Simple Sunday & Weekend Recap

Can't believe another weekend has flown by! I hope you all had a great one.

One of the highlights of my weekend was being able to judge my 1st pageant. My little sis was asked to help out at the Elkton (MD) Fall Fest this Saturday. The director of the event also asked if I was interested in judging. Of course I accepted with great pleasure! I had such a wonderful time and the contestants all did so well. I truly feel the girls who won deserved it. Both winners were poised and were genuinely nice girls.

*The outfit I wore Saturday*

I also attended church today and enjoyed family dinner afterwards. For the most part, I was relaxed while dressing this weekend. With the weather changing, I am still in the midst of changing my wardrobe from summer to fall. This afternoon, I threw on some comfy pants and a cute top, both from Target. Most, if not all of my jewelry is thrifted. 

*I can see a little bit of my work out paying off in these pics...YAY!!!*

All in all, the weekend was pretty good. As I type I'm watching the Ravens game, hoping they come back and win this game against the Patriots. My boo is next to me yelling at the screen and telling me what they're doing wrong. As if I don't know, LOL! 

Have a good night and I wish you a productive and blessed Monday. TTYS! 

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Today, I'm linking up with:

 

Thrifty Monday

Welcome to a new week friends!!!

I hope you've all had a GREAT weekend. Mine was pretty good. I spent the majority of it with my family, then spend a few hours with my babe thrifting on Saturday. We stopped by to see a few friends, grabbed a bite and were in the house relaxing by 9:30, LOL! Sunday, we went to church and as usual, the message was uplifting and relateable. 

I decided to wear two of my favorite thrifted pieces. My maroon, Coldwater Creek dress ($2.50) was purchased on a thrifting trip in Laurel, MD one weekend. I LOVE the slits in the dress, as well as the fit. It hugs my body just right! The leopard jacket (which is very lightweight) is form 2nd Avenue in Columbia. As you already know, I am a sucker for anything animal print ;-) I added my thrifted necklace and glasses (99 cents) to complete the look. 

My next look is from last weekend. My fiance' and I were asked by our good friends to host their wedding reception. With pleasure, we accepted and I immediately was on a hunt for a lavender/purple dress, per her request. I could not find anything lavender but I remembered I had a purple dress hanging in my closet. I purchased this dress form 2nd Avenue months ago for $3.50 and have been wanting to wear it for quite sometime now. The shoes were $14.99 from Marshalls and the earrings are my moms. Perfect look, huh?

Dress: Thrifted

Shoes: Marshalls

Earrings: Borrowed (Mommy)

Clutch: F21

As always, thanks for reading and I will speak with you soon. My next post is all about my 50,000 view giveaway so STAY TUNED!!! Be blessed! 

PS Don't forget to get your tickets for the upcoming Swap & Shop Event. Plus size clothing  (14-24) will be on sale at the event...hope to see YOU there!!!

(click photo for tickets)

Insta Monday

Happy Monday friends!!!

I had a very LONG weekend, but it was full of fun, good times and friends. I attended my good friend Bre's bridal shower/bachelorette party and had a great time. I mentioned HERE that her theme was Sex and the City and I was debating on what to wear. I finally decided on a completely different outfit than I'd planned. Isn't that how it always goes?? LOL! I decided to go for an orange, tribal dress and nude pumps. It was SO Miranda. And guess what??? I won best dressed!!! How fun :-) I will show the full outfit this week but here is a sneak peak of what's to come, as well as some fun pics from that night.

This is what I wore for the shower; we wore all black to the party :-)

Some of the girls at the party!

BRE, the bride-to-be, and her adorable baby Makalya :-)

*DIY T-Shirt I Bligned out for the Bride-to-Be* 

(front)

(back)

*DIY charm bracelet*

*A few goodies I put in her gift basket*

I also wanted to share my recent Love, Cortnie puchase with you, as well as one of my fave looks from last week. I LOVE my colorful jeans and the fit is so perfect! I have a green pair as well and I can't wait to wear those!

Enjoy the pics and ttys. Be blessed!

Denim: Style & Co.

Top: Tommy Hilfiger

Bag: Thrifted (NY)

Necklace: Thrifted

Aztec Clutch: Love, Cortnie

Get yours, HERE.

The Weekend, Part I

Well the weekend is over and here comes Monday, yet again! I hope you all had a WONDERFUL weekend and are eager and ready to see what this new week has in store. 

As most of you know, this weekend was the Yours/Mine Secondhand Shopping event in DC. I was onsite as a fashion/styling consultant, along with the lovely Stania, (see her FBK page HERE) and it was such an honor to be apart of such a classy, exciting event. I must thank the gracious host, Patrice for asking me to be apart of such a wonderful event. I had a ball!

The event, held at MOVA Lounge in DC, was full of great energy and great people. The vendors had some really nice items and it was definitely hard for me not to buy any and everything, LOL! I did however snag a few goodies (more pics see below). My highlight purchases however were from Krissy's Kloset and Gaudy Girl Jewelry. The snake cuff reminds me of the arm cuffs that people use to wear back in the 90's. I tried to get it up on my arm but, the forearm was as far as it went, LOL! The Gaudy Girl earrings are so "me" that I just had to get them. I envision me wearing them with my kinky twists up in a bun...so perfect! Actually, I'm thinking about making these my honeymoon earrings. Because of their unique look, I plan to wear them only with certain outfits. Can't wait to style them!

I was also able to meet a lot of familiar (blogger) faces, as well as new faces. It's always nice to put a name with a face. I just can't stop thinking about how sincere and nice the attendees were. I really felt like the event was full of old friends---the energy was great from start to finish. 

Being able to put some of my styling tips and advice to use and to see people open and receptive to what I was saying was such a gratify experience. Having my my friends, and my mother come out and support me made the day that much better. 

*The lovely, Vivi browsing the racks while looking great in her neon ASOS dress

see her blog HERE*

*The twins came out to support me---I LOVE my friends!*

*I feel like I've know Nae for years---such a sweetheart! Check her out HERE!*

*Janeen is truly the sweetest person! SO glad to meet and chat with another fellow blogger...PS The jewelry she wore to the event was FLYYY!!! Check her blog, HERE!*

*Stania & I suggested this neck scarf be worn as a headscarf---Stania made the cutest 'flower' out of the end of the scarf...how cute?!*

*I'm not a drinker but the signature drink of the day was EXCELLENT!*

All in all, I had a wonderful experience and I can't wait to work with Patrice again. I truly feel like this is just the beginning for me and I am SUPER excited to see what's coming next. Needless to say, the event was a success and although I totally forgot my camera, I was able to snap a lot of great iPhone pics. I knew I was going to forget something, LOL. I hope you all enjoy this post, and be sure to check back for part II of my weekend. Be blessed!!! TTYS :-)

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One Piece: Macy's 

All Jewelry: 2nd Avenue 

*Smiling with the FABULOUS ladies--(Patrice & the other on-site stylist/consultant, Stania)!*

More Goodies

GAUDY GIRL Jewelry...FABULOUS!!! 

The Other Purchases

Snagged these beauties, 2 for $5.00

*2 bracelets, $1 each...#WINNING*

Curves Rock!

Hey beautiful people! As promsied, this post is all about my Curves Rock Weekend, Runway Show experience. Most of you know that I won the tickets, thank to Kim over at Curvy CEO. I was SUPER excited to attend, seeing as how this was the first runway show I've been to that caters to women my size. The founders, Tykesha "Ms. Diva Doll" Reed and Chanell "Stallion N' Stilettos" Jones are both plus size models. The ladies brought this Curves Rock Weekend to the DMV and their 1st event was a huge success, to say the least. Both ladies are involved in the community and from what I have read/seen, they're ambitious and extremely talented young ladies. 

(click pic for more info)

Thinking about the event, the first thing that came to my mind was, of course, what am I going to wear??? I turned to my mother and little sister, fashion diva in training, and they gave me a few suggestions. I knew what look I was going for and when I saw this one-shouldered, maxi dress, I just KNEW it was the one for me! I wanted soemthing to accentuate my curves, but above all I wanted to be comfortable. This Allen B. dress fit all the criteria. I borrowed my mom's jewelry, bag and did my own make up. I felt like a million bucks ;-)

So outfit, done! Now onto the event...it took place at the BWI Hilton, which also happens to be the place where I will be getting married :-) I walked in and there were several vendors, participants and fabolous women! I knew I was going to have a great time. As I was eyeing some nice items on a accessory table, I glanced up and saw a gorgeous woman with a head full of hair. I looked again, and realized it was Shanda from the popular YouTube show, Shanda Says! She was so sweet when I introduced myself, she was kind enough to take this photo with me....talk about starstruck ;-) Check out her YouTube channel, HERE. She also has her own clothing line coming out, the Gemini Collection, which she will showcase at Maryland Fashion Week on August 12th. The dress in the picture is a piece from her line. Yes, it looks just as fabulous in person ;-)

These are some of the accessories I saw while browsing the table(s). I ended up purchasing a pair of earrings and they are SO unique. I can't wait to wear them!

The earrings, and the jewelry seen above, are from the House of Mimi. She has some VERY unique and stylish pieces and I can't wait to shop for some more items very soon.

Now onto the show...the show consisted of several designers but my favorite collections were from Baltimore's own Couture Queen, Tru Diva, and the featured designer, Qristyl Fraiser. Fraiser, who has been on Project Runway, had some great designs. I did not get pictures of her looks (unfortunately) but there is a swim suit HERE that I am dying for!! I also  LOVED the bustiers that were showcased. The designer, Alter Ego Clothing, did a great job and my favorite is the animal print on pictured below. I can do some thangs with that right there!!! LOL. Below are other looks from different designers that really caught my eye. Let's just say I can't wait to go birthday shopping in a few weeks!

The hosts of the events, Liris Crosse (more info, HERE) and Chenese Lewis (more info, HERE), were great and really kept the audience engaged. Both ladies who are very active in the plus-size industry and looked great every time they an outfit change throughout the show. 

All in all, the event was one I won't forget. I met a lot of great people, was able to network, and I gained even more confidence. Being a curvy woman in today's society may not be the 'norm' but it sure is A-OK with me. Curves Rock and I intend to flaunt them every chance I get ;-)

Seeing Clearly

Hello friends, and welcome to yet another Monday. I'm not even going go on and on, talking about how quick the weekend went by because I am sure you ALL agree ;-) Regardless, I am thankful to see another week and I'm ready to start off on a great note.

Yesterday, my fiance' and I went to church and when I say the message was right on time I mean it. The topic was, "Do You Know Him (God) Like That?". The minister preached from Philippians 3:1-14 and although he focused on vs. 10, he broke down every verse which was AWESOME! He explained that materials things, degrees/education, money, family background, etc. mean NOTHING if you don't have God. After all, how do you think you got all of those 'things' and accomplished so much??? He also went onto say that in order to GAIN the great things God has in store for us, we must NOT be afraid to LOSE somethings/some people in our lives. It's all apart of God's plan so we are to trust HIM.

I really felt connected to the message and I left the church feeling like somethings that I've been wondering about were all made clear. I get it now, and I am not afraid to continue walking into my GREAT future. Somethings, habits, and people may be left behind but I truly believe what God says he will do will be done.

I didn't realize this post was going to be a testimony when I stared writing it but hey, that's how it goes sometimes. This message was on my heart and I felt compelled to share. I hope you all enjoyed and maybe it helped someone or made you at least think about how certain things in your life. Either way, be blessed and enjoy the pics below :-)

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Dress: Gifted from my Mom

Tank: (under the dress) Target

Earrings: (borrowed) Mom's

Bracelet: (borrowed) Mom's

Curves Rock Weekend, Runway Show Recap Coming Up Next.....