Instantly Beautiful

Hola, mujeres hermosas (In other words….Hello Beautiful women).  As part of my “goal getter” mentality, I am learning Spanish, BUT it is going very very slow (Ugghhhhh…Me)

One day I was having a chat with my friend, C.  During the conversation, she asked me an amazingly prolific question. “What is the one thing you can put on that will INSTANTLY make you feel beautiful?” Huh…Crickets.  Well this caused me to really think.  I am so so much with an enormous beauty routine, and multiple rituals (so I have been told).  How in the world could I choose ONE thing?  But my one instant beauty came to mind…a turtleneck (do not judge… Ha Ha Ha).  When I slip that contraption on, I immediately feel like a classic beauty.  I love a turtleneck in ALL forms.  Give me long sleeve, sleeveless, 3/4 length sleeve, ribbed, cotton, racerback, chunky, no matter the form, just give them all to me.  However, I really love black, but I will take whatever I can get my hands on (LOL).

Once again, this was a question was too delicious to keep to myself.  So you know I surveyed my gorgeous girls (hey y’all).  Here is what some of them said.

C – Banana Republic Classic Perfume

La’Missy – A good fitted jacket (Indeed)

Wife – Serious pair of fitted jeans

Mom – Earrings

Bestie – A new pair of zapatos (shoes) I am bilingual…remember

Old E – Lip Gloss

Kat – A fresh weave (Amen)

When I asked the question and received the answers, I was simply amazed because not one of these lavish ladies said the same thing.  Seriously!  I loved getting more insight into the women that I adore. Isn’t it mind boggling how many different things we consider beautiful and the great thing is that we are all correct. I have come to the conclusion through my many years of living and conversing with the wonderful women who surround me is the most beautiful thing is being YOURSELF.

Lavishites, put on your turtleneck, spray on your perfume, slip on those new shoes, flip that fresh weave…whatever makes you feel beautifully confident and step high! Own your uniqueness and you will never go wrong.

Before I depart, everyone say a collective “thank you” to C for starting this great conversation. She is one smart cookie!

Hasta la proxima vez…ALWAYS remain lavish

 

 

 

It Wins Everytime…

 

My best friend and I recently spent the weekend together.  Bestie and I have been together for almost three decades.  We pride ourselves on having some “us” time every year.  Since this year has a crazy wonderful rollercoaster ride, we decided to meet in a halfway city and have an extended sleepover.  We went to a movie (which we discovered we had never done), ate ourselves into a coma, and flexed our shopping muscles at the local malls. We really became tickled when we realized we were dating for the weekend.

As Bestie and I were talking and waiting for a particular parking space at an outdoor retail heaven, there was a car of young women waiting to park, as well.  The young lady driver made a gesture that indicated to me that we could have the recently vacated parking space. We pulled in the space and the car of young passengers SPED off in a huff to locate another space.  For a second, Bestie and I looked at each perplexed and then burst out laughing.  OOPS!! I misread her gesture. After the laughter, I began to feel a bit guilty.

The younger me would have not given a second thought about taking that parking space; I would thought I had made a marvelous move.  As I reflect, I would have made a fantastic addition to the Bad Girls Club.  However, the more evolved me tries to live my life through kindness, humility and grace.  The parking lot fiasco sparked a conversation between bestie and me.  We discussed how we used to love to be confrontational, aggressive, and sometimes down right mean.  Back then, I was willing and ready to snap my neck, roll my eyes , and spit out profanities in rapid succession.  Oh boy! I prided myself on the compound curse words I would create.  No one was off limits. Husband, neighbors, retailers, waitresses, dogs, cats, or goldfish…all of them were one second from experiencing my wrath.   Ahhh…young foolish me (I am cringing right now)! And to apologize for my behavior…NEVER.  As a matter of fact, I thought I was owed an apology because of the energy I had to exert.  Youth and ignorance are bliss!

Now that I am a true adult, I realize to be gracious in all situations is an art and a sign of maturity.  I once thought to be taken seriously, I had to be aggressive.  I wanted people to think “Don’t mess with her because she means business.” The actual truth was that some chose not to interact with me because I was a nicely dressed cussing CRAZY mess.

Now, please do not assume that I am a rug waiting to treaded upon. I am an educator, so therefore; I am not weak (shot out to the teachers of the world). I now realize that I can clearly get my point across while leaving myself and the person I am speaking to with dignity…even through the most difficult conversations.

As I continue to mature, I desire to be known as a woman who is kind, sympathetic, elegant, trustworthy, and gracious who takes care of business.  Lavish lovelies, we can strong without being mean and crass. Always, remember KINDNESS wins EVERYTIME.

And to the vehicle full of young shoppers (if you are reading this), my apologies for misreading your gesture.  I didn’t have my “old lady” glasses on.  I thought you were saying “Go Ahead” instead of “Go Away”.  Maybe our paths will cross again and I will happily give up the parking space that we are both vying for because my more lavish behavior dictates that I do.

 

Dress~BUY HERE //Shoes~ (OLD)  Can still BUY HERE /BUY HERE // Handbag~ (GIFTED) Many available on luxury retail sites.