Breast Cancer Awareness

Happy November everyone!!! It's my favourite month of the year.....my birthday is this month!!!! ^_^.

October just ended and it was the Breast Cancer Awareness month. The aim is to raise awareness to reduce the stigma of the disease through education as well as to raise funds in an effort to find a cure and treatments. We can raise awareness not just in October however. So here's my bit.

The recommended age for even starting to do mammograms, etc was 40 but these days there are an increasing amount of women being diagnosed with cancer below age 40.

It's very important to do breast self-exams. Early detection is so important as it increases your chances of successfully beating cancer. You can find many videos online on how to do a self-exam. It's important to just do it so that you are familiar with your breasts so that you can tell when something is different. Here's one link you can try: www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6wpOnf2ORg‎ .

Do your mammograms and breast self-exams if you have a history of the diseases in your family.

Did you know that drinking a lot of alcohol increases your risk of breast cancer? Compared with non-drinkers, women who drink alcoholic beverages are at increased risk. The risk increases with the amount of alcohol consumed. Risk for those who consume 2 to 5 drinks daily is increased by about 1½ times normal.

One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.

Each year it is estimated that over 220,000 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 40,000 will die.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death among women.

Breast cancer incidence rates are highest in non-Hispanic white women, followed by African American women and are lowest among Asian/Pacific Islander women. In contrast, breast cancer death rates are highest for African American women, followed by white women. Breast cancer death rates are lowest for Asian/Pacific Islander women.

Exposure to certain environmental substances and conditions may also increase a woman's risk of developing breast cancer. Currently there is conflicting evidence regarding the risk of environmental exposure to organochlorines (some exert a weak estrogenic effect), tobacco smoke, as well as night shift work. Research is ongoing in these and other areas of our current environment with potential for effecting breast cancer risk.

This is no joke and as women need to take this seriously. Look at Angelina Jolie- her mother died of the disease and she made the brave decision to remove both her breasts. We all aren't big movie stars with lots of money nor have to go to such extremes but there are things that we can do such as breast exams, mammograms, drink less alcohol, etc. For more information please visit:
http://qap.sdsu.edu/screening/breastcancer/facts.html

Xoxo
Ronz

German connection

I love this mustard skirt. I started the outfit selection with the skirt, then chose the red jacket, then needed an inner blouse and chose this black one. I kept thinking what is red, yellow and black... It wasn't until doing this post and googling the colours did I realize that they were the colours in the German flag. Go figure! My mother went to Germany couple years ago and said the countryside was so beautiful.

I wanted to not wear black shoes with the outfit so upon looking at my collection I decided to wear my leopard flats. My feet wear hurting also from working out the day before so I didn't want to wear heels. 

Skirt- Seamstress (US$10)
Jacket- Agaci (US$10, sale)
Inner blouse- Rainbow (US$5)
Shoes- Merona at Target (US$25)

Xoxo 
Ronz

The Wrap Dress

As women we come in all size and shapes. What works for or looks good on one woman doesn't necessarily work or look good on another. Trends come and go, because something is trendy doesn't mean that it will work for your shape and size. For instance, the skinny jean. If you have wide hips and are top heavy, these jeans will make you appear bigger as there isn't much of a balance. The peplum trend also is one to be cautious of if you are top & hip heavy like myself. Not all peplums are created equally and some hit too high up and make me look sooo top heavy. 

I digress, so on to my point. The wrap dress is a type of dress, that no matter what size or shape you are it will flatter & accentuate the right areas. It's a must have in every woman's wardrobe.

A wrap dress is a dress with a front closure formed by wrapping one side across the other, and knotting the attached ties that wrap around the back at the waist or fastening buttons. This forms a V-shaped neckline and hugs a woman's curves. A faux wrap dress resembles this design, except that it comes already fastened together with no opening in front, but instead is slipped on over the head. (Source:  Wikipedia)

 

This dress is especially flattering for plus size ladies. Curves for days ^_^

 

Kate Middleton wore a wrap dress for her engagement announcement. She's been pictures wearing this type of dress several times.

If it's "fit" for a princess......

The wrap dress was popularised in 1972 by Diane von Fürstenberg, whose designs became famous in their own right. The von Fürstenberg wrap dresses were knee-length with long-sleeves, made of jersey, and inspired by her divorce. Wrap dresses achieved their peak of popularity in the mid to late 1970s, and the design has been credited with becoming a symbol of women's liberation in the 1970s. (Source:  Wikipedia)

I love Diane von Furstenberg. What an inspiration her story is. As a woman in a male dominated industry, she has held her own. She's also the current president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA).

 

Style Maven- Olivia Palermo

I first saw this young lady in 2009 on the spin-off of "The Hills" - "The City". She was a mega *itch and I didn't like her very much or how she treated Whitney. I must say though in the years after the show I kept seeing her style being highlighted and her pictures on shows on Style, E!, etc. and other media publications. 

One thing was undeniable, this girl had style and was fast becoming one to watch and quite the style maven. 

She has quite a history in fashion- being a model & working for Diane Von Furstenburg & Elle. I love that she has a dog (I'm a dog lover ^_^), mixes patterns & prints; and especially LOVE that she wears flats quite a bit. Some women feel flats are only functional & not stylish but she shows that flats are acceptable. There are days I just don't feel like wearing heels but still want to look cute; or my feet hurt from wearing some heels the days before & just need a break. 

So I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE shoes. Her taste in shoes is impeccable!!!!!

Such great style....

This girl loves a poufy, fringe skirt.

These shoes are to die!!!

This reminds me of Carey Bradshaw

Love how she puts together two animal prints

Pretty in pastels

Great mix of colours and fabric textures

She must be channelling Jackie-O

Fab, fab, fab... Look how she mixes the hounds tooth pattern with lace in the 3rd outfit.

Look at her cute doggie!

She knows she'll be snapped walking her dog (there are so many dog walking pics of her) but she dresses more on the casual side. Practical & stylish!

She even wears flats at events, not just while running around town :)

Dressed to the nine.

She either has a clutch or an over-sized bag in tote. Have to put the cell phone & lip gloss somewhere right? 

Love this look, something I'd definitely wear. 

What's purple, teal & mustard? ...... Me!!

I was dying to wear a jewel toned outfit and wore this ensemble on my birthday last year. Ha, it's almost been a year already- gee how time flies. 

For my birthday this year, the Big 3-0, I'm treating myself to a trip to Dubai. I have had my eye on a Michele watch for three years now but I thought why spend so much money on a watch I wasn't going to wear much, because I spent so much money on it. To some it may not be a lot but to me it is. Anyhoo, will definitely post pics from Dubai. I have a friend that lives there and I thought I've always wanted to travel so I wanted to have the experience rather than a watch......I still want the watch though :).

Oy mi golly, I need to tone up my tummy (eek) and make sure my undergarments are not showing so much. O my! O well you live & you learn. Still wanted to share though ;P

Sweater- Old Navy (US$13.99, sale)
Top- old
Skirt- Seamstress (US$10)

Xoxo
Ronz