Be so busy loving your life, you have no time for hate, regret or fear

Archive for March, 2012|Monthly archive page

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Wear Do You Sika??

In Daily Musings on March 30, 2012 at 10:30 am

#dress #sikadress #african fashion #AfricanFashions #Sika Dress

For my birthday a couple of years ago, my sister Althea, bought me the most gorgeous 1950’s style dress,with an African twist.  Designed by a wonderful designer named Phyllis Taylor in London, who is the owner of a beautiful little shop named Sika Designs in South London.  I have been hooked on Sika dresses ever since, I wish she had a store here (sigh).  Ms. Taylor  who is of Ghanaian heritage creates her designs in London, which are then beautifully constructed with couture worthy stitching in Ghana; using original African fabric.

The Daisy Dress – From the new Labyrinth Collection

Sika dresses are statement pieces onto themselves, with their full skirts and layered petticoats (purchased separately) worn underneath.  A wide sash belt tied into a bow is the finishing touch on most dresses, you can’t help but be noticed.  For me Sika dresses are  “Mad Men” comes to Africa!

While wearing a Sika dress, you look and feel like an exotic, beautifully wrapped gift.  My sister has purchased other items for me from the Sika collection which I love equally; and now that the weather is about to break, look out for that bright spark of African fabric  in sky-high heels walking down the street; that will be me. Say hello if you see me 🙂

I would post a pic of me in my dress, but the quality of the photo once uploaded was blurry and not blog worthy.  I’ll take another pic soon.

To view the new Labyrinth collection and the full Sika line please visit: http://www.sikadesigns.co.uk/

The designer – Ms. Phyllis Taylor

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The Soul Of London…

In Daily Musings on March 29, 2012 at 3:09 pm

Another extremely busy day today, so here is another short and  sweet post.

To help my busy days go by, I’m always tuned in to The Sound of London Radio (TSOL).  This is my all time favourite music radio station, which is streamed live online. TSOL plays all the old school jams of yester year which I raved and listened to back home in London. I don’t feel so homesick while listening to them.

TSOL plays Lovers Rock (mostly Brits will understand what lover’s rock is; click the link to find out more), old school reggae, soul from the  60’s,80’s up to the present. TSOL plays music which just never gets aired on regular radio.  For me it brings London right into my office/living room/bedroom, wherever I happen to be. 

Most of the DJ’s, I either went to school with or lived in my neighborhood. It’s good to see they’ve taken their love of music to the next level.  If you want to hear something different instead of the same five songs you hear every day tune in to TSOL.  You’ll realize the programming for British radio is very different then it is in the states.  You can also listen to them on any Apple or Android product.

Check them out, I think you’ll love them too.  Say hello to everyone in the shoutbox. 

Also check them out on Facebook.

Happy listening: http://thesouloflondonradio.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=28&Itemid=58

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A Touch of Fuchsia…

In Daily Musings on March 28, 2012 at 12:38 pm

I took a stroll yesterday and ended up in Macy’s because I was bored.  This particular Macy’s had a really crappy shoe department, but I spotted these beauties in fuchsia suede by Jessica Simpson; and thought that they were quite nice.  Macy’s really isn’t my store of choice,  the only purpose Macy’s serves  for me is the Clinque counter.  (though depending on which Macy’s you go to outside of New York, you can find some of the more upscale cosmetic and perfume houses, which do interest me.) I’m a huge fan of Clinique‘s Clarifying Lotion #2 and their Dramatically Different Moisturizer, which I’ve been using for over 20 years now.

I’m on deadline for a huge project, so this post is going to be short and sweet. Have a beautiful and blessed Wednesday.

Bye Dahhlings!

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Men In Kilts 2012….

In Charities, Daily Musings on March 27, 2012 at 10:40 am

Men In Kilts for the Ronald McDonald House Charities

 The designer Trina Turk is now following me on Instagram and I promised I’d post this pic of her brother Carter,  who is wearing a kilt for the Ronald McDonald House Charities  (RMHC) event, “Men In Kilts“.  I actually think he looks quite dashing in his kilt while straddling a motorcycle!  Men in Kilts is an important element to McDazzle 2012, which is a red tie event to be held in  Kentucky in September.   

The premise of the fund-raising event is simple: Go to any of the participating websites, view the kilted contestants and vote for your favorite.  The $25 fee per vote sponsors one night of housing for a family at Ronald McDonald House.  I haven’t seen anything for the DC area yet, but here is the link for Seattle. http://www.rmhcseattle.org/content/men-kilts and also for Michigan http://www.rmhcmichiana.org/  I’ll keep you posted if and when the District posts a link.

 As you may know, the Ronald McDonald House Charities provides the comfort of home for the families of extremely ill children who are  receiving treatment at a specialized hospital which is always in close proximity to the RMHC residence.  There is no cost to the families.

In my past occupation, I was the project manager for organizing the RMHC “Dinners for Families” which was part of the company’s “Volunteers for  Life” yearly charity event.  The Ronald McDonald House was one of our favourites to work with.  We would purchase all the groceries and then proceed to cook dinner for 10 families in their huge kitchens on site.  I really enjoyed it and hope to organize my own event with some friends who live locally.  This is a program that all RMCH’s across the country participate in.

To find out more about RMCH and how  you can volunteer click here: http://rmhc.org/

 

 

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Day 86…

In Daily Musings on March 26, 2012 at 9:20 am

 Happy Monday to you! It’s was a rainy and chilly weekend, that’s what you get for a freaky 85 degrees in March on Friday.  Everyone was stripped naked, I saw some strange sights which burned my eyes!!!  I wonder who has a cold right now?  And yes, we are already 86 days into the new year!  Hasn’t time gone by fast?  Have you accomplished any of your new year resolutions or promises to yourself? So far I’m quite happy with myself, I’m a little behind, but I’m not going to be too hard on myself and neither should you, after all it’s only March.  I did get a lot done this weekend though.  I started my spring blossom pin collection (more colours to come), and completed a couple of orders for my iPad 2 case ( go to www.maylana.com to view item).  Blooming Flower pins will be available  on the website very soon.

I’m really pleased with my 2 volume Alice Walker book, which I purchased at Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe .  This volume contains The Colour Purple and The Temple of My Familiar, 2 books I’ve wanted to reread for some time; what better way then to read them in a beautifully bound edition.

The other 2 books Chanel and Model, were purchased at Kultura Second Hand Books & Sort of Vintage Clothing (love that title).  I have a passion for fashion books, vintage and otherwise. Kultura is a quaint little shop where you have no idea what surprises are going to be in store for you, if you love second-hand book stores, you’ll love this little gem.  I found a little surprise when I opened a book and found this very old, torn postcard inside: 

A lover's note

It reads: To Caulor, my fiery latin matator ami. OOH-LA-LA! Am having a most delightful time here in surf country and am never coming home.  How romantic! at least I hope it’s romantic, that last line ” and am never coming home” could mean a couple of things, but since I’m an Aquarian, I’ll take the romantic route.

 

I also love Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe.  Kramerbooks is a store you can spend the whole day in. it’s a bookstore, restaurant and bar.  Really nice food for Sunday brunch and has a fantastic book selection.   They are a little overpriced, but you can find some hard to come by titles there.  I grabbed the Alice Walker book for $22, which wasn’t bad, plus it was the only copy, and it was mine!!!

Here's Cherkita in Kramerbooks reading "How To Be Black" I haven't researched this book, nor do I know who the target audience is, so I will withhold comment. I thought it was a great photo op. Do you get the irony?

 I didn’t get a chance to go down to the Tidal Basin to take photos of the cherry blossoms, it was too  chilly for me, plus I was busy with my own crochet blossoms.  Only God knows what condition they’re in after the rain.  If the weather warms up again soon, I’d like to take a trip down there before they all disappear. 

Here’s my song of the day:

I love this song!!!

Listen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gFXjSFID5w

 I’d like to wish you all a fabulous and blessed Monday, don’t get too stressed, before you know it, Friday will be here and it’ll be the weekend all over again.

Bye Dahhlings!

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The Hooded Political Statement…

In Daily Musings on March 25, 2012 at 2:06 pm

Posted by Flymanran on Instagram

Rest In Peace!

In honour of Trayvon Martin, the young man, senselessly gunned down in Florida last month, there is now a new political statement and a growing movement of wearing a hooded sweatshirt.  The general public, actors, athletes, musicians, among many others, expressed solidarity and anger yesterday at various rallies across the country for an unarmed teenager, who was shot down in cold blood.  The only criteria to participate in the various rallies was to wear your hooded sweatshirt.  As you may know, Trayvon was walking through a gated community with some sweets and a soda in his hand, talking to his 16-year-old girlfriend.  He looked suspicious to a man named George Zimmerman who chased him, who then proceeded to gun him down, and then of all things claimed self-defense.  Against some sweets and a can of soda????  In his eyes Trayvon did not belong there and deserved to die.  Is that because all black men wearing a hooded sweatshirt are up to no good??  Why did it take so long for us to even hear about this? It happened a month ago!  There are so many questions, it’s mind-boggling.

I’ve debated whether I was going to blog about this, because many others have already done so.  I wondered what could I say, that you haven’t already heard, but after constantly hearing about this, I could not take it anymore and felt I needed to add my voice and not just sit idly by.  I have brothers, I have a nephew, I have friends who have sons, when does this end?

Trayvon, Rest In Peace, who knows what you could have become in this life, now we will never know.  God Bless his family.

Read article here: http://news.yahoo.com/social-media-trayvon-martin-why-did-long-care-130639901.html

Trayvon Martin hoodie protest: http://news.yahoo.com/photos/online-hoodie-photos-show-anger-at-fla-shooting-slideshow/

Seeking Justice: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57402215/outrage-over-trayvon-martin-shooting-spreads/

Muhammad Ali representing Trayvon

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This is how most of America thinks:

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Wow!!

In Daily Musings on March 23, 2012 at 6:16 pm

Had to post this pic of our First lady, which was posted by my good friend Donna on Facebook. Isn’t she simply stunning!!!20120323-181455.jpg

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Friday Ramblings…

In Daily Musings on March 23, 2012 at 12:44 pm

Evy's springtime buys!

It has been an extremely short and busy week so, I haven’t been able to post as much as I usually do.  After my 3 hour doctor’s appointment on Wednesday ( I thought I’d be there for at least 45 minutes tops) where the doctor actually forgot about me. and had me sitting in the exam room for about an hour.  I did not leave my 3pm appointment until 6pm after being sent for an unexpected CAT Scan downstairs, where I waited another hour!  As you can imagine I was not happy!  This pretty much upset my equilibrium for the rest of the week!  I had to have a cocktail after that disaster.

A Razza-Tini after being forgotten about in the doctor's office, I deserved this!!

I hope you’ve all had a good week, it’s Friday and the weekend is here!! It’s supposed to be 85 degrees in DC today and off course 60% chance of rain tomorrow and Sunday… Oh well.  I was hoping to take pics of the cherry blossoms along the Tidal Basin, I guess we’ll see.  I will post about my afternoon in  DuPont Circle next week.  In the meantime, here are some random things which came across my path and peaked my interest.

My IG friend Evy posted the featured photo above of her cute spring trench and bejeweled shoes on Instagram. Shoes: Adrienne Vittadini “Sapphire” ballet flats, which she picked up at Marshalls.  I’ve seen these flats online and they are pretty expensive but Evy  was able to land a pair at a great price.  Trench by LEN in Minnesota.  This coupling is the perfect colour combination for spring 2012. It’s all about mixing your pinks, yellows, purples and greens and everything in between!

Another IG friend, “Flymanran” posted a pic of his tats. The detail is amazing, I can’t imagine sitting through that on a continuous basis!!  Beautiful work.

Amazing body work!

I just downloaded the album ‘Black Radio” by Robert Glasper which was released last month.  Absolutely fantastic!! Get it!! If you love  jazz with some funk, a little rap, neo soul with smooth jazz  thrown in for good measure, then this is the album you must buy.  Robert is a multi talented artist, who decided to create this concept album with its urban vibe to give jazz more flavour, which he felt was lacking.   I understand this is a departure from his usual material, he really hit the right chord here.  Well worth the download price.  I promise you will have this album on repeat.  Our favourite artists’ are at their artistic best on this album,  i.e., Erykah Badu, Bilal with Lupe Fiasco, Mos Def who is now going by the name of Yasiin Bey (more on that in another post), Lalah Hathaway, Musique Soulchild, Meshelle Ndegeochello (love her) the list goes on.  BUY IT!

Black Radio

Listen to sample tracks from Black Radio here:  http://www.amazon.com/Black-Radio/dp/B0075PYG1M/ref=sr_shvl_album_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332519434&sr=301–1

Robert Glasper’s website: http://robertglasper.com/

I love this photo of Beyoncé’s, prettier and more talented sister (in my opinion),  which was on the cover of the March 16 issue of ES magazine (a British publication).  I love that she always changes up her style and never looks the same on any given day.  Do you remember the uproar when she took out her weave and cut her hair? Good for her I say!! I cut my locs 2 years ago and have not looked back since.

Love this Afro shot, which I found on Pinterest (my other favourite social site, along with Instagram), makes me want to go out and buy a big old afro wig, I’m pretty sure I could rock this look, with a bold print maxi dress, big funky jewelry and some high-heeled sandals. 🙂

Well these were a few of the things which caught my eye this week,  I couldn’t post them all as you’d be reading for days, so stay tuned.

And remember ladies….

Yes We Can!!

Have a fabulously, blessed and glorious weekend!

See you later Dahhlings!!

Remember to click on the red links throughout this post if you want more info.

In Daily Musings on March 21, 2012 at 7:13 pm

Doesn’t Jody look fantastic channeling Diana Ross!!!

Official Jody Watley Website

On my way to the stage at The Rrazz Room at Hotel Nikko for recently completed shows March 15-17.. My shows are eclectic, spirited, funky and fun but I feel elegance and glamour are missing on the music stage. I want to do my part to showcase that a woman can be older, beautiful and hot without trying to mercilessly hold on to being 22. I designed the outfit and picked the fabric and sent it off to be made by my longtime sewing whiz Gloria-Garcia Crouch who has worked with me since “Affairs of The Heart” and “Intimacy” era’s. I did a wardrobe change into black and brought out the classic studded jacket from my ‘Some Kind of Lover’ video for the encore. The vibe was all in all still very me with lots of attitude along with the elegance.

Diana Ross would be proud.

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First & Reed…

In Daily Musings on March 21, 2012 at 3:30 pm

Rocking Reed Krakoff

My sister alerted me that my original image above wasn’t clear (the chance you take when you blog from your iPhone), so here is a repost.  While I was at it, I decided to post this beautiful photo too.  As you may know, this was the cover of  the January issue of Vogue magazine in 2009 , shot by the famous Annie Leibovitz.

Simply Stunning!!!

 

Original post – At the doctor’s office staring at a blank wall so I decided to post this.  Here’s the First Lady rocking her Reed Krakoff dress at a fundraiser which was held at the Greenwich Hotel in my favourite city, NYC. she looks gorgeous as always.

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