Laid-Back Nautical - Lucky Mag April 2010

Here is my take on one of the looks from the April edition of Lucky Magazine. BBM has been pulling a few of these looks together for the entire month, and I thought I would give it a whirl to see what I could do. I had seen the ad in the magazine and I thought it was a cute idea to try a few of these looks too, but I didnt do any, until BBM put out the challenge.

After looking through the magazine this weekend, I realized why I had not put any of these looks together.. I dont have any of these clothes to make these outfits. And I had not planned to buy anything new, especially since none of these items are on my "must buy" list. BUT, I pulled something together anyway. Not sure how many more looks I will be able to pull off, but we will see. :)

Today's Outfit

Navy pinstripe slacks - JC Penny

Black and white striped shirt - Avenue

Brown belt - FashionBug

Bow charmnecklace - F21

Turquoise bag - SteinMart (Memphis, TN) I never usually pose with my handbag, but today, this one got into the pic!

If I wasnt going to work, I would have worn my gladiator sandals that I got from Avon, but it was a little to chilly for that today in Bmore, so I wore my black flats.

Sigma Weekend - 70th Chapter Anniversary (AAS)

My busy weekend was spent with my sorority sisters. This weekend marked the 70th Anniversary of the Graduate Chapter that I am a member of, Alpha Alpha Sigma Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority,Inc. So, to celebrate the weekend, there were all types of festivites including a public meeting and a Gala, that I did not attend. However, I did attend the Anniversary Breakfast and that was so much fun. I got to spend some time with members of the sorority who are much older than I and who have a wealth of knowledge about the organization. We sang some old songs and had a blast looking back at old photos (through a slide show) and just enjoyed each others company.

Anniversary Breakfast Outfit

Yellow wrap dress - AshleyStewart

Camel slingback shoes - Macys???

sorority poddle pin in royal blue and gold

Ofcourse my little cousin was there as well. She was the one that invited me to this breakfast. It was really nice to spend time with her. These other two ladies are both good friends with my mother and aunts who are also sorors as well. These two were so delighted to see the legacy of our sorority continue in our family. They just kept asking everyone, "do you know who these two are" It was really cute. Im glad that we are a stellar example for our family sorority legacy.

After the breakfast, I stopped past my grandmother's house and spent the rest of the evening there. Here are a few pics of my little cousin playing in my wig, lol! She is soooo cute!

The many faces of Ali-Boo!
While I was there, a few of my other cousins came by, with their children. My grandparents were so delighted to have all of us around them. My grandma gave us granddaughters a cooking lesson, on making gravy and making fry cornbread. We recorded the whole thing, cuz it was priceless, lol!

These are a few shots of my cousin's daughter - Taylor. I give most of the great-grands and some of the younger cousins nicknames.. this little sweetie is named "LadyBug" and "Animal" (from the Muppets, yup, she acts just like that, lol)

The next morning, I attended the worship service for the 70th Chapter Anniversary.

Sunday's Worship Service Outfit

Royal Blue dress - K&G

Yellow linen sorority jacket - Custom made by Jessica London

Pearls - from another dress

Gold shoes - Jessica Simpson

The worship service was excellent. The pastor did a superb job of biblically explaining about our destiny and perserverance. If we settle in a place that is comfortable we will never reach our full potential of where we are destined to go. And its very possible that when we do decide to move to our new location, our destiny, that we will leave some folks behind who arent yet ready to move. They like it comfortable and the old way, the way it has alwyas been. But the biggest drawback of not moving to our destiny is that when we make a decision to stay where we are comfortable, we are stifling the growth of future generations as well. Because they are forced to stay where we have made them a home not knowing that there are greater things out there. AAAHH, it was an excellent sermon. (Genesis 11:27-32; 12:1-7)

We worshiped at Douglas Memorial Community Church with Rev. Dr. S. Todd Yeary

(pictured center).

This is a picture of the directorate of the graduate chapter,

decked out in all their royal blue and gold.

My week in review!

Well, I am back ladies.. After a really nice vacation to Memphis,TN (which was awesome.. check back for a post on the weekend in pictures) I am finally back to blogging. I know I know.. I have been back a week and no blog posts until a week later, but I had to get back into the swing of things. You know, back to my routine!

Anyway, this is what I wore for the whole week. Had I been reading my other daily blogs I would have known that BBM has offered us all a challenge with the Lucky Inspirtation Calendar. I saw this is the magazine and thought it was a good idea. but then I put it away..NOW, Imma go get that magazine and join the party.. but so much for these past few days...

TODAY - FRIday Outfit

black slacks - FashionBug

black and white floral shirt - Macys

shoes - Macys

THURSday Outfit

floral skirt - JC Penny

brown sheer sweater - Target

brown tank - JC Penny

belt - came with a dress (Ashley Stewart)

sandals - Macys

WEDNESday Outfit

camel slacks - K&G

camp shirt - LaneBryant

orange tank - LaneBryant

belt - The Limited

sandals - Macys

TUESday Outfit

striped skirt - Macys

pink cami - AshleyStewart

camel jacket - LaneBryant

sandals - FashionBug

MONday Outfit

jeans (rolled to capris) - LaneBryant

khaki tunic - FashinBug

sandals - FashionBug

.. and the little cutiepie standing next to me is one of my BFF (Courtney's) sons (she has 3).

He jumped in the pic, so I let him stay there, lol.

He thought he was so fresh with his new shoes.. and his clean white polo shirt! Too too funny.

I think I should post all my outfits in one week more often.. what do you think?? Then again.. naaawww, I cant wait that long. I like the daily interaction.

Which was your favorite???

eShakti - UPDATE ... and gone for the WEEKEND!

This is the skirt that my BFF got me for my birthday from eShakti. I really like the skirt but it does have a few flaws. Here are my pros and cons:

PROS - The print is really cute and the fabric is very sturdy. The cut is cute as a buttons and makes for a very versatile skirt - versatile from day to evening. This skirt was made with an elastic back and a wide waistband in the front. Excellent for eating out, lol! No really, that is a nice detail in case there are issues with sizing.

CONS - This skirt really needs a lining. I think a lining in this skirt would have made it ten times better. The fabric is a little to sheer, and most of the times I dont wear slips (although I do own a few, I still wasnt able to find one that would fit this length of skirt). Basically, you almost have to layer this skirt over another skirt, but I wasnt doing that this morning, maybe another day. So I know I made this a PRO, but the elastic waist band in the back could be a CON too because, it doesnt really stay in one place. It tends to ride up in the back and I have been tugging at it all morning. I think a sturdier zipper might have made for a better fit in this instance.

Today's Outfit

eShakti skirt

Red tank - LaneBryant

Black cardi - FashionBug

belt - Torrid

So, would I order from them again... Yup, most likely yes. I am about to order another item, a dress this time and I will be doing a review on that as well when it arrives. So check back fro that review too. Overall if you had been thinking about ordering from eShakti, I would suggest to go ahead and try it. The items are well made (hopefully I wont be doing another review of this skirt after it goes through the laundry) and they have an excellent shipping time. We didnt wait long at all. Ha haaa.. you noticed I said, "WE" because she got the cutest skirt too. Maybe she will wear it for you all and let me do a review. The skirt she ordered is reaaaaalllllyyy short, but still cute!

FYI Ladies and Gents - I leave for a mini vacation tomorrow. Im going to Memphis, TN. So this is probably the last most until after the weekend. Unless I just miss you all so much and I sneak down to the business center for an update.. we'll see! TTYL - Enjoy your weekend.. and expect some fun photos when I return!!!

Business Attire : Presentation

Today I have to make a presentation with our Toastmaster's Group. We are presenting to the Stepping Into Succes Team here at our office. The Toastmasters and I want to deliver a message of building self esteem and confidence in your presentation skills. We plan to talk about delivering a speech that is clear, concise and enjoyable for the participants. So this is what I wore to make that presentation.

Today's Outfit

Brown and gold twinset - DressBarn

Brown slacks - DressBarn

Black patent leather flats - Nordstrom Rack

Yesterday and Today : Seing double

Yesteday was the 8th Anniversary of my BookClub - The EbonyBookworms. Usually we would travel to some locale for relaxation, fun and ofcourse dining. This year, we decided to just have a nice brunch in Washington, DC at a place called Tony and Joe's. They havs an excellent brunch and the resturaunt is located on the banks of the Potomac River. So the scenery was very nice. Although the weather did not permit, there are even tables where you can sit outside and enjoy the weather as you dine. Instead of a big trip this year, we decided to save up our dues and travel to a really nice place for our 10th Anniversary in two years.

Yesterday's Look

Pink shift dress - OneStopPlus

Pink paisley cardi - Macys

Belt - Torrid

Flats - Macys

We carpooled to brunch, and there are a few pics that we took before we left for DC. Pictures above is Debbie (wearing a yellow tweed suit from Ashley Stewart) and Jackie (wearing creme slacks and a pink tweed jacket). I had to tell them both that they were looking very Jackie O.

We all arrived at the resturant after some botched directions. Sometimes those navigation systems can get it all wrong. But we all eventually found the place, and what a treat did we find. The views, the food, the atmosphere were all perfect for a Sunday Brunch with the BookClub! Since the weather did not permit, we all vowed to come back when we could sit out on the deck and enjoy our brunch.

The gangs all here! Including my "little sweetie," Symmone. She and I were dressed in the same colors and she was just too too tickled by that. Pictured above from left to right are:

Dawn (little sweetie's mom, wearing a black and white dress), Jackie, Me, Gia (wearing a black silk ruffle top and black slacks), Debbie, Lyndell (wearing a one piece dress, with a shiny black top and black knit bottom), and Nicole (in her casual look, wearing a teal sweater vest, grey long sleeve tee and jeans).

And then TODAY! .. Sadly I am at work on my day off. I usually have off on Monday and I work 10 hr days the rest of the week. But I had a meeting to attend today, so I had to make it in. One good thing is that I only have to stay half a day today (until noon) because I worked half a day on Friday.

But as you can see, the outfit is pretty similar to yesterday. I really liked this sweater, so I just threw it on again.. and I pulled my hair back into a ponytail, but maybe I will wear it down tomorrow. When I went to the wedding on saturday, no one knew who I was. So I figured I would eases this new hair style slowly onto my coworkers, lol!

No need for a description of today's outfit. Its just the cardi and black pants, oh, and a pink ruffle button up. I really wanted to wear this cardi on my vacation to Memphis this week, but since I have had it on for 2 days, I guess I can find something else to wear. I am thinking I will stop past OldNavy tonight cuz I am really feeling their artsy cardi, which are on sale this week. So Imma go see what they have.

Wedding Day - Danielle and Robert Black

The wedding of Danielle Edmonds and Robert Black Jr was held at the Savage Mill Manor House in Savage, Maryland. It was a beautiful day to have a wedding with great sunshine and a lovely breeze (that was a nice way of saying that it was cold, lol).
The wedding colors were chocolate brown and teal or turquoise.
Danielle is my coworker, so there were a few coworkers and friends that attended this wedding.

The decor was very elegant. There was a very classic look and all of the printed items were lovely!



Two of the bridesmaids were also our coworkers. They were lovely in their teal. The calla lilies were a nice touch to the wedding. They added to the elegance of the wedding.
The flowers were so crisp and clean. Very modern touch.

This was the lovely couple as they walked off after saying their vows.
It was a very nice ceremony, a little long, but very nice nonetheless.
This couple is very centered around prayer and family. And their ceremony really reflected this.

This was the second dress that the bride wore throughout the reception.
Very Lovely! It was so chic!


This is Jamaica, another of our coworkers and friends.
She did alot to help out with the setup of the day.

A close up with the bride!

During the cake cutting.

And the gangs all here (minus one or two, who knows where they were when we took this pic).
Cheers to the Bride and Groom!
It was a lovely day and a beautiful wedding!