Holiday Glitz and Glam

I was invited to my very first Corporate Holiday Party for my job, and I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to wear. All I knew is that I didn’t want to spend an excessive amount of money.

I remembered I purchased an ASOS jumpsuit that I’ve only worn once. I saw reality star Draya Michele wearing it and thought it was such a cute piece and for $69, it was well worth the price. I bought the jumpsuit in red because 90% of my wardrobe is black (and my sister threatened to kill me if I ordered another black jumpsuit). I tried on the jumpsuit, but something was missing. My mom suggested using a brooch to give it a little bling and make it further festive. However, as I stated above, I did not want to break the bank. I decided to try out JC Penny since there is one not too far from my house and they had SO MANY choices to choose from, AND they were also on sale! I bought my brooch for only $7. And it completed my look for the party!

Check out my previous holiday look with easy go-to holiday hair:


Stay fab!

posted by Samaantha R.

Pajama Jam Out

Last week Jeremy's class held the most adorable pajama party, complete with a visit from the big guy himself! There were games, snacks and treats, gingerbread house building and even a movie! I seriously had not had that much fun in a long time. I even received the cutest Christmas gift from my son; a plank cut to his size with the inscription: "Lean this snowman against a wall, to remind you when I was this small. Fingerprints made the mouth and eyes. This snowman is just my size! So take him out each Christmas and see I'm not as little as I used to be! Merry Christmas! 2016"

Kindergarten is amazing. Send me back!

xo,

Glenesse

Heavy is the Head...

I started Crown Heavy LC about a year and a half ago. I was working for Comcast at the time. I was a hard worker for the company. I tried to climb the corporate ladder and failed. Even with my Bachelor's degree, no matter how many ideas my non-educated white supervisor stole from me, no matter how many times I did the job of others, no matter how many initiatives I took to better the company, I was constantly overlooked at promotion time. It was around this time that I realized that working for somebody else the rest of my life was not a life I wanted to live. It was around this time that I started to open my eyes to racial employment prejudice. It was around this time that I began to really grasp the plight of black people in a corporate setting. It was around this time I started to really take control of my destiny. It was around this time that I began to think of an entity that I would love to pass down to my unborn seed one day. It was around this time that I gave life to Crown Heavy LC.


I'm not afraid to admit that I'm a novice when it comes to fashion. But I've never been told I couldn't dress. I'm 6'4", 200lbs, handsome, 29 years young and I intend to take advantage of my high metabolism. More than that, I'm an ambitious black man with a chip on my shoulder.


I intend to use Crown Heavy as a vessel to further black progress. As a black owned business, I plan to become big enough to put my black ppl into a better position to succeed. I think this past election has proven that the black dollar trumps the black vote (pun intended). I want to set an example with Crown Heavy. I hope I can encourage my melanated people to support other Black owned brands: Negash, Laced Legacy, Dashiki Pride and now Crown Heavy. I hope that we circulate the black dollar throughout the black community. It's going to take a community effort to overcome our economic trials.

Black Dollar > Black Vote

#CRWNHVY

posted by Giovanni of Crown Heavy LC

Good tidings we bring....

Saint James Day School Kindergarten Christmas Program, 2016.

Jeremy's 3-piece suit and bowtie: Dillard's | Shoes: Payless 

My Dress: Calvin Klein | Pumps: Christian Louboutin

He's back!

Crawford is here! Let's see what kind of mischief ol' Crafty Crawford will get into this year. Elf on the Shelf can be fun, so let your imagination run wild!

xo,

Glenesse

Milk and Cookies

By now, I think most of my friends know of my tradition to wear all white on my birthday. A few years ago, it was my take on the "little black dress". Originally, the idea was met with much opposition, as my birthday falls after Labor Day, but rules are meant to be broken. Since then, it's become expected. In the weeks leading up to my birthday I was in sort of a slump and did not have any intentions to even celebrate this year. With my fiancé away at training, I just wasn't in the celebrating mood, until I spoke with my best friend Jessica about it. We hung up, and 10 minutes later she called me back and told me she had booked a flight to spend my birthday weekend with me! It completely turned my mood around! She will forever be the cookies to my milk.

Here's to 28...

xo,

Glenesse

Jessica's Dress: Hot Miami Styles | Pumps: Christian Louboutin My Birthday Dress: KamiShade | Heels: Lola Shoetique

A Little Pumpkin Spice

This past week has been a great one for me. Last Wednesday I celebrated my 28th (shhhhh! lol) birthday and in lieu of that was able to spend some time with one of my most favorite people in the world! That, however, will be contained in a different blog post. On Monday, Jeremy and I ran errands, had lunch and even caught a movie. Honestly, I felt refreshed and fabulous and I wanted that to reflect on the outside and fuse it with the season we are supposed (tell that this crazy Texas weather) to be in. I hope you guys are having as awesome of a week as I am!

xo,

Glenesse ♥

Blouse: DKNYC | Jeans: Michael Kors Belt: H&M | Bangle: Michael Kors | Watch: Cardow

What to Buy: Bargain Beat

Hey loves! This blog post was requested by my beautiful friend Kisha, and I was more than happy to oblige. For you dolls that would like to experiment with makeup without completely breaking the bank, here are a few inexpensive items that can line your cosmetic bag and still give you a quality beat! 

For the most part, e.l.f cosmetics offers everything you can think of, and almost all their products are priced below $10. I stand by their brushes 100%. They also offer a range of foundation, blush ,and contour palettes. Personally, their darkest shade is not dark enough for me to wear, but it would work for some of you brown ladies.

There are often stigmas around "drugstore brands" when it comes to makeup, but most of the items are just as good (if not better) than high-end brands. K-Mart, Wal-Mart, CVS, Walgreens and even your local hair stores can offer some great products. For my deep brown ladies, I recommend Covergirl Queen, IMAN, and Black Opal. They offer deep brown shades with undertones that actually compliment our skin, instead of leaving us pasty.

For my super oily skin, I use milk of magnesia as a primer. I apply it all over my face, under my foundation, to help soak up my oil throughout the day. As crazy as it sounds, IT WORKS! For luxurious lips, I love Colourpop's line of Ultra-Matte liquid lipsticks (they are only $6 a piece!). My favorites are LAX, Guess and Limbo. For concealer, L.A. Girl Pro Concealer can be found in hair stores, as well as drugstores and online. Their orange concealer is perfect for brown girls to color correct and their other shades are great for highlighting and contouring.

I've tried to provide links to all these products, but if you still have questions please feel free to contact me! I  know how overwhelming make-up can be in the beginning, but a little trial and error and lots of practice will have you fab in no time!

xo,

Glenesse

Cold Hard Love

This weekend my love and I celebrated his birthday. Last year we were unable to spend his birthday together due to his deployment. This year we took full advantage of physically being together. It started with dinner at Osaka (a local Japanese Hibachi restaurant) and ended with floor seats to WWE Live. Somewhere in between we painted.


Our weekend was spent filled with love and laughter. We were able to take some time to just snuggle up and embrace each other and even take a few unscheduled naps. After all, isn't that what happiness is all about?!


Life is so much better with someone you love.
Happy Birthday again, love.

xo,

Glenesse

Top: Ross Tomgirl Jeans: American Eagle Pumps: Christian Louboutin

Melanin Magic

We have been in a world-wind these past few weeks. Jeremy has started football (#20, Texarkana Cowboys). I have started a new workout routine. Our beloved pet beta fish Quilbert has died. We have since gotten a new beta fish, [Quilbert] Junior. I'm balancing being a mom, working full time, football practices, games and fundraisers, as well as blogging. I will get the hang of this! And school starts next week. WE NOW HAVE A KINDERGARTENER! I can already tell this year will be a great one.

Here's to another successful and prosperous school year.

xoxo,

Glenesse

Top: EXPRESS | Shorts: TJ MAXX | Sandals: TARGET

Emerald of the Sea

Prior to our Orlando trip, Jeremy and I spent some time with my family in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Saint Croix, to be exact. It was a well needed distraction from all the things going on around us at the moment. Jeremy absolutely loved the freedom of being able to just run freely and play without regard on my family's land. He's truly an island boy at heart.


And what would an island boy be without a day at the beach?! We had so much fun splashing and wading and just soaking up the rays. We visited Hotel on the Cay (pronounced "key"), a popular tourist destination on St. Croix. Could you believe on his first official beach day Jeremy held a starfish?! I was born and raised there and it was my first time.



Our day at the beach was more than I could have ever hoped for. One of the other amazing things I got to do while at home was a tour of the world renowned Cruzan Rum distillery. It's one of the Virgin Islands' pride and joys. The tour was great. Our tour guide was knowledgeable and its comes complete with 2 cocktails and 3 shots at the conclusion of your tour.






Our time spent in the Virgin Islands was mostly spent by the water. Whether for lunch, an evening hangout with friends or a beach day, the ocean was a reoccurring theme. It was nostalgic, to say the least. A little piece of me will always be on that little rock in the Caribbean Sea..

Hope you enjoyed that little piece of my home as much as I did.
xo,

Glenesse

Florals for Florida

This past week MarShawn, Jeremy and I spent a few days in Orlando, Florida to celebrate the beautiful union of Jeremy's aunt Scherelle and her new husband Martavus. For this joyous occasion, I chose a piece from KTR Collection's latest release. We all know I absolutely love and adore her designs, and with the lace-up back, this dress was perfect for a summer wedding in Florida.

I paired the dress with a gold Michael Kors clutch and nude Steve Madden fringe heels. I've included links to where these items can be purchased below. I kept my accessories to a minimum, as to not distract from this dress. The details all spoke for themselves:

If you enjoyed this look, leave me a comment below!
Stay safe, and please continue to keep everyone affected by the tragedy in Orlando in your prayers.

xo,

Glenesse

Dress: KTR COLLECTION Shoes: STEVE MADDEN (similar here) Clutch: MICHAEL KORS

Cinco de Jerm!

This weekend we hit an unforgettable milestone in my sweet baby's life: he turned 5! This was my first time throwing him an actual party. In the end, all the hurdles, setbacks and delays were all worth it. Jeremy had a blast! So many lessons learned in these past few weeks, but at the end of the day, I wouldn't change a thing. This process all started with my wonderful friend Regina, who made me these amazing custom Batman invitations. Unfortunately, I couldn't upload a picture of them (they had personal info on them, sorry!). Please take my word for it, they were gorgeous! Early on in this process, I had decided that I wanted to make most of the things for the party, instead of just purchasing the generic party sets. First thing on the list, create a backdrop for the main table at the party. After an extensive google search (my idea of research, ha!) this was the end result:


I used 3 20"x 30" foam boards, a ruler, a pencil, an exact-o knife and construction paper. Drew the lines, taped the ruler to the board and traced along the ruler with the exact-o knife to keep the lines sharp. Then I cut the windows from the construction paper and taped them to the board. In hindsight, using spray adhesive would have been a better option. I also made a personalized frame:


To make the frame, I used the same 20" x 30" foam board as before. I left 2" from the edge and cut the middle out. Then I bought wooden letters from target for about 79¢ a piece and little containers of paint. I used a combination of paint and oil markers to decorate the letters, then attached them using a hot glue gun. The large Batman symbol is a novelty pin that was purchased from Spencer's. The embossed Batman stickers were from Hobby Lobby. My sister and I were also very hands on with the take home favors:


Each favor basket included a homemade Batman shaped rice crispy treat and lollipop, Batman chocolates, sugared marshmallows on a stick, gumballs, a Batman rubber bracelet, boomerang and paddle ball game. The treats were made and prepared by my sister and me; my sister purchased the molds and cutters from Amazon. The toys were purchased online. The 3 layered custom tags were made by Regina. Jeremy, Shawn and I came up with the sayings on the back. Regina also used her Silhouette Cameo to make the photo props:


The cake, cupcakes and cake pops were ordered from a local bakery here in town and for entertainment, there was a Justice League bounce house:


In all, it was worth it. We had a wonderful time! Here's to being 5...
xo,

Glen