January Obsessions
In this monthly series, I will share things that I can’t get enough of and I encourage you to do the same in the comments. Enjoy!
Health At Every Size
I learned about the Health At Every Size (HAES) movement from the Food Psych podcast last year. The HAES movement came from the book of the same by Linda Bacon. HAES encourages respect and compassion for all bodies. It embraces intuitive eating without rules or restrictions to help people heal from disordered eating habits and to make peace with food. It’s been crucial for me as I’ve started gaining some weight in the past year, seemingly without a significant change in my diet. I could feel myself wanting to cut calories and dive into a diet culture mentality, but instead, I’ve decided to accept my changing body and not to be preoccupied with “healthy” food. I already eat in a way that I feel is satisfying and in tune with what my body needs, so I’m not going to get wrapped up in how I “should” look or what size I “should” be.
Another reason HAES has been heavy on mind is because of the backlash that Lizzo has been receiving from certain corners of the internet. It’s disgusting to me that people think that they can determine the state of someone’s health based on looking at them. A random person’s health (including celebrities) is no one’s business but that persons’. Also, they behave as if being healthy is a moral imperative and that only people in larger bodies are unhealthy. I love Lizzo as a musician, personality, and entertainer. I hope that she continues loving herself as she is and encouraging people to do the same despite the garbage cans of society that project their self-hate onto others under the guise of concern.
Online Mystics and Astrology Memes
Recently, I was sharing a meme from Drunk Astrology on Instagram with my partner when my son asked me how I can be a scientist and believe in astrology. I can see how he can look at me, a person who identifies as an atheist and is always espousing the virtue of evidence-based practices, and think I’m a complete hypocrite. To some extent I might be, I don’t necessarily believe that the way the planets align at the time of your birth dictate your personality or destiny, and I do feel that much of astrology is a series of cold reads where you pick and choose traits you feel the greatest connection to, but I genuinely get a kick out of reading horoscopes and laughing at astrology memes. I feel like a classic Aquarius whenever I consume that content, and it is interesting to think about the ways the moon and the sun affect the earth and how maybe the universe is influencing us on a personal level too. I also wear a crystal necklace (rose quartz and red jasper are my crystals of choice) almost every day and read the tarot card of the day from Jessica Dore on twitter. On a basic level, I believe in doing and consuming the things that bring you joy, and even though I’m a natural skeptic, I love the idea that there might be a magical/spiritual realm that influences us all.
Ivy Park x Adidas
As a member of the Bey Hive, I’m obligated to obsess over all things Beyonce. However, this collection/roll out has an extra special place in my heart because I also love Adidas, gold teeth, and freebies. I have never wanted to be a celebrity more than when I saw Yara Shahidi, Reese Witherspoon, and Cardi B opening their Ivy Park PR packages. The collection has the perfect mix of glamour and urban sportiness, and I can’t wait until it's released to the general public. I definitely need the orange bike shorts and a place to wear the orange gown.
ONE MORE THING! To celebrate my birthday, I’m going to do a giveaway! One lucky winner will get 5 - 2 oz moisturizers in all of the current varieties, a Growth hair oil, and a Steeped facial oil (a $65 value). The winner will be chosen randomly and announced on 01/25/2020. To enter, like The Ash of All Trades on Facebook, and follow @ashalltrades on Instagram and Twitter. Comment on your preferred social media site under the giveaway post with either your favorite TAOAT moisturizer or the one you’re most looking forward to trying and share/retweet the post with your friends.
