In which I am humbled and touched beyond words

Originally, I didn't have a post slatted for this gloriously warm last Friday of July, but then something happened that moved me to my core and which I wanted needed to blog about immediately, and so I'm doing just that right now.

I've had the great pleasure of knowing Lorena - a very talented artist from Brisbane, Australia - through both of her engaging, beautiful blogs (Balea Raitz Art and In Vogue One Day) for quite some time now, and we've long enjoyed swapping comments on each others sites.

Lorena had indicated before to me that she was interested in drawing me, and I'd happily said I would be honoured to have that happen anytime, but I didn't know that she was hard at work on a sketch this month, nor that she posted it on Balea Raitz Art until today. Imagine my double take inducing surprise when I visited her blog a few minutes ago was greeted with an illustrated image of myself.




This is the first time I've ever had anyone draw me as an adult, and I truly cannot begin to express the mixture of joy, appreciation, and amazement I'm feeling at the moment over the awesome image of me that Lorena so thoughtfully created (which is based on a photograph from this outfit post taken in the spring of 2012).

As I've touched on at various times here over the years (such as in this post), I have struggled with some really hefty self-esteem, self-confidence, and body image related issues over the years (which are not helped one iota by my battle with severe chronic health problems). Though I have gotten somewhat better in this regard, it took me a very long time - almost all of my life - to not look in the mirror and think that I was horrendously, hideously unattractive.

I am exceedingly well aware of the fact that I'm not, in most peoples' eyes, what one might call conventionally beautiful, and between all of these points, I honestly never imagined that anyone would look at me and choose to see me as a source of inspiration for their artwork - let alone want to draw an image depicting me.

At the age of 29 years old, I am incredibly humbled learn that I was wrong. Dead wrong. Someone found inspiration in me and created art with that. My goodness, I can think of nothing more touching or uplifting for my soul, spirit, and self-esteem.

Lorena's incredible piece exudes a sort of radiant beauty that I have honestly never seen in myself when I looked at my reflection, but which, clearly she was able to wisely see and transform into art.

The words "thank you" fail to do justice for gift of this incredible illustration, as well as for what, in one lightning fast instant, it taught me to see in myself. However, I will say them with as much conviction and sincerity as anyone has ever held before all the same: thank you deeply, dearly, and forever, Lorena.

You are beautiful in every single way

The older I get, the more I've come to see that there is almost no one amongst us who completely loves every last element of their body. Whether justified or not, most people have a laundry list of faults that they instantly hone in on when thinking or talking about their appearance. If I had a magic wand, I would wave it and free all of us from the silly, trivial, totally unfounded hang-ups that we have about our bodies.

We only get only body, you know. Perhaps in some distant sci-fi like future we'll have the ability to regenerate our own bodies or to transfer our brains from one body to another, but right there and now, for better or worse, we're each assigned one frame, one face, and one pair of arms and legs with which to transport us through every moment of every day we will ever have the profound honour of living.

Like many, I have struggled with my appearance my whole life. Cruelly put down by some of my own relatives as a child, teased mercilessly in school, and often my own harshest critic, it's taken me the better part of three decades to come to even a minor degree of peace with how I look. But I finally have, and to my mind that is a rather profound victory.

I realized at some point that I wasn't getting any younger, by which I mean that while I still have some vestiges of youth left (I'm 27, soon to be 28 in July), I should try and put aside as many of my woes with my body as I can (there are a couple of biggies that I may never truly reach that point with, but I'm elated that some are starting to slip away) and just love myself from here on out.

It's a ridiculously simple concept...loving one's own appearance, I mean, but darned if it isn’t staggeringly hard for many of us. I've always loved certain elements of who I was, but what the mirror cast back at me when I gazed into its shiny surface was rarely one of them.

I'm not perfect (laughably far from it actually), and neither are you. None of us are, and that is so immensely beautiful. Perfection is overrated. It is our uniqueness, our quirks and differences that set us apart and yet also unite us.

Life is filled with an endless sea of imperfect that combines to make the world a truly captivating and fantastically exciting place. Be it ancient architecture, the patina on a vintage piece of jewelry, or a delicious cake that rose a little more on one side than the other, we accept and embrace the signs of age, wear, or imperfection that is all around us on a daily basis, yet are the first to criticize even the tiniest of (perceived) faults that we see in ourselves.

Enough! We're beautiful, as Christina Aguilera once sang, in every single way. Really. Believe me, whatever you think is wrong or unattractive about yourself, I promise you there is someone out their who would sell their soul to look like you.

It's not easy, but we need to stop thinking that there is some unattainable standard of universal beauty that we need to reach. You are already universally beautiful simply because you are you.

{An image of me snapped on the fly recently my by husband, who has always had the kindest things imaginable about to say about how I look, as I was getting ready for a day of thrift store shopping with my mother.}

It may have taken 27 years, but I can say without feeling the need to prefix it with a bunch of "except fors", that I love the person I see when I look in the mirror. This body, with it's various scars and shortcomings, is also the house where my soul and mind dwell, and that trumps - by a long shot - any flaw that might exist.

Love yourself, respect yourself, and try to make peace with those things that you wish you could change. When all is said and done, it won't matter if you'd been two inches taller, had a larger chest, been born with one eye colour instead of another, had a longer neck, fewer wrinkles, curlier hair, lankier legs or anything else.

What will have mattered is the life you lived while inhabiting your own skin and the joy, comfort, companionship and love you brought into the lives of those that you encountered along the journey. Being, I assure you, beautiful the whole time.

Five for Friday {July 17, 2009}

Today I thought I would try something new for Friday’s post, and have decided to list five different things that caught my attention recently, and that I think would be perfectly suited to the upcoming weekend (sometimes the five items will be random, other times they’ll share a cohesive theme).

This delightful idea occurred to me after viewing similar weekly lists on some fantastic sites (such as ~*Just Add Glitter and Stir*~, Christine Mason Miller, and National Geographic’s My Wonderful World Blog), and deciding that it was too fun a concept to not take advantage of.

At this stage I’m not sure if I’ll compose a “Five for Friday” list every week or just when the mood strikes. Either way, I’m excited about adding a new, ongoing post to the blog and truly hope that you’ll enjoy, and find inspiration in, the handful of items, creative ideas, and images that will be nestled in my thoughts as we cap off each week.




...This weekend calls for serenity, invigoratingly refreshing products, foods consumed straight from the fridge, and no less than two leisurely naps a day...

{To make the heat more bearable}

{ An intricately beautiful Japanese silk kimono to wear around the house when the weight of anything heavier than a delicate wisp of cloud feels like it’s suffocating your skin. Geisha motif vintage silk robe, $29.95 (US) from etsy seller Tea At Home With Olivia.}


{To take on your travels}

{ Should you be heading out on a jaunt of any sort this summer, I can think of few things even remotely as cute as this vintage inspired tin of wee little grooming products to take with you on your travels. Beauty kit, $18.00 (US) from Dumpling Dynasty.}


{To help wash away your worries}

{ Think of the tranquil sound of willow boughs dancing in the breeze and pair that with the crisply invigorating sensation of a mouthful of sake, and you’ll have a good idea of what this lovely soap smells like. Taiyo brand willow and sake bar soap, $10.00 (US) from 1spa.}


{To nibble off of – and admire for its earthy, pristine beauty}

{Sweltering nights call for foods consumed at room temperature or cooler, such as sushi. What better – or more beautiful – way to dress up your dining table for such a meal than with this five piece handmade, green glazed sushi set for two? $52.00 (US) from etsy seller Just Mare.}


{To duel it out with summer’s relentless wrath}

{A deeply gorgeous hand painted vintage paper fan to you keep your cool on even the toastiest of sun drenched afternoons. $12.00 (US) from etsy seller Emma Dear.}




I hope that you liked this introductory Five for Friday post, I’d love to know your thoughts on this new blog segment (as well as what items are toping your inspiration list this week).

Wishing you each a deeply peaceful, sweetly enchanting weekend!

Pretty Link Roundup {April 26th}

In a sense it’s been one of those week, not the full-blown kind that tends to peak in a complete and utter breakdown or late night Chinese food/cold pizza/vat of ice cream binge, but just sort of strange. As I mentioned yesterday, darling hubby and I had plans to go get our income taxes done, well no sooner had we got our shoes on as a massive wind and lighting storm blew through Toronto.


{Bracing for a down pour in a 1941 edition of Life magazine. Found via the awesome pages of myvintagevogue’s Flickr stream.}

As the afternoon temperatures climbed up to 25°C and the air become increasingly muggy, I remarked that I thought a storm was on the horizon, little did I know it would be one complete with winds up to 115km an hour! While the gusts shook our building something fierce, the whole ordeal was fairly short-lived and by the time the sun set for the day, it was merely raining, the air almost as still as a sleeping kitten. The sudden storm (and desire not to get swept right off our feet!) means that the unexpectedly delayed taxes will have (understatement) to get done in the next couple of days.

Aside from the pesky taxes I’m feeling quite organized at the moment, as I’ve complied a to-do list broken down over the next four weeks leading up to a (much anticipated) visit from some of my relatives who hail from the other side of the country. Seeing long-term tasks that can get done ahead of time (buying more dishware, for example) and last minute ones (shopping for perishables, an extra through vacuuming of the whole apartment) laid out over a month is a handy trick I’ve employed many times in my life when something big/important hung on the horizon.


{Ever so slightly Hitchcockian – but very well organized woman of the house – care of housewives on Flickr.}

I can’t help but wonder then if this first edition of “Pretty Link Roundup” (a henceforth weekly – or thereabouts – post of fantastic vintage related links that have recently caught my eye and that I think will be equally interesting to my lovely readers) is peppered with housekeeping and beauty care tips because I’m subconsciously focusing on these kinds of elements more than usual in my own life right now.

* Once long ago in a time of VCRs, Doritos that only came one flavour to a package, and non-skinny jeans, there was a world without Google. While that notion might seem impossible for some technophiles to wrap their heads around, it’s true, and is a subject that Clever Nettle covered recently in a post called Life Before Google, which sports some absolutely wonderful vintage drawings of secretaries at work.

* If you're like me (cursed with extremely sensitive skin and a general sensitivity to harsh chemicals) and are always looking for inexpensive ways to make your own household cleaning products, you’ll definitely love this simple recipe for Homemade Powdered Laundry Soap from the pages of Betty Boogie’s blog.

* Many of us who adore doing our make-up in the styles of our favourite vintage eras know that false eyelashes can be a huge boon when it comes to achieving certain looks, but they can also be downright intimidating if you haven’t put them on before or haven’t mastered the art yet. If you feel like you need a crash – or a refresher – course, head on over the MissRedLips’s and read through her handy, straight forward post How to Put on False Lashes like a Pro.

* Who doesn’t love vintage hairstyles? They have the power to take even a modern outfit and instantly transform your look into something inspired by fabulous past. Paired with vintage clothes an old school 'do can truly make you look like you just stepped out of a 1950s Vogue spread. Sometimes though, the hairdos we love the most also take quite a while to style – time that you might not have to spare every morning. Enter a lovely look from The Mysterious Life of the Metropolitan Housewife’s Atomic Mama in her article Fast hair for the vintage girl.

* If you hit thrift stores, flea markets, yard sales or charity shops with any kind of regularity, chances are you’ve not only amassed an amazing wardrobe, but also brought home some unique and charming household items. Hunting down those prized pieces you’re lusting after or fondly remembering the ones that decked out your grandmother’s house can both be fun ways to get your vintage vibe on, as the lovely Alana of Alana’s Vintage Collecting Blog touches on in her recent post, Collecting Vintage Collectibles.

* Sometimes when you get those awesome vintage items home you’re not quite sure what to do with them though. For some terrific inspiration check out the recent Queens of Vintage Post Five ways to reuse vintage items in the home.

* Do you have a fantasy vintage kitchen in your mind’s eye? Perhaps one complete with an aquamarine refrigerator or an authentic black and white checkerboard floor. I think I have about twenty different fantasy kitchens that I’d be pleased as punch to call my own :D And yet I keep encountering new images of vintage kitchens to add to the wish list, such as the cheerful red, white and yellow one in this 1946 ad from Found in Mom’s Basement, an excellent blog devoted to a diverse array of vintage and retro advertisements.

* Speaking of kitchens, when was the last time you saw a modern (as in newly built) kitchen sink with a drainboard...go on, ponder for a while, click on over to your favourite home decor blogs, I’ll wait ;D It’s been a while now hasn’t it? Like so many functional, convenient elements of household design I can’t really fathom why drainboards all but vanished, they were immensely handy and (the metal ones) also looked quite lovely when hit by a sparkling ray of sunlight. I would adore a kitchen with drainboards and according to Retro Renovation, I’m not alone (yeeeh!), as they have a recent article (complete with gorgeous kitchen design illustrations) all about Vintage 40s and 50 kitchen drainboard sinks.

* Ok, this one doesn’t really have much to do with vintage topics, but it was simply too unbelievably cute not share. Seriously, save or bookmark this photo and come back to it anytime you’ve had one of those days/weeks/months. One look at that astronomically happy puppy face and your own mood is sure to perk right up!




{Manicured red nails? Check. To-die-for fashion sense? Check. Ability to make washing dishes look ridiculously glamorous? Check and double check! Dreft dish soap ad via Umpqua’s Flickr stream.}

So there we have it, my darlings, a delightful assortment of links chocked full of vintagey goodness for your reading pleasure! I hope you all have a marvelous, safe and joyful week ahead – and remember to tune in tomorrow for Monday’s Muses.