beautiful chapter in one's life has passed... there's no reason to lose hope... for there's still indeed a chance for one just as beautiful and sometimes even more!

 
Yes! Even a thousand times more beautiful than you could've ever imagined. 



And I think that that just might be my case at the moment. Yes! I think that even after all of this pain... these countless losses, these heartbreaking memories... a heart that I never thought could be mended again... I am indeed rediscovering happiness... in far more ways than I even my wildest dreams could've ever conjured up!


And so, I feel that I have been strengthened again, revived from that cold dark winter that I at one time had felt myself growing consumed by. For me, it's finally spring again! and my! it's even more beautiful than before... at least ten times more beautiful as a matter of fact! Life is beautiful... and I feel that I again have so much to look forward to! 


So no matter how cold of a storm you may be caught in... you must never, never give up... and always keep in mind the beautiful spring that awaits you as well!;)


~ Erin xoxo