rapture, jumping the broom, blooms and eats..

i had another full week..

i was off to my annual trip to the motorcycle show...

there are always so many cool bikes, although this year there weren't as many scooters, which is probably all that i would ever dare ride alone...

my friend tim is always asking me if this is the year that i am going to get one and my answer is usually i don't know...but my kid is graduating from high school next year, so you never know...

maybe a midlife motorcycle is in order

i also saw one of the most incredible singers of all time, Ms. Anita Baker in concert...

she was fun and feisty and in great voice...

love

her

i had lunch with one of my favorite, so grateful to know girlfriends, Chandra of Greer Chicago.

i had my first Greet and Tea there a while back, it is a fantastic shop...

you must check it out!

she is such a fab woman and is that not the most wicked vintage necklace that she is wearing?

i wanted to snatch it and run!!!

we had some good grub

and sat and talked and talked and laughed and laughed..

love

her

since this is the first valentines day i have spent without my ex in 13 years, i rocked my favorite red lips and made it a whatever i want day..

i worked for a few hours and made a impromptu macaron run to one of the bakeries in my hood, alliance. 

they were damnlicious and they do the most ridiculous cakes too.

afterwards, i met up with my girl Contessa of Thinking Black Girl at my favorite movie theater, showplace icon and we went to see a screening of Jumping the Broom, a really sweet movie that comes out in may.

it has a really fun and beautiful cast and a great story...

you need to add it to your must see list

amazingly, we did not take any pictures...but here we are a couple of weeks ago at a political fundraiser

i also attended the popsugar public house event but my phone was on zero juice, so i didn't take many pics

after that event, my girls, mk and tori and i headed over to downtown lounge for a quiet drink and to cool off because public house was hella hot and then we had some dinner at mercadito.

shrimp tacos FTW!!!

thursday was fantastic,

i started the day off with my stylist montgomery of marquin salon who besides being a fabulous stylist, is a really great person and we always have so much fun.

can you tell how excited i was to be getting my hair colored?

LOL

we were just laughing and having a good time...like we always do.


i attended a private dinner at the peninsula hotel restaurant pierrot gourmet and a trip to the top of the john hancock building, a thousand feet up!

a post about all of that fun will drop solo!

the next day i was exhausted...really...this happens...at some point my body is like...ok...i see you don't know when to quit, so i will just have to show you!!!!

but i once again hung out with my girl, contessa...this time at butterfly sushi and thai

and once again, no pictures....except of this little thank you dessert that they give us...

anyway, the next day i was a total vegetable and chilling out in my flat all day but i eventually forced myself to get up and get in motion around 5pm

and once again that pop of red helped perk me up

i was supposed to go to this live blues band party that billy dec was holding at his restaurant rockit and i somehow, ended up his other restaurant rockit wrigley

DUH!!!

like i said...i was really tired..

but since i had gone ALLLLL the way there, i grabbed some dinner 

this mushroom pizza was yummo...i then headed right back to the house and crashed in the bath

oh and i almost forgot, i was at rockit earlier in the week for the rock the vote after party

here i am with a couple of the candidates who are running for mayor of the city of chicago

with miguel del valle

with gery chico

but tired or not, i got up sunday and took a trip to one of my favorite places, the garfield park conservatory

the goal was to spend some time in the midst of the beauty and smells of their spring flower show then head over to Ruby's for some soul food.

it was the perfect way to wind down the week...

oh and i tweet a lot of pictures of my goings about on a regular basis, so check out my plixi account!

I don't blog #NYFW happenings much

even when i was in NYC for #IFBCon last year, i didn't blog much about it because I had been a tweetin fein the whole time, well... as long as my phone held juice.

and folks are blogging about it everywhere...

but anyway, there is one designer that i absolutely love almost everything about, except his lack of a plus size line (*double side eye*) and that is Christian Siriano.

and when i saw this, i almost screamed out loud!!

christian's line from payless gets a lot of play on my blog simply because i love that he has not dumbed it down for the masses simply because its not at a high end price point.

he does of course tweak some of them from their runway versions to the actual one that we regular folk can rock but they still remain haute.

Runway

real way on me

so needless to say, the shoes that i saw yesterday during his fall 2011 show has me freaking out!!!

per the press release:

The Christian Siriano for Payless Gold collection is Christian's exclusive line for Payless inspired by his runway shoe and handbag designs. The Fall '11 line features six styles accented by rich gold hardware, dome rivet studs, petal embellishments, leather straps and stick-straight lacquered heels.

One notable, head-turning style is the convertible Tall-Shaft Armor Boot – an aesthetically powerful two-in-one style that features a contemporized Mary Jane upper and a gladiator-esque removable armor shaft. A tote and a clutch will also be carried down the runway in python and a lavish green "windmill" fabric – a nod to the natural inspiration of Christian's collection

per my eyes:

FABULICIOUS!

look at gabrielle union and mena suvari rockin them!!!!!

i am not one of those girls who normally says "I DIE" but it's so fitting for the occasion 

 

Seriously!

christian siriano 2011 shoe photos from Getty

shoppers delight...

once again the Shops at 900 North Michigan are offering a tax-free weekend.

it takes place Presidents' Day weekend, 2/19-2/21.

participating retailers, which includes fabs like L'Occitane, space519 and Adidas will offer a 9.75% discount (the Cook County sales tax rate) on everything, including sale items.

i love events like this, where essentially an entire mall comes together and offers its shoppers a sweet deal.

you can download an access pass here or stop by the concierge to snag one.

your wallet will thank you.

winter pop...

i love winter...although in recent years not as much as i used to...but i love it nonetheless.

needless to say, i have found during the past few days after the ferocious blanketing of snow and cold that mother nature bestowed upon us, that it is kinda wearing me out...

having to jump over huge snow piles almost everywhere that i go...

wearing my heavy duty but oh so grateful for boots and sludge along is just a bit much...

and the people who haven't even attempted to clean in front of their buildings...suck major

so i have been in bed more the past week than i normally am most months.

seriously.

so i thought i would try to give myself a shot of pick me up by pulling out some of my things with my favorite punch of color to rock... RED!!

and since this is heart disease month, it felt even more appropriate..

i painted my nails the deepest, reddest red that i have...

oh and speaking of delicious reds...this stila long wear liquid lip color in Fiery on felicia of this that beauty is so damn POW....must have it...(save 20% on it with code 20LUV via the link).

anyway, i forced myself to leave the flat and i made my way around the city taking care of errands that i had been blowing off all week...

i threw on my favorite plaid hat...cause it is a great pop of red...

i made a quick stop for a bit to eat because it was 2pm and i hadn't eaten all day...bad...yes...

i know...

i also made myself hit the gym because i haven't been in at least 3 weeks.

i packed one of my favorite "gym bags" with some of my "bestest cosmetitries" to use after my workout.

my gym is so pleasant. the colors. the music. the kiehls goodies. the steam room.

i gave myself an hour of sweat and steam room and myself thanked me.

i left there and treated myself to one of my must have drinks, a ginger snap, which is a fabulous combo of carrot, ginger and apple...

 afterward, because it was actually a really decent day temperature wise, i walked around a bit taking pictures...

 

i made my way home and although i was still jumping over puddles and surmounting huge snow banks on some streets, having finally gotten my butt out of the house definitely made me feel lighter...

Fashion Beauty Friend Friday: Doing it My Way

this daily booth pic exhibits my blog'atude

When it comes to blogging, like most other things in my life, i'm like Frank Sinatra...i do it my way.

Katy Rose wrote: This week we are talking about creating a unique blog.

The launch this week of the 30 for 30 challenge, as well as the rise of EBEW and even the going red for women month, got me thinking how do we decide what content works for our blog and what doesn't?

How do we maintain our voice while being part of the larger blogger community?
So bloggers commented that some of these 'blogging events' are full of people just interested in jumping on the bandwagon and trying to garner a little more fame out of it, while others are authentic.

All interesting and valid points, which of course had me thinking what makes a blog unique and how do we are bloggers differentiate ourselves and our blogs from the thousands out there.

1. With all the blogging events out there how do you determine which ones to participate in and which ones to avoid?

i only participate in events that i was already going to feature in someone on my blog even if a group event had not been suggested, like Going Red for Women, which is an event that I have highlighted for many years in one way or another on my old blog PSD and now here.

i chose to participate in FBFF because my girl Eboni of The Fashionista Next Door suggested it and it seemed like something fun to do and i participate when i feel like it.

2. Be honest, have you ever jumped on the bandwagon of some blogging movement/event for the wrong reasons? How did that turn out?

nope. i value my time, so i will only do things that i really want to do. i don't feel a need to be in with the crowd. its really simple.

like i did my rockin 10 for 30 challenge in september (and i am planning to do it again probably in the spring) by myself and didn't even know about the 30 for 30 challenge and even if i had, i most likely wouldn't have participated.

don't get me wrong, i think those things are cute and like to see what people come up with but i am just not much of a joiner in that sense, i dont like following rules so its hard for me to get with other peoples programs like that.  i blog about what interests me and i am not a fan of  what i call "regurgitated news", i.e, the same news posted over and over on blogs.

so bandwagon jumping is not my thang.

3. How do you give your own flair to a blog event while still maintaining the general mission and purpose?

by being true to the way i always approach any post. write it in my own way.

so its not so much for me about "flair". if i decide to participate its because it matters to me, so i am invested and so i try to do it in that spirit.

i am not a person who can put on airs. if its unnatural or faux it shows and it blows...

4. When determining the best content for your blog what criterion do you keep in mind?

i really dont think much about it. i have very simple rules. i blog about what i like, care about or am interested in. period.

5. While everything will not suit your blog, how do you try and support your fellow bloggers who are participating in something worthwhile but not your style?

if someone i like is doing something that i want to share, i will either tweet it or highlight it during a links feature unless its something that i already feature on my blog in one way or another, like heart disease and my feature of my friends new project, the Bleeding Heart Project.

Fashion Beauty Friend Friday is the brainchild of Katy Rose of Modly Chic. It's a fun community of diverse bloggers that's growing by the day! Join in and have your say.

Macy's Goes Red & You Save

Once again Macy's is the national sponsor for Go Red For Women.

Go Red For Women is the American Heart Association's campaign to wipe out heart disease.

Click the image to see details!

While most people might think breast cancer is the leading killer of women in the U.S., when actually, heart disease is.

Supporting this cause is very important to me personally and i support it every year and wrote about why here.