Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Legging Love

Thermal love. I got these pants from Old Hollywood when they had a Groupon.

I love them but styling them as sometimes been a challenge. My natural inclination is to add a sweater and these moccasins and go. But this time I made it a little more "business" on top with a men's button up and fancy gold button blazer. Next time I'll add heels, but it's been extra cold in NY lately!

Brooks Brothers blazer, Uniqlo shirt, Old Hollywood leggings, Minnetonka Moccasins

Monday, February 4, 2013

Conversations

Harlem Fashion Row's CEO Brandice Henderson hosted a conversation with June Ambrose.

It was wonderful to hear a successful woman of color talk about her experiences. She was funny, warm and fairly open about her struggles as a young artistic type and what it takes to keep a family and busy professional life in sync.

"Everything is a distraction. Find what you want and go get it" - June Ambrose

"Among all of her experiences and juggling the duty of wife, mom, and stylist June’s biggest fear is simply staying relevant and leaving and unforgettable legacy. The woman behind all the glitz and glam is simply a woman who was not afraid to take calculated risk while thinking quick on her feet and staying engaged in her true love for the craft of fashion. June says, “I am always under construction and constantly reinventing myself. It will be tough, but the things worth fighting for should be. You should get butterflies in your stomach from doing the things you love. Never ever give up and always keep going. Don’t worry about the competition because everything else is a distraction.” Throughout the night June continued to drop jewels on the importance of social media consistent self branding for longevity within the industry. Up next for Ms. Ambrose is a new stylish and affordable shoe line in collaboration with HSN." (source)

Her legs and hair were so killer!

So of course a Harlem night spent with Ms. Ambrose means a little outfit fun! I wanted to pair this turtleneck with the skirt from this post, but it was being laundered so I had to go with this one instead. And I think I liked it better!

Gap turtleneck, vintage Banana Republic vest via Ebay, F21 skirt, ASOS belt, Urban Outfitter tights, Jeffery Campbell booties

Never travel without your lady friends :-)

Friday, February 1, 2013

25 Things

A friend of mine posted this and it really spoke to me...

25 Things I’ve Learned In My 20s

MAY. 21, 2012

By RYAN O'CONNELL info

You can’t date a jerk and expect to turn them into a good person. Jerks are fully committed to being unpleasant. Those brief moments of tenderness they give you are designed to trip you up and give you false hope. It’s best to stay away altogether.
The rumors are true: your metabolism does slow down as you get older! That means if you’re still eating whatever you want, there’s a good chance you’ll start to gain an awkward amount of weight. It won’t be too drastic but your clothes will start to hang differently on your body and you’ll feel an overall feeling of unattractiveness. Start to be conscious of what you eat and strive to live a healthier lifestyle if you want to get your teen body back. (Let’s be real though, that might not ever come back.)
You’re going to lose touch with a lot of your friends. With some people, it will be expected but with others it will feel like a punch to the stomach. No friendship is truly safe in your twenties. You’re undergoing so many personal and professional changes that there’s bound to be some casualties along the way. Don’t worry though. You’ll end up with the ones that matter. If someone’s no longer in your life, it’s for a reason.
You’ll be jealous of everyone who’s more successful than you. That’s okay. Just transfer that jealousy into something productive, like working really hard so you can one day eclipse them and make them feel jealous of YOU.
You’ll question every decision you make and never feel completely certain that you made the right choice. It’s pointless to wonder though. You’re here now so you might as well make it be the right decision.
You’re going to give your heart to a few people who don’t deserve it. Then, one day you’ll come to your senses and ask them to give it back.
You’ll see your parents get older. You’ll come home during Christmas break and see new lines developing on their faces. One day it’ll just hit you that your parents are old and going to die. There’s nothing you can do about it, besides treat them with kindness and visit as much as your budget permits.
You’ll have a boss who makes you feel like you’re nothing. It doesn’t have to be in a Devil Wears Prada way. The cruelty can be much more subtle. Don’t let them get to you though. They have no idea who the hell you really are and you’re probably going to have their job someday so…
Doing drugs is fun until it’s not, until it starts affecting your life in negative ways and leaves you feeling guilty and wrecked. If that happens, you should stop doing them.
You’re going to puke in public. It’s fine. No one cares. Just puke.
You’ll know how to make twenty dollars last an entire week because you spent almost all of your paycheck on groceries at Whole Foods and drunk cab rides. This lesson in frugality will serve you well.
You’re going to betray your convictions. You’re going to feel shame. You’re going to continue to put yourself in situations that aren’t good for you. And then, slowly but surely, it will become less frequent. It might not ever go away completely but it won’t be as bad. In the meantime, stop shame spiraling about it. It gets you nowhere.
Loving yourself is hard. Hating yourself is harder.
You’re going to hook up with someone who you would never touch in the daylight sober. Just don’t freak out too much about it. Consider it to be your good deed for the day.
You’re going to have people in your life who are toxic. They may say that they love you, they may say that they have your back, but they don’t. Get rid of them.
You’ll have moments with someone that are so intense, it’ll feel like you’ve been electrocuted back to life. You’ll hold on to these moments for a long time. They’ll give you hope when you’re going through the motions.
You’ll always care about your first love. That doesn’t make you crazy, it just makes you human. When relationships end, it’s not so cut and dry. You carry everyone you’ve ever loved into every relationship thereafter.
You’ll enter your twenties as a fashion disaster and (hopefully) leave them looking fantastic. If you don’t know how to put yourself together by then, I really don’t know what to tell you.
You’ll realize that the Internet can be a cruel son of a bitch but, you know,http://www.whatever.com.
So much of what you think matters doesn’t actually matter at all. It’s kind of rude. Like, thanks for making me believe in things that are ultimately so inconsequential, you jerk.
You’ll treat someone terribly. Whether it to be a lover or your friend, there’ll be someone whose feelings you take for granted. We focus too much on whether or not someone is hurting us. The reality is that we might actually be the one who’s hurting someone.
Doing “grown-up things” doesn’t make you a grown up. Shopping for housewares, buying a plant, embracing domesticity — these things don’t create maturity. If you’re still a baby who hasn’t figured things out, you’ll remain a baby, no matter how many times you pay your rent on time.
Don’t force yourself into loving anyone. If it’s not working in the beginning, it’s probably not going to work ever.
You are so lucky to have everything that you have. Stop crying about an unreturned text message and get some perspective.
Don’t go too long without having sex. Ever. (source)

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Fancy Pants

I got in on the brocade pants trend.

Holister jacket, Urban Outfitters tee, H&M pants, Converse sneaks

I'm petite but carry weight in the thighs like most of my brown sisters, and these pants were not friendly. I need stretch in my pants and that's just that!

Still liked the look. I never took the bling off this jacket from NYE and I've been enjoying it. BTW, I've never lived in Brooklyn but I thought this tee was too cute :-) it reads "Dear Manhattan, You're ugly and I don't like you anymore. Sincerely Brooklyn"

Can you believe it's the end of January already?!

Monday, January 28, 2013

Birthday Love

I just had a Birthday!

On my actual birthday I had to work, but my roommate made cupcakes! She's so sweet!

We and a little champagne and a lot of laughs.

A week later I got together with my lady friends for a proper celebratory dinner.

The gals!

The sweetie roommie did it again! With leopard print paper and gold candy pearls!

H&M turtleneck, Urban Outfitters skirt, Christian Louboutin booties

Wilson leather jacket, H&M faux fur vest

David Burke Kitchen

I had Lobster dumpling soup, and the Braised Short Rib.

Due to technical difculties I lost the pictures of my food. These are the dishes just not my pictures lol!

For more on the food at David Burke and yummy food is general check out my lady friend's new blog!

Chocolate carmel fudge cake, so good! The candles were sparklers but they went out too fast!

I'm so blessed to have seen another year and so thankful for all the love and well wishes I received! Thanks everyone!!

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Cleveland is the City Where I Come From So Ride Ride

Bone Thugz-N-Harmony lyric. If you don't know Bone Thugz please get hip.

Some Pics I took while home for the holidays.

The scraps from a delicious Lobster Melt at Sarava in Shaker Square. I always forget to take a picture of my food BEFORE I eat it! But it always looks so tasty and I'm excited to eat it!

My beautiful and charming dinner dates.

Brooks Brothers shirt, American Apparel dress, F21 leggings, Steve Madden boots, H&M necklace

DIY crop top, F21 skirt and blazer, Steve Madden shoes, Jypsea bag

Headed out for a night on the town and a stop at our old early morning breakfast haunt.

Chicks in a bar

I made mac and cheese for Christmas dinner. It was my best one yet! Look at that bubbly and perfectly toasted cheese. Mmmmm, may need to make another batch...