Purple

International Women’s Day- March 8th

michelleleighwrites Leave a comment

Hi friends! 

In case you haven’t noticed I changed my posting schedule from Mondays & Thursdays to just simply twice a week. It’s just getting so hard sticking to specific days, but I do usually try to get up two posts within the week, regardless of the days I do so. But this week was a bust, but I finally have some time to sit down today and so I figured you know what, I’ll give you the two posts today. Why not? 

I had wanted to post this on Friday in honor of the special day, but time got away from me this week. However, I could not let it go unrecognized on this platform. 

IWD purple

This past Friday I rocked my purple in honor of #InternationalWomensDay. Purple signifies justice and dignity and is the color of IWD. I do work in a school setting and I co-teach an activity, where we try to form lessons and projects around inspiring young girls (& boys) to help each other go after their dreams and make positive change around them. In order to celebrate we watched “Brave” which is a great movie about a young female lead character who fights to create her own fate even though she is a princess and her parents say she needs to marry a man for a bright future. She challenges that and creates change. Add in some snacks and a bit of IWD facts and it was a ladies party! Keep fighting the fight ladies, do your thang! Thank you to all the powerful, women in my life who inspire me always, and those who have come before us and paved the way. Feminism is not a new term, it’s not a fad, and it is not anti men. It’s just believing in equality between men and women. And it’s a concept that’s been around for years. We as women need to carry it along generation, through generation. “Strong women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them.” Happy “Belated” International Women’s Day! ✌💪🥂💜

International Women’s Day (March 8th) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. International Women’s Day is all about unity, celebration, reflection, advocacy and action – whatever that looks like globally at a local level. But one thing is for sure, International Women’s Day has been occurring for well over a century – and continues to grow from strength to strength. – official IWD site

 

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[2012] PG Drama/Fantasy 1 hr. 33 min.

 

Synopsis: 

Merida (Kelly Macdonald), the impetuous but courageous daughter of Scottish King Fergus (Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson), is a skilled archer who wants to carve out her own path in life. Her defiance of an age-old tradition angers the Highland lords and leads to chaos in the kingdom. Merida seeks help from an eccentric witch (Julie Walters), who grants her an ill-fated wish. Now, Merida must discover the true meaning of courage and undo a beastly curse before it’s too late.- Via Google/Wiki

Trailer:

 

I do think this film was a great story to show on such a day, and it was our little way of celebrating. It held such a strong message, that we as women have the power to pave our own way and that it’s okay to question the hierarchy/history. There are so many other things you can do to celebrate and not just on the one day. I know we have our projects, we are working towards- to create and donate care packages to local female shelters. It is something we are just working and building toward for future lessons. After all, IWD includes the idea to think Globally, act locally. Make the change wherever you are. It all matters! For more ideas and information about IWD…

Visit-  https://www.internationalwomensday.com/

How did you celebrate International Women’s Day? 

 

* I do not take credit for the Brave image or trailer used.*

 

-<3-

Fly like a Butterfly

michelleleighwrites Leave a comment

 

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A Blue Butterfly symbolizes joy, beauty, luck and is a wish granter. A Purple Butterfly
implies a divine intervention. 

In her magic she flutters stumbling along

gracing the grass blades

circling the sunflowers in the breeze

wings of rich blues and purples flapping

darting sweet droplets of crystal clear rain

the sun shining brightly down on the field

the sun shower welcoming the questions you ask

soaring high into the sky

carefree

one with the elements

with nature 

with vibes

Freedom

Peace

Dreams becoming clear 

Joy

Beauty 

Luck

Divinity

Grant her wishes

The butterfly she is 

the magic she creates

it’s hers and hers alone

No Judgements wanted

Let her be

She’s trying to find her way

But it’s a struggle against the wind

Wings weaken

But that color, well honey, it’s more vibrant than ever

Fly butterfly

fly

Everything will be alright

 

*I do not take credit for the image used.*

-<3-

 

 

 

 

DIY Dress-Up Trunk Gift Idea

michelleleighwrites Leave a comment

As promised…here we go.

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So every time my God daughter’s birthday rolls around, I always strive to come up with a gift idea that’s really special. Special to her likes and special to what she’s currently into. Because let’s face it kids go through their phases.

I spoil her on the regular, BUT her birthday is cause for some extra special spoilage. 😉

I was toying around with the idea of buying her a Dress Up trunk. But the more I researched, the more I became discouraged with the quality of these so called “trunks.” They were simple flimsy cardboard, and well that just wasn’t going to cut it for my little Soph.

So I decided to create my own Dress Up Trunk; personalized with costumes that would fit her little personality.

Here is the finished wrapping:

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I used these decorative keepsake boxes to act as my trunk(s). They are sturdy, have a lid, are perfect for storage and can just be left out in a playroom on their own. And they are cute as a button.

I ended up having to pick up a smaller one to hold all the accessories because the big one just wasn’t enough. Yes I splurged a bit. Once I get an idea, it kinda spirals. I just can’t stop myself. 😉

The top gift wrapped box is actually her Disney Princess Birthday Train “3” Doll. 3 is Aurora a.k.a. Sleeping Beauty. It’s a tradition I’ve started with her, I get her one every year. My God mother did it with me and now I get to pass along the tradition.

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Here are the outfits I chose to include:

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How freakin’ cute is this! (I love the tutu!)

Some pretty dresses (because every little girl wants some fluffy princess dresses), A chef set (she loves to pretend to cook), and A Wonder Woman costume (her favorite superhero.)

A tea party hat, purse, and white glove set with feather boa and pearl set; because we play tea party sometimes.

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A purple tutu and an assortment of shoes.

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Accessories included:

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Left to Right: Feather Boa, Beaded Necklaces (she loves her beads! she uses them for everything! Even pretend spaghetti dinner #multipurpose) A princess crown, Chap sticks in fun flavors, headbands, rings, coin purse, sunglasses, bracelets, princess wands, light up princess wand, and a brush.

 

 

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Purple was a bit of a color theme, because it’s her FAVORITE COLOR! (And she will tell anyone who will listen all about it…at that decimal!) Since the outfits didn’t really have purple in them, I went all purple on the accessories and accent pieces.

Her little shocked smile when I brought out her gift at her Birthday party was the best. I got a bunch of videos and pictures from her mom recently of her playing with everything. They are the best photos ever. I am obsessed. That was my ultimate thank you, to see her having a fun night playing dress up with her mommy. She even sent me a video of her putting on the chap stick I got her and smacking her lips together like any grown girl putting on lipstick would. It was the cutest thing ever. I had to include them because she watches me put my makeup on and always wants to take it and put it on herself, especially the lipstick. She puts it on and goes “Kissy!” Lol. So cute. It’s adorable.

*Extra Fun Tips:

When gifting any kind of purse or coin purse you should always put some money in them for good luck. So I placed a dollar in her little purple purse and some coins in her personalized coin purse.

Where I found these products:

Her accessories were found in Dollar Tree-Deals; Jewelry, wands, sunglasses and headbands.

The pretty purple crown was ordered from Party City when we had a little “Purple Party” for her on her actual birthday.

The princess pretty dresses and shoe set was found in Christmas Tree Shop, along with the coin purse, chap stick, and brush.

The Tea Party Set was found on Amazon as was the Wonder Woman Costume and Chef Set.

The decorative boxes were found at Telco; a discount store.

*Hope this was helpful!

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This gift was really fun to create for my God daughter. She’s only three and she likes to play pretend, and I don’t see that going away any time soon. If you ask me dress up trunks are a perfect idea for little girl birthday gifts, because playing dress up never goes out of style. Even I still feel like I do that when I get all dressed up to go out with friends or to a special event. Putting on the makeup and deciding on an outfit and how to accessorize it perfectly. It’s fun!

So if you have a special little girl in your life, and you’ve been wracking your brain for a gift just as special, look no further.

Let me know how it turns out. Or if you want any other ideas! I’m all ears. Comment down below!

-<3-

*All photos are my own.*

#crappycellphonepics