Lessons from my Fitaversary: Your Beauty is YOURS + Giveaway with SimplyBe
As a plus size personal growth blogger, I spend a lot of my own time thinking about how to become a more balanced and happy version of myself.
I believe that happiness is a choice we have to make, and a state of mind we have to proactively chose to make in our life every day. Sometimes even multiple times a day.Have you ever sat around and obsessed with the life you think other women live? I'm betting you have. Have you ever said "damn, I would be so much more beautiful if I only had her hair, her body, her butt"? Have you ever spent so much time focusing on others... that you were unable to see what made YOU beautiful?If we were all really honest, we'd probably say yes.So I will ask this question.How much time do you spend comparing yourself to other women? To they way they look, their body, or to the things they appear to have? How much time do you spend focused on other people's social media feed, their number of followers, or their seemingly "dream job" or "perfect" life? Imagine if you took all those minutes each day, and all that valuable energy... and spent it on yourself instead.This April, I celebrated my one-year Fitaversary. This time marked the commitment that I made to live a life that was more balanced, my joyful, and more focussed on my overall health and wellness. During this time I have learned some intense, beautiful and very real lessons. I explored one of them previously, in a blog post where I discussed how important it is to live a life that is unapologetic in its truth.In my second lesson, I'm talking about what I've learned about my own beauty. More specifically, how much more empowered we become in our own unique beauty when we stop obsessing over the beauty of others!(Let me start by giving a special shout out to Simply Be, a kick ass plus size brand who helped me bring this content to you!)
Lesson 2: Your beauty is unique to you. The more you compare yourself to others, the more you give your own beauty away.
When ego is lost, limit is lost. You become infinite, kind, beautiful.― Yogi Bhajan
When we compare ourselves to others, we take ourselves out of a state of gratitude. We focus on what we don't have, rather than what we do. When we do this, we, literally, cut off the flow of positive energy we are sending out to the world and, thus, the energy we receive back.When we compare ourselves to others, we often end up judging ourselves. We naturally want to quantify, label, and sort. Looking to others to make sense of where we fit in the schema of things. Except when we do that... we focus on what we don't have, create an energy based on competition with others, and fail to see what is truly unique in our own beauty.I love how Simply Idea spreads the idea of #WeAreCurves! WE ARE CURVES!! Our curves are all unique and beautiful to our own. We can find solidarity in the sisterhood of curves, but also our own unique beauty and voice in empowering our own curves to be authenthically ours.Want to hear a little bit more about this? Check out my full video here![embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajdYV-1-Ql4[/embed]Psst. Do you like this top? You can find the top I'm wearing in this video online here. It's the Joanna Hope Printed Swing top in a size 22. The availability is pretty limited but it looks like there is still size 26 available!Now onto some fashion chat! This lesson is brought to you by my friends at Simply Be. I've been a Simply Be shopper for years. Their denim jacket and one of their denim shirts has been sitting in my closet for years, and I've worn many (many, like, many) dresses from them in the past. They carry a wide range of sizes and styles, so I was super grateful to be able to partner with them here.I was able to chose a few of my favorite pieces from their website to share with you! Here is what I chose and what I loved.First up, this Closet Tulip Dress maybe one of the most beautiful dresses I have ever worn. I am wearing it in a Size 22. I love the idea of each and every one of us having a graceful, super feminine dress in our closet-- if that's your style, that is. When I saw this one, it literally took my breath away. Here's the one rub; the size range on this one is smaller. It goes from a size 8 to a size 22. I wish they made it in more sizes because it is stunning in real life!! Like. Stunning.Here's what I love about this style:
The print. The print. The print. Did I say the print? Yes. The print.
I love that it uses a melon color as the background to the print. At first the idea of an orange dress sounds kinda weird, I know, but it works BIG TIME.
The sihlouette here feels perfect for my petite and curvy body. I LOVED the tie-waist and I love the tulip at the hips. I'm already a hippy woman, but this whole dress felt like it was made for my body.
I am truly in love with this dress. Sometimes I get gifted stuff and I know I won't wear it again. This? I cherish it. I will totally wear it with a denim jacket and flats as well as dressing it up! It's classic and feminine with a boost of style to it. Like. Major crush on it. Here's one more look at this dress!Next up, this Textured Skater Dress in Pink. worn in a size 22. Note that this dress is short and it runs small. I am solid size 22 these days, and I felt a bit constricted so, if you are looking at this one I would definitely size up.I love a great skater dress and this one has tons of personality. Although it's a pretty simple shape, the textured crochet, high neckline and short sleeves make this plenty playful!Here's what I love about this style:
The color pops so stunning! I LOVE hot pink. The dress also comes in blue, which is vivid and just as fun.
The textured fabric takes this skater style from simple to sassy. Seriously. It is a heavier fabric (and lined) but the crochet gives it a sense of airiness!
Here's another shot from behind. It is deff for someone who is comfortable showing lots of leg!I could also see this look being perfect in the cooler seasons paired with an opaque black tight and some booties. SO CUTE plus it would give you more coverage. In fact... I may do just that. *Idea!*Next up, is a Ladder Print Top with Peplum Hem, I'm wearing a size 22. This top goes all the way through a size 28 as well!I LOVE THIS TOP. If you follow me on Instagram, you've already seen me wear this out for birthday dinner with my friend Jennifer. See the top in ridiculous action during our car karaoke jam session here. SING IT TO ME TAYLOR SWIFT!!
I have always been a big supporter of car singing. Listen at your own risk. @jennifer.buckingham 👍🎉💖
A post shared by Sarah (@sarahsapora) on May 1, 2017 at 10:34pm PDT
I genuinaly find it hard to find boho style tops that speak to me in my size. So when I saw it on Simply Be, I snapped it up FAST! The print is graceful, the material is lovely, and all in all it makes for a great warm-weather style.Here's what I love about this style:
The print. It's whimsical and boho without being overwhelming at all.
The fabric - I actually really appreciate that this is a legit TOP that has no stretch to it. It's not jersey, which makes for a nice change. It's semi-sheer and really lightwheight and whispy.
The neckline, ladder detail, and tie waist give this some extra visual interest.
To me, this is an absolute perfect top to pair with your favorite denim ALL THE WAY!I paired this top with the Sadie Relaxed Skinny Jeans in a size 22. These run large! This is a jegging style-denim that is thick but has plenty of stretch to it. They do run large, and I feel I would have been much better in a size 20. Note that these are really relaxed in the fit. So, if you are looking for a slim fitting skinny jean this is not it. The fit is much more like a "boyfriend" style and they work perfectly with a wide cuff. A big thank you to Simply Be for partnering with me on this blog post! I've shared my very honest opinion about the styles I selected from the brand because I want YOU to know what you should expect if you get any of them for yourself!
Now onto the fun part.... WANT TO WIN A $100 GIFT CARD TO SIMPLY BE? I'M GIVING ONE AWAY!!
Here’s how to enter to win.