It’s our 3 year anniversary gang! This past year has been A LOT!!! Between you, me and the walls I didn’t wanted to throw in the towel on the blog, for a number of reasons. At the height of the pandemic it seemed silly, dare I say insensitive to post about fashion and fun when some many people were sick, suffering, and quite literally dying. So many people are still struggling just to make ends meet. However instead of throwing the baby in with the bath water I decided to pivot, because that’s what champions do they adjust.
IVN TURNS 3
Jumping for joy!! IVN turns 3!!!
I’m so glad I made the decision not to quit, not to give up on my dreams, not to give up on the community we’ve built. The IVN community is small but thoroughly engaged, something you can’t find just anywhere. It’s really all about the engagement and adding value. It will be so cool to have big brand sponsorships and an enormous following on all my social media platforms one day, but having an attentive and engaged audience is what I’m most proud of and how I measure our success. You guys allow me to experiment and grow without being pigeon-hold to one genre or niche. At it’s core this blog is definitely about fashion but you all let me share everything and I appreciate that more than words can express.
Hey gang! The Nordstrom Anniversary sale is still on and popping!!! I promised a shoe edit, well here you go!! This edit includes shoes, boots, booties, and slippers.
The Comfort Zone
And our first category for the evening is comfort. Nothing beats a good house shoe. I love me a good Ugg slipper, I love them even more when they are on sale. Ugg slippers usually retail for a $100 or more, trust me the discount this sale offers is definitely significant.
1.Ugg Cozette Slide– This slide comes in several colors, however the brighter, bolder colors are currently are only a part of the anniversary sale.
2.Ugg Sherling Slipper– This slipper also comes in several colors, however the brighter, bolder colors are currently are only a part of the anniversary sale.
Sexy Lady Sandals
These Vince Camuto sandals are giving major Bottega Veneta vibes without the Bottega price tag. The shoe comes in three different colors. Steve Madden also has Bottega-like sandal, the Kenley (not on sale) but worth the purchase.
Schutz Strappy Sandal- this sandal is great alternative to the higher-end all be it iconic Stuart Weitzman strappy sandal. I own several pair of Schutz shoes/boots and they are worth their weight in gold. The shoes are always well padded, adding extra comfort which equals extra wear time. Let’s face it after the age of 30 all heels have a shelf life of 30-60 minutes.
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!!!
Hey gang!! So, the past week has been a rollercoaster ride. Sanaa (my first born) graduated from high school last week and I’ve been running on all cylinders ever since. That day was definitely a proud momma moment, not to mention quite the fashion moment. We’re doing a whole blog post on graduation/prom later this week, stay tuned. I haven’t been able to catch my breathe. As, such, I’m tired, TIRED!! It seems like I just can’t get enough rest but such is the life of a working momma.
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.
PSA-I love sneakers!!! If you’re new around here get the memo, I’m a certified sneakerhead. Air Jordan’s have a special place in my heart for a lot of reasons. We’d be here all day if we got into them all but I’ll direct you to this blog post for the backstory. Just know I’m living my out my childhood dreams of owning countless, rare, fun, and interesting sneakers, aka kicks aka tennis shoes aka gym shoes; choose a name I love them.
This post features several pairs of sneakers I purchased via established resale companies Stadium Goods, Stock- X and KicksCrew. This is an informative post on the sneaker resale game, so do read until the end. The hottest sneakers sell out in minutes via normal channels, Nike.com, Eastbay, Footlocker, etc. Thanks to bots and other opportunists in the sneaker world most of us get left out in the cold on these releases, especially when it comes to the rare releases; i.e. the Ben & Jerry’s Chunk Dunky’s. I can’t even post a picture I’m so heart broken over not getting these sneakers 🙁
Ben & Jerry’s the iconic ice cream company collaborated with Nike to create a sneaker ya’ll, a sneaker!!. I’m still in my feelings about that release a year later. Companies like Stadium Goods, Stock-X and KicksCrew, resale high-end, hard to get, sneakers, they are angels on Earth, depending on who you ask. For some they are both the problem and solution. The exorbitant resale prices on rare releases are problematic for some, but the option to have a rare pair of kicks is a non-issue for a die hard sneakerhead. Today we’re doing a review on all three of the aforementioned.
Earlier I used the phrase “established resale” company, because there are a lot of unscrupulous people praying on desperate sneaker lovers with fake and/or non-existent products. KicksCrew has gotten a bad wrap for their lack of communication but I’m not one to fret over not getting an email that it’s being processed or that it will be shipping soon.
KicksCrew provides an order confirmation and shipping confirmation, tracking information is obviously included. Were there a few days in between both emails, yes. Was my order delivered in a timely manner and with care, yes. The company is based overseas so there is a time zone issue (Hong Kong based) which may account for the delayed response time. If you’re the anxious type don’t use KicksCrew. I had a great experience using their service to find the beauties below; yes I matched my sneakers with my nails. KicksCrew gets the IVN seal of approval.
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.
Beyoncé’s athleisure collaboration with Adidas was definitely a 2020 fashion highlight for me. If you follow me on Instagram, I made a number of shameless pleas (by pleas I mean I was begging) for one of Beyoncé’s infamous Ivy Park wardrobe’s. While I didn’t receive a wardrobe, I did get an invite to shop the drop before all the regular people, short story Beyoncé loves me. At a minimum someone at Adidas or Ivy Park took pity on me; I’ll take that. See 2020 wasn’t a complete disaster.
THE IVY PARK DROP
The hashtag on Instagram for the drop was #thisismypark. I took that quite literally and found a gorgeous garden/park to shoot the pieces I got from the drop. We shot at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. We made the two hour trip worth it, we shot three different looks, a mini-mommy and me, senior personality pics for Sanaa and pics of the Ivy Park drop. The drop more than met my expectations. The pieces are high quality, well made, and versatile. You can dress these pieces up or down. Sanaa and I both paired heels with the wide leg track pants.
If you been around for a while you know I’m a huge of Chen Burkett. I shot in her often duplicated but never replicated maxi skirt over the summer. A maxi skirt is closet staple but a statement maxi skirt is an absolute must for me; this skirt fits the bill.
CHEN BURKETT
All of Chen’s garments are impeccably well made, so you know I had to take advantage of her Black Friday sale. I purchased this beautiful blazer/dress below; say hello to the Parker. I paired this show stopper with my favorite Stuie’s, matching tights, and voila we got a lewk.
I’m not just sharing another amazing black-owned, woman-run brand, for nothing. She’s running an amazing year-end sale, the entire site is currently 50% off, enter the code YEAREND at checkout. Don’t walk, run over to the site and get yours; your welcome!!
