No One is Perfect

I am of the generation that remembers life without email (even without cell phones! I first learned to make phone calls on a rotary phone. Do people even know what that is anymore?).  I am totally dating myself, but AOL was the beginning when I was in school. We had to listen to the dial-up modem sound as we logged in to check our email.   We had pagers to keep in contact with our friends, and numerical codes to send messages (early texting shorthand: 143 = I love you, etc.)  

Then social media came along - we all had MySpace first, then Facebook blew up.  And everything has seemed like warp speed since then.  It's really hard to imagine life without all this tech now, but I do actually remember it, and am thankful I grew up when I did.  I think the stages of my life perfectly coincided with the growth of technology: I was young enough to grow with it, so it wasn't like I was trying to play catch-up learning it all, but the tech itself was still mild enough that I was able to get through the 'tough years' (aka adolescence) without the often harsh and critical social media world weighing on me.  While social media has created so many new, positive, creative forums and connected people in positive ways, it has also created a place for cowardly, immature and ignorant people to have a more profound effect than they ever should.  

And even as an adult, it can be hard not to let the media ( in all its forms) get to you.  Its only human to compare ourselves to each other, and its hard to remember that what we're seeing is only what other's want us to see.  I took some dorky photos during this session, but I obviously only used the ones I liked in this post.  I compare myself to others as well, and then judge myself.  But my goal of this blog is to be who I am, and share who I am and what I have to offer, and not be anyone else.  Because no one is perfect. And everyone is different. We all just need to be the best version of ourselves.

Classy Cut-Outs

Hope everyone had a fun/relaxing/productive/peaceful/whatever-you-needed-it-to-be Labor Day holiday.  We did extended family time on Sunday (BBQ at the grandparent's with my sister and her family), then Monday was just our little family.  We got up early, because with a toddler there is no such thing as sleeping in, and drove to Long Beach for breakfast, then to Huntington Beach Dog beach with the vision of letting the dog off the leash and the toddler splash in water.  But we learned that even just the flow of a crashed wave up the sand is a horrifying thing, and even mommy and daddy shouldn't let the wave water get them.  Even if they're are laughing and having fun. It is not a fun thing to witness, it is very upsetting.

So the dog beach was a bit of a bust, though the dog had some fun. The little guy fell asleep shortly after departing the beach, and took a nice long nap.  Then we were able to salvage the water experience of the day by going to the pool, which little dude loves, and he and daddy splashed there til dinner time.

For the beach I just wore my swimsuit and denim cut-offs.  But after cleaning up, I was loving this new top I got (under $20!)  It is minimalist and modern, with cut outs that reveal a little skin without revealing too much. You can wear a normal bra with it, and it is so easy to dress up or down.  Here, I dressed it up with some wide leg slacks and leopard print heels, keeping accessories to a minimum, to keep with the mono-chromatic minimalist vibe.

If you're on Snapchat, find me there at edstilettos, and you can follow my little family adventures.