Who is Georges Chakra?

The blogs are still raving about Queen Latifah's turquoise and white ombre Georges Chakra piece. 

(pic from Red Carpet Fashion Awards)

After seeing this piece and the other pink Chakra piece the Queen wore that night, I wanted to know more about Georges Chakra.

Chakra is a Lebanonese designer that's been on the scene since 2002. His ready to wear line, Edition by Georges Chakra, was born in 2009. Using Yves Saint Laurent as his influence, Chakra has designed for many other celebrities like Queen Latifah, Beyonce, Carrie Underwood and others. 

Here is the Edition by Georges Chakra 2011 Spring Summer runway show from New York fashion week. 

Look for another turquoise and white ensemble in the runway show...GASP!

Janelle

Dating with Angel Lovelace

Hello world! My name is Angel Lovelace. I am a 27-year-old college student, looking for love; apparently in all the wrong places. Although I've never written a blog before, I jumped at the opportunity to share my dating experiences with you. I am in NO WAY an expert, but my dating life could closely resemble a TV sitcom! Trust me my stories are just that crazy. I couldn't make them up even if I tried. 

 

It’s 2011, out with the old and in with the new! I say that every year and every year, like clockwork, one of my old boos calls or texts me. All I can think is, damn here we go again! So just the other day Mr. Rogers (names have been changed to protect their egos) calls. 

Let me give you some background info on Mr. Rogers. He and I met through our best friends and dated long-distance for a little over a year. I will admit I was very much in denial at the beginning of the relationship about my feelings for him. YES I liked him, but wasn’t sure if I “liked-liked” him! We made a point to see each other at least once a month and we're very happy in the relationship (so I thought). I like to think our relationship was very easy-going. We never argued and got along with each other’s families and friends. Then it happened, my family brought up MARRIAGE (which will be addressed on another day). He seemed to go with the topic and said WE would be ready in about another year and a half! (Janelle heard it too!!) Long story short, he slowly but surely stop calling!! He started calling and texting randomly, at that point I was pissed and didn't want to be bothered.

Fast forward to a few days ago. Mr. Rogers called and I'm instantly reminded why I am glad that we are no longer in a relationship. We were having a very random conversation about marriage. This fool says I’m obsessed with marriage. I politely corrected him and told him I was obsessed with weddings; clearly different. He goes to say that weddings and marriage are the same thing!!! WTF? I make my argument of the differences and yes, I want to be married, but not because of the wedding; because I want to spend the rest of my life with someone special!  He also says he was great sexually! OMG, I almost choked on my spit! I disagreed politely by making my infamous hhmmmm sound. *Light Bulb flashes* Now I know why he stopped calling: 1. He’s not ready to think about marriage or make a commitment and 2. He was OVER CONFIDENT in his bedroom skills!!!!! As I look back, I’m glad he pulled away, instead of me eventually hurting his feelings! I am at the point in my life where I am looking for a lover, friend, companion and partner all wrapped into one. Someone who wants to be married and have children. If they are not on the same page, then I am chucking the deuces! So with that said regarding Mr. Rogers, “another one bites the dust”!

 Tune in next week to see what kind of foolishness has happened in my dating life! 

Remember to love yourself first and laugh at the fools who don’t!

XOXO Angel 

                                                                                                

If there is any topic you want to see me address or if you have any questions, feel free to contact me at rubyleonne@gmail.com.

All Hail to the Queen

Queen Latifah hosted last night's People's Choice Awards. Ms. Dana Owens has come a long way from the dashiki wearing rapper spitting rhymes about women's rights and unity. She's always been goregous in my book and last night was no exception! 

Old Skool Latifah....

 

 

~Janelle

Working Toward Family Fun: Part One

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Make this year a BRAND new start for your family to spend more time together. I’m honored to write about family issues. Family can be wonderful when they all get along, but sometimes every family has their moments. Family values have changed from generations to generations. There are a lot of things that I want to share and challenge you and your family to do. 

(pic from Yoga in my Schools)

The first project I want to recommend is completing a GOAL POSTER for the family; then do one for each individual. Goal posters are great projects for family to do. Get some markers, paints, crayons, glitters, glue, poster, scissors, and magazines. Goals can be anything from clean house, dream house, new car, saving money, adding a new addition to the family (spouse, baby or pet) and vacations. Cut out pictures from old magazines or catalogs, and paste the pictures on the poster. When your finished put the poster up in a common area in the house. Every time you accomplish something, be sure to put the date on the poster. So your family can reflect on their accomplishments throughout the year. 

Remember, goal posters can be short or long term, so you can do one for each season. Have FUN!!!

~Takia

Purge to Splurge: My Yearly Closet Enema

When the housing market crashed and property taxes skyrocketed, we lost our house. Since then my fiance and I went from a roomy three bedroom house to a cramp two bedroom apartment. We loss so much closet space. Most of our closets are still filled with boxes of unpacked stuff. Jay and I must share a closet in the bedroom. I'm glad my mother taught me how to store and rotate my clothes. 

I always use New Year's Day to do my closet and drawer cleaning. Typically it starts to get cold and snowy in January (this winter the elements started early), so this day is a great day to put away the summer and fall items. 

 I start with my piles on the floor; giveaway, trash, and dry cleaners. This year is a year of honesty. I'm such a pack rat. I have clothes from back when I was a size 14. I keep it around because I'm going to lose the weight and wear it this year....HA! I'm proud of myself because I let a lot of things go. 

It took all day but I'm happy with the results. I got all my summer and lightweight fall pieces put away and went through my winter stuff and tried on EVERYTHING to make sure what I kept from the last season still wore well. I even color coded my half of the closet. We will see how long this last. I'm going to make a conscious effort to keep it organized and cleaned.

There is NO room for error. So I keep rotate my shoes and other accessories too. I keep them in bins. The other bins for out of season pieces I keep in the other closets throughout the apartment.

When you clean out your closets and drawers, you always find pieces you forgot about. These two are no exceptions. 

A genuine leather winter white bolero from Ashley Stewart. I bought this when I worked for them many moons ago. Loved it then....love it now!

A kimono I bought off Ebay from China. I was going to a party and I wanted to wear a kimono. I bought this one and at the time it was too big. I didn't want to go through the hastle of returning it to China, so I was going to get it altered. A few pounds later, it's wearable with the right accessories and minor alterations to make it form fitting. Will make this work!

Janelle

Really? Fashion Duct Tape

I'm starting a new column of my blog. It's called "Really?". It will focus on things that make me scratch my head.

Duck Duct Tape Patterns is available in an assortment of colors and designs.

Remember when duct tape was used to just tape things together. Duct tape is used more for fashion purposes now than it is used for a household helper. Saw on the telly last night the Duck brand is now selling patterned duct tape. So for all you people that want to make your accessories or prom dress, you can now choose from zebra or leopard print duct tape. There is a quirky website where everything is made out of duct tape. Duct tape seems to be the new medium of fabric now.

Janelle

Happy New Year & Domino Dollhouse Review

(Happy New Year! So hot in our apartment...60 degrees in December in INDIANA! It took so long for the temperature to regulate. The tons of jello shots and pineapple vodka didn't help much either!)

Happy New Year from Ruby Leonne! 

I was privileged to end the year at home with close friends. It's hard having single friends when you're in a relationship. Most of the party left before midnight so they can go and hang with their potential significant others. But I want to thank everyone for coming out and spending time with Jay and I. It was a great time. Can you believe it's a new year...a new decade.

Before the party I had a wardrobe melt down. I told my fiance to wear black; I had planned to wear my new Cocktails for Breakfast dress I bought from Domino Dollhouse. Domino Dollhouse is a new online plus size boutique I was introduced to by a blog post by Stiletto Siren of Lips Hips & FATshion Tips. They sell apparel, accessories and shoes. 

When I first got the dress a few weeks ago, I was impressed with the service. I got my order within 2-3 days. The cost was reasonable and inexpensive. When I first looked at the dress, I winced. I am a size 22/24; sometimes a 26 in the hips. This dress appeared to be REALLY small but not small enough that I couldn't make it work...or so I thought! Umm yeah...I got a 3X (Junior Plus), I couldn't get it past my hips and zipping it up was not an option. I was so disappointed! One of my friends LOVED it and could fit it so I sold it to her. 

I will order from Domino Dollhouse again. I love the speed of service and chat with the owner , Tracey, on Twitter frequently. She is a doll! I will just be careful or steer clear of the junior plus items. Here is my wish list from Domino Dollhouse...

Classic Doll Dress from Domino Dollhouse $69.99

Bow Satin Slide from Domino Dollhouse $52.99

Janelle