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If you’re in the LA area in the next few days, my friends over at Los Angeles Pregnancy Services are hosting a benefit dinner Thursday evening at a ritzy hotel in downtown LA. Famed Catholic speaker Jesse Romero will be giving the keynote speech.

LAPS is slowly converting from a “center” to a “clinic,” the difference between the two being medical staff and medical equipment. Research has shown that a simple ultrasound can have an incredibly powerful influence on the choice between abortion and life for a child. But LAPS, and Catholic pregnancy centers like LAPS go so much further than pre-natal counseling—LAPS provides financial assistance, parenting classes, adoption placements, chastity talks, NFP courses, etc. LAPS also provides post-abortion counseling for women who need it.

This is all to say that LAPS is doing some amazing work. I’m pretty sure the deadline has passed to RSVP for the actual dinner, but if you can, please consider donating to the center that is saving so many lives.

In other news…I see that “The Butterfly Circus”, winner of the 2009 DoorPost Film Project, is making its way around the blogosphere. Catholic Underground LA will be screening the film followed by a panel discussion with the actors and director this Saturday. (For you swooning ladies, I’m pretty sure Eduardo Verastegui is coming.) If you’re not my friend on Facebook, look to the sidebar, add me, and I’ll send you an invite to the event.

~Rebecca

PS: I haven’t had a chance to get my still camera fixed yet, but I will try to take some photos of my outfits for each event.

My top actually has flutter sleeves, but this is more or less what I’ve got on at the moment.

And guess what? Today I was in a photoshooot for my school’s new brochures!

Today’s classes: Foundations of Christian Spirituality, Screenwriting: Senior Writing Project, & Entertainment Law (very excited about this one.)

How’s your school week going?

Happy First Day of School!

Today is my first day as a senior in college. I have a lot of emotions about this little fact, but I’m very excited to be back in session.  Since I hardly ever post about my own personal style, I’ve decided to post outfits similar to the ones I will be wearing this week.

I have an extremely tight schedule (and pretty much always have) so in order for me to avoid showing up to class in sweats, I typically plan my outifits. Here is something quite similar to what I’m wearing today, Monday!

My wrap skirt is not quite as detailed as the one above, but I find that grey and yellow is an underrated color combination. I’m wearing black gladiator sandals and my dear pearl earrings, which were a gift from my mother, for good luck.

I’ve got three classes today: The Gospel of John, Christian Marriage & Sexuality, and Nutrition 101 later on in the evening.

Have a good day at school!

I went to Jessica’s house yesterday to hang out and film some promos for Decent Exposure when she yelled at me, “I have to show you this website!”

LA Vintage is a new-to-me online boutique for one-of-a-kind vintage clothing. It’s pretty much the online version of my favorite vintage brick-and-mortar store Jet Rag. Everything is adorable at an affordable price, most pieces being under $50!

Low and behold, right after Jes and I plowed through the entire website oohing and ahhing, her husband brought in a package from the mail—the clothes she had previously ordered from the site including this swim dress:

The photo doesn’t do it justice. It’s even cuter in person! The bad news is that the suit was too big for Jes. The good news is that it is a perfect fit on me! And yes I’m buying it from her….

Although I myself did not purchase directly from LA Vintage, I saw the quality of the pieces and was rather impressed.  The site includes shoes and plus size clothing (the garments are pinned to fit the models, so please be sure to check the measurements before placing an order.)  Long story short, you can consider LA Vintage Modestia-approved.

Exit Question: Do you like the design of the suit? If so, I’ll pass the message along and a reproduction of it may just end up in the 2010 line of Rey Swimwear.

The Decent Exposure fashion show took place on Saturday and it was FABULOUS.

I’m still recovering, and am actually quite sick, but it was so very worth it, and the video clip below is why.  I’m going to post a full recap video at some point this week (I haven’t received the footage from the actual runway just yet) and a reflection on the program tomorrow. For now, suffice to say that this program wasn’t really about clothes.  The clothes, photoshoots, and relationships that were formed were great, don’t get me wrong, but that wasn’t the bottom line. This was:

Jessica was bawling off screen and I’ll admit I got a little misty behind the camera too. They got “it.”  They really, really got it.  And when you have parents come up to you and say, “I have seen a change in my daughter” and give you hugs and say thank you…well…that just confirms that the message was sent AND received AND applied.

I am so, so, proud of these girls.

I know I said I would update on Friday, but things were a little crazy that day (it was a Catholic Underground weekend). Plus, today I have video clips for you!

I think I can honestly say that I have never been so nervous to get dressed before. I kept putting on outfits thinking–Am I modest enough? Okay, now am I fashionable enough? LOl, it was starting to get ridiculous. I told this to the team that night, and apparently they all felt the same way!

The first session was entitled “What Statement Do My Clothes Make?” given by my friends Maggie and Laura (aka Lals). They were both extremely nervous, but in my opinion did an AMAZING job. There were a few points during the night when I looked around the room and it was completely silent, and it wasn’t because the girls weren’t paying attention, it was because they were really listening to what was being said.

The following is a clip of Lals giving an example of the worth of a woman using earrings as a metaphor. I have a pair of pearl earrings that I love dearly because they were a gift from my mother for my debutante ball. I only wear them on special occasions and always make sure I put them back in the box after I’ve worn them. Then again, I’ve got super cheap earrings that I lose all of the time. In this clip, Lals asks the girls that if we take care of material things in such a manner, why don’t we take care of and cover our bodies? (Skip ahead to :12)

The discussion groups were the highlight of the night. All of the girls were very insightful and very honest and open, which actually sort of surprised me given that I had a camera in their faces all night.

In this clip, one of the participants who is a native from Peru talks about the first time she went to a mass in America. It’s funny, but kinda sad:

We had some youth ministers in the audience who gave us some great advice that we will utilize in the coming sessions. One of the surprises of the night that we weren’t quite prepared for was the age range of the girls, 12-18. If you have ever taught kids, you’ll know that is a humongous range, and we want to make sure all of the girls are comfortable and feel like they’re opinions are being heard.

All in all, the session went really well and I’m looking forward to this Thursday. In the next session, Megan will be giving a talk on manhood and womanhood, which I am sure is going to provoke some nice discussion.

In other news, we have almost finalized the list of designers for the fashion show, and I’ll post that as soon as I get the green light. Also, if you are interested in bringing the program to your neck of the woods, just let me know and we will most certainly work with you.

~Rebecca

So…I suffer from a very wide range of allergies including everything from cats and dust to a number of very common trees and even lawn grass.  (I thought the doctor was joking on that last one.) In addition to that, I also have extremely sensitive skin—it took a good two years to learn what brands of make up it is safe for me to use. (I’m a MAC girl for life!) I’ve been this way for years, and I’ve gotten pretty good at being able to recognize allergens and protect myself from harm.  But in the last two months, I’ve had three reactions that resulted in puffy eyes.

For weeks I have been trying to figure out what in the heck is wrong with me—I bought a new brand of lip gloss two weeks ago, and thought maybe I touched my lips and then touched my eyes? But that didn’t add up.  Well yesterday, it dawned on me—SUNGLASSES.

It makes perfect sense. In looking back, I was wearing sunglasses for a prolonged period of time on the day of each reaction.  I do wipe off my sunglasses every time I wear them, as I have a collection that I wear according to outfit, but during the course of the day I put them on the counter, in my purse, etc.  I’m 95% sure this is what the problem is, so it looks like I’m going to have to disinfect them each and every time I put them on my face.

So let this be a warning to you….

The Thread Show was…interesting…

It attracted all sorts of people, including Playboy promoters, Texas housewives, and your typical fashionable hipsters. It was definitely a place to people watch, LOL.

Day 1:

Got there early to help Jes set up her booth.

BTW, the mannequin’s name is “Mani.”

We didn’t do very much at the actual show the first day. Once it ended, Jes and her friend Mae and I headed to an evening mass, then to dinner in Little Italy. After that, we headed to the home of Katelyn Rose of Suddenly Darling for dessert! We had mango mochi…it was yummy…and she and her family are lovely.

Day 2:

The second day was more hectic. There was way more traffic at the event, plus the line was showing in the fashion show.

We also had a special visitor—Tracy Lynn Cruz, a former Power Ranger! She was so sweet! All we talked about was modesty and working in the entertainment industry.

After that, we packed up the booth and headed back to Katelyn’s house for dinner with her whole family. All in all, it was a great weekend. Over the next few weeks, I will be highlighting some of my favorite designers from the show.

You can see more photos from the event here.

Lol, those two are my favorites.  You can see more photos from the conference here.

I’m driving back home to San Diego tonight and will be at the Thread Show at the Wonderhaus Bakery all weekend with Jessica and Katelyn Rose of Suddenly Darling. If you’re in the area come by and say hello! There will be a number of indie designers, eco-friendly fashions, and beauty and gifting suites. 

Will post photos on Monday….have a good weekend ladies!

Sorry I went MIA again, but the semester has officially ended, I’m all moved in to my new place in LA, and….I got a kitten!

His name is Jimmy Mac and he’s adorable—but he’s driving me crazy. I think he might be the most energetic cat I’ve ever had!

Posting will now resume as normal, I promise. But right now I have to go get Jimmy as he is currently climbing on a lamp shade. LOL.

Happy Easter ladies!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend with your families.  My weekend was a little chaotic, but still very fruitful nevertheless.

On Holy Thursday, I drove down to Orange County to have lunch with Jessica Rey of Rey Swimwear and Katelyn Rose from Suddenly Darling. It was a lot of fun and Katelyn and her family were wonderful!

After lunch I was able to sit behind the scenes and watch Katelyn interview Jes, and then get a little preview of Rey Swimwear’s 2009 line. The three of us (Jessica, Katelyn, and myself) are in talks to work on a project together in the coming weeks.

But more on that later!