packing anxiety...

heading out for a week to scorching hot lovely arizona...aici (association of image consultants international) will be having our annual conference...while i have attended the san francisco chapter conference annually...this is my first international conference...and i'm excited...

what i'm not excited about is packing...last i checked weather was about 104...eek!  now if i was going on vacation...packing would be a bit easier...and i wouldn't be having much anxiety...but this is a business trip...and while the outside will be hot...and i'm sure there will be plenty of activities outside...the conference rooms in hotels tend to be cool...even freezing at times...

so yes...even i go through a bit of packing anxiety...so i figured i would do what i do for my clients...put the outfits together...planning each days events...and the key to this wide gap in temperatures?  layer layer layer...

truth be told though...i am a wardrobe consultant...and this conference will be 100's of image consultants...so i'd be lying if i said that i wasn't going to over pack just a wee bit...i want to keep my options open...

what i do know...is that my suitcase will be full of color...full of accessories to help in changing up outfits...and the shoes...well the shoes are always numerous...that is just me...

so...i will most likely not have time to blog while there...so i will update you on all the wonderful things i pick-up from various speakers when i'm back...until then...keep it stylish!

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discarded to divine 2013...

another year has come and gone...and it is time for discarded to divine 2013...i am bummed as this will be the first year that i will be missing the event...but...i wanted to do a post on it...because it is a great cause...and perhaps some of you might want to attend...

discarded to divine...reclaimed fashion...reclaimed lives...how did this magnificent event come about to be?  here is "the story" taken from the website:

It began in 2005, when St. Vincent de Paul Society Help Desk Director Sally Rosen found herself facing a pile of unusable donated clothing, torn and stained. Sally thought, "While working at the Help Desk, I realized our discards were waiting to be transformed into divine creations." She began to think of recycling, imagining how these discarded garments could be remade into something new and useful. She decided to invite designers to take the discarded clothing and create wearable works of art and exquisite home décor, thus Discarded to Divine was created.

Discarded to Divine is a charitable event showcasing the talents of professional and aspiring designers who transform discarded, donated clothing into one-of-a-kind couture creations and exquisite home décor which are auctioned to benefit those overcoming poverty, homelessness and domestic violence.

pretty amazing that a pile of unused clothing...would inspire one woman to take that...and make this incredible fashion event...and fundraiser...for st. vincent de paul...

the actual event is always fun with silent auction and all...but there is also a preview of the garments...shown one nite at the de young museum...click on the website link above to get all the info! 

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happy new year...

while i am still a bit surprised that it is the last day of 2012...doesn't it seem like it arrived rather quickly??  i love what it represents...a new start...and while this year has been full of so many incredible moments...i am ready to see what 2013 has to offer...

wishing all of you fabulous readers...a safe and happy new years eve...may it be part sparkly...part bubbly...and part fun...

thank you for sticking by me on this wonderful "fashion" ride of 2012...let's all look forward to a new year...a fabulous new & stylish 2013!

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happy thanksgiving...

wishing you a fabulous thanksgiving day & weekend!

just because...

there is something so special about a "just because" gift...personally...i love them almost as much as i love giving them to friends and family...what does it signify?  basically...someone thought of you and only you when they saw a certain object...

in this case...it was this lovely wine glass...which my sweet friend linda saw...and immediately thought of me...awww...how does that not warm someones heart?  she presented it to me while we were having a girls chat session over several pomegranate martini's...

the wine glass has lovely lipstick and hats all around it...and "not a day over fabulous" written in pink & black...i'm sure my wine will be tasting better when it is served in this glass...

thanks linda!  love yah girl!

feather boas & fabulousness...

you know those days where all you want to do is get home...crawl in your comfy pj's...and call it a day?  i had such a day...today...not feeling all that well...i couldn't wait to get home...but i had my monthly networking group that i meet with...with a meeting...tonite!  i forced myself to go...telling myself that it would be over soon...and we were discussing business plans...so i wanted to be there...hopefully to spark some new ideas...and get rejuvenated...

as i walk in...the first thing i notice are these adorable plates on the conference table...of course the word "fabulous" jumped out at me...but it didn't register...

i then saw...matching napkins...and i'm thinking...we are getting kinda fancy here...for our monthly monday nite networking group...

my eyes then saw a rounder of lovely cupcakes...i thought to myself...this is going to be an ok meeting...

and then i turned towards the chair...to plop my handbag down...and on the top of the chair is a lovely & wild feather boa...it wasn't till then that it hit me...we are celebrating my birthday!  what a great lead in to talking about business plans...needless to say...although i wasn't feeling well...i was really glad i showed up...these gals have been my support...my sounding board...my friends...for many many years...and how well do they know me??

all the way down to the lovely cocktail napkins they had for me...i'm thinking they just want me to invite them over for cocktails...what do you think?

thank you eileen, kerry, rhonda, virginia & lois for such a lovely surprise...love you all!  thank you for making me feel so special...and to aimee & karen...i know you were there in spirit!