Fashion on the Brain
I’ve got fashion on the brain. It’s that lovely in between time in New York right now when you just don’t know what you’ll get weather wise at any given moment so you need to be ready for anything.
I’d love some easy pants, comfy driving shoes in a few great colors, a fab trench coat and of course a to die for bag (you all know me). This lovely lady was taken from The Satorialist and she totally fits my bill.
Friend and author Melissa Walker was featured on NPR talking about her picks for fashion books. You can listen here:You can read the full article and read more about the books here.
Melissa is the author of Violet On The Runway YA series.
Best,
KwanaDo you Kotori?
A couple of weeks ago I was so happy to find out I was the winner of a really cool blog giveaway.One of my favorite bloggers, Tonya over at Kotori was hanging her shingle and op
ening her own custom photo jewelry store. So to celebrate she held a giveaway for a piece of her beautiful jewelry and I won!
How happy was I to go to my unassuming little black mailbox the other day to find a lovely brown package waiting for me? Yay!So happy that I had to open it right there in the car!
Watch me unwrap Tonya’s pretty packaging.
All to find my own dear twins smiling back at me!
Thanks so much Tonya. I will wear this with pride.
Please go visit Kotori the shop here and Tonya at her wonderfully creative blog here.Best,KwanaInterview with a Lady
Happy Monday!Today we have a treat. An interview with fashion forward London blogger, one of my faves, Ronke Adeyemi aka Ondo Lady!
Hi Ronke. Thanks so much for hanging with us here at Kwanawrites today. I’ve been a big fan of your blog The Musings Of Ondo Lady for a long time and am honored to have you here.Thanks for featuring me Kwana.Please tell us a little bit about your background?I did a degree in marketing and communications and went on to do a post grad diploma in journalism with hopes of going into that field. I did some adhoc freelancing for various mags such as Pride, Suave as well as The Voice and then got a job working on an entertainment publication called Ticketmania. I did a lot of general reporting and writing and got a real sense of what it was like to to work on a magazine. Then I launched an online magazine called kudosmgazine which covered the arts and entertainment scene in the UK. I loved working on this magazine but it did not exactly pay the bills so I began to take on freelance press and pr work which led to marketing positions.. I then saw a position as a marketing and PR officer for a film festival up in Manchester and I thought ‘oooh that looks interesting’ I applied for it and got it and moved up there. The job was certainly interesting as it gave me a great insight into using the marketing mix and brokering sponsorship deals so when I moved back down to London I was able to get roles freelancing in marketing. I freelanced for two years for a variety of companies and last year I saw a role advertised as a marketing officer for a creative arts university so I went for it and got it.What was the inspiration for starting your stylish blog?
I have always loved writing, I actually used to have a print magazine and an online mag back in the day but due to cost and time I had to fold it. I came across blogs back in 2006 and saw them as a diary and I fancied the idea of having one but was not sure if I could sustain it. The last thing I wanted was to set one up and then leave it abandoned but on 1st January 2007 I decided to take the plunge. I started off on Yahoo 360 which was a really basic blogging platform but the community was great. I set myself a target of writing at least once a week and it went from there. The blog on Yahoo 360 was a lot different from the one on Blogger as it was more personal but I wanted to move from that and create more of a magazine like blog, also there were technical issues on Yahoo which frustrated me. So I began looking around and decided to go with Blogger and their format allowed to create a blog that is more visually appealing and also where I can write about things that inspire me like films, books, magazines, music, TV and art. It has been great.You are always on the cutting edge of style and pop culture, how do you stay so in the know?I get my sources everywhere and anywhere. I read Gawker, Jezebel, Catwalk Queen, mediaguardian and countless blogs to keep me in the know.Where do you see your blog leading you to down the road?Eventually I would like to see the blog turn into a magazine whether it is online or print. I guess online considering the economic climate.What projects are you currently working on?At the moment I am working on an event called, You’re Beautiful, Woman which celebrates Black beauty in all forms. There will be fantastic talks on styling, fashion, natural hair & beauty, health, relationships, fitness and inner beauty and there will also be workshops and stalls. The event takes place on Saturday 15th August at Highgate Newton Community Centre, 25 Bertram Street, Highgate London N19 5DQ. It is produced by a team of seven other wonderful and talented women; Angie Brice, Sophia Jackson, Aderonke Lawal, Angel Smith, Lillian Ogbogoh, Margaret Udofia. Between us we amass a wide variety of skills in marketing, PR, hair care, event management, graphic design and journalism.Tickets are £5 and you can buy them online at http://www.yourebeautifulwoman.com/Great! So all you in London should not miss this event. Wish I were there.Once again, Ronke, thanks for taking the time to visit with us. You can check Ronke out at her fab blog The Musings Of Ondo Lady here.Best,KwanaHappy Friday
What’s Jack up to? It’s been a semi quiet week for Jack. Not too much trouble (I had better not speak too fast) just up to his usual antics. I think the Dear Twins are driving him nutty (but he’s not alone in that). And he’s barking a lot more than usual (not alone in that either) But besides that all is cool with Dear Jack.This pic is for Ina in Alaska who is always capturing the best licence plates. I snapped it when the truck of our local doggie day care was in front of me for a few blocks and I noticed the licence plate. Don’t worry we were stopped at the time I snapped the pic.
Have a Happy Friday and a great weekend!Best,KwanaI Luvs You Too- Friendly Blogger Award
What’s Jack up to? Jack’s a funny one. The poor dear is so confused this week with the Dear Twins coming and going at all hours of the day with it being finals and no set schedule. It’s seriously cutting into his normal rest time. I know it’s making me a bit nuts too Jack. Sigh.I was surprised when I hopped on over to one of my favorite blogs, Get It Girl Style and saw that I had won a Friendly Blogger Award from Tamstyles This was so humbling and cool coming from such a chic blogger like her. It’s also so nice to be thought of as friendly. I like that.
Here is the award’s quote:This award is bestowed on to blogs that are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.”
Pass along to 8 other friendly bloggers! I would love to put all of you guys down, but yall know how these work! You all are friendly and sweet to me on a daily basis. My giveaways are my way of showing you just how thankful I am to have the great, friendly, readers that I have!I do try and be friendly even in my honestly. I’m not one of those bloggers where it’s all Vaseline and soft focus. As a matter of fact sometimes there is no focus at all (my bad). I am here to give my thoughts, give a little taste of who I am, my style of writing, big up women, mothers, authors and the romance industry, oh and throw in a bit of whatever I’m thinking a the time.But in all that I don’t want to intentionally hurt anyone, assume I’m always right (we know I am. LOL) or create a space that belittles anyone.So thanks Tamstyles and thanks to you all for putting up with me.Now here’s the part where I pass it on to a few other bloggers that I think are friendly too:Please go and check out these wonderful and friendly bloggers. They’re nice and don’t bite. Much.Best,KwanaWhat’s Is Women’s Fiction?
What’s Jack up to? The Jackster is getting ready for the weekend by ignoring this rainy day. He’s chilling. Sleeping soundly and storing up his energy so he can have a wild time once the sun is shining again.
Remember when I told you here that the fab Barbara Vey was snagging folks at Lady Jane’s Salon for one of her Drive By Videos asking the question: What is Women’s Fiction? Well, here is the video and, eek, I’m on it! Lord, is my head that big and is my voice that… blah? Yep, sadly so. But I will buck up and get past it because the video is great with tons of wonderful, insightful and varied answers to the same intriguing question. Watch and check out Barbara’s blog to let her know what you think.
Best,
KwanaCrushing It!
I’m still talking BEA today. Sorry if I’m boring you all but it was a pretty exciting weekend for me. One of the biggest highlights was getting to see Gary Vaynerchuk at the Book Expo. It was an unexpected and pleasant surprise.I was walking around with Amanda McCabe since she had some time before her Harlequin signing. I had planned on going to the Bloggers panel when I saw the words Crush It listed right below the Bloggers panel. I turn to Amanda and said “I wonder if that’s Gary Vee the Crush It guy?” To which she looks at me like I’ve grown not 2 but 3 heads.
Then I explained to Amanda how Crush It is the name of Gary’s book that’s coming out and how I’ve been following him on twitter and how he’s a wine expert but I don’t really follow him for the wine I follow him for the inspiration. More strange looks from Amanda. Hmm? Now she may be questioning this growing friendship with me and the invite for drinks later. But I don’t stop.
Anyone who knows me, knows I can go on and on with a story. I explain how my friend N told me about Gary so I followed him on twitter then PVE ask did I see this video of this guy who’s kinda funny but cool on Makeunder My Life. I clicked. It was Gary! Loved the video. It was all about The Hustle and your passion and combing the hustle with your passion in order to achieve your dreams. Now I could totally relate because one of my favorite little sayings besides, “All roads lead to Oprah,” is “Every day I be hustling, hustling, hustling…”
Here is the video from Make Under My Life. After watching this a new motto was born, “Hustle 09!” The DD thinks it’s lame. I adore it.
By the end of my long story Amanda agreed to sit in on what she could of Gary’s talk before her own book signing. She was instantly drawn into his ideas about the new ways to do business and decided I wasn’t a total nut. Whew. Not cra-zy! You can click on his site here to see the full BEA talk. Or check him out at Wine Library TV here for good wine talk.
I don’t know if Gary was signing but I can’t wait to get a copy of Crush It when it comes out Oct. 13th.By the way Gary has a 10, yes, 10 book deal.
Also big congrats to Gary and his wife on the birth of their baby girl, Misha, born Sunday! Sweetness.So what are you willing to do for your hustle? Me? I’m working. Hard.Best,
Kwana
H09Have You Met Anne?
What’s Jack up to? As I write this Jack is snug and happy sleeping on the couch. Oh yeah, he worked so hard for the day. So darn hard. Not.So have you met Anne Harwell otherwise known as Annechovie on her super cool blog?
Anne is a talented artist that creates the most beautiful pieces. Watercolors and ultra cool quote prints.
She has a wonderful way with color and a fabulous sense of style.I have been an admire of Anne for quite a while and finally ordered some of her prints from her Etsy shop. I was so excited when they arrived last week along with the sweetest note thanking me for the support. I couldn’t wait to run out and get frames for my prints. Here they are hung in my living room. Now I just need new curtains, maybe some throw pillows. All in due time…
I heart them!Thanks Anne.Best,KwanaLucky Surprise
What’s Jack up to? Jack’s Chilling. Working on his coolness. As if he need work. Ha!
I’m a winner!And I’m really shocked about it since I entered the Save The Contemporary contest with my usual thought of, “well you’re not winning that.” I know, I’m an eternal optimist. I even went over to one of my favorite blogs Ramblings on Romance and saw that Kristie did not win and made a premature comment that I didn’t win either. So Embarrassing when I went to Smart Bitches Trashy Books a moment later to find that I did win a copy of the new Lisa Kleypas book Smooth Talking Stranger. Now all my usual blog readers know what a big Kleypas fan I am of both her contemporaries and her historicals. I can’t wait to get my hand on this next installment in the Travis family saga. Fun, Fun Fun!Here’s a synopsis:
Jack Travis leads the uncomplicated life of a millionaire Texas playboy. He makes no commitments, he loves many women, he lives for pleasure. But no one has ever truly touched his heart or soul. Until one day, a woman appears on his doorstep with fury on her face and a baby in her arms. It seems Jack is the father and this woman is the baby’s aunt. The real mother has abandoned the child to her more responsible sister. And now, Jack is being called upon to take responsibility for the first time in his life. With delicious romantic tension, characters so real they walk onto the page and into your heart, Lisa Kleypas delivers the kind of novel that makes you laugh, love; cry and cheer.Don’t you just love an unexpected surprise? I hope you get a good one today.
Best,
KwanaAlter Ego Hotness
Don’t ya wish your Alter Ego was hot like me? Don’t cha? Well she or he can be. Just go make one for yourself. I’m so thankful to my buddy Mel Francis (her book Bite Me is ready for pre-order now at Amazon yo!) and her Month of Mel challenge for sending me over to The Hero Factory to create her. Isn’t she the Hottest. Too bad I’m not feeling quite up to her kick butt status just yet.
I went to have my back checked out and the doctor feels I have a pinched nerve. The lesson here is listen to your body. Really listen. You see I’ve been having a problem with my big toe on my left foot for quite a while that has taken me off track with my running challenge. Giving me annoying pain that has me saying, Hmm… I really need to check this out… someday. Well, yesterday while barely being able to stand in the doctor’s office without holding the wall and having to have my DH help me to the bathroom. I said to the doctor, this is probably unrelated, but I have this crazy pain in my toe. He tell me it’s not unrelated at all. The nagging toe pain was a symptom of my pinched nerve.So all of you ‘do for everyone else in the world first’ out there folks take a cue from me. Listen to your body and get things checked out. Make yourself a priority. Those little things may be telling you something big.Best,Kwana
