


1. 1950’s Sports Coupe
I took an early morning drive into the countryside for an appointment I had. I saw this old girl sitting at the front of a farm house for sale, so I had to pull over.
I love old cars. I wish I had one. When I was a little girl, I promised myself that I would buy an old car one day. Of course I also wanted a Shelby like Farrah Fawcett drove on the original Charlie’s Angels as well. It’s a good thing I’m not a rap star, because I’d have a garage full of cars and go broke.
It was a beautiful day for a drive through the country, a stop at a hamburger joint and time to relax and reflect.
2. Angels Hair Designs
This month, I accepted a commission to build two different web sites. I was happy to be able to integrate some of my photography and MUA skills, to use for one of the sites, Angels Hair Designs. Angel has been a stylist in the Houston area for years and has tons of experience, which I learned while gathering information from her for her site. I did also use pictures Angel had for her site, and she will be adding more before and after photos on her hair design blog as well.
3. VienneMilano Italian Hosiery
I received a very fancy pair of thigh high stockings from the Italian Hosiery company, VienneMilano this month. Since it is about 95 degrees outside, I decided that I was left with no alternative but to show off black lace, seam backed thigh highs…indoors. The company was right when they said that these are made for comfort and to stay up. I love them, and will be doing more VienneMilano posts in the future!
4. Vanity
I am finally finished setting up my new vanity area and it’s my new favorite spot! I do not know how I made it before without my own corner of the universe. All of my makeup is so much more organized with the added storage space. This also gives me a much better spot to do makeup when people come over to get their face done, and it’s a better ares to film makeup videos in!
5. The Sky Broke Open, The Light Shown Through.
Forgive this cell phone picture from my Instagram picture I had posted this month. It was a shy scene that took my breath away. Whenever I see the clouds with breaks of light shinig through… It reminds me of an afternoon that I was gardening years ago.
On this day, I felt eyes upon me as I was planting flowers, so I looked up to see two people staring back at me. One of the people was an angel who had a light so bright coming from his chest area, that the rays of light were cutting through the clouds. All sound ceased to exist in those moments. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, so I looked away to clear my mind and in a split second…they were gone. I am a very grounded, rational person, but I knew what I had seen was real. I ran in the house to call my dad and tell him.
Basically, now when I see clouds like this, with the breaks of light, I want people to be able to understand more clearly, what I saw that day. For me, it’s always a fabulous reminder of that moment. There is God, Jesus, angels, heaven and life beyond this world. I know this because I have seen.
6. Waste Not Want Not Creations
One of the business sites I was able to develop for a client this month, was for Waste Not Want Not Creations. It’s an eco-friendly accessory designer behind the brand, and I loved so many of the one of a kind pieces that she has created, including these glass hearts shown above. I love web building when I get to be creative and help someone dive a bit deeper into the social media pool and hopefully get found by the world. The shot above is just an ad button for her site, but you should click it and see her fun and whimsical creations from vintage or reimagined products! I wanted to share part of what I’ve been doing all month long.
-SDS
-June 30, 2014
We were invited to a brand new Top Golf facility on Sunday, which happens to be just a mile away from where my husband teaches at a Tennis Facility, so he was way more excited than I initially was to go. He was so excited, that it was cute!
I’d known of some girlfriends who had gone to the location on the other side of Houston, and they had said it was fun…but it was one of those things you need to go to and see and really experience. It was totally a blast!
While I took golf lessons as a child, I didn’t appreciate the sport as much as my brother did, which means I did not exactly excel. At Top Golf you do not have to be a golf pro to have fun! There’s great food , drinks and music as well as fabulous sitting areas overlooking the greens. It’s great if you just want to tag along with others who enjoy hitting because it’s still a great atmosphere.
Did I mention food? I was expecting the food to be of a low end quality like cheaper, fast food. I was so wrong! The food was impressive. Unfortunately, we ate dinner before going, so I couldn’t pig out as much as I’d of liked to! What a mistake! The food was fabulous!
The Top Golf facility we went to is the one in Spring, just a few miles from The Woodlands Mall area, and they continually served samples of their food items throughout the evening. The menu boasts a little something for everyone.
Top Golf also has enclosed banquet rooms with flat screens playing sports channels. Each room is attached to it’s own outdoor patio and sitting area for those who wish to hit a few balls. It’s a great concept for birthdays or workplace events of any size. Since they do hold special events, they take special care in the area of food service.
Did I mention to you that there were drinks? The drink options were fabulous and there was a huge indoor bar as well. If I were single, it might be a place to stumble upon my future ex husband. Just sayin. They are opened until 2 am during the weekends and crank the music up louder for an even more fun atmosphere!
The golf is still going on into the night because they light up the green with fun multi colored lighting, and you can tell if you made your mark or not with each stroke because of the electronic gaming machines stationed at each hitting post!
I would give this place a shot if you have a party to throw, have out of town guests to entertain, or just want to hit a few golf balls. It really was a relaxing, fun time! Click to check out other Top Golf locations here.
-SDS
-June 12, 2014
It’s been a year since the last Top Glammy Swim Suits Edition was posted so I figured it was time for yet another edition.
I realize that swimgerie… a new version of lace embellished swim wear is attempting to come in… it looks too crazy to be worn poolside, so I denounce this as a upcoming trend.
I also realize that a mere 5% of females have what is considered to be an ideal beach body. If you don’t believe me, go to the beach. Or the pool. Or ask a man. Or Google it. Just because you are skinny, won’t mean that any swim suit will make you look fabulous. Just because you are larger, doesn’t mean you’re not sexy, but the wrong suit can make a mess of most of us. Naked is not always a good thing. A big boob is not always a great boob. Cheese should always be covered. Period.
It is because of this that I have chosen very structured swim suit designs to be included in my Top 10 post this year. Structure by design is good. It creates the illusion of firmness and solid form.
Structure is a win-win for us all. Basically, if your body is lacking in fit or form, the right suit can solve a myriad of problems. The shape of a suit can help to create shape where none truly exist, or hide what does.
As for accessories, I am a firm believer in poolside accessories. They help you to give the allusion of being dressed and having a tailored appearance. They can sort of hide the fact that you are basically naked in blaring daylight, which isn’t truly a great thing for very many.
I asked my husband to get his opinion, before doing any research, “What percentage of females do you feel probably have a perfect beach body?”
“5%,” he immediately decided with absolutely no thought put into his answer. After doing some reading, I found he was right. So this leaves out me and 94% of you reading this.
What this means for you and me, is that while we may have one or several visually pleasing parts to our physique… society and media now has an insane expectation of our nakedness. The right suits can help everyone feel fabulous and a little less self aware.
The suits we have here are all for a wide array of body shapes and types.
The top three pictures all show fabulous yet simple suits that allow for the individual person to shine. The criss-crossed, hip exposed picture above is great for creating contour and the hat is a perfect fun look.
While I did include some great full sized models here, you have to admit the red hot bikini with bling rings on the brunette does look amazing. If you can wear it, do it well. The thing with these type of unstructured bikini tops, is that if you have a floppy chest, you should not wear these. Trust me, you are doing more harm than good. It is so much better to cover it up and let the world assume you are perfectly fabulous than to prove to them that you are not.
The suit above comes in several colors but it’s so hot in black. The style adds structure to a flat chested or a larger chested person. If you have a great back, it’s going to show it off, yet appear fair covered by today’s standards.
I absolutely adore the cut of this monokini. It’s so classy. Again, it adds form and structure and the ruffle would help a smaller chest to have a bit more volume.
This Lane Bryant suit is adorable in metallic gold animal print. Again, the hat and bracelets add an extra bang for those times you want to appear more fashion forward, keep the sun off, control the wind blown hair and rock the summer like the girly girl you are.
This ruffled monokini comes in all types of colors, and it also has a great contouring ability due to the shape as well as the padded boost cups. There is a thick, structured band holding up the top around the back, so this is something to look for when you need more chest support in a swim suit.
If being a glamour puss is your thing, a solid color is best most of the time you want to make a statement. A multi-colored and patterned suit is usually a bust that washes a person out. A strong and bold swim suit print can usually make a larger person appear even larger. Solids or well done color blocked suits are best.
And this was so adorable, I had to include it. Yes, it is a bikini. It’s
a well structured bikini on a well structured woman. The top clearly has under wires for support and the shape is great. However, the accessories and the hat make this so much more fabulous. For the self conscious, a really sheer black cover up would look amazing as well.
These suits make me want a vacation now.
SDS
-June 7, 2014
KORS & MAC in PINK
It’s been a while since I’ve attempted anything resembling a fashion post lately. It feels so odd to have my husband take photos, so a lot of times I just don’t bother. On this day, however, the weather was wonderful and we were going to lunch and gave it s shot!
Last summer I did a post with a fantasy collection called Black Summer, which featured a pink Michael Kors bag. I then attempted to emulate the collection on this old post, Black Summer part 2. I loved the collection so much, I’d wanted a pink Kors ever since!
This dress, while shapeless, is so comfortable, it’s one of those easy to throw on, eat as much as you want types of items that comes in handy now and then. It doesn’t appear dated which is the kind of fashion piece I love. After a zillion years in fashion, you learn to stay away from too many high trend pieces that look dated two seasons later. If, of course, you have money to burn, then this rule of thumb would not apply to you, carry on!
This dress is made by a company called Trinity and it is 100% silk. My friend had a part time job at a Houston retail shop that was going out of business, and she called, begging me to come see what they had. Reluctant, I did find this dress, originally listed at $175, however it was marked down to $17. I treat it like a cheap moo-moo and throw it on when in a rush. But did you hear the 100% silk part? So I get to feel fancy on the cheap!
I’d initially wondered if a bright fuchsia bag was too much for a woman over 40, but I decided to just do me and let the chip fall where they may. I am a lover of pink, hear me roar. (I do have a friend that just custom ordered a fabulous pink camaro, in my heart, I wish I could be that cool but at my age, it would just appear way too kooky.)
The pink Nine West shoes with gold embellishments were already shown here and here, but they match the bag perfectly so I couldn’t resist combining, although typically I wouldn’t match a bag to a shoe.
The pink necklace I’d already owned and was a fun add-on. I truly am on a budget and I am trying hard to just use what I already own, and use things that I never usually wear. It feels like you have on something new when you pull it out from the closet and have not worn in in years!
The retro style Prada glasses are fabulous and make up for a lot, and I don’t feel so bad for having on a dress I bought for $17 if I get to dress it up with fancier things.
bag by Michael Kors, shoes Nine West, glasses Prada, bracelet Tiffany & Co, earrings Style & Co, dress by Trinity
As far as make up goes, the nails are pink in a color called La Vida Loca by Orly Polish. It’s been around a while, and it goes with a lot of the lip colors I have already, such as the MAC Pink Pigeon with the Melt Cosmetics Melted fuchsia on top.
Studies show that reds and pinks are the favorite and most attractive colors to men. My husband loves pink. My step mother recently stated that people possibly do not take me as seriously in pinks or reds. (Well, and with the blond hair color.) At this juncture, since I am not running for Congress or running the Pentagon, I figure it’s ok to just be me.
-SDS
-May 2, 2014
the perks of
STUDIO GEAR CC CREAM
As a cosmetics professional, I can’t tell you how many times I hear, “I want to look natural but perfect.” What I’ve learned is that people are not always good at describing what they are looking for. Another issue is that they look at media images and are wanting to obtain the natural perfection we see, not realizing how much lighting, makeup and photo shop it takes to obtain that “I just woke up this way” image.
Studio Gear’s CC Cream is a great option for people who don’t like to wear makeup, yet want to look better. It has natural looking coverage, SPF 20 and hydrates the skin, giving it the currently sought after natural, dewy glow.
(sponsor)
Studio Gear CC Cream comes in three colors, so I wasn’t sure the Linen color would match my pale skin, because when I received my sample from the company, it initially looked a lot darker than what I would wear. Wow! As I put it on, it changed colors to blend perfectly with my coloring! I wore it for the past week, when I wasn’t looking for major coverage, but actually the coverage and evenness of skin tone was so amazing, that I added some blush, lip color and eye makeup, just to see if it could double as a full coverage, and the result is shown here!
I love the fact that the cream is moisturizing my skin while preventing line and wrinkles, restoring skins elasticity while also brightening and illuminating!
(sponsor)
Readers of the blog can get a 10% discount on the Studio Gear
website if you click here! Studio Gear has a full line of fabulous cosmetics, so check out their site for even more fabulous products!
(Powered by BrandBacker)
-SDS
April 18, 2014
YOU MAY HAVE MISSED…..