A Diva State of Mind

Washington City Paper’s Best of D.C. Fete is a celebration honoring the Best of D.C. as voted on by City Paper readers and chosen by writers and editors. Join more than 50 of the city’s top restaurants, artists, and entertainers for an unbelievable night!

Not only will you enjoy one of the best parties in the city, you will also be doing your part to give back to the community. A portion of the ticket sales will be donated to Brainfood—a nonprofit youth development organization in Washington, D.C. Using food as a tool, Brainfood builds life skills and promotes healthy living in a fun and safe environment.

Date: Wednesday, April 9th

Time: 7:00 - 10:00pm

Location: Carnegie Library at Mount Vernon Square (801 K Street NW Washington, DC 20001)

Because this is one of the biggest parties in DC of the year, I want to make sure you don’t miss it! Use the following discount codes (highlighted in red) at checkout to save on your ticket:

BestofDCVIP $35 off VIP Tickets

BestofDCGA $15 off General Admission Tickets

Includes OPEN BAR!

VIP Tickets include one hour early admission to the event (6-7 p.m.), access to the VIP Publisher’s Party, cigar bar, and swag bag.

Click here to get your ticket today!  Check out pictures from last year’s party here.

Bobby Pen invites you to escape your busy life for an afternoon of pampering.  Guests will enjoy a brunch station, manicures & eyebrow waxing by Sassy Nails Salon & Spa, chair massages by therapist Sean White and more!

Gather your girlfriends for a fun afternoon of pampering!

Date: Sunday, April 6, 2014

Time: 12:00pm - 4:00pm

Location: Penn Social (801 E Street NW Washington, DC)

Tickets: $35 click here to purchase

Last week I mentioned I’ll be one of the guest speakers for the Love Your Life Tour DC. Hosted by Fem-Pow!er Movement CEO Kenesha Williams, this event will help you tap into your personal power through relationships, personal style and finances. You’ll also enjoy a continental breakfast and have the opportunity to network with other awesome women in attendance.

I would love for you to join me for this morning of empowerment! Purchase your ticket this week and receive $10 off your ticket price using discount code DIVAS. Click HERE to purchase your ticket.

I hope to see you and your friends on Saturday, April 19th!

Last year, I gave my first style presentation and this year I’ve been blessed with more opportunities to talk about fashion and style! I am one of the featured guest speakers for the FEM-POWER MOVEMENT The Love Your Life Tour DC!

Hosted by Kenesha Williams of Fem-Power Movement, this two hour event will feature a continental breakfast, the opportunity to network and learn how to tap into their personal power through relationships, style and finances.

I’m really excited to be apart of this event, so I thought we’d have some fun with a giveaway. One lucky winner will receive what I like to call a “prize pack.” The winner will receive the following:

• One (1) Complimentary Ticket
• One copy of the book Words from A Wanderer by Alex Elle (she’ll be discussing relationships at the event)
• An Oyin Handmade product pack
• 15% off of a styling session with me (just in time for spring)!

To enter the giveaway, complete the widget below. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
The contest ends next Friday, March 21st. Good luck!

Ticket can purchased here. Early bird tickets are $25. General admission tickets $35.

Dominique Broadway, the creator of Finances De•mys•ti•fied, kicks off her new series “Beauty on a Budget” (BoB) this month. BoB will arm everyday women with best practices, tools and resources that will allow them to properly integrate their beauty needs in a recurring budget.

The first installment of BoB is Money and Manicures, which will take place at the upscale Nival Salon & Spa. Guests will enjoy mini manicures, raffles, cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and more!

Money and Manicures will also feature money-saving financial and beauty tips from Finances De•mys•ti•fied and Nival Salon & Spa.

Date: Thursday, March 27, 2014

Time: 6 - 8pm

Location: Nival Salon & Spa (5481 Wisconsin Ave, Bethesda, Md)

Tickets: $20 early bird ticket; $25 general ticket. Purchase here.

The sun was out and the temperature was expected to be in the high 50s/low 60s, which meant it was the perfect day to check out the Fashion for a Fraction warehouse sale hosted by Washington City Paper and The Yards.

Local boutiques filled the Ideaspace warehouse located in SE DC (a block away from Nationals Stadium) to offer fashionistas their best in apparel, shoes, accessories and jewelry. I had never been to a warehouse sale before so it was interesting to see how this was set up. On each side of the space, each vendor had a table (some also had clothing racks) displaying their merchandise.  Some vendors were offering discounts while others were selling at regular price. There was also a makeshift dressing room so ladies could try on garments before making a final purchase decision.

During the first shopping session, attendees enjoyed Red Velvet cupcakes and mimosas while shopping (don’t judge, it was 5 o’clock somewhere)! I hadn’t planned on buying more than one thing, but I know I was fooling myself by making that decision before arriving.  After checking out most of the vendors, I ended up purchasing Mercy Earrings, a sweater from Carnelian Boutique and a scarf from Nepali by TDM Designs. The Nepali by TDM Designs scarves were being sold for more than 50% off the online retail price.

With music playing the background and a mimosa in my hand, I had a great time checking out Fashion For A Fraction. It was nice to get out of the house, check out a different area of town and support local businesses.

While it’s great to shop and save at mass retailers, we should support our local business too! Small boutiques are where you are most likely to find some really nice unique pieces.

Washington City Paper and The Yards are hosting Fashion for a Fraction, a warehouse boutique sale  that will feature DC’s top boutiques in one place! Attendees will shop local boutiques who will have plenty of deeply discounted items including denim, dresses, handbags, jewelry and more! The sale goes down at Ideaspace on Saturday, February 22, 2014.

If you’re in the DC area, it’s your lucky day! I am giving away VIP tickets for you and a friend to attend the warehouse sale. VIPs will enjoy champagne while shopping first between 9-11am.  Complete one or all of the options below in the Rafflecopter widget to enter the giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Can’t make the 9-11am time slot or don’t want to enter the giveaway? Click HERE to purchase a ticket to attend.

Contest ends Wed, Feb 19, 2014. Good luck!

Last Friday, I attended the grand opening event for Pinstripes, a new 4,000 square foot dining and entertainment venue in Georgetown. Pinstripes provides Italian/American cuisine, bowling and bocce and a year-round outdoor patio and fire pit.  The venue is large enough to host events and parties for up to 600 people (weddings, birthdays parties, corporate events, etc).

Upon arrival, guests were greeted at the door to a glass of champagne or a bottle of Stella. We enjoyed various food stations throughout the venue that featured shrimp, Parmesan chicken sandwiches, pastas, pizza and more. Did I mention all of this was free??

  

In the back of the restaurant, there is a gaming section where guests can play bocce or enjoy bowling with family and friends. I didn’t get a chance to go bowling during the grand opening; it was packed! However, I do want to come back and bowl on one of the 14 lanes. The price of bowling is VERY reasonable, ranging from $5-$7 per game per person, depending on the day of the week. Bocce is $5-$10 per hour.

I had  a great time checking out this new Georgetown restaurant and definitely want to visit again. I can tell Pinstripes is going to be a new “go to” destination for food, drinks and games. Visit www.pinstripes.com to learn more about the venue and click HERE to view the weekly specials.

It’s that time of year again! Mercedes Benz Fashion Week (aka New York Fashion Week) begins this Thursday, February 6, 2014. If you aren’t able to travel to NYC to view your favorite designer collections, you can experience fashion week here in DC. W Washington DC in collaboration with Bloomingdales is hosting a Fashion Week celebration!

Join W Washington DC and Bloomingdale’s for a preview of the hottest runway looks with 24/7 live streaming from Fashion Week. Get up close with your favorite designer collections and the latest trends with informal modeling, beauty stations and hair primping.

I came up with the idea in December to host a charity brunch and it finally happened this past Saturday, February 1st. Over 30 fabulous folks gathered on the second floor of Ulah Bistro to enjoy good food, great conversation and unlimited mimosas!

Upon arrival, attendees were checked in and received raffle tickets. I gave away a $50 gift certificate to The Tailored Man, a gift ceriticate to the VIP Mobile Day Spa and four OPI nail packages. At each seat, there was information about Safe Shores along with index cards. Everyone was asked to write the name of a charity they believed could benefit from Brunch For A Cause (if you know of DC area charities that would be a great beneficiary, please let me know). Ulah Bistro put together small tables, creating two long rows; what you’d expect if you were going to a large family dinner. It was cozy, the atmosphere was great and everyone who attended had great energy.  I’m sure it helped that our waitress made sure our glasses were always full!

 Since we didn’t have the entire upstairs space, it was a little noisy so unfortunately the Safe Shores Executive Director Michele Booth Cole couldn’t give a formal introduction. However, she did talk to everyone in smaller groups. I was also able to connect her to a friend that’s currently in grad school; she’ll need an internship this summer and Safe Shores does offer internship opportunities!

Through brunch attendance and generous donations, $500 was raised and donated to Safe Shores to help them continue their mission! What’s even better is that this event created exposure for Safe Shores. According to the Michele, while donations are great, gaining exposure, having people attend Coffee for Kids and gaining new volunteers is what really helps them thrive. I encourage everyone to visit www.safeshores.org and sign up to attend Coffee for Kids, a one hour in-depth introduction to Safe Shores and a tour of the facility.

Brunch on Saturday was a lot of fun! There wasn’t an official program (besides giving out raffle prizes) and I’ll probably keep it that way. We all love to brunch so I want this event to serve as a way to get together with friends like you normally would on the weekends, but expose attendees to different charities in the DC area and also give people the opportunity to network. You just never know who you’re going to meet!

I want to say THANK YOU to everyone that attended, made donations and spread the word about the first A Diva State of Mind Presents: Brunch For A Cause!  Since announcing the charity brunch, the response has been so positive and I really appreciate it. Saturday proved that we not only love sipping on mimosas but we also enjoy giving back too. Collectively we can make an impact in the community. You all have helped bring my vision to life!

I hope you’ll join me for the next brunch which will be mid-June, right when summer begins :)

In the meantime, please check out more pictures from brunch HERE. If you are a local business interested in providing raffle prizes for the next brunch, please contact me!