On new years day I put together a list of goals and dreams for 2016. One of the items on my list was to expand my blog which is why as you’ve noticed this year, I’ve added 1 new series already and eluded to a couple more. Well, this is another series I would like to introduce – A Pair of Queens. This is a little play on words and our hope is to redeem the term Queen and help women to see that they are royalty and to walk it out like a boss with a crown on your head.
This series was birthed just over 2 years ago when I connected with Julie-Anne. The only thing is, we had no idea that the story of our friendship would birth such a thing and our story is still being written. Let’s rewind a little bit….
This series was birthed just over 2 years ago when I connected with Julie-Anne. The only thing is, we had no idea that the story of our friendship would birth such a thing and our story is still being written. Let’s rewind a little bit….
Julie-Anne and I met at the place we both volunteer at – WINGS Maternity Home. At the time I was helping Marion, the director with administration, fundraising and event planning and Julie-Anne was one of the leaders of the group that supported the in house and community moms (in case you don’t know – WINGS is a home that takes in pregnant, displaced & homeless young moms who have chosen LIFE for their babies on the way). Our volunteer roles were very different at the time and although we had heard of the other, we had not met until a wedding that was held in the backyard of WINGS. I still remember the day I saw her – the only thing I could think of was – whoever that girl is, she’s beautiful and I needed to know her! She was wearing a long black and florescent yellow dress with a bun – yup I remember the details.
PAUSE. Hey everyone, its Julie-Anne! Sarah thought it would be fun if I added in my two cents and so here I am! I remember seeing Sarah and thinking “That girl owns a room and doesn’t even know it…YET”. Following this event, I continued to see Sarah here and there although no real conversation. This takes us to our defining moment. Sarah can explain.
PAUSE. Hey everyone, its Julie-Anne! Sarah thought it would be fun if I added in my two cents and so here I am! I remember seeing Sarah and thinking “That girl owns a room and doesn’t even know it…YET”. Following this event, I continued to see Sarah here and there although no real conversation. This takes us to our defining moment. Sarah can explain.
Over the next few months we saw each other here and there but hadn’t really connected until one day we decided to go for lunch after church. Now, before I tell you what happened, something you should know is that both her and I had been on our own journeys to discovering who we were as women, healing from our past pains and we had each identified our passions in life – helping women see their value, worth and beauty – because this was something we had both learned in our journeys, although our journeys were very different. We were both becoming secure in who we were, content and really just loved life and loved others.
That day we sat in East Side Mario’s it’s like we left all preconceived notions of what the other would think of the other and all we did was meet with our hearts. What we discovered was that our hearts were very similar and we connected on a heart level. You see, in the past I would have seen a girl like her (who I might have described as having the perfect body) would think I wasn’t good enough and judged me because I was a big girl. But, I never felt that way with Julie-Anne. Julie-Anne told me from the beginning how beautiful I was. And for her, she’s used to other women thinking she’s fake. As we talked, we left all our ideas of what the other might think at the door and we saw each other for what we truly were – beautiful, strong, confident, loving and compassionate women who both have a heart for other women to know their value and worth so that they can live out that place.
Back again- Doesn’t she have such an eloquent way of describing things? Thanks Sarah! I have to add that on this day, nothing about Sarah or I was anything close to perfect. We were actually two women like anybody else who were journeying through life which included men, fashion, body images, faith, love and the list goes on. Although we didn’t have it all together, we were wonderfully imperfect and guess what? We still are. Our passion connected us initially. Now, for many women they could see that having the same passion or desires could be a threat. This is where many of us take the wrong turn in having surface relationships with women and/or even become competitive in passive aggressive ways. In our case-we chose not to. AMEN TO THAT-now back to Sarah.
Over the last couple of years we have journeyed through so much together – healing from past relationships with men, our journey to healthy lives (emotionally, spiritually and physically), we’ve traveled together and although a lot of our friendship revolves around serious matters of the heart, we have so much fun together and let me tell ya – these 2 girls know how to ‘turn up’ on the dance floor, especially Julie-Anne.
There is a trust between us that has surprised us both – a full trust with our hearts. I don’t fear telling Julie-Anne something I’ve done wrong, or tell her my crazy ideas (poor her, she deals with some of my craziest ones) – I know she doesn’t judge me and that goes both ways. When it comes to our fitness journey’s we send each other our progress pictures – so that means like bra and underwear shots and for me that used to be something I was so shameful of, especially if I was talking to someone who wasn’t plus size. Julie-Anne has never made me feel in anyway bad about my body, she’s actually helped me see the beauty in my body even more so – which is really cool if you ask me.
Our friendship has surprised us in so many ways. We both feel that we didn’t just meet to be friends – I mean if that was it, it would be amazing but there’s more in store and this blog series is just the beginning of things that you will see from us in collaboration.
Our friendship has surprised us in so many ways. We both feel that we didn’t just meet to be friends – I mean if that was it, it would be amazing but there’s more in store and this blog series is just the beginning of things that you will see from us in collaboration.
We are both passionate about life, love, women and fashion. If you’ve seen Julie-Anne in my posts or through my Instagram feed or even started following her yourself, you’ll notice that her style is always on point! People are always commenting on her style – on social media and in person. She has actually helped me when it comes to my style – especially my casual style. When I go shopping I will text her pictures of things I try and she’ll say yay or nay. I have been inspired by her style and how she dresses and carries herself. Which is why, our outfits for the series have been styled by Julie-Anne. Her IG handle is KissOfClass and that’s how most people describe her style – kissed with class.
Kissed with class- Sarah you’re the best! Our passion for style, fashion and women has definitely driven our friendship to some fun adventures. Including taking these wonderful pictures! I wanted to quickly shout out Amadora Jewlery for kindly allowing us to use some of her wonderful pieces on both our necks and wrists. She had the perfect fit, crafted especially for us, to help wear our royalty in class-it was only fitting to have something glimmering and shinning to help pop on our outfits. When Sarah and I went shopping for our outfits we naturally gravitated towards these shirts-not only were they cropped top which we have come to love, but they had crowns fitted for us queens. Paired with a solid bottom and heel to help polish the look (check for details on where we bought these items). So…. “If you don’t know, now you know!”
Julie-Anne has supported my dreams from the start, has attended the pageant, shows, helped me prep for shoots and celebrated all milestones (big and small) in my journey. And now it’s my turn to support my friend as she steps out pursuing her dreams. I’m not about to spill all her dreams to you but be sure to keep your eye out for her.
This is what happens when as a woman you are confident in who you are, love yourself and are at peace with the person God created you to be – you get to share in the journey with other women. You get to support them in their dreams and passions. There is no jealousy, there is no pushing them aside or knocking them down so you can be seen. Women, it is time to see your value, your worth and how unique you are – for you first. But then there comes a time where you need to start supporting other women and celebrating who they are. Stop shading other women to elevate yourself. There is enough sparkle for all of us! The sooner we realize that, the better life is and the more strong women we will begin to see in this world. Consider this a call to action to stand up tall in the woman you were created to be and to do what you can to help other women to do the same.
Couldn’t have said it better myself Sarah! We are all women that are ValYOUable, BeYOUtiful and YOUnique. You are one of a kind. Be the Queen you are and of course ALWAYS do it in style (a good outfit always helps)!
Couldn’t have said it better myself Sarah! We are all women that are ValYOUable, BeYOUtiful and YOUnique. You are one of a kind. Be the Queen you are and of course ALWAYS do it in style (a good outfit always helps)!
I’ll close with this, although you may have seen this throughout this post – notice how most of this journey between us, there has been no focus on separating or labeling us as ‘plus’ and ‘straight size’. It is obvious that we are different sizes but that is not a bad thing. I am me, and she is who she is. Who we are is not just the outside package, that’s just a part of our package. She is not more beautiful than I am because she’s not ‘plus’ and I am not more beautiful because I have curves. The body positive movement can sometimes get twisted and we see messaging like ‘Real women have curves’ – let’s be clear – we are all real women, regardless of your body, shape or size. Stop shading women with different priorities in life, different body types, heights, styles and start embracing each one for WHO they are as women.
Now for all the details of our outfit.
First off, let me shout out a huge THANK YOU to Stefanie Augustijn who is a dear friend and the owner of SexyPlus Clothing as well as a blogger herself as SassyPlus, for taking these shots. I had told Stefanie about the significance of my relationship with Julie-Anne and a few minutes after we got off the phone she called me back and offered to do a shoot with us. Thank you Stefanie for being a shining example of how women should embrace one another and cheer each other on!
First off, let me shout out a huge THANK YOU to Stefanie Augustijn who is a dear friend and the owner of SexyPlus Clothing as well as a blogger herself as SassyPlus, for taking these shots. I had told Stefanie about the significance of my relationship with Julie-Anne and a few minutes after we got off the phone she called me back and offered to do a shoot with us. Thank you Stefanie for being a shining example of how women should embrace one another and cheer each other on!
Styled by Julie-Anne – find her on IG HERE
Top from Forever 21 HERE
Sarah’s Skirt also Forever 21 HERE
Julie-Anne’s skirt from Runway Luxe HERE
All Jewelry from Amadora Jewelry HERE
Makeup by Nichole Lukasik
Sarah’s Lashes by Love Ur Look
Stay Royal,
Beautiful! Exciting! Lovely!!
Great post Sarah and Jules (contribution). Really Inspiring and loved how you said it in style 🙂