Love * ly

On a recent visit to Anthropologie, I found this magazine called Darling: the art of being a woman.  I Instagrammed my find and joked with the caption, "Maybe my favorite kind of art, right ladies?"...but the fact is, that's the truth.

I really love being a girl.

As I've been looking through the magazine and putting some organization to my blog, it gave me an idea.  I decided that I wanted to set aside a post once a month to talk all things girls...guys, this doesn't mean I'm counting you out.  I've got ideas for you too! I'm just starting with the girls. :)

I thought it would be fun to use this feature as an excuse to talk about things from make up, skin care, planning out your wardrobe...to my view on feminism (yep, we're going there), femininity, friendships, relationships, Q + A's...you name it.

You see, I have a small theory, and it's that I think it a good thing to celebrate being a girl.  And I don't mean some kind of "girl power" let's hate on men kind of celebration.  Quite the opposite actually.

I believe that we are distinctly different (...not better, not less...but we'll talk about that later!) as women...and I think that is to be celebrated, not erased.  We range on a very wide scale of femininity...and that's good.  The distinctions within our gender are as vast as there are people, and I love that.

How do we love well in this role?...on those in your life, on life itself, and yourself...

Because of these questions, it seemed fitting to call this feature Love*ly...grace and beauty that extends to the heart and mind!  So whether it's something seemingly silly like painting nails, or we dig in deep like healing broken relationships...this is meant as a way to celebrate what makes us, us...women.

So, to kick it off, here are some of my favorite finds lately:

Darling Magazine
Like I said earlier, I recently found this magazine that I'm a little obsessed with!! The photography in it makes me giddy and the tips are so fun.  It's like a girl's best friend in magazine-form.  :)  It's a quarterly magazine, and as it's a little pricey ($20), I think I'll probably be buying one or two issues a year.  If nothing else, it's fun to flip through and look at the pictures. Their website is also a fun place to click through and read different articles posted there! Check 'em out: http://darlingmagazine.org/

Gevalia Caramel Machiatto K-cup
This is such a fun treat I recently discovered from a friend!  What I like about this is that it's not overly sweet at all!!  You pour in a packet of powder milk (comes in the box) and when you brew the espresso into the cup, it does a great job of frothing the milk!! I also got the Mocha Latte, but I don't like it as much...it's a little too sweet for me.  As would be expected, these are more expensive than regular coffee k-cups, so I definitely have been reserving these as a treat!! I got mine at Jewel Osco, I know you can also get them at Target, and as always, you can go to there website and order online if you want!...could be a good alternative to running out to Starbucks every day!

Gel Nailpolish
You may or may not have your nails shellacked or gelled (there's different names for it)...but it's where they paint your nails with this thick polish and you put your hands under a UV light.  It's great because it doesn't even chip for a couple weeks! However, it's expensive...I think it's like $40 a time.  Well, a while back, I looked into seeing what it would cost to do it at home...and guess what? The machine costs $40...so in two polishes, you've already out ahead!  It takes time so I don't do it that often, but if you like the little pampering but can't justify consistently paying for it (like me!...but I'm cheap), this is a good option!

Coconut Oil
Okay, I can't actually say that I really know what I'm doing with this...the lady at the store said I could put it in my hair, on my face, or cook with it.  I'll be honest, that wasn't really a selling point for me as I've never wanted to have to distinguish between what I put on my face and what to eat.  I've been using it as a moisturizer...I think I like it.  I'm not sure, I'll get back to you on that!!

"Magic" by Coldplay
I'm sorry, Chris Martin does very little wrong in my book...okay, the conscious uncoupling thing was really dumb in my opinion...but other than that, seriously.  I still stand by "Fix You" being my favorite music video of all time.  He's just kind of the coolest, so when this song, "Magic" recently came out, I may have already known I was going to love it...but it's always so nice when they don't dissapoint! :) I love. love. love it...and is definitely on replay in my house!  I'm going to have to stop listening before I start hating it...but that could be a while.