please, make a fuss.

In the wake of the election, inauguration and all that has happened since I find myself seeing more and more friends/family/acquaintances getting involved and expressing their discontent and anger at what is going on in our country. 

But I have also started to notice an increase in people posting things like "here's a distraction from all the fuss in your newsfeed" or even passively plucked out Bible verses about how the lord will provide and save us all. 
... 
NO. 
God did not give you a brain, two hands, and two feet to just sit around and watch things fall to pieces. 
God did not give you ears, eyes, and a mouth for you to quietly stand by as people are oppressed, starved, or killed. 
And that IS what is happening and what WILL happen. 
The destruction may not appear obvious or apparent in your view but I guarantee that it is happening.
One of your child's friends at school is on free or reduced lunch and is now going to lose their healthcare. 
I guarantee that someone in your office has severe asthma and will severely affected by the lack of government regulation on our air quality. 
I guarantee that the woman you stand behind in line at Target has had a health scare or pregnancy scare and needed the assistance of a federally funded Planned Parenthood. 
I guarantee that one of your cubical mates at work is a first generation American who's family is now at risk. 

Let's look at what the Bible tells us. Starting with the strong female leads. 

Esther. Yes, Esther prayed and prayed and listened to God. But is that all she did? No, she prayed, listened and TOOK ACTION. She didn't just ask God to free his people. She went into King Xerxes chamber and handled it, freeing her people despite the fact that her husband could kill her for doing so, legally. 

Rahab. Rahab's story is one of my favorites. Rahab lived in ancient Jericho and was not your stereotypical law-abiding woman. She was the owner of a tavern and most likely, a prostitute. But when the time came, she TOOK ACTION. Rahab hid two Israelite spies who had been sent into the city of Jericho prior to Isreal's attack on that city. When these two soldiers knocked on her door, Rahab didn't turn them away or ask God to protect them for her. She acted. And saved her family from being killed in the attack on Jericho in the process. She is also one of four women listed in the Bible as ancestors of Jesus. 

Next up, Jesus. There are so many stories of Jesus caring for the poor, outcast, and sick people throughout the New Testament. But one of the most resonant is the cleansing of the temple in Jerusalem. It is so resonant that it is in all four gospels. Jesus and his disciples travel to Jerusalem for Passover. But the temple in Jerusalem had become overrun with greedy merchants and money changers. Jesus was angry. Seriously, he was furious. Did he turn around and go home muttering about 'all the fuss?' No. He literally turned over the merchants' tables and yelled at them to leave his Father's house. He put an embargo on people carrying merchandise through the temple. He made fuss. He protested. He created the change that was NEEDED. 

Yes. There are many stories and characters in the Bible who are examples of trust in God and faithfulness. But there are also countless examples of that faithfulness taking place in the form of action, empathy and love. Do not use your Christianity or your faith as a reason for silence or as an excuse for inaction. Your silence normalizes what is happening. When you write off the (physical, verbal, visual, social media...) protests of your peers as 'nonsense' or 'fuss' you are giving the current political landscape your stamp of approval. 

If the last week has shown us anything, it is that things are only going to get worse before they get better. Passivity, inaction, and 'not wanting to talk about politics' are what got us here. Speak up, donate, call your representatives, tweet, march, work for a non-profit, raise your children to see their privilege and care for all others--all of these things will make a difference, but do not sit idly by and watch this happen. 

One day at a time

Hey Y'all.

I have to tell you that current events have me struggling.
I find myself here again because I am not sure where else to go. Everyday life continues and it must.
But I find myself avoiding the news, podcasts, papers, magzines--things I used to love.
Why?
Because our current politcal climate makes me furious and heartbroken and I just cannot make it through each day hearing about the legislation proposed, cuts being made, nominees being confirmed, groups of people being threatened and harassed... as if it is all normal, as if it is all okay.
This, all of this is not ok.
And I am FURIOUS.
And I am heartbroken.
But I can't lead everyday furious and heartbroken. Perhaps some of you can. Perhaps some of you can turn that fury and heartbreak into motivation and productive action. But I just can't.
I need to be whole and and complete each day, for my family, and honestly for myself. My mental health cannot handle a constant stream of fury and heartbreak.

And what hurts me even more now is that I love my daughter so much, so completely. And now, not only do I have to teach her to be strong and courageous and loving, but I must find a way to show her how to love others in a country that tells her to only look out for herself.
How do we teach our children to love others, to do unto others, to treat everyone with respect, when our leaders are openly biogted, and clearly care nothing for anyone other than themselves?

How can I teach grace and courage and hope when they are so hard to find in public life?

I am at a loss, and taking things one day at a time.

Ivanka Trump- and a portrait of American 'Greatness'

Last week, in the heat of the Republican National Convention, I read an op-ed in the NY Times entitled "Why Men Want to Marry Melanias and Raise Ivankas"--this op-ed really got my brain spinning and I just had to get my thoughts sorted out on paper.

Now, I have been fascinated by the Trump campaign's strategic use of Ivanka Trump on the campaign trail from early on--some went as far as to refer to Ivanka as Trump's "Campaign Wife" with her standing at her father's side and introducing him at many many campaign events. Now that we have reached the GOP Convention and the Trump children and family have been highlighted each night of the convention, I find myself even more intrigued.The role of family at the convention is to reinforce the choice of the presumptive nominee, serving as lifelong character witnesses for the nominee. As I listened to my daily NPR Morning Edition, I heard news of previously Trump-reluctant lifelong Republicans stating how the success and poise of the Trump children have lead them to feel less concerned about Trump and his candidacy despite any of his volatile rhetoric and policy. NY Times Op-Ed contributor Vanessa Friedman says it well when she states the following of the Trump children: "Their father says he is going to make American great again, there there they are, unapologetically modeling the moment he is talking about." Here is where we get an initial clue to the crafted and created character of Donald Trump as well as the entire Trump family and how that image is reinforcing Donald's greatest campaign promise--American Greatness. 

image via

Let's start with Melania--the super model turned third wife of Donald Trump. Her appearances on the campaign trail have been sparse, especially for someone who made a living off of being in the spotlight. The Trump campaign has highlighted Melania as a sort of new American Dream--she was discovered in her former Soviet homeland, traveled around Europe working for high fashion houses, then she came to America to model further, met Donald Trump, married him and became a citizen. Melania and Donald have a 10 year old son together, who they named Barron...

Melania has been interviewed a few times since the start of the campaign, one such time was this interview and photo shoot for Harper's Bazaar, entitled "Melania Trump's American Dream" In it she is photographed fashionably and artfully in the gilded and glamorous penthouse apartment she shares with her husband and son. She speaks of where she came from and her life today--a marriage in which each person knows their role and is content--she states that while she does not always agree with Donald, she accepts him and "is not a nagging wife." While there could be elements of this to be respected, it is also framing their relationship--the relationship of a business mogul  and his third wife--in a manner that undoubtedly resonates with the values of the right wing evangelical voting base--where Melania and Donald know their [traditional, stereotypical] roles in their marriage and have no desire to change them. Melania has arguably one of the strongest 'rags to riches' stories available to the Trump campaign, but it is glossed over, or strategically presented because with that stories are themes that do not sit well with the Republican voter base--immigration, sexuality/modeling, divorce/third wife, extreme wealth disparity (just LOOK at the pictures of their apartment)--there seems to be a fear that someone might point out that Melania did not rightfully earn her wealth or status, she didn't work hard, she just married into it (even though she was indeed a successful model who worked for high fashion houses and immigrated to the U.S. on her own).

image via.

Then we have Ivanka. Ivanka Trump who is a successful business woman, a wife, and a mother. In her speech at the Republican National Convention last week Ivanka spouted lines about her father's dedication to equal pay for women in the workplace, affordable childcare, and working hard for the good of your community as well as yourself. Many would categorize these lines as more typically Democrat tropes and policies, but Ivanka used herself, and her success within Trump Tower as a living example of her father's dedication to such policy. And we, the viewer, believe her. Ivanka Trump seems to epitomize everything we want our daughters to grow up to be--an intelligent, poised, beautiful, and successful woman. A woman who has a lovely family life, and a thriving business and career. The RNC and Donald Trump's campaign needed Ivanka to be a hit at the convention, and she came through for them.

Naturally, after Ivanka (and Melania's) speeches at the RNC bloggers and online magazines alike scrambled to inform the public where their "looks" came from, and how the everyday fashionista can create a similar look of their own. Many sites praised Ivanka for wearing a dress from her own affordable and fashionable line--calling out her business and style savvy. (popsugar article here) Yet when we dig a little deeper into the Ivanka Trump line of clothing and accessories we not only learn that the products are produced overseas, like her father's clothing lines (so much for Made In America)--but that the line is actively being sued by a variety of well known, and high end designers for copying their unique and trademark designs. (also here, here, and a variety of other reputable news sources). Very few sources that gave us the source of Ivanka's chic sheath dress also gave us the relevant and related news about her clothing line.

To me, this reveals the greater goals of the RNC and Trump campaign last week--to give the public a powerful yet poised perception of the Trump family--an edited and intentionally constructed perception, what the public wants to see and hear and believe of  Donald Trump and his family. That having a well-spoken and poised daughter give us lines on morality, hard work, and greatness, speaks volumes over clear evidence of the actual business ethics in Trump Tower. That again having that same daughter, who is beautiful and successful, lovingly introduce her father, speaks louder than any line against women that Donald Trump has shouted at us in the past year or decades. It also speaks louder than his relationship with his first, second, and third wife, or what his third wife may have plagiarized at that same convention just days earlier. The Ivanka Trump that is presented to the public and the Republican voter base is what the most traditional Republican, the most conservative Republican and even the youth of the Republican party hope Donald Trump really stands for. They see Ivanka and it allows them to forget everything that led them to be concerned, and wholeheartedly give in to his promises of greatness. This is why the Trump campaign has made Ivanka into the Trump Campaign Wife, and why they continue to almost hide Melania away.

image via

By presenting us with all of the Trump children, Ivanka at the forefront, along side his claims to 'Make American Great Again' the Trump campaign gives us 'Greatness' personified, and presents it as achievable for all of us. Never is there conversation on the morals or ethics of such 'Greatness,' nor is there any mention of the extreme privilege that all of the Trump children have experienced in their lifetimes. Yet there it is, a picture of perfection and greatness, (apparently) achievable for all Americans, guaranteed by Donald Trump's campaign slogan promise. 

thoughts on...(#allthethings)

Hi there! Sorry for the long radio silence, this summer has been cr-azy busy (sometimes I feel ridiculous saying that my life is super busy with basically just my 9-5, husband and dog #puppyparent), or maybe I'm just a naturally sporadic blogger? Anywho, let's get down to business. This blog post might be a little wordy and all over the place but I wanted to write it to share some of my long-time unease and confused thoughts now that they seem to be coming all together in a more positive, decisive conclusion 

(how about that for super specific and detailed intro, eh?). 

image via pinterest. 

Recognizing Our Privilege.

image via.

I recent started reading Sarah Bessey's blog (she's the author of "Jesus Feminist" a book I'm currently in transit with), and in one of her more recent posts she discussed a movement of years past, where many christian women were signing petitions stating that they would not let their children see them working on their computers, because of the apparent negative impact that it would have on their children. Sarah refutes this argument in a variety of forms but I found one thing especially interesting in her post. Sarah said: 

I'll also gently point out right here the privilege inherent in the idea 

that we can choose whether or not our children see us work. 

(see more of her post here)

This concept is so interesting to me because I think it is such a symptom of how many typically white, middle-class, often suburban, women (and all humans really) interact with each other. Now admit that I am generalizing here, but I find it so interesting that said women, can so easily look at those who are clearly different than them, who clearly have needs that are not being met (starving women and children in Africa, to use a common yet very real trope) and empathize with them. We (us suburban, white, possibly Jesus loving women) can see the needs of those who are starkly different than us and we go on mission trips, we donate during lent and we help them start their own businesses because we can see that we have more than they do and we have been culturally trained to act in a colonial helper manner ( I am intentionally using an us/them trope here). Yet when it comes to the working women who may be our neighbors, our classmates, even our friends, our vision of our own privilege is not so clear.  In a society of such stark haves and have nots I think we often forget how easy it is to pretend or to burn our way into debt in order to keep up with appearances. There are so many things about our culture that we need to unpack and take apart in this situation--the standard of appearances for example, or perhaps not even that we cannot see the privilege in never having our children see us work but also perhaps that some women may indeed enjoy their work, do it of their own free will and even want to share that with their children. 

I digress... going back to this idea of privilege that I found so striking in Sarah Bessey's post. I think that those in need in our own communities often go unseen and unnoticed (this can indeed be for the best in many situations), as an eighth grader you may not know that your locker mate is on free or reduced lunch for example, or that their Christmas gifts came from the church's food shelf. What I am trying to pull out of this discussion is an awareness. Poverty and privilege take form in a variety of ways and it seems that we all forget this. As a friend who I had lunch with this week reminded me, I can go back to the campus of my beloved alma mater and feel like I am totally poor, not nearly in the same place financially as my former classmates, then I could drive a few miles northeast to the local middle school and look around--giving me an opportunity to realize how much I truly have. Let me sum up, because I suspect that I've been rambling, where I really wanted to go with this post is to create a functional reminder. A sort of  "check yourself before you wreck yourself" moment of recognizing our own privilege, both in large and small ways, everyday. I'm not nearly perfect at remembering to do this everyday, and I don't pretend to know what it might look like in your life, but I think it is an important task that we each do, everyday--remembering what we have and being thankful for it, while not judging the choices others may make, or crafting some kind of over arching golden rule of how every one or every woman or every parent should act--remembering that we do not know their situation, remembering our own privileges. 

thoughts and a new journey.

image via. 

Hello Everyone! 

You may have noticed that I have been on a bit of a blogging hiatus, and before my hiatus that I had been posting rather inconsistently. The reason? you may ask. Well the reason is this post. This post is something I have been thinking about for a while, and it may seem inconsequential as a majority of my blog followers are my friends (love you!) but as this blog originally started as a creative outlet for myself, I think I owe it to myself (and any of you readers) that I explain. In the past few months I came to a slow realization that something about this blog and the blogging community I came to love and read every day was just off. Around the same time I came to a realization in myself that I was focusing on the wrong things here, and even more so that my focus in this blog-o-sphere was leading me to make unhealthy decisions in my life. Not unhealthy in a literal-bodily way (not referring to drugs, food or alcohol) but still unhealthy. Don't get me wrong, I still believe that style blogs can be an excellent creative outlet and source of inspiration. But for me I found that it was leading me down this overly material path, where I was spending more than I wanted to on things I neither needed or wanted. I found that reading certain blogs everyday just made me wish and want more--this can be seen in every style bloggers frequent "wish list" and "gift guide" posts--something that has become and unfortunate trope in the style blog world, in my opinion. 

In the process of this self realization, I decided to purge. Purge my closet of all of the things I did not wear, need or even truly want; realizing that even after this I still have much more than I truly need and certainly much more than most 22-year-olds around the world. I then decided to seriously reform my spending habits, this has not been an easy task and will certainly be a difficult journey as I (like many others, I suspect) now see that I was using shopping as an emotional outlet. I want to only be buying things when they are needed, with the rare shopping for fun trip with friends. I've started using mint.com to help me track me spending and my debts, and seeing now that amount of money I used on just shopping...it's ridiculous. I've always thought of myself as someone who is globally minded, with a heart for those in need or who are less privileged than myself--and now truly seeing the amount of privilege I have, I can literally see by looking at my spending habits just how many hungry people I could have fed had I not gone to Target that one time, or how many mothers I could have provided safe birthing kits to if I had not gone to the Gap that other time, or how I could have contributed to building a school where there was no access to education--I am truly dumb-struck by it. 

Because of this I felt the need to bring this slow self-realization back to this blog and also to the blogs that I follow. I am not necessarily advocating that everyone out there with a designer handbag or and excellent shoe collection get rid of all of their things and never buy anything nice again. But I did want to share with you how seeing others everyday with these things has led me to lose focus of what I actually care about and what my true passions are. Being almost a year out of school now I can see what really made me happy in school was being able to read, write and have in depth discussions about what was going on in the world around me. I still love beautiful things, and I do believe that dressing up for a day at work can make you feel better about yourself--and with today's media I think this is extremely important. But I have learned the need to but this love for beauty in perspective, and perhaps to even redefine beauty for myself. Considering my needs, and what I most value in my life--my friends, family, my education, the gift of choice and liberation as a woman--I want to give those things to others (in the most non-colonial white privilege way possible, promise).

With all of this now off my chest, I want to share some changes that are going to be happening around here. I still plan on sharing my DIY projects with you all, and hopefully more of them! Crafting and making things your own is something that I truly enjoy, and often can be very affordable. I am also hoping to share some of my food adventures with you all, this is something that could be very entertaining, if you know me you know my cooking skills are questionable at best, but I want to learn and hopefully get away from boxed dinners. I also still plan on sharing inspiration with you, especially related to homes and lifestyles. As a young 20-something I am trying my best to make my living space a reflection of me, even with an almost exclusive collection of hand-me-downs, in this realm I think a little daydreaming can be healthy motivation. Where the big change will come however, is in the main posts. I don't plan on doing nearly as many outfit inspiration posts (though there may be some here and there), rather I plan on sharing my thoughts and frustrations with you. Things I love and find hopeful like the recent "Ban Bossy" campaign for young women and girls, things I find interesting like rebuttals to Sheryl Sandberg's "Lean In" or Barbies recent "Unapologetic" campaign. And things I find upsetting or believe need to be discussed which could include comments from your friendly GOP congressman or resurfacing gender stereotypes. 

These are the things that I am truly passionate about, and I don't want to lose site of them again or find them lost behind a blogger's Celine handbag. I won't be offended if you chose to un-follow or no longer read, but if this is a journey you think you might be interested in too, then please stick around. 

Heather 

ps: I promise to continue to instagram pictures of my dog 

and my extensive collection of Target shoes.