Fans of soul and neo-soul have something else to be thankful for this holiday season. Singer Sade is preparing to release a long-anticipated album, called Soldier of Love, in the new year. Take a look at the album cover. 
The record is set to drop on February 8th, 2010. (See more information on her new website).
In the meantime, enjoy the full length version of Sade's classic song and video, "Smooth Operator":
First Maxwell, Now Sade!
CC.Elaine
I chatted with designer CC.Elaine recently about her new line of bridal gowns. The collection is called Femme Luxe and includes sizes 12-32. In addition to being made with sumptuous fabrics and details, each gown also has a corset-style body shaper built right into the foundation. The entire collection will be available just after the new year. But take a look sneak peak at what's in store from this Chicago-based designer.
Cozy Knits from Anna Scholz
UK designers are doing fab things with cozy fabrics this season. Check out some awesome pieces from Anna Scholz
Cotton Cashmere Cardi
Pacman 50s Coat
Striped Top
Heart Sleeve Jumper
Jersey Flared Trousers
Yikes! Vampadelic Nails
From MAC's Style Black collection, comes a dark reddish-purple nail lacquer with gold flecks. Who's in? 
Pics courtesy of MAC and VampyVarnish
I Look Like a Woman, but I...
The following video by The Dead Weather is all kinds of awesome. But does this song remind anyone else of Go-Go, or have I been living in the DC uhr-rea far too long?
"I Cut Like A Buffalo"
The Dead Weather
Rebirth of Cool
Courtesy of Kari and Carlton Mackey
VISION Photography
Atlanta, Georgia
www.mytruevision.com
The Obama Dress: Yea or Nay?
It's been a couple of weeks now, but it seems some people are still harping about the dress actress Victoria Rowell (The Young and the Restless, etc.) wore to this year's Emmys. It was definitely a DIFFERENT kind of frock. But what do you think about this style? Over-the-top Obama lurve? Yea or nay?
Fall Kicks for the Tikes: See Kai Run
Just in time for Fall, See Kai Run is rolling out several new styles for babies, older kids and everyone in between. For the first two years of his life, my little one wore almost nothing but SKRs because we liked the sturdiness and the craftmanship. Here's just a sampling of what See Kai Run is offering this season in butter soft leather and suede:
To see more, visit See Kai Run online. In addition to showing off new designs, the shoe store is also having a nice sale on older styles.
Willow Earrings
Jewelry designer Stephanie Simek created these gorgeous earrings out of antique silver chain and real pussy willows. 
$125
at her shop
Fall Colors: Green Nails?
During Autumn, leaves turn from green to red and brown. But this year, expect green to stick around. The most exciting nail colors coming out for the Fall and Winter are emerald, seafoam, hunter, celery, and forest. 
Just out this month is the new Chanel "Jade", a green shimmery lacquer that beauty editors and bloggers have been purring about. Jade Nail is being sold only at Chanel Boutiques and online at Chanel.com, for $25 a pop.
Now if you're willing to go a little deeper, OPI has a rich green called mysteriously "Here Today... Aragon Tomorrow
Fragmentation & Faking the Funk
This month, The Bad Pitch Blog has really great piece called "Try Being One Person" that delves into the extremely common practice of being different people at work and at home. I highly recommend it to anyone who, like me, spent many of their best years trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Every ambitious professional has to eventually ask the what-if questions: What if I got a job that better suited my personality? What if I could find a career that complemented my home life? What if I wasn't afraid to do something different? What if I'm really qualified for a position that hasn't been created yet? What if my job is to create that position for myself?
If you don't believe anything else, believe that there's a reason why these questions come up. If you can find a way to make the leap - hopefully sooner rather than later - JUMP, baby.
Thursday Throwback: Stevie On Sesame
In one of the most famous Sesame Street clips ever (and MY absolute favorite) Stevie Wonder sings his hit "Superstition" in 1972. Seven minutes of bliss. Enjoy.
Fluevog For Fall
Can we talk about shoes? Even when mile-high stilettos are considered "hot", I just cannot fathom teetering around on them. I, for one, like a shoe of substance. Not clunky or chunky, mind you. But I do love a gorgeously supportive heel- especially one made by designers such as Joan Chen, Steve Madden, Franco Sarto, Camper, FarylRobin and my favorite John Fluevog.
Fluevogs in particular are very different kinds of shoes and if you don't like being noticed, they're not for you. Stepping out in them makes you feel like you're wearing works of art on your feet. They're a little bit egdy, vintage-y, rockabilly, and lots of other adjectives. Judge for yourself at Fluevog.com:
The Fanciful World of Steampotville
As you might imagine, we read a lot of children's books. A lot. So it's pretty difficult to show us something we haven't seen before. I think Steve Ouch's Steampotville may have come close. This book has become an internet sensation, selling hundreds of copies almost completely through word-of-mouth online. Ouch wrote, illustrated, and published SteamPotVille himself. I've read this book to my son several times since we received our copy a few weeks ago and he absolutely loves it. And what's not to like? The swirling pictures, highly-costumed pet and colorful characters are a toddler's delight. But here's a quick admission?: I'm not entirely sure what this book is about. 
One day the cow was "moo-ing" in the pasture and the cat was "meowing" indoors, but one strange dream later everything went topsy-turvy with all of the town's animals behaving out of character. Do we ever find out who did it? Or why? Or if it was all part of the dream? Will there be a sequel? I. Just. Don't. Know. But it's rip-rollicking fun as we're literally turned sideways and upside down through the pages of this glorious and glossy adventure. And that was what was most important to my son. He had a literally fantastic time in Steampotville.
So while it's true I don't really know what to make of Steve Ouch's debut book, my almost 3-year-old totally gets it. The illustrations are amazing and, let's face it, there's something brilliant about art that goes over the parent's head. I may not know precisely what I'm recommending, but I recommend it. The book will be officially released in brick-and-mortar stores in spring of 2010. But SteamPotVille
may also be ordered from Amazon.com
Naturally Chic: The Handbag
We are falling hard for this sumptuous little number from Mod Cloth.
It's called the Naturally Chic Bag and it's made from soft re-purposed leather. It also has multiple pockets for tucking away your keys, cellphone, and MP3 player. If you're a Lucky Magazine reader, you'll see this handbag featured in the August issue.
Weekend Cocktails: The Divinitini
Ahhhh. Did you think bartenders had run out of -"tini's"? If so, you would be WRONG. We haven't personally tried this week's chocolate-laden concoction (we WILL this weekend), but those who have say it's simple divine. Maybe that's why it's called the Divinitini. 
We're told it was created by the barman at the Sanderson Hotel in London's West End. The recipe we like best is below and was taken from CocktailAtlas.com:
For Each Cocktail:
4 squares of chocolate, melted
1 fl oz orange vodka
1 fl oz vodka
A dash of Grand Marnier
A dash of Creme de Cocoa
1 slice orange
Garnish with a purple pansy
Put the melted chocolate, orange vodka, pure vodka, Grand Marnier, Crème de Cocoa into a cocktail shaker. Crush the orange slice and add. Shake well and then pour into a chilled glass, decorated with a pansy on the side, and sip.
If you can't find a purple pansy, don't worry about it. ;)
A Stitch In Time
Quick! Who wore the most photographed wedding dress in history? As some of you already know, it was Jacqueline Bouvier when she married John F. Kennedy. But did you know that the the person who made that world-famous gown was African-American designer Ann Lowe? Lowe (pictured on the left) was born in Alabama in 1898. Her mother designed clothes for the wife of the Governor of Alabama. Ann followed in her footsteps by designing for other wealthy ladies in the area. But in the early 1900's she enrolled in beauty school in New York. Later, she worked on commission for upscale stores and designed for several upper-crust New Yorkers. In 1946 she designed the dress that actress Olivia de Havilland wore when she accepted her Academy Award. But she's best known for this ivory, silk, and taffeta creation:
It's the gown Miss Bouvier chose for her 1953 nuptials to the future president. Toast and Strawberries has a fantastic description of the dress and the wedding. 
Now, more than a half century later, the dress is housed in the Kennedy Library in Boston, MA. So, now you know the story. Keep an eye out for our upcoming series on today's African and African-American wedding gown designers.
Happily Ever After: The Movie
Didn't I admit breathlessly that I was hearing about more new projects from our social media friends almost faster than I could post them? I featured @lamartyler on BlackTwitterati.com back in February. Now his latest project is ready to be released and along with his wife they are set to prove that Black love lives.
The founders of the popular site BlackandMarriedWithKids.com have created a documentary called "Happily Ever After" that goes inside real black marriages to show positive images of marriage and parenting in the black community. As Lamar told us, "We didn't like the images that portrayed us so we created our own."
Topics discussed in the film include the portrayal of marriage and parenting in the black community, the Obama effect and the importance of parenting. The documentary will be released straight to DVD on August 4th 2009 but will premiere in Washington, DC "One Night Only" on Thursday, July 30th at the historic Avalon Theatre. Find more information about the premiere HERE and check out the trailer below:
Film Site: http://www.happilyeverafterthemovie.com
FB Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/happilyeverafterthemovie
Cetaphil Cleanser: I Still Don't Get It
If one more beauty editor crowns this stuff "Best -" anything, I'm gonna- I don't know - blog about it. Or something. For years now, people have been pushing this goop as the low-cost alternative to... what? Cleanliness? Everyone, from Paula Begoun to Glamour Magazine, continues to tout Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser as good option for people with average skin. Best P.R. job ever.
The ingredients are - let's see now: Water, Cetyl Alcohol, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Stearyl Alcohol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Butylparaben. None of those things are horrible. But which of them is good? The product description on Drugstore.com reads, "This unique, low lathering formula..." Can we stop the tape there? Rewind? OK, zoom in. Is someone out there getting this stuff to actually "lather"?
Look, I'm not an unreasonable person. I love that mod, the-doctor-gave-me-this packaging and I would love to sit it on my counter. I'll buy that it doesn't strip the skin of moisture (that's supposedly the big selling point). But that's only because, in my experience, it doesn't get rid of anything at all. I can conceivably see someone with ultra-sensitive-and-dry, immune-to-acne, or newborn skin skirting by with using Cetaphil - although I have a sneaky suspicion they would still need to "clarify" at some point. Heck, it might even work as a morning cleanser, as long as you use something else at night. So I'm not saying it's rubbish or has no practical use. I just don't understand the rave reviews. But, could someone please explain to me what is really so great about this stuff so I can hop aboard the bandwagon.
Sweet Beauty, Sweet Baby
We haven't done a lot of product reviews so far and that's mostly because we like to review what we're genuinely interested in. I've tried to avoid commercial baby/toddler products since Kai was born, although we've held onto a few mainstream faves, but eco-friendly, all-naturally kiddie products are always right up my alley. So when I was recently given a chance to try out a couple of Sweet Beauty Spa's "Sweet Baby" products, I jumped at it. And I'm really glad I did, for a few reasons.
Baby Cleanse
As always, I checked out the ingredients before using the two new products on my 2 year old. Not quite a baby, he has sensitive toddler skin and we generally stick to gentle bath and body products. So I loved seeing simple familiar ingredients in the "Baby Cleanse", like organic castile soap, coconut oil, organic cocoa butter, vitamin E, and Glycerin.
Pouring a little of the Baby Cleanse on a towel at bath-time, I caught the faintest scent of sweet orange. Extremely light and not at all overwhelming. As I soaped-up my little one, I noticed that the product didn't make a lot of bubbles, but did have a nice foam. (You're totally used to this if you've spent any time avoiding SLS and other detergent agents.) Now here's what I liked the most: When I lifted my son out of the bath and dried him off, his skin was nicely moisturized because - ta da!- the cleanser was mild enough that it hadn't stripped his skin of its natural defenses. That, I like. Even so, we moved on to product number 2.
Baby Massage Oil
As you might expect, the Baby Massage Oil had a very softening effect. I rubbed it into my son's limbs and found that it didn't sit on the skin, but was easily absorbed. I really enjoy being able to moisturize the kiddo at night so I don't have to do it as I'm scrambling to get out of the house the next morning. The main ingredients in the Baby Massage Oil are sweet cherry oil, babassu seed oil, cocoa butter and natural extracts. Again, there was only the faint scent of the oils natural ingredients.
This entire line is free of artificial fragrances, parabens, and nuts. So it's specially formed for babies and children, whose little systems are especially sensitive to allergens. But here's my confession: Since we've first tried the products, I have to admit I've been using them on myself. I don't know if that's recommended or not, but I think Baby Cleanse makes a really gentle, non-drying face wash for mommies! In any case, if you're the least bit interested in natural skincare or going green, Sweet Beauty is a line to check out. The Baby Cleanse in particular is now one of my top-five baby/toddler products. I recommend it far and above most things you'd find in the grocery store. (I do have a soft spot for Burt's Bees.) And that's the truth.
