For those of you in the Raleigh-Durham, NC area this seems like a nice event to attend.

"Natural Woman" is an inspirational, thought-provoking documentary produced and directed by Cindy Hurst that explores the psychological attitudes that occur when African American women decide to wear their hair natural.

I am a mother of one son here in Los Angeles and I love traditional African culture and art. I have been designing jewelry for about 30 years now and love it with a passion. 

I am a bead addict and am always searching for unusual beads and bobbles to create the perfect piece. My mom ignited my jewelry designing passion by allowing me to help her design earrings at a very young age and taught me everything that I know---thanks mom. I am inspired by traditional African, ethnic, and archaic jewelry styles. Most of my pieces are one of a kind, very unique, purposely designed to start conversation, and always made from the heart. 

I focus on both earth tones and bold vibrant colors. A lot of my pieces have spiritual meaning such as my pieces incorporating adinkra symbols, Egyptian symbols such as ahnks, African masks, fertility dolls, and cowry shells. I am partial to using organic and natural materials from the earth. A broader list of the materials I use are: wood, bone, ivory, nuts, bamboo, ceramics, coconut shells, sea shells, cowry shells, fossils, feathers, leather, pearls, amber, coral, turquoise, river rocks, semi precious stones, African trade beads, seed beads, glass, dichroic glass, crystals, lamp work, powder glass, buttons, acrylic, brass, bronze, copper, wire, sterling silver, German silver, pewter charms, lost wax masks, adinkra symbols, ahnks, and kente clothe.

I hope you find something you love in my collection and remember you can never have too much jewelry :).

For the women with curves, there are a few more options to choose from at Lane Bryant with the introduction of DKNY Jeans to their lineup.  Peep a few of the new items in their Fall collection.

Ruched legging by DKNY JEANS

$59.00

Cable knit cardigan with faux fur trim by DKNY JEANS

$118.00

Knit cozy by DKNY JEANS

$59.00

Soho crosshatch bootcut jean by DKNY JEANS

$89.00

Check out Lane Bryant for more

Window Shopping is a new series that will feature those items that would look great in my wardrobe or yours but may be hard on the pockets.  Still it doesn't hurt to look, right? Right! ;-)


1, 2, 3, 4

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that the other day I mentioned that I'm in need of a vacation.  I need to relax my mind, feel refreshed, release some steam - you know what I mean, right? I haven't been on a true vacation since 5 years ago, when I vacationed in Aruba for my honeymoon.  Yes, I know - I am long overdue! I have taken a few weekend getaways here and there but those are always too short and I come back from them feeling more exhausted then when I left.  Anyway, after coming across this place - The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa I want to be there stat!. I'm specifically interested in their Spa amenities. It's located about three hours away from me in Asheville, NC and it's beautiful. OMG!

I wanted to share one of my favorite oils with you - Sweet Almond Oil. 

What is it?  Sweet almond oil is the most common essential oil used in skincare and aromatherapy because it is appropriate for all skin types. It is rich in Vitamin E and has moisturizing properties. source

What are the benefits? It's a great skin moisturizer, hair conditioner, massage oil, aromatherapy, etc

Way back in February, Salma Hayek was the first Foreign Exchange Beauty that was chosen and since I haven't picked another.  Click here to see that post.  I love different cultures, different languages, different music, etc so this feature allows me to highlight women of various cultures that represent a wide spectrum of beauty.  After all beauty transcends size, ethnicity, race, etc. 

So, my next Foreign Exhange Beauty is: 

Every wonder why we only see size zero models on the runway and not curvaceaous size 10s or 12s? Well, according to this article it's because:

'Figuring out what outfits will work on which bodies in the short amount of time you have at a fashion show is hard, so going size zero - eliminating those bulges - is just easier.'

'There is good reason for the small sample sizes. It comes down to business and logistics. The wonderful thing about women is their curves - but the bigger the size, the more curves, and the less easy it is to fit them in a way that's flattering to the clothes, which ultimately you're trying to sell.'

Recently, I was watching the Emmy Red Carpet on E! and saw this actress, Christina Hendricks, a curvy woman by all means looking stellar in a Zac Posen dress. But, could you believe not one designer would loan or make her a dress?

According to Christina, 'Not one designer will loan me a dress.' They only lend out a size zero or a size 2. So I'm still struggling for someone to give me a darn dress!'

Isn't that a shame that for one of the most important awards shows of her night, not one designer was willing to make her a dress just because she was not "sample size" material?

Fortunately for her, esteemed designer Zac Posen designed the gown that she wore that night. "He wanted to accentuate her shape, rather than hide it. The lilac, cleavage-bearing, hourglass dress in chiffon with hand- stitched feathers was specially made for her, with a structured, boned bodice."  According to him,

'She's got a beautiful body, there's no reason to hide anything. Let's celebrate what she has,' he said.

I couldn't agree with him more!  Doesn't seem like much of a challenge to me if you are skilled a designer to make a dress suitable for a curvy woman. Kudos to Zac Posen for taking on the so called challenge of doing so. 

It's sad that many of the curvy actresses go through the difficulty of finding a designer dress made to their size or finding a designer willing to make a custom dress.  The pickings are slimmer for ladies that are on the bustier and curvier side.  I'm sure many of us women can relate to times when we didn't fit into a particular brand's size but is that any reason for these brands to not make those sizes unavailabe?  Curvy women have designer tastes too.

What do you all think?

Shoe Description

Product Description:

LashControl® is something new and different: An innovative, squeezable mascara package that allows you to continuously regulate the desired amount of mascara product on the brush before it leaves the tube. Simply squeeze the center portion of the tube while you remove the brush. No Glop or excess formula. There are several design variations in formulation and brush style to be distinguished in the COLOR-CODED packaging. The squeeze-wiper color corresponds to features and benefits of the formula and brush combination. The actual color of the formula is black. 

The LashControl® mascara formulas and container housing have been engineered and developed using the most well-respected manufacturers in the industry. The product and ingredients have been successfully tested for safety, functionality, loss-of-volume, shelf life and durability. They combine botanical-based formulas and extraordinary engineering.

Retail Price $16-$20 





I like the packaging - very sleek & chic!