#FollowForCharity Update!

Today is October 31st, which is not only Halloween but the last day of October. This means it's the end of #FollowForCharity. I gained 103 new followers this month! Although some of the people had no idea they followed me to donate money to raise awareness for domestic violence, I'm still touched!

I was originally going to donate 5 cents for every follower; however, that only equaled $5. I decided to round it up to around 50 cents per follower, which roughly comes out to $50. That is a much better donation!

Thank you everyone for your support for #FollowForCharity. May we have many more successful ventures!

I'm Concerned My Brother Has Been Reading Too Much Lovelyish

My brother getting his daily dose of gossip

My brother is a college guy who enjoys chess, Stephen Colbert's sarcasm, and intellectual debates about 18th century history a.k.a not quite Lovelyish's target audience. However, I've grown concerned that he may be reading too much Lovelyish (is there such a thing?!). Case in point:

He commented that my Ray Ban wayfarers were very Katy Perry.

He knew that Lady Gaga's shoes at the VMA'S were Alexander McQueen.

He reports on celebrity break-ups before sometimes I even know about them!

He has grown a fondness for Rihanna's style and says I should experiment more like she does.

He talks about exfoliating.

He's ditched the typical 3-in-1 men body washes to try new products, such as rosemary mint shampoo.

And the most recent cause for concern.... while watching Sunday afternoon football he belted out Justin Bieber's "Baby."

Should I be concerned? Do any of the men in your life read Lovelyish?

Style Crush: China Chow

I never hear of China Chow until the Bravo series "Work of Art." But I have to say... I'm loving her sense of style! She is apparently the daughter of the man behind the famous restaurant, Mr. Chow, that all the celebs love.

5 Fall Fashion Trends I'm Loving

 Leopard print everything!

Wine color lips

Shearling

Combat Boots

Satchels

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Something I Know All Too Well About

October gets a lot of attention for being Breast Cancer Awareness month. It is also Domestic Violence Awareness month, an equally important issue. This topic is very personal to me. When I was 19 and very naive, I was in an abusive relationship. Domestic violence isn't always defined as solely physical abuse, but emotional and mental as well. My relationship unfortunately involved all the above.

From my memory (or maybe I like to convince myself) things started off well. We had a lot of great dates, he got along well with my friends and I fell in love (he was my first). He was seven years older than me, jumped from job to job and wouldn't introduce me to his family. A real winner.

He had a drinking problem, which I never took into account as more than a social thing until a year or so into the relationship. It wasn't until during my friend's birthday party when he punched my sister's husband, for no apparent reason, that I realized his drinking was an issue. However, that didn't stop me from seeing him. It made me want to help him.

My family tried to ground me thinking if they didn't let me out of their sight that I would have to stop seeing him. However, they couldn't keep me under supervision 24/7. I thought he loved me so I went through ridiculous hoops to see him. I defended him to my family saying he would never hurt me. That didn't last long though. Soon his angry drunken rages were directed at me.

He cheated on me multiple times, but still somehow made me feel like I was responsible for making him do it. Looking back now, of course I see that was silly. I went on a trip out of town with some friends and while there having fun he said that he felt like I was cheating on him (when it was him). He definitely used "I love you" as a sense of power.

The relationship dragged out for about two years and took a very low point for me to finally leave. All my friends and family told me to not see him that I started lying to them when I did because I didn't want to disappoint them. I knew it was foolish, but yet still continued to see him. However my lying came to surface after he put me in the hospital. I couldn't lie or defend him then.

It was hard to not think I was foolish for a long time. I didn't trust any guy for a long time, but I'm happy to say that I've had two healthy and happy relationships since then. So for all those who have been in an abusive relationship thinking that they'll never have a healthy relationship with a man or woman again... you will! You may have your guard up longer than most, but those who are worth it will get you to put your guard down.

If I can leave you with one thought, let it please be: No one who loves you will EVER lay a hand on you. Someone who abuses you does NOT love you.

Black and White Drapes Inspiration

I've been living in New York for a little over 3 years now. I moved here for school and it was pretty rushed. Most of my furniture was purchased in one week! I'm starting to feel like I need to update my apartment from a college feel to "a sophisticated woman lives here" feel.

Starting with my window treatments! My curtain shades were around $5 from Bed, Bath & Beyond. I have a black and white "theme" (not sure I have a theme idea yet...) so here are some inspirational photos I gathered:

Kanye West's New Video Premieres, My Crush on Selita Ebanks Continues

Kanye's highly anticipated video for "Runaway" was finally released and in typical Kanye fashion... it was dramatic. After all the controversy of his album cover being banned, there was a lot of hype about this video. I quite frankly was not disappointed. It was full of vivid imagery and I think it was better than some of the movies I've seen in theaters.

Victoria's Secret model Selita Ebanks is one beautiful woman and Kanye couldn't have picked a better looking phoenix in my opinion. She wears only feathers throughout the 34 or so minute video.

Kanye doesn't have many lines, but one that I quite enjoyed was: "First rule in this world baby, don't pay attention to anything you see in the news."



I may have to reconsider my Halloween costume...

"In Tough Times, People Want a Strong Man"

Oh, I love Guy Trebay. His latest article for the New York Times was about the male modeling industry (something discussed VERY little!). It was a great read about how we are in a Recession, so we are looking for manly men. Just like in the women's modeling industry, there was the "jailbait" (or "twink" in gay terms) aesthetic for models. However, since we are in hard times, we are looking for the Brawny looking guy. I think it's great! Just like with women, I don't think only skinny people should model clothes or make them look good on the runway. I guess this is the men's version of "plus-sized"?

Read the article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/17/fashion/17MANLY.html?scp=1&sq=male%20models&st=cse

I Only Shop Stores With Twitter Accounts

It may sound ridiculous... but hear me out. Social media is not going away whether you like it or not. It really does serve a purpose and companies need to recognize that.

I was slow to join the Twitter bandwagon but I really appreciate it's function in the world now. Some of you may be rolling your eyes thinking celebrities just tweet "I'm eating a sandwich." That may be true, but it does have other benefits. Take the #FollowForCharity Twitter initiative I started with a fellow Twitter friend. For every follower we gain this month, we'll be donating money to specific charities.

I think it's important for companies to be active on Twitter because it keeps them in touch with their customers. It also shows me that they can keep up with the changing industry. A good example is Nordstrom. They already have a reputation for fabulous customer service, but they've continued that with social media. I've seen tweets:

"Where is my @Nordstrom order DAMMIT!"

And then shortly thereafter Nordstrom responds:

"@(so and so) Got your tweet, how may we help?"

Then a few minutes later that person says:

"Love @Nordstrom!"

Who wouldn't want to shop at a store who hears your concerns and wants to do something about it? Customers need to realize that we have the control and start demanding things we want, rather than just dealing with what is out there.

Word of mouth is the best way to build a reputation and Twitter is the new "word of mouth."

P.S. How awesome are those tights?

My Lace Inspired Nails!

I've been seeing lace nails on the runways and thought the look was really cool. I've turned into a bit of a nail art junkie myself so I thought I'd try it out. It was really easy!

What I Used:
- some cheap Claire's nail polish
- lace fabric (carefully cut out into small pieces)
- good top coat! (mine, Seche Vite)

Step 1: Apply a base coat (always), and 2 coats of nail polish color.
Step 2: Do each nail individually, meaning apply 2 coats of nail polish to your thumb THAN add the lace before moving onto the next nail. You want the nail polish to be fresh so the lace will stick to it.
Step 3: Apply a top coat! Voila!

These are my nails after 2 days (including showering and bowling... ah I love my Seche Vite top coat) so it does last. An added bonus: the fabric I used had some knots throughout so those knots kind of look like spiders, very Halloween!

Llama in the Big City

My sister gave me a postcard of this image. I still cherish it. My two loves: llamas and New York City in one photograph!

Ramones Mania

Bomber jackets. What immediately comes to mind? The Ramones. Perhaps because my father owns every album, has every video they ever made, and still sleeps in his Ramones T-shirt. Or because when I wanted a new hair cut, I got long bangs, which my family proceeded to trademark the “Joey Ramone haircut.” The Ramones’ look is not only iconic in my household, but to almost anyone who owns a bomber jacket. Their look captivated the late 70s punk crowd, infiltrated the 80s hooligans and still repeats itself with skinny jeans, black and white striped shirts and of course the hair even with female audiences today. Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee and Tommy may have been four Jewish boys from New York, but their legacy will remain on 53^rd and 3^rd for many devoted fans.

The Ramones struggled to achieve a certain level of recognition. Members were changing faster than their album tracks. They even worked with the notorious Phil Spector who the band gushed about his insane antics during some interviews later. The band struggled to stay vital in the 90s grunge era and called it quits in 1996. Joey never made it to the age of fifty. After his passing in 2001, Congress declared May 19^th “Joey Ramone Day.” Dee Dee and Johnny were able to see The Ramones inducted into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame before tragically joining with their brother Joey. The Ramones lived the rock and roll lifestyle of rebellion and drugs, yet when we remember them, it’s their music. My father has said that one of his greatest regrets is not seeing them perform. I hope there are other fans out there who don’t live with the same regret.

National Coming Out Day!

(Me and my best friend, William, at Gay Pride)

Today is National Coming Out Day and it couldn't be more important. After the tragic suicides of 4 LGBT youths in the past months, National Coming Out Day should be a day when not only members of the LGBT community come out to their loved ones but a day when it's heterosexual allies stand by them.

Today over 10,000 gays and lesbians will come out to their families and friends. It is a day that makes the members of the LGBT community feel accepted and like they’re not the only ones. Unlike what happened with the college student at Rutgers, such a tragedy that should never have happened.

Ellen DeGeneres taped what I thought was a great video on her show addressing these tragic events:

On this day I ask that you stand by your friends and family members as they go through this difficult process. The more people who show compassion and treat anyone who is LGBT as an equal, the less bullying and deaths we will have to see.

I'm a proud Ally and will wear my shirt to show my support. What will you be doing?

Style Crush: Carey Mulligan

Carey Mulligan is one of our finest young actresses. She blew me away in "An Education." The 25-year old actress isn't caught up in scandals and has a great sense of fashion (plus she's dating my celeb crush so we have great taste!). Supposedly she doesn't use a stylist, which makes me love her even more. She has been killing me with her style promoting her latest movie "Wall Street 2." Here are some of my favorite outfits:

In a Lanvin floral print dress for the premiere for her breakout movie "An Education"

She looked so sweet in this Prada dress at the Cannes Film Festival.

At the NYC premiere of her latest movie "Wall Street 2" in a Nina Ricci dress.

Holding her own with the boys in suits when the cast of "Wall Street 2" rang the bell at NASDAQ.

I'm Proud to Say I Don't Own Any Sweatpants!

(Um... no)

Let's be clear... when I say sweatpants, I mean the picture above. The ones with elastic ankle, those are REAL sweatpants. Yes, there are the "work out pants" or "yoga pants," which I do own, but those are different. They are usually figure flattering or can be worn as leggings. These puffy things cannot. And I'm proud to not own any.

Because they are UGLY! I'm tired of the argument "but they're comfortable." As I mentioned before, there are PLENTY of other options that are just as comfortable so we don't have to walk around in these horrifying things. Sometimes sweatpants aren't as comfortable, the elastic waistband and ankle bands (if that's what you call them...) can dig into us. I like to be comfortable just as much as the next girl, but I'm not going to make my muffin top look any worse because of it.

And I won't even get into the ones with words on the butts *face palm*... or tucking them into UGGs (Breathe Kim... breathe).