Stunning Silver Hoops

Stunning Silver Hoops by chicineverycity featuring vermeil jewelry

Best Buys Abroad

Best Buys Abroad by chicineverycity featuring a wood bead necklace

Bare Necessities

Bare Necessities by chicineverycity featuring rib tank tops

Bare Necessities

Bare Necessities by chicineverycity featuring straight leg jeans

A Not-So-Mad Mad Lib

Remember Mad Libs? The create-your-own story by filling in the blanks? Well, yesterday I stumbled across an “If I Loved My Own Body” Mad-Lib on the web page one of my favorite non-profit organizations, The Joy Project, an organization “based on the philosophy of using real-world, workable solutions to end the epidemic of eating disorders.”  This Mad Lib is designed to demonstrate crippling power of poor body confidence. As creator Jessica Barker writes, “I guarantee this will make you see... that hating your body is holding you back... and want to work on feeling better about yourself” 

This exercise is extremely beneficial to anyone who suffers from poor body confidence. I know there have been times in my life when I didn’t want to go out with my closest friends because I felt so negatively about my appearance. It took me time to realize that comparing my insides to the outsides of others is a complete waste of time and energy. The only person who suffered was me. And yes, of course, there are times when those feelings resurface - but I use exercises like this mad-lib to help put my emotions in perspective.

Say No to Negativity!


By accepting and loving our bodies, we can ignore the “Itty Bitty Shitty Committee” on our shoulder and start embracing the blessings around us. Saying daily affirmations can also help to reduce negative self-talk and make room for thinking about more exciting, important parts of life!

Our bodies are incredible: they fight disease, create life, let us feel emotions, and, allow us to walk, run, dance, and sing - regardless of what they look like on the outside! Don’t belittle your body because of what how it looks, instead, be proud of everything it accomplishes! 

Embrace yourselves, beautiful women!

~ Jessica

P.S. For more information about The Joy Project, please visit their web page: http://www.joyproject.org/about/history.html

Again, here is the link for the “If I Loved My Own Body” Mad-Lib

Make New Friends and Feel Great!

Hello Beautiful Women!

  Sorry for the delay in posting and HAPPY 2011!

We’re well into January - the month of New Year’s Resolutions - and it seems the most popular resolution is to “Get Fit and Healthy”.  And why not? A new year offers a fresh start toward a more healthful you! The American Heart Association writes that daily exercise can reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes, improve cholesterol levels, boost energy level, alleviate tension and improve the quality of sleep! Furthermore, exercise releases endorphins that make you feel happier!

So what’s the catch? Often we feel the need to “go all out” in order to make a powerful and immediate change. But if results slow or stop, it can feel discouraging. Moreover, working out excessively combined with extreme dieting can lead to exhaustion, injury or worse.  

Instead, try slowly increasing the quantity and intensity of your workouts. If you already exercise regularly, try adding interval training into your workouts.  If you’re a first time exerciser - remember to first increase Flexibility (stretch daily!), then muscular Strength, next muscular Endurance and finally improve your Cardiovascular fitness. Rushing into cardio can be dangerous if your muscles cannot handle the stress - something I learned from fitness expert Jennifer Ricupero.


The Benefits of Group Exercise

I HIGHLY recommend looking for a type of group exercise that you enjoy! Group Exercise is unique in that it creates a supportive, structured environment and introduces you to a new group of people to whom you are accountable. According to Lynne Vaughan, the Senior Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer of U.S. YMCA, “People who workout in groups have been found to be more successful in keeping to their workouts then those who workout alone.” Furthermore, when working out in a group environment people encourage each other to push just a little bit further and to try new things!

Group exercise comes in every form and every exercise level! Classes like Yoga and Pilates increase flexibility and strength. Other classes, such as Body Pump and many Step Aerobic classes combine strength training and cardiovascular fitness. My personal favorite are Cardio-Dance classes like Zumba Fitness, which are an extremely fun way to get a great cardio-vascular workout! In addition, bootcamp-style classes offer an intense cardiovascular workout combined with strengthening moves. For those that have injuries, try aquatic group exercise classes; Zumba Fitness even offers an aquatic class! (Check www.zumba.com to find a class near you!)

Resolving to be more healthful is fabulous! But remember, be forgiving to yourself: if you miss a class, take time off or are injured, your year isn’t ruined! Learn from your mistake and keep going!!

Embrace yourself!

~ Jessica

Infuse your life with Music

Music is an incredibly powerful tool! It is a universal language that can definitively change your mood for the better! 

       Think about the following situation: you’re driving home from work, tired, exhausted, stuck in traffic, when suddenly a familiar, upbeat song starts playing. Instantly you feel uplifted, excited, and happy! One reason for this mood elevation may be that certain songs trigger happy memories in the hippocampus. Another explanation may be that the arrangement of sounds in certain melodies are especially pleasing to the brain. Research also shows that among the many benefits, listening to music enhances your special-temporal reasoning called the “Mozart Effect”. The bottom line: music is a means to happier moods and faster information processing!

How to infuse your life with happy, mood-lifting music! 

Start creating a list of songs that make you feel happy. Songs that bring up pleasant memories and that instantly brighten your mood. Keep the list with you on your phone or on a post-it in your purse or car. You’ll be surprised how quick and easy it is to come up with enough songs for a CD (or two or three!). Compile the list into a playlist for your ipod and make a copy for your car. Then, anytime you’re in need of a quick mood lifter, plug in to your custom happy-list! Warning: It’s hard not to dance and sing along!

       If you need help getting started, check out this article written by Beth Shapouri of Glamour Magazine about songs that “make you feel pretty”. Also, utilize websites like youtube to listen to compile information (like song title, artist, and album title) to make downloading the music even easier!

       And if you’re really stuck, here is a list of songs from my playlist simply titled “Songs that make me Happy”.

 **REMEMBER! This works best when you make the playlist of songs that evoke your own happy memories and are especially pleasing to your ears. Trust me, it’s worth the effort!

"Songs that make me Happy"

1. “Video” - India.Arie
2. “Stand By Me” - Playing for Change
3. “Chanda Mama” - Playing for Change
4. “Esta Noche” - Pedro Capó
5. “In These Shoes” - Kristy Maccoll
6. “Love and happiness” - Al Green
7. “A Deus Eu Peço” - Alexandre Pires
8. “She’s So High” - Tal Bachman
9. “Tu es Foutu” - In-Grid
10. “Rie y Llora” - Celia Cruz
11. “Someday We’ll Know” - Jonathan Foreman & Mandy More
12. “Never Let You Go” - Third Eye Blind
13. “Boogie Shoes” - KC Sunshine Band
14. “Suddenly I see” - KT Tunstall
15. “Garota Nacional” - Skank
16. “Maria” - Ricky Martin
17. “Ruby Blue” - Roisin Murphy
18. “Morenamia” - Miguel Bose con Julieta Venegas

Embrace yourself!

~Jessica