One whole year! I can't believe I've been at my job for a year now. And what a fabulous year it has been. Not only do I have a great job, but I've met some truly amazing people too. Whoever said "time flies when you're having fun" wasn't kidding.

As I reflect upon my time at the magazine I remember:

1-The time I almost killed my editor's orchid while she was on vacation (also how I contemplated super-gluing the pedals back on the stem...LOL...I know I'm crazy!)

2-Our offsite to New Orleans (what goes on in NO stays in NO)

3-NABJ trip to ATL...enough said!

4-FASHION WEEK...Spring and Fall 2006 Collections

5-Nia/Daisy/Claire....My RS Gals

6- "Mission Possible: Fame in 2006--Hustle and Flow" (The RS girls' ongoing mission to succeed in this crazy world of publishing)

7-J + Z's Rolodex Party... bringing the young, black, movers and shakers of NYC together! Keyword: LOVE

8-Meeting Andre Leon Talley....my American Idol!(also meeting Marc Jacobs and Patricia Field)

9-My office fashion shoot after throwing bows at the Stella McCartney sale at H&M....the clothes were well worth the fight!

10-Gettin low at the X-mas party....don't ask!

11-Charlie....my office lover (shhhhh...don't tell Rah)

12-Knowing that the fun has only begun!!!!

Stay Tuned!

Love and Light....

I've been thinking a lot about my future...

More often than not, these thought sessions are revolved around who I'm going to marry, how many kids I want to have and whether I want our family vehicle to be a Range Rover or Escalade.

My most recent session consisted of an indepth look at my job situation and Grad school. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my job. I just need to start thinking about my next step. I will have been at my job for one year next week, and I have learned so much. I just don't want to get complacent. This brings me back to the whole idea of "Finessing" every situation you are presented with. I don't want to seem ungrateful for my current position, but I also want to show that I can handle more responsibility. The word "Finesse" has sort of a negative, and sneaky conotation. My definition of the word is strictly a declaration of all the many blessings and skills we have and using them to propel ourselves through whatever glass (and in some cases, concrete) ceilings that are placed in our way! Amen!

Back to my thought-session:
Soooooo, I have been giving some real consideration to the idea of Grad school. Not that I wasn't before, but with the fast-paced life I live the subject kept getting pushed to the sideline. I know that as a BLACK WOMAN in the country that Grad School is something that is not only a smart thing to do...but pretty much necessary! I encourage all my fabulous black ladies out there to look into Grad School. I hate playing the race card, but I gotta keep it real.

So far I have been looking into programs at Columbia and NYU. Although I would love to look beyond New York City, it's just not something I can do financially and plus-- if I do enroll in grad school while keeping my current job, my company will help with tuition! That is..... if I even get excepted :o( Gone are the days of explaining your SAT grades by showing your exceptional report cards, or flowering my application with things like Senior Class President, Model UN Delegate, Student Council member, or Varisty track and field athlete! For someone that DOES NOT take a great standardized test....I'm going to run into a few problems!Pray for me!

Love and Light...

So, Fashion Week is over...booo whooo! I would like to think it was sucessful, other than the fact I managed to get sick at the end of the week....forcing me to retire from the week's shows on Thursday. However, I did get to see many of my fashion heros present their overall fabulous Fall 2006 collections. Ladies, we will be looking LOVELY and quite FIERCE this Fall!

Rounding out my show-attendance list are:
-Joanna Mastroianni
&
-Custo Barcelona

I would have liked to attend Zac Posen, Sweetface (J.Lo's line), Cynthia Rowley, and Chado by Ralph Rucci.... but I was heavily under the influence of NyQuil (my drug of choice) and orange juice. I didn't even make it to work on Friday...so you know I was REALLY sick!

On another note....

Sooooooo it was Valentine's Day yesterday, a day that has consistantly sucked for me in the past....boyfriend or not! This year, I feel I have broken the curse! My loved-one and I spent a quiet night at home...nibbing on sushi...sipping Reisling...lip syncing one another classic R&B hits...and reciting why we care about each other so darn much. It was pure magic! My memories of last years' dinner with Mr. W (I'm not cruel enough to disclose his identity) melted away in the heat of my current loving situation. Sigh!

On another Valentine's Day 2006 channel....
It's a shame how some so-called men are treating women these days. Not that it hasn't been happening for awhile, but I would like to think my friends and I have choosen to surround ourselves with up-standing men. I have been proven wrong lately! This V-day was sadly depressing for one of my best friends....all because the man she has chosen to bless with her time has revealed himself as undeserving it. Here is a quick tip for all those guys out there that are trying to keep a F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S woman: Trying calling at least once a day or every other day....return your text messages....and recognize what you have before the woman wises up and moves on! That will be enough male-bashing for me today.... Sorry, just had to get it out!

For all those hopeless romantics out there.....Chivalry is NOT dead! There is a knight out there looking for you, and just when you think you'll be trapped in that tower forever... he'll promptly rescue you and take you away to a fabulous newly renovated Harlem brownstone with a dance studio, hot tub, and cedar closet for your designer clothes and shoe collection....A girl's gotta dream sometimes!

Love and Light....

I am waist deep into Fashion Week, and my dreams just keep coming true. Here is a run down of the shows I have already attended (in chronological order):

1)Akiko Ogawa
2)Baby Phat
3)Alexandre Herchovitch
4)Y & Kei
5)Tracey Reese
6)Diane vonFurstenberg
7)Naeem Khan
8)Palmer Jones
9)Oscar de la Renta
10)Nanette Lepore
11)Heatherette
...More to come!

It might not look like a lot, but with all the hustle and bustle the shows start to wear down on you. It takes a good 50 mins from standing in line to check in, to then being herded into the tent, to then finding a seat. It's a lot of work...and imagine doing it all in pumps! (You better believe everyone comes out looking their best). However, all of this work is done in the fabulous name of fashion! The crazy part is: The shows only last about 10mins!!!!!!! All that prep for just a few minutes...the story of my life!

Throughout the whole week I've been rubbing elbows with so many people I respect in the fashion industry. On Sunday, I sat across from Patricia Field at the Naeem Kahn show. First of all, the clothes were beautiful but the only reason I truly wanted to attend was because Beyonce, my sister friend (wishful thinking), was confirmed to attend. However, she called me about 5 mins before the show started and said she was stuck in traffic...Hahahaha...I wish! Basically, she was a no-show! But, I did get to meet Patricia AND take a picture with her.

For all of you who have been living under the most unfashionable-rock-in-the-world for the past 10 years, Patricia Field is a triple threat: Designer/Stylist/Fashionista! She was THE fashion stylist for one of the greatest shows ever created...drum roll please------------ SEX AND THE CITY! I believe, if not for the fashion on the show, SATC would not have been such monstrous hit. Patricia Field single handedly (although I'm sure she had some help) changed the way everyone looked at fashion. Her eye for style is incredible! Ok, I'll stop my love feast...

Last night I attended one of the most entertaining shows that fashion week has to offer....Heatherette!
All the glitz and glamour of NYC is incorporated into the Heatherette look. Traver Rains and Richie Rich (the designers of the label) are nothing less than fabulous and they aren't afraid to show it. All the stars, transsexuals, drag queens, socialites, journalists and even other designers make sure that they get to this show.

Not only did I get into the show....I got a seat (thanks to my friends at work)...I also sat two seats behind MARC JACOBS! It's a miracle that I even spotted him. He was dressed conservatively, as usual, sitting at the end of the front row and managing to avoid detection from all the photographers around him. There were a bevy of drag queens buzzing around the tent...so I'm sure man with boobs are a little more eye-catching then the cool demeanor of Marc Jacobs. Well, my first ever encounter with Marc Jacobs (I don't even feel right just calling him Marc) was not how I had always envisioned it....

MY VISION--

MJ: (Gasp) "You are absolutely fabulous!"

Me: "Who? Me?"

MJ: "Yes! You have impeccable style and I would love for you to become my muse. Sofia Coppola has been good to me....but you...you are one in a million."

Me: "Oh Marc! You're too much. I would love to be your muse and we'll be best friends forever!"

....We embrace and live fashionably ever after!...

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MY REALITY--

Me: (gasp) "Do you mind if I take your picture?"

MJ: "No."

Me: (Awkward silence---looking for closest exit)

MJ: (sensing that I didn't understand) "No....I don't mind if you take my picture"

Me: (relieved) "Thank you" (snap!) "Thank you again" (quick exit)

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Sometimes reality sucks....but I can always tell my children (dressed in Marc Jacobs no less) that Mommy met one of the greatest designers of her time!

Love and Light...

This blog was born out of a moment I will never forget...My first Oscar de la Renta fashion show (Fall 2006 collection-- 2.6.06)

As I sat amongst the movers and shakers in the fashion world--Socialites, editors, stylists, divas, divos, glamazons, models, designers, and wannabes-- I suddenly realized just how blessed I am. By no means do I have a self-esteem problem (I know I am fabulous...wink wink), but I am surely not the type of person to be sitting (not standing) at an Oscar de la Renta show! As I sat and watched the prim and proper ladies-that-lunch greet one another and the fashion editors preparing to take notes, I said to myself.... "I'm like the little black girl that could!"

Alas, my blog!

Before I move on, I want to clarify a few things: Please see the points below...

1) I'm actually not that little. I'm 5'9" and 1?? lbs (a true lady never reveals her weight...and if she does, she never tells the truth)

2) Ok, so I didn't really have a seat assigned to me for the Oscar de la Renta show. How did I get in...and a seat? It's called "Finessing".... Either you've got it or you don't! Note: If you want to learn...visit this blog as much as possible!

3) There is a "little WHATEVER that could" in all of us. It takes GUTS, PASSION, RELENTLESSNESS and a whole lot of FINESSING to get what we want....BUT, we WILL get it! So, this blog is dedicated to all those that apply! F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S

Love and Light..