As long as I’ve known Lourdes Laguna, she has spent one month each summer traveling to the Dominican Republic to work with AYUDA.

AYUDA is a nonprofit volunteer organization that empowers youth to serve as agents of change in diabetes communities around the world. AYUDA is dedicated to supporting local diabetes communities to develop and implement sustainable diabetes programs throughout the world, with its initial focus emerging out of Latin America.  AYUDA’s innovative peer learning model uses international volunteers as catalysts for empowering local youth living with diabetes to live happy and healthy lives.

Not only is Lourdes tasked with working with AYUDA, but her job as a volunteer is to also fundraise.   Fundraising by volunteers contributes to the majority of the costs to run AYUDA’s programs and sponsor local diabetes projects.

To support her fundraising efforts, Lourdes is hosting “A Toast To Diabetes” Happy Hour.  Donate $20, $40 or $60 and receive extended happy hour specials.

Date: May 23, 2012

Time: 5:00pm to 9:00pm

Location: Vinoteca (1940 11th Street NW Washington, DC 20001)

To purchase tickets in advance please click HERE. You can also make your donation at the door.  For more information about AYUDA and Lourdes’ trip, click HERE.

Hope to see you on May 23^rd!

Baby Bash and Bling Expo & Show is an interactive lifestyle expo celebrating expecting moms! Discover new and interesting parenting tools, health and safety products, fashion trends, nutrition tips, and baby furnishings while viewing the “Bump the Runway”™ maternity fashion show. Enjoy an afternoon of signature Pregginista Punch™, swag bags, hors d’ oeuvres, and an opportunity to visit the candy and cupcakes corner to satisfy your bump cravings.

Actress and celebrity mommy Tia Mowry will be doing a special book signing in conjunction with the launch of her first book OH, BABY!: Pregnancy Tales and Advice from One Hot Mama to the Next. Oh, Baby! is a pregnancy guide where Tia leaves no topic off limits while helping expectant moms stay empowered, pampered, and laughing out loud.

Who: Baby Bumps, Fabulous Expectant Moms, Fashionistas, and Pregginistas

When: Saturday, May 19, 2012 from 12p.m. to 4p.m.

Where: Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel, 2800 South Potomac Avenue, Arlington, VA 22202

To purchase tickets online visit http://dcticketsbabybashandbling.eventbrite.com.

This is one event you don’t want to miss.   Make sure you check out Season 2 of  ”Tia & Tamara” on the Style Network June 11 at 8pm. It’s a great positive reality show. Love it!

Last October I expressed my frustration with dating and asked the question Is There Something Wrong With Me? And while I still believe dating is becoming more difficult,

A friend and I were talking a few weeks ago about dating and I came up with the idea to give myself a dating challenge; better late than never right? Contrary to what many people think (specifically my friends), I don’t date often and the warm months aren’t usually filled with meeting new suitors. And I know I’m partially to blame for that so this year I want to be proactive and challenge myself to do things differently.

Over the past couple weeks, I’ve brainstormed challenges that I’m hoping will increase my chances of meeting new people, however I’m also seeking any suggestions you may have not listed below.

2012 Dating Challenge:

Contact Friends For Dates – I was reading ESSENCE and Modern Day Matchmaker Paul Brunson suggested to a single woman (who happens to live in the DC area) to contact three friends with strong social circles with who she shared similar values. As we get older our social circles become smaller so it’s important that we seek new ways to meet new people. To my close friends reading this, expect to hear from in the next few weeks

Diversity Events I Attend – One great thing about having a lifestyle blog is that I’m asked to attend various fashion related events in the city. Other times, many people I know or are familiar with (usually fashion bloggers) host their own fashion events. The only problem: the attendees are mostly women! While I love catching up with blogger friends over drinks at stores in Georgetown or U street, attending ONLY fashion events is not going to increase my chances of meeting new guys. So from this day forward, I challenge myself to diversify the type of events I attend. I love fashion events, but it doesn’t hurt to attend a networking event hosted by a young political group in the city either. Can we say men in suits?! If you looking to expand your dating options this year, I encourage you to do the same!

Attend Speed Dating Events – I attended my first speed dating event a few months ago and surprisingly I had a really good time. While I was a little nervous, I didn’t attend with any expectations. I wanted to try speed dating because it was outside my comfort zone. While I didn’t find a “match” at the event, it did provide a little confidence booth; talking to complete strangers about yourself for 2-5 minutes isn’t THAT bad as long as you have an open mind. Hopefully there will be more in the city this year to attend!

Online Dating – Ok so I’m not 100% sure if I’m ready to sign up for an online dating site. I listed it because some relationship professionals ask clients and dating challenge participants to create online profiles. I know we live in a social media world and the stigma that online dating is a desperate move has disappeared; but there’s something about signing up for a site that still freaks me out just a little bit. Shouldn’t meeting people be more organic (through friends, at events, running errands, etc) than by viewing a profile online? An old boss found her husband through online dating and I know a few friends that signed up online a couple months ago. I discussed online dating when talking to a friend about my challenge on Tuesday (we even researched free sites), so I’m considering it. If someone can convince me that it’s something that I should really do, I just give it a try!

Those are just a few ways I plan on challenging myself this year but I’m sure there are more ways than listed. If you have any suggestions that you believe are HELPFUL, please leave a comment below. I’ll be sure to keep you updated on if any of the challenges listed above actually worked!

If you are interested in giving yourself a dating challenge as well, leave me a comment below. We can make sure we hold each other accountable!!

It has become habit for me to post great life quotes on my Facebook page so when I came across a quote about success earlier this week, I immediately posted to my page. I thought it was a great quote that helped put the word “success” in perspective.

“There are many aspects to success; material wealth is only one component…But success also includes good health, energy and enthusiasm for life, fulfilling relationships, creative freedom, emotional and psychological stability, a sense of well-being, and peace of mind.” – Deepak Chopra

It’s not secret we live in a materialistic society, so it’s easy for us to get caught up in the idea that success in only measurable based on what we have in our physical possession. I’ll admit, I get caught up too. “I don’t make enough money, I need a new car, etc.” But at the end of the day, those things don’t matter.  Being healthy, living life to the fullest, a sense of self and living in peace are things that give us true success and happiness.

How do you define success? Do you agree with Deepak Chopra’s quote?

Ashley Silva of I Am Super Gorge, Desiree Venn Frederic of Fashion Empowering Women, and Sunni from WPGC have teamed up to host Attire To Inspire. The purpose of the event is to provide FREE professional clothing to 15-20 women from various shelters.  These amazing women will not only receive clothing, but they’ll also enjoy free hair and makeup services.

Check out this video by Sunni discussing what motivated her to create this event:

Click here to view the embedded video.

In order for this event to be successful, donations are needed!!  If you have any suits, dress pants, blouses, dresses, and other spring/summer attire that you no longer wear, please donate them.  All donations should be clean and in good condition (meaning no stains, holes, broken zippers, etc).

All donations can be dropped off at Caramel Boutique (1603 U Street NW, Washington, DC). through the end of May.  I hope you’ll consider making a donation to Attire To Inspire!

Courtesy of iam.beyonce.com

www.giantvintage.com

I found a pair of thick black framed glasses from Urban Outfitters and I LOVE THEM!  Fashion readers can be worn with anything, and are a great option for those days you don’t feel like wearing makeup (the thick frame brings attention to your eyes). As pictured above, they look great paired with a bright lip.

Stay Humble!

Brunch for Patrice's Birthday

Me and my sombrero on Cinco de Mayo!

To purchase fashion readers, check out the following retailers:

Urban Outfitters, Giant Vintage, RetroCitySunglasses, Forever 21, Hot Topic, Bon Look, and ASOS,

Styled in pieces by Costume National, Valentino, Hermes, Roland Mouret, and Michael Kors.

Source: Fashion Bomb Daily

The Pose For Change photo shoot celebrated young adults who are making an impact in the community through various efforts.  All participates had their hair and makeup done by campaign sponsor, Cole Stevens Salon and were styled by Wardrobe Stylist Julian Pierre Boney.  Participants of the photo shoot will be featured throughout the 2012 nationwide campaign and have their photo included in a coffee table book and documentary to be published early 2013.

I had a great time assisting with setting up accessories, interviewing volunteers for the documentary and observing the photo shoot process.  Check out some twitter and instagram pictures below!

Accessories used for the shoot

Participant Amanda Spann

Participant and shoe sponsor Dominque Wells of Jezabelles Shoes

Ms. America, Maryland Tiffany Parker

Hair and Makeup done by Cole Stevens Salon. Work!

Dominique Wells of Jezabelles Shoes

Participant and volunteer Shemeka Johnson

Shemeka's final look!

Me with volunteer Amanda

If you are interested in participating in a future Pose 4 Change photo shoot, FEW is planning on hosting another shoot in DC this June. There are also planning on having the photo shoot take place in various cities across the country including New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago.  To learn more about FEW, visit www.fewonline.org.  Follow on twitter at @fewonline.

Check it out!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Werk Rihanna!!  If you don’t have it, do yourself a favor and get your hands on a copy of Talk That Talk.

In response to angry fans, Tami Roman from Basketball Wives spoke to Sister 2 Sister, stating that fans should be upset with the producers of the show for the foolish behavior that is aired on television:

“I think that the opposition to call for the show to be cancelled will end the employment of several African-American women who have no creative control. Why not call out the people who make the decisions about what is aired. Call out Shed Media. Call out VH1 because I will join that battle. Why call for several people to be unemployed that really have nothing to do with the creative process?”

“I would love to see a season 5 where VH1 and Shed Media are called out to show more positive things that we’re doing and show us how we are 90 percent of the time, instead of how we are 10 percent of the time. I would love to see the brand in and of itself go out on a more positive note.”

First of all, Tami states that cancelling the show would cause them to become unemployed. I really hope ‘Basketball Wives’ isn’t the only stream of income for these women on the show; reality TV does not last forever.  ’Basketball Wives’ may be popular now, but it won’t be forever.

Let’s keep it real, while the producers have creative control over the show, they aren’t responsible for the way the women act on the show.  It doesn’t matter if they only act foolish 10 percent of the time.  Everyone is responsible for their behavior and if they were acting like REAL woman, there wouldn’t be “10 percent” of 35+ year old women fighting to air on national television.   Why does Evelyn want to beat someone down because a girl she doesn’t hang out with talked about her? Why does she care??  Why are women running across tables, literally, because someone said something they didn’t like??  GROW UP!  As much as these women hate taking the blame for their behavior, they need to own up to it. As long as they keep acting foolish, the producers will keep rolling and airing it on TV.

Let ‘Basketball Wives’ teach a lesson on how to NOT communicate. If you have a problem with someone, be an adult and TALK to them about it. Don’t get violent or become a bully, because guess what?  In the real world, you may face consequences (i.e. a law suit). These women are too grown to be acting like animals and should be ashamed of themselves.  No one is to blame for the ratchetness that is seen on ‘Basketball Wives’ except for the women who partake in the behavior.

What do you think of ‘Basketball Wives’? Are the producers to blame for the bad behavior we see EACH week? Would you watch Evelyn and Chad’s show?