Hey gang! I know the unofficial end of summer was last weekend but me and Amanda are still summering…lol Since we’re all about to be pumpkin spiced to death we didn’t want to miss the opportunity to share our annual body positivity swimsuit shoot with you all.
In our latest installment of the everyBODY matters series, we’re wearing the Matte Collection’s Kai swimsuit. I’m rocking the white Kai-Cheetah print and Amanda is in the black Kai- Snake print. Why did I choose the Matte Collection for this year’s shoot, it should be pretty clear as to why, but I’ll go ahead state the obvious anyway, they make swimwear for everyBODY!!! The Matte Collection swimsuits are super affordable, comfortable, stylish, and just the right amount of sexy. Perfect for the ladies that want to give’em a little razzle dazzle on the beach or pool side.
Hey gang, I know it’s been a minute. As some of you may or may not know, I recently lost two people extremely important to me, my grandmother (paternal) and my aunt (maternal). They passed within days of each other. Needless to say it was a lot process. Life it keeps moving right along, even when you find yourself in despair and anguish. Sometimes you have to give yourself some grace when you encounter major losses (personal or professional). I took my own advice for a change, I stepped away from the blog and social media for the entire month of June and gave myself some grace. But it’s a new month, it’s actually IVN’s anniversary month!! I’m back like I never left, stay tuned for the anniversary shoot and some more stuff. There are so many life/fashion moments to catch you guys up on!!
The Anniversary Sale of Anniversary Sales – Nordstrom Anniversary Sale
I’m sure you’re thinking, didn’t the title say, Nordstrom Anniversary Sale?! Yes it certainly does, let me get into this sale. IVN isn’t the only one celebrating an anniversary this month, Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale is on and popping!!! Nordy card holders (guilty) have early access and I’m sharing a few things I have on my wish-list. The sale opens up to the rest of the world July 28th 2021, so mark your calendars and start your wish list. I use the anniversary sale to get a head start on my Fall wardrobe. This sale is one of THEE best ways to get amazing deals on Fall coats. You’re going to see a lot of coats/jackets in this post, enjoy!!!
So what are the keys to a successful marriage? Heck if I know, lol. After ten years of marriage I’m not ashamed to say I’m still a rookie in the game of love and marriage. I can’t tell you what a successful marriage looks like for YOU. Every marriage is unique so I can only tell you what works for mines. For us making sure God is all up through this thing is key. Imperfect humans just aren’t enough, trust me on this.
It also takes an incredible amount of love, selflessness, patience, and a strong friendship. I know we make it look easy with all the pretty pictures but married life is a labor of love. Some days are better than others. The good days, those are the days that stand out, the days you remember and cherish, the days you try to duplicate like a scene out of Ground Hog’s day.
It’s Monday, the start of a new work week, the first full week of May. There so many festive events to attend this month, virtually or in-person (graduations, weddings, etc). Spring is tricky, some days are absolutely gorgeous others are soggy and chilly. Here are 5 must haves that will make the moment in almost any scenario. They also make for some pretty good gifts for the moms out there.
5 ITEMS TO TRANSFORM YOUR CLOSET
1.The WOW Factor Dress
Get the dress but choose a bold color, funky print and/or an oversized silhouette. It will take your look to a whole other level and will definitely transform your closet. My WOW factor dress is the Alia Maxi by Hanifa pictured below.
J. Bolin is also giving us some maxi magic with this plaid number, we see you LaToya Luckett.
Full disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.
Hey gang!! It’s been a while since I posted on the blog. The neglect has been for a good reason. I’ve been busy developing, in every aspect you can think of. Sharpening my MUA skills with new classes on the latest techniques and products. And finding better ways to bring you all more add-value content on the blog. While this post still lends it’s self to the old format, be on the lookout for some more informative but fun post.
And then there’s life in general which is pretty much a roller-coaster these days so I’m just trying to hang on. There is one constant in life and that’s change, there has been a surplus in my world lately; both personally and professionally. So I felt the need to step back from things to figure out what I really wanted. Good news for all of you, I still want to do this! It’s probably the only thing I really WANT to do hahaha. I love sharing all my musings on family, fashion, style, and beauty. So with that in mind and because this is the first Monday of Spring, Laila and I are bringing you all some Spring Fashion- Mommy & Me edition.
What’s life without a little click-bait?! Now that I have your attention I’m thrilled to announce IVN is officially two years old!!! That’s right we’re officially in year two of our journey to fashion icon domination…lol. The last two years have been nothing short of amazing, far from terrible. It hasn’t been all rainbows and unicorns that’s for sure. If I’m being completely honest I seriously considered abandoning the blog, especially when the pandemic hit. Earlier in the year I felt like I wasn’t growing fast enough, by all standards (standards I created in my head) I was creating meaningful and visually stunning content, right?! So why am I still in the same place, seemingly. I wasn’t where I wanted to be and that is an army of followers on IG and too many subscribers to count.
But I heard my dad’s voice in my head saying ‘Bonehead’ nothing worth it, comes easy. Don’t misunderstand me I don’t want the easy way in, I thrive on progress. If the needle doesn’t move fast enough, I’m low-key freaking out. The fact is people have access to massive amounts of content, printed and digital and I’m just getting started. While most people see the pretty pictures, the business of influencing is an ACTUAL business. There’s still so much to learn. This isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon and patience is key. I also had to realize there are so many variables that I can’t control, conversely there are so many I can.
However as soon as I came to that realization the pandemic hits!
I said to myself, whelp there goes my big influencer dream. Honestly, who cares about fashion, travel, and beauty when they just want to keep their families healthy and safe, right?! But I realized a life worth living isn’t merely surviving, it’s thriving. The world can always use a little pretty. I hit the pause button at the beginning of the pandemic but I’ve re-evaluated my WHY- if your WHY doesn’t make you cry, it’s not big enough. The little humans you see in the pictures below are my WHY. I want them to know anything’s possible if you do the work and stay focused.
And I also had to remind myself why I started this journey. I wanted to help people feel confident in their own skin through fashion. Ultimately I wanted to be a trusted resource to as many people as possible. Those may not seem like very lofty goals to some folks, but it’s my WHY. Every time someone DM’s me on Instagram, asking for advice, i.e. can I really trust that brand, how did this work out for you, it makes me so happy! There’s nothing like that “YES I NAILED IT” feeling, it’s so gratifying. It makes all the hard work worth it. And that’s happening a lot these days, like I said, worth it.
Essentially I had to remember who I was and the God I serve.
As long as I put HIM first everything else will fall into place or it won’t. Listening to a little (or a lot) of Beyoncé, the queen of women empowerment, didn’t hurt either. My favorite Bey line, “Imma keep running cause a WINNER don’t quit on themselves” -Freedom, Lemonade the album, do yourselves a favor, give it a listen. And I’m a WINNER BABE!!!
I’m not sure if you noticed all the black girl magic on my timeline but here’s a little bit more if you’ve been under a rock for the last few weeks. You’re looking at the designer Andrea Iyamah (AI) swimwear from her Butterfly Collection. Swimwear is just a small part of this stylish, chic and so on trend, ready to wear brand. However the Butterfly collection in particular is giving me LIIIIIIIIFE. To be clear this isn’t sponsored post, I purchased every piece with my own coins. I’m infatuated with her swimwear line so expect to see me in one of her ready to wear pieces soon.
ANDREA IYAMAH SWIMWEAR
Gone with the wind
Funny story, you’re looking at an active golf course, ladies and gents. We decided to shoot this look while visiting my mother and my aunt; they live on a golf course. My aunt suggested we take advantage of the picturesque fairway that’s literally her backyard. The lesson here is listen to your elders. We had to keep our heads on a swivel for stray golf balls and carts. Yes I commandeered the fairway for a photo shoot, anything for the shot right?!
***This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase via my links I will be compensated***
This post is long over due but I wanted to get this one out to you all because some of favorite brands are having huge sales. If you’ve been paying attention (of course you have) I posted most of these pictures on Instagram over a month ago but I failed to give the IVN family the deets. I know I’m terrible. Quite a few brands are in trouble financially, so it’s not a huge surprise we’re seeing steep discounts. We’re taking full advantage over here at IVN. The way I see it, if the world goes back to normal we’ll be the best dressed group around…lol If not we’ll be well dressed for the apocalypse either way I’m not seeing a downside…lol
Summer Midi Skirt Looks
Big surprise one of my favorite silhouettes is the midi-skirt, specifically the pleated midi-skirt. I love the midi-skirt because it’s flattering on just about any body type and more often than not you can dress them up or down depending on your mood.
The summer midi skirt featured below is from J. Crew . Nobody does the midi-skirt better than J. Crew. The shoes are an also J. Crew. J. Crew is one of those brands going through tough financial times, which translates to big savings for us. They’re currently running a 40% off sale on your entire purchase; as of today, I can’t guarantee what tomorrow will bring. This skirt is so much fun because it features a peekaboo stripe, one side of the pleat is pink the other side is white. This skirt can be dressed up or down. I decided on a dressier look. But it can easily be paired with sneakers and a white tee for dressed down look. The color contrast makes twirling in this skirt so much fun. One of friends suggested I wear this look to Whole Foods. While more a Giant/Trader Joe’s kinda gal, I’m strongly considering it.
We had a lot of fun with this next look.
It was a total Mommy and Me moment. We dressed these skirts up with heels and brought them back down with some platform Converse. Sanaa and I are both 5′ 3″ aka fun-sized, so a little height is always nice where we’re concerned.
Hey gang. I hope everyone is doing well. I’m at the beach, kid-less and husband-less, yassssss. I felt a tiny morsel of guilt and I do mean tiny, leaving them behind but this trip was very necessary (pun intended) if we’re going to make it through the summer. I think it’s fair to say we all need a break from each other. In fact, the next trip will be something fun for them. With most of the fun places closed it should be interesting what we come up with, especially because almost every where you would want to go, requires you wear a mask. But if you’re going to wear a mask, make it fashion!! Smooth transition right?!
Fashionable Face Mask
Let me just say I wear a verified K-95 mask whenever I’m in highly populated areas, so yes I’m referring to the grocery store, otherwise I opt for something a little more stylish. I found exactly what I was looking for in CandyCreationsBling. The mask featured is a custom CandyCreationsBling piece; Candace Chesnut on Facebook. Candace is actually a family friend. Short story, my sister Shana was on the hunt for a fashionable face mask for an up coming celebration. She reached out to a few designers and soon learned of Candace’s amazing pieces. She had a pearl mask made, similar to the photos below.
The finished product was stunning, so you know I had to have one made also. I opted for the all black crystal mask. My mask features two crystal hearts as well, cause I’m all about the love. These mask are handmade, to-order, and can be customized to your liking. The mask also includes a mesh insert that you can remove and wash as needed. Candace can embellish just about anything you can think of, not just face mask. Sooooooo, I say all that to say, get yourself one or pick up one for your fashionable friend. A million things have been canceled this year, but cute has not been cancelled.
Stay tuned for some mommy and me fun. Sanaa and I are going to give you some super cute midi skirt looks for the summer.
Hey gang! I hope everyone is hanging in there! I know this quarantine is wearing us all out. But rest assured this will all come to an end, one way or another. Take solace in knowing everything that has a beginning, has an end. During all of this I’ve tried to maintain some sense of normalcy. One of the things I’ve had to figure out is my HAIR. Natural girl hair (no chemical processes on hair, i.e. chemical relaxers or straightening agents) requires a bit of work. To be honest most days I don’t even bother but there is an occasional Zoom happy hour I try to look decent for. My newest go to look and protective style (styles that promote growth, low stress on hair shaft) is my drawstring ponytail extension from Heat Free Hair.
18″ Everyday full Drawstring ponytail
18″ Everyday full Drawstring ponytail
HEAT FREE HAIR
Heat Free Hair has been on my radar for a while. They were a featured vendor at a panel discussion organized by the black professional network at my firm. The discussion was about women of color and their hair journey in the professional setting; we dubbed it “My Hair Story”. Various women at the firm shared their “hair stories” with the audience via pre-recorded interviews. We then opened it up to the audience for a Q&A. It was a riveting, open, and refreshingly transparent conversation. Women of color have had to contend with a considerable amount of frustration and anxiety in the corporate world when it comes to the their hair.
I was so proud of my firm for supporting this event from creation to execution. It’s a very delicate subject but we were able to be authentic, vulnerable, and informative; we kinda nailed it if I do say so myself.
