I live a charmed life in the depths of Southern California, where the weather is just too haute, all year round. Join me as I live a life of genuine passion and true optimism.
*Disclaimer: The writing below these photos shouldn't worry you. I'm okay. Trust me. Thanks anyway for the concerned emails. Fashion:I don't have any outfits today because I can't find my camera. Sorry. But here are some photos for your pleasure. These photos are beautiful, and they reflect my mood.
Philosophy: All week I've realized that no matter what happens to a person, they never disappear. Ever. I don't mean to bring up death, but just think...when someone dies or when someone has to go away, are they really gone? Or are they still inside of you? You remember them, you feel them there...why? Because they are here. And do you want to know something? Moving on doesn't mean forgetting, it means remembering but pushing forward. Don't think goodbye is forever. It isn't. Goodbye just means you're parting for now. You'll always love them the same. Because time shouldn't change what's already been. Time determines the future, but it does not erase the past.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Love, Morena
(If you haven't done so yet, listen to the song at the top of this post, it really is beautiful beyond comprehension.)
P.S. A shameless plug but a favor nonetheless to a good friend. CLICK HERE. It's a pretty good place.
Fashion: I love this outfit. The skirt is vintage United Colors of Benetton and the top is thrifted and the shoes are Chinese Laundry.
Philosophy: I've been feeling lucky lately. It's not even just happy anymore. I just feel lucky and grateful. A bit strange but I like it. I just keep looking around to make sure everything's real. I feel like I'm in a fantasy land where I'm just smiling all the time. It's great though. Anyway again I must apologize. I've been sick on and off, and I guess the rest of life has gotten me quite occupied. I hope all you are well! Thank you for sticking with me.
Have a wonderful evening! Love, Morena
P.S. Please go to: MyFashionPlate.com. It's an amazing new site I discovered! You all would love it.
I think we all need some lightening up. So I created Operation Solace. Basically every time you complete a task on the following list, I will enter your name into a giveaway, but the ultimate prize is secret. But even if you don't win the giveaway, at least we know we contributed to some solace, especially in this economy. Now you must submit a photo or video every time you complete an item on the list. And send that photo or video here to WithLove.Morena@gmail.com If you for some reason can't send a photo or video, email me and let me know. Thank you again!
Now for The List: 1) Take a sticky note, put the words "You're still beautiful" (or something to that effect) on it. And then place it in a public restroom's mirror, OR in the weight watchers, diet pills, slim fast etc. sections at the grocery store. This requires a photo. 2) This one is for you. Play your favorite dance song, and dance to it any way you want until you feel even a blip of joy. If you send in a video for this, it's worth three entries. 3) This one requires no photo or video, but you have to be honest in doing it: I want you to give a random compliment to someone you wouldn't normally pay attention to. 4) Go out one day without any makeup at all and dress simply. And maybe you'll realize how wonderful you really are, without any of that extra stuff. This requires a photo. 5) Smile your most genuine smile. This one definitely requires a photo.
Remember to leave a separate comment for each task you complete. I'll post more task periodically throughout the following months. Thanks! And sorry I've been MIA. I'll reply to all comments soon.
Have a wonderful time doing these! Love, Morena
P.S. If you don't want to be entered in the giveaway and just want to do this for fun, still send me photos/videos. I want to put them together in a post to see what we've accomplished.
Listen to this song during this post. Fashion: I've been dressed really simply lately. These photos I took inspired the simple grey tulle dress above: Philosophy: Nothing really philosophical today. How about another word that starts with a P? Poetic. I've been very poetic lately. Just in the way I feel, dress and in my writing as well. I find that I keep staring out the window with Alanis Morissette or Imogen Heap playing in the background. It's a bit strange honestly. Usually I'm really obnoxious blasting "Just Dance" on full volume. (Which I still do, but less than usual.) Anyway, point is, I've been very somber in recent days, and I think I like it.
***I'd like to apologize for being such a bad blogger and responding to emails slowly. So very sorry. I promise to be better.
I'm so very easily indulged, and I fall in love easily. I've fallen in love with ballet all over again.
When I'm in class I feel like anything bad that I've ever felt, I get to leave outside the studio. In studio, I just feel bliss. Nothing else exists. I'm insuperable. Each turn, each leap, doubts fall away. All of a sudden my belief that everything's going to be okay, is confirmed.
It validates my desire to be alive and my willingness to believe in hope. What makes you feel this way?
Have a wonderful day. Love, Morena
P.S. It's a beautiful song, no? I'll return my normal music player soon. Oh and thanks to everyone that entered my giveaway. I backdated it so it won't show up on my homepage anymore.
Fashion: Leslie Horby is Twiggy's name. This dress gives me the pleasure of feeling like I'm vicariously living through Twiggy. I had fun twirling in both these pictures. Does it look like I'm twirling? Dress: H&M, Shoes: Vintage via the Vintage Collective, Clip: Claire's
Philosophy:Belleinspired me (when I read thispost) to answer a question that I've honestly not given much thought to before. What ismy definition of friendship?
Friendship to me is when you've made enough of a connection with another person, that they know every way to make you cry, yet they do everything to try to make you smile. The end.
What's your definition of friendship? I'm looking forward to hearing it! Have an amazing day.
I have made many friendships in my past year of blogging. And I've discovered blogs that I just adore because they excite me, keep me smiling, or maybe just because the blog is so cute! Well for a while now, I've been so fascinated by one particular blogger.
Her name is Cammila, and she's an amazingly sweet and inspirational person...on top of being so stylish and absolutely gorgeous. (She's one of those people that won't let you stop smiling when you speak to them.) I was captivated by her blog the minute the page opened up. If you check out my magazine's blog, you can see her pictures in the header.
Here's a montage of my favorites from Cammila's Archives: She's adorable, no? And a lovely personality to top it all off. She has many more outfits that are amazing. I swear she really does remind me of Audrey Hepburn sometimes. Just her over all vibe screams iconic to me. Photo Credit: Cammila & Ryan Hyde
Have a Lovely Day, Morena
P.S. On my post below, I'm still awaiting to hear everyone's dreams! I'm so intrigued by what I've heard so far.
Woah, two weeks without my fashion/philosophy posts?
Fashion: Emma Watson for TeenVogue was stunning and styling was amazing. I'm proud of TeenVogue. My favorite cover yet. Philosophy: "What I really like about your blog is that I can see how you're so full of happiness when you write. You can tell it's your passion. Every time I read your blog, I wish that I loved something so much, and I could have a whole website about it. " A girl named Taylor had said that to me.
Hearing that made me think...
You see, no one ever actually asked me if "I loved fashion." It was always just assumed, I guess. My vocabulary does not consist of that phrase to be honest. So hearing Taylor tell me that, it made me think, DO I love fashion? The obvious answer is yes. Because it's like duh, how can I have a fashion blog and not love the fashion industry? But when it comes down to it, my answer is no. I do not love the fashion industry. How can I possibly love something so based upon superficiality, competitiveness, and backstabbing? I don't love fashion, I love the feeling it gives me.
You know those people that say "fashion chose me." And it sounds so cliche when they say it, but now I've come to realize that that's true in my case. I didn't choose fashion. I didn't choose the feeling I get every time I talk about or live in it. (And yes, I do live in fashion. It's consumes my life.) We don't really have much control over our emotions anyway.
I can hardly find a way to explain this with words, but here is how I feel every time I get dressed, read glossy pages, or just anytime I indulge in fashion in any way: I start to get butterflies in my stomach, and I can't stop smiling and all that's running through my head are the same two sentences: "This is my future. This is my life."
I believe more than anything that I have a future in fashion. It really is my passion. It really is my dream.
So it's my one year blog anniversary? Wow, July 7th already.
I didn't think this day would come so soon.
Let us reminisce...(the bolded words are links) I've changed so much since my first post on this blog. If you compare this post, to this post, you can see how I've matured in terms of just writing, and how my spirit's just grown as well.
During this one year, I've reached my happiest point, and my lowest point. And I've been lucky enough to have amazing readers with me through it all. And when I say amazing, I really do mean it. Honestly, I do mean it, all of you are amazing.
I remember this outfit post, it was the point where my blog was established as a fashion blog. It's probably one of my favorite fashion posts, and it was the first time I got so many comments.
And then the blog evolved when I posted "The Art of an Innocent Child." It was the first time I had posted something that was not so superficial. And that's when it all started...the posts about life, love, and inspiration. The blog went from a shallow fashion blog, and became this blog full of my fashion/philosophy posts.
Remember this? It's one of my favorites as well. This post was beautiful.
So you see? So much has changed, no? I went from this little girl desperately trying to get readers, with my hideously wrong grammar (which I thought was so cool)...to this young girl who's indulged by the mere idea that she's lucky enough to be alive. (And of course now she uses perfect grammar. Well not perfect, but she's close enough.)
The only thing I can say to you now is... THANK YOU for everything. My life was definitely better this year than any other.
Oh! And I had a little surprise for you... I started my own online magazine. (Enamor Magazine)
Again, thank you for everything. Your comments enlighten my already bright spirit. Here's to another great year to come.
With Love, Morena
Now I leave you with my favorite photos from this past year:
(Yes I'm wearing the same top as above. What can I say? It's my favorite top.)
Fashion/Philosophy again. Sorry I haven't posted in a week. Fashion: Here's what I call my Sunday Brunch Dress. I love how it fits.
Philosophy:My take on death... This week has brought up many thoughts that we often like to avoid as living human beings. We don't like to think that any day can be our last day here. We don't like to think about the fact that this is our one shot because this life doesn't happen again. I personally have accepted that we all will die someday. I just make sure that at the end of each day, no matter what's gone on, that I still look forward to tomorrow... if I'm fortunate enough to even have a tomorrow. Death happens, you know? It's a fact of life. I find it quite ironic actually that death is a fact of life.
So although Farrah Fawcett's death was expected, it was still a tragedy but now she's a real angel. Although Michael Jackson's death was unanticipated, let's focus on celebrating his life, not his end. Even though we lost Ed McMahon, let's be happy he lived a long life until 86. And although Billy Mays died this morning from an unknown cause, we will always remember his bright spirit.
I must say however, Farrah Fawcett resonated with me the most. I loved her. And most the promos on TV about her are saying, "Farrah loses her battle to cancer." I cringe everytime I hear that. Farrah didn't lose. How could she possibly have lost when she kept fighting until the end? In her documentary (Farrah's Story), she kept saying that her "desire to live was something she'd never compromise." She is my biggest inspiration for her courage and faith. Farah Fawcett was quite amazing. ♥
Have a great evening. Love, Morena
P.S. I'm so sorry for not replying to all comments. I've been a bit distracted.
Hello. Please excuse the mini hiatus. I was a bit busy to say the least.So it's that time again, Fashion/Philosophy. Fashion: Claudia from Painterly Pig painted me in an original design of hers! Thanks Claudia! It's absolutely beautiful. (Please do not repost. This is copyrighted.)
Philosophy: This past Tuesday I was introduced to a charity called Love146. Basically what it is is a charity dedicated to prevention of child sex trafficing in different countries. However, they also provide what they call "after care" for children who've gone through the traumatic experience of trafficking. As I browsed their website I came across: this video. When I saw it, it didn't make as big an impact on me right away. But I guess I was subconsciously affected because I had a dream about it last night. I woke up this morning and I looked into it even more. I am absolutely disgusted by sex trafficking. And now I know that I'm meant to do something about it. I have no idea what, but it has to be something. Educating you and posting about this has to count as a start. And watch the video. They're an amazing organization, and the founder seems so kind-hearted and sincere. So please, go find out more.
Have a great evening. Love, Morena
P.S. Thanks for all the birthday wishes. I adore you for that.
Okay well Happy Birthday to me. :) This is my first birthday having a blog. I've lived another year, and it was better because of people like you who come visit me and comment.
Hope you had a good Monday. Love, Morena
P.S. I did so much shopping today so expect some new vintage outfits posts coming up soon. I had an amazing day. P.P.S. The Lakers won...and I'm happy.
I was watching ANTM reruns today, and of course I was inspired. So now you must indulge in my cliche "model 101" poses. ;) I wore this outfit to go bowling. It was a fun night.
Philosophy: I love the song by Carrie Underwood, "Ever Ever After." It's the abridged version of my life story. My favorite lines are: Sometimes you reach what's real just by making believe Unafraid, unashamed There is joy to be claimed in this world ... No wonder your heart feels it's flying Your head feels it's spinning Each happy ending's a brand new beginning Let yourself be enchanted, you just might break through
I want everyone to believe in Happily Ever After because it does happen. But I don't think people are afraid of believing it, I think they're afraid of being disappointed. Life's too amazing to not have hope and faith though.
I always wished that people could see the world through my eyes. Because from where I am, I never once saw a barrier in front of possibility. I see an open world awaiting the story I'm about to offer them, which is my story. Every moment we're alive, we're in the process of creating ourselves and our story. The point of life was never to find yourself, I always saw it as a place where you can create yourself. So, whether or not you will experience a happy ending...well that's up to you. You really can not leave everything up to fate right?
So it's almost official. The school year is over in two days.
Of course I'll miss the girls moving, as well as the ones graduating. I'll definitely miss these two:
Here's the same picture above but from a long shot. The view is gorgeous: This was definitely my favorite "photo shoot." It was amateur, but so fun. I think the pictures turned out very cute. Dress up is twice as fun when you take pictures right after. Another reason this was so amazing was because I quite enjoyed my time with my fellow models. ;) What a pleasantly spent day.
Have an amazing day yourself. Love, Morena.
P.S. I just found out Chelsea created a blog yesterday. (She's the one in the blue dress.) CLICK HERE to see her blog. I'm sure you'll love it. She has just as much perspective and talent as I...maybe even more. ;)
P.P.S. I had to answer an interview question yesterday. And I pondered over the answer for a while, and then I realized how hard it is to truly say who you are and then translate it into text. So here's the Q&A: 5. What do you think sets you apart from other girls in your community? I would have to say the one thing that definitely sets me apart is my spirit. I have a free spirit full of unbelievable amounts of hope and ambition. I discover beauty in everything I encounter, and I truly find this world as such a wonderful place despite the cynics surrounding. I have an inevitable appreciation for life; I think I've fallen in love with it.
That paragraph took me about an hour. Silly me. It ended up being such an easy answer in the end.
***One last thing, I just wanted to say thanks to all my readers. I didn't notice that I have 56 followers now. I can't even believe that. And I also can't believe that I renew that hit counter every day, and I get over 10,000 hits a day! Ridiculous. I am really not that interesting. ;) Thanks so much for just being the nicest people in the world. I seriously look forward to coming home and reading all your emails and comments every week. Summer's here so I will definitely be spending more time on your blogs. *sigh* How come I was so lucky to meet you guys?
Another Fashion/Philosophy segment. Enjoy. Philosophy: Mistakes are made. I'm over that fact of life. It's just important that we learn. Recently someone very close to me made an irreversible mistake, and even though I can't change it, I now know to stray away from the same path.
Yesterday, very insightful individual said to me, "You live to make the world better, not the same." Personally I live by example, and I have every intention to make this world "better." I will not do the same things my friend did. I can't be angry at her because it's her life and she can do what she wants. I can just thank her because I now fathom the effects of her actions and I won't repeat them. Too bad she didn't know better. Mais, c'est la vie, n'est-ce pas? I still love her of course.
And now the... Fashion: Don't these just make you want to play dress up?
Courtesy of: Elle Magazine
Have A Lovely Day. Sincerely, Morena
P.S. Do you like the new song you hear? I changed it.
I'm really not all that interesting you guys. But I was tagged by three different people last week so I assumed someone wanted to know more about me. I decided to do this tag and will post the answer to your "tag" questions later this week. A special thank you to my "taggers" Sarah, Brooke, and Emmy.
So now, here we go...fashion and philosophy time.
Well for the fashion, how's this?
(Picture Taken by our friends: Tiffany Moore and helped by Tiffany O'dwyer.)
Is that not such a cute shot? Someone asked me if it was professionally done. Nope! That's just my gorgeous friend Chelsea and I taking some pictures at lunch. I thought it was really pretty. Especially considering it was not lighted correctly and it was an amateur shot. (Chelsea's pretty right? I told you guys. I'll be doing a post about her and two other people soon. They're my picks for my "fashion icons in real life." Post should come in about two weeks.)
In other news...
Here's my Philosophy bit for the day: It's an essay I wrote about an event in my life that left a "mark" on me. Read it if you'd like. I'd love it if you did. This essay was an exercise in writing a narrative with sensory details:
“You may just start a chain reaction” were seven little words that changed my life. Cliché but it’s so true. They were said by Rachel Joy Scott whom was the first victim in the Columbine shootings back in 1999. Those seven words not only impacted me personally, but it helped me better the world surrounding us.
I remember the day quite well. It was near the end of February on the twenty-fifth which I believe was a Wednesday. It was an even day, so as always I went to my second period class. I sat in Drama with the rest of my class awaiting my teacher’s arrival. We were anxious to know what the agenda was for today, because in Drama anything goes.
Right as the bell rang, Ms. Hubbard appeared in front of us with her prospective smile. She announced that today we were going to attend an assembly. The class of course was enthusiastic about the change in plans, and an assortment of whispers accumulated in the classroom. No one could sit still as Ms. Hubbard took roll. I finally decided to be the brave one and asked her what this assembly was about.
“We don’t really have much time so you will just have to wait and see,” Ms. Hubbard had said.
About ten minutes into class, we were instructed to line up at the door and then head to the auditorium. The walk to the auditorium seemed to be dragging on for the longest time. When we finally got there, we sat down in the ninth row on the left side of the auditorium. I recall sitting in between Sarah and Alex. We decided to start talking about Tyra Banks to pass the time before this assembly started. Then finally, the lights dimmed and a nice lady in a pale green sweater emerged from backstage. She started talking to us about the Columbine shootings and explained what it was to those who didn’t know. The minute I heard the lady mention Columbine, I knew this assembly would intrigue me because of the importance of the matter. She went into this whole spiel about how scary the event was for her community. I found myself quite empathetic as usual; it’s how I naturally react to everything.
Subsequently, a video was put on telling the story of one Columbine victim in particular. Her name was Rachel. The video showed us some of the passages she had written in her diary. Most of which were about eliminating prejudice, choosing kind words, as well as “starting a chain reaction.”
Right then and there I decided that this girl was more like me than I could ever imagine. I do not exaggerate when I say that everything Rachel had written was something I had written myself. I have proof of that on my public blog. As the video progressed, I sat there crying. It wasn’t like one of those heavy crying moments where you feel like you can’t stop. It was one of those light-teary cries where at that moment, you feel truly touched. I remember turning to Sarah a few times because she was crying as well.
“Oh gosh this is really sad,” Sarah had said, briefly laughing off her tears.
“I know, but I’m not crying out of sadness. I’m just really inspired,” I replied.
This was very true. I decided that I have never been more inspired in my life. In the middle of that thought, the lights came on. The lady in the pale green sweater talked a little more, but I remember her last words vaguely. I sat quietly with my chin rested on my hand, just thinking.
Before I knew it, the assembly was over, all the lights were on, and everyone was ready to go or already gone. I got up and walked out to nutrition still quiet with my head down. Still in deep thought, I bumped into a closed door. That’s when I was fully aware that I wasn’t in that auditorium anymore and I got back into my normal state.
At nutrition, I told those who did not get to attend the assembly about who Rachel was.
“She was such a beautiful girl and the things she said were so amazing,” I said.
“Aw, I feel awful missing the assembly to make up a test,” Lauren replied. “But from what you’ve told me, she sounds a lot like you.”
I only hoped that I was anything like Rachel. Throughout the rest of the day I made it a point to say hi to everyone I knew that passed me. That was one of the things I picked up from the assembly. They had told us that sometimes one little wave or smile can really mean something. I made sure to wave and smile at everyone. I vowed to continue that everyday.
In my head I just thought, “Wow, Rachel really is starting a chain reaction through me.” I never heard her voice, but I listened to her words. Since that day at the assembly, I know I’ve made the world around me a much better place. All of the conceited jokes aside, I really believe that. Rachel Joy Scott is someone I look forward to meeting in heaven. I truly care about her because even though I didn’t get to meet her physically, I can sense her spirit through her writing and that’s all that is important to me. I think it’s the same concept behind finding ourselves “loving” celebrities whom we’ve never met. I’ve come to find that it really is about your spirit. Rachel brightened mine, and I only hope I’ve done the same to others.
Skirt: Thrifted $6.25 Top: H&M (Gosh, look how perfectly tan I look. PhotoBucket is amazing. I thought the olive skin tone went great with the skirt.)
Dearest Blog Readers, I'm fine. Thank you for your lovely comments on my last post. I'm really okay. Can't you tell from the above pictures? Just a little rough time last week, but I'm back to my old self. Did you all notice? I got bangs and cut my hair. I'm loving it. And also, I thrifted that lovely yellow skirt. I love it. Anyway, thanks again for everything. You are great. My life is back to it's sunny self, and I'm back to my endorphin filled brain. (Oh except for that earthquake last night here in Cali. I'm still freaked about that.) Hope you are all great.
I can say that I never can look at a person and say, "gosh they're ugly." See, I may view some objects as "ugly" but I could never see "ugly" in the presence of a human being. I seem to be good at finding the beauty in people. However, when I say beauty...there's so many different perspectives riding on that one word.
I'm not as into external beauty like you probably assumed I was. I mean, of course I quite obviously care about my external "beauty" (some may even argue it's vanity), but I don't judge others in that way. The only time I ever create preconceived thoughts about a human being because of the way they look, is when I believe that they're exceptionally pretty or something to that effect. (And then I make it a point to tell them that. Everyone likes a confidence boost right?) I've come to find that the whole external beauty ordeal doesn't last, you know? Eventually you start to discover the interior of that person.
Do you ever think about why judging people by their looks has become a norm in our society? I was truly thinking deeply about this today. Here was my internal conversation with myself as I was walking into school today: "How does being a certain race make someone any less of a person? How does dressing nice make someone any better?" To be honest with you, I realized that the answer is: it actually doesn't.
So I can definitely and honestly say, I have never found a human being whom I have deemed as ugly. They may be unattractive in YOUR terms, but to me...they're just another human being who has feelings and likes to be loved and cared about.
The End.
Love, Morena
P.S. Speaking of beauty...
Is that not the most beautiful scene to look at? I guess it was from a Philadelphia flower show. And you all know my obsession with flowers. Picture Credit: HERE
Oh and also, you remember my friend Emma? She gave me the nickname Daisy because she said it matched my personality perfectly. It's actually catching on. I love that name...Daisy.
If you try and tell me I need a reality check, I'd tell you to redefine your meaning of reality. Honestly I'm not just some stupid little girl, I understand life way more than you would be able to fathom. I don't know too much yet, but I don't think I want to know much. Just enough to get by.
Follow Me. But I Don't Know Where We're Going.
Morena G.Y.
(More-rain-uh)-I like to pretend I'm Alice in my Wonderland. I like to dry up flowers in big heavy books...or put them in my hair. I stare out the window while playing Alanis Morissette. I laugh at my own jokes. I listen to Christmas songs in the middle of July. I smell bubble gum before I chew it. I dance, smile, and laugh. A lot. Serenity is my choice.
