My week of color:
Fashion Black-OUT: A Colorful Workweek
June 26th, 2011Fashion Black-OUT Week 3: Socializing with friends and hubby
June 20th, 2011As my Fashion Black-OUT continues into week 3, not one black outfit in sight: I’ve been pretty successful utilizing the color in my closet. Once or twice I reached for a black dress or black skirt, but remembered my challenge.
A couple of friends invited me out to happy hour at Grillsmith Wiregrass for 1/2 price cocktails and $5 martinis from 4p-7p. I really needed to get out and socialize so I met my friends in a color of fuchsia: My top is Banana Republic and the skirt from an HSN sample sale! The Snoqualmie Columbia Valley Riesling was refreshing at only $3.50 and the fish tacos (2 full tacos) for $6 were delicious too! Next, we walked next door to Aja Wiregrass for drinks, live music and girl-chat!
Several days later, the hubby and I had a late lunch at Garage Grill Sports Bar. The color for the day was blue although my husband didn’t like my outfit, I thought it was perfect for a sports bar! My top was a striped Henley-style tee and my skirt was a tulip-style mini. I completed this look with pewter colored thong sandals. If you have a chance to check out Garage Grill, try their chicken quesadillas, crab ragoons and onion rings — the BEST!
I hope you’re enjoying my journey into color – I sure am! I’m starting to see which colors really look best on me. And for the record…I think I will limit the color “blue”. It’s too subdued on me. I love the bright colors because it matches my personality! More color photos and socializing coming soon…
Colorful South Florida mini-vacation
June 12th, 2011Fashion Black-Out goes on vacation
So the hubby and I decided to take a mini-vacation to visit family and friends during my first Black-OUT weekend. I thought packing would be a challenge since I always, always, always pack all black! However, to be true to my challenge, I decided no black would hitch a ride in my suitcase. All color, all weekend. Here’s what I did for the weekend and my colorful outfits!
Friday, June 3 – Miami Beach dinner
& drinks
Since we wanted the cool, sultry lounge experience, we headed to Miami Beach. Our night began at the The Florida Room at Delano Hotel, a sophisticated, intimate, glamorous piano lounge with some of Miami’s most beautiful people. Next we moved on to the very casual and laid back Chef Vincent sidewalk cafe at Marseille Hotel for conch fritters. This was a great spot for people watching. And there were certainly characters worth watching! After dinner, we weren’t quite ready to call it a night yet, so we strolled over to The Living Room at W Hotel South Beach to chitchat and listen to music. I have this fascination with W Hotels and I always visit their lounges in every city I visit! They never disappoint with the drinks, atmosphere or service.
Saturday, June 4 – Palm Beach & Ft. Lauderdale
I had lunch with a friend at The Breakers Hotel Palm Beach and relaxed all day at our complimentary poolside bungalow. The avocado fries and chocolate chip cookies were amazing! This hotel is legendary and well-known for its rich heritage. It sits on beachfront property and sets the standard for a luxury vacation, even a mini! Lucky for me I have friends who share their experiences! Later on that night, we had dinner with friends & family at Rocco’s Tacos & Tequila Bar Las Olas. This restaurant and bar is so popular, we waited hour to be seated. It was so worth it! Loud, lively and an excellent place for groups, they serve over 255 different tequilas! We kept it simple and ordered margaritas. The chicken quesadillas and fish tacos were heaven.
Sunday, June 5 – Adios, South Florida!
After an activity-filled mini-vacation with friends and family, it was time to say goodbye to South Florida. My fashion Black-OUT was successful, as you can see…not a black outfit in sight! I was so tempted since my friends wore black on Friday and Saturday — I had a smidgen of black-envy going on. Although, now I think my new favorite color is purple! Stay tuned to see what colors will debut over the next week!
Fashion Black-OUT: Day 1 – Date Night with hubby
June 7th, 2011Fashion Black-OUT has begun!
June 1 – Date Night
In order to kick-off my black-OUT challenge, hubby and I went out for date night. I selected a LVLX multi-colored print dress to wear. This
was an easy choice – comfortable and stylish! We started the night with dinner at The Point Bistro & Lounge located in downtown Tampa for Sexy Groove Wednesdays. Crab cakes were delicious and the service was excellent. If you arrive after 9pm, you can partake in $5 sushi and groove to lounge house music compliments of their guest DJ. After dinner, we headed over to Blue Martini Tampa for drinks and live music with the Lovestruck Robots performing. Lucky for me it was ladies night so my cocktails were 1/2 price! Tasty Bellini martinis along with sexy soul & pop music completed the night! Day 1 of my black-OUT was successful and I had a fantastic date night with hubby!
Fashion Black-OUT has begun!
June 2nd, 2011
People who know me know that I LOVE wearing black! In fact, at last count, I have 60 black dresses and about 25-30 in other colors. That also goes for skirts, tops, and pants — black outnumbers the other colors. In my closet, black is NOT the minority. I wear black in the summertime, spring, fall or winter. It doesn’t matter the temperature; I’m usually wearing black! Therefore…I decided to welcome June in COLOR!
Welcome to my June Fashion Black-OUT challenge!!
For the entire month of June, I will only wear color — NO BLACK! I wanted to challenge myself to see if I can go 30 days straight without wearing black. This also gives me the opportunity to wear more color and utilize my entire wardrobe. However, shoes and handbags don’t apply. I’m not there yet!
I will chronicle my Fashion Black-OUT challenge with a blog post each day including a picture and a social summary (gives me an excuse to go somewhere!) And on the days I don’t leave the house (and there will be some), I will not include a picture, but I may just blog chat anyway!
I hope you enjoy my journey into color and new happenings in the city!
Keep it Stylicious!
Cycling in the City
October 13th, 2010If you live in the Tampa Bay area or plan to visit, you must check out City Bike Tampa!
I recently organized a group of 6 for the Downtown History Bike Tour. We arrived at Marriott Waterside at the City Bike Rental Hut a little before 10am on Saturday, Oct 9th. We had to be “fitted” for our bikes to ensure they were comfortable, the correct height and we liked our bike assignment. Jason (the owner) made sure we were all geared up and ready to go. He also happened to be our tour guide for the day!
We started out riding along Bayshore Blvd for about a mile or so and then maneuvered into picturesque Bayshore and Hyde Park neighborhoods. We were guided seamlessly through the streets of this prestigious area. We stopped in Hyde Park Village and took a short break. Next, we headed through a South Tampa neighborhood to make our way over to the University of Tampa. We learned that University of Tampa was originally built as a resort for wealthy vacationers who visited Tampa back in the 1800′s.
We cycled through the UT campus and winded out through the Tampa Museum of Art and Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park. We continued through downtown to make our way over to historic Ybor City where we took a short break to learn more about this area and how it was founded by Cuban cigar manufacturer Vicente Martinez-Ybor. Next, we headed over to the Ybor Saturday Morning Market at Centennial Park for a real break — food and rest! We spent about 30 minutes at the market and it was time to head back to the ”hut”.
Our ride back through downtown included a small tour past Channelside where we cycled on to Waterside Marriott and ended at the “hut”. This was a refreshing, non-strenuous bike ride filled with laughter, exercise and great weather! I would recommend this bike tour to anyone who’s looking for fun or a different activity; it didn’t even feel like 10 miles. The crew at City Bike Tampa was the best — ride on!
Getting Organized with Style
October 3rd, 2010Yesterday I spent the day organizing my home office which was long overdue. My tasks included filing paperwork, forms to fill-out, articles to browse and throwing out paperwork no longer needed. Most people feel organizing is a chore, time-consuming and overwhelming. I like to put a time frame on each project so I won’t feel overwhelmed. When the time is up for that project, I move on to the next whether it’s complete or not. It makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something.
I am a natural neat-freak and organizing comes easily to me. I always say “a place for everything” and “everything has its place”! Adding flair to my home office with stylish folders and accessories tends to motivate me to stay organized since I love to express my individuality. Here are some of the office accessories I use to stay organized with style:
Goth-style file folders
I love these goth-style, yet glamorous file folders from See Jane Work. I use these to file bill receipts, financial records and so much more.
Steel Storage boxes
I have 4 of these boxes from Ikea that are used to store my blackberry, ipod and computer accessories. They’re available in small, medium and large. The larger size is used to
save business cards my husband seems to collect from every business he visits!
Wall Magazine organizer
One of my upcoming projects is to install a wall magazine hanging rack such as this one from Container Store since I keep most of my magazines. It can also double as wall art in the right colors of course!
Stylicious and Social in Tampa Bay
September 14th, 2010There’s always so much to do in Tampa Bay and this past weekend was no exception. Having a friend in town for her birthday upped the ante even more. As the resident social butterfly in my group of friends, we wanted to try out some new experiences in the Bay.
Audrey the bartender
Friday night began at Blu Figs bar & lounge located in the North Tampa area on N. Dale Mabry Hwy. With the atmosphere of a trendy, South Beach lounge, Blu Figs brings casual sophistication to the Tampa suburbs with ease and provided mediterranean-influenced cuisine from France, Italy, Greece and Spain. Friday night is ladies nights and we took full advantage of the FREE apple and cosmo martinis! The duck risotto was splendid and the santorini shrimp (a signature dish) was phenomenal. The owner Theo is well-traveled and was full of conversation. Our bartender, Audrey was entertaining and attentive.
On Saturday morning, we decided to check out the new downtown breakfast spot, FRESH. A neat concept of hot & cold cereal bar, salad bar, soup kettle and panini press bar, the decor is very “San Francisco” with hardwood floors and an airy, open space. The food is made-to-order hot and fresh!
Museum of Art & Curtis Hixon Park
Next, we headed over the Tampa Museum of Art and Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park for a few photo ops. The day was so scorching and we felt like we would pass out. So, we headed home to prepare for our our girls night out at the theatre! We finished the evening at RESPECT: The Musical with several friends.
I’ve heard from a few people that there’s “nothing to do in Tampa” which is completely false. There’s always something going on in our great city and I’m so lucky I moved here. We may not be San Francisco, New York or Chicago, but we have our own unique flavor and energy. Yay Tampa Bay!
No More Underarm Stains
August 19th, 2010One day I was contacted by a company that created a product for underarm stains. This would include deodorant, sweat and oil — whatever you might be dealing with. They asked that I try this product and if it worked for me; would I tell my family and friends about it? Sure, no problem. I waited on my sample to arrive in the mail and received it within the week. However, I personally didn’t have any clothing to test. Darn it!
Then, a friend came for a visit over the weekend. I mentioned the product to her and she said she wanted to try it. She happened to have a white shirt with yellow underarm stains and she complained that no matter what she did they wouldn’t disappear. Voila! I grabbed Deo-Go and we tried it. Amazingly, the stains disappeared! She was impressed, happy and relieved.
Deo-Go is a unique cleaning agent, specifically formulated to remove deodorant and antiperspirant stains. Spray Deo-Go directly on the stained area and let it sit for 15-20 minutes. Scrub with a small brush and then wash. If stain remains, repeat the steps once more. Also, be sure to wash your hands after each use. Deo-Go is currently available for purchase online only. This product is affordable and definitely one you should have in your cleaning arsenal. For more details, log on to their website at http://www.getdeogo.com/.
Now throw your hands in the air and wave them like you just don’t care!