Beyond Boston Chic

Around the holidays this year, I visited my aunt Nirva (in the above pictures).  Nirva* throws a mean party each New Year’s Day and this year was no different.  Honey, a new and enthusiastic gourmand of Haitian cuisine could hardly contain himself as all his now favorite foods were served at the party.  And me, well, I very kindly helped myself to the family photo albums.  Hey, a blogger’s gotta do what a blogger’s gotta do.  I’ve scanned a few photos to share with you of Tatie Nirva and her then honey (now husband).

With the anniversary of the earthquake** in Haiti, I’d like to remember the beauty of Haiti and how sassy my aunties were.  Nirva had albums upon albums of photos of herself.  She could have given the modern-day personal style blogger a run for their money.  I’m due for a trip to Haiti very soon, you can bet that I’ll raid the albums back at home too.  In the meantime, I’ve made a resolution this year to take a lot more photos of myself.  I’d love for my future nieces and nephews to look at photos of me and my cousins and think: “Whoa Aunties?  Did you keep those clothes?”  And I’ll respond, “Yup, that’s how we rocked it in the 2000s!”

*Notice how in the first photo Nirva is way too big for her bike.  Methinks she borrowed it from someone in order to take this photo.

**These photos were taken in front of my mum’s house in Haiti at a time where it was being built.  Unfortunately, we had to tear it down.  I suppose we’ll rebuild soon enough.

My beauty secret, which isn’t such a secret now because all my cousins and sister use this tip: Revlon Super Lustrous Creme Lipstick 720.  Rub a little bit on one wrist and use a finger (from the opposite hand) to dab from your wrist to your cheeks for a rosy look.  I swear, this lipstick-turned blush makes me look like I’m glowing!  I find that this shade works wonderfully for my dark skin and for my cousin who has a more cafe au lait skin tone.  Check out the full article here from Shape.com to learn more about what other bloggers have to say about which beauty products changed their lives.

Tiffany’s opened a new store at the Mall at Chestnut Hill this past Friday. They invited a few folks to have breakfast to check out their new digs and to of course try on a few jewels.

I was so happy to see that there quite a few of my favorite Boston bloggers present, including, Lani of Mon Petit Chou Chou (she’s on the left and is wearing a pair of heels from Asos) and Naina of Style’n.

Notice how both of these ladies are wearing pleated skirts.  Spontaneously, I told them how I love pleated skirts but have given up hope on wearing ‘em.  They do funny things to my hips.  Each time I try them on, they make me look as if my hips are rectangular rather than having a curving slope.  Then Naina explained that the same thing happens to her.  Say what?!

“You have to wear a jacket or sweater with them.  My skirt does the same things to my hips.  See!”  She then showed me by lifting jacket.  And wouldn’t you know it, she was right.  When she let the jacket fall back, away went the weird hip bump thing.  Pleated skirts, here I come!

As much as I love looking through my family photos, I love looking at Honey’s family photos even more.

While in Australia, Honey unearthed a gazillion family photos.  I simply had to share them with you. These are photos of his parents while they were living in Argentina.  The short version is, Honey is born of an Italian father and an Argentine mother. He grew up in Argentina before his family moved to Australia. Honey’s been living in Australia for…. decades. Centuries really.  Before the age of the dinosaurs from what I gather..  Let’s just say Honey’s been living in Australia for a while.

Back to the photos!  I Looooove ‘em! His parents look so young and vibrant.

The above photo looks like it was taken the night they got engaged.  Honey’s Dad is the one on the very left of the photo.  His mom is the one showing off her ring, of course. Wasn’t she a beauty!

And this one is a photo of Honey’s mum and sister on her wedding day.

Honey’s parents passed away two years ago.  Going through the box of photos of their lives makes me feel like I know them just a little bit better.  Honey talks about how they much preferred to speak Spanish even after 20 years of living in Australia….I think I would have learned Spanish for them.  And if Honey’s father was anything like the charmer everyone said he was, I would have learned Italian just so I could coax him into telling me stories of living in Italy.

I have a few more of his family photos to share with you, but for now, happy weekend!

It’s video time! I created a video of my recent trip to Paris on what exactly makes Parisians oh so chic. Enjoy! Oh, a bit of warning, there is music….so, if you’re at work or somewhere where you should be quiet, no clickey or just put on some headphones.