Furry Friend Friday - Bianca the Boxer!

I got the inspiration to do Furry Friend Friday from a blogger I follow Confessions of a Domestic Goddess. Every Friday she posts an animal in a local shelter that needs to be adopted.  I think this is a fantastic thing to promote, being that there are 85 or more dogs that need to be adopted in Columbus Ohio alone every day. 

So please meet..

 Bianca!

Favorite Personality Trait: Goofball

I'm a fun-loving, happy-all-the-time, glass-is-half-full kind of dog looking for someone who loves to laugh and play around. Must have a great sense of humor and a bunch of tennis balls.

Summer Sale ~ 1/2 PRICE!

All dogs 6 months and older are half-price, $67, through July11. Senior dogs $42.

•Impound Number: 100625010

•Cage Number: 1/154

•Gender: Female

•Breed: Boxer

•Age: 4 years

•Weight: 49 lbs.

•Adult Size: Large

•Adoption Fee: $67

 

How adorable is she?!

 

If you are interested in adopting Bianca or any other animal please contact:

 

Department of Animal Care & Control
1731 Alum Creek Drive – Columbus, Ohio 43207

Hours

Monday – Friday: 11am – 7pm
Saturday – Sunday: 9am – 5pm

During Business Hours: (614) 462-4361

(614) 462-4361

Recorded Information Line: (614) 462-4360

(614) 462-4360

To see more about Bianca or any of the other hundreds of animals that need a good home, please visit Franklin County Animal Shelter's website.

Kim K - Fashionista.

I love Kim Kardashian's sense of style.  She always looks stylish and classy.  I also love that she embraces her curves, something that you rarely see in Hollywood. Here are a few of my favorite Kim K looks..

Sources: Google Images, People,  Blog Spot, Kim K,

Fall 2010 Line Inspiration

As some of you may know, I've been working on buying for Design by Mandi's Fall 2010 line within the last couple of weeks.  I'm proud to say that I've finally made some decisions, and put in a small order yesterday! I'm super excited.  The buying process is both a creative and business process for me.  I take in consideration current trends, design elements, market research, and demographics.  I am by nature a very creative person, so creating a theme with visual aspects is very important and vital for me to keep organization. Below is a small example of my personal creative process.  This is my inspiration board for Fall 2010.  You will see color story samples, along with fabric and texture inspiration. I believe creating an inspiration board is necessary for me to make sure I am choosing pieces that flow and work together. (Thank you Art Institute for hammering this into my head! haha)

On the board you will see that the colors in my line will be deep greens, purples, golds, silver and an occasional punch of fuchsia. (Demonstrated by the green leaf, purple make-up blob, gold dust, silver studs, and fuchsia flower hair accessory)  I have fallen in love with studs, feathers and shimmery details for fall.  I will have a mix of very trendy items and a more classic, or vintage inspired pieces. (This is indicated by the picture frame, fashion photograph and trendy pump)

FALL 2010 by fashionistafayez featuring ASH shoes

A big thanks to all of you for your continued support!

How to Keep Your Jewelry from Tarnishing

I don't know about you, but I hate it when my sterling silver or costume jewelry starts tarnishing. Here are a few good tips I found to make your jewelry last tarnish free!

1. If at all possible always store jewelry in plastic zip lock bags. Tarnishing happens when the metal interacts with oxygen. This is said to help a LOT.

2. Store jewelry with a piece of chalk. The chalk creates a chemical reaction with the metal and therefore prevents the metal from tarnishing.

3. Spray jewelry with clear spray paint.

( I have not done this, but I am going to try it. I'm a little skeptical but all the reviews I read about doing this were positive.) This is said to work just like the idea of coating your rings with clear nail polish, only it doesn't flake away.

4. Always take jewelry off when washing hands and showering. Also be careful around hairspray.

5. Do not expose jewelry to lotions, perfumes or creams.

I'm going to experiment with these ideas, and some information I have found on what to do with your jewelry once it has already tarnished, and will blog about it afterward.

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!

Stressed? Who, Me?

This is me.

yikes

OK, so that's not really me, but that's how I've been feeling for the last couple of days.  Stressed! I'm seriously in need of a vacation.  Between trying to get the boutique up and going, and working my real job full time, plus squeezing in making dinner, taking care of the pups, and time with the boyfriend..I'm worn out!

So I decided today I'm going to blog about how I (effectively) handle my stress...So here you go.

#1. Hitting the gym.

kiddo

Getting a good cardio workout in always makes me feel SO much better....like I can tackle the world. It must be those endorphins kicking in!

#2. YOGA

yogie

I'm a beginner with Yoga, but there's something about stretching that relieves all that built up negative energy in your body. My friend Jill and I take classes sometimes at a great little studio here in Columbus.  It makes you feel great, and its good for you.

3. Blogging!

bloggie girl

I've become such a big fan of blogging! I've always been a writer, but to have people read your thoughts is uber cool sometimes :) I get in that writing zone and the stress fades away!

#4. Laughing

Laughing instantly makes me feel better when I'm stressed to the max. I usually get my source of entertainment from my boyfriend Ryan. We both love the movie "Hitch" and Ry loves doing the dance movies via Kevin James in the movie. Cracks me up every time.

#5. Icy Pops

icee

Icy Pops are one of  my favorite summertime treats.  There's something about coming home after a hot summer day, and having a nice ice pop that clears away all my stress.  Perhaps its the child in me screaming to get out :)

Wordless Wednesday, Fashion Photographer Michelle Holden

Photos

The Legendary Diane von Furstenberg

Diane

If you don't know who Diane von Furstenberg is - you should. She is one of the most influential and talented fashion designers of our time.  She began designing in 1970 and quickly became an icon in the fashion industry. Diane was known to symbolize freedom and power for women. She is best known for designing the legendary wrap dress. The wrap dress is a staple piece that should be in all of our closets. Its easy to wear, and always looks classic and chic.  The wrap dress looks good on ANY woman, regardless shape and size because it accentuates the woman's smallest part of the body - the waist. Thank you Diane!

Take a look at some of these great pieces I found by Diane..

Diane in her classic wrap dress

Diane's design in 1973

Diane's More current pieces:

Wrap Dress featured in USA Today

 

Wrap Dress 2010 

DBMB Update & Fall 2010 Accessory Trends

Designs By Mandi Boutique Update:

My business cards are here! They look better in person but here is a quick picture for you guys.  I'm REALLY happy with them.  I was going for a simple look with just the website address (thats not up yet) since you can get all of my contact info there.  I'm really glad I got the glossy finish, it really puts a great touch on the card with the black background. (You cant really see the gloss finish in the picture)
 They look great! Thanks @vistaprint!

It's buying time! I've been working on my Fall 2010 buying line now that I've enjoyed and reviewed all of my sample pieces.  Launch date is looking like August instead of July since I've had a few set backs, but things are really starting to roll now. Yay :) The hard parts over, and the fun is about to begin!

What I love about accessories is that they are inexpensive ways to make your boring every day outfits look trendy. Here is a bit of research that I've found that has to do with accessory trends for Fall 2010, in case your interested:

- Animal print accessories

- Metallic, again

- Statement Necklaces

- Snake Skin

- Studs (yay! bring on the rock and roll!)

- Layered necklaces

- Bangles with metal details

- Fringe

- Imagery.  Accessories with images such as elephants, flowers, birds, and coins will be popular.

- Large statement rings

- Colors: Dark greens and purples

Holy Cake!

Recently, the boyfriend and I have been watching the Food Network's "Challenge" show where people compete to make the best cake in a certain about of time, with a certain theme.  It's become one of our favorite shows.  Its really amazing some of the cakes they come up with. Take a look at these creative cakes..

Pillow Cake

Pink and Black Cake

(I think this one is my favorite!)

Alice in Wonderland Cake

Pretty Cake

Girlie Cake

Wedding Cake

Starry Night Cake

Tiffany Cake

(What an amazing engagement party cake!!)

Dress Cake

Baby Shower Cake

Cupcake Cake

My iPhone Madness

So, as some of you facebook pals have noticed, I have been having major issues with my iPhone 3G lately. I was super excited to download the new software which lets you make folders, do multitasking, and create your ipod playlists right from your phone, along with various other updates that all of us mac obsessers have been yearning for.  I was not, however, ready to deal with what was going to happen next....

(Enter scary music)

It took 2 hours for me to download the new software, so I left my phone over night synced to my mac.  I figured it would be ready and rearing to go in the morning.

 Wrong.

 When I woke up I found that my iphone looked..well, pretty much just like the picture below.

reboot

OK..so its rebooting. No problem. But it stayed on this screen for an hour. And then two hours. And then it would reboot, and continue to stay on this screen.

GREAT.

So I ventured over to the lovely Apple store (approx 30 minutes away from my house) and a very nice kid "fixed it." He told me all I had to do was sync it to my computer to get all of my apps and music back. OK, no problem, I can do that.

Wrong.

It was a problem. A big problem.  When I synced it the very same thing happened. This freaking white and black apple screen.  I thought I was going to pull my hair out.  I need my phone to work people! I was going through MAJOR withdrawal.

Ugh, that picture gives me goosebumps now. Anyway, so I went to the Apple store again last night.  This time I did not have an appointment so I had to sit there for an hour to get a technician.  By this time, they were closing.

You have to be freaking kidding me.

Luckily, the mac people are super cool and still got me in.  They decided my iphone was toast and gave me a new one. Sweet! Thanks guys :) Apple is defiantly up to par on their customer service!

So I went home, excited. Now I just have to sync it up and I'll be all set.

 So I synced it up before I went to bed, and slept good knowing that my iphone would be ready to go in the morning.

Wrong.  What did I wake up to??

OH MY GOD.

OK, don't panic. (Too late) This means it HAS to be my itunes. So maybe if I shut my phone completely off for a while, uninstall itunes, then reinstall it...

It was my only hope. If this didn't work I would have to wait until SATURDAY to have a phone, because the iPhone 4 came out today and the techs were not going to be there.

So I held my breath, said a little prayer, and about an hour later...

iso 4

It worked! I seriously started jumping up and down.  I scared the dogs, they started barking, but I didn't care. I was back baby!

And yes, it was as dramatic as I made it sound in this blogger post. Maybe even more so!

Oh, and PS: never go to the Apple store without an appointment!

Jessica Simpson Launches Denim Line

Jessica Simpson has ruled the retail world with her shoe, handbag and fragrance lines. So whats missing? Why, jeans of course! Jessica is adding to her $450 million dollar retail business by incorporating a ready to wear line, featuring her favorite go-to item.. denim! Price ranges will start around $49.00 for jeans, which I think is a pretty good price for a designer piece. She will also have knits, jackets, and blazers in the line.  Merchandise will be at Macy's, Belk, and Dillard's, and Jessica will be doing appearances in the department stores starting this month. You will also be able to order them off of her website, http://www.jessicasimpsoncollection.com/

Jessica Simpson

The Skinny on Celebs- The Magic of Photoshop

So everyone pretty much knows that celebs get photoshopped before appearing in a magazine. 

However, I was pretty shocked when I read my good blogger friend Lacy's post the other day about the extent they alter some celebrities appearances. Take a look at before and after pictures here, and check out Lacy's Blog too.

Faith Hill

Look at her arm, and shoulder in the before and after.  Also they took off some "weight" from her legs.

Britney Spears

Britney looks exhausted, and maybe a little drugged up in the first picture - wow!

Kelly Clarkson

They definitely took some lbs off of Ms. Clarkson.

Britney Spears

Britney live, and Britney photoshopped. She dropped like four sizes!

Kim Kardashian

This photo amazed me. I knew Kim had to have big legs with that big hiney of hers! (I love that she embraces her curves though!)

Megan Fox

This is another one that really stuck out to me.  If they have to photoshop Megan Fox then there's no hope for the rest of us!

Niki

Everyone has blotchy skin!

Madonna

Poor Madonna is looking her age in the first picture.

 

 Model

Check out how they made this model's chest bigger, and took off some "bulge" in her stomach.


Crazy isn't it? Whats even crazier is that we try to look like these unrealistic images. We would all look 10-20 pounds lighter if we could photoshop all of our photos!