1. Miracle Wrap Dress (Ann Taylor)

2. Shadow Floral Sheath Dress (Ann Taylor) 

3. Ticked Boucle Colorblock Dress (St. John)

4. Milano Knit Dress in Hot Pink (St. John)

5. Akoni Dress (DVF)

6. Jeannie Dress (DVF)

1. Kelly Rowland Admits Beyonce’s Success is “Bittersweet” in New Single, “Dirty Laundry”

2. Wendy Williams Goes in on Kim-Ye

3. First Look at The Best Man Holiday Trailer

By Kailei R.

Over the past few years I have enjoyed vacationing in places that may not be your typical places — places help you get in touch with nature, have plenty of relaxation activities and also give you some of those luxurious amenities that we all love. Believe me, I’ve had my fair share of Miami, San Juan and Mexico getaways (along with everyone else) and love me some beach and sun, but I have also enjoyed my vacations in some off-the-beaten-path locales. I recently had lunch with a few of my Chicago girlfriends and found out that I am not alone! A few of my fellow 30-something Black female and graduate degree holding girls also had been vacationing in similar spots. Here are a few that came up during that conversation — happy travels!

The Hidden Pond in Kennebunkport, Maine  

How you get there:Fly into Portland, ME and drive to Kennebunkport.

Here you’ll find yourself: Enjoying the morning breakfast delivery to your cottage, doing yoga in the morning at the farm or making s’mores at the nightly bonfire.

This place is perfect for: a fabulous, luxurious and relaxing retreat. “Tranquil” and “heavenly” are two words used to describe this luxury resort.

Palmetto Bluff in Bluffton, South Carolina

How you get there: Fly into Hilton Head, Savannah or Charleston and drive to Bluffton.

Here you’ll find yourself: taking in the beautiful scenery while riding your bike or reading a book in a rocking chair on the porch of your personal cottage overlooking a beautiful river while enjoying a glass of wine.

This is the perfect place for: combining relaxation with activities (from bike riding to kayaking to golfing) all in a special resort that is as luxurious as it is laid back.

Avalanche Ranch in Redstone, Colorado 

How you get there: Fly into Denver, Aspen or Vail and drive to Redstone – the scenery is just perfect.

Here you’ll find yourself: making freshly laid eggs in the kitchen of your cabin, relaxing in one of the hot springs pools or horseback riding around town.

This is the perfect place for: unplugging from all of the technology in your life – cell phone and wifi coverage are at a minimum here. And, you may even get a sneak peek at a real life bear. We (thankfully) missed one by minutes while we were there.

Inn on the Blue Horizon in Vieques, Puerto Rico 

How you get there: Fly to San Juan, take a small plane to Vieques island.

Here you’ll find yourself: reading on one of the comfy chairs or couches, catching a sunrise on the roof of the main house or watching the horses graze right outside the window of your personal villa after you wake up in the morning.

This is the perfect place for: exploring some of the quiet and serene beaches in Vieques. Rent a car, explore the small island and you will feel like you have found something exclusive that you’ll want to keep all to yourself!

By Keesha B.

Think back to when you were in college. The good ol’ days when we lived in the moment, thought about the future with endless possibilities and had ridiculous email addresses like “cuteandsassy@xxxmail.com”. Now think back to your relationships at that time. Those sometimes fun, part time controversial, always emotional, roller coaster ride relationships that seemed to be the most important thing in your AND your friends lives.

You’d spend hours with your girls pouring over your latest relationship drama. Whether that drama was the letter you found in his door room, the girl you found out he used to date, the thoughtless valentines day gift he gave or your need to rehearse a speech you wanted to give him about “where the relationship was going.” There was no aspect too sacred, too private or too embarrassing to discuss with your girls. It was a requirement to keep your girls informed. And if you didn’t, the girlfriend tribunal was on it…sniffing out what was really going on and staging a full on intervention to get you to open up.

Fast forward to today. What happened to the girlfriend tribunal? At what age did our relationship life take a detour off the “my friends need to know everything about my life” road? Is it because we’re older now, wiser now, married now, with kids now? Does being older mean we shouldn’t get into our girlfriends relationship lives anymore? I wonder sometimes about the benefit of the girlfriend tribunal. Perhaps it helped us see things in ourselves and our relationships that we couldn’t see. Maybe it made us face things that we couldn’t face alone. Maybe it helped shape our womanhood, our self esteem. Or maybe it was just plain old fashioned nosey. Whatever it was, whatever it did for us, there’s a point in our “growing up” when it disappears and I have to wonder…should it?

1. 6 Unique Ways to Be Successful and Happy

2. TJ Holmes’ Show Don’t Sleep Gets Dropped from BET

3. Tyler Perry Debuts Two New Shows on OWN 

4. Angela Burt-Murray, Issa Rae To Co-Host ‘The View’-Inspired Talk Show ‘Exhale’

5. Lauryn Hill Heading to Jail

6. Fantasia Reveals the Secrets Behind Her 50-Pound Weight Loss 

7. Bob and Sheila Johnson’s Daughter Paige Gets Married in the Bahamas

8. Usher to Play Sugar Ray Leonard in New Film

9. Charles Ramsey, Man Who Rescues Women Abducted for a Decade Becomes Instant Internet Sensation (check out 2:15)

As we mentioned to you earlier this month, we initiated #springslimdown as we’re getting ready for my June wedding. Over the past month I’ve been doing the Paleo diet and I gotta say, it’s working! In the past month alone I’ve lost 8 lbs and I’m just one pound away from my initial goal weight. Surprisingly, it hasn’t been too hard. And I have only worked out twice since starting and once was today (not that I’m advocating not working out, but I’m just sayin’). I am officially a believer!

So here are just a few tips from my experience and from my fellow Paleo friends:

1) Learn the basics. I wrote a post a while back with the general guidelines and some links out to resources. At a high level, no dairy, refined sugar, breads/grains, legumes (e.g., soy, peas, beans), potatoes and most starches. So your diet will end up consisting primarily of meat, fish, veggies, fruits, sweet potatoes, agave, maple syrup and nuts.

2) Think of breakfast as just another meal. People get sick of eggs really quick. Luckily, I love eggs and don’t mind them. Sometimes I’ll have a smoothie with fruit, some spinach, almond butter and coconut-almond milk instead. But feel free to have chicken and spinach in the morning – break the rules!

3) Coconut oil is your friend. Cook with it, bake with it and slather this on anything you would put butter on. The health benefits of coconut oil are incredible.

4) Plan ahead. It’s easy to fall into your old habits if you don’t have a plan. Plan out what you’re going to eat a day ahead and if you’re going out to eat, check out the menu beforehand to take your time to decide before you get to the restaurant. Also, ask for a modified dish if you need to.

5) Find some fun recipes. Pinterest is amazing for this. Check out my Paleo Friendly Recipes board with some great dishes. Some of my favorites include maple roasted sweet potatoes (amazing!), Paleo biscuits (not too bad with coconut oil and organic grade B maple syrup) and baked eggs (you can add in bacon, spinach and spices too). But there are so many so-called “regular recipes” that can work on Paleo too, so check out the ingredients and get to cooking.

6) Don’t deprive yourself. Though this is essentially a “diet,” allow yourself to indulge every once in a while. This will keep you going. And, by “every once in a while,” I don’t mean every other day. For instance, I give myself one cheat day every other week. I found that having these cheat days did not mess up my weight loss one bit.

7) Keep snacks handy. Always have some raw almonds, almond butter, apples or bananas handy for those in-between meal snacks.

8) Don’t think you have to eat a ton of meat. After a week I almost came off because I thought, “I don’t like eating meat this much!” Then I realized, I didn’t have to eat meat with every meal. Adding in more fish and avocados helped keep me going.

9) Don’t forget the protein. Protein helps to curb hunger so even if you’re consuming fruits and veggies, make sure you’re adding in some avocado or almond butter to the mix so that you’re not hungry again in a few minutes.

‘House of Cards’ Spoof (‘House of Nerds’) with cameos from Valerie Jarrett, Charlie Rose, John McCain and others

POTUS spoof with Steven Spielberg

POTUS’ full speech (favorites: 3:00-6:00, 7:00-8:30, 10:00-11:45, 12:15-13:15, 14:20-15:30)

1)   Eye-Catching Necklace: We love this Mosaic Bib Necklace from Banana Republic.

2)   Fun Pumps: Check out pumps in fun patterns, colors and fabrics without going overboard. Try these Ivanka Trump purple suede pumps and pair with a monochromatic black or beige look to accentuate the pop of color.

3)   Fab Belt: Wearing a unique belt to place over your blazer, button down or dress can completely change an outfit. This DVF Jill Belt in black and white seems to be the truth!

4)   Something Extra Blazer: This is not your average Tahari blazer. This blazer has a great color, pattern, fabric, silhouette, button, belt or shoulder. This Karen Millen Cotton Tweed Jacket is a good one.

5)   Statement Earrings: Though if you work in a more conservative environment, you don’t want to go too overboard with the “statement,” some earrings that are somewhat over-sized with some visual interest can be a good way to go. We love these Dara Ettinger Gold and Geode Slice Randi earrings.

1. What Lean In Means for Women of Color

2. Kerry Washington in NY Times: “The Weight Those Heels Carry” 

3. Kris Humphries & Kim Kardashian Divorce FINALLY Finalized

4. ‘Imagine A Future: My Black Is Beautiful’ Documentary Debuts During The Tribeca Film Festival

5. Time 100: List of 100 Most Influential People of 2013

6. Maya Angelou Recovering After Hospitalization

7. People’s 2013 Most Beautiful List with Kerry, Kelly, Halle and More

8. Lauryn Hill Has Two Weeks to Pay Over $500,000 in Back Taxes

9. Must Watch: Dove Real Beauty Sketches (see below)