Shopping/Wish List Part 2/7: Fun Jewelry

I love jewelry so much, they spice up any outfit and it's fun to mix and match.

This summer i'm loving ankle bracelets and will be wearing more of them this year.

These are a new thing that i found thanks to Pinterest. They're called Barefoot Sandals. In summer i love walking barefoot, it kinda seems strange to wear shoes in the summer.

I love that you can even wear these with shoes. You can just slip your shoes on and off but the jewels stay on. It's really awesome in my opinion.

I also want to try toe rings.

Can't forget the bracelets.

This i actually found on the Factorie website and i also found it in the actual store. I really like it.

(The head chain)

Upper arm .... bracelet? Haven't found these in a store yet but will keep my eyes open for them.

And then, of course, earrings.

Shopping/Wish List Part 1/7: Boho Clothes

Today i did a bit of window shopping. Summer is upon us (at least in the southern hemisphere) and i'm super excited to one day go shopping for fun, bohemian clothes. The awesome thing about bohemian style clothing is that it's really easy to find modest items as 'bohemian' is all about flowy fabrics. My favourite stores are Cotton On and Factorie which i think are both Australian but boy, am i super happy that they're here in South Africa. They are a bit pricey but i'd rather buy a few really good items there than pay the same amount somewhere cheap and buy crappy clothing. Here in SA we don't have awesome thrift stores so when you shop cheap, most of the time you look cheap. 

These are some of the items i found today. Not everything i saw today was on the online store and not everything on the online store was in the actual store which i was upset about 'cause i saw some pretty awesome things online. And they also don't have all their summer stock.

COTTON ON:

Tops

This jacket's fabric is so amazingly soft.

I know that this is actually a 'dress' but i wear this as a top over jeans, flowy pants or a skirt.

What i love about Cotton On's tank tops is that, to me, it's not immodest. The neckline is nice and high (most of the time anyway) and the sleeves are thick, not spaghetti strapped.

I have this thing for animals on tops. I think it looks so amazing and awesome.

Love flowy cardigans.

Bottoms

Another wonderful thing about Cotton On is that their jean's are very soft and so very comfortable.

These are very soft.

Pretty shoes.

I went on the Factorie website. It was quite confusing and i couldn't find anything that i saw in the actual store but it's pretty similar to Cotton On. Bohemian with soft fabrics. They also have awesome rucksacks with pretty bohemian patterns. This was the only one i could find online but they have more and prettier ones. 

So that's my summer wish list.

I'm also planning on going to a place called the Oriental Plaza where they sell Indian style clothing that's really cheap (you find the odd gem) and there you can find proper harem pants.

Celebrity Culture's Influence

Apparently Rihanna has just landed in South Africa. I cannot express how much i hate it when these weird celebrities decide to come to my neck of the woods. Lately i've noticed more and more celebrities heading out here to SA. The first movie i remember was Safe House staring Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds. I watched that movie purely because it was filmed here. Then other bands came here like Metallica etc. Justin Bieber also came here and the huge frenzy over that was ... crazy. Future Mrs. Bieber t-shirts were everywhere and then of course the horrible Lady Gaga. I've also heard that Taylor Swift is heading here to film a movie in Cape Town.

I guess i tend to follow a few celebrities. When i was younger i occasionally watched the Disney Channel. Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place etc. Now, i'm not the type of girl who was obsessed with celebrities. I never had Hannah Montana albums or posters or clothes. My mom never let me get like that and i thank God for that. The only things that i was obsessed with was High School Musical and Barbie (when she was a princess). I never understood celebrity worship. I never understood why people start freaking out when Taylor Swift touched their hand or with any other celebrity. I actually think it's pretty pathetic. 

But i've noticed that when celebrities first come on the scene they seem all wholesome and moral but then a few years later they turn freaky. I liked some celebrities from my Disney Channels and i tend to check out any new movies from them or new songs. Especially now. 

The thing with the Disney Channel is that it's relatively modest and clean. No weird stuff going on although i think it's not the best thing for young teens to be watching 'cause .... well, it makes you stupid. The humor is lame and the lessons it teaches you are just typical teenage stuff where the most important thing is being popular. 

Which brings me to the topic of some of those stars. Disney Channel is mainly for young teens, when you're 18+ you move on to more 'grown up' work. I've found now as i check out some of these celebrities how being sexy and sensual is all part of being 'grown up'. Just check out Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez and how hard they try to rid themselves of their innocent Disney Channel image. I won't go into details but i'm truly shocked ... i'm not exactly sure why. Maybe it's 'cause when these young stars where younger they boasted about wearing Purity Rings and talking about abstaining till marriage. Of course when they turned 19 all those things were tossed to the side. Miley Cyrus seems to be having fun wearing practically nothing and having this weird obsession with her tongue sticking out and ....twerking? And Selena Gomez trying ever so hard to pull off the sultry, 'party goer' look. 

When i was 14 and was a bit insecure on how to dress i actually Googled that (i know ... weird) and i saw a few articles of people angry at the way Dakota Fanning dressed when she was 14. She wore a lot of mini shorts and heels to special events. Now search for Bella Thorne. She's 15 now and she wears the exact same things if not worse and everyone now comments on how 'cute' she looks. Have we degraded that much in a four year time span?   

15 year old Disney Channel
Actress Bella Thorne.  

I shouldn't be surprised. This is what happens in that culture. But the sad thing is is that these young girls are influencing so many other little girls (age 7+). What's the deal with this culture and media? Why do they try and strip girls of every piece of innocence and to tell them they have to act like 21 year olds? 

When i was younger my mom never let my brother and i watch TV so i didn't feel any pressure to be a certain way. I was pretty happy wearing my brothers hand-me-downs and climbing trees in the backyard. But now i see 13 year olds in the mall wearing high wasted mini shorts and shear tank tops exposing their underwear which has to be neon yellow just to let everyone know to look there. I'm sad when i see these girls because no one teaches them about femininity or purity. Their parents who should be the ones protecting them from this crap are just going with the flow. 

There's aren't any morals anymore. No modesty. The Bible says that nakedness is a shame. Heck, the priests couldn't even walk up a ramp to offer sacrifices because the men also wore 'dress-like' garments back then.

But nowadays the more you show the better. Magazine covers don't even hide it anymore. The human body is supposedly 'art' and should be shown to everyone. There's a lot of controversy regarding modesty. A lot of feminists just think it's just another way to prove that the patriarchy rules. The female body shouldn't be hidden. Why is it deemed appropriate for a male to walk topless but not a women? It's these sorts of arguments that make women stand up and say no to modest dress. But of course they then wonder why they get harassed by men or get crude comments about the way they look. 

In other words these women want to wear their underwear outside and still be treated like a lady and with respect. When i see things like this i say my new favourite line, "You are the reason we need instructions on shampoo."

It's these same women who say that when they say no, they mean no. They obviously don't understand the way men's minds work. If you're dressing like a prostitute then yeah, you're going to be treated like one.

It's like this new parade happening in SA called a Slut Parade. It's where women parade around in as little as possible saying no to rape.

..........

Can you honestly be so stupid?

But they just don't understand that modesty isn't only for guys.

Heck no. I don't only dress modestly because of guys, i dress modestly to respect myself. Why on earth would i want everyone who crosses my path to know exactly what i look like? Why do i want the world to know what my thighs look like? I DO NOT!!!! When i dress modestly i want the world to see that i have depth to my personality. That i'm not some easy target that they can just pick up and leave in the corner. I want them to see that i respect myself and that i'm more than what my body looks like. I'm more. I have dignity and virtue.

So dress the way you want to be treated. Don't follow celebrity fashion or look up to anyone in that industry. Look to God. One way that i test myself in the way i'm dressing is:

 "Would i feel comfortable walking into the Temple dressed the way i am now?". 

The Quest for Beauty

The other night it really hit me. It hit me how far women will go for their own vanity.

It all started with extensions. A few months ago my mom cut her hair to her shoulders. Her hair was really damaged and her split ends looked like candy floss so i helped her cut it off.

But of course when you have long hair and you cut it so short you seem to grow some sort of sentimentalism toward your lost hair. Most women can't wait months and months on end for your hair to grow back so one day i thought of extensions. I told my mom and the next day we went shopping. Came back home and Evelyn sewed them to my mom's hair. Naturally you try and go for 100% human hair else the extensions only last a few weeks. Human hair lasts a lot longer.

The other night my mom and i were talking about how natural the extensions look and then we both had a thought. Where on earth do these extensions come from? It's human hair so it came from somebody else. That was a freaky yet simple thought to have. It's 100% human hair, it's pretty obvious it came from some one else.

So that sparked an interest in my mom and she started Googling. Later that night she came to my room all wide eyed and shocked. She told me that most hair extensions come from India after the Indian women shave their heads as a thanksgiving offering to their 'god'. I was shocked. But after reading a few articles it really hit me how far women go to look beautiful.

Plastic surgery, cosmetics, fashion, hair, face creams, the list can go on.

Even Lipo suction and all these studies to try and see how to lose weight the fastest way in the shortest amount of time.

Why? For what reason? In the long run is it really that important? Will you one day stand before God and all you can say is that you've maintained your weight and were able to fit into a size 6 (UK)? You were able to look 30 at 60 years old?

Really?

Of course the culture distracts us. The enemy tries to pull our attention away from God and since it's our desire as women to want to look beautiful, we're easy prey. But who are we trying to look pretty for? So many women spend their day fretting over how they look and their husbands keep saying they look gorgeous. If their husbands think they're beautiful then why are so many women still fretting, thinking they're not pretty?

I fret. I admit it. I don't know how many times in a day i ask my mom if i look fat or if my face is ugly. But when i read articles like the one on hair extensions i realize how petty and stupid this quest for perfection and beauty really is. I don't want to spend my days worrying about how i look or if i look fat in this pair of jeans. When you walk in the mall do you notice the women who don't look like super models? No. Do you look at disgust at the ones who don't have perfectly toned bodies? No. So do you think people honestly look at you like that? Chances are they seriously don't care. It's this media and pop culture that puts this pressure on women.

But it's not even women, it affects men too. In advertisements you only see men with perfect 6 packs. Honestly ... how many men on this planet have a 6 pack? About as many as women have perfectly flat stomachs and not a flab anywhere.

We need to focus on things that are truly important. Live a healthy lifestyle but healthy doesn't always mean skinny. You get skinny people who can eat whatever they want all day long and they don't pick up weight. And then you can get ones that are a bit heavier but they eat their fruits and veggies and exercise everyday.

Try not to fret over the little things. Spend time with God and set your eyes on what's truly important in the grand scheme of things.