My giving spirit continues….. In my effort to continue showing y’all how much I value your time and support, my day 2 of “12 Days of Christmas” is to give away a $100 gift certificate for a pair of Tieks….yes, $100! You have until end of day December 20th to post a comment with your favorite color Tieks! Done and done!! And although today was the last day to place your order for delivery by Christmas, you can still WIN
I admit that I’ve spent the last month or so trying to nail down a few new scents ~ my girlfriend Julia says a lady should have more than one. I found two new scents from some well-known designers but I had the opportunity to try a botanical perfume and essence from Esscentual Alchemy. I’m a floral, woodsy, amber, smoky scent girl so opted to try autumn spice ~ yummy and perfect for fall! Not that I’m not addicted to
The London Sessions 100% easy-to-listen to and you will instantly connect with the songs. The beats are infectious (listen to Right Now and I dare you not to start moving!)… What I love is the video for Right Now ~ it’s old school Mary doing her classic, slightly-rhythmless-bop but you’ll bump it in your car, as your pre-game on Friday night, and you’ll request it as the club. The entire album seems to be a journey across a few
It’snot that I haven’t been reading but I’ve been on-the-grustle [my word for grind + hustle] BIG time these last few weeks and unfortunately something always suffers – in this case, it’s my posts and what I’ve been able to share with you all. I’m not quite back but I’m getting it together which brings me to my point for this post Everything I’m reading is about motivating me and business practices for client sessions. You’ll find most of them
Last week was New York Fashion Week (#NYFW) so everything I read was focused on what’s on the runway and how to move from the catwalk to the walkway. And of course, I got to share my thoughts on some of the latest NYFW trends on Let’s Talk Live on Friday…along with two other fashion folks, Julia Farr and Grant Harris. It was such an honor and such a blast!! Fashion as an Inescapable Institution (The Society Pages) In fashion,
One of the topics I discuss in my book is the percentage or amount of clothing that should stay in your closet at a certain age ~ simply put, the older you get, the less movement in and out of your closet. There are summer clothes that, regardless of age or stage or stylishness, need to be put away as we move into fall. Let’s start with: Swimsuits Linen clothing White eyelet Sundresses Strappy sandals Cotton footwear (espadrilles, etc.) Lightweight,
The #September issue of most fashion, style and/or lifestyle magazines is their biggest issue, so I am head-over-heels excited that your truly made a byline in Real Simple! Ok now that that’s out of the way, here’s what else I’ve been perusing over the last week. Given the VMAs and Emmys took place, some of what I read had to do with pure fashion and who wore what when…. See How Much Chanel Bag Prices Have Skyrocketed This Decade (Racked.com) The
I’ve got all of these books to read for Elle Magazine…..so it’s taking quite a bit of time needless to say. I should manage to get through a few while on my flight to Seattle (my book signing event is Thursday – you can still RSVP here!). In addition to these items, I found these reads to be enlightening and fascinating: Calling All Female Entrepreneurs: The Story Exchange Wants YOU to Share Your Story! (Tim Shingle) Ralph Lauren’s Men’s RTW Spring
I am enjoying this new post series not only because it’s clearly inspiring some of you to read more but because it almost forces me to read more. While I’m skimming lots of magazines, this post helps me to see if what I’m reading is actually worthy of being read. A kind of oxynororn, right?! This week, I managed to read quite a few short but totally fruitful….if popular culture, Beyonce, social media and fashion are your thing: Beyonce, a
You’ve got to be asking yourself, “Why did Monica read that book?” I don’t have kids and although I am fond of reading and did read this book as a kid, my motive was different this go-round. What would you wear if you visited Willy Wonka’s factory? This is a big question because, if you remember, Willy Wonka only chose five people in the entire world to go….you’d have to make an awesome impression! I’m good but this took a lot
I love BaubleBar baubles…they’re always fun and current! They even gifted me with three lovely necklaces including the Constellation Frontal necklace (available now at Nordstrom) and I want to give it to you! Just my way of saying “thanks for hanging with me“…. This necklace was just made available at Nordstrom on July 18th ~ in time for the Anniversary Sale! Enter now and come back daily to earn extra points! a Rafflecopter giveaway
This post was inspired by Bittersweet by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore, a novel that exposes the gothic underbelly of an American dynasty, and an outsider’s hunger to belong. Join From Left to Write on May 20 we discuss Bittersweet. As a member, I received a copy of the book for review purposes. Imagine if someone told you to be someone else. Or, better yet, someone thought you weren’t good enough “as-is” and asked you to change to fit it….or maybe, slightly more disconcerting, you
I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias, Millstone® Coffee, and Mr. Coffee®. This is what my mornings have become…. Some fun, melodic tunes, a fashion magazine, and my morning coffee! I’ve always been more of a morning person but this new habit has sealed the deal – not to mention that I can do it outside on my deck before the
I’m part of this book club, From Left to Write and one of the books we reviewed for May was Thrive by Arianna Huffington. The book was prompted by a broken cheekbone and nasty gash over here eye which was caused by passing out from exhaustion. Whoa! In spring 2009, I missed a flight for work and had a meltdown. As I was sitting in O’Hare airport, I ran my fingers through my hair and came up with a fairly
I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its advertiser. I hesitated doing any post related to Mother’s Day and that’s simply because I don’t have a mother….anymore. My mother passed away in 2001 and since then, I haven’t actually celebrated the holiday – truthfully, I’ve tucked myself away from the day and the corresponding celebrations. This year I wanted to try
In conjunction with Walker’s Legacy, I’ll be spending an hour on Google Hangout to talk to women about the game changing pieces to add to their wardrobe! Our session will be hosted by Brittany Jacobs, so join us! Monday, April 28th 1:00 – 2:00PM EST Join by clicking here: tell me the game changing pieces to own! Use hashtag #WSAWstyle
My second DC launch party for my style guidebook, Without Saying A Word: The Silent Power of Style, happened on February 27th at Bonobos‘ DC store in Cady Alley. It was a fabulous time had by all and by “all”, I mean men and women. This launch party was for the guys and girls: the ladies got to chat about the inner workings of getting stylish and since every stylish woman wants a dapper man on her arm, the gents
Divorce can be ugly and this book was meaty but terrific! Now on to my thoughts….wait – I’ve taken to reading mostly in the evenings, almost as a treat to myself and have also taken to doing it with my glasses. There’s a bit of me that thinks this makes it more “old school”…..pulling on my spec and digging in! Although I have a love for Rivet & Sway, these latest specs are compliments of Warby Parker, the bright red Sloan.
Peeps. Treats & beverages. Friends & fans. Books. Stylish chatter. Fashionable & personalized insights. And me…. The Graham Georgetown was the perfect place to serve up the “blueprint” cocktail, and share stylish beginnings and chatter for my new style guidebook, “Without Saying A Word: The Silent Power of Style“. It was a blast and if you missed it then you missed personalized style tips, some stories between old friends (ask Stacey of Blogalicious), and custom made treats from my good
I headed to Violet Boutique in Dupont Circle to celebrate the kick-off of Fashion Law Week (FLW) plus it meant a chance to check out the new items at Violet, a fashion boutique that does trendy, modern and affordable well! It was cold last week so I was bundled up….in my new winter must-have Norma Kamali shawl collar coat. A nice opportunity to socialize and shop.
The Brown Girls Lead Academy (BGLA) workshop was held on Saturday, January 24th at Macy’s Pentagon City. The BGLA is an engaging, seven month program that focuses on three core leadership development components: Personal Empowerment, Professional Enrichment and Public Engagement. The session was aimed at helping the ladies shape the identity of their professional and personal style through learning about wardrobe management, including updates of seasonal wardrobe; identify the differences between fads and trends including building a wardrobe that will
Other than my book (shameless plug), I couldn’t think of a better way to start a new year than by reading a book like Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin. If you take a peek at my 2014 goals and intentions, you’ll see that Gretchen and I were likely co-conspirators on more clearly defining happiness and the ways in which you can find it. As I read the book and the areas of growth or focus that Gretchen ventured to
Born and raised in Paris, Isabel Marant launched her eponymous collection in 1994 and has been ‘on fire, since! Her style sentiment is a mix of Parisian chic, masculine tailoring, and laidback casual. On November 14th at select stores at 8am local time and online starting at 12pm EST, it’s on! This collection, comprised of items for men, women and children, unlike other collaborations, should be fabulous. Below is a snapshot of all the items and above are my favorites…now
Waaay back in September, WUSA9 asked us come on air and share some top fall fashion trends. If you were wondering what they were, here ya go: Leather Cobalt blue Tweed Fancy sweatshirts {Note: all clothing items featured were provided by Saks Fifth Avenue Tysons Corner}
This book, The Dinner, was utterly disturbing but lead me down several divergent pathways. I started out by going to my family and a few close friends to ask a thought provoking question (in as neutral a tone as possible). The results were exactly as expected. But I stopped because I wanted to think and share what was most riveting about this book for me – and that was how we got to such a depraved ending. Four seemingly normal
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