A Diva State of Mind

The holiday season is here, so I will return next week with new posts to start off the last month of the year! 

During this time of Thanksgiving, I want to say THANK YOU to all of you, everyone who has ever read A Diva State of Mind. Thank you for your support over the last 14 months.  The blog could not have grown without your help and support.

I’m working hard to continue to grow A Diva State of Mind so I hope you all will continue to join me for that journey. 

Have a great Thanksgiving and holiday weekend with family and friends.  For those of you traveling, I hope you have a safe trip to your final destination. For those of you taking part in Black Friday please be safe; the malls will be crowded when they open at midnight!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

As the fashion scene continues to emerge in DC, there are a number of fashion designers who are influencing the styles and trends we see around the city.  Dana Ayanna Greaves is one of the designers.

On Saturday, October 30, Greaves presented the new ARTAYA line Spring 2011 Women’s ready- to-wear collection, Bohemian Boss at Industry Gallery.  Greaves describes the Bohemian Boss as “a woman who balances whimsy and wit. She’s culturally curious and willing to take risks in her career and in her wardrobe.” Her designs have been worn by Erykah Badu and sell to an international customer base.  In the DC metro area, she is known for her experimental apparel and paper jewelry collection labeled Artistic AYA. 

ARTAYA is a Washington, D.C.‐based womenswear line. Established in 2010, one‐of‐a‐kind creations are currently housed in the 150sq ft. pop‐up shop located inside of 1425 Wisconsin Avenue in Georgetown. The Bohemian Boss collection is the first ARTAYA ready‐to‐wear collection with prices ranging from $200 to $500.

You can follow Dana on twitter @artisticaya

For many, Uggs boots are a staple for the winter months. Over the past 6 years, Whooga ugg boots has gained recognition as a higher quality alternative.  Each and every pair of Whooga boots is still constructed by hand, stitch by stitch with Australian merino fleece.

I know you’re wondering, what’s the difference? Well, the Whooga boots are made with Thermofleece; fleecy inner fibers that are thicker and denser than traditional Ugg boots, resulting in more warm air circulating your feet and a softer lining. The boots are also eco-friendly, both biodegradable and recyclable. 

This winter, Whooga will be giving away one pair of boots each month during the winter. For your chance to win, sign up to their newsletter. This giveaway is open to everyone in all countries.  If you rather not wait for your chance to win, enter 973STATEOF at checkout for a 10% discount off your purchase. (valid now until Nov 27).

This week fashion lovers flocked to the Pierre Hotel in New York City for an up-close look at the Lanvin for H&M Collection. 

The show looks like it was amazing (I’ll make it to New York for fashion shows one day!).  It was fun, flirty and eclectic.  Full with florals, animal prints and pearls, it definitely looks like high fashion!  What’s great is that H&M has brought high fashion to us all, so there isn’t any reason we can’t all look like a million bucks without actually spending that much.

Looks like I’ll have to take trips to H&M more often!  Check out pictures from the fashion show below. What are some of your favorite looks?

Artistic Director Alber Elbaz

Lanvin for H&M launches in US stores Saturday, November 2oth

Source: The Glamazons

Fashionistas! Shop It To Me is giving away one of four pairs of high-end designer shoes! The winner will be able to choose from the following:

• Chanel flats
• Christian Louboutin stilettos
• Manolo Blahniks
• Jimmy Choo pumps

If you’re a member of Shop It To Me, all you have to do is go to www.shopittome.com/refer  and enter for your chance to win.  For every friend that a subscriber gets to sign up for Shop It To Me, she’ll get an additional entry!

Shop It To Me is an effortless way to find sales on more than 700 brands. Tell Shop It To Me what’s important you to you: specific brands, categories of clothing & accessories, and your sizes - and they will work as your free personal shopper, scouring the web to find the best prices on the items you love.

Shop It To Me checks close to 200 retailers each day for sales on women’s, men’s, and children’s clothing, shoes, and accessories. Then, based on your preferences, a personalized e-mail alert (Salemails™) that features the latest markdowns, secret promotion codes, and even VIP sale events is sent to your inbox.

In order to participate in this giveaway, you must be a member. CLICK HERE to join today for your chance to win one of four pair of the fabulous heels!!

18 seconds into the game, 7-0 Eagles.  I hadn’t even reached the bar yet and the Eagles were up 28-0!! Seriously!?!

If you know me, then you know I’m a huge football fan and I love my Skins, but last night, I was ready to throw in the towel and disown them! Coming off of a bye week, you’d think the team would look well rested and ready to play, but that definitely wasn’t the case here.

This time, the Redskins were playing against a healthy Michael Vick so we knew the game was going to be different than the 17-12 win a few weeks ago. But I think we all expected to watch something exciting. After all, it is the NFC East, a very unpredictable division. That’s why it’s one of the best.  Instead, I, like so many other Redskins fans, had to sit and watch that mess! I just sat in the bar, Rhino Bar of all places, in pure shock as the Eagles continued to score….59 points. Really?!

Of course there were the optimistic fans who said we could come back and win it. But I’m a realistic fan and I know my team. If you’re down 45-14 at the half, the odds are against you. Someone even had the nerve to say ”a come back from 35-0 deserves some kind of celebration.”

Pause.

That’s the problem in the first place. If the Redskins did come back last night and win they wouldn’t have deserved a night of partying! They shouldn’t have fallen that far behind in the first place so why would we want to celebrate them playing so poorly?

The Redskins do too much celebrating and don’t spend enough time worrying about the game and their performance.

Of course that last statement is one of frustration but think about it.  There’s always a party going on in DC hosted by a Redskins player or Wizards player (which really means they’ll get paid to show up for 30mins to an hour). Why??? Both teams are playing average so the last thing you need to do is make a guest appearance anywhere. The players should be at home studying a playbook and getting some rest!

Fans in DC even joke “I better not see any players at the club tonight.” Now if your own fans make statements like that, maybe you’re out and about during the season a little too much.

We’re into the second half of the regular season. Time to get serious! Instead of worrying about showing up at Stadium; the team needs to focus on how they’re going to protect the $40M guaranteed quarterback, learn how to catch the damn ball, and make interceptions!

I’m just sayin…

Although I am frustrated by the HORRIFIC performance the team displayed last night, I’m glad Michael Vick is back!  Maybe now everyone will leave him alone and just let the man play football!

Recently listed as the #1 song on the Billboard charts, Rihanna’s “What’s My Name” video debuted on Friday.  This is one of my new favorite songs. Although the lyrics are simple and repeated over and over again, I still love it! I’m sure it helps that the beat has a little island flavor too! 

The video takes place in NYC and features Drake and Rihanna as two love birds.  The video is colorful (her outfit is anyway) and simple, but her new hair is still a distraction!  Not a fan of that mess she is rockin’ these days, but I digress…

Rihanna’s new album, LOUD,will be released tomorrow, Tuesday, November 16th.

On Wednesday, November 17th from 6-9pm, the Young Benefactor’s Group  (YBG) will host AJA: Art, Jazz & Ambrosia a contemporary art exhibition and reception fundraiser. Cre8 Space Studio Gallery (1314 9th Street NW, WDC) an up and coming community art gallery located in the historic Shaw district, will serve as a backdrop for the soiree.

The event serves as a fundraiser for the Institute for Responsible Citizenship, an organization dedicated to helping African-American males reach career success by adequate preparation through an effective internship program in D.C.

During the night guests will enjoy:

• An art exhibit by 13 local and regional contemporary artists
• Live Jazz from DWQ Jazz Band
• Passed Hors D’oevrves from Joe’s Intimate Setting
• Complimentary spirit tastings from The Knot Whiskey and Hendricks Gin
• Treats from Brownie Bar

The Institute for Responsible Citizenship prepares high-achieving young African-American men for successful careers in business, law, government, public service, education, journalism, the sciences, medicine, ministry, and the arts through a summer leadership in Washington, DC.

YBG was formed in 2010 as a group of young professionals in the D.C. metro area committed to supporting the meaningful work of The Institute for Responsible Citizenship. YBG strives to raise funds to off set the cost of one scholarship. The Institute must raise $18,000 per student annually to provide this opportunity to its participants.

Tickets are tax-deductable and available for $25 at http://artjazzandambrosia.eventbrite.com/ Donations will be accepted from those who are unable to attend.

Not only is this a fundraiser, but an event that is different than the usually happy hour events we visit frequently in DC. I encourage you all to attend the event to show your support for YBG and The Institute while enjoying the art, jazz and ambrosia. Purchase your tickets today!

I hadn’t planned to write a review on the new movie “For Colored Girls” but after a reader said they’d be interested in what I thought about the movie, I thought I’d go ahead and give my own opinion.

I headed to the movie this past weekend like so many others anxious to see the new movie produced by Tyler Perry, For Colored Girls.

I thought the movie was excellent!! Yes you read that correctly! Despite what so many movie critics have said I think that Tyler Perry did an excellent job. This is probably his best movie to date.

I never saw the original play, but I do know that transforming any body of work from Broadway to the big screen is hard because there’s always the chance that the voice of the original work will get lost. And if someone doesn’t really watch musicals or Broadway plays, it can be hard to understand and appreciate , especially when it’s been transformed into a movie.

I know many are wondering “why was this movie so great. It’s about women bashing men.” WRONG! Yes there are men in this movie who rape, abuse, etc.  But if I turn on Private Practice Thursday nights and see a doctor being raped by a patient, does that mean the show was bashing men? If I watch a movie about a woman trying to escape her husband who beats her, does that mean the movie is bashing men? NO! So why does For Colored Girls have to be seen as a movie about bashing men?

This movie follows 8 women who cross paths as they struggle with everything from abuse and teenage pregnancy to rape.  It’s about 8 women who, in the mist of all of the tragedy and disappointments, learn to love themselves and know that life will get better and they shouldn’t give up on themselves.   These women are trying to learn to live a life as black women who are scarred from life’s experiences.

I think people are so quick to criticize this movie because it was made by Tyler Perry who has created the TV shows “House of Payne” and “Meet the Browns.” He’s notorious for his Madea plays and films, so to think that he could take on such a serious movie is out of the question in many people’s minds. 

Instead of being so quick to criticize, people need to take a step back and realize this work was originally a play.  And with heavyweights like Phylicia Rashad and Loretta Devine, did we really think the movie was going to be terrible?! (I doubt they would agree to be a part of something they didn’t believe was going to be great).  With an all star black cast like this one, there is no reason this movie should not be supported, especially by the black community. We’re so quick to complain when there aren’t enough movies about us on TV, enough black actors in major roles, etc, The minute a movie like this one, that may cover “sensitive” or uncomfortable issues, comes out, everyone is so quick to shut it down. I commend Tyler Perry for taking on this movie and selecting such an amazing cast. The actors (both male and female) were phenomenal!

I will say this; if you expect to laugh and walk out feeling good, don’t go see the movie. It really does take you to some dark places but at the same time it’s real and captivating.  Check out the movie and judge it for yourself.

“I’m Doin Me” is the newest single off of Fantasia’s Back to Me album. I absolutely LOVE this song! It’s definitely a track that you’ll find yourselves playing over and over again (and her album is pretty good too) It’s a great message for women who have given too much and haven’t received the same in return. Let’s just say, it’s another women’s anthem!

Looks like Fantasia is officially back and she’s look better than ever these days too!