After surviving what I swore would be a full blown tornado in Chicago an hour ago, I am WIDE awake and hungry at an unreasonably early hour of this Sunday morning. I should have taken pictures too post although I'm sure my shaky hands would have made the pics too difficult to see.
This weekend was all about bucking tradition and breaking rules. As this is the Pan-Hel Weekend here in Chicago I am spending time with my line sisters from TSU who also live here in the Chi (click here to find out what the National Pan-Hellenic Council is if you aren't familiar with the Black Greek frats/sororites or didn't attend a HBCU).
Friday night we hit up the NPHC Black and White party in Bronzeville. I decided I didn't like my black dress or my white dress so I broke out the multi-colored, mosaic patterned French Connection dress I was drooling over last year... let's just say, I stood out and I loved it!
To keep the trend going, I decided to skip the standard "black dress" for the USGBC Emerald Gala black-tie affair on Saturday. As this is the formal event for all of the local "green-ies" like myself, I needed to stand out and spark conversations and what better way than a new dress.
Thus the search began... After some online surfing I had my mine made up. I wanted a yellow strapless floor-length gown. Nothing else. Walked into Macy's and there it was!!!! A BCBG yellow gown with a whopping $320 price tag to match. hmmmm... not gonna work into my budget. So I keep looking but nothing else seemed quite as nice.
At Nordstrom Rack (where I rarely EVER can find a cute dress) I get to the far back clearance rack in the dark corner and... VOILA... standing all by itself is my coveted dress.... with a price tag of.... NO... it can't be... did that really say $79.99???? And is that really a "60% off lowest marked price" sticker on there???? I snatch it off the rack and run to the dressing room so fast you would have thought someone was after me. In the dressing room I am seriously worried because the tag says it a 6 and I know it could be too big. I try the dress on and it turns out, its on clearance because it had been altered (taken in) and the person never came back for it! So aside from a little extra "air" in the boob area (nothing a good push up bra won't cure) it fits great! And the $32 price tag was a lovely bonus!
Next came shoes. SIGH. The hard part. I knew I wanted a gold strappy sandal. I checked everywhere - Nordstrom Rack, Macys, Nordstrom, Kenneth Cole, Cole Haan, Guess, Saks (yeah, I got a little ambitious on that one) I was up and down Michigan Avenue for hours. ....I even called Bluefly.com to ask if there was any way they could get some shoes to me by Saturday afternoon... Nothing. My line sister Mikyra told me to check out Sensual Steps in Bronzeville so I grab the car Saturday morning and head out. I got there at 10:05 and they didn't open until 11. Dang. I really wanted to check the place out but I didn't have time to wait. Head over to DSW (where I can Never find anything) and lo-and-behold.... there is one shoe in the last aisle in my size that would go perfect!
**Its the Guess "Gaylen" shoe but I can't find it online. If you're looking for a gold sandal the Guess "Orwellian" is very pretty (and on sale) but they didn't have my size at the Guess store.
My overall look was amazing and I was getting compliments all night. I got a little too sure of myself at one point and tripped on the gown causing my hole to tear through the chiffon (SIGH - again). Luckily the yellow color and the flowy skirt hid it very well. I couldn't even find the hole myself once I stood up. Check me out!
**I couldn't get my pose together before the timer on the first one.... and don't talk about my light bulb being blown out!!! LOL... I can't reach it.
For the items of the day I am going to feature some of the eco-friendly companies and products featured in the Emerald Gala Silent Auction yesterday. I would have loved to purchase a number of these items but remember... I'm still on a "budget" ;-)
Whitney Wood Works baby changing station - Made from FSC certified Maple and Veneers. Natural Oil and Beeswax Finish.
Aveda Green Science kit - contains Organic argan oil, one of the key ingredients in Aveda's Green ScienceTM Skin Care, comes from the nut of the fruit of the argan tree, which grows in Morocco.
Mohawk Flooring Welcome Mats - made from recycled tires; What does tire recycling mean for the environment? Consider the fact that making four new tires requires 2,072 gallons of water and 88 gallons of crude oil. Discarded tires can also produce dangerous, toxic fires in dumps and old tires retain water where disease-spreading insects thrive. Mohawk now converts more than 30 million pounds of tires into welcome mats each year.
Gilasi recycled glass tabletops - Eco-friendly Gilasi countertops recycle glass in Chicago, Illinois. Gilasi’s unique manufacturing process combines locally sourced green materials with high-end style.
Skyline Design Berry Activity Stool - made from FSC-certified, formaldehyde-free birch plywood and clear zero-VOC finish.
