Dog-Eared: Bracelets for a Cause

In January, I began a feature called Dog-Eared, in which I share with you pages of inspiration ripped straight from the magazines I get delivered to my mailbox.  Thanks to a few reader recommendations, this past month I also picked up InStyle from the newsstand, and instantly fell in love with this magazine.  I also read Real Simple and Marie Claire, but believe I'm just a few years shy of their target demographic, since nothing really jumped off the pages to grab my attention.

Tonight, while watching American Idol I managed to filter through the clutter that is currently my living area, and find this month's inspiration... BRACELETS.

From the March SELF issue (Hayden Panettiere cover) there was a feature entitled The Lazy Girl's Guide to Being, which provided health tips for those who prefer the quick and simple route to being healthy.  Since spring and summer are just right around the corner, it is vital to remember to apply ample amounts of sunscreen.  Recently, I realized that I would much rather be pale than to have sun spots, wrinkles, and gasp cancer.  I have a few moles that I keep a cautious eye on, as a result of a few teenage (ok, ok early twenty-aged) burns.  Last time I had them checked they were not of cancerous-concern, but I still have moments in the shower when I see them and think omg-skincancer-imgoingtodie!

This particular article highlighted a product that I think every twenty-something female should own and wear daily.  It's Spa Finder's "I Will Reflect" bracelet, which turns lavender after harmful exposure to UV rays.  The best part is that it only costs $5, and money raised from your purchase goes towards the Skin Cancer Foundation's melanoma-awareness campaign.  Click that little link, and go buy yourself one!!

 

From the March issue of InStyle (Anne Hathaway cover) comes my second source of inspiration, also a bracelet.  Another common theme, one which I value very highly, is that it also serves a purpose of charitable goodwill.  Rachel Bilson (long live Summer Roberts) who is a contributor to the magazine, reported about a recent trip to South Africa and Botswana, where she learned more about the diamond mining industry and how it positively effects the inhabitants of those two countries.  The Diamond Empowerment Fund (DEF) is a non-profit organization that supports the education system in diamond-producing African nations, such as the two Rachel visited.  She has designed a leather and diamond bracelet that helps raise money for the DEF, and more specifically, to aid in the purchase of additional student housing for a Johannesburg university.  While this bracelet is a little less economically friendly than the one featured in SELF, at $100 you will be getting an accessory that will help generate awareness for a great cause, and $20 of the purchase goes directly toward improving education and empowerment for many African children. 

Dog-Eared: Live Your Dream Life

Throughout the years I've subscribed to about every imaginable "girly" magazine, from USWeekly to YM (remember that one?) to my current subscriptions to Glamour and SELF (and mysteriously, Cosmopolitan, which I haven't read in years but keeps showing up in my mailbox).

While my interests may have diverged from swoony photos of Leonardo diCaprio and Devon Sawa, I still continue to rip pages out of magazines every month.  Actually, I dog-ear the pages first and then tear out the pages later, but you catch my drift.  I have months and months of glossy pages with bent corners and ripped edges, an anthology of inspirations, or my Modern Girls Guide to Life: As I See It.

Anything from recipes I want to try out, a hairstyle I want to replicate, an outfit I want to recreate, budget tips, workout regimens, to book/music/movie reviews.  This binder has moved with me from every apartment in Cincinnati (three), to Los Angeles, and back to Ohio.  Sadly, I don't think I have tried out any of the recipes, completed any of the workouts, or recreated any of the outfits.

Until now.

Each month as my new magazines arrive, I will continue to dog-ear, rip, and expand my anthology.  But it's time to experiment, grow, and live- and I want to share it all with you, virtually of course.  Thus, I introduce you to the first feature at "Shades of Gray," Dog-Eared.  Starting out, I have a lot to archive, and you'll be seeing a lot of entries, but eventually it should evolve into a monthly feature. I'll do my best.

SELF has quickly turned into one of my favorite magazines, and the first Dog-Eared inspired post comes from the most current issue on newstands, which I believe is February (see photo above).  It's an article that I read right before bed, and it has resonated with me since-- found under SELF-expression, it's titled: Live Your Dream Life. 

"Whenever I told my parents I dreamed of becoming a writing, they said, 'Great, but what are you going to do for work?'"

I have never read an article that I thought was speaking directly at me, it's as if SELF subscriptions services and editors have been reading my blog for months and gathered together to dedicate this one just for me. But in all seriousness, if you have ever had a shred of doubt in your "successful" job, and have imagined a better life where you are pursuing your dreams and passions, I suggest you pick up a copy of SELF and flip to this article immediately-- or, you can just read it online, here.  From working her way through college and grad school, and working in a service industry role, the author is describing just another day in my life- minus the fact that she's a published author, and I'm still trying to figure everything out. Thank you Ali Liebegott, for being my inspiration.

Any magazines you subscribe to?