Style - Justice Fergie Lifestyle Media

Late to the Party :: On Discovering C. Wonder

April 24, 2013 By Justice Fergie 1 Comment

Ok wow. This was going to be a simple ‘That’s My Style’ post about the cute tote bag that I bought last month while on vacation. But, after spending the last 10 minutes on their website, it’s turning into a full-on entrepreneurial crush.

They call themselves “a shopping destination that transports women into a world of luxury and surprises.”

I’d have to agree.

While in the Fashion Valley Mall in San Diego over Spring Break, I popped into a colorful store that looked right up my alley: clothing, accessories and home decor. Thirty minutes (and 1 very antsy husband) later, I emerged from C. Wonder with a striped tote, a gold letter chain, and a lime green cuff with my initial in gold. Not to be overlooked was the great customer service by the staff, the fly spiked shoes that the male clerk was wearing, and fabulous shopping bag it all came in. I mean, my heart was broken that I couldn’t find a way to travel back to Maryland with that bag.

I realize that I might sound like a lunatic – ranting about a store in a freakin’ mall. But it was truly delightful. Everything was bright and fun and preppy and pretty much everything could be monogrammed if it wasn’t already. As if that weren’t enough, you don’t actually buy the items on the floor, like in any other store in the mall. They take the item from you and bring you out an untouched one from the back, making you feel special and like you’re at a high-end store.These people were in my head. I asked the clerk if there were any of the stores on the East Coast and – ding, ding, ding! – it turns out that there’s one about 25 minutes away from my house.

So I made a note to write a quick post when I got back home. And then I read the brand story (like I always do) and found the creator’s video of his upbringing and his mission for the store. Love.

Apparently there is some hateration floating around about the store because the founder is Tory Burch’s ex-husband and some say he’s imitating her style for at a more affordable price point (which is maybe why I was drawn to the store in the first place, since I love me some TB). Still, I’m a fan. And I’ll be back.

It just screams Life Is the Party.

*for the record: this is SO not a sponsored post!

Filed Under: Style, success, thats my style Tagged With: Branding, C. Wonder, retail, shopping

Mother’s Day Must-Have: The Genet Scarf by ONE and fashionABLE

April 11, 2013 By Justice Fergie 1 Comment

My last Rock Your Party newsletter focused on the magic of successful collaborations. Besides JT and Jay-Z collaborating on “Suit and Tie“, there’s another recent collab that I’m in love with: The Genet Scarf – the beautiful and brilliant product created by my beloved ONE Moms (I’m a community partner), fashionABLE and ALT Summit.

Here’s the story:

Congratulations to Janette, ONE Moms, the ALT ladies, fashionABLE and, most of all, Genet, for taking a grim situation and using your talents and strength to turn it around and create something so positive and so beautiful. A very Happy Mother’s Day to all of you!

Filed Under: family, Style, thats my style

A Cake Dish Begging for a Cake

April 3, 2013 By Justice Fergie 3 Comments

During one of my FIVE trips in the past EIGHT weeks, I returned home to find my beloved cake dish cracked. Maybe it was a passive-aggressive move on the part of my kids (husband?) because I’d been traveling so much. That said, that particular dish had more than put in its fair share of work given that we received it as a wedding gift from our Crate and Barrel registry in 2003. With three rugrats running roughshod in the house, I’m actually surprised it lasted this long.

But, oh, how they gave me a great excuse to shop for a new cake stand. And I knew just the place.

I’ve been kind of obsessing over the flash sale home decor sites like Joss & Main and GILT and The Foundary and One Kings Lane and, and, and! And then I found this lovely Petal Cake Plate in Aqua from Joss & Main:

She’s sitting in my china cabinet and she’s begging for a cake. I just may have to indulge her.

Filed Under: Style Tagged With: flash sale sites, Home Decor, Joss & Main

When Your ‘Perfect Jeans’ Aren’t Anymore (and Why I’m Mad at GAP)

March 20, 2013 By Justice Fergie 7 Comments

Ok, so I’m not really. I should really be mad at myself for not being slender enough to take advantage of all the other retailers who make jeans. But I’m not.

Ever since I was gifted with a fab wardrobe for BlogHer in 2010, I’ve been hooked on their jeans. Specifically, the 1969 Always Skinny jean in the dark rinse. They fit like a dream. In fact, I’ve gone through 2 pairs of those in the past 2 years – I’m talking wearing them until the seams unravel. For a curvy girl like myself, they were a godsend because it is (still) so hard to find jeans that have enough stretch to accommodate the junk in the trunk and not gap (ha ha) at the waist.

So you’ll understand my despair when I ran to GAP 2 weeks ago, the day before flying to SXSW, to replace my latest unraveling pair and found that they changed their sizing AND the material! What actually happened is that I ran into the store and grabbed 3 different colors, in my size, paid for them and left. Luckily, I tried them on at home that night and realized that they didn’t fit at all! I had to go back to the store the next morning – on the way to the airport – to swap them out. The store clerk explained the changes and I was so bummed. I have to say, they don’t feel the same at all.

Not to mention the psychological impact of having to go up another size.

I ended up returning the Always Skinny Jean and getting the Denim Leggings (which are new and have more stretch than the new material) instead. Which made me feel lame, like I was buying the Pajama Jeans from the infomercial.

And so I’m back on the hunt for my perfect jean. It was a good run, GAP.

Filed Under: Style

That’s My Style: #SWIBA Edition

March 19, 2013 By Justice Fergie 10 Comments

I was in Atlanta this past weekend attending, and keynoting, the Stiletto Women in Business Awards hosted by the brilliant Karlena Wallace. And, wow! I’m so glad that I was invited to be a part of the event because it was so, so special on so many levels.

It was intimate. After being at a 25,000 person event last weekend, it was delightful to be at an event where you can meet, speak with and hug everyone in the room. That’s so my speed – being able to connect with people and have meaningful conversations. Like the one I had on Friday night with Alisha of Enchanted Events and Kemya of Phisco Marketing – we talked about marketing strategies, homeschooling and how to properly value and price our services…all over mystery cocktails. During that reception, I also felt a kindred spirit vibe with Laurie, the eFlirt Expert as we chatted about all things SXSW to how get startups funded (she’s, ahem, way ahead of the game than I am on that).

It was fly. Just look at the design elements above, you guys. I knew it was going to be a top-notch event because in the weeks leading up to SWIBA, Karlena’s team was on point with the speaker coordination. I took notes. All I have to say is that each speaker was gifted a pair of stilettos. YES.

Clockwise, from left to right:

1) Me, snapping a pic in the mirror before heading downstairs to the event. At the very last minute I changed from my planned flowy brightly printed dress and red blazer to a more sleek and city look {skirt: Zara; sweater: Rock & Republic for Kohl’s; necklace: Kohl’s; bracelet: Malonda Richard-Sia; shoes, nude, patent, peep-toe stilettos – not pictured: Jessica Simpson}

2) The centerpiece at my table. Yes, those are actual stilettos. And a small clutch with flowers pouring out – so chic!

3) The awards program.

4) My handpainted name badge.

5) Stiletto cookie by Amusing Treats. It tasted as good as it looked.

It was inspirational. I thrive on hearing stories from amazing women who are doing amazing things. Every single person in that room was a boss. I especially enjoyed listening to serial entrepreneur, Jen Groover; Katrina Harrell, spiritual business and life strategist; and Jennifer Nelson, a health and pop culture writer; and Camille Allen, the Reinventionista.

Not only did I receive inspirational words by way of the speakers and award recipients, but I also left with a fabulous WHO?Bag that has embroidered on this inside:

YOU ARE POWERFUL BEYOND MEASURE.

Love.

Because I nurture Blogalicious to be a platform to support women in their business and blogging endeavors – to celebrate the community – I was completely elated to see that Stiletto Woman’s mission is very similar. There are so many stories of success and service — kudos to Karlena for giving recognition to these stars.

Filed Under: Speaking Opp, Style, thats my style

#AltSummit ~ Day 3!

January 26, 2013 By Justice Fergie 4 Comments

I had the most fun today. I kicked off the day with the Personalizing Celebrations session with Martha Stewart Weddings Editorial Director, Darcy Miller. She was chockful of tips and creative ideas for party-throwing. My kinda gal. She was also a riot (and is apparently obsessed with candy – check out the adorable chocolate-bar-business-cards she gave each of us).

Next I spoke on the Building Offline Events panel with Megan, Danielle and Laura. I think we pretty much nailed it. And all of the bloggers where so great. Also? I was reminded how badly Laura and I need to hang out. Or maybe it’s better we didn’t hang out too often since we came up with an idea for a new event that we want to co-produce within seconds of sitting down at the table together. Totally dangerous.

Today also sent lots of laughter my way. Starting with Karen at lunch and the better part of the evening with my soul-friend Stacy (that’s me and her making balloon faces at the Sherwin-Williams closing keynote). The mini-parties were lovely – I spent most of my time hanging out in Crush On You party hosted by Go Mighty. Catching up with my Mighty gals Sarah and Susan and Kirsten put icing on the cake that was my day.

As was spending time with Jyl and Jill.

Also? Stefan Sagmeister‘s keynote was perfect.

Filed Under: Events, life, Speaking Opp, Style, success

#AltSummit ~ Day 2!

January 25, 2013 By Justice Fergie 4 Comments

So I woke up to an ice storm. In Utah. It wasn’t pretty folks. After spending 15 minutes chipping away rock solid sheets of ice covering my rental car, I crawled along the highways to the ridiculously gorgeous Grand America hotel and got there just in time for the Q&A portion of the first session that I wanted to check out. Boo. The session was The Reality of a Daily Video Series with Sarah Carey, Head of Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food Brand. The great news is that I got to speak with her afterwards and she was fab. This best takeaway that I got from that session came spontaneously; no one actually said it, but a little voice in my head said:

I Need to Be My Own Creative Director.

Next up was a really insightful panel on Hiring Help with Jordan, Jaime, Ruth and Brittany. Very smart ladies with so much advice to share and who remind all of us that these spectacular, inspiring blogs don’t happen by themselves – there are literally teams behind them. And asking for help is not only GREAT, it’s NECESSARY. My big takeaway from this session was to ask myself:

What Time-Consuming Tasks Am I Spending Time On Instead of Building My Site?

I’m all over it.

I sat in on Blog to Shop with Mackenzie, Beth, Piper and Janette, next because, you know, I have grand aspirations. The last session of the day for me was Work Life Balance – no need to explain why for that one. The advice shared by Michelle, Morgan, Kirsten and Christine, was advice that we already know but that we need to be reminded of regularly! My favorite was to:

Make a List of My Secret Energy Sources

Things I enjoy doing and that rejuvenate me. When I’m feeling overwhelmed or stressed out, I can refer to my list and do one of those things to improve my mood. Love that!

Other highlights of the day were listening to keynote Chris Anderson, CEO of 3D Robotics, and schmoozing with the lovely sponsors in the Green Lounge: Serena & Lily, Minted, Whimsey Box, Better Homes & Gardens, Michael Miller Fabrics, and The Honest Company (by Jessica Alba! That’s her, bottom right, above). And I was over the moon to see Jyl, Stacy, Jeannine and Stacy. My girls!

Filed Under: life, Style, success

#AltSummit ~ Day 1

January 24, 2013 By Justice Fergie 6 Comments

It’s been a day! It started with the usual morning chaos with lunch-making and school dropoffs and ended 5 hours away in gorgeous (and FREEZING COLD) Salt Lake City. The #AltSummit conference hotel sold out immediately (it’s prime ski season and Sundance Film Festival is also happening here this week) and so I’m about 20 minutes away and opted to rent a car so that I could get back and forth easily. With the exception of a few wrong turns, so far, so good! My hotel is perfect and I had a great time at the Joss & Main dinner at Sapa. I met fab ladies like: Sarah and Nancy and Erin and Mel. I only popped into the Speaker’s Reception sponsored by Mailchimp for a sec because (a) it’s 1:30am my time and (b) I admit I felt a little out of my element because I’m not a “design blogger” and didn’t recognize anyone in particular to talk to (case in point: I walked into the event with Jaime and didn’t even realize that Jaime was JAIME!! until someone else ran up to her with stars in their eyes). She was a doll about it though. I’m fully expecting to be up to the networking thing tomorrow, but for now – a peek at my day:

Also? I’m smack in the middle of a site refresh – please bear with! G’night.

Filed Under: life, Style, success

Questionable Trend: Tuxedo Loafers {aka Smoking Slippers}

December 10, 2012 By Justice Fergie Leave a Comment

Now don’t think for a minute that it didn’t take me several minutes on Google to find out the correct name for these. All I know is that I have been seeing them everywhere and wanted to get to the bottom of things.

I actually bought a pair of my own tuxedo loafers back in September when I was packing for Blogalicious Weekend – I knew that I would be wearing a custom Blogalicious tee made by Shootie Girl Designs and I needed something comfy but cute to go with it. I stumbled across these when running through Sears on a errand and grabbed them on my way to the register. They worked perfectly! I got tons of compliments on them and the bling suited me well. {‘scuze the blurry camera pic}

The thing is, I’m still not 100% sold on the trend. It seems like these loafers can definitely be hit or miss depending on the day, for me. Somedays they looks too much like Hugh Hefner’s bedroom slippers or like a part of Princess Jasmine’s costume.

But other times? They are right. On. Point.

What say you?

Filed Under: Style, thats my style

It’s #GivingTuesday!

November 27, 2012 By Justice Fergie Leave a Comment

Are you all worn out yet from the holiday shopping bonanza that was Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday? Have no fear, #GivingTuesday is here and it will rekindle your excitement for the holidays just as you were experiencing burnout (who else was up until midnight last night on Amazon.com?) This campaign is so in line with my mission here at Life IS the Party – giving is a surefire way to guarantee that both the gift-giver and the recipient are living richly. Love that!! Here’s what #GivingTuesday is all about:

#GivingTuesday™ is a campaign to create a national day of giving at the start of the annual holiday season. It celebrates and encourages charitable activities that support nonprofit organizations.

And there’s so many ways that you can get involved! The GivingTuesday.org community site is chock full of information, ideas and inspiration to assist businesses, individuals, and families give back. Take a look here. When the girls get home from school today, we’re going to bake and take banana bread for our neighborhood fire department to thank for them for their service. I’ve got the ingredients all ready to go!

If you’re excited about Giving Tuesday and are looking for gifts that give for the loved ones on your list, consider these meaningful ones:

Maiden Nation

The brilliant visionary, Willa Shalit, who I’ve come to know well over the years through her work with the Heart of Haiti Foundation, co-founded Maiden Nation on one basic principle: empowering women through ethical fashion. In their words: “Our designers are of the moment, our products are ethically sourced, and profits are reinvested into women’s entrepreneurship projects.” Their current initiative is to empower survivors of the devastating earthquake in Haiti that took place almost 3 years ago, especially those 400,000 residents who are still living in tents. The goal is to do this through the crafting and sale of The Kiss Kiss Bracelet – designed by Glamour’s Women of the Year fund initiative and designer Chan Luu and crafted by Haitian women refugees.

Your purchase of The Kiss Kiss Bracelet will help these women support their businesses and redevelop their community.

More than $6 of the purchase price of each bracelet will be donated to Sean Penn’s J/P Haitian Relief Organization .

A great gift, with an important story…Shop the Kiss Kiss Bracelet HERE.

Rescue Gifts from the IRC

This holiday season, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) – the Blogalicious Social Action Circle Launch Partner – is offering meaningful gifts that capture the true spirit of the season and have the power to save lives.

Each symbolic Rescue Gift – from a Baby Goat to the gift of Clean Water – represents a program, project or tool that the IRC uses in its critical humanitarian work around the world. Gifts will be used where and when most needed to provide help and hope to people who have been uprooted by conflict or disaster.

Gift-givers can browse Rescue Gifts online and dedicate them to loved ones, who will receive beautiful personalized print or e-cards to acknowledge the gift. There is a Rescue Gift for everyone on a shopper’s list, at a variety of price points.