Heroine Chic

Get to Know Another Blogger: Mira Word

Indubitably my desire to deck out in all things heroin chic has waned since this blog's inception and though I still have a penchant for a good smoky eye (or two), there's just more crap going on than fashion..helloo...right? And though entertained I will keep my small masses today is a look at another blogger courageously addressing what a lot of people think but do not say...or even educate themselves upon.

Out of my sister's company Good Food Finder local changemaker Mira Word has emerged as a new but eagerly and I think successfully growing advocate of sustainable eating. Stating that food "is a fundamental commonality shared by everybody and every body, [holding] infinite possibilities, combinations and flavors but despite its diversity...is a universal ingredient that unites humanity," the Sedona, Arizona native created MiraWord.com, an honest, well-researched vignette designed to ease an eater's/shopper's journey on the way to a "balanced and compassionate lifestyle."

Forming posts on strong habits like "Eating with Purpose" and delving into that corrupted idea of "Free-Range Eggs," Mira, who I met at the Arizona Blogger Conference last weekend, is energetic as she is passionate about helping her readers make informed and compassionate sustainable consumer choices.

Greeting me with a welcoming smile, Mira and I chatted about blogging, beliefs, analytics, reaching out, my sister (you know, I'm the youngest: it's what we do) and heard from other wonderful bloggers like Jessie from Style and Pepper about growing your blog and in true essence, your passion, which was the reason this all happens in the first place. Mira's selected passion is so evident: as it waxes on her blog, she believes but also lives the idea that...

via MiraWord.com

One of the reasons I wanted to showcase Mira today is that yours truly has become a carnivore that cares - I order like a vegetarian, eat meat when a) it sounds so good I feel like I need it or b) when I have found a beef, chicken or pork farm that raises and slaughters these animals in the most humane and natural ways possible - see Double Check Ranch near Tucson, Arizona. I want to create pure eating habits that my family - and my future children - can easily adopt without the struggle so many of us encounter today. Mira and my sister and her business partner are here to help you and I do just that, and I for one am their (almost) perfect customer.

Note: I didn't dive too deeply into Mira's posts or what Good Food Finder does because I want you to take a look for yourself. Mira's blog is Miraword.com and please, please research GoodFoodFinder.com - a place to search for your favorite foods locally and sustainably. As usual, there's also so much more to both:)

Full disclosure: none. I chose to represent Mira and Good Food Finder today of my own accord. My sister nor the company did not compensate me in any way to publish this. I believe that good food is deserved and needed by all.

On Sexed-Up Discounts and Blessings

The dude at my local Quizno's gives me a discount. I pretend to not know why, but I don't know him, he doesn't know me, he looks homeless, I look homeless; it's obviously MTB. Upon prancing out, discounted grub and free cookie in hand, I won't lie when I say I make sure to turn out and shoot him an extra "thank you" - eyes sparkling, hair perhaps moving ambiguously flirty. Then later when I'm stuffing my face with chicken milano and can't help but relish the extra dollar in my wallet I stop and consider, who am I and when did I think it's ok to sex up my way to a penny saved?

Uh, the day I realized I could do it, that's when, and the real question here is when did I get so bold as to actually admit in words that I encourage the albeit tamed and platonic sexual advances of the scruffy dude at Quizno's or any bloke at any joint for that matter (bouncers especially are my favorite) in order to - and this is pretty much always the reason and outcome - save a buck or two?

When I started considering my position in life, actually. I won't vainly wax about graduating and the job search and mawiage and kids to you as when I tell anyone these woes I feel like I'm forgetting that a) you either feel lost, too or b) you have felt lost before and why am I so special? Why do I feel privileged enough to get a Quizno's discount based on looks alone and lead on the poor guy and why do I feel the need to rejoice at a QUIZNO'S discount? Am I really not raking in enough joy elsewhere? Have I let God down because I'm not letting myself absorb His blessings?

Whoa, calm down. I think the gist of this is that I have realized that life is just what happens and what matters is how we react and share God's love. Honestly, this discount makes my day, and I thank the dude for it. It's now in a list of things that makes me smile, a "counting of my blessings" of sorts. See below:

My Quizno's discount makes me smile.
This Jeremy Scott frock at Phoenix Art Museum right now makes me smile - and so does the one I recently found on Ebay!!
The boyfriend says things like "Easy, cheesy, beautiful, Mac 'n' Cheese."

This girl...

this picture, taken at a masquerade shindig a few years ago...

uh..this property damage...

the fact that my mom is graduating with her bachelor's degree in a month!
my new job
and of course,


Created by my friend and local Phoenician artist Dina Wakley:) So there's obviously a theme here. Count your blessings. It sounds cliche, but don't over-analyze things that bring joy to your life. Gather them and remember to always bring joy to others. What's on your list of things that make you smile?

An Absentee Blogger's Favorites

You'd think I'd have been on vacation or lost at sea or lost in a sea of wifi-less crests but no, actually, a lot has altered lately in the job department. Like you, me and the cat who makes three, I work for a living. It is the reward we reap when we earn anything from a B.A. in English to a doctorate in Debt Studies: we go to work, so we can have insurance...and 401k's...and a new car...but money? ~~The only pretty little m-word with which I'm familiar ends -argiela and sits in the form of the prettiest leather flapover ever.seen.~~ It may finally be a legitimate part of my life but let's not kid ourselves: we go to work so we can afford to live life outside of it.

...Unless of course, you like your job like I do, and in that case we are doubly blessed and should celebrate with champagne...or donuts; whichever is preferable (both).

If you're not sure what I'm talking about, I'm this: blogger on a budget with a obsession for leather, craftsmanship and things that end up in a department of expense, but only because in the rendezvous between fingertip and supple calf hide - or discerning eye and brilliant white moonstone - a sensation is established that brings joy to you and allows me the simultaneous cheer of sharing it.

Meaning what? Meaning this week at Barney's I came across some favorite new lovelies and I think I should share them with you, because after not blogging for two weeks, it makes me happy.