Basic B!%ch: Bralettes and Booties

Jeggings: Old Navy, Sweater: Forever 21, Booties: Dolce Vita, Necklace: made from the silks of my bridal bouquet at Beads Inc in Charlotte, Bag: Tory Burch (a gift that I earned through my skincare business)

HAPPPPPY 2018 everyone!

#1. You'd think, maybe, I'd start the year off with an outfit post that was a touch more interesting, but alas...  this is what I am wearing. It's what I've been wearing for months actually (when I am not in yoga pants - which is RARE. Capital "R" ).
 If there were a list of Basic B!%ch Outfits for Fall/Winter I'm preeeeeetty sure this one would be front and center in the line up. I think you can get through two seasons of the year wearing a slight variation of it. "Jeggings"/Leggings: elastic waistband and all over stretch. Booties: a wee bit of heel (hello, booty lift) and to add some height, but you're not committing to like, real "high heels". Sweater: oversized and comfortable, do I have 6-pack abs under here? Perhaps I do. Or.... (and more accurate) perhaps I drank 3 times my body weight in Coquito over Christmas (a Puerto Rican drink with coconut milk, condensed milk, evaporated milk and a shit ton of RUM in it - thanks, Rico) and laid around asking ALEXA to "play Christmas music" so I didn't actually have to get up?

#2. If you look at the fourth picture from the top you can kind of see the bra(lette) I am wearing with this sweater. It's lace, racer-back and cost about $15.00. Can I please take a second to point out that although this time last year I was recovering from an INSANELY painful and debilitating breast reduction, now I can wear shit like this. This flimsy-ass bralette has a CUTE back and provides my (MUCH smaller) chest all of the support it needs. If you have always had small boobs you will not understand the thrill that comes with wearing a bra for looks versus utility. To all of my well endowed friends out there who have at some point longed for smaller boobs, can I be frank?  Dude...... it is everything you dreamed. No straps the size of your forearm, or clasps with 3-4 hooks on them. No $75.00 price tag. Found a cute backless sweater? No worries. Buy that shit. You can wear a bralette. I feel funny even typing that word out. Bralette.  I used to look at these things and wonder.... "what bitch can actually wear that??????!!!!!!" This one. This bitch. I know a lot of people love big boobs, fake boobs, voluptuous, Jessica Rabbit sex tape type boobs (and to each their own) but I.AM.NOT one of those people. Give me all of the bralettes! Give me all of the 15 dollar, cute lace, "light support", bra-lettes!

#3. This has nothing to do with clothing (or breasts), which seems to be the theme of this entry, but I had something happen to me about a month ago and it has nagged at me like crazy. I ran into a woman I have not seen in a while. We started chatting and catching up and she said (genuinely, very, nicely... w/o and ounce of detectable shade)... "I love seeing you on social media and keeping up with your perfect life. I am so happy for you." After I jerked my head back 6 inches, rolled my eyes, snarfed a laugh out of my nostrils, and contorted then fixed my facial expression I said, "perfect life???" Ummm. Not even close, why do you say that? She went on to just say that she loved seeing our wedding photos from this year, vacations that I "won" through R+F, and all of my Pilates posts. She said that my life looks perfect and she was happy for me. Although it was very sweet of her to say and I think she meant it in a very complimentary way (it's not her nature to be a dick) it really got me thinking. I mean, it's no shocker that social media is most people's highlight reel, but "perfect". Nah. I went on to say that I appreciated her kindness, but those wedding photos came after a 7 year courtship (6 of those years being bombarded with questions, judgement and pressure as to why we weren't married, what was "wrong" with us, and copious amounts of other bullshit). The R+F trips were not actually "won". There was no drawing or raffle. They were earned. Earned by working after my corporate job every night and on the weekends to build a business. One that many people don't take the time to understand, but that most have an opinion of. And Pilates... a year ago I couldn't hold plank or do a single push up (after 2 surgeries in 6 months). I was depressed about having to basically start over and feared that I had lost all of my students because me teaching had become so sporadic. I struggle with balance every single day and sometimes I fail miserably at taking care of myself and the most important people in my life. I also told her this (I had recently seen this quote and loved it so much that I committed it to memory):
"Social media won't see 95% of my frustrations. Why? Because I have friends, family, a partner ... (and a bomb ass group chat with my girls) that I talk to. It's not portraying one thing and living another. It's wisdom. Every experience is not for every audience."
Can I get an AMEN?

Again... HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! Let's make this our very, best one yet!!!