My Summer trip to Rhodes, Greece!

In July, I took a long overdue vacation to Greece. I’ve been to several places/islands in Greece, and this time I chose Rhodes. Several people had stated to me how fabulous Rhodes is, and they were all right on the button.

After the plan landed, I got my bags and got in the taxi that was waiting to take me to my resort. I stayed at the Lindos Grand Resort Spa which is actually located in Lindos, which is an hour away from the airport in Rhodes.

The resort was brand new and beautiful. The staff was also very friendly and helpful. Covid protocols were also strictly adhered to. I had a room with a private pool, which I HIGHLY recommend. I spent more time at my own pool than at the main pool and at the beach.

Lindos, Greece

The town of Lindos is about a 10 minute taxi ride, which costs between 10-12 Euros. There, you can walk around the picturesque town, which is full of shops, restaurants, and they also have an acropolis. You can walk up to the top or take a donkey ride for €8. But those poor donkeys looked so hot, tired, and overworked, if you can walk, then do that.

Like I stated before, the resort is brand new, so there were some minor things that weren’t fully completed. For instance, there were two light bulbs missing on my terrace. It was minor, and it didn’t bother me at all.

The beach is about a 3 minute walk from the resort. There is a direct path where you can walk, and they also offer a shuttle bus, as well. The beach has food and drink service, and lounge chairs specifically for the resort, which is cool. There are also water sports available.

I literally had a different swimsuit for each day I was there! :-)

The floor to ceiling windows were fabulous. It was very hot, but also a nice breeze. When you opened the doors, the air-conditioning automatically shut off, which was cool.

So, if you’re thinking about a planning a trip to Greece for relaxation and great weather, I would highly suggest the island of Rhodes and Lindos Grand Resort Spa.

The resort had fantastic views, and the aesthetics were great.

Let me know if you’ve ever been to Rhodes, Lindos, and/or Lindos Grand Resort Spa.

Thanks for stopping by. I really appreciate it! XOXO

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How to get the most out of your wardrobe.

I chose the above quote for this blog because Macbeth and Lady Macbeth´s “clothing” is actually Macbeth´s new title of Thane of Cawdor. At this early stage in the play, they are thankful that they have the title and are not being greedy at this point. Let’s connect that with us literally buying our favorite pieces and caring for them so that they last and are not cast aside so quickly. (Am I reaching? Lol…just roll with me.)

Ok…we love are clothes and we want them to last. How do we do that? Let me give you a few tips on how to do exactly that.

Skirt: Gucci (about 4 years old)

READ THE LABELS:

Those labels are there for a reason. Make sure to check and see if your garment can actually be washed, or if it should be dry-cleaned. If you’ve ever washed something that should have been dry-cleaned, then you know about the possible catastrophic events that can ensue. Washing on the delicate cycle is always a safe bet, as well as mesh bags. I love mesh bags. They are perfect for delicates and anything else that may need extra tender love and care. Another thing you can do is air dry your garment. The dryer can cause shrinkage and put unnecessary heat on your clothes that may ruin them. So air drying is your best friend.

Sweater: Zara (last year) Jeans: Zara

Shoes: Miu Miu, Socks: Gucci

PROPER STORAGE:

How you store your clothes will add to their longevity . For example, hanging up your skirts and pants on proper hangers is something you should do. The right hangers can preserve the shape of your clothes, providing you hang them properly. I really like to use those special skirt hangers. You can also use velvet hangers that will prevent your dresses and shirts from slipping off the hangers, which can be really irritating. Also, keep in mind, some things should not be hung. For instance, cashmere sweaters. Hanging them might cause them to become misshapen, so I would suggest folding them.

QUALITY OVER QUANTITY:

I realize that fast fashion is very tempting, and can be a good choice if you want to try a trend before investing in it. However, don’t overlook the fact that investing in quality pieces will stand the test of time. Often times, these fast fashion pieces are very inexpensive, and when you wash them, they fall apart. Threads start unraveling, hems come apart, discoloration, etc. So, what happens is, you end up wearing the item once or twice and you’re back ordering again. Contrast this with investing in a quality piece that costs more, but it will stand the test of time and you will get your cost per wear out of it….which leads me to my next point.

Boots: Alexander Mcqueen

COST PER WEAR:

Cost per wear simply means the cost of the item divided by how much you wear it. Now, don’t let the math intimidate you…lol. The basic premise is the value of the item is directly related to how much you wear it. If you follow this rule, you will be able to justify that high price tag, because you are getting the maximum amount of wear out of said item. I put this equation to the test when I purchase items that are pricey, but I know I will reach for it time and time again.

Well, those are a few of my tips. I hope I could help. Let me know some things you do, to get the most out your wardrobe.

Thanks for stopping by! XOXO

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2019 Fall/Winter Trend Alert: The Tall, White Boot

“VALENTINE
’Tis true; for you are over boots in love,
And yet you never swam the Hellespont.

PROTEUS
Over the boots? Nay, give me not the boots

VALENTINE
No, I will not, for it boots thee not.


”

— The Gentlemen of Verona Act I, i

I was sooooo skeptical about this trend. I had been hearing everywhere about how the white boot is so popular this fall/winter season, and that it is really very versatile and easy to wear. Wait. What?! How can a super white boot that seems like it would stand out, be easy to wear? I just found that hard to believe.

Well, after watching several fashion videos on Youtube showcasing white boots being styled with multiple outfits, I began to take a closer look at this trend. The first thing I did was think of an outfit that I could easily pair with the white boots BEFORE I bit the bullet and bought them. (Did you check out that unplanned alliteration?) After that, I thought of about two more outfits, which made a total of three, to justify the boot purchase. That’s a good tip, by the way. If you can find a minimum of 3 outfits to wear with whatever you plan on buying, chances are you will get your cost per wear out of that item.

So, after searching online, I found a pair of fabulous tall, white boots from Fendi. They came in a range of different colors and fabrics, but I settled on the white neoprene boots. I even caught a 30% off flash sale from Luisaviaroma which totally solidified my online purchase! I ordered them. They came.

When the boots came, I took them out of their box and drooled. Undoubtedly, they were fabulous. And I loved the modern heel shape. I decided to try the boots on with the outfit pictured: A No. 21 skirt, with a print that I LOVE, a chic Joos Tricot turtleneck, some blue tights, and a Rockstud Valentino pvc purse which was perfect because it didn’t clash with the printed skirt at all. I topped it all off with my beloved turband from Cult Gaia.

Let me tell you. I fell head over heels with these boots (like Valentine said in the Two Gentlemen of Verona quote above) and the outfit. I wore this outfit to work and my feet didn’t hurt ONCE. I’m a teacher, so I’m on my feet a lot during the day, and I had ZERO issues. I just felt fabulous, and now this is one of my favorite outfits. But wait. It gets better. While trying on outfits to go with these boots, I found SOOOOOOO many other fabulous options. It’s literally like those boots went with everything I tried on. NO LIE. The white boots actually behaved like a neutral, which means they damn near go with everything, making everything look even more fabulous.

The only problem I have now is not pairing them with everything, every single day, because they do stand out, and people will start saying, “She must be trying to get her money’s worth!”…….LOL.

Bottom line: I will be getting my money’s worth, because these boots are one of my best purchases of 2019. Shout out to Fendi!

How do you feel about white boots? What’s your favorite type of fall/winter boot? Let’s chat about it in the comment section.

Thanks for stopping by! XOXO

2019 Trend Alert: Making a statement with statement sleeves!

Dress: Zara, Bag: Fendi , Necklaces: Dylanlex Palm cuff: Gucci

Headband: Cult Gaia Socks: Gucci Shoes: Louis Vuitton

Puffs. Tiers. Ruffles. Ruching. The statement sleeve trend this season has got you covered. Literally. Whether you are going grocery shopping or going to a gala, there is a sleeve that will suit the occasion. Some people may feel that this trend is just too unwearable, that it only looks good on the runway. Let me just shout a resounding NO to that. At every price point, you can find a sleeve to fit your comfort level. There are poofs, puffs, and ruffles of various sizes to fit the statement you’re going for. Take a look at my first outfit below.

This fabulous khaki-colored dress from Zara has sleeves that aren’t that extreme, however they still make a statement. It´s a very wearable way to dip your toe into the swimming pool of this trend. If you want to dive into that pool and do a few laps, check out my next outfit.

This Cynthia Rowley dress has glorious statement sleeves. I could hide this cat in them, and no one would know….lol. These ballon sleeves will instantly elevate your look and take your outfit to a whole new level. Believe it or not, this is actually a summer dress. Pairing it with jeans and combat boots extends the life of this outfit, allowing me to wear it in the fall and winter. I believe in getting as much cost per wear from the outfits I wear, and this is how it can be done.

If you haven’t already, try this trend this season. Make a statement without saying a word. Let me know how you’ve styled your statement sleeves!

Thank you for stopping by! XOXO!

I‘d rather be naked! (3 things to do when you have NOTHING to wear.)

“He wears his faith but as the fashion of his hat.”

— Much Ado About Nothing Act I, i

PC: me

Headband: Gucci , Dress: Vivetta

How many times a week do you stand in your closet and proclaim “I HAVE NOTIHING TO WEAR”…knowing good and well that this should NOT be the freaking case. (This is definitely a first-world problem,…and the sin of gluttony at the very least…..but don’t judge…lol. Before running to the nearest mall in despair (are malls still a thing)….or your nearest keyboard to order something cute online, check out my three tips.

TIP #1 PINTEREST

Are you still sleeping on Pinterest? Well, today you are going to get that app and get yo life all the way together. Pinterest is a powerful search engine that you can use for all kinds of inspiration, including fashion. I love to type in a particular looks, such as spring/summer outfits, or transition to fall/winter outfits. You can even get specific and type in boots, or leather coats, etc. Go ahead and create some boards and keep your looks on tap. That’s what I do. Check mine out for all kinds of swagalicious looks.

TIP #2 SHOP YOUR CLOSET

Don’t underestimate the depths of your closet. First, have a clear out. Donate or sell all of the clothes and shoes you know for sure you won’t don anymore. Take them to your local Goodwill, or sell them at a second-hand shop, or on apps such as DePop, Poshmark, or TheRealReal, for example. Now you’re ready to take a double take at all of those shirts, sweaters, and skirts, that got pushed to the back of your closet. That skirt you bought on sale, it’s a great color, great fit, still has the tags on it,…pull it out! What about that sweater you haven’t worn in a while, pull it out of your drawer and give it some love. Now, lets see what we can do with these pieces that we’re about to give new life to.

TIP 3 TRY DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS

After perusing Pinterest, you no doubt have several outfit ideas you can’t wait to try out. Instead of pairing the same outfit combinations you normally do, try something different. Pair different patterns, colors, add some new jewelry, etc. Also, try different shoes that you wouldn’t normally wear with the outfit you’re creating. All of this will give you the feeling as if you are wearing a brand new outfit. And the best part is, you didn’t spend any money, and you potentially made some money from the sale of unwanted clothing items. Now that’s a WIN-WIN!

BONUS TIP

There is also an app that I’ve recently discovered called Stylebook. With this you can upload your clothes to the app, and the app gives you wardrobe suggestions that you may not have thought of. There are also other features such as a calendar which can potentially help you take the guess work out of what to wear for the upcoming week. Give it a try! :-)

Those are my tips on solving the “nothing to wear” problem, and avoiding you just giving up and leaving the house in your birthday suit…lol.

Let me know if this is something you regularly do, or if you decided to give something I mentioned a try. Would love to hear from you!

Thank you for stopping by! XOXO

Damn! You are so skinny!

Recently, I went to a Thai restaurant to have lunch. I’d been to this particular restaurant several times in the past, however, this was the first time I had seen this particular waitress. As she was taking me to an available table, she exclaimed quite shockingly, “Wow, you are sooo skinny!” I’m going to assume that because English wasn’t her first language (it was quite obvious), that she didn’t realize using the term skinny has a negative connotation. And using it with strangers can come across as off-putting and rude. However, while taking all of that into consideration, and assuming she had no intentions of being rude to a paying customer, I simply smiled and said, “Yes, that’s true.”

Dress: Athena procopiou (I don’t think dress is available anymore.)

Shoes: Gucci Ace Sneakers

Purse: Gucci

Photo credit: BT

You see, this has been happening my entire life. I am really very, very naturally thin. I basically have been the same size my entire teenage, young adult, and now middle-aged adult life. I cannot tell you the countless times I´d been teased growing up because of my weight. As a child I was called Olive Oyl…remember her? :-) I was also a cheerleader from age 7-18 and of course those skimpy cheerleader uniforms just accentuated my skinniness even more. All of the other cheerleaders had curves by then, and I was still “straight up and down” as they used to say back when I was young. My mother even thought that after I had a baby, I would do as she did, and gain a lot of weight. She, too, had been thin as a child and as an adult before she had children. However, after I had my child, I snapped right back to the exact same size I had always been.

I guess people who know me and have known me my whole life aren’t really fazed by how thin I am. They don’t even notice. And quite frankly, most times, neither do I. But, in today’s society of enhanced body parts, my lack thereof, may seem strange to some people. And the fact that I embrace how I am, and don’t strive to look like what society deems is “perfect” at whatever given moment may also be a factor. I am naturally the way I am. And that suits me perfectly.

The quote above is Shakespeare´s Sonnet 130, and it is mainly discussing people’s perception of what beauty is. What is our standard of beauty? Why are we always striving to fit a standard that is ever-changing, and is quite frankly a hollow template that cannot possibly contain all of the greatness we are? This lady (the Dark Lady, she’s called) that the person in the poem is describing has none of the attributes that make a woman “beautiful”, and yet he is deeply in love with her. He basically is putting his middle-finger up to society and it’s bogus beauty standards.

I’m not putting my middle finger up to society in this blog post…lol…but I do want to stress that we should all be comfortable the way we are. If you want to change something for you, that’s great, but don’t try and fit into society’s fickle perception of who you should be at any given time. When those thoughts start creeping in…that’s when you get those middle fingers ready!!! ;-)

Thank you for stopping by….XOXO!

What if knowledge is LITERALLY power?

“He would be crowned: How that might change his nature, there’s the question.”

— Julius Caesar, Act II, i

WARNING: I’m an out-of-the-box thinker kinda gal.

Carry on.

Have you ever considered this? Good ole Merriam Webster has nine definitions for the word power. In the above quote, Brutus was referencing the second definition: A position of authority, control, or influence over others. There is no need to expound upon that definition. We constantly experience the effects of it in various aspects of our lives. I, however, want to discuss definition number 6: A source or means of supplying energy: especially electricity. From this point on, open your minds and let me give you something to ponder.

Since childhood, we’ve all been inundated with the platitude KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. Yeah, yeah, yeah…we all know that. And trying to gain more control and power in our lives is a big money maker in our society, Whether it’s paying for knowledge gaining esteemed letters after your name, paying for workshops and buying self-help books from other people who seem to know you better than you know yourself. Or better yet, joining the infinite amount of groups that require you to take an oath, perform a ritual of some kind to gain some “secret” knowledge the rest of us don’t know..i.e…Shriners, Knights of Malta, those Rosicrucians, or any of the other numerous fraternal orders out here. Or perhaps going to yoga, learning to meditate is more your thing (which is a good thing) all in an effort to gain more control and knowledge in your own life in order to manifest a life that society says you need. The only thing is, you’ll NEVER get the true answer that will free you and give you the power to empower you, which is your/our birthright.

BUT let me posit this: WHAT IF the phrase in a very popular book Genesis 1:3, Let there be light, actually meant that the people in power at the time actually monopolized how to generate electricity. (Pay close attention the letters in bold.) The descendants from these people, are now the only people to have this knowledge (the knowledge all of humanity once shared), and they now govern us today in the form of royal families and presidents worldwide….a.k.a. governments.

What do you think? Hard to believe? Not really. Without going into an extensive history lesson to cross all of my t’s and dot all of my i’s, it’s more than plausible. Think about it: You essentially go to work everyday to literally pay for power, that is free, so you can go home and flick on the light switch, open your fridge to find something to eat, then turn on your stove to make a nice dinner. Afterwards, turn on your laptops and/or computers to check in on my blogs..;-)..play Nintendo, charge up your electronic devices, etc. Mind you, all the while we are all paying for energy that these huge power plants all around the world are generating for free. Let that sink in a bit.

Most people would equate money with power. They believe the accumulation of wealth will ultimately lead to power.

Unfortunately, money became the poor substitution for true power.

If money = currency, and currency = current, then current = energy, which = power.

Knowledge really used to be power. That knowledge has been hidden.

You can’t be liberated without power...and you can’t have power without knowing how to generate it. And you will never have power if you are paying power companies for energy. Period.

True empowerment comes from more than joining a group and/or subscribing to a particular ideology.

Ok…I’m done soliloquizing….for now..:-)

To be continued at another time. So much more to be deduced through this one thought.

Share your thoughts in the comment section.

Thanks for stopping by…..XOXO!!

Fakin’ the Funk: My winter blues…

“How like a winter hath my absence been
From thee, the pleasure of the fleeting year!
What freezings have I felt, what dark days seen!
What old December’s bareness every where! ”

— Sonnet 97 (Shakespeare)

I didn’t want to succomb to it. Succomb to the blah feeling, the feeling of zero energy, the feeling of wanting to stay in my pyjamas and pretend that I’m the star of that Twilight Zone episode where I’m, mysteriously, the only person left on this plane(t)…as well as Netflix…:-) I honestly DID NOT. I wanted to embrace this winter season in all of its fluffy white snow, beautiful snow-filled landscapes, imbibe the chilly, crisp air into my lungs….and look stylish all the while doing it. That was my honest-to-goodness plan. Well, it’s already February…and my zealousness has definitely waned….and I’m being very generous with that statement.

My stylish factor, though, has remained high through this loooooong winter, because I believe in that tried but true statement: FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT. For me, I find that if my mood isn’t as fabulous as what I look like, looking fab gives my mood a chance to catch up.

Outside of checking my favorite online stores for the new Spring/Summer/Cruise collections that are flooding my inbox, and yes, getting doorbell rings with packages that contain lovely boxes tied with ribbon that contain clothes and maybe shoes from the aforementioned collections, I realize the most important thing: Life is literally a sine wave. It dips….it fluctuactes…it regenerates….it resurrects…it revives…it recharges. Everything is always in motion. Everything. And in that…we can all take comfort in knowing that said funk will be gone!

Bern, Switzerland (PC: my bestie…S.S.)

I’m a tad bit late…but HAPPY “NEW YEAR!” (Snapchat filter)

Thank you for stopping by…..:-)