The 15 Percent

Back in June, General Mills premiered a new heart health Cheerios ad, just in time for Father's Day. The ad features this adorbs little girl that wants to know if Cheerios are good for your heart and later pours them all of her dad because she loves him so much and wants him to have a healthy heart.

Killer, right? Makes everybody want to go out and buy some Cheerios right away. Wrong. Apparently folks were all up in arms because the dad is black, the mom is white and the little girl is brown. Honestly, I was upset that people were upset, but to bring all that up now is about 6 weeks too late. There were a bunch of really great responses to the outrage from the somewhat explicit, but totally on point, Jezebel post that came out right after the video was released to the heart warming reaction of kids that came out today, but the one that really makes me proud to be biracial is the tumblr site, We Are The 15 Percent.

This site is a collection of lovely photos that are updated numerous times a day of biracial and multiracial families that have all been submitted by users. They are actively pulling together photos of families from across the US (and sometimes Canada) that showcase the love, beauty and 100% normalcy that is mixed race couples and families. It's the kind of site that makes you want to tell everyone about it because it's all about good.  Why the 15%? According to the a 2010 Pew study, 15% of new marriages are interracial - yes, FIFTEEN percent! The way I see it, that is awesome and it's only going up from there. We live in a world that is so accessible, where cultures are crossing borders and salsa outsells ketchup - pretty soon the site will need to be updated to the 16, 17 and 18%.

But you've probably already heard about all of these things because of Facebook and BuzzFeed and all kinds of things. Why do I care and why am I telling you again? Simply, I am the result of an interracial marriage from way before it was cool (oh hey, 1979, how's it hangin'?) and I am an active participant in an interracial marriage, helping to drive up that percentage rate.

My parents - trend setting since '79... white tux and all

Our wedding day - incorporating my Chinese heritage

As a gal that has lived in the US, Asia and Europe, in big cities and small towns, I noticed that while I relate to my Asian heritage all the time, the only place that I really fit in is the US. We are a nation full of folks like me - hodgepodges and mixies - I mean, even our president isn't just one ethnicity!  So for me, this ad was a big deal. When we have kids, I don't want them to ever wonder if they are less because they aren't all white or all yellow or all purple, I want them to grow up seeing themselves reflected in the media. When I was growing up, I don't remember a single show that had interracial couples, maybe interfaith, but never interracial; In drugstores, I wouldn't be able to find the right foundation because none of the shades matched up; to this day, I still have friends who were adopted from foreign countries by amazing families who had fantastic childhoods but never really felt like they fit in.

So starting now, with that Cheerios ad and that tumblr site, I hope things change. I hope that shows like Modern Family and the New Normal and Glee won't have to preach acceptance because people already get it. I'm part of the generation that grew up with a token black friend (or Asian or Hispanic), and now marries who we want despite cultural expectations, and will have kids in kindergarten classes with classmates more colorful than the rainbow. I am proud to be one of the 15%... and growing.

Love and Bacon,
Kelsey

Hello Kitty Wins

So I swung by Sephora the other day, like you do, and could not resist these super cute Hello Kitty nail stickers!  With all the painting done, the appliances installed and the juice cleanse over with (more on that later), I thought it was time for some mani action.

Julep Color: Teri

I seriously can't stop looking at my nails! What do you think?

Love and Bacon,
Kelsey

Pinned It & Did It! Patriotic Nails

That title is pretty self explanatory, right?  I searched Pinterest for "patriotic nails" and found some real jems (along with some duds), but here are some of my faves:

This one would take so much time, but I like the nautical theme (source)

Love this Simple Red, White & Blue Mani (source)

I'm a sucker for some chevron action! (source)

Love these patterns (source)

Super Patriotic (source)

This is one of  my faves - delicate patterns (source)

So with a ton of pinspiration under my belt, I was ready to get down to business with my nail polishes.  But let's be honest here, I am not that talented; so I needed something patriotic but easy but classy but nice but so many things... then I stumbled on this baby:

Here's the Inspiration (source)

With my Julep Jackie (Red) as the primary polish and a couple Avon shades, here's what I came up with:

Here's Mine!

Did I totally nail it? Nope... but the inspiration photo was done by a professional, not by a gal on her couch watching Master Chef for hours.  Are you going to do anything special with your mani to celebrate Independence Day?  Share pics below!

Love and Bacon,
Kelsey

One of Our Firsts

For this Throwback Thursday, I thought I'd share the very first photo of the Baconator and me from just over SEVEN years ago.  We were out celebrating my best friend's 21st birthday (thus the weird flower/vase situation), and it was a pretty big moment. This is the first time that he was meeting her and as my best friend, her approval was incredibly important. So without further ado, here's the photo:

Clearly we all hit it off, since here we are again, 3 months later, happy as clams!

And of course... Lainey was maid of honor at our wedding!

Happy Throwback Thursday, folks!

Love and Bacon,
Kelsey

It's True at 28, Too!

Guys, I LOVE Taylor Swift's song "22." Like, if I could start every morning of my life with this song, my life would be so much better. In fact, it's scientifically proven based on the last week of wonderfulness.

But you know what I've come to love almost as much? The parody that Fuse came out with this week - it's the BOMB. 

I know, I know. You can't stop playing them both over and over... like a magical round. No? That's just me? Moving on...

OMG - My day started this way, too! "It feels like one of days... when I'll just go to work. It feels like one of those days... I'll start a diet - maybe Weight Watchers. I've heard. Good things." 

And this was us tonight - Beef Broccoli and Chinese Lo Mein included... "I'm not going out, I've got this Chinese food! Then I'll just go to bed because it's 8 o'clock and I am 32!"

Do you more than relate to any of these new lyrics?

Love and Bacon,

Kelsey

Easter Candy = Kryptonite

Folks, I don't really have anything to write about tonight, so I thought I'd just admit for the world that I've been totally derailed by Easter candy. This is what happens when I am given some unsupervised time in CVS while waiting for a bus and all the Easter stuff is 50% off. Eggs are Paleo; Dark Chocolate is Paleo(ish); Dark Chocolate Marshmallow Peeps are not Paleo.

Good news is that the weekend is coming and BACON is totally Paleo friendly!

Love and Bacon,
Kelsey

PS. I totally warned you that there were boring bits ahead.

Building My Bucket List

We were watching Parks and Rec tonight (shocking) and the crew mentioned bucket lists.  Andy had some awesome things on his list like going to the Grand Canyon and being an action star and making the best grilled cheese in the world. Watching all that, I realized that I have never really written down my bucket list items.

Here's what I've gotten so far

Visit Antarctica
Run a Marathon
Swim with Whales
Drink French Wine in France
Spoon a Baby Tiger
Go to Lollapalooza
Cliff Jump (May or may not get vetoed by the Baconator)
Swim Under a Waterfall
Become Fluent in Two Languages
Ride a Motorcycle Solo
Take a Private Jet Ride
Spend a Summer Getting Really Tan
Throw a Dart at a Map and Travel Wherever it Lands
Make a Perfect Souffle
Climb Machu Picchu
Go Fishing in Alaska
Have a beautiful and happy family

What's on your bucket list?

Love and Bacon,
Kelsey