Faith Style

I don’t know about you, but I prefer jewelry over flowers, chocolate even lingerie on Valentine’s Day. It has staying power, creates sentimental value and will always fit! Jewelry can be pricey but keep in mind it doesn’t have to be, when surfing Etsy recently I came across this talented designer that has something for everyone on your V-Day list. Under Her Charm is a beautiful line of sterling silver jewelry that is elegant and timeless. I decided to focus solely on jewelry this V-Day….I love my jewels. Happy Shopping!

Two Disc Hand Stamped Necklace $41 USD

Hand Stamped Key Chain $34 USD

Hand Stamped Guitar Pick w/Case $56 USD

Genuine Garnet Forever Necklace $64 USD

Mixed Metal Hand Stamped Necklace $83 USD

Secret Message Key $28 USD

A absolutely beautiful lifestyle bag that all Yummy Mummys can relate to. Designed by Canadian stylish new mom, Catherine So Young Choi. With a clean design and ultra functionality this bag will have you prepared for all surprises. Many of my friends are now starting their families and that on its own can be extremely overwhelming. Why not make everything else just a little bit easier? This is the bag that will do just that!

• Rugged canvas exterior.
• Laminated, wipeable interior compartments.
• Contrasting interior lining with clear and mesh pockets.
• Laminated change mat.
• Shoulder straps with detachable comfort grip padding.
• Detachable messenger strap.
• Adjustable stroller straps.
• Backpack conversion option.
• Large insulated cooler bag pocket.
• Built-in dedicated sunglass pocket.
• Built-in wallet.
• Removable key clip.
• Cell phone pocket (fits Blackberry or iPhone).
• Two insulated side bottle pockets.
• Fits up to 13” laptop.
• Back flap holds bulky items such as newspapers, umbrella or yoga mat.
• PVC and pthalate-free.

Visit SoYoung Mother to purchase one for yourself or a friend/family member with one on the way.

In order to be part of the giveaway contest download the free ME-Love kit from Madly in Love with ME™ and leave a comment telling me either the self-love dare you took and why? Or the self-love vow you took and why? Share your experience and you could be rewarded with a a beautiful piece of jewelry to adorn yourself with!

The Broken Angel

I once saw an angel

with broken wings

but alas I did not succeed

to mend these things

Beautifully strong

yet weak to words

sad starry eyes with

a broken hearted demise

What have they done to you?

and what can I do?

confused by my questions,

while healing its wounds

It disappeared and left me again,

to never be seen

feathers to keep for me

and nothing else but memories

From a broken angel
whose light I miss and hope it soon heals.

© Traveling Poet 2009

Can having a better sex life improve your business? The answer is probably yes.   Marie Forleo, author and creator of Rich, Happy and Hot mentoring program for women believes that your business may suffer from your lack of sex. In an article titled, “Is Your Sex Life Affecting The Success of Your Business?” Marie says, ” A healthy sex life is essential to being a vibrant, passionate, and fully self-expressed human being and therefore, essential to being a truly successful entrepreneur. After all, we start our businesses not only to earn a great living, but to make a difference in the world.  And that can only happen when we are operating at our full potential.  A healthy sex life feeds us on an emotional, physical and psychological level and simply leaves us more vibrant and engaged in our businesses and lives.”

Perhaps it’s the Whore/Madonna thing but “good” mothers don’t talk about themselves as sexual beings.  For many women once they have children, being a mother becomes their paramount role.  The woman who enjoyed sex disappears and is replaced by a dutiful mother who channels all of her energies into her children.  Sex is no longer about her pleasure or the opportunity to create a sacred union with her man—it’s reduced to being another unwanted obligation.

Why do so many mothers believe that reveling in their sexuality is incompatible with good parenting?

If you believe that sex is all about pleasing your man, then in the midst of raising your children and building your business it’s easy for you to push his needs to the back burner. You may feel that you have the ability to be a good mother or even a good entrepreneur, but as a woman you may not feel up to par. Perhaps you’re heavier than you’d like or you’ve been lax with your personal grooming. You don’t feel sexy so you’re anxious about getting undressed and making love with your man.  Although you can use sex to connect with your partner, essentially sex is an expression of your own life force. If women represent love on earth, then it stands to reason that if you deny your sexuality you’re also denying  the desires of your soul.

Generally, working mothers who are stressed out by too many demands, too little support and too little “me-time” are not that interested in sex.  However, you can’t have a great life if you’re ignoring your sexual yearnings.  Are you weakening your marital/relationship bond by not connecting with your partner on a regular basis? Do you have the relaxed state of mind that you need to nurture your children and to run your business? A sexually fulfilled woman is happier and brings that joyful spirit to her parenting, relationship and work.

7 Ways Working Mothers Can Get Their Sexy Back

1. Buy New Lingerie. The feel of good quality silk or satin on your body will remind you that you are a sexual being.

2. Exercise. Moving your body at least 30 minutes a day will get your blood pumping and your juices flowing.  Most important your body imagewill improve as your shed unwanted pounds. Don’t have access to a gym? Why not try a pilates, yoga or belly dancing DVD?

3. Get a new hairstyle. A new hairstyle can make you feel fresh and young. Look at magazines and bring your hairdresser pictures of hair do’s that you like. Opt for a hairstyle that’s both fashionable and functional.

4. Have a spa day. Can’t afford a real spa, then carve out a few hours at home to luxuriate in the bath and to give yourself a facial, manicure and pedicure.

5. Go on a trip with your significant other, without the kids. A romantic trip, even if it’s only an overnight hotel will give you the privacy and freedom to rekindle your sexual flame.

6. Get a new scent. The power of scent is greater than you think.  Test some perfumes at your local department store. See what scent make you feel sexy.

7. Spruce Up Your Bedroom. Your bedroom should be a retreat for romance and for rest. Clear out the clutter (including kids toys). Buy some new bedding and add touches like scented candles and plants.

You may also be interested in:

Mamas: Let’s Talk About Sex

Why Self-Care is Important for Working Mothers

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Yvonne Bynoe, Feature Writer

Learn how a FREE Working Moms StartUP session could help you to reduce your stress at home and at work and also help you find more “me-time,” each week. For more details, please drop me an email at Yvonne@SophisticatedWomanandMama.com. You can also connect with me on Twitter at Twitter.com/YvonneBynoe and on Facebook at Facebook.com/YvonneBynoe

I truly believe that confidence is created when we each truly express love for ourselves. A love that is pure, honest and unshakeable. Christine Arylo is a speaker, author, coach, woman, founder of the Self Love Studio and the force behind Madly in Love with ME™ a self-love movement. This incredible movement was created to raise the awareness of self-love among women and girls around the world because “there is nothing more beautiful, powerful or free than a woman who truly loves herself!”  ~ Christine Arylo.

Best known as an inspirational catalyst for women and girls everywhere, daring, inspiring and guiding them to be, love and live their REAL MEs… instead of the images they often find themselves trying to live into. I had the great honour to ask Christine some intimate questions.

1.       What is your personal definition of Faith?

Faith is what makes things possible, not easy. It’s your deep deep belief, and I am talking deep, that no matter what happens you will be okay. It’s your deep trust that there is something bigger at work, supporting and guiding you. It has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with believing that you are ultimately taken care of. Faith is one of my top three values, and without it I could do none of what I do. I am constantly amazed at how deep my faith goes and how much it is tested. When I heard a voice say to me, “You go out and inspire women to love themselves, Christine!.” It was faith that got me to quit my corporate job and start a self-love movement. Without faith I would still me standing still trying to figure out what that actually meant.

2.       What are your secrets to Authentic Style?

Know who you are and express her without apology.  First you have to really know who you are underneath all the conditioning and the fear we’ve all picked up along the way. What are your unique gifts? Your dreams? What makes you come alive? What are the words your soul embodies? And then you have to have the courage to express her without caring what anyone else thinks. To be willing to stand in the middle of the world and be totally different, say what others would never say but that lives in your heart. Too many people live trapped inside themselves. You owe it to yourself to liberate the girl and woman that lives inside you!

3.       How would you define the Style of your work?

Real with heart. Playful whimsy. And spirited passion. For too long self-love has been reserved for therapy rooms and spiritual circles. My goal is to make self-love hot, hip and hers for every woman and girl, and to do so in a way that makes it really tangible about what self love is, and how one goes about getting and keeping it.

4.       What are the items in your life that you absolutely couldn’t live without?

Faith. Magic. Freedom. and Love.

5.       What are your newest obsessions? This may sound a little weird, but I am obsessed with adrenal glands!

No I am not a doctor, but I am hooked on learning more about the silent diseases related to the exhaustion of our adrenal glands. Over 80% of women today have adrenal glands that are exhausted and they are headed toward major adrenal gland fatigue which leads to thyroid disease, auto immune disease, hair loss, weight gain, and more. Many women have no idea that they are living with their adrenals on overdrive, and they live that way for years to their bodies literally shut down. Most women don’t even know what adrenal gland fatigue is. I’ll be doing an entire series on Self Love Studio in the spring interviewing women who have had this, women who help women through it. 4 out of 5 women is a lot of women, and if you are reading this, chances are that you are one of those women.

6.       Do you have any exciting news you’d like to share with us?

This February 13^th is the second year of the international day of self-love, Madly in Love with ME™ Day. And I am SO excited that five cities across the US are having Self Luv-apaloozas, events on that day that women can attend and fall madly in love with themselves – San Francisco, Chicago, Orlando, Detroit, and San Diego. More and more women are also having their own events, which you can do by downloading the free Madly in Love with Me Kit from www.madlyinlovewithme.com It makes my heart all happy to see women and girls saying YES to falling in love with themselves!

Join the movement, express the love you have for yourself as a human, as an individual and most importantly as a women. Because that kind of love transforms, it sends a positive message and it allows change to happen in a natural organic way. Want to get involved? Go to the website and download the Madly in Love with ME™ KIT, participate in the video dare or write your very own Madly in Love with ME™ Manifesta. Come back on Friday and read my personal Madly in Love with ME™ Manifesta and my story of self-love.

The Madly in Love with ME™ Manifesta

Our vision for what the world looks like when a woman truly loves herself.

We believe that every woman has the right to fall madly in love with herself. To be so in love with who she is, to so deeply honor her body, mind and spirit that every choice she makes reflects that same deep honoring. That she is not only entitled to love herself, she is empowered to love herself simply because she is.

Toronto model Stacey McKenzie has walked the runway for international design sensations Alexander McQueen, Christian Lacroix, and Jean-Paul Gaultier. It was a tough road to those glorious runways, however, and Stacey suffered countless rejections on her way up, including one in which a model agent took one look at her book and burst out laughing, inviting his cohorts to join in the fun…all right in front of Stacey.

Walk This Way Workshops is Stacey’s effort to help other girls and women bolster their self-esteem while providing the tools that will lead to a successful modelling career:

“I promised I would use all my expertise and advice to help model hopefuls make it to the next level. That’s where this workshop comes from,” Stacey said at the Spoke Club last weekend where she presented real-life examples of various genres of modelling including high fashion (the typical tall, slim model), plus size, commercial, body parts (hands and feet, for instance) and lingerie. Stacey was adamant that high fashion is only one small avenue into modelling and never to force yourself to embody those proportions if they are not naturally yours. Cory, a featured model agent, concurred:

“We don’t tell people to lose weight. If you’re naturally meant to be a (high fashion) model, great; if you’re not, don’t fight it.” Stacey added: “Find another niche; find another avenue.”

The audience consisted of both aspiring models and curious onlookers: Alannah Verneuil won her spot in the workshop after entering a contest in Verve Girl magazine on why she deserves the opportunity. At 5’1″ she fears height may be an impediment to her desired career. She no doubt benefitted from Stacey’s assuring words: “You have to find your niche. Technically, anybody could be a model.” Tonika, who runs a hip-hop feminist collective called The Medina, was fulfilling her new year’s resolution to “be more adventurous and step outside the safety zone.”

Stacey encouraged her pupils to stay true to themselves: “It’s important to have confidence. I wouldn’t have what I have if I didn’t love and accept myself. Modelling is a cut-throat business so it’s important for you to love and OWN who you are.”

That’s sound advice we can all use.

Read more on Stacey’s workshop here.