Monthly Archives: September 2012

Tips for Surviving and Conquering Gala Season

You may think of September as the harbinger of the school year, cooler weather and football season. That may all be true, except for the cooler weather in Texas, but in my life, fall is better known as gala season. Because of my day job (yep, I have one, and it’s not blogging!), I go to lots of events. And styling myself appropriately for each event is like an Olympic sport for me. Just this weekend I attended one brunch, one cocktail, and one black tie event. I thought I’d share my trade secrets, in no particular order.

My red carpet wearing idol, Charlize Theron

PLAN EACH OUTFIT WITH A PROPER RUN-THROUGH
Don’t just pull a dress out of your closet two hours before the event and slap it on with some shoes. Yes, sometimes I’m working off a last minute invite, but typically I’m doing my dress selection at least a week in advance. I’ll try the dress on, decide on shoes and accessories – jewelry, handbag, and, if needed, a coat or wrap. And don’t forget to carefully select your undergarments (see my True Story below). The advance planning allows for adequate time to fill in any missing items. Continue reading →

What Do You Know About Ovarian Cancer?

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I don’t usually discuss the personal aspects of my life with the whole world wide web, but this is just too important, so listen up. September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, and it’s time to Break the Silence. If you are a woman or have women in your life that you care about, please read and share this post.

In early 2007, my mom was diagnosed with primary peritoneal carcinoma, a cancer mostly commonly classified in the same category as ovarian cancer due to the similar prognosis and treatment. Fairly soon after her diagnosis, she had a tumor removed from her peritoneum (a membrane that forms the lining of the abdominal cavity) the size of a grapefruit and immediately began first line chemotherapy. During the chemo, she stopped working, lost a lot of weight and her hair. She was probably more sick than she let on, but she stayed positive. Six months later, she began to feel better, gained her strength back, and went back to work. Everything was great. And then in mid-2008, the cancer showed signs of its return. She went through several different second line chemotherapy drugs, but nothing seemed to help. On May 9, 2009, my mom passed away at the age of 59. Three years later, I still think about her and miss her everyday.

Me and my mom, Christmas 2007. And yes, she was one of those women who looked beautiful even without hair.

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From the Archives: fête*ish, September 2009

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In this (infrequent) series of posts, I’ll pull looks from past events and walk through my styling strategy, from hair to shoes.

Commonly looked at as the unofficial start of gala season in Austin, Ballet Austin’s Fête is one of the hottest events of the year. Historically a black tie, sit down dinner, in 2009 a committee was formed to put together a smaller-dollar ticketed cocktail after-party, cheekily dubbed fête*ish. That year, Fête and fête*ish were held in the then unfinished Austonian. And in fact, much of fête*ish took place on the ground floor of the high-rise, now better known as Second Bar + Kitchen (one of my faves!), Bar Congress, and Congress. The party played up it’s flirty namesake, complete with a burlesque singer, absinthe cockails and pole dancing. This was going to be fun.

THE DRESS: With a party called “fête*ish”, I had the perfect opportunity to wear a dress that was ultra girly and playful. What better choice than a Betsey Johnson cocktail dress? I decided on this little number to the left – strapless, hot pink satin with black sequin trim and a very full black tulle petticoat. I found it on ebay and bought if for around $150, if memory serves me right. I don’t usually buy clothes online, but I had tried on similar style Betsey Johnson dresses and was fairly confident in which size to buy. Luckily, it was a perfect fit. Continue reading →

Beautypendence Turns One: 10 Favorite Posts

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It’s hard to believe it was a year ago that Wendy and I were launching a new beauty blog. Lots has happened in the past year, and I couldn’t be more proud of Beautypendence. The most wonderful, unexpected outcome has been the new community created in my world around beauty. There’s a long list of generous beauty-based businesses and professionals I’ve worked with in this first year, but mostly, I send a big virtual hug to you, the readers!

To celebrate, I thought I’d share 10 favorite posts, in no particular order, from Beautypendence’s inaugural year. It was tough to narrow it down from the 91 total posts on the blog (what? wow!), but I think you’ll find some gems here.

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