Lions Lace Lattes: Church My Style

Sunday I attended, Church, My Style, a fun fashion, style, and empowering event for women created by Kim Flanagan a stylist in Calgary. Kim says she started Church out of "pure frustration" and as her business grew she became overwhelmed and a bit lost. "I was wiped out, and in the closets of other wiped out women and thought to myself, “this is bullshit!” I wanted a mentor or some release or some something that I was missing. I also wanted to get or give the feeling of “it” back to more than one woman at a time and also back to myself... It’s up to us ladies, we need to kick the ass in the world, we have the power, we just need to be reminded. I will remind you, not perfectly, just my style."

This past Sunday, Church, My Style consisted of musical performances by Jocelyn Alice, a runway show with outfits created from Southcentre Mall, a motivational talk on health and wellness by Kim Barnouin, and a closing runway show by local designer Lara Presber.

I definitely found the event to be inspirational and empowering. Kim Barnouin, the star of the show and author of the "Skinny Bitch" book series told the audience about her personal journey of discovering healthy food and learning to cook for herself. Don't be mislead by the title of her books. They are in no way about becoming "skinny" or a "bitch", but rather about learning about the harmful effects preservatives and additives can have on our health, learning how to read food labels, becoming aware of what we are putting into our bodies, learning how to cook healthy meals, and becoming an overall better person through the choices we make. I had only perviously skimmed her books before, but after Kim's talk I immediately bought Skinny Bitch, Home, Beauty and Style and Skinny Bitch, Ultimate Everyday Cookbook. I've started looking through the cookbook and the beginning section has some great tips including, what foods are affected most by pesticides and which are not, buying foods in season to cut grocery costs, and the top preservatives to avoid. Kim also has a website, healthybitchdaily.com which covers everything from food, health, fitness, style and beauty.