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“Life is a rope that swings us through hope. Always believe today is better than yesterday + tomorrow will be better than today.”✨ . #fitgirlfriday Trust me this was a lot harder than it looks. Home workouts are very different than gym workouts. I haven’t touched a rope in months + let’s not talk about the stability muscles that could barely help me balance on this bosu. As we get back into our favorite gyms, it’s important to remember to be kind to yourself + also to humble yourself. Just as your body has adapted to quarantine life, it’s going to have to reacclimate to gym life. Start slow, be patient + listen to your body. It will take time, but muscle memory will kick in, you’ll recondition yourself + you’ll get there. Just remember to breathe + believe that as long as you stay consistent, tomorrow will be better than yesterday. You got this! 💪🏽💦 . 📸: @qsnutrition
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“Lash-gasm (noun): an intense feeling experienced by a client when she is overwhelmed with joy upon viewing her new complete lash look.”✨ . Actual feels after my post-Quarantine appointment with @thelashista @lash.lamour. It’s amazing what some fabulous lash artistry can do to your face! One step closer to feeling like myself again. Next up, a much needed appointment with @hairbyyolandacrowell. Stay tuned 🎉
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“Wake up and makeup, beauty. It’s time to beast!”✨ . Phase 2, Step 2 reopens today which means I can do your makeup again! Words can’t describe how excited I am to use my brushes + crack open my very sanitized kit. While we’ve been in quarantine, I’ve been busy preparing to provide you the safest + best makeup services. Thanks to @themasterclass I completed the @sanitationconversation Sanitation Standards online training + certification, as well as the Barbicide Covid-19 certification. With that being said, Master Your Face sessions are back in action. You can finally get that makeup lesson you’ve been dying for. Please email me to book your appointment. I can’t wait to help you master your face.🤗 . To all my brides, you’ve pivoted and thrived during this wild ride, cheers to you! 🥂 Just remember, you WILL have your magical day, even if it’s not exactly when you wanted. Whether it’s this year or next, I can’t wait to work with you! 💗
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“Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.”✨ . #fitgirlfriday The body achieves what the mind believes. If you tell yourself you can’t do something, you won’t be able to do it. If you tell yourself you CAN, you’ll try and even if you can’t do it well, you at least have a new goal to work towards. I hated pushups, just ask @qsnutrition but I had to start somewhere - first on both knees, then on one knee with one leg out, now I’m the real deal... for at least 10 in a row lol. Point is, it’s mind over matter. Believe in yourself, push yourself, try first and then set small goals to get yourself to your bigger goal. Clear your mind of can’t. You can and you will. It’s time to prove your can’ts wrong.😘 . 📸 @becca1checca
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“Be bold enough to raise the standards of everyone around you.”✨ . Be bold, be brave, be you. In order to effect change, you have to be the change. We’re not always aware of how our influence, our presence, our energy + our own actions affect and move others. We can live + lead by example. Be aware of how we’re absorbed. Be bold in our own actions, intentions + words. We can raise the standard by simply starting with ourselves. In times like these, we are called to be bold, push ourselves + get comfortable with being uncomfortable. I challenge you to ask yourself... are you uncomfortable yet? 🖤
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Boss babes have to make boss moves✨ . Meal prepping takes work, time + requires planning ahead. In the summer especially, I’d rather be at the beach on Sunday than in my kitchen meal prepping. Also, meal prepping for 1 requires eating the same thing every day for one too many days... it’s easy to get bored or sick of the same food. This is where @nutre_meals comes into play for me. As I adjust to life outside again...back in the office, getting ready to take clients + fitting in my workouts, I don’t always have the time to plan ahead with food. These meals help me stay on track, balanced + healthy while I focus on staying the boss babe course. If you’re interested, I’m happy to give you my honest feedback. Thinking of trying Nutré Meals for yourself? ✨My code gets you 20% off your first order, use GALLARDO20 at checkout.✨ I can’t wait to hear what you think 💛
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“Sexy is not a size. Every calorie is not a war. Your body is not a battleground. Your value is not measured in pounds.”✨ . We’re still technically in quarantine and we still don’t know what day it is so.... today is #fitgirlfriday 😘 Speaking of Quarantine, it’s taken a toll on most of us in terms of our bodies. We’re less active, we’re not on the go, we’re next to our refrigerators constantly, and our beloved gyms are still closed. Even if you’re working out every day and doing your best to eat healthy, it’s still different for a lot of us. Our bodies are adjusting and changing to our new lifestyle. @qsnutrition, @becca1checca + I joke about embracing that quarantine thicc. But that’s what it is... we have to embrace the stage we’re in, give ourselves credit for doing the best we can + love our bodies as is. It’s not always easy, trust me, I know. I’m a big culprit of getting stuck on what my body was capable of and looked like before quarantine. I’m lucky to have friends who remind me that we will get back there + to give myself credit for being able to stay motivated throughout the coronapocalypse. So today I’m reminding you to do the same. Give yourself credit for where you are at this moment, for surviving a pandemic. The most important thing is taking care of yourself - the calories, inches, + pounds don’t matter as long as your mentally, emotionally + physically healthy. Healthy is the new sexy. 😘 . 📸: @becca1checca
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“I was not made to be subtle.”✨ . Neither was this eyeliner.💙 I was not made to be subtle, yet we’re taught to blend in. When I say “we” I’m speaking from my own personal experience... I was taught that I was just like everyone else. When I was a kid I was told to check the Caucasian box even though in parentheses I remember it clearly stating something along the lines of “Not South American”, yet I’m 50% Ecuadorian. My father came to this country during a time when assimilation was the only way to survive + that carried into how he raised his children. He didn’t want us to be discriminated against as “Spanish kids” so we kept our culture at a distance + were told to check the “white” box. What I was, was confused. Especially because I was different, and even if i didn’t know it then, people often reminded me of it. I stood out. In grade school, I was a monkey. As I got older, I was exotic. They’d ask me what I was or just start speaking Spanish to me, a language I didn’t understand. As I got older + was around more diversity, I taught myself about my culture. I spent more time with my Abuelita to learn about where I came from. I studied abroad in Spain to learn the language. I’d been able to “pass” my whole life. That is a privilege I’ve had. One that I became very aware of in college when all my closest friends were Dominican. One I became even more aware of as I spent my entire adult life in biracial relationships. When you “pass” but you watch the people you love most repeatedly fall victim to racism, right in front of your eyes, it ignites something fiery inside of you - a ferocious need to guard + protect, and to love even harder. I remember in college my mother asking me why I didn’t “date white”. She said, “Christina, why would you want to bring children into this world who will suffer? The world isn’t kind.” I remember getting so mad at her for saying that to me, but it wasn’t her that I was mad at, it was the world we live in. I used to think it would get better, but it hasn’t. While biracial relationships are more common, it doesn’t mean racism is any less common. With that being said, I’m proud to be Latina. We’re not subtle.... CONTINUED below ⬇️
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“Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting.”✨ . I keep visualizing cute little Stormi in the toddler challenge video saying “patience, patience, patience” as she waits for her mother to come back so she can eat 3 m&ms. If a 2 year old can muster that much patience then we adults can, right? In MA makeup is now considered Phase 2, step 2. I didn’t know the phases had steps but here we are, patiently waiting. While we wait for our world to open up again, there’s seems to be plenty to keep us busy - a movement bigger than us, a purpose bigger than any one person, a change in culture, a change in systems, a change in society... while some come to terms with the realities of racial injustice and others process what they’ve already known or experienced at the magnitude in which the media is throwing it at us right now, I think the same lesson applies. My hope is that this time, finally, it will hit us all. That this time the impact is great enough that together we will implement change, but it’s going to take time, a lot of work + patience - not with the violence, racism and injustice - but with those trying to learn, educate + process their feelings, their traumas, and/or their ignorance and turn all of that into actions towards change. We’re all human, the goal is to be good humans, to seek love over hate, protect those without a voice, to stand up for what’s right and guard against the continuation of racial injustice. As infuriating and disheartening as this country is right now, it’s going to take patience to work together and implement the change we want to see. It’s easy to get angry, lash out + lose patience, it’s harder to keep a good attitude, listen, learn, educate + implement change... but it’s the latter that’s going to make a difference. I’m committed to making a difference. Are you? 🖤
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BLM 🖤 #blackouttuesday
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Nothing will change until we all carry the weight...✨ . I was speaking to a friend this morning. They had reached out about the damage done to the city last night. They said, “I can’t believe how awful it is.” And my response was, “I can. It’s ten times worse in other cities.“ The words that followed hit me hard. Their response was... “Ya I know but that was far away. It just hits harder because it’s places I know and am familiar with, I guess it makes it more real.”... It makes it more real... ISN’T THAT THE WHOLE POINT? People question or are quick to criticize the protests, the violence + destruction... but how many are seeking to understand the underlying issues fueling them? Because if you have done so, I’m pretty sure you’d see that the whole point is to make the realities of racism in this country REAL for EVERYONE not just the minority. That is privilege - thinking something isn’t a problem because it’s not a problem to you personally, being able to turn a blind eye or not acknowledging something is real because it doesn’t affect you directly. So although I do not condone violence + destruction, did you notice how many more people feel it now? Did you notice how many more people are realizing how real this problem is + how much trauma it’s caused? Did you notice how many people of privilege are now realizing their need to step up + use their voice to help? Racism isn’t a them problem, it’s our problem. Nothing will change until we all step up + decide to carry the weight together. The black community has had to carry the burden long enough... it’s time to educate ourselves, step up, show up, speak up + carry the weight with them and for them. If we can all do that together, I pray as a result, someday there will be a generation where racism is no longer tolerated by anyone. To my friends + family... I see you, I love you, I’m here to carry the weight with you.💗
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“If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done before.” . Social distancing is hard enough without being single. Dating is hard enough without social distancing. Putting yourself out there is uncomfortable whether we’re outside or inside. Last night 35 people saw the chance to be part of something different and chose to do something they’ve never done before. They joined us for GNO(I) Single Ladies +1 on Zoom. We laughed, we debated the issues, we shared our perspectives + our experiences, and we made new friends without ever leaving the safety of our bubbles. Thank you to all of you who joined us + to our amazing guest panel who made the whole experience so entertaining + enlightening. I think we might be onto something😏... stay tuned for more to come.💋