2015

2015. I can't believe it's over.  It was a big year. 

Left LA for NYC. 

Stopped doing hair. 

Started my plus size company Liebling and Burke. 

Lived with one BFF and her fam. 

Drove across country with another BFF. 

Started a body positive instagram page @ignoretheshould. 

Traveled. 

Rachel and I got engaged. 

I mean so so so much happened in 2015. 

I totally neglected this little blog space of mine. 

With all of the change this year, I have at times felt a bit overwhelmed. Admitting that is pretty tough for me. I definitely am someone who is competitive and a no bullshit kinda attitude when it comes to working for something you want. I don't accept being overwhelmed very well. I get annoyed that I can't handle it all. 

That being said, I am now in NYC, "jobless" and working solely on Liebling and Burke and @ignoretheshould, and picking this blog up by its boot straps. Filling my days with Libeling and Burke and hunting for the new pieces for the shop has been exciting and frustrating. I really want to design, but with my budget thats not an option at this point. Sourcing clothes is something I will always do, but out of 1,000 shirts I may find 1 that I believe is good enough to offer the Liebling and Burke girl. Plus clothing is still really frustrating. I want to have the best pieces to offer girls. 

In Feb Rachel and I are traveling to Palm Springs for our friends wedding. I will get to see my friends who I miss dearly, and spend the weekend in Palm Springs. We will definitely be needing that by Feb since were expecting a massive snow storm to hit NYC tomorrow. 

Now I am off to the thrift store to search for an outfit to wear for the wedding.

xx

Jessica

 Thank the universe for good friends! My bff JESS put this little get away together for us at The Ace in Palm Springs. It really is one of my favorite places to be. We hung out and swam and talked and had cocktails and swam some more. I love spending time with my close friends. I totally realize how lucky I am to have so many amazing women in my life, and I tell them so on a regular basis. I can't wait for our next trip!

 xx

Jessica

MERCADO SAGRADO

Last Sunday my bff, and I spent the day in Malibu hangin at the Mercado Sagrado event. It was such a fun and beautiful day. There were so many fun things for sale, candles, tie dyed onsies, (for adults, yes please!) special oils, prints, blankets, more dresses than I could count, ceramics and so much more. I swear I wanted one of everything we saw. I was super pumped on the idea of having our aura photographs taken, but it was booked all day! Boo. We are def going to the next one because that needs to happen!! We hung on the grass for a while and ate delicious snacks and were inspired by some of the amazing dresses we saw. Baby Hayes also stood all by himself that day! Before we left I finally got the print from Otherwild I've been dying for. All in all it was a great Sunday!

Saturday afternoon I had an amazing and long overdue convo with one of my bffs. We talked about our plans for summer, what clothes we are eying at the moment, and everything else in between. Our convo drifted into body positivity and how important it is to get to a place of self love. She recently found a picture of me from summer some years ago. I remember the day well. I wore a dress I had scored at the thrift store and my new Kork Ease wedges. We were laughing because I was in a dress without tights and how ridiculous it was that I never used to show my legs.

 For years I kept my legs hidden. YEARS. But something clicked awhile back when I asked myself why. Really, why? That's so lame, they're just legs. I love walking in whatever city I happen to be living in, I love to dance into the early morning, I love to travel and explore; all things that I am so lucky to be able to do with the help of these legs of mine. But I was ashamed of them. I hid them away. I made fun of them like so many of us girls do to avoid the risk of someone else doing it before me. I was so mean to myself about my legs. I have my mothers legs. She was almost 6 feet tall and a dancer for life, she was never chubby. I hated being 5'6. If only I had gotten a few more inches from her I wouldn't have this squished down version of her legs. All I wanted were long dancer legs. But like I said, that all changed a few years ago, I got over it. I decided that I refused to feel bad about myself because my legs weren't what society had been trying to convince me they should be. These are my legs and they have taken me on wild adventures and places I never could have imagined!

 The journey of self acceptance I imagine will be a lifelong one as we get older and things begin to change, but it gets so much easier when you realize you are the only one who has to accept you.  We are not defined by our bodies and over and over we are told that our bodies equal our worth. What would happen if earlier in life we knew that wasn't true. That just being you and loving yourself not matter what, was enough. If we knew the problem wasn't our bodies, but what we had been told to think about our bodies. Think of how much shame and how many tears could be avoided.
This post is a reminder to myself and to anyone else that style, confidence and happiness are in NO WAY size related, and those legs of yours are just fine!
During our conversation I read her this quote I recently found I decided to post it here too. Its a really good one!

"This is a call to arms. A call to be gentle, to be forgiving, to be generous with yourself. The next time you look into the mirror, try to let go of the story line that says you're too fat or too sallow, too ashy or too old, your eyes are too small or your nose too big; just look into the mirror and see your face. When the criticism drops away, what you will see then is just you, without judgment, and that is the first step toward transforming your experience of the world." - Oprah Winfrey




This is the pic she sent me, I was so nervous that day showing my legs!

SCENES OF A SUNDAY

Sunday we decided to have a brunch date and it quickly turned into an entire day date! We brunched and road pedal boats. Then headed to Griffith park to lay in the grass, drink champagne and read. A couple of hours after that we picked up our pups and sat at a bar by our apt. and hung out for the rest of the day. Friends dropped by to say hi and share in a few beers. On the walk home we grabbed our fav dumplings. It was an awesome day filled with adventures and love.

 xx

Jessica

THE LAKE

My family has been going to Lake Nacimiento for generations. We spent last weekend in my families cabin and I was so happy to have my loves together in this amazing place.

My family built this cabin in the late 1960's and it looks almost exactly the same!

We played with bow and arrows and shot pellet and bb guns, go dirty and had major dance parties

Rachel got to fish all weekend.

We ate and drank and ate and drank some more. My cousin Ben is an executive chef in the Bay and has been wowing us with his creations since we were little.

We had the best brekkies with mimosas!

This lake has the ultimate sunsets.

Hanging with my tiny humans

I can't wait until our next trip!