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Beautiful Girl of the Week is a series of Beautiful Girls who are stand outs for what they contribute to the world through their beautiful actions!  We feature the Beautiful Girl of the Week on the Rewrite Beautiful blog as an attempt to inspire other girls and women to use their own gifts and talents to impact their communities. Our hope is that bringing positive attention to women’s actions will inspire them to embrace their own creative calling!

Alli is Beautiful!

Alli is best known as a local socialite here in the OC. The first time I spotted her she was in a business meeting at Kean Coffee, but abruptly interrupted it to avalanche a friend she spotted with a hug. This friendly gal is the PR and Marketing Manager of 31 Bits a jewelry business designed to give internally displaced women in Northern Uganda an opportunity to counter poverty. 31Bits kindly donated jewelry to the Rewrite Beautiful  TELEIOS Art Show raffle last summer. I’m stoked to be putting my journalism degree to use by giving you an insider look at Alli’s life and her projects with this interview below. Enjoy!

Irvina: Hey! So what is a project you’re currently working on?

Alli: A couple of my closest girl friends and I started a business called 31Bits, in which we work with women in Uganda that design beautiful jewelry out of recycled paper. We started a couple years ago with 6 ladies, and now we employ over 110! It's only by God's grace that we've gotten this far, and we feel so privileged and honored to play a small part!

31 Bits is empowering women to overcome poverty!

Irvina: That’s so rad! How fun to work with your friends AND help women on the other side of the world! I've been hugely inspired by the BITS story myself! So what are you passionate about?

Alli: I'm passionate about people. If I could get paid to go on coffee dates and have long, deep conversations all day long I would! I love hearing about the ways that God is moving and stirring our community. I love hearing how our ladies in Uganda are joining together to dream and plan for their future. I love observing the girls I work with; how they love and care for each other. There is nothing cooler, or more exciting, than to see God at work in the people around me.

Irvina: Awesome another deep convo girl! Yes! Welcome to the club! So what do you do for fun?

Alli: I am addicted to baking. I'm constantly searching Foodgawker.com for the next killer cookie recipe. I also love to go to Disneyland and people watch (not creepy, I promise). And I love to shop. What girl doesn't?!

Irvina: Yes! I’m right there with you with the baking! What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done?

Alli: I white water rafted the Nile! Pretty stoked that I survived that one.

Irvina: No way! White Water rafting is on my Bucket List! I can’t wait to do that! So, what do you contribute to the world that you’re most proud of?

Alli: 31 Bits! This organization is my heart! Check out the "Designers" page and read up on some of the women we get to work with. I am SO blessed by these ladies!

Irvina: Oh girl, I've already checked it out! I love it! I also love that you’re job allows you to empower other women to find their own gifts and talents. I hope other companies follow in your lead! Kind of like me! Ha! So which action of CREATIVITY, KINDNESS and STRENGTH do you think you most exhibit in your community and WHY?

www.31Bits.com

Alli: CREATIVITY. I'm convinced I work with the most talented and creative people on this planet! Our photographer, our graphic designer, our jewelry designer, our stylist. I could go on and on. These people are so visionary and passionate about what they do. Every new look we come out with, whether it's a special edition Wedding Collection, or our Summer line, keeps getting better.

Irvina: I think it’s so crazy how when we work to help others we are helped 10 fold over!  That’s been my experience with Rewrite Beautiful and it sounds the same with 31 Bits. So who is the most beautiful woman you know and why?

Alli: I’m going to be so cliché and say my mom. Her strong faith and service for the people around her constantly challenges and inspires me. She's the most selfless person I know. She's also gorgeous. And she makes some bomb Greek food!

Irvina: Haha! I don’t think that’s cliché at all! So if you could sum it up, what do you think makes a woman beautiful?

Alli: I think that there is nothing more attractive than someone that is following their dreams, loving others and enjoying the life God gave them.

Robyn is beYOUtiful!

Happy Friday beautiful folks! Thanks for stopping by the blog! I know everyone is super busy with family coming into town and makin’ three different kinds of tamales – save the chicken ones for me mom!

As for me, it is my blogging pleasure to bring you the beautiful Mrs.Robyn as our Beautiful Girl of the Week! Check this hot-soon-to-be-sugar mama out! Robyn joined Rewrite Beautiful about a year ago when her friend Lindsey (my LGF) told her about our project to change how girls see beauty in themselves through art. Since then Robyn has been a huge supporter! Sharing her recovery story at our art workshops to help other women….Getting her parents to sponsor our TELEIOS Art Show ….and joining us on the Trinity Broadcasting Network to spread eating disorder awareness. Not, only is Robyn a Rewrite Beautiful supporter she's also a talented actress and personal trainer. Robyn has actually incorporated the idea of appreciating our bodies and loving them the way they were created into the Personal Training routines she teaches her clients. Rad huh? Robyn is a friendly, creative, kind and strong woman that we are proud to know and have apart of our team! So don’t steal her from us! Jst kidding …actually I’m serious…back away from our hot mama! Thanks for all your support Robyn! Rewrite Beautiful had an awesome 2011 because YOU were apart of our team! Big hugs and love!

Me and Robyn at one of our workshops

Okay, so Rewrite Beautiful (aka I am) is laggin' just a little bit in the Beautiful Girl of the Week department...actually the whole blogging departments has take the back seat lately. I'm a big believer that on your journey to the top you shouldn't run yourself dry, so when the clock hits 6 and it's time to shut down work, I shut down and go home (or away from my desk...I work from home :) ) . Self Care is part of my Beauty Secrets ;)  But, do not fear! Things are ch-ch-cha-changin' around here in 2012! We have some super duper rad new projects (including blogging) in the new year that I'll be talking about.

Sunny is a BEAUTIFUL person!

Now for our amazing Beautiful Girl of Week! She's so amazing, that she is also (or completely) a HIM! It's our wonderful, talented, inspiring, fuel for the engine, Workshop Leader, Sunny Siu! Sunny is our first, ever MALE Beautiful Girl of the Week! That's right, reproductive organs do not disqualify you from being beautiful! And I just had to honor Sunny for all of the incredible

work he has done with Rewrite Beautiful this past year! Sunny originally found us through our facebook page and said to himself, "What in the world is this girl doing? I want to be apart of it!" Besides having the courage to join the crazy's like me on their ambitious missions, Sunny is insanely gifted. For one, calling him creative is like calling the ocean 'wet'. Sunny oozes creativity! He has some huge and far out visions for Street Art projects that truly blow my mind. We collaborate on his awesome ideas and collaborate mine and the rest of the volunteers. We have gotten some pretty sweet workshops from it! Sunny also created some amazing pieces of art for the TELEIOS Art Show this past summer. They were incredibly moving and many people who have suffered from eating disorders told me that they felt that he captured the disease with precision.

The Pit by Sunny Siu

Blind Skull by Sunny Siu

Entrapped by Sunny Siu

So in order to be "beautiful" you must also be "kind" and "strong" which Sunny definitely carries in all of his interactions with others. Often times Sunny has been the only male at our workshops full of sometimes 20 + women who are talking about their inner most secrets and vulnerabilities. He has never experienced an eating disorder, yet his empathy for the disease and sensitivity to the workshop participants is incredibly genuine and heart felt. I speak on behalf of the volunteers and the Rewrite Beautiful participants when I say that Sunny is an incredibly beautiful human being and we are a 1000 times better of an organization for having him on our team! Thanks for being beautiful Sunny!

 Happy Monday Beautiful friends!

Rewrite Beautiful is so stoked to announce that we are being featured in the Lifestyle + Charity SHOP this week! That means that every purchase from 10/31 through 11/06 will be combined and 10% of that total will go to Rewrite Beautiful! Please check out the Lifestyle + Charity SHOP and see if you can get a head start on some Christmas gifts, birthday gifts or maybe find something just for your BEAUTIFUL self :) Thanks for the support beauty's! Happy Shopping!

Keepin' it Beautiful,

Irvina