Aunt Helena and Uncle Henry, sometime in the 1960s

My Aunt Helena loved anything bright, shiny, luxurious and unapologetically feminine. She loved pink, and leather (but not together), and stacking her bracelets on both arms so that you heard her approaching before she actually appeared.  She believed little girls should have velvet drop-waist dresses, so she sent me one in sapphire blue with a lace collar when I was about ten. She believed in wearing fur and driving her chocolate brown Cadillac as fast as it was legal to (and sometimes, a little faster). She loved laughter, high fashion and good gossip; her voice was music to my ears, and I loved it when she’d visit us from Dallas.

My Aunt Helena died of breast cancer when I was thirteen.  We would have loved picking out Louboutins and having cocktails together, but we never got the chance.  I miss her.  And so I’m wearing our signature color and stacking my bracelets this month, for her.  She taught me that it is perfectly acceptable to sparkle – literally and figuratively. (Oh, and the bigger the diamond, the better!)

Whether you race for the cure or make strides, please support research for a cure. And please, please don’t forget to do your self-exams!

XOXO Alexis