What I Wore To This Year's Costume Party!

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Some call it Halloween and some call it Harvest! I like the sound of harvest better! So, I opted for the lighter side of wearing a costume of my favorite character - "Catwoman". Hence, why I went more in the direction of being a batty type of catwoman - dominatrix style! Woohoo - it was so much fun!

Here's what I wore:

• A cowgirl hat from Urban Outfitters
• Black leggings from H&M (very old)
• Black knee high boots from Macy's (years ago)
• A dark grey cami top from Urban Outfitters 
• Grey sporty and hooded jacket from H&M
• Black and silver chain belt from H&M
• And last, jewelry made by me

How cool! I enjoyed the dressing up process and prior to that I played around with a catty makeup look, but I winded up scrapping it and went for a more simple look, because I'm quite the minimalist - no fuss type of gal! See it all below! What do you think?

My Book Announcement/Launch News!!!

Hey, Guys!

I'm so super excited about this year - 2014! I believe there are great things just around the corner for all of us if only we'd develop the right mindset or thinking in order to make it happen, and my book, "A GREATER You Now!" can serve as that tool and is available and ready for purchase here as an e-book version. Check it out and be sure to pass the link on, as it may just be what you or someone that you know could benefit from at this very moment in time, in order to get unstuck and begin moving in the right direction again. It'll surely fire you up and give you that zest of zeal to do and become all that your heart desire. As important, please drop me a line or two in the comment section below and let me know just what your thoughts are about it. It would be greatly appreciated! :-)

In addition, the paperback version will be available for purchase in the first half of February, just a couple of weeks away. Anyhoo, take a look at the attached free preview pages, which include the front and back cover, plus one of the "About The Author" pages, that shows what a few folks had to say in light of me.

XOXO and much love and success this year and beyond!!!!

My Transition From A Closet Full of All Black Clothes To A More Colorful One

It's amazing how the changing of one's perspective about the way in which we view life, changes also every thing else around us, and such is the case for the colors in my wardrobe. I've moved from an all black wear to being more colorful. Though, with all those black pieces that I owned, you would have thought I was mourning some loss, but in a sense, I was, without even realizing such was the case. I was mourning all that was at loss from a very costly decision that I made four years ago and a fire that took place three of those years, at my former residence, that stripped me of EVERYTHING I owned, including my clothes, to say the least. So, I had to go out and buy new ones, and of course, I naturally gravitated to black pieces of garments. I was really in a dark place within my mind back then, as I was distraught over what had happened to my life and that of my children's, all whom my decision also affected, but thank goodness to the Universal God for looking after us through it all. I was really beating myself up about it over the years. It wasn't until recent, like late last year, that I decided to let it all go and start over from scratch. I made a conscious choice to just let bygones be bygones and simply move on from that pain of what I didn't have anymore, and instead, grasp onto the newness that awaited me if only I'd just let go and that's what I did - I let go. However, out of that pain, I learned that what determines how quickly we maneuver through our sufferings and become victorious has a lot to do with our perspective - how we think of and view what's happening to us, our beliefs, and ultimately, our faith that assures us from a distant view that it's actually happening FOR us. So, having the right perspective is so key to getting over and through, much more quickly than not, the obstacles or mountains that we sometime have to face in life, and in this case, in the physical, I was facing it alone, in addition to carrying the weight of those whose lives I'm also responsible for, my children - talk about having to carry the cross and being nailed to it, is an understatement of how I was feeling during that period of my life.

Anyhoo, now that I've moved out of that dark state of being, today, I'm more appreciative and inclined to reach for the more colorful pieces of clothing rather than my normal go to color of wearing black all the time. Don't get me wrong, black is a timeless color and very beautiful and slimming for many :-) and goes with every other color that you can think of out there, but it's just not good to wear it all the time. It's a color that retracts and absorbs and binds with whatever energy it comes in contact with, trapping it in, whether good or bad (positive or negative). So, if you're going through dark stages within your life, to help your chances of moving out of it at a faster rate than not, it would not be wise to wear only black. It only buries you further in that pain that you may be experiencing. Therefore, it's more intelligent to select pieces of clothing that have more vivid or subdued colors that'll brighten your spirit, raise your vibration, and/or calm your mood if you find yourself being a bit too anxious in getting the results that you seek. It's true; colors do alter your mood, for the better or worse. So, be conscious of that fact and choose wisely when out shopping for your next outfit.

For this year, I'm really feeling the deep sea mediterranean and mystical moonlight blues, paired with the color of the year, "Fuchsia", would definitely make for a bold statement. Those rich blues also can be toned down with neutrals, like warm gold, cold grays, or tans and lighter shades of brown. Either way, I'm just happy that I've moved away from the age old black wardrobe and into something more light reflective and refreshing!

Here's a photo showing a few pieces I grabbed the other day from Zara Int'l, one of my favorite clothing store. Their clothes have that European/Parisian flair that I truly love.

Btw, the necklace that I'm wearing over the burgundy dolman sleeve turtle neck is one of two pieces that I made from a t-shirt. Yup, and I love it! :-)

Ok, guys, always be stylish with what you wear. If you need some assistance in getting it right, drop me a few lines in the comment section below and let me know. XOXO and have a stylish weekend! :-)

My Short Hair Perspective

Wow! I've really come fully circle with myself: getting to know thyself, finding my happy within, doing what I love and loving what I do passionately, and my WHY as to living this life here and now. This self seeking to know the truth and thyself journey has led me to a more beautiful and enlightened perspective about life, one that I can truly be excited about, regarding what the future shall bring. It was in that moment of sudden realization or re-awakening that I decided to do an absolute brave thing and chop off my coiffeur. Yes, indeed I did, and boy, it was a real shocker, not only to myself but to others as well.

In that very moment, I was frozen by angst and concern, regarding what others may think. How would they now view me? Will this new look suit me? All of those pessimistic and negative thoughts came to mind, that it nearly stopped me from moving forward with my decision, but I pressed onward, with my eyes wide open (as is the look on my face in the attached photo) and chopped it all off. I gasped but quickly released a sigh of relief, because I needed to let go of the old me, in order to welcome in the new and improved one, and thus, here I am today, light and free to become and morph into that which is of my highest and greatest self. I'm truly fluttering like a butterfly, unchained from the cocoon within my own mind and that had stifled me against my own freedom. You know, that still, peaceful place within, where you are truly set free. Yes, it's that special place that we all can shine brilliantly from and extend that marvelousness back out into this world that we live in.

With that, I'm loving the new me that I've become, and for awhile I was truly stuck with the thought or idea that if I did this brave thing of cutting off all my hair, even though it was already in it's natural state, from my decision a year ago, in November of 2012, to do away with the chemical processing and treatment of my hair, I realized that I didn't do it right initially, as I should have done the "Big Chop", whereas I was to cut off the old relaxed portion of my hair from the new growth that stemmed naturally from my roots - hence, called "Natural Hair". So, because of that mishap of not doing it right the first time, I winded up with breakage along the way and that caused me to now have to, a year later, chop it all off. It was after trimming it myself that I realized that because of the damage done to my ends and that ate its way up my hair shaft, I was left with short hair here, long hair there, here, and everwhere. It was a hot mess, to say the least. So, off it went in quickly deciding to do so.

Subsequently, by cutting off my hair, I've also done away with the silly, pre-conceived thinking that says, "A woman's hair is her beauty". REally? I certainly can't tell, because I'm not my hair. My hair is a part of me, yes. It's an extension of my beauty, but it certainly does not define beauty. Beauty is something that is deeply rooted within and that we must draw from the inside out. My hair is merely an extension of that beauty, whether long or short. Therefore, even if I was to bald my head, would that make me suddenly ugly because all of my hair would be gone? No, you'd still see my beauty, inner and outer, and anyone else's for that matter, because afterall, beauty is something that shine from what's inside to the outside of oneself, time, space, and being. Hair is simply an accentuation to one's beauty, like accessories are to your clothes, and I'm fine with it being short and curly and straight all at the same time. Yes, I'm to be known as the woman with the curly-straight hair, as I've come to realize about the growth pattern of my hair, that it holds two textures - curly and straight. Odd right? But it is what it is, and I've come to fully embrace it, and I encourage all of you natural ladies to do the same, embrace and accept who you are, become who you were meant to be, and you do so when you let go of all the idiotic nuisances and stigmas and stereotypes within your mind and from others that says that this is the way you're supposed to be, because it's what everyone else is doing, and it's what society approves of. I say, no, do you truthfully and awaken to the greatest you there is to be. The truth is that there's no one else like you. So, why in heaven's name would you want to conform to wanting to be like everyone else? There's no real gain or growth with that sort of thinking. It's surely the kind that'll have you spinning in circles, lost and confused, and getting no where fast.

So, break free from the stereotypes, the cliches, and the tightly sealed boxed in way of thinking and allow yourself to become all that you were meant to be, here and now. The truth is that I'm enjoying this short hair journey, that'll lead to a longer and an even more meaningful and beautiful extension of myself. I am truly excited and grateful  for this experience and all of the wonderful possibilities and insight that it has brought and will invite into my life. I am open, and I am free.

Be brave. Be bold, but most of all, BE YOU! :-)