My Birthday...and 6 days to Carrie!

Woohoo! Today is October 4 which means it's my birthday, which means I'm officially 21 years old! Yay! So far I've had a pretty great birthday. It's been chill, my roommates made me breakfast this morning--they really are the best!--and then I went to some class and watched some Friends, my most favorite tv show (currently on season 3!). The only bad part about my birthday is that I'm still sick from the cold I've had all week. I woke up this morning with a pretty nasty cough that carried over from yesterday but it's much better now that it's a little later in the day (definitely still there though).

To continue with the Carrie Underwood concert countdown (we'll call it CUCC for short), today's song is "Nobody Ever Told You," from Carrie's latest album (and probably one of my favorites) "Blown Away."

"Nobody Ever Told You" probably comes in second or ties with "Crazy Dreams" in my all time favorite CU songs. It's a song every single girl (and woman) should hear probably every single day of your life. I like this song because it's sweet, simple, and straight to the point. On my hard days, whenever I feel like I look terrible or like I'm just worthless, I play this song, and it really calms me. As a girl, sometimes you just need some to tell you what nobody ever told you, that you're beautiful, not just on the outside but on the inside too. And Carrie tells that to every girl in this song. :)


I posted the original version, but there's also a very good live version here. Personally, I think Carrie sounds even better singing live, which is crazy because the recorded songs are already amazing! I just didn't post the live one because it had more of a rock feel to it and I like the lightness of this song. Also, below is a video of Carrie talking about "Nobody Ever Told You." She explains it better than I ever could...enjoy!

Beautiful Heartbreaks

Hm. I'm just at a loss of what to write for this post. Actually maybe not. I have been watching or listening to this video multiple times every day this week. It is absolutely beautiful and comforting. Watch it. :)



Really, that song is amazing. With things I struggle with, or have struggled with, lately I've been so mad that I have them. It's not my fault that I struggle with certain things or have different trials, and it is not my fault that some of those things I have to choose to overcome and that they are so difficult to handle. Life is just so hard. But watching this video has been incredibly helpful because it let me realize that when these things happen, the view absolutely wonderful when you overcome them. The harder the challenge, the better the view...And it can become such a beautiful heartbreak to overcome these things. Because no, it's not my fault that I have different trials. But how wonderful if I can overcome them and turn them into something beautiful.

I think about Stephanie Nielson (in the video) and how she was burned by a fire, but no one looks at her as a problem or a trial. She is just seen as beautiful. Beautiful because she overcame something incredibly hard. I want to be like Stephanie and others like her one day. Anyways..those are just my thoughts of the day..

On a completely different sidenote, I really love this outfit. Red and yellow look just lovely together. And they are fall colors that can never go out of season! Plus the glasses just add something else altogether..something awesome haha. And one more sidenote....HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I will be sure to spill all the deets on my costume and Halloween events and such tomorrow!

Beautiful

Isn't this such a great quote? I think so :)

via

Also, there's a great article the NY Times wrote about being Young, Hip, and Mormon. I figured I'd share it since it talks about fashion and Mormons, and that's kinda what I do and love :) Check it out here! It has a questionable take on some things and I don't know if I completely agree with it all (especially at the end when it talks about "how to get around it," but it is an interesting read and I'd recommend it. It's cool that they New York Times is writing about Mormons and fashion. It proves that people are noticing and not in a bad way :)

What is Beautiful?

Over the weekend I bought the September issue of Vogue (which btw, is amazing--go buy it!) and was inspired by this Fekkai ad. I really liked it a lot. It's cool because it shows the dress being made,  then it shows it in the store window, and then it shows it on the girl wearing it.

The quotes in the pictures:

"Taking chances.

Grand gestures and acts of grace.

That is beautiful."

"The confidence of yes. The power of no.

The sense of adventure. The labors of love.

That is beautiful."

"When you enter a room and leave an impression.

When no one's watching and all eyes are upon you.

That is beautiful."

(the quote under the photo of Frederic Fekkai)

"Beautiful is how a woman lives. Beauty is in the mind, not the mirror. My question is not, 'What do you want to do with your hair?' but rather 'What do you want to do with your life?' That is beautiful. And that's where Fekkai begins"

I especially love that last quote. I like these sayings because for once, an ad isn't saying that beauty is how you look. Adventure. Love. Grace. Being able to say yes and no. Confidence. Taking chances. None of which depend on how you look. Granted, all the girls in the ad are all sultry-looking models, but still, I like the ad.

It got me to thinking that true beautiful women are not recognized enough in our society. At all. All the models are represented plenty in magazines and on tv, and I'm not saying they aren't beautiful. But I am saying that they are not the only ones who are. I don't know if I talk about it as much as I should, but I feel strongly about women's issues and I want to speak out about it more. I want to recognize women for what they've done, what they've overcome, who they have helped, and who they are. Every woman is beautiful and strong in some way. You might feel like you're not, but I promise that you are.

I'm gonna start a little blurb on my blog called Strong Women where I showcase a strong woman I admire in my life, or I could do you too! If there is someone you know or you that want to share your story or just share why you are beautiful, please email me at {kikicbrownee[at]gmail[dot]com}. It can be long or short, but tell me why you are strong and why you are beautiful and if possible send me a picture as well. If you want, it can be anonymous and we'll just put it under a fake name. :) You all have a reason. These will just be posted at random because there is no deadline and I don't know if anyone will submit or anything. But I feel strongly about this and I want women to have a voice! I'm really excited about this so please email me if you are interested. I would love it if you did. It kind of reminds me of the BYU Women's Service's "I am beautiful because..." thing they did, except I can't give you a photo shoot, but I can share your words. :) There are more beautiful women than we can count out there! Let's give you a voice!