Beautiful YOU!

The blogging muses hit me.  At 11:30pm.  I ought to be sleeping.
I generally don't do double posts, but I realize that I have different followers on my blog and blogfrog community than I do on facebook (so follow me on facebook too!!!!) 

I was briefly chatting with a business associate.  She shared this note/image with me.  It is powerful; I had to share.


As women (and moms) we can get so bogged down about who we are.  Perhaps guys do it and don't let on, but I know women are always comparing.  I do it too.  I didn't want my mom to take a picture of me for our family calendar with no makeup on.  Isn't that silly?!  There are all sorts of oughts, or shoulds, or whatever.  Then as a mom, there is mom guilt - you know it.  Stinks.  Then if you run a business, or work outside the home (or inside) there's that guilt too.  It's all around.  And it seems like there is no way to escape.


But I want you to know that you are LOVED.  L-O-V-E-D.  You are who you were created to be.  You were made for greatness!!  I don't care where you are spiritually (I don't really fit the mold either).  I'm not here to shove anything down your throat, or win souls.  I think that's tacky.  (Frankly, I think God thinks it's tacky too.)  I just want to share with you how much you are loved.  You are a PRINCESS!  You aren't loved because of who you know, or what you do, or where you've been, or anything else.  You're loved because you are you, and there is no one else like you.  Dr. Suess said it really well, “Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”

 

You are an awesome woman!

 

Goodbye Turquoise, Hello....Honeysuckle?

2010 is drawing to a close...2011 is right around the corner.  Each year Pantone (the leader in color, and really an industry standard for colors) releases a color for the year.  

Pantone is pleased to announce PANTONE 15-5519 Turquoise, an inviting, luminous hue, as the Color of the Year for 2010. Combining the serene qualities of blue and the invigorating aspects of green, Turquoise inspires thoughts of soothing, tropical waters and a comforting escape from the everyday troubles of the world, while at the same time restoring our sense of wellbeing.

I don't know about you, but 2010 was a bit of a roller coaster for many of my friends (I resemble this comment).  But 2010 also held optimism.  Hope for the future.
Many stylist forecasters are calling for Honeysuckle to be the color of the year.  Pantone has not released the official color of the year, I'm confident it'll be a stellar color, if it's not Honeysuckle.  

Have you ever been shopping and wondered, "I wonder if this color is going to be in season next year..." or, "Is this color a fad??" or "What do I wear this with?"  I have designed a neat-o tool for you to keep in your purse and whip out when you need it.  I have printed 1 full year of colors (Fall 2010 and Spring 2011) on a wallet sized card.  It's a great visual so you can have a heads up on what is in currently, and what will be coming.  Bear in mind that some states are more 'beige' than others (compare Colorado to New York.)  No, I'm not talking about the flora an fauna, but the colors people are safe wearing.  

Printers vary (trust me, I've learned this the hard way), so if you'd like a hard copy of this to schlep with you, send an email to rpparklane [AT] gmail [DOT] com.

Oh, Honeysuckle is the first color on the bottom.  You can see that there are several variations of Turquoise in 2011 (that means you'll be safe with the colors you purchased in 2010!).  And really the Spring 2011 colors are an extension of the Fall 2010 colors

Bows, Bows, Bows

Well.  I'm holed up at home for the next little while.  I ran full force into the coffee table (not for the fun of it, mind you), and either broke my toe, or severely sprained it.  yuck!  Just in time for Christmas parties.  I find it quite ironic that I'm in the fashion industry, and will not be appearing in normal cocktail attire.  Uggs are fashionable, right??! :D  Don't worry!  I won't wear Uggs. hehe...though it is tempting!

I've been perusing a few online jewelry stores, and blogs and have noticed a few trends.  Bows!!  I'm not the frilliest girl, so bows are a new thing to me (like layering necklaces a year or so ago).  I hope this fad sticks around for a bit because I'm going to jump on it!  A friend sent this cute Juicy Couture pic to my in box, and not so surprisingly, Park Lane has one that looks very similar, with a few extra perks.  PL's is less expensive, and you can get 2 more (or something else) for $12 each, and another for free...for the same price as the Juicy one.  

This is a pretty simple and very inexpensive update you could do to any bracelet.  
- You could tie a few pearl bracelets together with a cute bow.
- Add a black bow to a black and white bracelet.  Or red to make it pop.
I was at the Dollar Tree a few days ago, and picked up a spool of satin ribbon for $1.  Talk about fashion on the cheap!! :)  I didn't need an expensive spool, I just needed a pretty bow.  Always check the bargain bins at Michael's - they always have something cheap too.  Or Target, in their dollar section are sometimes great little spools of ribbon.  I like to stock up on these.  You never know when you might need a bow. ;)

You could add a bow to St. Tropez, or any other necklace that has several strands.  If you use satin, like this one, you'll want to make sure you do a little twisting so the shiny side it out. 

You can put a few necklaces together, and tie them with a bow too.  It's in, so you really can't go wrong. 
Wrap a long necklace around your wrist, and tie it with a bow too.

How would you wear a bow on an existing piece of jewelry?