apricot tea.

apricot’s closet: hope.

Ev`Yan || apricot tea. — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:25:52 +0000

Hope shirt from Forever21; shorts from Ross; fishnets from Target; boots from Payless; jewelry is miscellaneous.

What I wore on Saturday at a Girl’s Night In at Nicole’s house, with Andrea, Allison, Kerri, Katelin, & Amanda; where we ate too much junk food & laughed until we bloody cried. My cheeks were aching by the time I left, having smiled & giggled all afternoon.

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new advice topics on ask apricot.

Need advice? Ask it on my advice blog, ask apricot! I am taking questions about fashion, love, beauty, or whatever else you’re having trouble with. To submit a question, simply go to the contact page & after you’ve read the instructions, send me your submission to my email. & don’t worry, you have the option to remain anonymous if you’d like.

nude.

Ev`Yan || apricot tea. — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:30:25 +0000

If you follow me on twitter, you know that I am doing Project 365, where I take one photograph a day for a full year. I started on July 1st, & have been enjoying the project so far. (If you’d like to see pictures from previous days, click here.)

On Tuesday, though, I nearly forgot to do my picture for the day. So I grabbed my camera after I’d just taken a shower & quickly snapped this picture. When I uploaded it onto my computer, I almost deleted it. I felt the picture was too… raw; too vulnerable. But for some reason, this picture really struck me. I just couldn’t delete; I didn’t want to. Perhaps it’s because it’s so honest.

I read something recently on The Demoiselles about taking pictures of yourself makeup-less (amongst other things). It was such an inspirational article; not just because the women who were brave enough to post themselves facially nude were absolutely gorgeous, but because I think it sends out a great message. By taking that plunge to show yourself sans makeup, you’re stating that you love yourself just the way you are. & I do; for the most part, at least.

Taking pictures of myself without makeup on isn’t anything new. I’ve done it before with several of my outfit posts (here & here, for example). But there’s something different about this particular picture. Maybe it’s because I am looking straight into the camera. Maybe it’s because my imperfections are so close up & obvious. Maybe it’s because there are no shadows on my face.

& while I could waste precious moments of my life picking apart my flaws — the blemishes, the peach fuzz above my lip, the fine lines underneath my eyes — I want to focus on what makes me happy about the way I look. I owe it to myself; after all, this is the only body I have. I may as well be nice to it.

So what is it I like about this picture? I like that my eyes are shining & you can see their true brown color. I like the color of my skin. I like the tiny little freckles on my cheeks. I like my nose-ring. I like the definition of my chin. I like my high cheekbones. & I like my full lips.

The more I look at this picture, the more I like it. Because that is who I am; that is the truest me there is.

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I want to encourage you to take a picture of yourself facially nude. You don’t necessarily have to post it online for all the world to see like The Demoiselles, Eyeliah, & I did. Take it for yourself. & don’t wince at what you see; celebrate & appreciate your unique beauty, sans makeup. If you need an extra push, this article should be of some inspiration for you.

my mother thinks jonathan & I are hippies.

Ev`Yan || apricot tea. — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:47:18 +0000

When she describes us as “hippies” I’m sure she means “obnoxiously environmentally conscious.” I think that’s an accurate description of Jonathan & I.

One thing that turned me on about Jonathan was his compassion in helping the environment. It is such a noble feat; one in which many guys (that I knew, at least) usually don’t give a shit about. But Jonathan did, & it was admirable. His kind demeanor & sensitivity to the Earth made me fall in love with him that much more.

Me? I wasn’t brought up to be friendly to the environment. I mean, my parents taught my sister & I not to litter, but that’s about as far as it went. I was the girl that would tear off 4 sheets of a paper towel just to wipe up a few drops of water. I was the girl that let the cashier put a small tube of mascara in a large plastic bag, rather than me opting to put it inside of my purse.

Since I’ve been with Jonathan, though, my lifestyle & personal choices have drastically changed. Jonathan has truly opened up my eyes & mind to many things I never wanted to focus on; partly because I was too lazy, but really because I was afraid of change. I think it’s so silly to be afraid making positive changes in your life, simply because you’re used to the routine. That was the biggest challenge for me: reprogramming my brain from thinking, “I’m going to keep the water running while I’m brushing my teeth” to “Shut off the water, Ev`Yan; you’re not using it.” Bad habits are the hardest to break, & thankfully, Jonathan has kept me accountable. Without him, I don’t think these things would mean as much to me.

what we do to make a difference:

We compost everything; banana peels, rotten vegetables & fruits, coffee grounds (with the filter), stale bread, used tissues & paper towels (you better believe it!), & other perishable food items. We also compost Sofie’s fur after giving her a haircut. You name it, we compost it. Granted, this is a little challenging to do in our apartment, because we only have a small plot of earth to work with, but we manage. As Jonathan first said when I asked him why he wanted to compost: “It came from the Earth, so it makes sense that it goes back to the Earth.”
We recycle everything; plastic & used plastic wrap, cans, used aluminum foil, cardboard, papers, & glass. Because we recycle & compost everything, we rarely throw anything away in a trashcan. That, in itself, reduces the amount of trash that end up in landfills.
When we DO throw things away, we do so consciously. We do not throw away batteries, electrical cords, broken appliances, compact disks, computer items, broken cell phones, etc. We make sure that all of those things go to e-waste, a place that safely discards electronic trash.
We use recycled paper products. & no, this doesn’t mean taking used toilet paper & sanitizing it clean so that it can be reused again. (That is what I thought at first.) It simply means taking recycled paper products & reusing them as paper towels, tissues, & toilet paper, so that we’re not cutting down trees to use paper products.
We donate to thrift stores. In addition to recycling & e-wasting, a lot of the things we no longer use are given to thrift stores. A lot of people tend to leave their unwanted items on the side of road, or in the middle of the desert. We take those things to thrift shops. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
We buy organically. While I can’t say everything we use is organic, a good majority of the food we put into our bodies is pesticide-free. There’s just something about knowing that our bodies are being nourished by 100% natural food. Not only that, but the dairy products I eat (since Jonathan is a raw vegan) are organic, as well. That means the cows were not shot up with hormones or fed strange diets. They are treated humanely & are given the utmost care.
We buy animal-friendly products. Most of the items we use are not tested on animals, & do not contain any animal by-products. For example: the soaps we use are made from vegetables, rather than from animal fat. We also don’t purchase leather, suede, fur, feathers, or any other kind of animal materials used to make certain clothing, accessories, or fillings. Most of the time, animals are slaughtered simply because companies want to use their bodies for miscellaneous things.
We use reusable bags for practically everything. When we go grocery shopping, we make sure that they fill the bags to the brim, so that we won’t have to use their plastic/paper bags. If we don’t need a bags, I’ll throw everything in my purse — which is rather large, anyway.
We conserve energy. We use only energy efficient light bulbs. We try not to keep the air conditioner or heater running for too long. We use candles for light. We take our showers within 5 minutes or less. (I am trying desperately to get better at this.) We turn off our computer at night, & try to unplug any appliances we aren’t using.
We are vegetarian & raw vegan. We do not support the killing of animals for a meal, & we do not support the the heinous conditions that these animals live in before they are slaughtered. It angers me deeply to know that people have an idea of how inhumane animals are treated before they become dinner, but continue to support the meat industry anyway. (Perhaps if they met their meat they’d see things differently.) & it’s not just about how poorly animals are treated: the energy it takes to produce meat is extensive; it, among many other things, is killing our planet. By being a vegetarian/vegan, we save water, & we prevent pollution from the factories it takes to package meat. Not to mention, the lifestyle is better for our health. & forget what you’ve heard about protein!
We do not kill any bugs. This is probably the most extreme thing we do daily. From the very first moment I met him, I haven’t seen Jonathan kill one bug. Not even the scary, hairy, ugly spiders. He said to me once: “Bugs are living creatures, too. They have hearts & souls just like you & I. What gives us the right to kill a living creature?” How can you argue with that? So instead of smacking a scary spider with a fly-swatter, we grab a plastic container with a lid, coax the spider into the container, carry it outside, & set it free. & yes, I do this, too, without fear or complaining. Spare a bug’s life & see how you feel afterward. Chances are you will not feel guilty, but uplifted. It’s a beautiful thing.

Now, with all of that said, I have to point out that we are not perfect. We have our little slip-ups here & there. (Mostly, it’s me that slips up. Jonathan has got this down to a T.) Sometimes we forget to put the reusable bags in the car, & must suffice to using plastic at the grocery store. Sometimes we can’t buy animal-friendly or organic products, because they’re more expensive. Sometimes I break down & buy chemical cleaners because they get rid of the soap scum better. Sometimes it’s inevitable that I buy shoes that are made of leather material. But what really matters is that we’re doing everything in our power to make a good percentage of our lives environmentally conscious.

A lot of people say that Jonathan & I are just 2 people outside of the billions who don’t give a fuck about the environment. But I sleep better at night, & I walk with my head held a little higher, knowing that I am doing MY part. I am absolutely proud of what Jonathan & I do together to make a difference.

& perhaps my new “habits” make me a hippie. But to me, it’s just common-sense.

[photo courtesy of weheartit.com]

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Q: what do YOU do to make a difference? & if you don’t do anything… why the hell not?

apricot’s closet: barefoot & breezy.

Ev`Yan || apricot tea. — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:01:05 +0000

tank-top & lacy undergarment are from Forever21; ripped jeans are from Xi; skull necklace is my own creation (which will be in the shop soon!)

This is about as comfortable as it gets for me (aside from this). There is nothing like a pair of ripped jeans — which aids in the better movement of your knees, if you didn’t know — & a loose tank-top to fend off those icky summer days. The less frills & accessories the better, I think. During the late afternoon, though, I switched to shorts.

On another note: I feel like I’ve been a bad blogger. Sure, I have touched on some sticky issues, but I never talk about what’s going on in my life RIGHT NOW. I’m not so good at that, as I am with reminiscing, story-telling, & being blatantly honest about things that happened in the past. I commend other bloggers who can so easily touch on sticky situations they’re experiencing in their lives right that moment. I can’t do it.

A lot of things have been going on in my life lately; personal things. The biggest thing that I have yet to elaborate on is my husband quitting his day job to be a full-time blogger & life coach. (I experience heart palpitations just saying that.) Eventually, when I can find the right words (& an opinion on the matter, because truthfully, I just don’t KNOW how I feel about it yet) I want to be able to talk about it. For now, though, it’s been steeping in my brain as I’ve been trying to make some sense of it.

Any tips on how to be a better “in the now” writer?

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juicy new topics on ask apricot:

Need advice? Ask it on my new advice blog, ask apricot! The submission form is now open, & I am taking questions about fashion, love, beauty, or whatever else you’re having trouble with. Just fill out this form! & don’t worry, you have the option to remain anonymous if you’d like.

apricot’s closet: june wrap-up.

Ev`Yan || apricot tea. — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:09:51 +0000

1. “book club” attire. 2. boring outfit. 3. romper.

I can’t believe we’re at the end of June already! Time certainly flies.

Also, I’d like to do a bit of bragging right now & exclaim that I made it to 1,000,000 hits on apricot tea!!! Wooooo! One million, guys! That’s like… a lot. & pretty monumental, if you ask me. Of course, I couldn’t have accomplished such an amazing feat if it weren’t for you lovely readers. THANK YOU. I have so much love for all of you that it’s practically oozing out of my ears.