Yesterday I had the extreme pleasure of getting to go to the White House for a Holiday Tweetup! I even got to bring the husband along as my plus one for the day. The first half of the day was spent at the Old Executive Office Building and we heard from the following White House administration staff:
Tina Tchen, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the First Lady (Kenny’s favorite)
Jon Carson, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Public Engagement (@joncarson44 & http://www.whitehouse.gov/engage)
Brad Cooper, Executive Director of Joining Forces (@joiningforces & http://www.joiningforces.gov)
Aneesh Chopra, Assistant to the President for Technology and US Chief Technology Officer (@aneeshchopra)
Brian Deese, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council (http://www.whitehouse.gov/economy/jobsact)
Laura Dowling, White House florist
Macon Phillips, Special Assistant to the President and Director of Digital Strategy (@macon44)
Kori Schulman, Deputy Director of Online Outreach in the Office of Digital Strategy (@ks44)
Bill Yosses, White House pastry chef
The biggest thing that they emphasized was that they want us to interact with them and to share what we learn with others. I also learned that www.whitehouse.gov/engage is a wonderful place to start if you’re looking for ways to get involved or find out what is going on at the White House. But honestly, I know what you want to know about are the White House decorations!
The theme is Shine Give Share and that was seen all over the house. There was also a huge emphasis on military families and service. I can’t even begin to describe how beautiful and ornate it all was.
There were also replicas of Bo, the White House first dog, in every room. It was kind of like a game of Where’s Waldo but instead it was Where’s Bo. This version of Bo was made out of marshmallows and licorice but he was also 4 ft tall and made out of felt, tiny and made of buttons, even smaller and made out of frosting…Bo was everywhere.
And this replica of the White House…it’s made out of gingerbread and white chocolate. It was insanely beautiful. There are a lot of pictures on Flickr and you can read up about the Holidays on the White House site here but I’m adding a slideshow of my pictures to give you a better peek into the holidays at the White House (I promise to update the captions tonight, I just had to get these up in a hurry so I could talk about it!). Enjoy!
I finally got the Holiday Guide up and out and it feels like I have a weight lifted off of my shoulders. I take a lot of the pictures, pull all the items, write it, lay it out and publish it for you guys as my holiday gift to you.
I’ve been asked a lot how I blog and do things like the Holiday Guide AND work a full time job. Sometimes I don’t know. Sometimes it is all a blur. Sometimes it’s so much fun to be wrapped up into something so creative I don’t realize how exhausted I am until it’s over! For the first weekend in weeks I have NOTHING planned. I see lots of laundry and house cleaning in my future (my home office is an absolute MESS! Products and notes everywhere). LOL
I again wanted to say thank you to everyone who has tweeted, Facebook’d and emailed me such great comments and feedback (and even alerted me of my typo…which I’m just going to leave in because it’s just too much to do to add an o). I appreciate your support, encouragement and feedback (good and bad). I’m always trying to learn and grow more with every project I take on. And because I am so thankful that you read the Art of Accessories, I’ll have a giveaway next week for an item I starred in the Holiday Guide!
I won’t be posting on Monday, I’m going to the White House for a Holiday Tweet Up! Can someone pinch me? Cause I don’t think that’s really happening but I got an email saying it is and I’ll share lots of pictures of the White House holiday decorations with you guys on Tuesday. I can’t see a better way to get in the holiday spirit than holiday decorations at the White House, right?!
Have a wonderful, wonderful weekend and don’t forget if you’re still stumped for gift ideas you can always email me! I love helping with that kind of stuff.
I’m wrapping up the final touches to the Gift Guide so that I can hopefully put it on the blog tomorrow! YAY! This year the Guide will be a little different, not as much narrative and definitely more pictures. I’m covering gifts for HER, HIM, BABY, HOSTESS and TECH folks. Gosh I wish I had a team of little elves to help me put it all together but it’s just me and my girlfriends who volunteered for photos. So I thought I’d give you a little preview of what’s to come…
There will be lots and lots of lipstick…you might even find the perfect shade of red!
I’ve got a couple of bloggers who are going to show you their holiday style (myself included). Oh and I’ve got a very sparkly little something to giveaway too! I mean it isn’t a holiday without giving something, right?
Okay, I will see you tomorrow with my Holiday Gift Guide. Happy Wednesday!
I had a lovely Thanksgiving break, I cooked, I ate and I spent time with family. I also did a little knitting for holiday gifts and finally edited the bulk of the Gift Guide photos (I’m still aiming to post that on December 1). In the midst of all the photos I was editing I found this one.
My girlfriend’s little boy loves cameras, he hears the shutter and comes running to see what the image of him will look like (did I mention he’s only 11 months old?). I was taking her picture for the Gift Guide and as soon as the camera snapped he stopped being shy and walked right over to me and wanted me to show him the digital screen on the back. I snapped pics of him in between pictures of her and I just thought this little hand was so precious and sweet that I had to share.
I love this time of year, all the giving, the music, the twinkling lights. It’s the little things that make such great moments. I’m actually excited and ready for December and I hope that I can put some of that excitement and energy into the Gift Guide as I finish it up this week. And since I’m just easing my way back into my work week I thought I’d give you a peek at today’s outfit (no full outfit post, I was running late).
My husband told me he was surprised my color palette was so plain this morning. I’m wearing a cream shift dress with a beige sweater and then he saw my hunter green tights and floral oxfords. He totally took that comment back.
Last year this time I was in Hilton Head, South Carolina with my family for Thanksgiving. One of the most relaxing and happy Thanksgiving breaks I had had in a long time. This year I’ll be at home with my family again and just relaxing on my own couch (totally will miss the catered Thanksgiving dinner on a screened in porch). I’m not doing black Friday sales or chaos but I will be working on the Gift Guide and will hopefully get that out by December 1 next week!
I am incredibly thankful for you, the readers of the Art of Accessories, my family and close friends. I am happy that I am employed, healthy and incredibly happy. I love this time of year, it reminds us to be thankful and to share gifts with the ones we love. I’ll be enjoying my friends and family for the rest of the week and I hope you’ll do the same.
Last year I bought awesome winter boots for when it’s messy and nasty out but what about boots for when it is just cold? I am an UGG owner, yup – don’t hate. They’re cozy and warm and keep my feet toasty BUT I don’t wear UGG boots to work and my boots have had it. It’s time to retire the boots and I still have my UGG loafers but I want something else. Enter the UGG Brienne boot, these are kind of adorable.
They still have the sheepskin lining to keep my toes toasty but I love the Chucka boot styling. LOVE THEM! These just might get added to my winter shoe wishlist. What do you think?
Last night I went to a Verizon Wireless store in Washington, DC for their Confessions of a Smartaholic series last night with Gabrielle Union. Apparently last month they had Kimora Lee Simmons…I love Kimora and totally would’ve gone to that event but last night was Gabrielle Union. I met up with friends and fellow bloggers Andrea from Stylin’ & Profilin and Andrea from Fly and we were all curious what this event would be about.
I actually ended up getting a seat in the second row (almost took an old lady out…I’m not too good to elbow someone) and got separated from the girls but I was close enough to take pictures. And speaking of pictures, half way through the event when I pulled my camera up to take another series of pictures I got tapped on the shoulder and told, “no pictures.” Um…there were big flashes coming from all around the room and we’re 30 minutes in – NOW you want to say no pictures? Whatever.
Gabrielle spoke one on one with Alesha Renee, a young lady who has done some work for BET. They asked her about her career, life, Hollywood and they briefly asked her about her technology. Gabby’s a Blackberry user. They also opened up the even to questions from the audience and there was a lot of laughter, great discussion and even a few tears. I think I like Gabrielle Union even more now that I’ve been in a up close and personal kind of event with her.
What I didn’t love was the Verizon folks trying to sell some devices. I’m a Verizon customer but the deals they offered at this event weren’t any better than the standard ones they had online. As soon as you walked in the door they hit you up with tablets to “sign in” but really I’m sure they just wanted my contact info to hit me up about Verizon specials. Sales events are never my favorite.
All in all it was a nice event on a Thursday evening. I’d definitely come back to hear other women of color speak about what makes them tick and what makes them so successful. Has anyone else heard or been to one of these Verizon Smartaholics events? I’m curious where else they’re doing them.
