Striped Bikini

I promise we’ll talk about this super cute striped bikini, but first, some thoughts on body image: When I started losing weight earlier this year (thanks to a healthier diet and lifestyle), it made me think a lot about my self image. Loving myself and learning to appreciate my body took me a long time. It’s been an ongoing struggle ever since I hit puberty before most of my peers. I finally felt like I had gotten to a good place in the last year or two, and it meant a lot to me to share much of that journey here. But, what I’ve realized in recent months is that I was so focused on accepting my body as it was that I didn’t stop to think if I was really taking the best care of myself. The truth is that I had become complacent with diet and exercise, shrugging off weight gain as just a part of being curvy. I was doing the same things over and over, never pushing myself. I talked about this a little on Instagram, but I think that while it was great to say that I loved my body, I wasn’t acting like it. I’m still curvy (always will be), but now it feels like my body loves me back, and I feel better physically and emotionally. I’m so incredibly proud of the work that I’ve done, and putting on this striped bikini in Positano just confirmed that it has all been worth it. Clearly this is something that I’ve been thinking about a lot, so thank you for letting me share some of those thoughts.

Now, on to the bikini! You know that I usually like to treat myself to a new bathing suit before a vacation, and I scooped this one up on sale a couple of months before our trip. I love the way the vertical stripes elongate my frame, and the high-waist flatters my hips. The public beach in Positano was right below our hotel, so we spent a few hours there one afternoon. Coincidentally, the blue and white umbrellas matched my bikini perfectly. I swear it wasn’t planned! More about our trip later this week.