Worthy Magazine's Beauty Issue

The latest issue of Worthy Magazine is out!!! Please be sure to check it out.

Gridiron Grill Cookoff

My amazing friend and fellow magazine editor Jenn Tormo was the only female judge for this years Gridiron Grill Cookoff.  Many thanks again Jenn for the awesome experience. 
Calvary Church had one of my favorite dishes for the day. Briskett with a Coco Cola glaze served in a mini waffle cone. It was insanely yummy.




Scallop Slider anyone? Yes!


I Wanna Be Down


I had to use the first video that showed up of this performance. This 20th anniversary performance of "I want to be down," Remix made my day. It was just inspiring to see a group of women who displayed their talent and not gimmicks. Even though I enjoy my fill of it all. I loved YOYO and MC LYTE but something happened to me when Brandy walked out and I died when Queen Latifah came out rapping what has always been my favorite verse in the remix.

Editor Faves

Hello,
Just checking in. I am getting ready to be on deadline and it is always easy around that time to get a little mad. So in an effort to stay sane, I envoking the power of my little blog. In the days to come you might find that it will be packed with random rants and images. Fun right?

If I haven't mentioned it the next issue of the magazine will be the Beauty Issue. Make sure you keep up with updates about the issue because I will even be hosting a giveaway on the magazine's site.

So here are a few things that are keeping me sane. Hope you check that you like them.



Currently obsessed with ............ Ain't it fun


For some reason this song just sounds like happiness to me. I know that lyrics paint a different picture but I love it.


Key West Ready Courtesy of Blo Blow Dry Bar

The past week was jam packed with a lot of first-time experiences for me. I can honestly say that I enjoyed it all. On the day that I had to depart for Key West for a two-night stay in two amazing hotels (Casa Marina and The Reach Resort) I had the opportunity to recieve a wash and style from Blo Blow Dry Bar. I have to say that it was an amazing experience. I loved the entire concept. 
Co-Owner Kailey aka The Coun-tress

The whole set-up of the blow dry bar allows you to get in and get out quickly, which was perfect for me considering that I also had to be on the road pretty early that morning. You pretty much skip the dreaded hair dryer experience instead you get blow dried and styled.
While I know one of the co-owners, Sandirose who I met at my fairy blog mother's (Jewel) seceret dinner party, I never had the chance to make it out to Blo Blow Dry Bar located Midtown Miami (3301 NE 1st Ave, Suite #102 Miami, Florida 33137)
 to personally experience the blow dry bar that has been making a great amount of waves in South Florida. Sandirose was the key reason Worthy Magazine got a chance to go behind the scenes of Mercedes-Benz Swim Week being that the blow dry bar did half of the shows at Swim Week. We featured the interview in the Hustle Issue . So needless to say I always wanted to check out Blo.

Signature hairstyles you will find in Blo's Hair Menu. 

My hairstylist Cassie 
 As I sifted through the signature hair menu, my stylist for my complimentary session, Cassie, suggested a few looks and we finally settled on "Pillow Talk" a curly and effortless look. I loved the entire experience and I am super appreciative to Blo Blow Dry Bar and APR Alliance for my gorgeous curls just in time for Key West. 
About Blo Blow Dry Bar Owners:  
Sandirose (aka The Mane Muchacha) holds a Master’s in Forensic Accounting with 12+ years as a bankruptcy / insolvency consultant and forensic accountant under her Prada belt. When not masterminding world domination, Sandirose is either jet setting to Europe, generating spreadsheets while hanging with her Westie Suki or in twitterverse and stirring up buzz… all while rocking flawless hair, of course. @themanemuchacha
Kailey’s (aka The Coun-tress) previous career was in fashion, working as an Account Executive with the corporate team at Theory LLC in New York. When she is not with her puppy Chloe, flipping through the latest fashion mag or making resos at the newest hotspot, Kailey can be found serving as a personal shopper at Dress for Success. Always making an appearance in her freshly pressed mod bangs, she’s pretty hard to miss. @thecountress

Hope you like the final look as much as I did. 
XOXO
Make sure you are following Worthy Magazine on Twitter and Instagram @worthy_magazine

#BloMidtown #Worthyapproved #Worthymagazine

Currently Reading



I am on of those shameful readers who enjoys reading two books at once. One of the books that I am reading on my Kindle Fire is by an interesting interview I recently had with LA- based pastor Touré Roberts of One Church International. He is described as the pastor to the stars. What I think I enjoyed the most from my interview with him was his willingness to not shy away from my questions about the current state of religion. As a spiritual person, who has been raised pentacostal found a non-demonational church home in college, which was a complicated experience for me. I find that I describe myself as a spiritual person who values the intimacy of my faith more than the community aspect. So my questions were a little tough. What really stood out to me was his response to my question about his thoughts on The Ebony Exodus Project.

" I think that it is important to understand that God is a God of science and psychology. He is every where and he is in everything. He is a God of the people and of logic. While prayer changes things, sometimes it has to be done in conjunction with other things. Doctors, psychologists and scientists were one of his spiritual gifts that he gave us. Sometimes I think people forget that." - TourĂ© Roberts 

With that said that was enough for me to become interested in his book which is joining the ranks with pastors like Joel Olsteen. Check out Purpose Awakening: Discover the Epic Idea that Motivated Your Birth  


I will be sure to let you know how I like it so far.



A Warm Welcome to Ladurée Paris

 Making my usual rounds on Instagram, I stumbled upon a macaron post that honestly made my entire day. LadurĂ©e Paris has opened up in Miami and is on Lincoln Road Mall no less. For the past year, I have been trying to find Macarons that rival the prestige and flavor of the french pastry shop and restuarant to no avail. The best substitue was Le Macaron a place that I will continue to frequent being that it is so close to my hometown of Deerfield Beach. My friend (Monteza) treated me to a box of my favorite treats, and I have to admit that they live up to the hype. I even enjoyed the gold flaked macarons, which were raspberry flavored. If you are n South Florida and you have been wondering if LadurĂ©e Paris is worth your time, I can honestly say that it is. They offer the largest variety of macarons and they are simply amazing. 
#Worthyapproved



Thank you SOOOOOOO Much

Hello,
The latest issue of Worthy Magazine came out and the response has been great these past two weeks. I am super grateful for all of the support and the amazing numbers. If you haven't checked out the new issue, take a look now. 


Top Floor Trade Show



This Saturday at 7 p.m. I will be celebrating with Top Floor Miami for their one-of-a-kind trade show. I will be serving as the host for the opening reception. Don't worry I have already warned them about how awkward I can be. However, I am pretty sure that the celebration and trunk show will be an awesome event that you won't want to miss.

Featured designers include:
Ralliford Hall
Trefle Designs
Susy Who
Chi Chi Luna

The awesome night of fashion and networking will also include music, a purple carpet and light refreshments. If you are in the area, I would love to see you on Saturday!

13499 Biscayne Blvd N Miami, Florida 33181

It's Coming




The next issue of Worthy Magazine is coming. It will be ready by February. I really hope you like it. It will be packed with wonderful Worthy women you should know. Our cover girl is Angela Simmons.

My Happy Moment.......... For Worthy Magazine




Since I am playing "catch up blogger" this was one of my highlights of 2013. I was so proud of organizing this shoot. I was super nervous but super excited. The editorial can be seen in the current issue of Worthy Magazine.

Dining Diary

Watermelon Martini at Red Steakhouse in Miami 
 I wanted to share a few pictures of my media dinners. I hope you like. I am working on my photography hat.
Jumbo Shrimp at Red Steakhouse in Miami

Stuffed jalepeno at Red Steakhouse in Miami

Lobster Nachos at Public House in Ft. Lauderdale 

Public House in Ft. Lauderdale 

Public House in Ft. Lauderdale 


Editor's Log 1: Confidence




Confidence is often an overused and underestimated term. At face value most people we meet strike us as confident or even arrogant. The reality is that most people if not all people struggle with confidence. Personally, my most difficult internal battle has to do with believing in myself and behaving accordingly.

It always sounds so much easier than it is to execute. Something that I think is ingrained in us at a young age is to be humble but personally the lines of humility and low self-esteem seem to blur leaving me with a distorted image of myself and my self-worth. That is why my magazine means so much to me. As I am working on myself, I hope to encourage others to look at themselves through kind eyes instead of critical eyes.  So here are a few things that I have learned so far that seem to be helping me. 

1. Being kind to others makes it easier to be kind to yourself. 
   Think of it as you are conditioning your mind to be in a constant state of kindness. This has been a little difficult for me only in the sense that when I am kind to others it is normally followed with dig at my own inadequacies so the goal is to be kind to other without tearing myself down. 

2. Focus your energy.
    I recently read this quote that really simplified things for me. "Don't put your energy towards fighting old habits. Put your energy towards building the new." For a long time I struggled with the idea that it took me years to learn how to be so critical of myself that it would more than likely take years to learn how to be kind to myself. NOT TRUE. It's crazy how important perception is. Don't look at it like you are fighting against the old you. Look at it like you a re building a new you. 

3. Surround yourself with kind friends
   This one is hard because we all have those friends who are great fun but have a sword-like mouth that tends to cut us when they speak. Often times these are the people we have known for years and they are super hard to shake off. But in the end, it is in your best interest to at the minimum distance yourself from them. By allowing yourself to hang out with them your very actions imply that you agree with the mean things that they say to you. It doesn't help you in any way. I am learning that I am responsible for my happiness. It is not anyone else's responsibility to nurture my sensitivity. So it may sound childish but if they are not helping my growth, or if they are constantly critical without my soliciting for their opinion, it's not in my best interest to hang out with them. 

4. Nurture yourself
   This may sound silly. But taking care of yourself and rewarding yourself actually does make it easier to like yourself. So this may be my most favorite and least favorite lesson that I am actually trying to implement this week. I am going back to exercising. I find that getting through a workout does something for my ego. But the actual work out is sooooooooo torturous. But the idea of treating myself to little things I like such as a movie (Netflix or sushi) is always fun. 

This was a long post. Hopefully it was helpful. I will be posting again soon. 
XOXO