Mambo Dinamico: Pro Team

Mambo Dinamico: Student Team

Annddddd one day later I got this

And in T-Minus 8 days, I will be moving to Baltimore, Maryland to start my new life.  I don’t think I can truly convey what this all means to me as I don’t want to pour my heart out.   As cheesy as it may sound, work hard and your dreams can come true.  I am excited that this is finally the beginning of my professional career.

Oh, did I mention I am going to Puerto Vallarta in 3 days?  Um Yeah. Life is GRAND.

The Designers that took part in the show

Naimah, Allison, and I.  These Girls are Family to Me!

I Adore this girl!

My Beautiful Models

One thing I cant complain about with my new job working for the State is the guaranteed holidays off.  Three day weekends like this are so foreign, I don’t even know what to do with myself.  Since we recently moved to the new townhouse, I was able to go to the storage unit and move over all my old boxes of remnants that have I haven’t seen in the past 5 years, and I keep finding some great little treasures >=]  Like this little number, I have had this fabric about at least 7-8 years, It was in the discount rack at Jo-Anns and It had to be mine.  The fabric texture reminded me of my mom’s old cheong-sam dresses which I have hoarded and have dug out of the trash all the numerous times she has thrown them out.(IS SHE CRAZY?!)  So I decided to just drape this little simple number.  I just love the print, I could stare at it forever.  I don’t want it to scream cheong-sam dress, so It is still in the works, I am trying to decided how I want to finish everything, so here are some in progress images for you:

The dress has some side pockets, but excuse my dress form, she has no butt(just don’t say anything to her cause she is kinda sensitive about that)

Amazing.  This event was put together in two days, and as you can see from the image above, It was well worth it to the people that will benefit from it, and how little effort it took to put together.  Words can’t describe the gratitude we felt towards our friends at Five Star whom let us host it, our friends(Christopher Charles, Darany Sarah Designs, SPCLGST) that help put it together, and the people that came and gave donations without thinking twice.  It truly is testimate that everyone can do just a little to help and make a world of difference.  When we dropped the check off at Red Cross,  we met this man, Alex Alexis, who is a registered nurse but also a native of Haiti.  He is soon to be deployed to the USS Comfort which is currently positioned near Haiti to provide relief.  He will be working as a French and Creole translator for at least the next month.  We wish him luck with his travels, keep an eye out on the news, and you will sure be hearing his name again. Thank You Raleigh for being AMAZING. Head over to the Jukebox Heroes to check all the pictures from the event!

Nobody can predict things like this happening like the earthquake in Haiti.  This is something we CAN do.  Please check out this event!  A word from DJ Forge:

“By now I’m sure you’ve heard, seen, and read about the destruction that Haiti has seen this week due to a 7.0 magnitude earthquake.  It’s easy to feel like it’s hard to help people that are so far away, but you can make a difference because every small amount helps.

This Friday, DJ SPCLGST and I will be throwing a benefit party for Haiti Relief at Five Star in Raleigh.  Everything we make from the door will be donated to the red cross relief effort.  The minimum donation for entry is $5 but that isn’t the maximum, please contribute as much as you’d like.

This is your chance to enjoy yourself while still contributing to the cause.  We hope Raleigh (and the triangle) will turn out for Haiti.

If you can’t make it, please find a way to donate supplies or money to an organization. The people of Haiti need all they help they can get right now.”

Fashion Spark 09 / Raleigh, NC from BECAUSEUS on Vimeo.

Ahpeele (www.ahpeele.bigcartel.com)
Andrea Schmidt
Blue Flame Piercing (www.blueflametattoo.com)
Carolina Wang (www.carolina-wang.com)
Domino (www.jdomino.com)
DRC Clothing (www.drc144k.com)
FYSH Clothing (www.fyshclothing.com)
Goods (www.forthegoods.com)
Katelyn Wells (www.katelynawells.com) with hair accessories by Susan Phelps
LLLavender (www.lllavender.com)
Marie Cordella (www.mariecordella.com)
Metallic Spiral (www.metallicspiral.com)
Raleigh Denim (www.raleighdenim.com)
Revamp (www.avcc-inc.com) with accessories by Good Girls Studio (www.goodgirlsstudio.com)
Tyger Alexis (www.myspace.com/tygeralexis)

I met Johanna at Bazaar Spark last year when I was perusing all the fellow artists that had been involved in Spark Con.  For those that haven’t been, if you are interested in seeing what local artists are doing and getting a chance to talk to them, check it out every fall at Sparkcon!  I remember as I was walking, I realized that I am a ABSOLUTE TERRIBLE judge of accessorizing my pieces(and my excuse is every time is ‘OH It’s ALL ABOUT THE GARMENT, WHO NEEDS JEWELRY’) and I need to find somebody that can direct me towards something.  Now when I buy jewelry, I don’t even really consider it jewelry buying.  More like Art shopping.  I end up going and getting the most elaborate looking pieces that I have no intention of ever wearing, and I’d rather put it on the wall or put it in a glass case cause it just looks so pretty. I Adore Johanna’s work.  Everything is a work of art, and if you check out her Etsy Store, she even has romantic stories attached to each piece(I dream of being a princess/faerie everyday, I need that constant encouragement you know).  She describes her studio as creating “Eco-Conscious Statement Jewelry” where she scourers for vintage jewelry pieces and accessorieses to remodel into a new piece.  I think it’s brilliant and Johanna’s exquisite eye for attention and detail really comes through in each piece.  Please check out her Etsy site and her Blog, and if you want more background on her, check out this spotlight she got on Etsy!  Hope to work with her soon, It would really be a honor.

This is my favorite piece. I LOVE IT.

Adri is sexy ^_~  Adriana used to be on Fusion with me back in college(eew, the way I just said that made me feel old).  I always enjoy doing pieces more for show, costumes, dance etc.  I feel like you just get to work with a wider range of mediums.  I linked up with Mambo Dinamico through Adriana last year and was thrilled with working with Betto and the crew.  What can I say, I will always have a soft spot for my latin side(nope, don’t have a single drop of latin blood in me, but I can dream I’m back in Buenos Aires anyday).  I enjoy working with their group because they give me a lot of creative freedom.  The first dance I had to design for was for what Betto called “The Break Up” Dance(a.k.a the night after a one night stand, oh me oh my).  Here are some in-progress shots I recently found on my computer.  Thanks Betto for giving a chance to work with them!  I can’t wait to work on more.  For those interesting in Salsa/Mambo Classes in the Raleigh/Durham Area please go check out Mambo Dinamico’s site!

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Those were real swarovski crystals, and damn do they shine.  No camera can possibly do it justice.

They Looked Fabulous on stage!

I am such a dang foodie.  My TV watching has pretty much consisted of DVR’s, reruns of house, and the Food Network Channel.  I don’t really know how it all started, but Me and Jordan have been consumed by the goal of finding all the best food joints in town(and becoming ‘Mayors‘ of all of em).  What kills me is when great places like this come around, but don’t last long because of location(for example, BBQ in Greensboro).  We discovered “Which Wich” on Lake Boone trail when we were heading to “Chubby’s Tacos”(ALSO AMAZING TACOS) one day.  We went there the other night, and I was completely overwhelmed by all the choices and varieties you can get. O_O  So if you are looking for a alternative to Subway, and Quiznos, you should definitely give Which Wich a try.  Check it out after the jump!!!!  Excuse the pictures, as I did not forsee the need to capture our visit with a camera, Shame on me.  All pictures taken on the IPhone and Blackburry.

If you like Pepper Salted Chips, you should try the House Chips.  Very flavorful.

Okay, so check out the wall.  Each of the numbers coordinate with a different type of meat, Beef, Chicken, Pork, Italian, Seafood, Vegeterian(etc).  You pick the kind you want, pick a type within the category, and pick your toppings, everything is done by marking it off on the back.  No matter what type of sandwich you get, it’s $5.10.  The only sub that is more expensive is “The Grinder” Which is three diff meats, and three diff cheeses(A.k.a. heart attack).

This is Jordan’s Chicken Cheese sandwich.  I got the Pesto Chicken Sandwich, But I had already eaten it before i had thought to take a picture of it.