#NaBloPoMo November 8th: A Picture Says A Thousand Words...

We are nearly one whole week into the #NaBloPoMo challenge - to blog every day throughout November - and I'm already surprised at how much I've shared using some lovely prompts from BlogHer and the lovely Vonnie over at Nowt Special.

Today's prompt has been no different - to write about your picture on your 'About Me' PIcture.

This photo was taken back in August, just before I headed out for an incredibly rare night out with one of my best friends.  It was the first night out I had had alone since Daisy had been born and I was going to the cinema to see What Maisie Knew; a film I had been ridiculously excited to see for months.  I chose the photo as I think it's a pretty clear representation of me, my style and one of the rare photos I genuinely quite like!  It was a turning point for me and my blog, I had dreamt up a whole bunch of new blog projects, including the early stages of The Frugally Fabulous Year AND I was giving this lovely old Whistles blouse it's first post-pregnancy outing!

Positive Image
I love uploading the odd picture of me and Little D onto my blog and, like most mums out there, I take endless photos of each outfit she wears and each change she makes, but as my blog has developed over the last few months, I have realised the importance of showing more of 'me' than of 'us' - to reflect the 'lifestyle' nature of my blog, rather than the fact that I'm a parent.  Gorgeous as she is...of course! 

I like to think my readers can absorb themselves in my fashion and craft posts and get a glimpse of my life, my interests and my inspiration.  I guess I could be seen as confident, lots of people have said they wouldn't have the guts to 'pull off' my style.  I can't really be any other way - Mum or not, I don't care enough about what other people think and I'm not so much confident as positive; I believe in learning to see the very best in your beautiful self, without comparison.  As a Mum to a daughter too, I feel I have a moral responsibility to set an example of strength and positivity when it comes to body image.

The truth is, like pretty much everyone else who has ever given birth, I have found it hard to get used to a new body and a new way of thinking - something I've talked about in my Ditching The Jeans post and in a guest blog I did for Vintage Shopper.  My post-pregnancy body isn't quite shrinking back as quickly as I would like and my post-pregnancy 'treat outfit' (a 1960s vintage leather pencil skirt) is sat, gathering dust in my wardrobe.  

Those last few days...

I eat well, I walk pretty much everywhere with the pram and I'm desperate to get back into an exercise regime, that my lifestyle doesn't allow for right now.  So why beat myself up?  Hey, there is a big reason I stopped buying women's magazines - it's because the fairer sex are, indeed, not always fair at all.

Why Be Positive, When You Could Be Normal?
In an article in the Guardian recently, one writer discussed yet another epidemic sweeping the nation - a new obsession with the 'thigh gap' and the absurd suggestion that there should be one.  24 year old model, Robyn Lawley, graced the coveted cover of Vogue magazine, only to be condemned through various social media sites, for not having a 'thigh gap' to speak of.  So why, after years and years of mixed messages in the media and new 'imperfect' body parts to be paranoid about, from muffin tops to cankles, are we STILL turning on each other?

We know that airbrushing exists, we know that even the world's most beautiful, most esteemed females have off days and spots and yet, there still seems to be enough put-downs and imaginary beauty standards that all women MUST adhere to.  Nowa days, it's the norm to be bombarded with 'picture-perfect' photo sets and red circles of doom, adorning the hundred of magazines available to us.  It is normal to see most girls under the age of 18 try and copycat the styles of oversexed, under-stimulating pop stars and it is normal, somewhat sadly, to look for imperfection in everyday beauty.

But it shouldn't be.

Life is Peachy is my haven to showcase who I am, what I do and what I believe in.  I don't believe that women should compare themselves to plastic, processed images any more than I believe Miley Cyrus is flying the flag for modern-day feminism.  I want to reach a goal weight for ME, to wear my precious vintage skirt for ME, to dress to suit my shape and size for ME and I don't want to be forced to conform to unrealistic 'ideals'.  I choose to look, dress and feel the way that I do, because I have spent far too much time worrying about the size of my arms, my straight eyelashes and God only knows what else.  I choose to be positive about how I look, in the hope that I can inspire others to feel the same about themselves, whether carrying a little extra baby weight or not.  My body isn't the body it was, but it's the body that I'm in for now and I want to be positive about it, even if it takes a little longer to push the 'publish' button on those selfies!