I have been kicking off my blog posts with quotes for over 10 years but today's post starts with a quote of my own.

Lately, I have been giving lots of thought to movement. Not just physical movement but overall movement within life. I believe that the mind, body and spirit are one. So if one is not right, it throws off the whole trinity. For me, I have been spending so much time getting my mind and spirit right that I neglected my body. And this made me realize that's why my MBS trinity was not at 100%.

I'm always tired or stressed. I work a lot and put pressure on myself to be the best I can be. I push myself beyond limits and sometimes it takes a toll on me physically. I haven't felt inner peace in a really long time and at this point of my life, I crave it. I need it. 

How can I inspire others and keep going, if I don't have that inner peace and my spirit tank on full? Life is draining enough and if you don't refill your tank regularly, how are you supposed to be at the top of your game?

So I started looking into movement in general. I don't aspire to lose weight and be some "Before and After" picture. In my opinion, weight loss is not the way to happiness because your Body is a part of that MBS trinity and not on its own. You can lose weight but if your mind and spirit ain't right... well, you get the drift.

I worked too hard to love myself as I am and in all honesty, my size has nothing to do with my MBS not being on point. It has to do with my inner health and how I choose to use my energy. 

Movement can be an incredible thing. For me, I love to walk and one day, I want to get strong enough to jog again because running is a form of movement that truly lets you be in the moment and feel free of the world around you. 

I have arthritis in both knees and my right ankle so I tend to get stiff a lot and have chronic pain. However, the irony of that is the more I move, the less pain I feel.

This is when I decided that I needed more movement in my life. I need to make time for myself and invest in myself and my MBS. If I can't show up for myself, how am I supposed to show up for others in my life?

I'm not a gym girl right now because I am still working on not being self-conscious in that space. Yes, I am confident and love myself but I am not perfect. I'm human and I am still working on not noticing the stares or whispers. 

However, I have the world before me, ready for me to take my first step and just start moving. Movement can be medicine for the MBS... I learned this from a friend of mine who I admire greatly.

Deb Malkin is someone I have known for years, who is simply amazing. Her Instagram page Move With Deb was what inspired me to look more into movement.

Movement can be anything, to be honest. It doesn't have to be just exercising. Deb recently posted about Movement Permaculture, which was a way for her and her partner to work on their garden in a fun way. It encouraged movement while they plant and grow things to sustain them in their lives.

This led me to introducing movement in my life via house chores, like dancing as I sweep and mop, squatting while I wash dishes or even lifting heavy things around the house as I clean. I also make it a habit to turn on the pedometer on my phone while I am in the supermarket and walk around it a few times. You can easily do a mile that way while shopping for groceries.

Find what moves you and incorporate that into your every day life.... this is what my goal right now is.

I actually take notes from Deb's IG page, especially the wisdom she offers her readers via comments about movement... Here's a few that resonated with me:

On being able to do things while comfortable - "There's nothing wrong with comfort! It's all about adding variety and seeing the movement we do all day long and not just shoving it in the category of fitness at a gym."

"Just thinking about movement in a whole body, throughout the day framework has shifted my whole world. It helps me feel so much more engaged in my everyday life and empowered in my body."

"Movement is a bigger category than fitness. There's a lot we can do to help get more flexible, have more strength and stamina in our everyday life. Going to the gym can be fun but that's just a tiny portion of our week. We have a body the rest of the time too and not to say we should obsess about fitness, it's more of a reframe of movement that is nourishing our cells as being available all the time. It's like the opposite of diet culture to me."

With that said, starting today, my journey of Fearlessly Moving will be a reality. My current goal is to feel empowered in my body again and as Deb said, more engaged in my every day life. And I'll see where this journey takes me.

You can follow my journey here on the blog and on social media with the hashtag #FearlesslyMoving. I plan to use this blog as a way to be accountable for myself and not slack off on my movement goals. And I hope I can inspire some of you to move along with me.

Because movement can be body liberation too! Having more mobility is freeing and honestly, after a day of walking and moving, I feel like a superheroine. And I want to feel like that daily. Movement can be joyful and I can't wait to share this journey with all of you.

Click here to follow me on Instagram to stay up-to-date with my #FearlesslyMoving journey.

How do you incorporate movement into your life? Any tips? Comment below and let me know!

So when an opportunity to collaborate with 4 other size 26/28 style influencers/bloggers and show how the same pair of jeans looks on all of our bodies, I had to be a part of it.

• Saucye West: Plus size model, #fatandfree creator, body positive advocate
• Jessica Kane: Owner of Society+, Editor-in-Chief of Skorch Magazine, style influencer behind the blog Life and Style of Jessica Kane
• Corissa Enneking: Blogger/influencer behind the blog Fat Girl Flow, Body Positive Advocate, Public Speaker and Entrepreneur
• Lisa Schoenberger: Blogger/influencer behind the blog MustangSallyTwo, accountant by day, sometimes model by night (and weekends!)
• And myself!

*This post is in collaboration with Avenue but all thoughts and opinions are my own. This post also contains some affiliate links and I'll earn a small commission if you shop through them.  This is one of the ways I can continue to bring you inspiring content. Thank you!

This year, my 47th birthday fell on a Saturday. That had to be a sign, right? The last few birthdays I spent feeling sad that my dad and brother were not here in the physical sense to celebrate with me. And I also made plans that I never followed through with.

I always want to be THAT person who hangs out with friends on my birthday or walks in on a surprise birthday party that friends organized for me. But it never happened. I learned over the years that I had to be accountable for that because I wasn't always present or put myself out there to build those relationships with others.

This year, when I mentioned that to my blogger sister Nanthale of N.E.C. Style, she came up with this wonderful idea to have a girls only staycation and do it during my birthday weekend. 

I was down but nervous. It would be a group of six of us and while I had hung out with four of the other five girls in the group, I have never been one to hang out with a large group of women before and this was for two days!

But we did it and I have to say, I am very surprised at myself. This weekend was life-changing for me.

We ended the day with dinner and a movie at iPic Theaters in downtown Manhattan at Fulton Market. We thought it was fitting to see Girls Trip. I had never been to a theater that had pod seating and was a bit scared I wouldn't fit but I did and it was super comfortable!

I am not a fan of wearing white. 

So when planning this trip with Alysse of Ready to Stare and we were discussing what we would wear, I was shocked when I found myself suggesting we do a white look.

Maybe the fashion gods possessed me in that moment?  Yikes.

I have been on this journey of venturing outside my comfort zone for the last few years and fashion is a big part of that. Every time I wear something that I have never worn before or thought I couldn't wear, I feel so empowered and free. My confidence continues to be more consistent when I make decisions for me and not for others.

But those choices are never easy. 

The day we decided to shoot our images, Alysse showed me this California Dreaming mural and she thought it would be perfect for our white looks. So thus began our journey to finding this mural and dealing with a fear that Alysse herself was trying to overcome.

Alysse admitted to me that she hated to drive, especially in big cities and in major traffic. Well, everyone knows LA traffic is crazy. She knew going in that this would be a major huddle for her to overcome as I don't drive. Yeah, I'm a true New Yorker. The subway is my car.





Watching Alysse spend 5 days driving in LA traffic, where we had so many places to visit and go, even venturing into Orange County, I was in awe. Just as I wore that two piece swimsuit in public at Venice Beach, she made the choice to drive in traffic despite her anxiety about it.


The best thing about our friendship is that we get each other and we support one another. That support becomes empowerment for both of us. We are not afraid to tell the other if we are freaking out or need a moment. We have that unconditional love for each other and give each other a safe space to not feel guilty or judged for our fears.

After watching her be fearless in her driving, Alysse empowered me to rock this white look and not stress about it. I don't like to get dirty and I was always told white makes you look fatter. I thought, well, if she can conquer her fear of driving in heavy traffic and big cities, I can wear white.




Ironically, the pink bottom part of the wall was dirty and it bothered me at first. I didn't even want to shoot near the wall. And then I was thinking about me wearing white and not looking great. It was in that moment that I had to change that conversation with myself. 

I told myself that the dirty wall was actually cool because it represented the grittiness of LA against the prettiness of the mural -- LA is beautiful despite being gritty. And I told myself that I can look great in whatever I wear because I know how to dress my body lovingly and I know my style.



Once I changed how I was talking to myself, I became happy and so confident in my Burnout Floral Fit and Flare Dress from Lane Bryant. It did help that the dress was comfortable and had stretch. I paired the dress with Lane Bryant's Faux-Suede Mule in Taupe to give some color to the look. I added a necklace and purse I've had for years, to finish the look. I'm wearing a size 26/28 in the dress and a size 9W in the shoes.

I love a fit and flare dress because it shows off my waist and offers room for my hips. Those days of me hiding my upper arms are over too! My wings are free!

This was yet another moment during our LA trip where I lived fully and pushed through my anxiety and ventured out of my comfort zone. And it was because of Alysse, who conquered her own fear of driving in big cities. Our friendship continues to inspire me to live my best life NOW.

During our mission to find this mural, we ended up seeing so much street art in Los Angeles that it became a mini street mural tour too!






Alysse said best in her blog post about our California Dreaming adventure:

So what's the lesson? Travel. Wear white. Get lost. Face your fears. And never let anyone else tell you what you can do. 

You can shop my look below:




Click here to read about Alysse's California Dreaming experience and see what she wore from Lane Bryant.