This girl crush is not about sex appeal. She is all about fashion. I mean, when your name is Chanel Iman what else are you going to grow up and do except be a model. (Just like I always say, a name has power.)
And a fly girl she is…
It all started back in 2004. I was on vacation with my best friend in Toronto. We were shopping and ran across a store selling bath and body products. It was called LUSH.
And it was no Bath & Body Works. The products are all-natural, non-animal tested and many are even vegan. While I started with a single focus on the famous bath bombs, but my favorites have quickly evolved… and there are many products I’ve never even tried. I will warn you it’s a bit pricey though worth every penny.
Here are some top picks:
1. Sympathy for the Skin body lotion – OMG, it makes your skin soft beyond description and is perfect for winter (sh%t – I use it in summer too)
2. Butterball bath bomb – like a moisturizing drink for your bath (I’ve been told you can break it up and use each one for multiple baths but I keep it luxurious and drop in the WHOLE thing)
3. Dream Cream body lotion – great for sensitive and dry skin, so thick and rich!
4. Nutts massage bar – rub this coca butter bar all over your body for amazing moisture
5. Lemony Flutter cuticle butter – not only good for dry and rough cuticles, this stuff is also great for keeping feet soft
6. Aqua Marina facial wash – seaweed and soothing ingredients make this facial wash very effective albeit a bit tricky to use when you are accustomed to liquid
7. Karma fragrance – this citrus and patchouli-tinged fragrance is like a refined hippie chick would wear and I want it!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry for my late post… I wrote this post early this week so that I only had to press Publish yesterday. And I still forgot…
A woman married for more than a year really shouldn’t still be trolling the wedding blogs for inspiration and joy in her life. But I know at least one – namely ME – that does.
The new wedding lines are currently being shown for spring and while I should be more gaga over the dresses, I was overblown by these amazing Kate Spade Carly sequined slingbacks topped with a bow (they’re no more expensive than your average car payment):
(Probably b/c I can actually buy them and not be crazy for wanting a THIRD wedding gown.) But while checking out www.dswshoes.com to find some suitable Looks for Less, I did find the great knock off of these VERY Blow Your Paycheck shoes:
Christian Louboutin Dillian Flower Pumps
in these little Dollhouse numbers:
Dollhouse Soleil Ruffled Pump
Amy has pre-warned me that Dollhouse shoes are not the comfiest BUT I’ve got a DSW reward certificate on the way and SURELY the shoes are worth $40 after discount (even if they’re manmade materials.) So, don’t really blow your paycheck, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!
Happy Black Friday, chicas. 🙂
Filed under: Holiday
At Thanksgiving in my house, we all went around the table to tell what we’re thankful for… so here is my blogosphere version:
- My loving husband who puts up with my know-it-all-ness and only gets upset at me sporadically
- My fabulous family: jack-of-all-trades and best cook in the world Mamita; sequin-wearing, jazz-singing Ganny; adorable and hysterically entertaining sisters and brother; in-laws I love; the people who share no DNA with me but that have become part of my nuclear family over the years
- A great (well-paying) job that allows me to live a fabulous lifestyle and a great (and stylish) friend I found there
- Being a good cook (thanks again to my mom for making me “keep her company” in the kitchen)
- My wardrobe of vintage, thrift, TJX, DSW, boutique and mall over-the-top fabulous items
- Friends that understand me and don’t try to change me (and go shopping with me)
- Making solid life decisions – even ones that mean that 2009 is likely my last year as a Hilton Diamond member, Delta Gold Medallion and Marriott Rewards Gold member and that I’ve got 62 miles round trip to and from work each day
- Being proud of the woman I’ve become
- NOT hosting Thanksgiving dinner
- Cocktailery and cheese (especially when scored from a Sharyn Kolstad Wisconsin run)
Take some time to think of what you are thankful for and let everyone know! And drink some champagne and eat some turkey, Crescent rolls and red velvet cake – think about the carbs and calories tomorrow (or Monday…)
OK, so I must admit – I have been in full on LOVE with Scarlett Johansson for quite some time. I think she is truly gorgeous and the movie “The Black Dahlia” sealed the deal for me. (Admittedly, I may have been more in love with the costume design than the screenplay.)
That she is buxom and blonde helps out a lot. I’ve already said – sorry if it offends – I am not really into the waif look. And I have some strange affinity for blondes.
Scarlett’s hotness crosses over – from men to women (sexy ass sarcastic husband doesn’t hurt), fashion to men’s mags, even blonde to brunette (though you won’t see any brunette pics of her for the aforementioned reason.) Enjoy her over the top hotness with me!
Filed under: Random
As you can imagine, ClearlyFabulous is a lifestyle for me. And I’ve been trying to live it since grad school. Now that I’m older, I have more money to allow me the fabulous lifestyle. This year for my (gasp) 30th birthday I decided to get myself my dream car to fulfill my fabulous lifestyle:
Audi A4 2.0T Convertible
Ironically, this same car is used to convey the fabulous lifestyle in the Lifetime movie, “Maneater,” based on a book I read a while back. And the car very effectively tells you about the life I am living… EXCEPT for when it costs me $65 to have the OIL CHANGED! So sadly, this morning I spent the $$$ I’d set aside for my beloved Chico’s bib necklace on an oil change. So unglamorous! 😦
So, I’ve only been in ATL for five years. This means I don’t know about all of city’s drama. My husband, on the other hand, is an ATLien – so he gives me random scoop. Cobb County, Georgia is one of the most – perhaps THE most – conservative counties in the USA.
And Cumberland Mall is right smack in Cobb County … and right around the corner from my job. And Cobb County did not want brown or black people getting into their neck of the woods, so they stopped mass transit from coming in and created their own transit system – CCT. And low and behold the mall is crawling with Raphael de la (my aunt’s code name for ghetto) Ghetto establishments.
That the mall is right around the corner from my job means that I go (with Jory) for lunch often. And on one trip, Jory and I noticed there are very few “real” stores and lots of bootleg ghetto stores that you’ve never heard of:
All the bootleg stores in a newly renovated, very bourgeiosie-looking mall is very strange. The atmosphere and quality of goods totally don’t match! So, this usually makes for a pretty straightforward mall shopping trip: Express, DSW (sometimes b/c the selection is not great), Forever 21 (aka XXI) and now… H&M.
We decided to check out the opening of Atlanta’s newest H&M. We arrived at 9:45 am expecting the store to open at 10. At 10:15, the security guards confirmed the store would not open until 12 noon. So we shopped at Forever 21, browsed some stores and headed for a delicious low carb lunch of lettuce wraps and cobb salad at The Cheesecake Factory before returning to H&M at 11:55 am.
They opened the store right as we got in line and we skirted in quite easily. There was so much to look at and there was SO MUCH store. It went on forever – back deep and out wide and 2 stories high! I scored only a few pieces: a blue sequined slouchy vest, a feather headband, and a flower and feather brooch. I’ll show them to you soon.
So, even before Jamison and I got engaged I knew I didn’t want a diamond engagement ring. I mean, that is WAY TOO expected for me. I chose a ginormous 20 carat amethyst set in white gold. (Sadly, it’s so giant, I can’t really wear it with my diamond pave wedding band so that has become my daily, “I-am-married-please-don’t-hit-on-me” jewelry.)
BUT if I had seen this ring back then, I’d be rocking it RIGHT now – though it’s probably too giant to wear with a wedding band too cuz that’s just what I end up loving.
It’s available on amazon.com for $1,019.99 which is a pretty chunk of change but at least it’s not an ENTIRE paycheck.
Each year for the last several years, I have ordered three pairs of leather kitten heel boots from Newport News – one in bone, one in brown, one in black. They retail for only $29 and there are usually 2 for $50 deals. Pair that with the never-ending Newport News 20% off deal, and you can usually get 2 pairs of leather boots shipped to your house for less than $50!!!
But last year, Newport News played a horrible trick on me. I was able to only order 1 pair – the brown before they discontinued my favorite tried and true comfy boots. These were my 14 hour day walking shoes on travel days back when I was a management consultant, so I KNOW they are comfy. With the pointed toe, they are also stylish. And at $29, they were beyond affordable. And alas, they were gone…
Today, based on my recent good shopping karma I decided to try just one more time to find them. And they were there! Still $29 but now in a different color assortment. My beloved black and brown are still available but now with purple, pink and red as the other options.
I see plenty more in my future now that I know I’ve gotta stock up!!!!
ClearlyFabulous 
