I know this is NOT fashion related...or maybe it could be.
I'm a firm believer there's a time and place for everything. I'm doing this project and I asked some people for some materials. I've received somethings riddled with slang and cuss words; something I CANNOT and WILL NOT use because of the severity of the project. Why do people have to have their ghetto meter at high blast at all times?
I'm not saying to be "fake", but to make it in this society, you have to know when to turn ghetto on and off. I can be ghetto or hood or whatever, but there is a time and place for business. People are locked into that hood mentality and don't know or haven't been trained to act outside of the box.
If you are trying to conduct business, PLEASE turn down your ghetto meter. If not, don't be surprised if you don't get far in this world. You will always be in your own little hood...imprisoned by your ghetto mentality.
Sorry...I just needed to vent. Working on a few blogs including tomorrow's Eliza Parker Preview for Midwest Fashion week. So excited!
Last week, I expressed how I didn’t like to shop. I like deals, sales, discounts, discontinued products...you get the picture. I could care less about name brand clothing; only if I can get a deal on them. So hubby introduces me to a thrift store called Value World.
It's been my second trip and I found two purses that suits my style. Both purses were tagged for $1.69. I already purchased some pumps, so I knew this purse would go great.
Purple purse from Value Village (thrifted $1.69)
Purple pumps from Cato (retail $12)
Frankie & Johnny Purse Value Village (thrifted $1.69)
As Janelle wrote on my bio, I am a plus size advocate. This happened around three years ago when the Torrid Model Search came to Puerto Rico.
My daughter Ana found out they were having a casting and she dared to enter. We had no clue about her decision. She was chosen as a finalist to everyone’s surprise, not because she did not have the beauty, but because we had never talked about it.
Torrid Puerto Rico Models
Torrid had a fashion show at Plaza Las Americas in San Juan the Saturday before Mother's Day. Of course I went with my family to cheer her on. I did not know what to expect because plus modeling in Puerto Rico is not common at all. I sat down and waited for the show to begin. There was a fashion show with girls casting for Miss Puerto Rico Universe before the Torrid Show. They were beautiful ladies, but so fragile looking.
Ana Garcia, my daughter and first runner up.
Eight o’clock came and the fashion show began; Ana was the first one out. I remember her saying to me “Mom, I hope I don’t fall”. You know what, she didn’t fall and she was amazing. I also remember one lady next to me saying, “Goodness, she looks like a Miss Universe Plus”. I was so happy with that comment because the lady did not know she was my daughter.
The other girls came out. They rocked that runway! I compared it with the other fashion show and had no comparison. The crowd loved them. They were all beautiful, real women that girls could relate to.
They called the third runner up Andrea Damaris. I loved her. She is a beautiful girl from Dorado, Puerto Rico. The second runner up was Samantha Sang, from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico who was one of my favorites. To my surprise the first runner up was Ana and I almost fainted. I started jumping up and down like a crazy woman. It was so funny when the lady that made the comment asked me if I knew her and when I told her she was my daughter she started screaming and jumping up and down too.
I will never forget that moment. I looked back to see the reaction on the faces of my son Yoel, his girlfriend Elenia and Ana’s husband Ricardo and they were all in shock! I still laugh when I think about it. It was the best Mothers Day present I have ever received. The winner was Krystal Cusimano who is an amazing girl from Juncos, Puerto Rico. I also met her mother Rosemary at the after party at The Hilton. I found her to be very gracious and very supportive of her daughter.
Ana and winner of the Torrid Puerto Rico Model Search, Krystal Cusimano
Torrid did an excellent job. They organized and treated the girls like queens. At that moment, I knew I wanted be an advocate for plus size girls. What could I do to get them noticed? What are some models doing now? Well, you will have to stay tuned to my next blogs and I will tell you all about it.
The winners, Torrid President and spokesmodel Germaine
Hope you like the pics of Torrid House of Dreams in Puerto Rico!!
This week I found myself in a bit of a pickle. Against my better judgment and at the request of my hormones, I decided to have a little rendezvous! It is been a VERY long time and I was started getting cobwebs.
I have a friend I indulge with from time to time, but I would never have a serious relationship with him for several reasons. The major reason is because he has nothing to bring to the relationship table and we are at different levels in life. Nonetheless, he is GREAT at other things, or so he was! I made the call and he already knows his role in my life, although I think he wants more. NOT HAPPENING!
In anticipation of my evening events, I prepared as any woman does. Shower, shave and smell good; the three S’s...as I like to call them and topped if off with a few glasses of wine. I had to get my mind right before his arrival because his personality can be a bit much to handle. Once he arrived, I knew it was probably a mistake, but of course, I never listen to my instincts!
Let the fun begin! In the first few moments, he is requesting the infamous “say my name”. Well I would have loved to say it, but unfortunately, I was about to call out SOMEONE ELSE’S name! Whoops, I caught myself before it came out. At least I hope I did. Apparently, I was thinking about an ex, which should not have been the case. To make matters worse, their names do not even start with the same letter, so clearly my thoughts were not where they should have been. I think that small mishap was the beginning of the end, because shortly it was over. (Sad face) He just stopped and NO he was not done! I had not even gotten half way to my desired goal. After his abrupt ending, he then wanted to talk! Ugh, I did not want to talk about anything, I just wanted him to leave so that I could finish and go to sleep! Sheesh, I did have to get up for work in a few hours and needed some sleep. About fifteen minutes later, after his babbling, he was ready to try again. I was so over it by then. I was not even listening to him. I told him I was done and he had the audacity to be upset with me, saying I needed to loosen up! All I could think was “Honey, I would blow your mind, only if you were someone else!” I really think our “friends with benefits” relationship has now ended. He has disappointed me the last several times. What is the point of having a friend with benefits if the premium is going up, but the quality is going down!
After he left, I was still reflecting on how I almost blurted out another man’s name! That is player rule #1! That just goes to show my player days are long gone and I am no longer interested in the “friends with benefits” type of relationship. I know if I were with someone I cared about, thinking about another man would not have happened! Guess I will be going back to my rules, no relations with anyone who is not my man!
Remember ladies, love yourself first and laugh at the fools who don’t!
I love getting packages! That means I've treated myself to some retail therapy.
Cherry Bomb from Curat Handcrafted Soaps (retail $6)
Before my card got confiscated, I ordered soap from Curat Handcrafted Soaps. I'm trying to phase into using all natural products. I'm not jumping into the au naturale trend, but I'm slowly changing products to acheive my goal. I started with hair products, then facial cleansers and now I figure I would try body washes/soap.
Curat is made in Indianapolis by makeup artist, M. Renee (Misty) Al-Eryani. The artist has done faces for designers, photographers, companies and movies like: Nikki Blaine, Michel Tavares, Smashbox and The Tuskegee Airman. When I saw on Facebook her soap company had a sale, I decided to order. Who knows better about skin care than a makeup artist?
I ordered two bars of the Cherry Bomb. It was on sale for $5 a bar. It was on back order,so I ordered it around the beginning of February and just got it yesterday. But it was well worth the wait.
I opened up the package; CHERRY EXPLOSION! It was like 100 packs of cherry now-a-laters simmered in the package. I made Jay smell it, even with his bad sinuses he almost choked on the cherry. Misty even through in a sample of her Pepper Ferocious soap.
Do you see the poppy seeds and the chili powder?
Take a look at this soap. All the ingredients are natural...hell you can even see the poppy seeds and the chili powder. Showering with it was awesome. The soap worked up a great lather. Lather is important to me. Smell is all good and fine, but if I don't see suds I'm not clean. The poppy seeds were like an exfoliant. When I got out of the shower, I felt clean...not sticky or grainy with no residue.
Misty says I should have tried the Pepper Ferocious first, I'm going to try that tonight. I will revisit Curat in a future blog. I think we need a gift certificate contest.
I try with all my might to get motivated about shopping. This past weekend the hubby and I went to a fundraiser.
We started out with finding my hubby's attire; a great white shirt outlined in black thread at the collar and cuff, red ascot, silver cufflinks, black pants, shoes and hat. So now since the hubby has his evening wear, I wanted to see what I can find.
I went on this mission to find a dress that will light up and make the angels will sing.. I had a shopping buddy with me to get me hyped up to finish this mission, because the event was in 24 hours.
After looking at five dresses, I finally had my top two picks. How could I make sure my hubby was going to love this dress? Then my AH HA moment kick in, use technology and send him a pic text. He saw dress number two and text back, "Do you have bail money?". All I could do was laugh and pick dress one. If he thought that dress was hot, then it was the winner!
Now on to the shoes...when I was in high school I had no problem wearing heels; but now with some weight gain thin heels scares me.
These past two months I've brought two pairs of heels each with different heels in inches. I think I've done a great job these last couple shopping trips. So here are my findings from my mission. Who knows maybe I will like shopping soon, but until then I'm ok with styling others.
So yesterday an opportunity arose for me to do a photoshoot. Details on who it's for to come soon!
I have to wear something from the new Spring trends...so brights, stripes, retro and neutral. Last night I rushed to my closet, I have a few things in mind, but nothing I would want to wear for a big photoshoot. So you know what that means...TIME TO GO SHOPPING. I told my fiance I have to go and buy something for the SHOOT. I've been on financial punishment lately since I almost exhausted my credit line at my bank; $650 in the hole. Jay was NOT a happy camper. Against his better judgment (hee hee), he relinquished my card. He knows how much RL and Aesthetic Design Style mean to me.
Since the shoot is next Tuesday, I have to go into a physical store to buy something. I don't want to order anything online and it not be here in time or not fit. Here are some pieces I would buy if I had the time.
