Merry Christmas!

I just want to wish all of my fellow bloggers and web-surfers a very Merry Christmas and a safe, fun and joyful holiday season!

Get ready for more fun in 2008!

 

Cherish

I AM Sleepy

This is going to be quick. As the title says, I am sleepy so I'm crashing early tonight. But I wanted to let you know that I saw "I Am Legend" this weekend and it was a good movie. Now I am NOT a sci-fi fan, so while I love movies, I pretty much shy away from any movie that has monsters, zombies or other creatures that I hope to never confront in my existence. I definitely thought the background stories could have been a bit more developed and the analytical side of me found a few questions left unanswered (I won't go into detail to avoid being a spoiler). Overall I thought it was good. Now my movie co-rater "Bobby" was extremely excited to see it and, in the end, it appeared to meet most of his expectations. As a huge sci-fi/thriller/suspense move fan, he thought it was pretty great and rated it a bit higher than I did. Either way, go support will and check it out! It was worth $9.

Summer just sent me an email with her dream bag for the month and I instantly fell in love with it myself. We may have to do the cross-country "co-purchase then ship and share" plan because the $500 price tag is a bit steep for either of us to spend... then again, that may not work because who would want to give it up?? Either way its nice to look at! I'll include this as a part of my Luxury Christmas Wish List... The Dooney & Bourke Hayden Bag...

Goodnight!

Venturing outside of the Twin Cities...

Yesterday I had to make the 2.5 hour drive from Minneapolis to Winona, MN for a meeting that barely lasted 2 hours. On the way there I was focused... but on the way back I was determined to enjoy it. My former supervisors started a debate over which route was faster - the longer interstate path or the 30 miles shorter scenic route. I figured since the weather was a nice, sunny, snow-free 25 degrees I'd go for both, opting for the scenic route on the way back. It was highly uneventful and the scenic route was definitely not as exciting as I had expected. Nonetheless, I was able to snap some cool photos along the way. Keep in mind, I was driving so my eyes were on the road and my camera was pointing where ever my hand wanted it to... LOL... I was surprised at how nice some of the photos turned out... Enjoy!

 

Sharon wrote a blog about how much she misses the sight of snow now that she has moved to Florida. Eat your heart out girl! You'll never see this kind of beauty in Florida! 

Since Christmas is right around the corner, I guess I can do my annual list of luxury gifts that I'll never get for Christmas (and I few that I just might buy myself in 5 years)... and here we go... click the links for more details

 Jamison Cashmere Turtleneck Puff Sleeve Dress

Tiffany Pendant of round brilliant diamonds in platinum.

Christian Louboutin Crisscross Pump

Ality Pixxa 8-Inch LCD Photo Frame with 512MB Memory

Pioneer 50" 720p Flat-Panel Plasma HDTV USB memory key disguised as heart pendant on a silver silk cord with Silver Shade Swarovski crystals.

 Smythson leather make-up brush roll complete with professional brushes.

Bottega Veneta LARGE T CALF CAMPANA handbag

My own personalize Eclipse 500 jet with seating for 5. you can build your own at the link on the pic. Mine was just under $2 million... but it had pink and green stripes! Now how can you beat that???

What are your luxury gift wishes?? Leave them in the comments... I love to hear what fun items other people would buy with their lottery winnings...

The Minnesota Haircut

I have been a faithful client to my stylist Catrese at Detroit's Prive Salon for about 15 years. I have NEVER let another stylist cut or color my hair and have always grimaced at the thought. Catrese has taken me through a number of looks, and for about 5 years, has keep my hair natural (a.k.a. free of relaxers) and HEALTHY even through numerous shades of blonde (which damages and weakens the hair for many women of color who don't properly maintain their chemically colored hair). Here's a brief hair diary of some of my straight and curly, blonde, brown and black hairstyles over the years...

Unfortunately I haven't had an opportunity to visit Catrese since September and my "short bob" was nearly at my shoulders and my color was starting to grow out. I knew it would be Christmas before I could get back to Detroit and while the color still looked good, I just could not wait that long for a cut.

Luckily for me, my cousin Gabrielle heard about an amazing guy in Minnesota, Mr. Brian Graham, who opened his premiere Brian Graham Salon near downtown Minneapolis. After hearing rave reviews on Mr Graham and his salon (Citysearch gives it 4.5 stars) Gabbi called to schedule an appointment, only to learn that there was a 2 month wait for an appointment with the owner himself. She made the appointment anyway but then she found out she was moving so I took it as an opportunity to show up as "Gabrielle" and try this new guy out.

Nervous and scared, I showed up on Saturday terrified and yet intrigued. The salon is absolutely beautiful and the staff seemed so professional. Brian started to talk to me and I was instantly comforted. He asked all the right questions and seemed to be really interested in finding out what I wanted in a look. After the scalp massage, a very intricate cut, a horizontal shampoo (I was laying on a table) and a blow-dry he flat ironed my hair and did a little more cutting. He used scissors, razor and even an electric shaver. He was so meticulous and I was mesmerized. How did he know what to use? There was truly an art to his work. 2 hours after setting foot in the door, I emerged into the snowy outdoors $100 lighter (*sigh*) but looking (and feeling) like a real superstar...

My item of the day is - a haircut. Get a good one this Christmas and rock it like the diva you are (or, if you're not a diva, then just rock it like I would, on my behalf!!!)

Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

Yesterday I forgot to mention the wonderful places, aside from Bobby's mom's house, where I was able to eat wonderful food in Chicago!!

Wednesday night we met up with my dad and step mom at The Grill on the Alley in Chicago's Westin Hotel on Michigan Ave. We shared a nice bottle of Muscato (my first time trying it) and I was very pleased. I had the special salad which sounded excellent on paper, but had WAY too much ground pepper on it. We had a hummus trio - my favorite was the sun-dried tomato hummus. My meal was the Grilled Shrimp Pomodoro which was so perfect that I couldn't step away from the plate. Overall it was a great experience and the flat screen TV's mounted all over the place gave the guys lots of distractions.

On a recommendation from a coworker, Bobby made a sushi run to Sushi Wabi on Randolph in the West Loop to grab some dinner for us on Friday evening. We tried the scallop, tuna and salmon nigiri (raw fish neatly arranged over rice) and split a rainbow roll (which I LOVE). My boyfriend tested out his Japanese language skills and used the actual names of the sushi items as he ordered... and it didn't turn out so well. Miscommunication led to disappointment as we took the single to-go box out of the bag. Ten minutes later there were two hungry people - AFTER we finished eating. So I sent him on a quick run to Popeye's and we had biscuits and fried chicken for "dessert". Sometimes you just have to keep it real... right? **See pics below of Sushi Wabi and a rainbow roll from somewhere else - I didn't take them**

Saturday brunch was none other than Grand Lux Cafe. After a 30 minute wait, we were finally seated and I must way - it was worth the wait! We had belinis, Eggs Benedict and all of my standard breakfast items (toast, eggs, bacon and breakfast potatoes). I have been the Grand Lux restaurants in Chicago and Las Vegas and they have yet to disappoint me. I love the food there and recommend it to anyone looking for a good, hearty meal.

Hanging out on Michigan Ave so much was making me want to shop. I stood tall and strong and just looked the other way and managed to survive the entire weekend without buying a thing. But the emails make it so hard. Shopbop.com sent an email that featured a shoe by Alessandro Dell'Acqua, whom I had never heard of. I click the link and VOILA! I'm in shoe/handbag heaven. They are definitely outside of my budget, but beautiful to dream about. Check them out below...

Help for the Holiday Season!

Thanksgiving is always a day to sit back and reflect on the things that we are thankful for. So often we are overwhelmed with our day to day activities, families and spending time with friends that we forget to say thank you - to God and to them - for the blessings in our lives. This year I had so much to be thankful for. I must admit that the holiday weekend itself was a bit stressful - my grandmother was sick, I ended up meeting "his" extended family, and there was an episode of car/air sickness each of the 5 days of my vacation. But overall, things worked out just fine and I had a very memorable time. On Thanksgiving day - in South Bend, IN - there was a beautiful snow blanket over all the trees and grass. It was my first time seeing snow this season. From inside a warm house I was actually happy and excited about it.... now had I been driving in it this I may feel much differently!!!! Here are some (bad) pics I took in Chicago... pretty lame, huh? No photography motivation that day...

The biggest excitement (for me) around this time used to be shopping for Christmas party outfits! But now that my new company doesn't have the big holiday gala that I used to attend, I'll save some money since I'm not buying an outfit.... but I'm missing on the fun of shopping. So for those of you who have holiday parties, dinners and galas to attend, here are a few ideas I found on the net. This year is all about satin, sequin and jewel toned sophistication - Here's to a glamorous Holiday season!!!!

Gowns....

 

Knee Length...

and Minis...

And since I heard that my blog doesn't cater to the men enough - here are some looks to help you debonair young men keep up with your woman at the events of the year!

 

For you men who are attending formal events this season (or in the future) head over to GQ on style.com and see the earn all about How To Wear A Tux.

Good luck with your shopping! Let me know if you find anything good!