Happy Thanksgiving friends and family! 

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays! I usually have to work but it is still a fun day. Yesterday was no different! I worked, but it was a good day. There was an energy in the air, everyone was a bit kinder, we played Christmas carols. Then I got home and ate a delicious dinner with my family! We watched some football and had some good laughs. 

One tradition that I always forget about until we have to do it, that we have is a fun one. After we eat dinner, we form an assembly line of sorts and help carry up the Christmas decorations from the basement. 

My dad gives boxes of decorations to my cousin, who gives it to me, and I give it to my sister, who gives it to my Aunt, who gives it to my mom. We laugh SO hard when we do this! It is actually one of my favorite traditions. 

But let me turn you on to something! And hear me out on this:

Croissant print! 

Yeah? Still with me?! I never knew I needed it in my life until I saw it on the Cider website and was like 'that is SO CUTE!' I left it alone for a while, because I wanted to save money for Christmas. But finally, it went on sale, and I could not hold off any longer! I snatched it up really quickly! 

It is a nice transitional sweater because in our house we have a rule: no Christmas anything until after Thanksgiving. Which I assume includes Christmas sweaters. So, in the meantime it can get chilly! A girl needs a cute sweater to stay warm and stylish! 

It does not hurt either that I love a good croissant for breakfast! =D 

The whole look kind of gives me 90's vibes! It's another look that I could definitely see Sabrina Spellman wearing! 

Cider is having a great sale right now and LOFT also having a great sale, 40% off and an extra 10% off if you have the LOFT Mastercard. I got advantage of the LOFT sale and got a lot of holiday looks, which I will be sharing with you soon! These gold Mary Janes were one of the purchases from LOFT and they are SO comfortable! I am so very glad that I got them! They pair so easily as well! 

Thanks for reading! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and have a great weekend ahead! 

Hello all! I hope you had a great weekend! 

I went out to the 19th Annual Queen City Awards on Saturday and celebrated some of the city's most talented individuals! From musicians, to poets, to comedians the talent was through roof! I had such a great time! I even presented an award! Can you believe it!? I'm still reeling a little bit to be honest! 

The thing I love the most about the Queen City Awards is the welcoming, supportive energy that you feel there! I walked in not knowing if I would know anyone there -I ended up running into several people I know!- but from the moment I walked in I felt like I was treated like a longtime friend by pretty much everyone I met! I went around to get videos of different looks that I found interesting and I always have this fear that people will look at me like I'm crazy, but no! They were kind and down for it! That is how I made a few friends that night actually! 

Even the respect and community among the artists in the room is so warm! I was speaking to an artist and friend who I met last year and keep in touch with, Coco Sa Diddy, after the show. He did not win in the category he was up for this year, but he spoke so highly of the artist who did win. Plus, in the room there was a lot of praising God, gratitude, hope, people who have shown up for Charlotte! After such a tense week, it was especially moving to be there! I got moved to tears more than once during the show! 

I swear, as long as Kevan Glover will have me, I will love to come and be a part of the Queen City Awards! 

The look for today is a cozy one, just in time for Thanksgiving! 

It is a combo of my favorite things: leopard print, mixing prints, Mary Janes, and a statement belt! And it is great for Thanksgiving because the jeans have a little bit of stretch to them! Ya know, because I plan on chowing down! =D 

I am excited to get into some more holiday looks coming up! I recently bought some winter/Christmas sweaters and skirts from Loft -they were having a great sale!- and I cannot wait to begin styling them and wearing them to holiday activities! 

What do you guys do for Thanksgiving? Any big family plans or traditions? 

Our main one is that on Black Friday we get our Christmas tree. My dad has a rule: no Christmas anything until after Thanksgiving. Which most of my adult life I have appreciated, since it does feel like Thanksgiving is rushed past. But I have to say that this year, my holiday spirit has kicked in HARD and early! I'm not sure why! But I will take it! =D

Thanks for reading and I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

Hello all! 

I want to preface this by saying that I took these pictures last week before shit hit the fan here in Charlotte with ICE. I have been really on the fence as to whether or not to even post today. It feels weird and nothing about what is going on is anything to be happy about. I personally feel frustrated, helpless, scared -and I cannot even imagine what others are feeling. 

For me, with my anxiety high right now, I take comfort in things that are familiar to me. Like posting. which is why I decided to go ahead and post. And in the hopes that someone else struggling with the uncertainty might take some comfort in this post even if just for a moment. 

I have been deeply encouraged by the way the community is pulling together to help each other out during this time. I've seen countless posts reporting spots where ICE has been spotted in hopes that our immigrant friends and neighbors can avoid those areas. 

I've seen countless posts of ways to help out, to volunteer, to support. and that is where I am trying to find my place. I want to help and support, do my part for my friends and neighbors. If you follow me on IG, I will be sharing links for trusted sources for updates and ways you can help out. 

If you do not know or follow me but want to help, these are two IG pages you can follow for updates:

@carolina_migrant_network 
​@ourbridgeforkids

I apologize that this is not your typical, feel-good post from me. But I don't really feel too great myself. 

Thank you for reading all the same! And I will see you again on Wednesday!

Please, please be careful out there. I love this city and my friends and neighbors here. 

Hello all! Happy Friday! 

Let me set the scene for you! It is a brisk Saturday night. The vibes are high! The music is blasting! Everyone is look glamourous and the on their feet? Only the best sneakers! Classic sneakers! Sneakers that have been worked hard for, cared for, and may even be a part of a curated collection. Now, they are worn proudly! 

Welcome to the Kicks and Fros Sneaker Ball! 

Hosted by Young Affiliates and held at the Mint Museum on Randolf, the Sneaker Ball was a kickoff party for a limited time sneaker exhibit that is being held at the museum.

As part of the event, we were able to see the exhibit! 

I personally am not a sneaker aficionado, but the friend I went with is! He was like a kid on Christmas as we perused the exhibit! Telling me about the different sneakers and their history, packaging, and significance. It was certainly a joy to watch him experience the exhibit as a sneaker lover! 

Even though I am not a sneaker aficionado, I am a creative and I really enjoy that aspect of the exhibit. The shoe designs were extremely creative! There were the original sneakers that first kicked off a brand. The original converse shoe, the original Doc Martins, etc. Then you got to see the evolution of the sneaker, how they began designing them to make them better and more ergonomical. Then you got to the sneakers where you can see the designer really having some fun! Takashi Murakami is a perfect example! He had at least two pairs of sneakers on display that were truly unique! Sneakers with cartoonish looking spikes on the sides of the shoe (which is my favorite!) and an octopus themed shoe. 

Some sneakers really blew your mind! Like the biomorphic shoe down below. It has a futuristic/alien look to it but interestingly it designed to have lightweight and natural feel for the wearer. 

I mentioned earlier how important the packaging for the shoes is. For a true sneaker lover, they are equally as important as the shoes themselves. But why? Well, of course it prevents damage while the shoe is enroute. But the packaging is also designed specifically to create an experience during the unboxing of the sneaker. Of course, that makes sense in this day and age, the age of social media and influencing. But sneaker brands have been doing this for years! 

It has become a known thing that sneaker brands are thoughtful and thorough in their packaging. It clearly identifies them as a brand and builds a loyal fan base of customers. 

It was a wonderful evening and I'm so grateful to have gotten to experience it! 

Thank you for reading and if you're able to get over to the Mint Museum on Randolf I would HIGHLY recommend this exhibit! It is a lot of fun! 

Have a great weekend! See you on Monday! 

Hello all! Happy Monday! 

I hope you guys had a great weekend. I did! I will be sharing more about it in a future post, but I went to a sneaker ball! It was a blast! 

The weather has been perfect lately! Not too hot or cold, sunshine, we have had a bit of rain in the evenings, and with the leaves changing it has been so beautiful! I enjoyed taking these pictures because of the windy morning and all of the leaves around. It captures the autumn feel so perfectly! 

This look was a huge hit with my mom, which to be honest, surprised the heck out of me! 

I wore this out to see a movie during Halloween week, and when I came downstairs my mom immediately was like 'Oo that is a good look! I like that! I better see it on the blog!' 

Well, Mom, here you go! 

I do love the way it came out. It will probably be one of my go-to looks for fall/winter, heck maybe even early spring! It is comfortable, stylish, and it really commands attention!

The cow print in such a big trend right now and I can see why! It is a bit abstract and a bit of a break from the usual leopard, cheetah, or zebra print (though, they aren't going anywhere! Don't worry!)

Plus, the sheer body suit elevates the look! The lacy material kind of mixes with the cow print, for that mixing print look. 

The coat is a thing of dreams! I found it on Amazon two years ago and never looked back. It is extremely versatile. It came in handy too when I went to the movie, because it rained a little on our way out and it acted as a raincoat. The rain just repelled off the coat and left me mostly dry! 

Thank you for reading! I will see you again on Wednesday! Have a great week! 

Hello and Happy Monday! 

I'm kicking off this first week of November with a bold, holiday look! Well, not exactly holiday I suppose, but I tend to associate red with Christmas/holidays and red is front and center in this look! 

So, I'm counting it as a holiday look! 

I had paired the shorts and crop top together a while ago and really liked the way it looked. But at the time it was too hot to style. But the idea lingered in the back of my mind and now that it is finally cool, I decided to style it! 

The problem? It did not hit the way I remembered. I felt like something was lacking. Now, I am not exactly sure how I got to red tights, kitten heels, and beret plus the jacket, but I am so glad I did! I love how the red packs a punch for this look, but the shorts, blue, and white in the jacket kind of break up the red so that it is not overwhelming. 

I am so excited to play around more with tights this season! I had a lot of fun with them last year and I want to continue this year! (Much to my mother's chagrin!) 

I got lucky and found a stranded shopping cart, while I was out shooting this look! 

I know a shopping cart hates to see me coming because I will definitely use it for a prop! 

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you have a great week ahead! See you on Wednesday!