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#SUPERWOMAN BEGINNING IN THE MIDDLE | CO-FOUNDER CATHERINE WILLIAMSON TALKS TO HARNESS
On renovating homes, working with her husband and quitting her job The before and after pictures are truly spectacular — from broken walls, floral wallpaper and old tiles, Catherine Williamson and her husband, Bryan Williamson, transform lifeless spaces into bright, welcoming homes. The images speak for themselves as Catherine and Bryan build an empire. With reality television show offers, 50K followers on Instagram and features on sites like Oprah.com –we wanted to learn more about the co-founder of Beginning in the Middle, a former accountant from New Jersey. Catherine is the oldest of five siblings. Growing up, their mom did not want them to have cable, so they played with each other and made crafts. “That fostered a lot of creativity in all of us,” Catherine said. “I just r...
BITTERNESS IS A FLAVOR
I have become bitter about marriage. I know a couple where the woman is an animal communicator and the boyfriend is a chef. They recently became engaged. He thinks it is perfectly acceptable that she can tell him what the cat or the turtle are thinking and she coo’s about his cooking because she “can’t cook a thing.” In my cynicism, I can forecast with confidence that within five years of being married he will scoff at her ability to talk with animals and she will tell him if he makes enchiladas for dinner one more time she will drive his prized knife through his heart. When I see beautiful homes for sale on the country road that connects my town to Ft. Collins, I inevitably think: “Divorce.” Because nobody would sell such a precious house on a lake unless they were divorcing and needed to...
MURPHY’S LAW
Murphy’s Law states, “anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” My life as of late has been a living example of Murphy’s Law. Ever feel like that? This article could be of use to you. I’ll start with saying that I’m lucky. I’m genuinely lucky because I’ve had grandparents and parents who have pushed me (although kicking and screaming at times) to get a college education. They pushed me to work when I turned 16 and pushed me to “never quit” and “stick the team out until the end of the season”. They even pushed me to shoot for my dreams of pursuing the production industry even though I know they winced at the thought of “freelance”. Aside from all that luck, education and pushing from loved ones, I’m still finding myself stuck in Murphy’s Law. I’m so stuck that I’ve been without a steady j...
#SUPERWOMAN TEENEAR | UP-AND-COMING URBAN POP SINGER TALKS TO HARNESS
Teenear discusses the biggest risk she’s taken, why she wants to be a good role model to young girls and positivity. Women from all different walks of life contribute to Harness Magazine. On rare occasions, we come across women who are pursuing a dream that is quite extraordinary. Take Teenear, for instance: a young urban pop singer from Miami. When she was 15-years-old, her parents encouraged her to upload her cover of “Stay” by Rihanna to YouTube. Soon after, she signed on to Slip-n-Slide Records (the label worked with the likes of Rick Ross, Trina and Plies) and released singles with accompanying music videos. One of them, “Friday Night,” even featured Sage the Gemini. The song, an empowered anthem (peep the lyric: “Tonight I’m doin’ me”) is about a girl who doesn’t need a man o...
4 DATING BEHAVIORS YOU SHOULD NEVER ACCEPT: THIS IS NOT A DRILL
I need you to know that even in the murky area of dating that there are “right” and “wrong” ways of treating people – and some dating behaviours you should never accept. Sometimes there are no excuses and no justifications; sometimes your heart needs to hear a strong message: get out, stay safe and avoid anyone who shows up in your life and treats you in this way. Some days I wish I could walk back to my old classroom, take the slinky or pogs out of my 9-year-old hands, look myself in the eyes and tell myself everything I know now about what behaviour is OKAY and what is DEFINITELY NOT OKAY. I think as young women we are often given useless and intangible messages around love. From a strange osmosis of Disney, pop songs and phrases we hear other people saying it is ...
HOW TO BE BEAUTIFUL
First, try to throw away those mean comments from middle school. Who cares if you’re pale? Embrace it. Who cares if you don’t want long hair? Cut it short again and again, until you do it out of spite. Non-conformity is your specialty. Get comfortable with your height. Get comfortable with your dark, thick eyebrows. Get comfortable with being a human who takes up space and has a right to. Re-evaluate your entire look. Start fake-baking and wearing hot pink. Get acrylic nails. Desperately try to fill the void in your life by being the textbook “hot girl.” Pierce your navel. Wear tight clothes. It feels good, authentic even. Gain some weight. Stop tanning. Feel inferior. Embrace that dark-girl thing you got distanced from. Within half a year, you’ll be pr...
FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT
The day Donald Trump because our President, I was terrified. I was convinced all my rights were going to go away. I have always been unafraid to speak my mind, but as soon as Trump came in the Oval Office, I was silenced. Until I saw my 14 year old cousin, my aunt, and my mother. All of these women are strong, powerful women, and I thought to myself, “Where did I go?” I was already heavily advocating for help for drug addicts and those with mental health issues, but I added women’s and human rights to my list. I wanted to make a world better for my 14-year-old cousin. So I went from a woman to a BAMF. Every time I saw someone comment on abortion rights and the defunding of Planned Parenthood, I defended it. I started being open and honest with myself about previously being sexually assault...
CHAPTER ONE – WORLD UNKNOWN (CONTINUED)
Author note: This is the last tidbit I am going to release of the book I’m writing. I hope you’ve enjoyed Adelaide’s journey thus far. If you’ve missed the first few pages, search “Chapter One – World Unknown” on Harness Magazine or click ALD at the bottom of the page and it will take you to my writing. Adelaide’s journey is just beginning and I can’t wait to see where she ends up. XX A.L.D., @harnessmagazine @adrelli CHAPTER ONE – WORLD UNKNOWN (CONTINUED) ✪ “I don’t believe we’ve had a formal introduction. I am Finn, your grandmother’s protector.” Protector? What in the world does that mean? My head started to buzz. “Hello, I’m Adelaide.” I started to move forward to shake his hand. As his palm touched mine, I felt a sudden su...
CHAPTER ONE – WORLD UNKNOWN
Author Notes: I’ve wanted to write a book ever since I could remember. Pages filled with fantasy, wonder and excitement. About a year ago – I decided to take that plunge and start writing. Life has gotten in the way and the pages remain unfinished. I am hoping by sending this out into the universe – it will somehow breathe magic and life back into this goal. I hope you like this excerpt from Chapter One. XX A.L.D. – @harnessmagazine – @adrelli CHAPTER ONE – WORLD UNKNOWN ✪ Click. Pop. With the flick of the wrist and fiddle of a hairpin the mysterious door popped open. I stood there in complete awe. The entire room was filled with mirrors – antique mirrors of all shapes and sizes. Nothing else hung on the walls. No rugs on the ground. No curtains to camouflage ...
A SLIVER OF CHRISTINE STODDARD’S PHOTO COLLAGE DREAMS
We still live in a world where women so often don’t have a voice. Exploring feminine power and energy is integral to all that I create as an artist. I feel that energy and power everywhere in nature, which is one of the reasons why I am drawn to flora and fauna imagery in my work. The feminine is natural and good and we must honor it. We must let it speak. We must give it equal importance in every conversation. We must also recognize that it is multilayered and multifaceted. Perhaps that is why I so often render my visions and thoughts in collages, whether in traditional paper form, photography or mixed media. I work in layers, just as the female mind and the female experience work in layers. And as I work, I often choose colors and materials that remind me of the multiple ae...
5 REASONS WHY YOU NEED A LEOPARD COAT
I know, I know. We’re coming to the end of the winter season and fashionistas are already pushing the pastels, so I’m a little behind with this post. But hey, life gets in the way, you know what I mean? Anyway, I feel that some attention must be paid to the classic leopard print coat. There’s still a lot of cold weather left and besides, the end of winter season is the best time to find the outerwear deals. If you need anymore motivation than a good deal (really?), here it is: The leopard print coat goes with everything. Casual, dressy, punk, grunge, preppy, athleisure, normcore, hipster, Grey Gardens, whew. Seriously, whatever your style, it goes. The leopard print coat will never go out of style. It’s been in style forever. Legend has it that Coco Chanel made one ...
THE IMPORTANCE OF LOVING YOURSELF: 7 WAYS TO PRACTICE SELF-LOVE
It’s so easy to fall in the trap of disliking what you look like or who you are due to the influence of the media and just society in general. We have forgotten how to love ourselves because we’re too busy wanting to be someone else. We see models on magazine covers and we immediately feel bad for not having that “perfect” body. We were all created in our own beautiful way and we need to learn to cherish and appreciate that rather than comparing ourselves to someone we will never look like no matter how hard we try. As a kid, I struggled with self-confidence issues and I know what it feels like to look in the mirror and not be content with the reflection. Over the years, I learned to love every part of myself and I continue to practice self-appreciation each and every day. There are so man...
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