First of all, I am glad to say that I am happy my little blog is getting some more publicity!! Almost every day, I get a comment or email from someone telling me how much they enjoy reading my musings. So keep ‘em coming, and of course pass along the word (but let’s keep it limited to people who are fabulous, or want to be fabulous! Just kidding!!!)

So, I’ve decided to make a new post that will appear once a month, about my current obsessions from around the Young Fly and Fabulous world. It could be in fashion, music, food, a new website, or whatever else strikes my fancy, and will enhance, you the reader’s FABULOUSITY. Just because Valentine’s Day has passed, doesn’t mean we have to pass on things we love, so here we go!

First up, is one of my favorite celebs, because she epitomizes FABULOUSITY; she even coined the term! KIMORA LEE SIMMONS [HONSOU soon to follow]. Well she is back for another season of fun with Ming, Aoki, Djiamon, Sandra, Baby Phat, and Phat Farm. Catch her on the Style Network, where you can see all her antics, and fabulous gestures. Just watched the first episode of the new season, and nothing has changed, but everything is new. Tune in for more, more, more, and more. Cuz that’s all there is to being fabulous–more, more, and more.

And while we’re on the subject of TV shows, the cable network Showtime has come through with two of THE best shows I have seen in a long time: The United States of Tara and The Secret Diary of a Call Girl. “Tara” is a show created by the writer of the movie “Juno”, Diablo Cody, where Toni Collette, stars as Tara, an artist/housewife who suffers from multiple personality disorder.  On any given day, Tara, or her “alters, Buck, Alice, and T, can show up and wreak all kinds of havoc on her family. Tara and her alters can cause some pretty funny, but realistic drama which makes for PURE COMEDY.

“Secret Diary” is about Hannah, a young British legal secretary, who also doubles as “Belle” the very well paid call girl, who is trying to live both lives simultaneously, while trying to keep them very separate. As you can imagine, more havoc, more drama, and more comedy. Seriously some of the funniest stuff I have ever seen because it sounds so ridiculous without being unrealistic. Check out a clip of the trailer, and PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS ON WHAT YOU THINK.

 These shoes are my BIGGEST OBSESSION right now. They’re by L.A.M.B. by Gwen Stefani, and they’re called the Tailynn T-Strap shoe. Aren’t they just FABULOUS?! I am imagining wearing them with work outfits for the Spring (thank you Jesus I am going back to work!) which, for this year is chock full of bright colors. I think I will also wear them with jeans, cargos, and just about anything else I can think up! If you love them like I do, you can find them at Bloomingdales, Nordstrom, ShopBop.com, and any other place that FLY and FABULOUS shoes are sold.

Katie Holmes brought this style to light, but it’s one that I really love: the boyfriend (or, in her case, husband jean). Maybe it was wash day at the Cruise house, but something one day told Katie to wear Tom’s jeans, and look how great she looks. In case your boyfriend won’t part with his, you can head to the mall and get your own version of boyfriend jeans. The fit: close fitting on the waist and butt and loose in the thigh and calf. Translation, they’ll probably be the comfiest pair of jeans you’ll wear right now. Pair them with pretty tops,  blazers, loose sweaters and lots of jewelry. And although Katie wears hers with flats, I am sure they’ll look equally as FABULOUS with heels (such as the ones above).

In my first post of the new year, as part of my reflection on “Self Reflection in 25 Points”, I talked about how I had some weight to lose. This time it’s NO JOKE. A few years ago, I was a sexy SLIM size 6; now, I still wear a size 6, but it fits a little a lot tighter than I would liked it to. 

To give you some insight, I’ve never really been skinny (in the sense of Kate Moss), but have always been toned after nine years of ballet, five years of soccer, and some years in college working out. But somehow…I gained some weight. The crazy part is, two months ago (about the time I wrote “The Liquid Leggings Saga”), I still wanted to lose weight, but didn’t feel as pudgy as I do now. Well, I say ENOUGH WITH THE BELLY ACHING… time to start the weight loss process. This time, I am not just looking to lose weight though, I want to be healthier in general.

So I started…

Committed to trying to eat healthier…which I never really ate badly to begin with, but I want to do a little better. As of now, I try to eat vegetarian 4 days of the week, and then conventional Friday through Sunday.

Working Out (Again): Running, dancing working with resistance bands, and calisthenics. 

Drinking More Water: How do I do this since I HATE drinking water? Keep a Nalgene bottle with water in it at all times, and whenever I am idle, or i think about it, I take a sip (or gulp, depending on how thirsty I am) of water. By the end of the day, I’ve drunk about 5 cups of water. I know, I know, medical experts suggest at least 8 glasses a day, but I’m progressing…

Taking My Vitamins: All 13 of the each day…Vitamin C (for immune system help), Biotin (to make my hair and nails grow), Vitamin D (cuz you need it since you don’t get as much sunlight in the winter), and a host of others. 

Reading: All the materials I can to get more knowledge. 

And how is it paying off? So far I’ve lost 2 pounds… I’ll keep you posted…

If you’re like me, one of my favorite things to do when the seasons (or my moods) change, is to try out any new make up trends and colors. When other people are “spring cleaning” their homes, throwing out junk and cleaning up dust that’s accumulated all winter, I am going through my makeup box throwing out old makeup, and making space for new stuff. I particularly LOVE to go to the MAC store and talking to the salespeople and getting them to showcase their new products. 

If you’re like me however, sometimes you get buyer’s remorse about some of the products you bought. That shade of blush not quite right? That eye shadow have the wrong consistency making it hard to blend onto your eyelid? That lipstick dry your lips out? Well I found a site that will help you cut down on the possible mistakes when making your purchases: Color Me Gorgeous.

It’s a site where ordinary women log into give reviews on makeup and other cosmetic products, showcase make up looks, and you can get advice about how to do that smoky eye that never seems to turn out right on you. (Sorry ladies they can’t help you decide whether that electric blue shadow goes with your complexion). My favorite part of the site is the Photo Gallery and the “Ask CMG” section where users posted pictures of the looks they’ve created, and where you can get advice from makeup pros. 

So now you have the scoop. Head over there and check it out. And don’t forget to tell’ em who sent ya!!

New Brooms Sweep Clean

I am SO GLAD that 2008 is over!!!! I happily got out my broom to say, Good Bye, good riddance, siyonara to the dirt and dust of last year!!!!!

With all that happened to and for me, I have never been so glad to see a year be gone (except for parts of 2007). But 2008 was truly worse: fights with long-time friends, being debilitated temporarily from a bad fall on ice, working for the DRAGON LADY, and having my income sharply decline!!!! Add to that some every day drama, and it made for one hellish year!! So, with all the gusto I can muster, I say, “Out with the old, and in with the new!!!”

I have been thinking about what I want for myself in 2009, and it led me to look back at some earlier posts to this blog. What jumped out at me most was one of my very first posts, “Self Reflection in 25 Points” because so many of the elements of the list are related to my resolutions for 2009:

1. Never apologize for pursuing what makes you happy. Even if you need to quit your job, transfer schools, or move across country, always do what you really want. 

If you have been reading this blog, you’ll know that I quit a TRULY AWFUL job, where a seemingly good boss, turned out to be a disorganized, bi-polar (no really, she was), control freak, DRAGON LADY. So, although I have had mixed emotions about my employment situation since I resigned, I have no regrets about leaving the School of the Dragon Lady. 

3. Never apologize for giving your best in a relationship that just didn’t work out. 

This is how I felt in 2008, but it was about a situation in 2007 (see above). No need to rehash; it’s done now!

4. Never apologize for being successful. Only haters want to keep you at their level. 

I might not feel UBER-SUCCESSFUL right now, but I have never apologized for what I have accomplished.

5. Never apologize for crying. Wear waterproof mascara and express yourself. 

Amen. As Lyfe Jennings sings in his song “Cry“, “crying is like taking your soul to the laundromat”. 

6. Never apologize for ten pounds you need to lose. People who truly care about you will accept you as you are. 

Ok. So y’all thought I was being dramatic when I said I needed to lose weight. ALL JOKES ASIDE I have MORE THAN 10 POUNDS to lose between now and the Spring.  

7. Never apologize for being frugal. Just because you save your money instead of blowing it on the latest fashion emergency doesn’t mean you’re cheap.

Right now, I have no choice but frugality–y’all ain’t heard? It’s a recession out here! (And I am UNDEREMPLOYED).

13. Never apologize for saying NO. 

I practiced a lot of this in 2008. Sometimes saying no, for whatever the reason, was hard, others it was liberating. There’s a lot of power in such a little word!

19. Never apologize for demanding respect. You are to always be treated as a queen. 

This one is the reason I quit my job. At a certain point, you are just demeaning yourself, and only you can determine what is disrespectful to you.

23. Never apologize for making a decision from your heart, even if others don’t agree. You have to live with the consequences not them.

Amen. Though times were hard in 2008, I know that “Joy cometh in the morning“.

And all of these reflections lead to one final one…

25. NEVER apologize for being you!

Happy New year to you all, and hope you get a happier new FABULOUS you–whatever that might entail.

Image Credit: Berkeley College

Today I spoke to a YFF friend who called me very frazzled about a situation: she was being hounded by debt collectors for a student loan. She told me she was so unnerved by her interaction with a collections agent, that she broke down crying after she hung up the phone! Her situation forced me to recall a similar breakdown I had as a result of a debt collector (and other things, but let’s stick to this topic).

Basically, her situation, and mine comes as a result of BUREAUCRATIC ERROR! Not her delinquency (or mine); not an inability to pay; not general malfeasance on either of our parts- just a plain EFF-up on someone else’s part that is going to cause me (and her) a lot of headache.

I was (and am in the process of clearing it up) being pursued by a debt collection company based on an emergency room visit in April 2007. Let’s look at the screw ups that occurred and now cause me grief:
Eff-up #1: Let’s look at the timing. I went to the ER in APRIL 2007, so how come I just started to hear about an unpaid bill in SEPTEMBER 2008?!
Well apparently, they’ve been mailing me (although at an address they would not disclose, at which I obviously do not live). I gave them my new address, and then proceeded.

Eff-up #2: I was covered by insurance on April 2007! The insurance company readily admitted that I was covered, in good standing, and had made my necessary co-pay. Basically: there was no reason the claim should have been denied (translation: oops). Insurance company readily resubmits claim, and says payment will arrive in the mail (it does).

Eff-up #3: When I called the hospital, I was directed to the billing department which informed me that I had 2 or 3 different Oxford accounts based on different time periods (true, I was once under my mom’s insurance when I was in college, and then under my own). According to hospital policy, the billing department cannot delete old insurance accounts, but that the entry clerks SHOULD (I repeat, SHOULD) check to make sure that they are billing the correct insurance account. Given the fact that I was turned over to a collection agency, it’s safe to assume that the clerk who entered my data did NOT check to be sure they were billing the RIGHT insurance account. Translation: oops.

So now someone else’s oops-es are my headache. Is it fair? No. Can it be repaired? I hope so. If anyone has suggestions, I am open to them.

In my last post (I know it’s been a while–I have a lot going on), I was excited about a “new” drink I discovered, called Limoncello. As the name suggests, the drink is Italian in origin, but I had it a a very Southern Thanksgiving Family reunion. Well I liked it so much, I was determined to have it again, so I started making my own. I looked up a recipe, and found this one that I liked.

This morning I went to work starting the process for making this fabulous drink, by peeling the lemons. Lawdy, lawdy lawdy!!! You know how hard and tiring it is to peel 16 lemons by hand, and try to keep the pith (the white skin inside the lemon) from getting in?! My right hand got a good workout this morning!!!

Anyway, the hard work is done now, and all i have to do is wait for the liquor to ferment the lemons, and combine the lemon/liquor mixture with some a simple syrup. Yummy, I can’t wait. I’ll let you know how it turns out!

What happens when you put an EFFEN stressful job situation, an EFFEN collection agency running you down for a bill you thought was paid a year and a half ago, a somewhat boring EFFEN Thanksgiving all together? An EFFEN near breakdown!

No, I haven’t suddenly developed a bout of Tourret’s Syndrome, it’s the name of a new vodka I have discovered! EFFEN Vodka, from a company in Holland comes in 3 flavors– plain, black cherry, and raspberry. The great thing about vodka (which is one reason I drink it) is that it’s low in fat, and the better brands you buy, the less it burns when going down. Something to do with the way it’s distilled. 

Head over to www.EFFEN.com, for recipes involving EFFEN Vodka. Me personally, I did get something more than extra fat added to my frame for Thanksgiving–I discovered a drink called Limoncello. I’ll be using my EFFEN to make some.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, by now you know now that BARACK OBAMA is going to be the 44th President of the United States. Although I was somewhat divorced from the political process along, I have to say that I am immensely proud of the voters who came out in droves for the November 4 election. We made history!!!! So congrats to Sen. Obama and his family and staff, and congrats to the voters. So many things about the election have happened over the past two days that are worth mentioning to me, so here they are:

1. To think that 40 something years after Blacks marched/fought/lobbied, etc to get the right to vote, I am so proud to see so many take advantage of their RIGHT to vote. 
2. And speaking of the right to vote… I was very moved to see some very senior  seasoned citizens exercise their right to vote for the very first time. Patty Brew, a 97 year old resident of Washington, D.C. voted for her first time on Tuesday. Also 106 year old, Essie Allen Spruel cast her vote for the first time in her life in Valdosta, FL. 
3. Celeb Votes…Celebrities use their fame for many causes, and I was impressed about how many stars came out in support for Obama. We can of course talk about my man Diddy who (although sometimes in questionable fashion) has been stumping for Obama with his Diddy Obama Blog Series. Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, Beyonce, Russell Simmons, and others came out in support of Obama through their get out the vote rally. 
4. I also learned that we have come so far, but yet have so far to go. Even in the light of the historical moment of Obama winning the Presidency, Ralph Nader found a way to try to diminish the accomplishments of the Senator. THANKFULLY, HE WAS CHECKED FOR HIS COMMENTARY!!
5. The patriotism…Rapper Young Jeezy found a way to support BOTH CANDIDATES throughout the election process. He expressed respect for McCain, but in the end, he solidified that he was an Obama supporter. 
6. The Humor…Let’s face it–George W. Bush has given comedians much food for fodder when it came to political jokes. Quite frankly, I’ll miss some of them, especially Bill Maher, who NEVER missed an opportunity to highlight W’s gaffes. Hopefully, when Obama takes office, Bill will need to find some new topics to ridicule. But that won’t change Anderson Cooper’s hilarious quip about Nene from Real Housewives of Atlanta on Ellen. 
7. And speaking of Ellen (and referring to thought #4) who was very saddened by the passing of proposition 8 in California, despite a vigorous campaign to defeat the legislation. 

As we all know by now, Jennifer Hudson’s closest family was brutally murdered over the weekend. Her mother, brother, and nephew, were all brutally shot and killed. 

I can’t even begin to imagine the grief that she and her sister feel right now, but my heart goes out to them. Generally, I feel remorse for other people that I don’t know during their times of difficulty, but I am particularly moved by this incident. Maybe it’s the brutal fashion in which they were all killed; maybe its the seemingly senseless reason behind it; maybe it’s that fact that a 7 year old little boy was kidnapped and murdered execution style. I don’t know, but it’s all very sad. 

I was impressed by Tiffany Pollard aka Ms. New York for her display of emotion on behalf of her family to Jennifer Hudson. Watch the video here:

Not a lot else to be said about this situation. It’s just sad. 

Hearts and prayers to Jennifer Hudson and her sister Julia. 

Being Young Fly and Fabulous means staying up on current trends, and I spend a lot of time doing so. But It’s not OK to just wear a trend, you have to make it your own. This past weekend, I unveiled my coveted LIQUID LEGGINGS at one of the events for Howard University’s Homecoming 2008. What a story has these leggings unfurled!

It started when I spotted them in the September Elle magazine. They were part of the new fall lineup of fashionable clothes, and of course I had to have them. Once they hit the stores, I was looking high and low for them, imagining what would go well with them. Sweaters? Yes. Loose blouses? Yes. Tight blouses? Depends. In the meantime, I have been encouraging my other YFFers to hop on these. They were a little weary, but pay them no mind. One morning, on my way to an interview, I opened my mailbox, and found them in the Urban Outfitters catalog. I considered purchasing a pair from American Apparel, but they looked too much like patent leather (I have big thighs, don’t need anything to shine on them, or to make them squeak). After my interview (say some prayers for me that I get this job) in Fairfax, I stopped at Tysons Corner to go to Urban Oufitters. But, being the smart YFF lady that I am, I had a friend call ahead to see if Urban had them in stock. And, like good sales people they told her “yeah, we have them, come on in!”

I practically run through Tysons Corner (if you’ve been to this mall, you know it’s a marathon to get from one side of the mall to the other) so excited that I am FINALLY going to get these pants. Once I hit the door, I start looking at the racks, completely ignoring the grungy teenager who was half-heartedly greeting people at the door, and make a bee line for a woman sales person, and asks for the LIQUID LEGGINGS. Her answer (in a whiny voice): “I’m not sure we even have anymore (mind you she has on a pair), they sold out so fast, they came in….” (I use the dots because I walked away and left her talking. Don’t need to hear the story, just need to get the leggings, thanks.) Finally I get to a mannequin sporting the leggings, and turn to another saleswoman laden down with returns from the fitting room and ask for the pants—LO AND BEHOLD—SHE HAS THEM–IN HER HANDS—AND THEY’RE MY SIZE–but why do they look so greasy and patent leather-ish? I grab then and high-tail it to the fitting room. Keep in mind now, that I am a little sweaty from my trek across the mall, and my harried pace of running through the store, and try on the pants. Literally, I was huffing and puffing, and inching them on like they were the finest pair of sheer pantyhose ever. And then they were on (and the angels of fashion broke out their harps and sang a song of joy). Automatic: they are going home with me. But the saga’s not over…

I need another pair for my fabulous friend Ms. Salon (don’t ask about the name)… But remember, I need another pair!!!! I had already texted Ms. Salon with the crazy snotty tone line “girl, you know these trifling salespeople made us run up in here and they don’t even have these effen leggings?!” (the whole time I am thinking, ‘but I’m so glad I got mine’). But I can’t do my girl like that. Then I remember, the mannequin is wearing them! (lights go off in my head). I run to another saleswoman, and ask her to check the size of the leggings on the mannequin, and if they’re a small, can I have them. (Don’t act like you’ve never done this. And if you haven’t, you should try it. I have personally undressed a mannequin at Bloomingdales–on 59th & Lex–for a dress I wanted. They don’t make any money by having the mannequin wear clothes, and that formica dummy does not need her booty covered in a dress I want!) It was hilarious to watch the woman glide the LIQUID LEGGINGS off of the “legs”of the mannequin, but she did. 

I paid for both pairs of leggings, and pranced out of the store. 

So several weeks, 40 minutes, and a whole lot of drama later, Ms. Salon and I were the proud owners of LIQUID LEGGINGS.

And here’s how I wore them…