Armed for Event Day – A Planner Must Have 2012-05-02

I typically have a bag of emergency items for my bridal clients on the day of their event.  It usually consists of scary items such as pins; both bobby and clothes pins, deodorant, clear nail polish, lint buster, comb, brush, wipes, hand sanitizer and the list goes on.  You know those overpriced things which you always have to replace because it is just not sanitary to reuse them.  At least in my opinion. 

Well, I come armed with my must have items as well:

1- MY GLASSES:  in case for some reason my contacts start bothering my poor eyes.   And if you are recommending that I get lasik surgery I will yell at the top of my lungs.  I can’t find the nerve to do it after hearing horror stories.  So yes, my Prada glasses with a very strong prescription goes in my bag.

2- MY COCO MADEMOISELLE PERFUME:  to put me in the right mood as a boss ready to lead the team to success.  This is my all time favorite perfume.   I don’t mean to get too technical, but it works well with my body chemistry. 

3- MY CHANEL LIPGLOSS: there is not another brand on the market that I will convert to. After years of using so many awful glosses I realize that I just need to stick to what works for me. I have been a faithful consumer for about five years now.  Unless someone else can pursuade me otherwise, this always goes in my bag.

I Double Dare you Wear This – Washington, DC Event 2012-04-30

I absolutely love everything about this dress that actress Kerry Washington  wore at the 98th Annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner this past weekend.  I could see myself wearing this.  This dress is fashionable with a conservative edge which I think works well at semi-formal functions.  I am always looking to add color to my wardrobe since I own a ton of dark items.  I really like the color coral and I do own one coral colored blouse if that counts for having a splash of color in my closet! 

With this dress you could stand out without bringing any negative attention to yourself.  I love the sleeves, and the V-neck which typically works for many body types.  This dress allows you to show off your feminine curves but leaves much to the imagination.  Well fitted clothing should be top priority when attending a semi formal function.   Calvin Klein is the designer of this dress and how I would have loved to be a fly on the wall at the Washington Hilton this day.  

Credit: Lovekin/Getty

And might I add that this makeup application is flawless.  This looks like a fresh face.  I think I must track down her makeup artist to find out the color palette for her lips and eyes.  Just Gorgeous!  

My Love Deserves Forever 2012-04-24

This blog is about authentic experiences.  These experiences come from around the globe but they have one thing in common:  Love.  Love can be directed towards ones career, hobby, or passion for life.  As this may be true, when most people hear the word love, a greater number may associate this with a human emotion towards another resulting in marriage or another form of commitment.   I have had the opportunity to witness love between many couples.   And, I can say that I have had the experience to see many levels of love.  For example, there is nothing like the love a mother shows her daughter on her wedding day.  You can see the care she puts into making sure her daughter feels like the most beautiful and important person in the room.  And, that father who carefully holds his daughters hand down the aisle while beaming with pride, mixed with a bit of fear that his once baby girl is now officially in someone else’s care.

image by Photoria for Elations Designs. Copyright.

I decided last year, that I will allow myself to experience all over again this powerful emotion called love and let it guide me every day for that matter.  I realized that for many years my drive was to help others experience “Elations” (no pun intended) during their wedding, party or other social event.  It is a great feeling to see love fill a room while knowing you had a role in helping others express that.  But as a long time professional, I started to feel indifferent and thought this is what should happen regardless of the time, day or persons involved.  Ironically,  I thought that way for everyone but myself.   I lost that I should experience love over and over again on days other than my wedding anniversary or birthday.  I used to think, “Yes, my family loves me and I married the love of my life which is more than enough.”

So, I have relearned that I deserve to experience love every day for the rest of my life.  So, I have been allowing my loves to shower me and take time to experience love every day I wake. 

I fell in awe with this song and it is one of my theme songs which I wanted to share with you as well.  I hope that you are encouraged to find what it is that you love and allow it to love you back. 

Have a Happy Easter 2012-04-06

Its been too long since I have posted on this blog.  I am well, in good spirits and have been super busy both professionally and personally.  With so many amazing things happening all at once, I just had to prioritize things and unfortunately this blog had to take a little back seat for awhile until I felt comfortable with balancing all the lovely new additions around me. 

I am popping in to wish everyone a Happy Easter.   Here is a throwback of a magazine shoot I did a little while ago.  Robins egg blue is so fitting for this weekends occasion don’t you think?

images captured by Photoria

Risking it all for the center of your life 2010-08-16

Not knowing so much about the story of Eat Pray Love, I assumed it was a movie about finding love.  I for one love, love and all stories regarding finding love.  I purchased my ticket this weekend thinking that it was merely about a pretty girl, aka Julia Roberts finding true love.  This completely changed as the opening of the movie came on and the first thing I saw was hurt and a few tears.  ”Well, this couldn’t start on a lighter note”, I said. 

Without giving so much of the details away, this movie to me is more about sitting still, meditation, discipline, self forgiveness, overcoming fear, and finding your middle balance.  True love comes of course after you’ve mastered these. 

This movie is based on a true story and written by New York Times, best seller, Elizabeth Gilbert.  Below are images and a trailer for the movie. It takes you through her journey in Italy, India and Bali. 

image and video copyright: Sony Pictures