What's in a number?

OK, I am about to tell you something, and I need you not to judge me. The other day I was watching Hoda and Kathy Lee. I know, this fact may make you want to cringe, and I don’t usually make a habit out of this behavior, but the story they were touching on intrigued me. They were wearing numbers on their collars, and this number represented their age. Then they brought in a woman from each decade and questioned her. This made me think; us women are so guarded about our age, but why? It really is just a number, and it can actually empower you. The general public has a perception of how they think you should look, what you should be able to do, and how you are supposed to act at a certain age, and when you tell them that you are 45, 50, 55, and so on, and their response is, “Really? Wow!” then this should make you feel great. You know who you are, where you’ve been, what looks good on you and what doesn’t, and you know that you look damn good in your own 45 year old skin. Just because you’re “over the hill” does NOT meant that you’re old. It means you’ve reached the half way point, and now you don’t have to worry about people being skeptical of your opinions because your “too young.” There are a lot of times that other people seem to blow me off because they think that I am too young to know anything about anything. The truth is, young women can know a lot about a lot, and older women may not know much about anything! So let’s start believing what we tell our best friends when her birthday is around the corner and she gets depressed; age is just a number, and what you do with every second of everyday is what makes you who you are, not your age. Stop hating your laugh lines, and realize that this just means you’ve lived a happy life. Making it to “over the hill” sure beats the alternative!!

Run on fashion friends!

I would rather go blind!

What are these things? Why are seemingly beautiful women covering up their faces and making themselves look… well, ugly! This is one trend that I cannot wrap my head around. There are trends that I don’t like or even despise, but I do see how they somehow came to be. This whole glasses thing… I just don’t get it! If you will notice, these types of glasses are what characters would wear in movies when they are in their “ugly stage,” and then, after their oh-so-obvious makeover, the glasses would be gone along with their curly hair, braces, and unibrow. My case in point is The Princess Diaries. These things just scream ugly, and the strange thing is; only the attractive girls are wearing them. I don’t especially care for the glasses on men either, but I can tolerate it; however, when I see this monstrosity on a woman’s face, I want to go up to her, rip them off of her face, brake them in half, take her by the shoulders and shake her, and scream “What are you doing?! You’re better than this!” I am posting this blog for the betterment of mankind; please, if you wear these repugnant glasses, take them off, burn them, and sue the salesman who told you they look good, because they just don’t. Please, please, sprint far away from these things fashion friends!

Dirty Linen Glamor

Oh boy! What a fashionable and New Orleansesque weekend this was. It saddens me and relieves me that it is Sunday. Friday night was the Old Hollywood Glamor party with an awesome runway show to cap off the last 100 years of fashion in our history. Are you wondering what I wore? Don’t tell anyone, but I was a bit of an outfit repeater! I worked for about 7 hours trying to make a vintage dress from a pattern that my great grandmother had kept. This pattern had to be 40 years old, and I think this because, as many sewers will know, Vogue patterns will cost you anywhere from $12-$25 these days. What was the price on this pattern? It was $1.50!! Oh to go back to those days, but I digress. I finally completed this classic dress, and when I held it up, I realized that the fabric I decided to use looked like it cost $0.50 a yard. It was hideous. I could never wear this to promote myself and my line! So I wore the beautiful Sue Wong beaded, champagne-colored dress that I wore for my engagement party paired with my only pair of blue Manolo Blahniks and my birdcage I made for my wedding. The outfit was so old Hollywood. It was perfection, and I completed it with ruby red lips. The benefit was great because, if you have never been there, the Metropolitan is gigantic. The guests were never in each others way, the food was delicious and abundant, and the drinks were flowing. A fashionable and classic New Orleans night! After the fashion show wrapped up, we headed out to get some rest for the next night of fun, which just so happened to be Dirty Linen night. Now, White Linen night was great, and the fashion was much better than that of Dirty Linen night, but the art venues opened for this event were more up my alley. Craft shops, jewelry stores, and art galleries were open for business with items to sell! My favorite store of the night was Razzle Dazzle. This is a gift shop with any and every souvenir you could want, and the host was serving a drink called a “Razzletini.” How could one go wrong with that!? Supposedly the theme for Dirty Linen night was to wear one’s dirty linens… gross. I was not going to do that, so I decided to go for a patriotic theme. A navy and white striped BCBG skin tight skirt, paired with a black Etcetera tank top that had flowerets around the neck, and some bright red shoes mad a perfect Non Dirty Lenin night outfit. I was comfortable and chic. All and all, this weekend had it all; classic fashion and dirty fashion! It was great, it was New Orleans, and it was perfection!

Take it Big Easy

Now, I know that my last post consisted of my yearning desire to move to wine country, but now that I am back in one of the hottest cities in the states, I am beginning to see the light again. Yes, the weather can sometimes suck, (mostly in the month of August) and no, we can’t grow the grapes for the wine here… but we sure know how to drink it! The population of New Orleans may even give the Napa residents a run for their money. We know how to party, we know how to have a good time, and we know how to relax. There is always something eclectic and original to do here. Last weekend, my hubby and I took a little trip out to White Linen night on Julia Street. It was as hot as Hates out there, but it really didn’t seem to bother us or anyone else. The men wore their white linen suits, the women wore their cute little white dresses, and some women even wore hats… yes, I was one of those women. That’s what I love about events like that, it gives you an excuse to wear something you absolutely love, but can’t really wear on an everyday basis. I experienced some fabulous art, some delicious New Orleans cuisine, and made some new friends. As the night moved on, I began to not even notice that the temperature was not dropping all that much despite the setting of the sun. The week progressed, and on Tuesday, I moseyed on over to the Farmer’s Market at Tulane University Square. Wow! What a market! Farmers travel from out of state just to sell their produce in the amazing city. I bought the best tomatoes you will ever eat, Taziki sauce, and ground goat meat. Yeah, that’s right, goat meat. Greek goat burgers anyone?  You can even use a credit card or food stamps at this extensive market. There is a market every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and each day, they cater to a different clientele. I will be attending on Thursday night because they are doing a wine tasting. Go to crescentcityfarmersmarket.org for more information on it, and join me for a little vino on Thursday! Finally, the weekend steadily approaches, and I will be attending the Old Hollywood Glam Benefit, and 100% of the proceeds go to leukemia and lymphoma research. I can’t wait to, again, wear another outfit that I wouldn’t normally wear. The theme is old Hollywood, so I can’t decide if I want to be Audrey Hepburn-esque, or a sultry Marilyn Monroe, but my mood will strike the cord when the day comes. The event will have music, delicious food, free flowing cocktails, and even a fashion show of the last 100 years of fashion. Stay tuned to see what outfit I wear, unless of course I see you there! Run on fashion friends.

Wine country

Aaaa, Napa! Can we just move there now? What a country! (and I call it that because obviously it’s wine country!) Why wouldn’t I want to move to a city where it’s acceptable to begin drinking wine at 10 am, and the weather is like fall in Louisiana all year round? It’s sunny, hardly ever rains, and the landscaping is beautiful. I can’t get over how beautiful the landscaping is. Does everything bloom out here? The weather is also extremely conducive to great fashion. There are days in New Orleans when I simply can’t wear what I want to wear because it’s too hot. I am a slave to the heat, but I digress. I picked out specific outfits for this honeymoon escapade, and I must brag… they were adorable! Straw hats (which I wore almost every day) White pants, and yes, I said pants! I even got to wear a sweater and some slippers! (but that was in the bedroom, so I’ll spare you those details)  I think that just feeling comfortable in articles of clothing I would not ordinarily wear was the most fashion-satisfying part of the trip. I love Nautical-themed clothing, and to my devoted readers, you’ll remember that I wrote a blog about it many blogs back. I don’t get to wear nautical clothing down here in the Big Easy. If you are on the water, it is Cajun-themed. “Cutsie” is not for this gulf area. There are many things I love about this city and would never change; however there is a handful of things I would change, and one of them would be the “beach attire.” I loved being out there in my stray hat and crocheted top, because it made me feel good. I wore what I wanted, and I enjoyed every second of it, because that’s what good clothes can do to a woman. Run on fashion friends!

Wedding Bells are Ringing!

Ok, so I’m back! New name, new home, and new blogging subjects! Boy do I have a lot to tell you! We will start with July 14, 2011. This night was my rehearsal dinner. It went seamlessly. The food was incredible, the drinks were flowing, and the company was incredible. My outfit: a BCBG Maxazria adorable candlelight lace dress with ruffles at the waist and bottom. This dress was the absolute perfect pick for my rehearsal dinner. As the bride, I searched high and low for the perfect dress to wear at my rehearsal dinner; I think that it was more difficult to find this dress than it was to find my wedding dress, but I will get to that later! I even planned on making my own rehearsal dinner dress, but with the planning I had to do, and the deadline steadily approaching for me to complete my Personal Training Exam, I had no time; so here we are, my mom and me, frantically looking for the perfect dress to impress people and blow them away even more than I did at my engagement party in April. Searching corner to corner at Sacks Fifth Avenue in New Orleans, My mom and I spotted the dress at the same time. Walking toward the dressing room, we had our expectations, but the dress went above and beyond. It’s funny how an item of clothing can make one feel on top of the world and so satisfied when she finds it. A simple and understated off-white dress was the perfect garment to wear at the dinner. Fast forward one day to July 15, 2011, and now I am as calm as a cucumber, getting my hair done and drinking Champagne punch with my incredible bridesmaids. I cannot wait to put on my gown. It is a…wait for it… Vera Wang candlelight gown with tulle overlay and incredible imbellishments at the bust. This dress, just like my new husband, was the very first dress I spotted and, I immediately fell in love with it. Now any girl who has been dress shopping with her mother knows that her mom can be skeptical to commit to the first dress, and this is understandable. “We have to see what else is out there.” Since she is footing the bill, I reluctantly agree, and we leave Mimi’s without a dress. Off to Mississippi with my mother-in-law to be and my mother, and we visit 3 shops there; nothing can hold a candle to Vera. I find myself dreaming about walking down the ailse in it, and I even compare every dress I try on to it. Back in New Orleans, my mother thinks it’s a good idea to try Pearl’s Place… don’t EVER go here. They have a huge selection, but you will feel as if you need three showers after you leave, and the service is awful. My mom knows how badly I want Vera, so without trying on a single dress in Pearl’s Place, we leave, and she gives me the second best gift I could ask for for my wedding (the first was throwing the party, and let me tell you… It was a BLAST).As for my veil, I already knew what to do. I knew that the dress was much too magnificent to distract it with a veil, so I would make my own birdcage. A simple, flirty, and effortless piece that complemented my dress perfectly was the perfect thing I could have added to the gown. Not once did I ever think I made a wrong decision by choosing this dress, and not once did I think I needed to see more gowns. Ladies, treat your gowns like your men, once you find the right one, stop looking, because you could drive yourself crazy with all of the options out there. Yes, there are many gorgeous gowns, and you would look good in more than one of them, but you must embrace your decision and enjoy the big day, because it goes by way too quickly! Below are some pictures of all of my outfits I wore for all of my events. Enjoy! And run on fashion friends, run on!

                                                               Engagement Party April 1, 2010

                  

                                                                      Shower #1 April 10, 2011

                                                        Shower #2: Mad Matter May 14, 2011

                                                            Shower #3 Stock the Bar Party

                                                                          Bachelorette Party July 8, 2011

                                                                       Rehearsal Dinner July 14, 2011