Good Charlotte

Hey ladies,
Okay, so I've had the flu since Saturday and I'm OVER it. I'm also terrified of passing it on to La Lina. Question for my SYB Mommies...how do I prevent doing this? I bought those blue surgical masks from the drugstore and have been wearing them faithfully (Carolina's reactions have veered from indulgent amusement to blood-curdling terror). I will calmly fling myself out the window onto 7th Avenue if my tiny, flawless gem begins hocking up loogies.

Knowing I've been sequestered in my abode for a week, my forever friend Charlotte stopped by yesterday to tell me saucy tales from her single-in-the-city life (living vicariously, and not ashamed). On her way out, she began primping for some fabulous dinner party, and whipped out a deep, dark lipstain...Vincent Longo Lip & Cheek Gel Stain in Neo Aura ($22.50). It was SO vampy, so shady-lady-enters-the-bar--I died. Since she'd had her flu shot, she let me try it on, and I was shocked to find it looked just as yummy on me (shocked because she's a blue-eyed blonde). When I woke up at 4am to feed La Lina, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and it was STILL on. How delightful! It's the little things that make you feel fabulous, right?


Long story short, I'm in full support of the lip stain right now. If you can't stomach coughing up $22, you should try one of Cover Girl's new Outlast Lipstains ($7.50). I'm partial to Cinnamon Smile--it's almost as dangerous as the Vincent Longo!
xoxo,
Tia

PS...I'm serious about the "sick mommy" suggestions. Help!

Sleepy Suggestions

Hey ladies,
Check out my tips for sleepy mommies on www.lifeminute.tv!
Biggest of kisses,
Tia

We are one...Calvin Klein says so

Hi ladies,
I'm at my parents' house in DC (well, Fairfax, VA) for the festivities! Well, sort of. Sunshine and I didn't think it was appropriate to expose Lina to the blustering, below-freezing winds at the Inauguration, but we still wanted to at least be in the vicinity of the action. Aren't you just bursting with unbridled excitement for the next EIGHT years? Oh, that FAMILY! All historical importance aside (as if it could ever be put aside), I am obsessed with the Obamas photogenic-ness. And their style choices. I don't know which thrilled me more, the girls' satin-sashed, primary colored J. Crew coats, or Michelle's one-shouldered white Inauguration Ball gown. What chicery! Honestly, that family is going to set the world on fire. I just kept looking at Malia and Sassy Sasha thinking, they are the ONLY little black girls in the world who have ever experienced this. Do we think that they truly understand the significance yet? Probably not. But, oh, the day it sinks in! How proud they'll be! Okay, I'm weeping. The hormones, the hormones!


Pull it together, woman, and get to the beauty. Yesterday, in honor of our very historical Inauguration Day, Calvin Klein relaunched a special, limited edition version of the super-iconic CK One ($50) fragrance (one whiff of CK One and I'm transported back to Spring 1991--I'm modeling prom dresses in a mall fashion show, and I believe the C & C Music Factory CD is providing the soundtrack. I digress). Inspired by the spirit of unity Obama has sparked in all of us, the special edition CK One bottle is emblazoned with the words "We Are One" in a zillion different languages. Plus, its set into a base which includes a removable MP3 speaker!! Fancy! Definitely befitting the hugeness of the moment. Think of it as a sweet-smelling Inauguration Day 2008 souvenir.

Pat yourselves on the back, ladies. We did it!
Kisses,
Tia

What's your favorite "L" word?

Hi ladies,
Tell me if I'm alone in this. I'm OBSESSED with The L Word. So much so, that I've had some soul-searching moments where I've wondered, "Could I be...? Was I MEANT to be...?" And then reruns of Miami Vice come on some cable channel and Phillip Michael Thomas convinces me otherwise. No, but seriously, The L Word is one of my favorite shows. Love me some sapphic scandal. And Sunday is the premiere show of the last and final season. Waaah! Say goodbye to Jennifer Beals' soul-shattering smile-cries. No more ass-crazy Jenny! Thank goodness the clever folk at Three Custom Color Specialists have stepped in to give me a little piece of the show to take with me (if you didn't already know, 3C is that fabulous makeup company that can custom-blend any gloss, foundation, lipstick, eyeshadow, blush--you name it--under the sun). To commemorate the final season, 3C has partnered with Showtime to create a collection of The L Word Lipsticks ($20 each)! Inspired by the show's most popular characters--Alice, Bette, Kit, and Shane (swoon)--the super-sheer, fab-on-every-skintone lipsticks will be available online at www.threecustom.com and through THE L WORD shop at www.sho.com beginning on Sunday, January 18th, at 8:59 PM...right before the sixth season premiere.


"Alice" is a shimmery, champagne-rose, "Bette" is a chic red, "Kit" is a copper-raisin shimmer (my favorite), and "Shane" is a neutral nude. Farewell, sexy ladies!

xoxo,
Tia

SYB Babes, meet Jasmine and Camelia

Ladies,
Hi!! Finally, a MOMENT! Sigh. Not to bore you, but I'm totally obsessed with my new Mommyhood, despite the fact that my shiny, lustrous, pre-natal hair is shedding all over my apartment (knew it couldn't last). Alas, as codependent on Lady Lina as I am, I did manage to get out a couple times during the holiday season...most memorably at my sister Devon/Brownie's 30th birthday jammy-jam! There she is, getting her "Dirty Thirty" on in a dazzlingly retro, Klymaxx-chic black leather jacket. So sexy, right? Even sexier, though, was her fragrance. Me, Baby Sis Lauren, and a slew of Brownie's Chapel Hill BFFs all got ready at her apartment. I was getting cozy with a bottle of Proseco (woo-hoo, mama got a babysitter!) when I caught a whiff of whatever heaven-sent scent Brownie was spritzing on. A glamorous blend of jasmine and camellia, this perfume was slinkiness, personified (I had visions of Josephine Baker spraying it on her bananas before performing the Danse Sauvage). Said scent turned out to be Un Fleur de Chanel Perfume for Women by Chanel ($150)--a fragrance I gifted Brownie three Christmases ago! Crushed, I remembered that it was limited edition, and therefore no longer sold anywhere.


Of course, I managed to briefly pick up the pieces for an impromptu Sisters Williams photo shoot, where Brownie and I were upstaged by Lauren's breasts.






Anyway, since buying Un Fleur de Chanel was out of the question, I became obsessed with the blend of jasmine and camellia. If it killed me, I was going to find a similar fragrance with these heady top notes. I scanned Sephora and Bendels Beauty Bar, but nada. I grilled my girls in the beauty biz for recommendations, but I came up short. And then I happened upon an Aubrey Organics shelf at a natural food store in my 'hood (for the uninitiated, Aubrey Organics is a crunchy-in-the-best-way, all-natural beauty line). The beauty goddesses were definitely hearing me, because there before me was a bottle of Aubrey Organics White Camelia and Jasmine Shine Conditioner Spray ($7.68)!

WHAT?! YES! Listen, this leave-in moisturizing spray smells almost as good as that Chanel fanciness...and it happens to be the world's best detangler and de-frizzer. My new obsession, totally. I bring it to my Dominican salon and make my stylist DROWN my hair in it. I think it's even better than perfume because, honestly, there's something so earthy-sexy about great-smelling hair. It kind of wafts around you in this mysterious, not-as-obvious-as-perfume way. Like you just naturally smell like jasmine and camelias.

At least, that's what I'm telling people.
xoxo,
Tia

PS...Ladies, I got Lina's adorable Lucy doll at Pottery Barn Kids!

Almost there...

Ladies,
Happy New Year!! Missed you like crazy! I'd intended to do this whole "Welcome to '09" post last Friday, but every time I sit down to write, Princessa Lina announces that she has other plans for me. And since I am a slave to my fiesty girl's whims, I have no choice but to drop everything and feed her/dance around the house with her singing "Raspberry Beret"/nibble her cheeks. Besides, she's too delicious to be ignored, even for a second! Which is why I've taken MAYBE two showers so far this year.


I mean, look at her.







All of this is to say that I HAVEN'T forgotten about my girls, and I swear I'll get my first post of '09 up by the end of the week!
LYLAS,
Tia