hi friends xx big hugs to you all

i wrote a whole thing about Puerto Rico and the backstory of the hurricane and urging you to think about ways you can get involved but it seemed pretty obvious how bad it is. if you need more understanding, click here and also move out of your cave.

i can be pretty clear some/most times that this administration drives me up a gosh darn wall on the DAILY and makes me want to cry/scream/throw things more than is necessary, but let’s set that aside for a second. he-who-must-not-be-named may not give 2 cares about our friends in Puerto Rico (aka American citizens, not the other non-whites he wants to deport) but they are humans with major wreckage and loss due to these hurricanes.

Florida got so lucky – like SOOOO lucky – and were dodged in a major way. imagine if all of Florida was destroyed? all parts of it. no access to food and water, no cell connection, no access to health services needed to keep family and friends alive – imagine the news coverage we would see. imagine the call to action we would experience and the immediate reaction you’d witness across this country.

Puerto Rico is suffering. the hurricane was horrific, but this is the trauma. finding family, rebuilding hope. can you imagine the questions you would have if the island you’ve lived on forever was totally wiped out? what do you do for money? for food? are you able to leave? how do you contact your family members? i don’t know how i would sleep at night. actually i wouldnt.

People stop on a highway near a mobile phone antenna tower to check for mobile phone signal, after the area was hit by Hurricane Maria, in Dorado, Puerto Rico September 22, 2017. Picture taken September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Alvin Baez TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY – RC1D2051A440

this morning i woke up super inconvenienced because my alarm clock didnt go off at the right time. i couldnt find the outfit i wanted to wear to this meeting so i settled on another one. my train didnt come for like TWENTY MINUTES making me late for work. i forgot my lunch. the list goes on.

guess what else i experienced through all of that?

i woke up. in a bed. safely. healthy. i put on clothes – clothes i love that have memories tied to them that weren’t given to me from a foundation or that i found in the street. i walked to the train, because it was working. i was on instagram the whole time. i texted my sister. i laughed a meme on facebook. i was hardly inconvenienced in the way that they were and that perspective is what makes me realize how ashamed i am that as of right before i wrote this, i had done nothing.

and so the age old question, what CAN i do though? really?

easiest one is give money. i know people say “every dollar counts” and i know i’ve heard that and thought, yeah but i cant just give a DOLLAR, but OH YES YOU CAN. think if everyone in this country gave just 1 dollar. it goes a long way. also consider this – i was planning on going to a $20 workout class tonight and then to happy hour where i’d probably spend about $50 and then an uber home for about $15. tonight, i sacrifice my evening, and i give $85 to United for Puerto Rico (many other places to donate as well, below). you don’t have to give $85, but instead of going to Starbucks this week, maybe buy the K-cups for 1 week, make your coffee at home, and give the rest to PR. whatever the sacrifice, now is a great time to do so. i’m sure your inconvenience is their heaven, which i try to remember now.

another thing to do, this is especially for my ladies but i dont see many men reading my fashion blog so whatever: we’re all in that time of the year where we have to flip our closets from spring to fall, bringing out our sweaters and pants and tucking away our swimsuits. as we do this, make a stack of clothes you know for sure are done for you. there’s a link below of Salvation Army locations that are accepting PR donations. this would help immensely. can you imagine not being able to change your clothes for weeks. its 2017, lets get them some clothes.

LASTLY AND MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE ONE BECAUSE ITS FOR ALL OF US WHO ARE LAZY BUT ALSO PLEASE DO THE OTHER 2 THINGS I MENTIONED ABOVE AS WELL OKAY?

are you like me? for sanity sake lets hope not. but for realz, i am obsessed with Amazon Prime. OBSESSED. BIG PROBLEM. HUGE. (please get that reference). if you, like me, use Amazon Prime religiously for all your shopping needs and wants and unnecessary purchases, change over to AMAZON SMILE. just go to smile.amazon.com (or find it through Amazon), select your charity (in this case American Red Cross to benefit PR, but there are others as well) and shop like you normally would and Amazon donates 0.5% of the price to that charity. literally does not change your experience at all PLUS you give back. now keep in mind I use Amazon pretty religiously (and always through Smile) and in the past year with all my purchases on Amazon, I’ve only racked up about $10 of donations. every little bit does count and i’m not discounting this service, but i do personally think this could be a supplemental add on to one of the above or below ideas.

satelite dishes on roofs of homes now under water

Other/Additional ways you can help are listed here, copy and pasted from a website that wasn’t .gov because our President sucks and should be fired:

To donate via text, compose a new text message for number 41444. Type UNIDOS (space) YOUR AMOUNT (space) and YOUR NAME. (For example: Unidos 100 John Doe) Then press “send” and click on the link to complete your donation.

Around the country: the Salvation Army is accepting hurricane relief donations,

 GoFundMe created a central page for Hurricane Maria relief campaigns, check it out here.

love you all xx let’s stand strong with our family and friends in Puerto Rico and show them that even though our leader has forgotten them, we never could. we can work together to help them rebuild their lives and return to happiness from this turmoil they did not ask for. at the end of the day, wouldn’t you want the same compassion given to you?

**All photos taken from The Atlantic

hi friends xx big hugs to you all

i wrote a whole thing about Puerto Rico and the backstory of the hurricane and urging you to think about ways you can get involved but it seemed pretty obvious how bad it is. if you need more understanding, click here and also move out of your cave.

i can be pretty clear some/most times that this administration drives me up a gosh darn wall on the DAILY and makes me want to cry/scream/throw things more than is necessary, but let’s set that aside for a second. he-who-must-not-be-named may not give 2 cares about our friends in Puerto Rico (aka American citizens, not the other non-whites he wants to deport) but they are humans with major wreckage and loss due to these hurricanes.

Florida got so lucky – like SOOOO lucky – and were dodged in a major way. imagine if all of Florida was destroyed? all parts of it. no access to food and water, no cell connection, no access to health services needed to keep family and friends alive – imagine the news coverage we would see. imagine the call to action we would experience and the immediate reaction you’d witness across this country.

Puerto Rico is suffering. the hurricane was horrific, but this is the trauma. finding family, rebuilding hope. can you imagine the questions you would have if the island you’ve lived on forever was totally wiped out? what do you do for money? for food? are you able to leave? how do you contact your family members? i don’t know how i would sleep at night. actually i wouldnt.

People stop on a highway near a mobile phone antenna tower to check for mobile phone signal, after the area was hit by Hurricane Maria, in Dorado, Puerto Rico September 22, 2017. Picture taken September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Alvin Baez TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY – RC1D2051A440

this morning i woke up super inconvenienced because my alarm clock didnt go off at the right time. i couldnt find the outfit i wanted to wear to this meeting so i settled on another one. my train didnt come for like TWENTY MINUTES making me late for work. i forgot my lunch. the list goes on.

guess what else i experienced through all of that?

i woke up. in a bed. safely. healthy. i put on clothes – clothes i love that have memories tied to them that weren’t given to me from a foundation or that i found in the street. i walked to the train, because it was working. i was on instagram the whole time. i texted my sister. i laughed a meme on facebook. i was hardly inconvenienced in the way that they were and that perspective is what makes me realize how ashamed i am that as of right before i wrote this, i had done nothing.

and so the age old question, what CAN i do though? really?

easiest one is give money. i know people say “every dollar counts” and i know i’ve heard that and thought, yeah but i cant just give a DOLLAR, but OH YES YOU CAN. think if everyone in this country gave just 1 dollar. it goes a long way. also consider this – i was planning on going to a $20 workout class tonight and then to happy hour where i’d probably spend about $50 and then an uber home for about $15. tonight, i sacrifice my evening, and i give $85 to United for Puerto Rico (many other places to donate as well, below). you don’t have to give $85, but instead of going to Starbucks this week, maybe buy the K-cups for 1 week, make your coffee at home, and give the rest to PR. whatever the sacrifice, now is a great time to do so. i’m sure your inconvenience is their heaven, which i try to remember now.

another thing to do, this is especially for my ladies but i dont see many men reading my fashion blog so whatever: we’re all in that time of the year where we have to flip our closets from spring to fall, bringing out our sweaters and pants and tucking away our swimsuits. as we do this, make a stack of clothes you know for sure are done for you. there’s a link below of Salvation Army locations that are accepting PR donations. this would help immensely. can you imagine not being able to change your clothes for weeks. its 2017, lets get them some clothes.

LASTLY AND MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE ONE BECAUSE ITS FOR ALL OF US WHO ARE LAZY BUT ALSO PLEASE DO THE OTHER 2 THINGS I MENTIONED ABOVE AS WELL OKAY?

are you like me? for sanity sake lets hope not. but for realz, i am obsessed with Amazon Prime. OBSESSED. BIG PROBLEM. HUGE. (please get that reference). if you, like me, use Amazon Prime religiously for all your shopping needs and wants and unnecessary purchases, change over to AMAZON SMILE. just go to smile.amazon.com (or find it through Amazon), select your charity (in this case American Red Cross to benefit PR, but there are others as well) and shop like you normally would and Amazon donates 0.5% of the price to that charity. literally does not change your experience at all PLUS you give back. now keep in mind I use Amazon pretty religiously (and always through Smile) and in the past year with all my purchases on Amazon, I’ve only racked up about $10 of donations. every little bit does count and i’m not discounting this service, but i do personally think this could be a supplemental add on to one of the above or below ideas.

satelite dishes on roofs of homes now under water

Other/Additional ways you can help are listed here, copy and pasted from a website that wasn’t .gov because our President sucks and should be fired:

To donate via text, compose a new text message for number 41444. Type UNIDOS (space) YOUR AMOUNT (space) and YOUR NAME. (For example: Unidos 100 John Doe) Then press “send” and click on the link to complete your donation.

Around the country: the Salvation Army is accepting hurricane relief donations,

 GoFundMe created a central page for Hurricane Maria relief campaigns, check it out here.

love you all xx let’s stand strong with our family and friends in Puerto Rico and show them that even though our leader has forgotten them, we never could. we can work together to help them rebuild their lives and return to happiness from this turmoil they did not ask for. at the end of the day, wouldn’t you want the same compassion given to you?

**All photos taken from The Atlantic