Article and photograph by Allie Marie Smith In high school, you could say I suffered from a bit of social anxiety. At the grocery store checkout line, upon signing my receipt, my right hand would shake and I wasn’t able to look the clerk in the eye. In conversation with acquaintances or people I didn’t know well, I was always more concerned with how I...
Read More...
Read More
Let’s be honest. This little app can easily consume our every spare moment if we let it. It is designed to be highly addictive and to keep you consuming its content for as long as possible which ultimately results in more advertising dollars for Facebook (which has owned Instagram since 2012). While there is nothing inherently wrong with using the app and while it has...
Read More...
Read More
By Allie Marie Smith Photo by Chlesea Steller September 9th – 15th, 2018 is Suicide Prevention Week. When it comes to dark days and nights I get it. I never wanted to die, but I wanted the agonizing pain to end. Part of major depression at its worst is believing a lot of lies: that there is no hope, that you will always be in...
Read More...
Read More
There’s quite a body-positive movement on social media these days. Girls and women of all shapes, sizes and colors are posting swimsuit or lingerie photos of themselves and in the captions, sharing about their relationship with their body image in the name of body-positivity. It is a beautiful sight to see a woman accepting her figure, dimples and curves and often inspires me to do...
Read More...
Read More
By Allie Marie Smith If you’re like me and have struggled with food and body image issues, you realize that it’s a journey. Sometimes we take two steps toward freedom only to take one step back. The important thing is that we don’t lose hope in our recovery and that we press forward toward greater freedom, health and wholeness. Since I have personally taken quite...
Read More...
Read More
By Allie Marie Smith This is a photo of me at eighteen on my senior trip to Hawaii. It was taken just a week before I was hospitalized for severe depression because I wanted to end my life. Our week in Hawaii was decorated with tanning, partying and hooking up with guys. We rode scooters in short shorts and tank tops through Waikiki, sailed alongside...
Read More...
Read More
by Allie Marie Smith Hey Girls! I just wanted to share JJ Heller’s new music video with you in case you haven’t seen it. I just adore her!...
Read More
by Andrea Popkes Note from Allie: Today we are featuring Part 2 of Andrea’s battle with and recovery from breast cancer. To read Part 1, click here. Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I thought it would be a great opportunity to invite my friend Andrea Popkes to share about her battle with breast cancer. She was diagnosed at just 31. Andrea and I met back...
Read More...
Read More
by Andrea Popkes Note from Allie: Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I thought it would be a great opportunity to invite my friend Andrea Popkes to share about her battle with breast cancer. She was diagnosed at just 31. Andrea and I met back in 2007 through work and we had the chance to explore the North Island of New Zealand together when...
Read More...
Read More
by Allie Marie Smith What is it about us girls that stirs us to strive without ceasing? Why is it that average doesn’t satisfy and perfect never seems attainable? We are girls in search of perfect (as I’ve reflected on before). I love the NASB translation of Psalm 46:10: “Cease striving and know that I am God.“ I believe God delights in us most when we...
Read More...
Read More
by Allie Marie Smith Hey Lovelies!!! We need your help! We are about 1/3 of the way from receiving a $1,000 matching grant from Giving of Life. In order to take full advantage fo this opportunity we only have another $700 to raise in order get a full $1k matching grant. Every dollar you give online up to ($200 max) will be doubled up to...
Read More...
Read More
by Allie Marie Smith Hey Girls! In case you haven’t already heard, we are are having our first ever out-of-state (beyond California!) Wonderfully Made Conference in Oahu, Hawaii! We have an amazing team and inspiring lineup of speakers and special guests including Jalee Palpomo (Miss Hawaii 2010), Sonya Balmores Chung (Actress in the movie Soul Surfer) and Dawn O’Brien (Radio Host of the Fish). It’s beyond crazy how this...
Read More...
Read More
by Allie Marie Smith Get your copy here! Hey lovelies! Just a few days left of August, which means the first print issue of Darling Magazine is on its way! First, I want you to meet Sarah Dubbeldam, the chief dreamer and creative behind Darling. Sarah is a kindred spirit and a beautiful soul who embodies and lives the Darling mission. Along with a few...
Read More...
Read More
by Allie Marie Smith I’ve been rooting and praying for 24-year-old fashion blogger and model Lauren Scruggs ever since I heard about her tragic accident eight months ago, which led her to lose an eye and hand after colliding with a plane propeller. Yesterday, she had her first interview on the Today Show since the accident (featuring an appearance by Gabby Douglas!). I’m amazed by the...
Read More...
Read More
by Allie Marie Smith Hey Girls! Welcome back to our Fashion + Compassion series! I’m so exited to introduce you to my dear friend Nicole Flowers and feature her brand new line of cute bags, called Hiip, which give back. Nicole and I met at Pepperdine (which is where Wonderfully Made originally started!) and she is one of the most dynamic, hilarious and inspiring girls...
Read More...
Read More
by Allie Marie Smith I’m excited to share the 2nd installment of our new Fashion with Compassion series with you! Today I’m highlighting Sseko Designs (pronounced “say-ko”), a sandal company based in Uganda. They make beautiful leather sandals with interchangeable straps that can be styled dozens of ways. Sseko employs a talented team of promising young women while providing them with university tuition while also...
Read More...
Read More
by Allie Marie Smith Happy Monday Girls! I’m so excited to introduce to you a new series I’ll be doing called Fashion with Compassion, where I’ll feature some of my favorite fashion items that support a good cause! While I have to be honest and say that I think one of the last things I think girls and women need is a another fashion blog,...
Read More...
Read More
by Allie Marie Smith [photo credit] Hi Girls! Today, we are so excited to release our newest HerStory video! HerStory is a budding film series of Wonderfully Made that features testimonies from real girls who’ve gone through real struggles. This collection of stories is designed to share a message of hope, freedom and worth with girls everywhere. If you’re new to our HerStory film series...
Read More...
Read More
by Allie Marie Smith Hey Girls! I’m so excited to introduce you the Giver Shirt—a way to support something you believe in and have something to show of it. With each shirt you purchase 60% of the profits go to a cause you pick. And drumroll puhleez…Wonderfully Made is one of the causes you can support when you buy a shirt. I met Dave Yearwood,...
Read More...
Read More
by Allie Marie Smith [photo credit] I stumbled across this article about a study that which found that “men view half-naked women as objects” and thought it contained some valuable food for thought. I hate that the title of the article makes men sound like total jerks; that’s not true or fair for many reasons, regardless of the findings. I just think for us girls,...
Read More...
Read More