"Best Thing I Never Had"

A spectacular performance by Beyoncé during the Macy's 4th of July celebration. Fully clad in a stunning gown that perfectly hid what we now know is a baby bump! And the jewels! Gasp. So appropriately colored for the occasion. As usual, she rocked the hell out of the song... So classy and always on key-- in every way.

In more important matters, the song is my life right now. Just a lil' bit of personal info about me! ;)

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August & September {Break}

It's about that time. I need a break. A break from work. From writing. From cooking. From taking pictures of food and self. Of getting dolled up for photo shoots, etc... 

This summer heat in Atlanta and D.C. has taken a serious beating on me... Ugh. So, when I found this lovely symbol of a break-- a glittery indication at that--- on Lynn's Hearted Girl's site, I jumped right on it. 

It's quite simple. Take a break in August (do note the date). But not really. From what I gathered, the idea is not to write everyday or as often as we do, rather share with you through images and only images. At least that's what I interpreted for the mission to be. And that works just fine. I'm verbose, if you've not noticed, hence a break from writing theses is so timely. 

Plus I'm going on vacation for two weeks. Mexico is calling. The beach, really. So, lovelies, while the camp was meant for August only, I'm taking it a bit further and extending this picture-only idea until I get back... It's not like I post on here as much as I'd love to, anyway. 

I'll be posting images as often as I'm inspired and perhaps I'll throw in a sentence about it. Because somehow I just can't see myself not writing. I am a writer, after all. 

For now, let's start with this random shot I took while at church a few weeks ago. I was staring down at my shoes and thought "how come I haven't worn these in 7 (or more) years?" Well, I have them in cream and black and same thing--- no wear in that long. Do I even need them?? But, the picture reminded me of how cute and timeless they are. 

And the skirt! One of my faves. Another classic. From Nicole Miller Spring '04, this perfect lace skirt (weighing about 4 lbs.) goes with everything. I have it black as well and if  you saw the top it "came" with, you'd understand why I picked both of them up. 

Some things just need to stay in the closet for eternity!

Shoes: periwinkle satin & crystal buckle slingbacks by Enzo Angiolini's from 2002!; Skirt: Nicole Miller

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GILT City Atlanta Launch & A Sweet Blogger Win!

(Aspire Magazine publisher, N. Renee Webb & me)

(Aspire Magazine publisher, N. Renee Webb & me)

Axor Urquiola from Hansgrohe USA bathtub

(Gilt City President, Nate Richardson, Evelyn Mims, Producer at NBC 11 Alive and me)

Just when I have no energy or motivation to go out and mingle, which you all know requires lots of dolling up and schmoozing, especially when it's a room chock-full of "must-knows," I get a tweet from a friend letting me know they're going to be at the Gilt City Launch of the Atlanta edition. And, I need to see this friend.

I had already been invited to the private soirée, but after having showed up a full evening in advance, fully dressed, I had little interest in going through the same exact motions. It really happened that way. I pulled up the to the strategically situated and absolutely beautiful MODA edifice, all to find out the event was the night following. 

As I walked up to the door, I thought something was off as I didn't see anyone trying to ID themselves at the door. But, an elderly man was so polite and complimented my outfit, that I decided to quickly run back to my car so no one could see what I was wearing. Oh yeah, I was going to rock the same look to the T in 24 hours!

And so I did. The pants are my latest obsession and am begging to wear them again. I snatched them up at a local thrift store for a mere $6. They were such a hit, I was offered $50 for them that night! Ha. Don't you love when that happens? But, you can see why! These have to be the hottest knickers, ever. 

The GILT City Atlanta launch party was swanky, full of energy and laced with beautiful and fashionable people. Designer Mychael Knight from Project Runway was in attendance, as he is at most of these type functions in Atlanta. Dancing With The Stars Karina Smirnoff was also there, clad in body-fitting black and white dress. But, I totally overlooked her. 

I did have a chance to parlay with Gilt City President Nate Richardson, a lovely young man vibrant with personality. We talked up my fave spots in Atlanta and D.C. and other goodness. 

2nd best to mingling with old fave friends like Evelyn Mims from NBC locally and a few writers, I enjoyed the cocktails and the artwork! I've always appreciated art and design in all mediums, but staring at a tub for 10 minutes gave me new perspective on taking baths (which I find a bit, eh, gross). I later found out the Axor Urquiola from Hansgrohe USA bathtub is part of a collection in a showroom just 20 minutes away. 

Party was swanky and delicious as evidenced by the popsicle in my hand in the 1st pic, which took place not even within 5 minutes of arriving (hence the sunnies still on --- which I hate when others do! ha! I'm caught!)

To top it all off, and making my attendance worth every bit of two drives into the city, I got word last week that I won the Gilt City Blogger Challenge, garnering me a feature on GiltCity.com, $200 to shop on Gilt.com and $100 to giveaway, so stay tuned for that! 

An uber sexy evening, well spent! 

Thrifted Ellen Tracey knickers; Thrifted bouclé blazer; Old Navy tank; Sam Edelman "Navarro" pumps; Moschino sunnies; Tory Burch cuff and bracelets; chunky glass ring; vintage choker; C.B. Herrera earrings; Kenneth Jay Lane owl necklace; boutique found purple faux snakeskin clutch

*1st 4 pics courtesy of Jay Young Photography; Love my Hipstamatic bathtub shot and mediocre shots of shower head and friends, courtesy of my iPhone.

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3 Piece Incidentals "Love Child" Soy Candle Giveaway! Just Because.

Well, not really. I'm over the top stressed out these days and yourning for anything and any moment to escape my daily obligations and stress-inducing factors.  I look for situations that reduce my stress. And, so anything that makes me smile and relax makes it's way to the top of my shopping list. And fast.

Lip gloss, hats, vintage jewelry (and my mom's of course), truffles, ice cream, Port and candles do that for me.

Oh, and shoes, no doubt. Life just isn't complete without a new pair of shoes at least once a month.

But, in the wild event I miss a month of buying shoes, I yield to the simpler, more affordable happy things.

Fortunately, I have friends in just about every niche of the luxe lifestyle industry so I get to try some pretty amazing products. Among them, my friend Jacquelyn from 3 Piece Incidentals. She makes incredibly popular soy candles, all created, designed and hand-poured by herself. She's been in all kinds of celeb swag bags, red carpet events, and supports wonderful charitable causes.

I'm trying to convince her to create a scent just for moi, but until that happens, I'll gladly burn every single. scent in her line!

They relax me, add ambiance to my abode and take me to a happy place. So, since I like sharing happy, I'm giving two of you her LOVE CHILD scented candle! With a name like that, you can imagine what it smells like...... oh I'll just tell you: it sings with notes of lavender (one of my faves) and base notes of patchouli!   

So, from 3Peice and myself, we're giving away two-8oz soy candles in the amber container! (not the one pictured)

What to do to make your space light up with lovely scents?!?! 

Easy weezy: 

1. Follow us on Twitter @BrenHerrera @3PieceOnline !

2. "Like" on Facebook (on right bar of page)!

3. Share with me how you like to de-stress! 

Leave a comment for each one you've done; so 3 comments total. And, include your email address so that I can email you!

For an extra bonus entry, tweet the giveaway with this: "Entered a "Love Child" soy candle giveaway from @BrenHerrera & @3Pieceonline" with this post's link!


Entries good through August 22nd! Winners will be selected using Random.org 


Good luck and happy weekend!

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Hotness. Pure Hotness.

This heat wave is making me a really irritable young lady. I can't take it and have set all meetings and appointments for phone calls, alleviating me of having to get dressed for this nasty weather these last two weeks. The thought of bearing 100F and horrid humidity on top of that is reason enough for me to stay in my work-at-home clothes, in my A/C with my laptop warming my thighs.

But that's just not realistic all the time, so it's wishful thinking. That just meant that when summer kicked off, I was determined to do lots of white looks. Here and here are two so far. And, I've been able to do that every so often and it's been keeping my irritation level at a minimum. Something about a crisp white looks makes me happy! Plus, If I'm going to be hot, I might as well rock something colors and materials that will help keep the airflow going.

While you might think that hat traps heat in my head, it's light enough to keep my head cool and offers some shade after the shades come off.

In keeping my with love affair with whites, I wore this a couple of months ago, right when summer spring was ending and summer made it's bright entrance. After shooting a music video for a hip-hop group in 102F, I freshened up a bit, changed my top and threw on a splash of color.

By the end of the day, I was blazing, super hot, sweaty and ready to wash my face of all the fab make-up I had done twice.

Gotta love being in entertainment. I hope you enjoy the different looks I gave the shots... There were so many elements to the look that I wanted to play around with highlighting them individually.


Banana Republic linen cargo pants; Gap tank; Via Spiga shoes; B. Makowsky bag; vintage glass bracelets and lucite cuffs; vintage Christian Dior sunglasses; C.B. Herrera necklaces; Banana Republic fedora. 


(Photography by Will Willis Photos. Makeup by Shalawn Willis for Lamik Beaty)

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