Beauty-full Tuesday: Stephanie of Barefoot in the Kitchen

Nearly 8 years marks my introduction to Stephanie, yet I can't cease to marvel at her elegance: magic sewing skills, exceptional cooking prowess, enviable mothering commitment. And although she is one of the most efficient, capable women I know, she also has the sweetest, most approachable demeanor you're likely to cross.  Meet my darling new neighbor (yes we moved Saturday last) Stephanie of Barefoot in the Kitchen.  Did I mention I really, really look up to her and adore her, because I do.

I grew up comparing myself to my older sister. It was inevitable. She was taller, thinner, and so much more confident than I. She couldn't help it. That's just how she was made.

But I spent so much time focusing on what I wasn't, that I didn't notice what I was. Luckily, somewhere between my insecure adolescence and now, I stopped comparing. I found my worth in my role as a sister, a friend, a wife, a mother. My beauty does not lie in my appearance, but in my being. I can be happy with how I look because I recognize who I am; I am me and that is enough.

Knowing who we are is the secret to feeling beautiful, I think. And it is the only way to forget about our insecurities and carry on, becoming the women we were meant to be all along.