Operation Beautiful | Left Coast Contessa

Major thank you to Melissa for tagging me for a “Smile- You are Beautiful” award! Side note: if you don’t know about Operation Beautiful you really should. I love the concept behind it and I own the book. Caitlin is amazing and I love her mantra to “focus on the pivotal and not the trivial”.

Source

1. Smile!

Done. If you know me you know that I walk around with a cheesy grin on my face unless I’m facing some kind of epic life disaster like not getting a parking spot near Susie Cakes or you know death or an epic family/friend crisis.

2. Write 3 things you like about your looks.

-I love my face. The whole thing. I like my eyes (shape [almond] and color [brown]), my noise, my lips and smile. I love the scar on my chin, my round cheeks, and my little sun freckles.

-I love my hips. Even though I’ve gotten healthier in the past 18 months I’m still curvy. I enjoy them because they are feminine and lovely.

– I love my ankles. They are toned and are great evidence that I am a runner.

Clearly have some serious issues with self love 😉

3. Write 3 things you appreciate about your personality.

-My Optimism and Faith: No matter how bad things seem, I always believe that things are going to be better in the future. I truly believe that something better is always on the horizon.

-My perseverance & ability to work hard: I have been a freaking hustler when it comes to getting internships, taking on leadership roles, prepping for exams, taking classes, writing papers, and networking (especially in college, I’ve let myself relax in law school). Wanna hear a true story? My Brother was talking to a law student and mentioned that I was in law school at UCLA. The kid said “wow, she must be crazy smart” and he replied “no, she just works really hard”. While it might annoy me that my brother denied my intelligence (I like to think I’m smart) he is right, I have worked my tail off to get where I am and have been tremendously lucky. And when people tell me “no” or doubt my abilities it only makes me work harder.

-My Ability to Laugh at Myself: I’m pretty good at not taking myself too seriously and let’s face it: I do some random and hilarious crap. It’s good for the soul to laugh about it. It’s even to have girlfriends to laugh about it with.

4. Write about something you find beautiful in other people (looks, personality – whatever)

-I think it’s beautiful when people are passionate about something outside of themselves. It doesn’t matter what it is (I mean, as long as it isn’t like illegal). The ability to care about something outside of your self is a beautiful thing.

5. Award as many other people as you like and let them know!

Kelley <- it’s all you girl!

Today was my birthday/one week til 2L rejuvenation day at Burke Williams.

I love a “no cell phone” area. No pictures but it is so worth it!

Overall, I had an awesome Burke Williams experience. My favorite treatment was the Hunter’s Retreat which took place in a water room. Basically you lay on a massage table and have several shower heads spray you with hot water. Then you get exfoliated followed by the application of some body wash which they used a giant seaweed thing to rub into your skin. There were so many bubbles. Then you flip over. Did I mention that they are massaging you also? It was amazing. Guys, I’ve never felt so clean in my life. It was awesome.

After I got some lunch. I went to Umami again. Oops, I did it again (but this time with the So Cal burger)…

So amazing. Probably my favorite Umami burger so far!

I also had a refreshing drink:

After lunch I went back to BW and took advantage of the amenities, which really are the whole reason to go to Burke Williams. I went to the quiet jacuzzi for a while. Then I went to the quiet reading room where they have rows of lazyboys and blankets with low lighting. I read a bit of “One Day” which is very readable. I love getting hooked on a good book. I think I’m going to make my summer reading goal!

I also had a few other treatments. First I had a relaxation massage which was so nice on my aching runner’s legs. Because it was my birthday I got a free aromatherapy upgrade. I opted for muscle relief and I got a bottle to take home with me! Great perk! Then I had a manicure and pedicure which was awesome! I got an oatmeal neck pillow which smelled so delicious and I had my first paraffin wax treatment which was so cleansing. My skin felt much smoother afterwords.

While getting my mani/pedi I read September Glamour and I read about Operation Beautiful and surprise, surprise I came home to this waiting on my doorstep…

Yay! Thanks Carolyn! Caitlin is one of my favorite bloggers and I was so excited to get her book. I’ve already started reading. For those that don’t know Operation Beautiful is a movement where people post positive notes about beauty for others to get. Notes say things like “You are Beautiful” or “You’ll always be beautiful no matter how many miles you run” or “relax and smile, it’s not that big of a deal”.