I Decided to Choose Happiness

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Here’s a little back story on the following words that you will read…

I recently stumbled across an old post I had written in 2016, a year after my mom passed away. The post brought up so many emotions and made me realize how much I’ve changed over the last four years.

26-year-old Liz was making changes and just went for it. At the time, I had a total work/balance shift, instead wanting to spend more time with loved ones, which made sense because I had lost my mom. Before, I would always work weekends, miss special family and life events, putting work first (and while I am sometimes forced to miss out with my current work schedule, I have found a good balance in my life).

When I first wrote the below, I just remember thinking, “What do you want?” And all I wanted was to be happy again. So, I quit my job (thankfully another amazing opportunity came up only two weeks later), went back home and spent time with my family and friends.

It’s been a hard four years and I miss my mom everyday. Holidays, her birthday and major life events are really tough without her. I just got engaged to the best boyfriend in the world and it makes me emotional thinking about not having her on my special day, but I know she’s here in spirit. It really is crazy how time flies, when it feels like I was just with her not too long ago.

I don’t always open up about my feelings and grief, but it’s there and I am so thankful and grateful for the people that have been there with me through it all.

The below probably isn’t edited or all over the place, but it was what I was feeling at the time. And if you’re wondering if I’m happy, yes, I really am… But, I will always wish my mom was here.

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3 Ways to Instantly Update Your Wardrobe From Celebrity Stylist Micaela Erlanger [Exclusive]

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As the seasons change so does your wardrobe. However, while we all have moments of wanting to revamp our entire closet with new pieces, not all of us have the luxury of spending hundreds on new clothes.

That’s where Micaela Erlanger — celebrity stylist to Lupita Nyong’o, Michelle Dockery, Diane Kruger, Ana de Armas and more — comes in handy! The New York native recently released her book, “How to Accessorize: A Perfect Finish to Every Outfit,” an everyday style guide filled with tips and tricks to complete any outfit with the perfect accessories. Apart from sharing her knowledge about the must-have bags and jewelry every woman should own, the rules of seasonality (which fabrics work for each season) and more, Erlanger also touches on how to reinvent your wardrobe using three fantastically simple accessorizing tricks. I had the opportunity to chat with Erlanger and get some tips on how to make the old feel new again.

“Sometimes it can feel daunting or complicated when you’re putting together an outfit and, as a stylist and expert in this area, I know that it doesn’t have to be so over complicated,” Erlanger tells me, adding that her book “gives an overview and simple step-by-step process of how to add a perfect finish to every outfit.”

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How Jason Mraz Became the Light of Hope We Needed With His New Album ‘Know’ [Exclusive]

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Jason Mraz strongly believes that love is worth fighting for.

For the past couple of years, following the release of his fifth studio album, “Yes!,” the 41-year-old singer has been figuring out how his music, his passion and his purpose could align to continue to inspire others. Now, with the upcoming release of his latest LP, “Know,” Mraz is doing just that, but it wasn’t an easy ride.

“I was starting to get a bit nervous that I didn’t know what the world needed,” Mraz tells me exclusively over the phone about the difficulties he encountered during the process of creating “Know.” “Or that I didn’t know what I even had to offer.”

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‘The Originals’ Star Danielle Rose Russell on Hope’s Future & Taking Her Anger Out on Elijah [Exclusive]

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Where there’s Hope Mikaelson, there’s a way.

With only a couple episodes left until fans say goodbye to “The Originals,” viewers will either witness a happy ending or see the city of New Orleans go down in flames — it all depends on how Danielle Rose Russell’s character, Hope, decides to handle her emotions.

“Hope is extremely powerful,” Russell, 18, tells me over the phone ahead of episode nine, “We Have Not Long to Love.” “No one has seen what she can do. So, in the next coming episodes, we get to see how powerful she truly is, after all, [she has all] this combined magic inside of her.”

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‘The Originals’ Star Daniel Gillies Teases Elijah’s Future and Life Without the Mikaelsons [Exclusive]

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It’s a whole new chapter for Elijah Mikaelson.

As the final season of “The Originals” begins getting down to its most intense and heartbreaking moments, Wednesday’s episode, “Ne Me Quitte Pas,” showed fans what the suave suit-wearing vampire has been up to since his memory was erased by Marcel (Charles Michael Davis).

The emotional ride saw Elijah relearning his vampire ways, meeting his new love interest, Antoinette (Jaime Murray), rejecting his brother, Klaus (Joseph Morgan), and shedding his Mikaelson name for good.
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‘The Originals’ Star Charles Michael Davis on Marcel and Rebekah’s Future & Return to New Orleans [Exclusive]

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“The Originals'” final season has officially kicked off and already there are a lot of questions that need to be answered.

The season five premiere, “Where You Left Your Heart,” took fans right back to New Orleans, giving a brief update on what the Original family members have been up to over the past seven years. One in particular, Rebekah Mikaelson (Claire Holt), has been living a fairy tale life with Marcel (Charles Michael Davis) in New York. When viewers reconnect with the lovebirds, Marcel gets down on one knee and proposes to Rebekah, showing her two envelopes. One reads, “If you say yes,” and the other one says, “If you say no.” While it should have been an easy call, the moment quickly turned emotional when Rebekah didn’t immediately accept the stunning ring.

Ahead of episode two, “One Wrong Turn on Bourbon,” I caught up with Charles Michael Davis to discuss Marcel’s future with “the love of all his lives” Rebekah, why it took so long for him to propose and his return to New Orleans.

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‘Queer Eye’ Culture Expert Karamo Brown on How to Make a Difference & Tips for Creating Your Brand [Exclusive]

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If you watch “Queer Eye,” you can thank Karamo Brown for your tears during every episode. The 37-year-old culture expert gives viewers some of the most endearing moments on the new Netflix reboot, bringing real and important topics to the forefront, as well as taking the men on an emotional journey that, yes, involve tears.

Fifteen years after the original “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” revolutionized TV, Netflix brought it back with a new Fab Five in a new area code. There’s Antoni Porowski (food & wine), Bobby Berk (interior design), Jonathan Van Ness (grooming), Tan France (fashion) and Brown, who are impacting culture one makeover at a time — and receiving praise and acclaim while doing it.

“It has been a roller coaster of the best emotions ever,” Brown told me over the phone about how his life has been since the show premiered last month. “The reaction on social media has been great, each of the guys get hundreds of hundreds of positive messages from people saying how we’ve changed their lives, how they are laughing, how they’re crying, how they feel inspired. Suddenly we’ve become authorities around the world which is great.”

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‘Queer Eye’ Fashion Expert Tan France Talks Emotional Journey & Wardrobe Must-Haves [Exclusive]

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“Queer Eye” is back, and this time it’s headed to Georgia!

Back in 2003, Bravo debuted “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” a show where five gay men, known as the “Fab Five,” gave a heterosexual male a makeover, transforming his wardrobe, redecorating his home and giving him grooming, lifestyle and food advice.

Now, 15 years later, Netflix is rebooting the reality makeover show with a whole new “Fab Five” and relocating the series from New York to Georgia. The show embodies the same structure, transforming one man’s life per episode with the help of Antoni Porowski (food & wine), Bobby Berk (interior design), Karamo Brown (culture), Jonathan Van Ness (grooming) and Tan France (fashion).

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Why Was Everyone in Black at the 2018 Golden Globes? Inside the Bold Fashion Statement

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Women are joining forces to say “time’s up” in a distinctive style.

The 75th Golden Globes will be unlike any previous awards ceremony in that women from all areas of the entertainment industry are taking a stand against sexual misconduct and harassment in the workplace by opting to wear black on the red carpet.

For this year’s celebration, the females behind the newly-created Time’s Up initiative have encouraged attendees to wear the dark hue as a way of expressing solidarity for the victims, but also changing the narrative on how things are done in the industry.

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Throwing it Back: Ana de Armas on Latinos in Hollywood and Her Big Year Ahead [Exclusive]

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2015 was the year Ana de Armas conquered Hollywood!

After starring in Eli Roth’s thriller “Knock Knock” with Keanu Reeves and Lorenza Izzo, the film opened the doors for the Cuban actress. I spoke with Armas about how she landed the role in “Knock Knock,” as well as how it is to be a Latina in Hollywood and her future projects.

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