FBFF: I'm Goin' INNN...And Ima Go HARD!!!

You have the right to do whatever you want! You can choose your own hairstyle, what makeup you want to wear, and what blogs you love to read each day.

Likewise, trends are not etched in stone. You don't have to adhere to these if don't want. Hell, it's your party!! Do it big, do it small, or don't do it at all. Trends come and go-they've been recreated and recycled since man made the rule that it was necessary for us to wear clothing. If you don't like a trend this time around, catch it again in about 5 more years and you may be singing a different tune.

I love covering the topic of trends. Even though I hardly ever follow trends until they are no longer trendy, I love sharing my opinion. SIDENOTE: Keep in mind though, that I will never share anything that I will not wear myself.  I had such a great time discussing Spring 2011 trends that when Katy from ModlyChic asked her FBFF group members to cover Summer 2011 trends this week, I gladly obliged.

I'm goin' in...(and I'ma GO HARD)

1. LACE-it's soooo sexy! I love showing skin-my BF hates it but hell, I gotsta stay well ventilated! Lace can be paired with mostly anything but for this season I would suggest pairing it with softer fabrics to create more of a sultry look. Isn't that the point of wearing lace? To look sultry...So don't go pairing it will heavy garb and an overflow of accessories. Less is more with this trend!

SIDENOTE: Lace is the item of choice for the next Everybody, Everywear challenge goin' down on June 14. Show us how you style your lace and link up HERE.

LACE

2. 70's INSPIRED LOOKS-this look has constantly been resurfacing each year. We can't seem to get enough of it. Whether it be inspired by Sophisticated Glamour (think silk bow tie blouses and high waisted trousers) or Bohemian Chic (ie-earth tones, floppy hats, sheer maxi dresses/skirts) ensembles, we LOVES IT, honey!!!

BOHEMIAN CHIC

  

SOPHISTICATED GLAMOUR

 

3. VINTAGE-LOVES IT!!! Think about those very ladylike hourglass silhouette dresses and midi skirts that mama used to wear back in the day. Boldly printed, precisely tailored fabrics. Longer hemlines that are conservative yet have the ability to flatter you body type.

 

VINTAGE



VINTAGE



 4. BIKER CLOTHING-think about a more edgy look to that compliments military inspired clothing. Try pairing leather boots with zipper infested motorcycle jackets. I'm not sure how wearable this will be in 90+ degree weather but it sounds FUNNNN!!!

BIKER

 

5. PUNK ROCK-imagine studs and spikes-on shoes, jackets, and accessories. Bustiers, combat boots, and destroyed jeans (heeyyyy, I just came up with an outfit inspiration). This is another trend that I love which can be worn all throughout the year. It's not as feminine a look as some would like but you gotta let out your inner tomboy sometimes, ya know!



PUNK ROCK



There you have it-my TOP 5 Summer 2011 trends. You can check out everyone else's trends by going to ModlyChic.

What do you think about my trends?

Which ones will you wear?

Which ones are you staying away from?

What are your favorite trends for the summer?

 Thanks for reading. **Wink Wink**

Linked up to:

Fashion Beauty Friend Friday

Post Title from I'm Goin' In by Drake

BDIB and FBFF: Dressed Smart Like A London Bloke...

Today is just the day that I've been waiting for...

Today is 'Bel Air' day. Teehee. Kristina from PrettyShinySparkly is the absolute greatest. She has sponsored yet another Bloggers Do It Better Challenge and this time we are to channel our inner Hillary Banks and find something preppy in our wardrobe.

Cords..Oxford..Belt-Thrifted/Cardi-NY&Co

She (Kristina) suggested neckties and button downs but I went a little more casual since we are having a pep rally at my job today. Blue oxfords, Cords, and Cardigans all seem so preppy to me.

You can go to PrettyShinySparkly to see all of the other preppy 'fits today.

What's your idea of a 'preppy' outfit?

Not only am I suuuppper happy that is it Friday....it's the Friday that I get to bitch and moan about my pet peeves as a blogger (special thanks go out to Katy from ModlyChic for deciding on this topic for this weeks' FBFF). 

I will admit that after reading several entries of the FBFF topic-Pet Peeves, I started to become really self conscious about my blog-am I doing this right, am I not doing that right. However, I did see this as a great means of constructive criticism as well as a chance to alter some things on my blog so that it will be more appealing to my readers and followers. Without further ado, here are my peeves:

1. NOT COMMENTING BACK-Though all comments do not merit a detailed response, I think it's just common courtesy to contact your readers (by either emailing or commenting on one of their posts) just to let them know that their visits are in fact appreciated.

2. FOLLOW ME, I'LL FOLLOW YOU BACK-I hates this honey. I personally would rather you not even say anything at all versus saying that crap. When I follow someone, it is not a matter of favor. I follow people because they are fly and have awesome content that I enjoy reading, not solely because they are following me.

3. OFFENSIVE CONTENT-About two weeks ago, I was visiting a blog that I visit on the regular and one particular post was very offensive, disrespectful, and racist. I commented expressing my distaste and waited for an apology. Well....I never got an apology but I did go back to visit that blog to find that several others had left comments stating that they too were offended. The blogger never even had the decency to post an apology or reply back to any of our comments. Needless to say, I stopped following immediately. Though you can't please everyone, just be mindful of your readers' feelings.

4. TOO MANY PICS-I don't need to see a GAZILLION pics of you in the same 'fit doing different poses. You're doing too much!!

5. TROUBLE LEAVING COMMENTS-I've noticed on several blogs that I read that it will say 'Post A Comment' at the bottom of your post but when I go to click in the space, nothing happens. Maybe some of you have it set to where only followers can comment or maybe it may even be the computer that I'm using. Whatever it is, it's annoying. Hence the reason I subscribed to an outside commenting system (ie-Disqus, CommentLuv, IntenseDebate). You should try it too.

6. INCONSIDERATE BLOGGERS-I've contacted a plenty of bloggers about doing features of them on my blog. They say that they would love to be featured so I go through the trouble of emailing interview questions and then---NOTHING. Maybe she lost interest (she should've said that), maybe she doesn't have time (she should've never said she wanted to do it), or maybe she's just inconsiderate. Bloggers don't take on more than you can handle, be mindful of the things that you commit yourselves to, especially when it's at someone else's expense.

I'm sooooo excited to see what everyone else has to say. You can link up your peeves or just stop by to visit by clicking here.

What are some of your blogging peeves?

Post Title from American Boy by Estelle

My Feet They Speak Italian...Walk So High!!!

How many of you are familiar with this scenario...

You see the flyest pair of heels on clearance but you don't have anything to wear with them. You left your cash at home and vowed to only use your debit card for emergencies this year. Your spouse would kill you if he saw you bringing another pair of 'shoes that you don't wear' into the house.

So what do you do?

You whip that card out, swipe your stripe and press on. You wait 'til the spouse is at work or out with the fellas and you inch those beautiful babies in your closet and wait 'til you find something to style them with.

Haha, that's a NO BRAINER, right *insert wink*! 

Women and shoes are like men and cars...we gotta have 'em. Just so happens that our obsession is a lot less taxing on the pocket. Go figure!!

What girl doesn't love shoes!?

I know I do. So when Katy decided to center this week's FBFF questions around shoes, I couldn't get this post written fast enough. I don't participate on a weekly basis but I make sure to link up and post my thoughts on the topics that interest me. I also make sure (as I do with all of the blog hops that I participate in) to take some time out to visit each of the other participant pages and leave meaningful comments where applicable. This is time consuming, but I love seeing what other people think and just the overflow of inspiration I get when visiting others is enough to keep me motivated. I'm sure this link up is going to receive an overwhelming response so I'm already penciling in my 'visiting hours'. Here goes:

Join in on the fun, or if not, at least go see what everyone else is saying by clicking here.

1. What is your go-to pair of shoes? Kitten heels, of course. They are comfy enough for me to stand for hours on end at work yet stylish enough for me to transform into a night out with the girls after work.

2. What goes into your shoe buying decisions? When buying shoes I tend to think about price first and foremost-the only shoes that I'm willing to spend a fortune on are work shoes because I know that I will get my money's worth out of them. Of course I have to look for a shoe that is comfortable for me-I've gone many a day having a fly ass shoe on but secretly tipping around like I'm walking on hot rocks because my pinky toe is screaming. That is not cute, classy, or chic-it's actually pretty tacky. Lastly, I try to search for something that's unique-something you are going to see everyone and their momma with. I also like color and texture because it really spices up the outfit. 

Mona Mia Trinidad $46

3. The majority of the shoes in your closet are what color? Oh, a very enormous plethora of colors invade my closet space. I don't discriminate honeys. The bolder, the better! 

4. When it comes to design shoes what are your favorite brands and why? I work alot and am on my feet a majority of the time so as far as comfort and style, I would go with Nine West. I'm also in lust with Steve Madden-their brand is really funky and trendy. Lastly, the Target brands never cease to amaze me. They possess all of the characteristics that I've already mentioned (lol because I sound like I'm talking about a man).

  

Nine West $89


Steve Madden WILDD $149.95



  

Mossimo Posie (Target) $26.99



5. If price wasn't an issue, you'd own which shoe? Ohhhh, please let me let me come into a lump sum of money. I heading straight to Jimmy Choo. And after I purchase my ridiculously overpriced pair of shoes, I'm gonna kick Carrie Bradshaw slam up the ass with my size 9 stiletto for making me feel like I just had to have a pair. Mmkay, thanks!!

Jimmy Choo Vivienne $1695.00

Speaking of shoes, I was visiting Courtney from ThoseGraces yesterday and she put me on to a very cool site called LuLu's-they have very trendy and affordable shoes, just the way I like 'em. As a matter of fact, she's doing a giveaway for a $40 gift card specifically for that site so go visit her now to find out details about how to enter. While you're doing that I'm gonna try to find some cute shoes over at Spegiel so I can finally use the gift card that Wendy Williams gave away when I went to her show a couple of weeks ago.

I can't waaaaiiiitttt to see what the rest of my blogistas have to say about their shoe obsessions. You can see too by clicking here.

How do you keep your shoe obsession under control?

You Gettin' Ready So I Know We 'Gon be Here Awhile...

Morning all. TGIF!!! Seriously, it's been one helluva week!

I haven't participated in Friend Friday in a while so I figured I would indulge today. We were asked to list the Top 5 Spring Trends that we are looking forward to seeing and sporting this year. Spring is one of my favorite seasons so I jumped at the chance to do this one.

I'm sooooo READY for some nice weather!

Here goes my Top 5:

Trenches

I'm SOOOOO obsessed

Wide Leg Trousers

Shop Wide Leg Trousers

Nautical Stripes

I Love Stripes

DIY Denim

DIY Denim

Jumpsuits

Jumpsuits

I can't wait to rock these looks!!! And I can't wait to see what everyone else is thinking about. You can link up your spring trends  by visiting ModlyChic.

I'm definitely ready for spring because I get to experiment with beautiful colors and sweet fabrics. Speaking of color, on this installment of the Color Rotation challenge, I was asked to incorporate the color ORANGE. Now if you love color as well,  you should go over to ScrapandRun and read about Colleen's new challenge.

Sweater.Belt-Thrifted/Jeans-Am. Eagle/Shoes-Steve Madden

I figured that instead of actually rocking an orange shirt, I would just accentuate the outfit with orange accessories.

The necklace is actually a DIY craft of mine. I made a similar one here. (I'm gonna be making lots of these in different colors. They're so fun and easy!) I also linked it up on the MadeThisLoveThis DIY collective hosted by Indiana.

Join Made This Love This

The bracelet is a $1.99 NY & Co clearance item and the leopard belt was found on one of my thrifty escapades for around 2 bucks if I remember correctly.

How do you rock your orange?

I'm Trying To Do it All Tonight....I Got Plans

With so many other things going on in life it's often easy to become overwhelmed.

Work

school

relationships

kids (if you have them)....

where does 'me' time fit into the equation?

Add keeping up with a blog onto your already long list of priorities and you're on the borderline of going crazy.

So this week, with the help of Katy from Modly Chic, she's enlisted the memebers of the FBFF group to share how they manage to keep balance in their lives while mastering the art of maintaining superb blog content. Join in on the fun by visiting Katy's blog hop.

1. When it comes to prioritizing your life, in what place does bloggin fall? Blogging coincides with everything I do-every outfit I wear, every place I visit, every speckle of food that I eat-I'm always trying to figure out how I can incorporate my daily activities into a blog post. With the exception of sharing my most intimate thought and details, it's sort of like a public journal for me.

2. We all wish we had more free time to dedicate to blogging and all it entails. What are your tricks for taking advantage of the time you do have to be as productive as possible? When I have new thoughts, I write them down on my 'To Do' list and as soon as a free moment is avaliable, I log in and create a draft so that I can come back and edit at a later date. This way I don't have to take a huge chunk of time out of my schedule to write meaningful posts. It's been working for me thus far.

3. Have you discovered any short-cuts that make blogging easier or more time efficient? See question # 2. Also I find that scheduling posts works wonders because I could sit down and create a whole week's worth and spread them out over a period of time.

4. Do you have an editorial calendar or something similar that helps you plan ahead? Nope, I refuse to pay money for a planner when I can just use an ever handy, yellow legal pad and a pen. I'm frugal with my greenbacks!!

5. If time wasn't an issue what would you be doing on your blog/for your blog that you aren't doing now? Okay, so I have a shit ton of people that I'm following. Like, the number is up there... and each day I find new cuties to visit. So my main thing would be having time to keep up with my own posts, while sending comments and building relationships with my fellow blogistas! That's all.

Apparently I need to work on some better time management skills. Maybe I should even set a block of time aside so that I can visit and comment on the 1000's of blogs that I follow.

What are some of your suggestions for creating balance while maintaining a good blog?

Beauty Is Her Name...

TGI Friday! I'm doing my two step! Ahhh time to chill and catch up on some R & R. Now normally I don't do many beauty posts, but I decided to try my hand at it and join the buzz with Katy over at Modly Chic for Friend Friday. You should link up. It's loads of fun!

1. What's your favorite drug store makeup product and your favorite higher-end product? I like the 'natural' look so I like to go for products that enhance my natural skin tone, so that I won't look 'made up' per say. My two products of choice are Sally Hensen's Lip Treatment and Mary Kay's medium coverage foundation.  The lip treatment is soooo awesome. It feels great and actually gives your lips a nice tint. The absolute BEST part about it is that it's sold in the DOLLAR STORE yall! Some chains even sell 2 in a box. So you can get 2 of these great beauty products for one buck. I racked up-I have about 10 tubes in my closet! Also, the Mary Kay foundation makes for a great concealer and it's gives the most natural look. Not to mention that I've been using the same tube for at least 8 months because you don't need to use much when applying it. They are pretty expensive if you buy them from Mary Kay, but I usually go to Ebay to score mine from those representatives that have them in overstock because they've decided that Mary Kay wasn't a great career move.



Lip Treatment

 

Mary Kay

2. Is there one type of product that is your go-to, can't live without? Any type of lip gloss, lip stick, lip treatment, lip balm, lip gel, lip enhancer, lip juice....I love lips and I need them to look perfect at all times-especially when I'm with the BF because he likes to steal kisses.  I stalk Bath and Body Works for their 'lip gloss sale' because C.O. Bigelow make the greatest lip gloss.

3. What's the best hair product you've ever used? Paul Mitchell Hair Serum. It's light and it smells really nice. Gives your hair a pretty cool sheen without making it heavy and greasy. A little on the expensive side though but they sometimes carry discontinued Paul Mitchell products within the TJ Maxx chain.

4. Fess up, what's the worst beauty look you've tried to rock and look back at now with a little shame or apprehension that you actually did that? The only thing that comes to mind is fingerwaves, the scrunched ones at that. I don't care how much a trend they used to be, they will always be a hot mess to me now! Here's an example:

WHAT is this ish!?

5. When it comes to beauty products, we all use the same basic products. What do you use that helps show off your personal flare and personality?  Like I mentioned before, I like the Sally Hensen Lip Treatment-and the really bright pink color. I get so many compliments on it-it's weird, I know! But people really do love it, especially when they see the cutesy packaging-they're all over it then!

A girl can NOT live without her products! Please do not try to come in between them because therein lies a very special bond. Violators will be prosecuted!

Do It Better Than Anybody You Ever Seen Do It....

Whew...So I finally got around to nominating some of my favorites. This took some effort on my part because I have soooooo many blogs listed under my favorites.  I guess this should have been easy but I really wanted to be fair about it so this is what I came up with.  I apologize that I don't have an explanation for why I chose these people, I just figured that their blog would speak for itself. That's the whole point right!?

Creative Juices (most creative)-A Beautiful Mess

The Real Deal (most authentic)-Running On Happiness

Spark Notes (best helper)-J's Everyday Fashion

Newbie (new blogger)-The Fashionista Next Door

Can You Hear Me Now (most connected)-Modly Chic

If I had a Hammer (best DIY)-All Things Beautiful

Tribe Leader (best leader)-Kendi Everyday

Practically Perfect (most fashionable)-Dwelling and Telling

Paint By Numbers (best beauty blogger)-Necessary Makeup

Renaissance Woman (best all around)-The Daybook

By the way, I really enjoyed this topic (so much so that I postponed all other features today) and I think Katy should incorporate more things like this into her FBFF feature! I can't wait to see the final results! Happy Friday gals!

I See Your True Colors...And That's Why I Love You...

It snowed and I'm pissed! Not even an inch of freaking snow and they cancelled work! Not that I didn't need the day off, it's just that I don't wanna make it up. I wonder if you can call out on 'makeup' days?  Who the hell came up with 'makeup' days anyway? They should be demoted for such foolishness! I had my outfit all picked out too-so I'll just run some errands in it. It was really a toss up because I figured 'hey it's Friday and I kinda wanna be comfortable' but then I decided 'nah what the hell, it's Friday and I'm feeling a little festive' so I leaned a little towards the colorful side.  And don't you know that today's FBFF topic is all about some COLOR! This is all to perfect timing.

Jacket-Thrifted/Blouse-GAP/Khakis-Old Navy/Belt-Thrifted

Per Modly Chic, the questions go a lil bit like this:

1. What color dominates your closet? RED, red plaid, red skirts, red high heels, red shirts. Red is absolutely my favorite color and it goes great with any and everything!

2. If money weren't an issue how would you change the color emphasis in your closet?  I would buy doubles and even triples of the same item in different colors.  It's more economic now though to purchase neutrals and incorporate bold colored accessories.

3.  What is your mantra about mixing colors? Do the unthinkable...be bold...be flashy yet classy.

4. For you, how do you incorporate color into your outfits? Most times I try to combine classic or neutral pieces and add an unexpected splash of color somewhere, whether it be with shoes or accessories.  I love it when people say, "Oh, I would've never thought to put that together." That's when I know I've done a good job.

5. Which blogger(s) do you think do a good job of incorporating color into their wardrobe? Words and Wardrobes, Kendi Everyday, Miss Vinyl Ahoy, Blog Fashion

Join in on the FBFF fun by clicking here.

1. Would you rather be on ABC's Extreme Home Makeover or TLC's What Not To Wear? Definitely on the Extreme Home Makeover! My house is a hot mess right now!

2. Do you have any tattoos? 8 of 'em and counting! I want a half-sleeve sooo bad but I'm worried that it looks too unprofessional!

3. Do you tell your kids about things you did when growing up? NO KIDS yet. But I would if I had them.

4. If the traffic signal turns yellow, do you stop or speed up? This is soooo bad but I definitely speed up if I'm close enough to make it.

5. What's your preference: chocolate or chips? What! Why can't I do both! Ummm, chips-Pretzels and Cheetos, Sun Chips and  Nacho Cheese Doritos!!

Link up to Five ? Friday here.

Until next time, no more SNOW! Thanks for reading!