Holy Photoshopping! Adele editon by Liz

We've all been guilty of it.  Wishing our ass was smaller, our boobs bigger, our post-baby tummies devoid of that unyielding flat tire. (Damn that flat tire!) Often times you'll hear me say, I'd be really happy if I could just lose just five more pounds.  And then after losing them, guess what?  I feel like I need to lose five more.  Long story short: women are incredibly hard on themselves. (And on each other, but that's a whole other blog in itself!)

Which is why I love when someone like Adele comes along. Talented, beautiful and not a size 2, she disproves the notion that sexy only comes in a few sizes. Sweeping the Grammys, she rocked the house when she performed in her beautiful and form-fitting black dress.  And she was going to be on the cover of Vogue in March!  Wow, a plus-size woman on the cover?  Amazing! I was elated.

Until I saw the cover.

My first thought?  Who the F is that and what did they do with Adele?  My second thought? Can I hire Vogue's photoshopper to work on my Christmas card next year?  DAMN!

Yes, she looks UH-Amazing. But it doesn't look like her.  And what bothers me is that NO ONE in the world seems to give a shit about her size except the editors at Vogue.  Certainly not the millions of fans like me who love her music.  Her pure talent outweighs any of that bullshit.  She got her heart ripped out by someone, just like we all have at one time or another, and made some incredible music out of it. (Take that, asshole who smashed her heart in two!)  WHO CARES how much she weighs.

And why in the hell did Vogue book her if they were planning on throwing her in a corset and photoshopping the crap of her anyway?  What is the point of making someone look like a completely DIFFERENT person?  Yes, she looks hot.  But I think she would have looked just as hot had they lost the freakin' corset and just let her show herself exactly the way she is.

Woman in general already struggle so much with body image. Even the most beautiful girls are taught to hate something about themselves, and I believe that cropping the bejesus out of Adeles's arm sends a terrible message to our daughters.  You're not worthy unless you like this.  You can be a RIDICULOUSLY talented singer but all that matter is the size of your ASS. Really?  We've evolved as a society so much, yet women are still  judged, not by their accomplishments, but by their dress size. Makes. Me. CRAZY. When will we learn to love ourselves?

So there. *steps off soapbox* I'd like to know what YOU think.  Do you think Vogue went too far?  Or are you happy they gave Adele a anorexic makeover?  Tell me!

xoxo, Liz

What’s on Beth Kendrick’s Bucket List?

With the kids heading back to school and leaves beginning to fall off the trees, there's no denying it any longer-Summer is OVUH!  And while we love Fall (Liz is SO ready to bust out her new black jeggings!), we're lamenting the end of  "beach read season".  Which is sort of strange since we didn't make to the beach as much as we would have liked and when we did, had zero time to read! But rest assured, we still read plenty of light and fun books we LOVED this summer.  One of them? Second Time Around by the lovely Beth Kendrick- her seventh novel. When a group of old college friends inherit a million dollar windfall, it gives them the second chance to live out the dreams they left behind to pursue more practical things after graduation.  Almost overnight, a professor, a bartender, a copywriter and an administrative assistant reinvent themselves as a novelist, an event planner, a pastry chef, and a bed-and-breakfast owner.  Fun and entertaining, Second Time Around is a perfect escape after a long week. We loved it!

So it's no surprise that we loved Beth's bucket list too!  We're happy to discover that we're not the only ones who secretly dream of being a surf goddess or are fixated by The September issue.  But don't take our word for it-check out Beth's list for yourself!

AND...we have FIVE copies of Second Time Around to give away! Just leave a comment and you'll be entered to win! We'll pick the winners on Thursday night.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS: BETH KENDRICK'S BUCKET LIST

1. Learn to Surf I took one lesson five years ago and I want more!

2. Acquire matching bedroom furniture When my husband and I first bought our house, this was at the top of our to-do list. But somehow, between re-plumbing the bathrooms, installing new windows and battling the freakishly resilient weeds in the backyard, we lost sight of our goal.

We just celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary and our bedroom is still a hodge-podge of battered antiques, IKEA castoffs, and random piles of books (mine) and half-empty water glasses (his). I’m not even going to get into the curtain situation. (Of course, it goes without saying that my toddler’s bedroom is straight out of a Pottery Barn Kids photo shoot. So wrong.)

3.  Watch the Chicago Cubs win the World Series Actually, I would like to be the Cubs’ starting pitcher for the final game in the series, but I would settle for watching from the bleacher seats. Go Cubbies!

4. Visit Cinque Terre When I was a headstrong lass of 20, I spent a semester in Florence, Italy. While there, I had the opportunity to take a day trip to Cinque Terre, which is a cluster of seaside towns that is supposed to be breathtaking and picturesque and basically a Merchant Ivory film all rolled up with sunshine and gelato.

I wouldn’t know.

I turned down the chance to see it so that I could hole up in my bedroom and work on my grad school applications.

(Bangs head against desk.)

My reasoning was that I’d go see it next time I was in Italy. You know, because it’s always so easy to traipse off to Europe whenever the mood strikes you.

(More head banging. Ow.)

Also on my must-see list: Ayers Rock in Australia, the Northern Lights in Alaska, and the legendary underground jail cell at Disneyland. (Rumor has it that when you get your mug shot snapped, you stand on a pair of painted Donald Duck feet. I’m dying to see it. Yes, I’m eleven years old.)

5. Go shopping with Grace Coddington (the creative director of American Vogue) I just watched the documentary The September Issue, which follows Anna Wintour and her editorial staff as they prepare Vogue’s most important issue of the year, and I have a total girl-crush on Ms. Coddington. She seems funny, spirited, and brilliant--the kind of person who makes high fashion playful and accessible instead of intimidating and exclusionary.

Plus, I need a fashion intervention. Badly. The great thing about being a writer is that I work at home, in ratty old yoga pants if I so desire. The not-so-great thing is, my leaving-the-house wardrobe has been whittled down to a scant 4 or 5 outfits consisting of boring black shirts, dark denim, and flip flops. While the idea of jazzing things up with bright belts and statement necklaces and bad-ass boots appeals, I find excursions to malls to be overwhelming and stressful. (It does not help that I have the aforementioned toddler singing “Help Me, Rhonda” at ear-shattering decibels while I browse the racks.)

The time has come to call in a professional. I want Ms. Coddington to take me under her wing and school me on mixing textures and tell me whether someone with my body type should be caught dead in skinny jeans. If Vogue ever decides to do a feature on author makeovers, I’m first in line. Call me, Grace!

Thanks so much Beth! xo, L&L

To learn more about the fabulous Beth Kendrick, head on over to her website and be sure to check out her Facebook page.