{Fab Five} link love...

One of my favorite bloggers, Vahni has been documenting her experience with The Whole30 program and I am thisss close to doing it myself.

Jen shows how she has maximized her small space with an ikea wardrobe and I am glad that she did because I have been looking at these pieces. I need extra storage and I think they will go well with my desk and it is always good to see how they work in real settings.

{rock} love. need. want. ASOS Curve Thigh Split Maxi Skirt

Remember this post about this ASOS Curve split thigh maxi? 

Well they have a new one and it is definitely a MUST for me.

I love showing some leg and this skirt unlike the other one is just sexier to me 

and I can totally see rockin it with tights and a chunky sweater and boots! 

SOLD!

What say you?

Oh and the ASOS extra 10% off is still running. Use Code EXTRA10

{Rock}in Celebrity Style w/Curvatude: Jennifer Hudson

It has been forever since I have done one of these posts! 

My first one featured Rihanna in a cute, casual look.

I saw this pic of Jennifer Hudson wearing this fabulous animal print 

dress months ago and realized that I own (and have never worn) one that
has a similar vibe, so it seemed that another round was due.

{OOTD} Pink Powered Stripes

I love this blazer (last seen here) but it was so hot this summer that I rarely wore it. 

But with the slightly cooler nights recently, I was happy to pull it out.

similar dress | booties

{rock} love. need. want....Pussy Bow Tops

Lately I have really been attracted to pussybow tops.  I love that although they tend to have a more classic vibe about them, this season they are coming in cute prints and sheer fabrics, with insets.

Here are a couple that I am digging...

Asos Curve
Love the color and the pretty little hearts...

City Chic
Love the funky lace insets on the arms, shoulder and back.

Are you a pussy bow fan?

{rock} Queen Latifah's HSN Queen Collection

I am a huge Queen Latifah fan and I have always loved her style, so I have been watching her HSN Queen Collection every since it dropped last year and I am glad to say that once again, the Queen seems to be really bringing fashion that offers something for everyone.

Here are some of my favorite pieces from the current collection.

And this Sequin Shoulder Cowl-Neck Dress comes in so many fab colors...

these are my two favs.

I seriously need this animal print one! Like seriously!

{OOTD} Asos Curve Animal Print Maxi

After being so over them last summer, I found myself really falling in love
with maxi dresses this season. I think I purchased five of them this summer.

 And this animal print one from Asos Curve is the latest addition to my collection.

{Event} Recap: Standout Style Book Launch

The other night I went to celebrate the launch of Tamika Price's book, Standout Style.

Tamika is the woman behind A-Line Style Services and
Dangerous Curves Ahead charity fashion show and just
an all around fabulous woman.

{OOTD} Snake Print Skinny Jeans

Rockin the snake print skinny jeans that I wrote about in this post and I really love them!

{event} Recap: Hennessy x Futura and Street Art Tour

I love street art and always find myself snapping pics of it as I make my way around 

the city, so when my fam at the Chicago Blogger Network hooked me 

up with access to this event, I was stoked.

Moi all smiles after my chat with Futura

Hennessy has partnered with the legendary street artist Futura 2000 to 

create a limited edition bottle for Hennessy vs.

The evening started off with a meet and greet at Leaders, the Chicago

{fun} instagram my life...

happy monday!

here are some of my latest instagram photos featuring some of my
favorite jewelry, fall colors, new makeup and more.

{life} rolling in the deep..

hey luvs. i have been crazy busy, working to get so many different projects completed and in the midst of it, i somehow managed to get sick but i think that after a marathon sleeping session today and lots of vitamin c and medicine, i have gained the upper hand on this beast....fingers crossed.

i am just checkin in to say hey and to share a few posts to come... oh and some of the new plus size Closet Fete items are in the shop!!!

i had the great fortune to be invited to attend a sweet street art event put on my Hennessy to celebrate their collaboration with the artist Futura and i have so many pics and even got an op to sit down and pick his brain and be schooled by him...

{rock} Plus Size Items @ Closet Fete

I have undertaken a major organization project at the flat and so I have had to take a tough stance with myself and as a result, the closet is getting a purge and lots of never worn, tag still attached items like the ones pictured below will be going up at Closet Fete.

{OOTD} maximum chill...

I spend a lot of my time running all over the city, so a comfy outfit, like 

this colorful maxi, flats and a jacket for a lil professional edge is always a must.

  dress in 2 other colors | necklace | glasses (reviewed here) | flats from here

.

I love that the dress has a nice lil slit on both sides, 

so we decided to do a lil angelina's leg like pose ;)

{DIY} Snakeskin Studded Convertible Clutch

I have had this snakeskin convertible clutch for a few years but have never used it, as the still attached tag confesses.

I recently decided that although I will be adding a few pieces to my wardrobe for the Fall, (like these jeans I snagged yesterday) I will do more shopping in my own closet this year.

And while I took stock of some of the things that I own, I came across quite a few items that I had never worn or used and I tried to assess why.

The answer most of the time was simply, while an item appealed to me obviously when I purchased it, there was a lil something about most of them that I wasn't head over heels about.

Like with this purse, there was something about the color that just wasn't doing it for me but I was determined to make myself love and use it.

So, I had recently ordered some studs (which is LURVE) for various DIY projects and decided that a few studs would definitely up the amour of this purse for me.

{review} Prescription Sunglasses From Firmo

I have worn glasses for as long as I can remember but amazingly I have never had prescription sunglasses.

This is due to the fact that I am not so visually impaired that I can't see without my glasses, so I can rock non prescription sunnies with no problem.

But when Firmoo.com contacted me to choose a pair of glasses to review, I saw these sunglasses and knew that they were the right ones for me.

{rock} love. need. want. Lane Bryant Coated Jeans

UPDATE: Never one to miss a good sale, I purchased both pairs today ;). 

I think that they will be great additions to my Fall wardrobe oh and I also got this skirt. 

I made a quick stop in at Lane Bryant the other day and totally fell in love with these coated jeans (they are also part of a BOGO 50% off sale).

You can't really tell in my cell phone pic but they have a real cool texture to them and almost look like leather.

They were out of my normal size & I was on borrowed time, so I didn't get to try them on but I love the look of them & have definitely added them to my love. need. want. list!

The other jeans in the picture are these snake print skinny's and t

he more I look at them, the more they appeal to me.

Would you rock them?

Oh and today is the last day of LB's sliding scale sale, where you can save 

up to 40% off in addition to the BOGO 50% off sale.

{event} recap: Cheeky & 7D @ Studio Paris

I totally forgot to post this but a while back Tori & I went to 

the Cheeky Chicago & Seven Daughters event at Paris Club.

Tori was in a sexy pose mood LOL 

The space was set up in a fun colorful way & the Seven Daughters was 

of course on continuous flow. Their moscato is delicious!

{rock} Fall Fashion: Eshakti Fall Preview

Eshakti's fall collection is fulfilling a lot of my fall fashion requirements.

There are lots of prints, textures, layers and a little quirkiness to top it all off.
The fact that you can customize the pieces to your body
specs, is of course a major bonus!

It would not be a list of my favs if there wasn't some animal print in the mix.

I am this close to snagging this fab animal print dress although I own one that is
similar, the cut on this one is completely different and i love
the draped bow and even the tiers...hmmm

{rock} Fall Accessories: Seeing Gold

To say that i am excited for fall would be the biggest understatement EVAH!!

I have been devouring the september mags and gagging! it just makes me so giddy.

I love all the color and texture and layers and fall has always meant 

rockin browns and reds and greens for me, but this year i am also 

leaning heavily towards more purples, burgundy, mustard and prints. 

And to set them all off, I am seeing gold. 

Gold belts that is, like these from ASOS Curve.

1. 2. 3.

I just think that they are perfect for the thicker fabrics and richer hues of fall.

p.s This ASOS Curve fabulous spiked belt, has sold out before but they restocked it! It's a must have!

an organized {life}: jewelry storage

I was browsing the internet a few weeks ago and came across some adorable ceramic egg crates (similar here and here) that I knew I just had to have because I thought they would make pretty storage containers.

The crate on the left contains pieces available (or soon to be) at Closet Fete.

The items on the right are pieces currently in high rotation.

I am also working on converting a cubicle stand that I got off craigslist eons ago to hold a bunch of my other pieces in a way that I can actually see them because I have so many things that I never use because of my "out of sight, out of mind" syndrome.

{dressing room} eloquii by limited fall colllection

I have been itching to see some of the eloquii fall collection up close and personal every since I had my chat with the brands designer, Jodi Arnold, so I did a quick run thru the other day.

I snapped a of pic of the current main display with my cell phone .

And tried on a couple of dresses.

I love this sheath dress with the faux leather at the waist and neckline.
The color is so gorgeous!

{rock} or not? Asos Curve Giraffe Print Bodycon dress

Asos is currently having a 20% off new items sale (use code NEW20) so of course I hit the Curve section to see what was new.

One of the first pieces to catch my eye was this giraffe print dress.

{ootd} Rockin Serena Williams HSN Collection

Last night I attended a mixer and wanted to be comfortable but a little sparkly...

I rocked one of my fav skirts (last seen here), my animal hair flats,
which i still just love so...and this fab white jacket,
one of my first purchases from the
Serena Williams HSN collection.

{rock}in smooth polka dots...

I posted this picture to my instagram account and got requests to see
the whole look, so in between business meetings and errands,
I went home and pulled out the tripod to snap a couple of pics.

{feature} iFabbo 50 US Beauty & Fashion Blogs to Watch & Learn From

A major shout out to the fine folks at iFabbo for included me in their list of 50 US Beauty & Fashion Blogs to Watch & Learn From!


The series of 50 blogs started off with UK and Australian blogs (two editions, here and here) and there are so many cool blogs listed, I will definitely be adding lots of them to the reader!

So, if you are here checking me out from list, WELCOME ;)

Oh and in case you are not familiar, iFabbo is the International Fashion & Beauty Bloggers’ Organization. It was created to provide education, resources and to build community among bloggers.

Learn more about iFabbo here.

{event} Nicole Designs All Goddess Garden Collection

Yikes, yet another event that I forgot to recap...I need a mini me...le sigh...

I attended the lovely Nicole Designs All new jewelry collections: F.L.I.R.T., Galaxy 

and Goddess Gardens release event in Millennium Park.

I previously posted about "the garden" that I wore to the event here. But now I want to share the actual event and all of it's fantasticness with you.

{event} Kenzo's # FLOWERTAG Fragrance Arts & Cocktail Event

Recently on a girls night out, my girl Tori and I attended a lil shindig at Bloomingdales to 

check out Kenzo's latest parfum, Flowertag.

Here we are on the CS Magazine website.

I wore a dress that I have had forever. It's a perfect simple sheath (similar)
with just the right amount of fun with the faux sequin-like fabric at the hem and neckline.

And my pink sandals have been in high rotation.
They are just so comfortable and easy, I always reach for them.

There was lots of delicious bites and sips and even
a photo booth that we played around in!

 More pics on my facebook page

{events} Kiyah Wright Chicago Meet & Greet

Note: this post has been so long coming...I recorded my conversation with Kiyah but had some technical difficulties with the device that I used and have been trying to recover it to no avail, so I have decided to release this post from tech hostage and go with what i have...

I was crazy honored that Cartrice Armstrong of PR Werks invited me to be the featured blogger at the Kiyah Wright Chicago meet and greet event.

Kiyah Wright is an Emmy award winning stylist who has had her hands in the heads of some of the most well known celebrities, from Taraji to Iman to of course Tyra, on who's show, America's Next Top Model, she worked her skills for 5 years.

Kiyah's success over the past 18 years speaks for itself and the next evolution of her career includes the release of an entire line of products called Muze Hair that will as she told me "bring Hollywood hair home to the everyday woman"

The line will cater to curly, kinky and textured hair, with the focus being on helping women maintain their hair at home. The first product to drop from the line is the "Last Look" hairspray (I love that name...so fitting for how we all take that last little glance in the mirror before hitting the streets!) It is already available for purchase here.

She is also traveling the country teaching other stylists success skills and serving up her fabulousness at various events.

She is a genuine and fun and so inspiring, it was such a great pleasure to sit down and share a drink and chat with her.

You can learn more about Kiyah and get loads of information, videos and more on her website.

The meet and greet took place at Seven Ultra Lounge and Kiyah of course looked incredibly fab and chic and we were both in a vintage flavor fashion mode!

Lots more pictures on my facebook page.