Renn-Inspired Reflections

Tuesdays and Thursdays are nutso for me, in case you haven’t noticed. But today was especially crazy. I woke up and made myself a yummy, well-rounded breakfast.

Black coffee, oatmeal with cinnamon and brown shoog, and Chobani.

 I proceeded to cutesy myself up. 

Retro look.

 I felt so vintage and was loving it, until about 11:00 when my hair thought it would be cool to let go of the hairstyle I spent 30 minutes working on. I’ve got lazy locks. Around about the time my hair stopped cooperating, I munched on a trusty Bio Chem Sports 100 Calorie Protein bar (not pictured).

My lunch was spread out between class 3, meeting, and class 4. Also a part of this lunch was Ener-G's Wylde Pretzels.

Carrots, apple, and cottage cheese and chick peas.

 Luckily, I go to a small school where the professors are your friends and could care less if you eat during class. They do, however, reserve the right to make fun of your loud chewing. Sorry guys.

After lunch I sprinted off to Poop Town, a.k.a. Journey’s End, and spent the next hour and a half playing with dogs and doing some cleaning.

When I got home, dinner was ready, thanks to the parentals.

Sauerkraut, sauteed veggies, steamed broccoli, and a hamburger.

I followed it up with a fake cappuccino while catching up on my web surfing.

Much needed cap.

 Since I haven’t been taking cream or much sugar in my coffee, this cappuccino was shockingly sweet to my taste buds. Buuutt, I got used to it. ;) Delightful.

While browsing the WWW, I came across this article about Crystal Renn. For those of you who don’t know, Ms. Renn is a “plus-sized” (not really, she’s a size 10 to 12) and the new face of Jimmy Choo. I see her as such an inspiration for girls of all sizes, not just “plus-sized” girls. She takes into account those girls who are naturally a size 0 or 2, as well as those who are naturally a size 14 or 16. It’s all about being healthy and happy.

We all know that models in magazines are airbrushed and celebs spend thousands on surgeries to make them more “beautiful”. But sometimes, it doesn’t matter how many times people tell you those things. Sometimes it’s still tough to be ok with you. Lately, people have been telling my I’ve gotten thin, and prior to that, I’ve been told I’m chunky. I have felt like I’ve been on an opinion-coaster and go back and forth between, “I want to have curves again,” and, “I like having a flat tummy.” But you know what? I’ve resolved to just do what I need to do to feel healthy. The truth is, I don’t have the perfect body, but I’m sure not too skinny, and nowhere near fat. I feel healthy and that should be all I need to feel beautiful. But I still have to remind myself. I’m taking advice from Crystal Renn: for every negative thing I think about myself (or that someone else says), I’m going to make it a point to come up with 2 things I like about myself.  Will you?

Wrinkles Are In!

In skimming through my daily dose of health and beauty articles, I came across this article about Lauren Hutton and her campaign for beautiful aging.  She is the face of J. Crew.

I was totally inspired by her comfort with age. I really hope that one day, when I am beautifully aged, I can be comfortable with my wrinkles, and not-so-perfect body. I attempted to search for her secrets for staying beautiful without turning to plastic surgery, but it seems that Ms. Hutton is simply blessed with genetics.

However, I continued my investigation into secrets for looking beautiful even with age and came across a few other stunning “mature” women who have stayed beautiful naturally.  

Jerry Hall

Meryl Streep

Helen Mirren

Unsurprisingly, all of these women have their own secrets for staying gorgeous. Helen Mirren made a good point when she said, “It’s ridiculous to pretend we can stay young forever.” So, I have combined all of these little tips and words of wisdom into a list I like to call:

Getting Hotter Age

• Exercise, Exercise, Exercise- Meryl Streep swears by low impact exercise like swimming. Helen Mirren and Jerry Hall both do yoga. Jerry Hall says, "Exercise releases endorphins, which give you that inner glow." Muscle tone keeps skin firm and cellulite free. I think that’s awesome.
• Drink lots of water- We hear this all the time, but it’s true. Water keeps everything hydrated, making your skin more elastic, keeping your organs functioning the way they should, and keeping your brain sharp.
• Stay positive- negativity and stress age you faster. Taking some time out of your day to meditate, pray, or just close your eyes in a quiet environment for a few minutes will keep you balanced and relaxed.
• Fall in love- A common denominator in each of these women’s lives is love. And we all know that love keeps you from aging.
•  Eat as naturally as possible- By eating natural and whole foods, your body had an easier time digesting and utilizing the nutrients. More nutrients means a healthier body.
• Indulge and enjoy life-  Be happy and enjoy yourself. This is pretty self-explanatory

Which is what I did today...

Happiness



My treat from my mama for being good at the grocery store.



Chocolate Lovin'

•  Sleep- Helen Mirren sleeps every chance she gets. Being tired drains your body and makes you age quickly.
•  Moderation- This actually goes hand in hand with “enjoy yourself”. Eating and drinking whatever you want is the way to go. Jerry Hall eats dark chocolate every day and drinks red wine. But it’s important to moderate your alcohol especially. It’s a major skin killer.
•   Take Care of your skin- It’s like your packaging! It’s the first thing people see. Stay out of the sun, use SPF and always moisturize.

You might be saying, “These are all common sense things,” but sometimes you need to hear them all together, thrown into a nice little list. Personally, I don’t care if they’re boring or run-of the-mill ideas, I am going to do what these lovely ladies do. Don't mess with the formula for success. We shouldn't be terrified to get older. We should take a lesson from Ms. Hall- "I've spent 25 years looking young and wonderful, it's only natural that now I'm getting wrinkles." I think it’s so important remember that aging can be graceful.

Wrinkles are in girls, and they’re beautiful.