Audrey.

I thought it would be fun today to do a bit dedicated to the Lady of the Blog, Audrey Hepburn. Both of the writers of this blogspot are BIG Hepburn fans. Her style, whether on screen or off, was so effortless and chic. The looks she wore are absolutely timeless, and thanks to the comeback of flats are all over the place to this day. Rather than drone on about how great her style is/was, here are a few of my personal favorites:

Love,

Lula Mae

Quick and Easy (and Healthy!) Work Breakfasts.

"What's this?" you ask, "two posts in a week???" Yes. Two posts in a week.

I work in an office with a small kitchen area. We have a fridge, microwave, and toaster oven. We have a blender too but I'm not really a blended drink person. I get into the office fairly early every day, and it's easier for me to just make food here than to eat at home. So I thought I'd take today to talk about some good eats that you can make at work. I mostly eat breakfast here with the occasional lunch, but I think brown-bagging a lunch is pretty self-explanatory so unless anyone wants me to address that on a different post I'm only going to go over breakfast.

Breakfast is a tough one to make on the go because unless you want to have a cup of coffee or a bowl of cereal, it's hard to make healthy food in the microwave (although the toaster oven is easier). One of my favorite breakfasts is actually supposed to be for lunch but it really hits the spot on a cold morning: Lean Pockets with Turkey, Broccoli, and Cheese. You just zap it in the microwave as directed and *bam* you've got a super yummy and filling breakfast. The problem is that those things can be a little pricey and tend to be high in preservatives, sodium, etc. They are low-cal, but you don't get a free ride there.

Another great option for quick cooking is to make turkey bacon and then have some sort of side- I like a whole wheat English Muffin with some butter. I know I should probably mix in a fruit in there somewhere, but when you're in a rush it's tough. I'd say buy yourself a big jug of V8 Splash or something with 100% juice in it. Turkey bacon rocks because you still feel like you're eating bacon but you can actually cook it in the microwave (about 45 seconds). I put it in the toaster oven for about 4 minutes the other day and it was really great that way too. It's tough to get turkey bacon crispy without burning it, though, so if you're a die hard crisp fan you may have to figure something else out there. English Muffin can be put in the toaster oven or a regular toaster (duh) if you are lucky enough to have one.

Obviously fruit is always a great choice, especially on a hot morning. One of my favorite things to do is chop up some fruit- maybe strawberries, raspberries, or bananas. Then you get some low-fat yogurt, the fruit, and some sweet granola- mix it all together in a cup or bowl and voila! You have a yummy, healthy, indulgent, but best of all low-fat fruit parfait. The best part is that you can get these at McDonald's or even Corner Bakery but I feel that freshly cut fruit is always going to be much tastier and obviously less expensive.

Last but not least on my list of yummies is what I had today and my inspiration for this blog. I read about it in a magazine and tried it and fell madly in food-love. What you do is buy some Egg Beaters. I just tried the Southwestern flavor and they're WAAAAY better than regular. Then you get whatever you would normally like in a scramble: turkey bacon, bell peppers, tomatoes, cheese, etc. Today I put a wedge of Weight Watcher's Jalapeno Cheese, Tapatio, and Tomatoes in it. Now what you do is get a mug and pour the cheese (go with a light or even veggie cheese to stay low-fat) into the mug, followed by the egg beaters mix. Side Note: I highly recommend using a mug that you do not care about. If you over cook it and it sticks to your mug then you're pretty bummed. You can also use a bowl but make sure it isn't a plastic one. My roommate cooked regular eggs in my plastic bowl and it burnt the bowl as the eggs get quite hot. Anyways- pour the mix about an inch and a half deep- the egg beaters rise when they cook and I've had quite a mess on my hands before! You'll want to mix in any meats that you decide to use but not any of the vegetables. Then just pop it in the microwave for about a minute. Next you put any vegetables you want, as well as any seasoning or sauces you want to use, stir it up, and enjoy! The whole process takes about 2 minutes and it tastes absolutely amazing. You would never guess that it's microwaved Egg Beaters and not off-the-stove top eggs. There are a lot of other recipes and ideas for this sort of thing on this website:http://www.hungry-girl.com/

Happy Eating!

Love,

Lula Mae

Wooly Mammoth.

Today's topic of conversation is one that people generally tend to avoid. However, it's one that needs to be addressed.

Hair Removal. It's talked about at 'girl's night,' but even then no one is really going into depth about it. I think it's one of those things that women don't want men to know they do, like any guy really thinks that we live our entire lives with only hair on our heads. Yea right. There are tons of different ways to "take care" of body hair, today I'm going to go over the best ones, starting from the ground up.

LEGS: Honestly, I'm a shaver. Always have been and always will be. Some women wax and if I could afford it I would be all about the lasering, but it's so much more simple to just shave your legs! Waxing, especially, becomes an issue because you need to wait for the hair to grow to a certain length before you can wax it and no one wants hairy legs. Some women shave less during Winter months, but I personally am not a fan of that. I generally shave my legs about 2-3 times per week, more often in bathing suit season. I'm also a big fan of any kind of body lotion that slows regrowth. For anyone who gets irritation, make sure that you're changing your blade about once or twice per month (more if you, well, need it...). I also have sensitive skin so I can't use a scented moisturizer after a fresh shave. My favorite body lotions for after a shave are Curel in the winter months and right now I use Burt's Bees Aloe and Linden Flower After Sun lotion to help preserve any tan that I may get. For razor preference I usually get whatever has at least 4 blades and is on sale (Costco is GREAT to buy razor blades in bulk!).

BIKINI LINE: I wont get too much into this because it's a little embarrassing. Shaving is simple, convenient, cheap, and you can do it when you're in a hurry. Waxing seems to be the general consensus on how to groom "there." I have a friend who recommends some sort of African Male Facial Depilatory... I can't remember the name of it but apparently you buy it at CVS and it works wonders.

STOMACH: Lets face facts here, we're not all sun kissed blondes with light tummy hair. Some of you may even have excessive hair there, I have an Italian friend who has struggled with hers since we were about 14. The best thing to do here is to bleach it. I recommend just a facial hair bleach for about 15 minutes and you're good to go. It takes quite a bit of it to cover your stomach but it's definitely worth it!

UNDERARMS: Shave them! I don't know anyone who uses any other method here.

ARMS: In high school I was on the swim team and was instructed that for Finals we would need to shave our arms. My Freshman year is when I tried it for the first time and just fell in love with it. I loved how silky they were without hair and since I'm dark-haired I liked it even more. But the longer I shaved my arms the more I noticed what a pain in the __ it was. It took longer in the shower, not to mention that if you have ANY regrowth at all it feels like sandpaper to rub against. NOT sexy! I finally stopped doing it altogether a few months ago, and to be honest my arms have never looked better. Always soft and never spiky, I'm digging the non-shaved arms thing. If you have darker hair I recommend using a face bleach on them if you're uncomfortable about it, Sally Hansen makes a great one. The only downer is that you have to mix it yourself on this weird little tray that makes you feel like you're dealing drugs. It, like stomach bleaching, also takes a LOT of bleach to cover your whole arm. As a side note: I usually do one at a time so that I don't have to walk around like Frankenstein with my arms out straight and unable to touch anything for 15 minutes.

ANY FACIAL HAIR BESIDES EYEBROWS: This is one of the most necessary of any removal. What is the first thing people see when they look at you? Your face! Some women are, I think, so in denial about having facial hair that they just ignore it. Nobody walks up to you and looks you in the leg! And we've all seen her, that girl who really- really- needs to be told to wax her upper lip. Don't be that girl. Now some women, like my Mother, prefer waxing any facial hair. I'm just not a big fan of any unnecessary (or expensive) hair removal. I like the comfort of my own home and something fast and easy. The secret to good facial hair removal is knowing your hair type. First of all, are you light haired or dark haired? Secondly is it growing in abundance or just a few fine ones here and there? If you've got a lot of either blonde OR dark hair- I say use a hair remover. Sally Hansen makes a good one, and it's even available in Lavender scent. If you've got fine dark hair, you can probably just bleach it. Bleaching is better because you don't really have to deal with regrowth as much. It's really to your discretion because there ARE women out there who bleach and there's just SO much hair that you can still totally tell they're growing a man-beard. If you've got blonde fine hair, don't do anything you lucky thing!

EYEBROWS: This one is up for debate. Most women I know get waxed. Again- inconvenient and costly in my book. But those who do wax swear by it so I'm not going to go against a good thing. I, personally, tweeze. Tweezers are easy, portable, and not as painful as people think once you get used to them. The trick is to make sure you've got a good grip on that hair and ALWAYS do it one by one, stepping back from the mirror often to see the full picture. Overtweezing is NOT sexy. Another trick that I learned is to use hair remover on them. You'd seriously think I invented the wheel how excited I get about this one. It's painless, effective, and easy. You just have to be sure that you get close to the tweeze line, but not so close that you might mess up and take off an entire brow! I like this method for the middle of my brows, personally. Then I just go back through and clean up a bit with tweezers. If tweezers hurt too much I've read that you can use Anbesol (what they use for babies who are teething to soothe the pain) and it will really help. If you're going to get tweezers, make sure you get a REALLY good pair. My favorites have been Sonia Kashuk and Tweezerman. Tweezerman tweezers have won all kinds of beauty awards and top top that off- they're just really cute!! If you're totally clueless on eyebrows, I think it's a good idea to buy a starter kit. Anastasia makes a great one with stencils and the whole nine yards. You can buy those at Sephora and it's really worth it.

So that's it! This is an awkward topic for a blog but I thought it might really come in handy for some of those out there who are a little bit more clueless in this arena. Enjoy!

Love,

Lula Mae

Acne

At the request from my lovely roommate I decided to do a blog about skin care. Your face is a funny thing as you get older. When I was in high school I NEVER got pimples. I was a very lucky girl in that sense. Then, about a year ago, my skin went a little haywire. I'm pretty sure it was the birth control that I was on but MAN it made me break out! I remember thinking, "you've got to be joking me. I'm well past the teenage pimple years..." And me being me, I would just hibernate. If I ever (and once in a while I still do) get a zit I refuse to be social. Even though I'm sure it's a delusion I can't help but think everyone is talking to me about whatever but really just thinking, "zitzitzitzitzit." It sucks. On top of that is the fact that it's generally a bad idea to put makeup over it unless you have to, so hiding out with my anti-acne medication is all the company I want to have.

This has been the scenario with lots of women. I know it must be because of the rising number of companies doing "acne+wrinkles" product lines. And just when you think you've successfully blown through that stage of your life...

And so here I am telling you what I know, personally, about skin care and acne. I am not a doctor, and none of this information is anywhere near a professional opinion. But for me at least, it works. I read a LOT of magazines while I'm hiding out in my room with my zapzit, and I'd like to think I've learned a thing or two.

There are two types of pimples: surface (although I think there's a much more medical name for those) and cystic. Surface pimples are those little guys with a white head, and they usually develop overnight. Those are the easiest ones. Cystic pimples are the ones that you feel coming DAYS before their actual arrival. These suck and can take a week or so to go away.

Surface pimples are easy-breezy. The number one rule of zit murder is DO NOT TOUCH YOUR FACE. Do not squeeze it, do not pick at it, do not touch it in any way. Think of your hands as oil and dirt machines. Almost like they have thick, sticky honey on them and whenever you touch your face that honey sticks to your skin and just sits there on your pores. Yuck. Another good thing to keep in mind is to be sure that you are changing your pillowcase regularly, especially if you are a stomach or side sleeper. Any dirt, oil, or leftover product from your face or hair goes right on your pillowcase and pressed into your skin when you lie on it for 8 hours.

So case scenario what do you do when you get a surface pimple? Well, for me, I usually make sure my hands are totally clean, just in case I touch my face. Next I get my trusty pimple-popper (another thing I'm sure has a more professional name) from Sephora. It looks like this:

Once I have released the pressure of the pimple it usually goes down in a day or less and I'm good to go. During that time I will usually cover up any redness with a concealer that has Salicylic Acid in it to continue depleting the pimple until the bitter end. Almay makes a GREAT one of these called Almay Clear Complexion Concealer. I also like that it's made with all natural ingredients.

Cystic Acne is a whole 'nother ball game. Where surface acne is usually triggered by oil, dirt, or some other outside source- Cystic Acne is hormonal. These little buggers will show up when you are stressed, depressed, or when it's "that time of the month." Basically they like to come around when life already sorta sucks, which is nice of them. Now I have never had a severe Cystic Acne problem, but when you're getting more than one of two at a time it's time to see your Dermatologist. I've heard Proactive is fantastic and know it has a huge fan base. There are other options as well but I haven't really encountered this issue so I recommend just talking to your Derm about it. If you are only getting a few of these every so often, my advice is better suited for you. In my experience, there isn't a whole lot that you can do once Cystic acne comes to town. As such, the best defense is a good offense. First of all, keep up the good work you've been doing of not touching your face. Think honey-thoughts. Secondly, wash that pretty mug of yours every night! Some people may need to wash their face twice a day but it's been my experience that a little of your natural oil is fine and washing in the morning isn't really essential- so long as you're using that clean pillowcase. While we're talking sleeping habits- tell that man of yours to keep his pillow under his own head and not take yours! Most guys use some sort of sticky gel or balm and you do not want that on your face at night. If your man is sleeping with his shirt off, be sure not to rest your head directly on his chest if you're prone to cheek breakouts. No, I'm not saying you need to put up a curtain between the two of you, just make sure you're putting a (clean) pj top or a sheet between your face and his skin.

Especially with Cystic pimples, the absolute worst thing you can do is to try to pop them. If it doesn't have visible sebum (that white part) that means it's not near enough to the surface and squeezing it will only worsen your problem. Ditto for picking at it. The only thing worse than a big red mountain on your face is a big crusty red mountain. Sorry to be graphic but ew. The best thing you can do is to just relax. Stressing over it will only make it worse. I usually use a really great face mask with drying agents like Sulfur in it. I swear by Murad's Clarifying Mask, pictured below. Another great one (for more product for your buck) is DDF's Sulfur Theraputic Mask.

I use a face mask about once a week. The best way to use a face mask is to use it right after you get out of the shower. Not only will your pores be opened up from the steam, but it's time-efficient to let it dry while you're picking out what to wear. I also use a Facial Peel once or twice per week but I think that's more to add sheen to your skin and prevent some aging issues, so I wont get into that.

It's also important to use a Facial Scrub almost every day. I use mine in the shower, where I also always wash my face. I like it because I remember to use it as a part of my daily routine, and also you just stick your face under the nozzle to rinse it off as opposed to taking forever to get it all off at the sink. My favorite scrub is also a really inexpensive one. It's the Blemish and Blackhead Control scrub from St. Ives.

After the scrub I always, ALWAYS use moisturizer. Women with oily skin, like mine, sometimes think that by skipping moisturizer they will eliminate oil from their skin. This is totally untrue. Your skin needs moisture, and if you don't give it to it then your skin is going to go into overdrive to hydrate itself. Ironically enough, by not using moisturizer you are actually increasing oil production on your face. I really really love Cetaphil for my sensitive skin. They offer a lotion as well as a cream for those dry winter months. In the mornings I normally don't wash my face, but I will almost always use a face spray. Evian offers one, as well as many other companies. It's just the right amount of mist for your face to get a little moisture kick. If my skin is feeling particularly oily, I may use a serum, such as the Vitamin C serum from The Body Shop. I just went to their site, though, and it's looking like they may have discontinued it. I'd say go for a serum that feels silky in your hand, and usually one with some kind of skin benefit like Vitamin C to keep out free radicals. They do offer a Vitamin E one, I may try that next. Another fantastic one is Patricia Wexler's MMPi20 Skin Regenerating Serum. It's pretty pricey, though, so I don't normally buy it.

Past that you just kind of have to sit and wait. The one good thing about Cystic Acne is that it's not usually very high off of your skin, so unless you're aggravating it it's not as noticeable to other people as it is to you. A little of that Almay concealer should do the trick, maybe followed by setting it with an oil-free loose powder. Usually at night I will Monster out and use a drying lotion, like Bye Bye Blemish. You can get it at most grocery stores even though it's an "As Seen On TV" product. You have to be sure to follow the instructions, though, or you're wasting your time. It's important not to shake the bottle but only to use a q-tip dipped in the pink portion of the medicine. The clear part is not going to do anything. It sort of looks like an unshaken bottle of Salad Dressing Vinaigrette, only use the bottom half. You look like you got attacked by mosquitos and used calamine lotion on your face but it gets the job done.

So now you know everything I know about pimple care. We all get them, they suck, and we hate it. But it's good to know there are things you can do to prevent and treat breakouts when they come along. Enjoy!

Love,

Lula Mae

Top Ten Essentials.

Now when we started this blog, my affiliate and I sort of agreed that I would handle the health stuff (a passion of mine), she would handle fashion (her passion), and we would both tackle beauty. However today I felt compelled to do a fashion piece... so my apologies go out to the REAL fashionista here because I am a simple person of clothing admiration.

Often in magazines I see these lists of "staple clothing," and it's usually the same old boring thing: little black dress, white button-up shirt, etc. I think there is definitely truth to that, but I think that they often neglect to tell you what is essential to invest in, and what is not. Some essentials can be found at bargain prices, while others are almost pieces of art that you want to make sure you put your money towards knowing they will appreciate in personal value upon repeated use. So here is my list of essentials, along with whether I think they ought to be pricey or not- and where to look for them. Keep in mind that my personal style is somewhat boho with a mixture of classic in there someplace. If this is not you, this may not be your perfect list. Hopefully you enjoy it just the same!

1. JEANS. I wear jeans more than anything else in my closet. I used to buy jeans from places like Fashion 21 or some other cheapie store and realized that I had about 8 pairs of cheap jeans in my closet that I never EVER wore. I had never bought into the trends of buying $100 jeans until I got a gift certificate for my birthday last year and invested in some jeans from Guess that I fell madly in love with. They fit me just right in all the right places, they were the PERFECT wash, and (lets face it the most important part!) the butt pockets looked cute. They were around $100, which is pricey but nowhere NEAR some of these other ridiculous jeans in the $300+ range. On top of that, I know that jeans are an article of clothing that I am going to wear A LOT, therefore making that investment well worth it. Not to mention that one pair of great $100 jeans is worth the 8 pairs of $25 jeans I never wear.

2. FLIP FLOPS: I'm sorry but I life in Southern California and flip flops are my best friend on the planet. Some people like to go out and spend a ton of money on Haviannas since that's what the celebrities wear, but I am a hardcore Old Navy sandal fan. You can buy pretty much any color for $5, and they have 2 for $5 sales ALL the time.

3. While we're talking shoes, ONE PAIR OF GREAT HEELS: Minimum. My favorite pair is Trinite by Steve Madden. They're a little pricey, maybe around the $100 range. But they're not at all difficult to walk in and I get more compliments on them than anything I own. 4. WIFEBEATERS. I know it sounds unclassy, but a nice (not grungy) wifebeater can be your best friend. You can wear it plain, with a cardigan, or even under a nice vest for a funky edgy look. I prefer to buy vibrant colors and you can find them at nearly any cheapie store for a few bucks. I recently bought some racer-back ones from the little fashion-junkie store at 5-Points (for any of you HB locals) that have beautiful lace on the racer part of the back. It dresses them up quite nicely, I think. (PS Unlike this picture, I prefer them looooong!)5. NOT-SO-LITTLE AND NOT-SO BLACK DRESS. For as long as I can remember, I have been hearing praises of the LBD. I bought into it and I admit that I own a little black dress- but!- I never wear it. I hate wearing black to formal events because it A. Doesn't make you stand out and B. Look (and feel) like you're going to a funeral. So I say screw the LBD and get something that maybe is reserved, but not that reserved. I mean, come on, The Great Depression is over people, all hail the bright cheery dress! This is something that you may want to invest a little bit of money in since you'll be wearing it to formal events. You might also want to invest in a matching pair of shoes to complete the look for the same reason. In a perfect world, this would be my go-to (From Anthropologie):6. LOTS AND LOTS OF FUN DRESSES! Dresses are a great item to not spend too much money on because you can get sort of trendy dresses for fairly cheap at, say, Forever 21. You probably aren't going to be doing a lot of heavy labor wearing a dress, so you can get lots of inexpensive ones without worrying too much that you will only wear them once before they tear or something. Here are a few of my favorites from Forever 21:

I seem to have a tougher time finding stuff online but always have luck at say, Target and Forever 21. Here are some darling dresses from Mod Cloth but they're a little pricier. I couldn't help but post them, they're too cute!:

7. LEGGINGS. My new favorite trend. I mainly go with basic black, and I like to put them under a dress that might be just a TAD too short.

8. NICE TENNIS SHOES. I have had a pair of Converse Jack Purcells on hand since I was in middle school. Black is the best and they look really great with black shoelaces instead of the white ones.9. A NICE BLAZER. You can actually get one for cheap at Target (about $35). I just bought a black one that I absolutely LOVE, and I'm thinking of going back to get it in tan and/or grey. For some reason Target wont let me swipe pictures, but you can go to their site or just look in store.

10. TWO GREAT PURSES. I prefer leather, and it's good to have one in black and one in brown. I got both of my favorites at Target for a really decent price and every time I go there they seem to have super cute ones for cheap! Another amazing purse shopping site: Ross. Seriously the best!

Good luck, ladies!!!

Love,

Lula Mae.

MAC Attack!

Well Ladies and Gentlemen (I guess just ladies)... I have finally caved into the MAC sensation.

I have been told for YEARS about how much all of my fellow beauty junky friends love MAC cosmetics. I'm not really sure why I never jumped on the bandwagon because with make-up, at least, being a trend follower can be your greatest idea. There's just a LOT of make-up out there and it's tough for a girl to figure out what works and what doesn't. And lets face it, when you get into the higher-end makeup it can get really, REALLY expensive. I think that for some reason I was under the impression that MAC was ridiculously expensive and never bothered with it. The irony is that is so totally far from the truth. I recently bought myself some Mineral Pressed Powder as well as a Mineral Blush Duo from their Pret-a-Papier line.

First of all, the powder is fantastic. I have always been afraid to use heavy powder because I have freckles and anything too thick makes them look ashy. The make-up artist at MAC told me, however, that simply using a brush instead of a sponge and also getting a Mineral Powder would be a great idea for me. My face tends to get a little shiny by mid-afternoon, so touch ups are a must. But for the most part I am way into this stuff!

The blush duo I got is great because it's got a lovely peach glow as well as a bronzing powder (hence it's called a "duo"). I am going to need a smaller blush brush to apply them each without mixing too much but my sister could NOT stop gushing about how much she loved the blush on me. I even looked at pictures from me the whole weekend I was in Colorado on vacation and for the first time I look "glowy" instead of "shiny."

Needless to say I think I may do a bit more exploring of their selection once I get some extra cash! In the mean time, here are some links I've been checking out for make-up tutorials when I need a little help!

http://makeupbytiffanyd.blogspot.com/

http://www.youtube.com/user/kandeejohnson

http://www.jessicaharlow.com/

Love,

Lula Mae

Subway Orchard Chicken Salad Sub

Holy smokes! I am eating this right now and it's delicious!

Subway just came out with this sub and it's on the menu until July. It's my new favorite sandwich (except when I get that spicy-food craving!) from Subway AND it's shockingly nutritious. Coming in at only 261 calories (for a 6-inch) and 4 grams of fat, it's a great deal for your waistline. The only downside is that it's pretty high in sodium, but isn't pretty much any kind of deli meat sandwich you're going to get from Subway? Anyway, my favorite part is that it's made with light mayonnaise. I don't know about anyone else but I did NOT see that one coming. It seems like it's impossible to find a light-mayo chicken salad anywhere unless you want to make it yourself. The rest of the mix has chicken, apples, raisins, and cranberries. It's got quite a bit of flavor so honestly I didn't even see the point in putting my usual vices on it: chipotle sauce and cheese. That alone saved me about 160 calories on my meal. All you need is a little lettuce and maybe some cucumbers and you're good to go. Add a light lemonade and some apple slices and you have a full meal for about 300 calories... and not some gross low-fat meal, but one that will actually leave you satisfied in stomach AND taste buds.

I mean, DAMN.

PS I didn't post a picture of it since all the online ones were from other restaurants and I didn't want to misrepresent, but I assure you it makes you feel like this:

Love,

Lula Mae

Cinco De Thinko.

I suspect that my entry today will seem pretty long, just as a warning. I just finished watching "The Price of Beauty," a VH1 show by Jessica Simpson, and my heart is full. It's pretty amazing how many women out there feel less than beautiful. And I know that I, for one, can relate to it because I have always struggled with my sense of self-acceptance. I normally don't try to post personal photos on here, in order to be more professional with this blogspot in particular. Today, however, I feel that I need to make myself vulnerable to the strangers out there who may be reading this- in order to explain the points I'd like to make.

As far back as I can remember, I have had self-confidence issues. I felt ugly or fat. Always. It was ALWAYS something. I look back on it now and just roll my eyes because I am in a much better place than I think I have ever been in that arena. It's funny how maturity will give you that gift. Because the reality of it is that I am no less heavy and no more attractive than I have ever been in my life... I think I am just getting better at accepting my flaws and for that reason they are disappearing, as flaws, in my mind. Let me emphasize this point: They are disappearing AS FLAWS. My weight isn't changing significantly, my skin imperfections aren't going away, and my nose isn't getting smaller. I simply choose to see them as "parts of me," rather than "flaws of mine," and for that they seem more in place. I think that often-times, people hear that someone has accepted their flaws, and sees it as laziness. Like that person was finally like, "Alright, look. I've been working my ass off at the gym and I'm tired of it. I want to quit... I'll just accept that I'm not naturally skinny." I call bull crap. I go to the gym MORE now than I ever have in my life. I've simply changed my outlook on my body. I don't want to be the skinniest girl on the planet anymore. I don't want to eat Granola Bars and water for a week to lose 5 pounds. I want to be healthy from the inside. And I'm not trying to come off as some "spread joy and fairy dust" person here... I want to actually be healthier. I want my internal organs to function at their best. I want to get the right vitamins in my diet to have shiny hair. I want to work out and get the right nutrients so the chemicals in my brain allow me to live my life with joy and not depletion. I don't want to "deplete" from my life at all- I want to add to it! And you know something? I'm not the skinniest I've ever been. Do you want to see me at the skinniest I have ever (in my adult life) been? This is me around Halloween maybe 5 years or so ago:

I look pretty good, right? Well guess what? I wasn't eating! This was an emotionally low point in my life. I know a lot of people who read my blog are LDS and I normally don't talk about this kind of thing out of respect for that- but I was drinking A LOT. And I was drinking a lot every single day. My boyfriend of 2 years and I had just broken up and I was so depressed that all I wanted to do was get drunk and forget about it. Even my Dad, who has never talked to me about my weight, told me that I needed to start eating something. I mean I am by no means emaciated in this photo, but I was really, really not in a good place- health wise. A few months later was a Christmas party at my house... check this one out:

I am exhausted. And tiny. And EXHAUSTED. My poor little body was just so tired of running on no fuel and no nutrients. Even my hair looks stringy and kind of unkempt. See, ladies, this is what happens when you forget to take care of yourself!

Like I said before, at almost every point in my life, I have felt inadequate. When I was in middle school, my boobs weren't big enough. When I was in high school, I had braces. Even when I got my braces off, I had these two teeth (they're called your "eye teeth") that were smaller than the rest of my teeth. It's pretty common, actually. My point is, I was SO embarrassed of them that for YEARS I covered my mouth when I laughed or even smiled. People thought I was just plain rude. It wasn't until I was on my own dental plan that I finally got them fixed and felt comfortable enough to smile consistently without shielding it. It's amazing how much we care about the little things that no one else does. Look at these two photos, and tell me you can see a difference enough to tell me I deserved to cover my smile:

My point exactly. We, as women, spend so much time worrying about how much we weigh or how thin our lips are compared to Shiloh Jolie-Pitt's... that we forget what is the MOST beautifying thing of all: Self-love.

To close this out, I want to let you in on a little secret I recently realized. You know how people say that you "glow" when you're in love? It would seem that is because you have some kind of chemical/hormonal thing in your body that makes you just so happy all of the time. But do you know what I think the reason behind your glow d'amore? YOU. It's because you love YOURSELF, not some guy. Because if you do have a boyfriend, I'm guessing you must be pretty self-confident. Because lets face it, unless you're dating one of those total jerk guys who feeds off of your lack of self-esteem, guys like confident girls. Some Prince Charming didn't come along and magically make you start believing in yourself- he came along (and showed interest in you) because you started believing in yourself. No guy wants to date a girl who is constantly talking about how fat/ugly/flat-chested she is. This is why women rarely marry the guy they date when they're, like, 15. You just don't love yourself enough to let someone else love you too. And for some of us, it takes DECADES to get there. But trust me, it's worth the wait. I have, as I said before, never felt more comfortable in my skin. Sure, some days I will feel like a cow, and some days I spend WAY too long staring at that sneaky little worry line I'm afraid is coming to get me far too soon. But all in all, I love myself. For the first time in a long time. And because of that, I also feel in control of my body for the first time. I don't feel like how I see my body controls my attitude, I feel like my attitude determines how I see my body. And that's pretty freaking cool.

(self)Love,

Lula Mae

Step into a Slim Gym.

As the "scrawny kid" in high school, I never really saw much point in going to the gym. For starters, I absolutely loathed working out. I was on Swim Team all throughout high school and loved the fact that there was no running or throwing or catching involved in that sport. Mind you, it isn't that I am lazy! I love doing outdoorsy stuff like hiking or riding bikes or rock climbing. And between us girls, the larger I got in the brassiere, the more uncomfortable running became for me. Ditto with any other sport that involves jumping, hopping, or flipping upside-down for any period of time.

When I graduated high school, I stayed at a relatively similar weight as I had been for the past few years. Sure, I gained (and lost) some weight my Freshman year of college (who doesn't?)... but for the most part I stayed around the same number on the scale. But something happened that I DIDN'T expect or notice for a while: my clothes fit differently. While the scale comforted me with familiar numbers, the numbers on my jeans went up and up. Where I was once a size 0 or 1, suddenly I was buying size 7 and 8 jeans. It isn't that this is a large jean size, but for a 5'4" girl who hasn't gained any pounds, it's a pretty big leap. I chose to ignore it and remain satisfied that my beloved scale was still nice to me, at least. I dabbled in working out once in a while... 20 minute yoga videos, an evening walk. But I never really "exercised." And quite frankly, I never really wanted to so why should I, right? Wrong.
Studies show that women of all ages are looking to the wrong things to determine their health. We do daily weigh-ins, we yo-yo diet, we suck in our guts. But it isn't the women who eat diet food and weigh in every day that are healthy. In fact, it isn't the women who society deems "thin," that are healthy at all! Many women out there depend on coffee and cigarettes or diets consisting of lemon juice to lose weight. But guess what? You're not losing the RIGHT weight! When you diet and don't feed your body the nutrition that it needs, you aren't losing fat at all. The first thing your body is going to dispense of is the muscle in it. This is why my jeans weren't fitting after high school. I was losing weight, and also gaining it at the same time. I lost a lot of that lovely muscle I had gotten from years of swimming, and gained that weight back in fat. The scale showed the same amount because muscle weighs more than fat, so that I would lose a pound of muscle but I was gaining more volume of fat.

Think of it like a pound of bricks vs. a pound of feathers. The pound of bricks can fit in a relatively small bag, right? Now think of a pound of feathers. That pound of feathers is going to need a lot of volume to weigh that much, so it takes a much, much bigger bag. Your body is that bag. Need me to be more specific? Your ass is that bag. Your body can weigh the same and either have that pound of bricks in it, or that pound of feathers... your choice.
Interestingly enough, I still wasn't motivated to change anything in my diet. I wasn't "fat," so why bother? It wasn't until I had an unrelated surgery that I started to really take an interest in what I was putting in my body. As I was saying before: women can be teeny-tiny thin and ultimately MUCH more unhealthy than what some people might consider "heavy." Try not to think of foods as "high-calorie," "low-fat," or "the all-evil carbohydrate!" Your body is a delicate system of give and take. You need energy to complete your daily tasks. Believe it or not: you actually need fat too!

Just be careful which carbs, sugars, and fats you put into your body. I'm working on a book by Dr. Oz called "You On A Diet," in which he goes over a lot of this information. No- I am not on a diet. I'm simply trying to make sure I take care of my body and am as informed on it as possible. In the chapter I'm on he tells you the 5 things to steer clear of: Simple Sugars, Enriched-bleached-or refined flour, high fructose corn syrup, saturated fat, and trans fat. These are foods that "trick" your body. They turn down the volume on the little speaker in your body that says, "Okay, I'm full!" and add more sugars to your body than necessary. AKA- bad girl. Don't do it! I will go over the why and how on this in my next post.

But this post is about the stuff going on in the outside part of you: get your lazy bum to the gym! I have, after literally years of refusing to do so, gotten myself a gym pass. No more procrastinating for this young thing. I've discovered the most awesome part of going to the gym: being alone in a room of people. Yea, this sounds like a recipe for depression, but I absolutely love it. It's exactly what I've been needing for the past few years.

Every day I go to work. At my job, I am told what to do. I am told how to do it. I am so busy sharing my time, in fact, that I have had to answer the phone IN the bathroom. I transfer the phones to my cell phone on my lunch break and have to answer with a mouth full of food. My time is someone else's time for 8 hours of my day, 5 days per week. I get off work and go home. Usually I end up meeting up with my boyfriend or roommates or friends. We sit and chat about every one's days. We listen to each other's little dramas. I try, as much as possible, NOT to hog the conversation. My ears become my friend's. My shoulder becomes theirs. I chime in on their lives and meet up at their houses and places of work to talk. My time is their time. But when I go to the gym a wonderful thing happens. My time is MY time. I set the pace. I listen to my iPod and control exactly what mood I will have for the next hour or two. I can go when I want and stop when I want. And it's lovely, and it's selfish, and it's exactly what I need.
To close out the longest blogspot EVER, here are a few pump UP songs to download for your (hopefully) new thirst for gym time, and a few cool down ones as well! (Ps- if you hate running like me, I have fallen in love with the bikes there. Try it!)

PUMP UP:

AFI: Beautiful Thieves

ALICE IN CHAINS: Would

AUDIOSLAVE: Show me how to live

BEYONCE: Sweet Dreams

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE: Tears don't fall

CHEVELLE: Send the pain below

DEFTONES: Minerva

FINCH: What it is to burn

JAY Z/ RIHANNA/ KANYE WEST: Run this town

JUVENILE: Numb Numb

A PERFECT CIRCLE: Judith

RISE AGAINST: Dancing for rain

WIND DOWN:

THE BLACK KEYS: Psychotic girl

BRAND NEW: Sic transit Gloria... Glory fades

CALEXICO: Two silver trees

THE CARDIGANS: Explode

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: I'm on fire

THE DECEMBERISTS: Summersong

DEFTONES: The chauffeur

ERYKAH BADU: Bag lady (remix)

MURDER BY DEATH: Three men hanging

A PERFECT CIRCLE: 3 Libras

QUEENSRYCHE: Silent lucidity

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS: Wet sand

REGINA SPEKTOR: Eet

SHINY TOY GUNS: Putting on the ritz

Love,

Lula Mae

Me, myself, and moi.

I believe that no matter what your physical appearance looks like, no one can be complete without having some kind of emotional and spiritual balance in their lives. I know that when I lose that balance I usually end up running myself into the ground, completely frazzled. Trust me, I am not here to preach any kind of religious belief to you- I have always felt that was personal within people. But there is ONE extra special person whom I feel you must make an emotional connection with in order to live your life completely and spherically: YOU.

I know it may sound selfish but I have always been one of my number one priorities. I don't see that kind of behavior as self-absorbed, but rather outwardly concerned. I feel that one can never give fully of themselves to the world in need if they don't have themselves relatively figured out. You have to be at peace within yourself in order to bring any kind of joy or peace to the people whom you care about. But herein lies the modern woman's dilemma... where on Earth do you find time for YOU?

I find it fascinating how busy I am, and I mean really amazing. I am young with relatively few health problems, no children, no spouse, and while I try to involve myself in the community- I'm not exactly heading up any PTA boards if you catch my drift. So why is it that I seem to be running around like a chicken with my head cut off at almost all points of my day? A typical day for me looks something like this:

Wake up, rush to get ready for work, commute 30 minutes to my office, work all day (usually without a lunch break), get off work, commute 30-45 minutes home, take a shower, tidy up the house/my room/what appears to be my boyfriend's indoor tornado, help cook dinner/help eat dinner that my loving boyfriend has cooked while I clean up his tornado, watch a TV show, fall asleep.

You will notice that nowhere in there does it say, "Take a relaxing bath surrounded my Lavender candles," or, "Brush my hair 100 strokes." It rarely even says anything like, "Go to the grocery store," because there never seems to be the time or energy to do any of those things. And it took me some time, but I finally realized why. It isn't that I have no time on my hands, it's that I don't have any ENERGY left to give to doing much towards the end of my day. I have nothing left to give once I have been answering phones and assisting customers all day. And the reason? Because I need to take some "me time" before I can give anyone or anything else my time.

Me time is important because it gives us a chance to stop and breathe. It allows us to collect ourselves and therefore have a better "us" to present to the world. If I don't have a chance to stop and connect my thoughts together I will inevitably proceed with scrambled thoughts until I do.

Interestingly enough, Me Time doesn't have to be spent in solitary confinement. You can squeeze in some small amount of self-meditation in the darnedest of places. I read an interview with a Tibetan Monk who emphasized the ability to basically stop and smell the roses no matter where he was. In Tibetan culture, they take over an hour to drink their morning tea. This is because it is about so much more than drinking tea for them. It's the process of enjoying the tea. Taking sip by sip, rolling the flavor around in your mouth, and considering what you like about the tea itself. This may sound unheard of to most Americans, but it sounds just lovely to me. We all know better than to think life is about anything else but the ride.

I'm not saying that we ought to disregard our jobs and families and sit around dwelling on the meaning of Tea all day. I simply think that if we can find a few moments to clear our minds and focus on enjoying the things around us that we can subconsciously collect our thoughts and throw out the unimportant things clouding our minds. I, for one, have two things that I do to relax and meditate: showering and laundry. Showering to me isn't just a way to get clean. It's a way to rinse off the troubles of my work day and start my personal day fresh and worry-free. I have a difficult time going from work to play without mixing in a shower first. Laundry to me is the same thing. I enjoy the organization of separating laundry, and better yet the smell of it when it's clean and fresh. I take that time to have some "me time," and not think about the world at large. If I have an hour to spend on nothing in particular, reading or painting serve as my Me Time. It's all about what you can fit into your schedule that day. Spa days at home are also excellent when you have the time to commit to it. No matter what I do, my goal is to come out of it clear-headed and refreshed. And I usually do.

I highly recommend spending time with yourself. At the risk of stealing a line from L'Oreal: You're worth it!

Love,

Lula Mae

Reccessing riches

So as a girl who loves fashion, fashionista if you will, I love nothing more then finding that perfect shirt, bracelet bag etc. (okay its kind of an addiction) But as we all know all to well, times are tough and cutting back is something we've all got to do. But lets face it, I don't want to stop shopping! With the majority of my paycheck going to bills and student loans I need to get creative with my money so I still can afford to spend some money towards clothes. I recently discovered the BEST solution for a girl (or boy!) looking for some extra cash- Buffalo Exchange!! This place is awesome! I may be a bit late jumping on the bandwagon, but better late then never! I have to give a special shout out to the costa mesa location, the workers are friendly, and they keep the line to sell moving! I never realized what a profit there is in selling old clothes. For those of you like me that are new to this whole buy trade sell thing, the way it works is they go through each item you bring in, and if they think they can sell it they put a retail value. You then have the option of taking 50% of the total value in store credit, or 35% cash. Needless to say, I took the cash. I ended up with an extra hundred bucks that went towards those oh so cute new Tory Burch sandals I have had my eye on for months, which make me so much happier then some old clothes taking up space in my closet.

So the lesson is-

I highly recommend going through your closet and take anything you haven't worn for 7 months take it, sell it, and go buy something you will wear! Have a hard time letting go? I use to have this problem, so what I would do is things I hadn't worn in over 7 months I would put in a container in my garage, and give it a month. If I didn't go out and use, time to get rid of it!

Enjoy selling!

x0x0

lula mae

Green Giant

I have a confession to make: I am a closet foodie. I love to talk about food, I love to watch people make food, I am borderline obsessed with looking through recipes for that oh so perfect meal. The problem is that I don't really cook. It isn't that I can't cook, mind you, only that I don't really do it. I have no doubts in my mind that once I decide to hone my cooking talents I will blossom into a gourmet chef... I've just been too busy with my comings and goings that I never try to make anything much.

Since I'm a young, unmarried gal, though, I tend to have a bit of solo meal time. I don't have kids and my boyfriend (the real chef here) usually does the cooking when we get together- but I DO have nights alone where it's just me making a plate for one. For the longest time I would rely on diet TV dinners, but the more I read about different real meals, the more grossed out all those preservatives and freezer-burned vegetables seemed to me. Today I want to talk to you about one major part of realistic meals for one (or two!).

The number one rule I have learned in my quest for good health is that hardly anybody gets enough vegetables. Think about it- did you really get your recommended 3-5 yesterday? And no, potato chips don't count as a veggie! Come on, lovelies, didn't you get the memo that vegetables give you better hair, skin, and overall health?

Studies are finding more and more that women in the US are getting plenty of meats and dairy in our daily meals, but no where NEAR as many of those little green monsters. Here's the great news: vegetables are one of the easiest things to cook for just you, yourself, and you! The tricks are: incorporating it into your meals and considering portion size. The "best case scenario" dinner plate looks like this:

You should have HALF of the plate filled with vegetables (or fruit, but really it should be veggies), and a quarter of it meat/protein, the other with a starch. Yes, I know you can see that already, I'm just sayin'. So your main course, per se, of your meal should be that veggie! The problem is that lots of people don't quite know how to cook vegetables that aren't boring and bland. There are lots of awesome things you can make that will light up your plate AND your palate. Another trick, too, is using what is in season. Trust me, it will be a lot fresher and yummier- not to mention more "eco-friendly," if they don't have to ship it from some Lab in Timbuktu. There are a few different basic ways to make vegetables. Number one is steaming. If you don't know how to do this- it is SO easy and takes almost zero hands on time. All you need is a pot and a strainer of some kind. A few of my favorite things to steam lately are: Asparagus, Bell Peppers (I recently fell in love with Orange ones), Sugar Snap Peas, Carrots, and broccoli. I like to either dust them with a bit of butter, seasoned salt, or some Parmesan cheese for flavor. The best part about this kind of cooking? You can make as much or as little of the vegetables as you need! It's not like with a casserole where you make a ton and feel like the lonely cat lady as you eat it alone. Another great way to make vegetables is to fry them in olive oil, perhaps with a little bit of lemon juice and some Sea Salt and Black Pepper. I just found an cooking article with Asparagus, lemon juice, salt, and lemon rind that Im pumped to whip up. This one sounds dangerous due to the whole "frying in Olive Oil," but as long as you don't cook out all the great antioxidants- you need not fear Olive Oil. The studies on this bad boy are getting better and better and with that Vitamin C from the lemon juice this one sits to be a heavy hitter in the benefit arena. Another option is to bake them in a thick and yummy sauce- but it's a little higher in fat and should be used sparingly. Broccoli in a cheese sauce or Asparagus (clearly one of my favorites) in a peanut butter sauce can be delicious if baked correctly. Want to get an even easier meal? Buy yourself a Spaghetti Squash. It sounds complex but it is one of the EASIEST ways to sneak veggies instead of a starch into your meal. And it's delicious too! The "how to" is usually on a sticker on the squash itself- no research required!

The benefits of vegetables are amazing. chock full of Vitamins and Minerals, don't ignore these little buggers! If you are in a huge rush or (like me) don't have a stove and 30 minutes on your lunch break at work, you can buy microwave steamable veggies. If you're REALLY lucky you have time to get to your BBQ and cook your vegetables on the grill. This can be one of THE most delicious ways to make them. Kabobs are an excellent way to get your fill of the whole shebang. And not that it's closing in on Summertime it's the perfect opportunity to fire it up and invite a few friends over for some good low-fat eats. And now I leave you, hopefully pumped on the greens (and Reds and Yellows), with some pictures of your potential new best friend: awesome (and healthy!) food- totally doable by the solo diner: