Surround Yourself with Goddesses…

Posted on August 11, 2014 by Gigi in friendship Comments Off

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Saturday I had a gathering of Goddesses, there was no rhyme or reason, a loose guest list of friends, some I’ve know forever, and a few I just met. We had no agenda, just coming together just because. I’m fortunate to be surrounded by an amazing community of goddesses giving advice and reaching out to receive advice.

Goddesses

I made a few of my fav’s, raw vegan chili, carrot ginger soup, watermelon-tomato salad, and my raw vegan peach cobbler & vanilla pecan ice cream. All the goddesses were fabulous and all brought something different to the table, literally and figuratively. We all came with our experiences based on our own individual life journeys sharing with one another, especially with the little goddess cubs that were present.

Goddess spread

We also had a little commerce as well, my friend Dee Dee who is a lularoe distributor, set up a pop up boutique for us–I absolutely love her yoga skirts and always have one in my gym bag, of course I had to add a couple of things to my collection as well. Everything is so reasonable and cute give her a call if you would like to see the line or have your own “pop up boutique” Dee Dee 323 702-3702.

Lularoe

I’ve always had a strong circle of women in my life. The support and interaction I have with my women friends is so important to me, it balances my life and I have learned so much from my sister-friends. There was a study done at UCLA in 2000 about women and their friendships; “having a circle of friends actually provides an alternative to the traditional fight-or-flight response to stress. The researchers called this response “tend-and-befriend” (and with children), they release more oxytocin, the mother-love hormone associated with breast- feeding, which has a marked calming effect.” It also stated that “friends may also add to the quality of those extra years by helping us maintain brain function.” Yes I know all of this is true…

Goddesses

Goddesses You Need In Your Life…

1. “The Confidant” -AKA “Therapist” she is the one who you tell anything and everything to, no judgement, the one you can spill your heart out to, the one who hears your silent tears over the phone without you saying anything. She is your “rock” you can call her anytime of day or night and you know she will answer.

2. “The Wikipedia”– She knows everything about anything…She is the strategist, financial expert, human resource person, educator, advisor, left-brain, trouble shooter, your go to for figuring things out, the ultimate problem solver–she is bright, smart as a whip and can help you navigate a situation like no other.

3. “The Prophet”– She is the truth dealer, your spritual advisor, the one who will tell you “right’ from wrong” your conscience and the one who prays for you and with you.

4. “The Fashionista”– the one who will tell you when it is time to retire the mini, or when to bump it up ie. you are falling into “old lady” lane. The one who will tell you that it is time to change the hair do or color the greys. Your honest stylist who wants you to look your best.

5. “The Cheerleader”– not to be confused with a “groupie”. She will encourage you, support you in your goals, help you to be the best “you” that you can be…She will be happy for your successes and keep you motivated to constantly do better.

6. “The Leader”– She keeps everything together, organizing things, ie. bookclubs, spa retreats, girl get togethers, ski trips etc. she keeps you in the loop and makes sure you get out and do things.

7. “The Trainer”– The one that will keep you and your butt on point. Your workout bud, the one when you are sitting around being lazy who will call you and do a workout with you, or the one who is a role model who inspires you by their dedication.

8. “The Comedienne”– The one who just makes you laugh and makes you smile.

9. “The Young Cub”- The one you nurture and take under your wing and she keeps you “hip” and up to date on social media etc..

10. “The Historian”-The one who has known you the longest. She knows your past, you don’t have to bring her up to speed, she knows all the dysfunction of your family, ex-boyfriends, the weird jobs, etc.. she understands you and your history.

You may have a couple of goddesses that are in your life that have all these qualities or maybe you have a village. What kind of goddess friend are you? I have bits and pieces of all these.

Your goddess circle will change throughout your life some will be in your life for a season and some will come into your life and stay forever, just be open to receive and willing to give–

I’ve always loved this Sade song, which is about losing a friend, I’ve lost a couple and the words to this song sum it up…

Goddess Gigi

Happy Monday,

XOXO,

GIGI

“I LOOK FAT IN THAT PICTURE”

Posted on July 3, 2014 by Gigi in photography Comments Off

I love photographing women. Initially I thought I would settle into shooting family portraits and maybe an occasional wedding. Starting a new venture at my age I knew I had to create a balance between my business and my personal life. I sort of have an addictive personality, once I latch on to something I live eat sleep with it nonstop. I was taking classes at school and online, so one day I stumbled upon a class with Sue Bryce and I fell in love with her work and her philosophy on photographing women and I was hooked.

Working

I have always been a magazine addict as far back as I can remember, tearing pages out and filling binders up with my favorite glossy images of models, interiors, food, places I wanted to go etc. So fast forward, while at school I connected with Elsy my partner and we formed PS Couture, we both were interested in doing editorial fashion inspired style shoots for our clients. The past 9 months have been incredible, I cannot begin to express the joy I experience when I am looking through my lens and I connect with a client.

I have learned so much about my “species”. Ladies we are controlled by this thing called “body image”, including moi. Perhaps it comes from seeing all these altered images in the media, or perhaps that aunt who always told you “hmmmmm do you need that extra roll?” or in my case my great aunt had my mom get me a girdle when I was 10…or maybe you had a friend who was a size “0” and when you were out together you felt as if you could be mistaken for her bodyguard.

When I look at proofs from my own sessions, the monkey brain zooms into to what I feel are my “problem” areas ie. “does the butt look to big?” “hmmm what about my midsection?” “Arms?” “Hair?” or lately a new one “Do I look Old?” After I tear myself apart mentally of course, I become happy and glad that I did the session and happy that moment of moi is documented.

We have shot over 70 ladies this past year, from 16 to 80, size “0” to double digits, straight to curvy, and the one thing we heard over and over is “I want to lose some weight before my shoot” or “If only I could lose ten pounds before my session”. Yes I too am guilty of this, and I know that with good posing and proper camera angle everyone can look gorgeous, but I still wanted to drop a few before my shoot.

GIGI

Yes there is photoshop and you can alter someone unrecognizable, but our aesthetic is more authentic so that a woman still looks like herself. I love finding beauty in everyone and we all have something that makes us special. I came across this article the other day that I found fascinating about photoshop and how this unaltered image was sent all over the world to photoshop artists and they were told to make her “beautiful”. Check out the link at the bottom.

These are a few of my favorites from some of our shoots, there are so many–

Elsy

Molly

camille

Zuko

Jacqueline

Stephanie

I LOVE YOU- FRIENDS…

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Gigi in My Life Comments Off

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In my 54 plus years on the planet, my life has been enriched with a plethora of friends that have had a profound impact on my life. One I have know since 5th grade, one I have met in the past year and others that I have met throughout my adult life. I am the woman I am today because of the phenomenal friends that have been in my life contributing to this crazy, veggie obsessed, light seeking photographer, yogini, real book reader, sometimes obsessive compulsive knitter, chef, swimmer, biker, hiker, dancer, writer–without you all-my life would be so different.

Many of you have shared secrets with me, traveled with me around the world, cried with me and laughed at all my crazy stories, even if you heard them ten times before. Some I chat with daily, sometimes twice a day and others from morning til night, some of you I speak with once every 6 months or so, but regardless we pick up as if it was yesterday. I’ve shared many meals with all of you and shared numerous bottles of champagne. Some of you are “shoe” buds, who are interested in “sole” searching at anytime.

Just as important, I’m happy I’m a friend to many incredible women and in their life as well. We have raised children together, met “new” significant others, shared opinions and differences.

I’m glad you all have embraced me with all of my imperfect parts, my weak moments and my vulnerable ones. I’m not perfect, but you can count on me–I will be there, and if I get “mad” you know it is only for a minute.

I thank all of my friends for making my life complete I love you all…

Tell your friend you love them today…Happy Thursday!

Xoxo,

Gigi

here a just a few of my “friendly” pics…there are so many…

buds

Gigi, Greta & Michelle

Housewives of ASPEN

BACO ladies…

not our mama’s 50…

Our Chariot

Face Forward

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Gigi in Events 2 Comments

Gigi @ Face Forward Gala

Saturday Reggie and I got to escape our valley abode and travel west to Santa Monica and join our friends at the 4th annual Face Forward Gala, the theme “A Gatsby Affair”. The gala did not disappoint, everyone was decked out in their interpretation of 1920’s glamour, a silent auction with a bevy of items, an exciting live auction, beautifully decorated ball room, exquisite centerpieces, delicious meal, hosted by Sara Rue, performances by Stacy Francis and Macy Gray one of my favorites performers.

Face Forward was established in 2007 by Deborah Alessi and her husband Dr. David Alessi, to provide pro-bono physical and emotional reconstruction for women and children victimized by domestic violence. I have attended the gala every year, this being the first time on the committee. It was nice to see all the hard work come together on this magical evening.

Dr. David Alessi & Deborah Alessi

One in a least three women in the world are victims of domestic abuse, which means all of us know or indirectly know a woman who is being physically abused, it may be a family member, co-worker, neighbor, teacher, friend, church member, domestic abuse has no boundaries.

At a young age I was the victim of domestic violence by a “boyfriend” , I remember being ashamed and having no one to talk to, the abuser was constantly threatening me of more consequences if I told anybody. Finally one day I “snapped” and pulled a butcher knife on him, and for those brief moments I knew I was capable of causing severe bodily harm ie “killing a M-F”, fortunately for me that was the last time I ever saw that ass hole and I never was in another relationship like that again. So of course this charity is close to my heart because I knew I could have been one of our patients.

Gigi, Greta & Michelle

Gigi & “Bear”

One of the things I love most about galas is getting dressed up, I’m a girlie girl at heart. So I was excited about the 1920’s theme, a new ensemble was not an option so I was up for the challenge of shopping my closet. So of course I was happy when I found a BCBG dress that I picked up at the outlet, and I paired it with a Tracy Reese top I got about 5 years ago, threw on a pair of Giuseppe Zanotti’s, converted an Anthropologie head band with a $5 hair thingy from my local Halloween pop up store and I was good to go.

Now my hair, that was another story, I knew I did not want to sport my “big” hair, so I decided to experiement, so I washed it, added a lot of tresemme natural conditioner and detangled, followed by deva one leave in conditioner, curl junkie styling creme and a generous amount of eco protein styling gel , sat under the dryer for about 30 min to set it and then pulled it back into a low side bun using a donut thing to shape my hair which worked perfect.

I’m already looking forward to next years Gala.

Xoxo,

Gigi

Golden Gladiator #1 Rosetta

Posted on September 20, 2013 by Gigi in Aging, Girl Crush, gladiator, Inspiration, Mother's 5 Comments

I love celebrating women who live life to the fullest, especially women who are of a certain age, that are embracing who they are at every decade never missing a beat. So I am thrilled to present to you my first “golden gladiator” Rosetta.

Rosetta

Rosetta and I met when our girls were in pre-school 20 years ago. Initially it was a friendship based on our little girls, getting them together for their play dates.

They were like siamese twins, so of course our friendship blossomed over time we spent sitting in the park watching the girls and talking about everything. Now those girls are young ladies finished with college and starting their careers. Although we were blessed to be able to focus on our families, we never forgot about who we were as women, outside of our role of full time moms. I sat down with Rosetta and over a cup of tea we chatted about her recent graduation from law school (btw at the top of her class) at the young age of 56.

GIGI: I remember when we met, two things you shared with me: 1. that you were fluent in french and had lived in Paris 2. that you wanted to be a lawyer.

Rosetta: At the age of 15 I decided I wanted to be a lawyer. After graduating from USC I moved to Paris, while there I had a near fatal accident. I moved back to the states to recover. While home I attended a party where I met my husband, we got married started our family, and I put my law school dream on the top shelf.

Rosetta

GIGI: Why did you decide to go to law school now? I remember you went back to school in 2006 and completed your real estate license, and then you got your brokers license and had established your business and were doing quite well.

Rosetta: It was always my plan to get my law degree at some point. My older daughter had graduated from college and my younger daughter had started college so the time was right for me, my husband was supportive of my plan as well.

GIGI: Was it difficult returning to school, considering you were a little more “mature” than the other students? I remember when I returned to school many times I was older than my professors.

Rosetta: Not at all…quite the opposite, I was not “trying to meet someone” so there were no distractions, I was so much more prepared than some of my younger counterparts. I could manage my time- all those years of balancing my family and their lives came in handy. I also stood out in my class, I “dressed everyday” the younger students were very casual and I was focused on my course work.

GIGI: Were there times when you got discouraged?

Rosetta: Yes, every semester I doubted myself. But what kept me going was my husband, morning runs with my running partner Angie, and my support system of 3 women who I met with regularly. I also always had a positive attitude and studied nonstop, basically I did what ever I had to do to do the work.

GIGI: What is your passion? And any advice to those who may be thinking about making a life change, later in life?

Rosetta: My passion is for women and property. Through my real estate business I have seen so many women who are not prepared and as a result they end up in poverty by making uninformed decisions. My advice is to follow your passion whatever it is, and never give up. Do not let your age be a deterrent.

GIGI: Well I know you will make a difference and come up with a plan or a program empowering women you have always been a “giver” as long as I have known you.

Rosetta J.D.

Rosetta I want to share with my followers some of your tips on “keeping it together” you are beautiful inside and out and your body is slamming…

1. Pray everyday

2. I fast 2 days per week

3. I run 2 to 3 times per week (6 miles)

4. 2 days per week I go to the gym and do strength training

5. sit ups, push ups, hydrants 200 per day of each

6. weigh daily

7.watch my diet, but I don’t deprive myself of a treat now and then

8. always purpose to weigh what it says on my license on my birthday

9. Peace

There you have it from gladiator Rosetta…with her plan we would all be ready for “battle”.

Rosetta

Happy Weekend Everybody

XOXO,

GIGI

women

Surround Yourself with Goddesses…

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