feminine.

I've been thinking about femininity and womanhood a lot lately.

Being female does not mean (or require by any means) needing to wear dresses, makeup or be obsessed with pink. In fact, the most feminine people I know are completely the opposite of that, and may arguably be on the edge of "tomboy"-ish. It's about their demeanor.

Not going to lie, I'm a Girl's Girl. This might be because I didn't have a sister growing up or any young female cousins (however, I got two charming little brothers who light up my life).

I respect and love being a woman. According to a highly intelligent source - i.e. Urban Dictionary - a Girl's Girl is "not petty, and strives to be ethical and decent in her dealings with her female friends."

Womanhood is something to be explored, respected and fascinated by. To me, womanhood is finding the strength in femininity, your heart, your voice, your attitude, your mind, your gut...and living it to the 5,000th per cent. It's pursuing life exactly the way you want to, with no apologies.

I personally like working and tapping into my sensual femininity and am pleased to work in a city and society that takes (and respects) this. The moment I dropped what expectations I thought others needed to have of me, my life changed. I was able to become the woman I am. This took a really long time, but it's also part of growing up.

That being said, I love men and do admire the masculine in many ways. We are raised in a culture that praises the masculine attitudes, and thus, the softness in both sexes is often overlooked.

The feminine and masculine need each other to balance. Without the men I've met, lived with, dated and adored, I wouldn't know the strength of my femininity.

In my opinion, it's the relationships one builds with women that supports and fosters feminine growth. These are with our mothers, aunts, friends, their mother's, babysitters, teachers...the woman before us who paved the path. It's up to us to continue the maintenance and build the next bridge.

What do you think? How do you define womanhood?

Just a thought.

wolf.

"A healthy woman is much like a wolf: 

robust, chock-full, strong life force, life-giving, territorially aware, inventive, loyal, roving." 

- Clarissa Pinkola Estes 

women.

Yay for a sporadic blog post!

It's already August...one of my most favourite months of the year. I feel in the deep of summer and am so pleased with the adventures, work and opportunities I've been able to experience so far. I can't wait to see what this month brings. 

One of the biggest things I've come to a complete recognition with is being a woman.

Hear me out.

I'm a self-professed girls girl. I've always been drawn to very feminine energy, actions, causes, art and style.

Since I was a child, I knew exactly what dress I wanted to wear, princess and beautiful things I wanted around me and music I wanted to listen to. It was very, very girly. Unapologetically.

Obviously, I've grown up, but over the past year, I've felt (in the wise words of Britney Spears) somewhere between "not a girl, but not yet a woman."

Since January 2014, I've met some very strong, intelligent and empowering women in both the social media and dance communities. They are the epitome of women - they build each other up, have supported me, and at the end of the day, have taken me for who I am.

On the artistic side, I've found that I'm most drawn to working with women, choreographing and teaching women, and telling their stories. I'm a very feminine dancer, and I've completely embraced that. I can try to be funky and masculine when the performance and director asks for it, but personally, I recognize and love being able to move like a woman and celebrate my body and technique in it daily.

A wise, beautiful role model of mine said to me once, "Your beauty is enough and stillness is power."

I hold these words close to me. Ladies, always remember, you are majestic. You are completely you and don't have to be anything but that.

That's all. Cheers to a beautiful long weekend.

femme.

Last Friday night, I was having drinks with a girlfriend in a cozy pub after a wild work week.

After the first pint, the topic of conversation moved into an interesting territory - people's quirks. 

We  reminiced and fawned over some of our favourite things about people we either know (or don't), whined about another's behaviour, and little things we wanted to incorporate into our lives in the upcoming year. 

My friend said something interesting that really struck me. She said we all have our own little tidbits and guidelines to life, and there's probably someone out there trying to mirror one of them.

"You have your own rules Portia, think about it. We all do. It's the little mantras we repeat daily. The habits we have picked up. We do it without even knowing it."

This got me thinking. We have been idealizing certain people for their lifestyle choices forever. I have a little book about how live more like Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly and other startlets. But what about the people around us? They're the ones with the goldmine of secrets.

I'm going to start asking and recording for two to three little mantras/details of what some of the ladies around us live their lives by. My hope is to have a list maybe at the end of each month of things I admire and notes to live life by.

Notes on December 

Have a signature beauty look - whether it's red lips, cat eyes, et cetera, be your own icon. 

Relish your days off and take full advantage of them. 

Always have your fingers and toes polished.

Never underestimate the power of a handwritten card. 

Have a bottle of champagne in the fridge chilled at all times. You never know when you'll need to celebrate, or sometimes the celebration is because there's champagne in the fridge. 

Got a manta/note? Let me know! It could make next month's list. Tweet me (@PortiaFavro) or comment below. 

ties.

"If you are lucky, stop seeing the world as a series of things you do not have 
— a boyfriend, a baby, an adorable terrier – 
and you start noticing the things you do have.
A healthy bank account…No romantic ties.
Loving parents who wanted nothing but happiness for you.
Years to burn.
That kind of freedom is like a command from the universe to get off your ass and do something amazing."

— Sarah Hepola, Every Woman Should Travel Alone

Although not each of these things apply directly to me, I'm using this quote as a mantra for autumn.

Good things are a'happening.