A top beauty and travel blog Jet Set Girls recently featured an article about my experience with meeting the GORGEOUS and talented Teddy Charles. I gushingly mentioned it on The Stylester as well here. Well, now it is your turn to have the chance to meet him in a city near you!

Teddy Charles is setting off on a USA wide tour and competition called Battle of the Brushes in which local stylists will compete to create the most runway-worthy look. Teddy will be on site to judge and name the winner and provide free consultations. Swing by anytime after Noon to meet Teddy (be prepared to get wobbly knees – don’t say I didn’t warn you) and pick up some free Sunsilk products.

• Friday, April 9th – Indianapolis, IN at Castleton Mall
• Thursday, April 22nd – Dallas, TX at Irving Mall
• Friday, April 23rd – Nashville, TN at Opry Mills
• Thursday, April 29th – Tampa, FL at Tyrone Square Mall
• Thursday, May 6th – Las Vegas, NV at Forum Shops
• Friday, May 7th – Phoenix, AZ at Arizona Mills Mall
• Thursday, May 13th – Oklahoma City, OK at Penn Square Mall
• Friday, May 14th – Houston, TX at Galleria Mall

See more here: Sunsilk site

Photo courtesy: Jamie Beck of From Me to You

Before moving to Spanish Harlem, I thought the word “Harlem” equated to the word “ghetto.”

Hood, slums, projects, drive-by zone, and land of the hard knocks … whatever you want to call it. I thought it.

That was before I got off the 6 train at 116^th Street on a hotter-than-normal May day two years ago – my heart racing as I observed the fact that a.) I was the only white girl around and b.) the old men on the corner playing chess were probably going to cat call me as I walked by toward a sublet apartment at 118^th Street, where I would end up living for two months before making the full leap and signing a lease with a friend in a building at 117^th Street and Lexington Avenue.

I moved to Spanish Harlem three weeks after graduating from Temple University. I thought my stay in SpaHa would only be temporary, and that within a few weeks I’d be like every other white girl newbie to Manhattan and move to “Brooklyn” where kids of my “kind” lived and played.

But as I started hanging out in SpaHa and learned the tricks and embraced the turns of the neighborhood, I fell in love. I fell in love with the fact that I lived in an area free of gentrification and could support the local ma-and-pa culture and economy; that I contradicted people’s first impression expectations of Brooklyn residency; and that I could get anything I wanted for at least 30 percent less than you’d find it sold for below 100^th Street.

And of course, I learned how to handle the nuances of living as a minority while beginning to understand that it is not cultural difference that separates us from one another, it is openness to difference that does.

Assimilation is not about finding a neighborhood where you can “belong.” It is about finding a neighborhood where you can peacefully co-exist with its natural qualities and opportunities. In my opinion, “belonging” is boring.

I didn’t belong in Spanish Harlem – and I still don’t. That’s why living there is not boring, it’s exciting.

Allow me to explain with three examples of why I love SpaHa, and how it loves me back.

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Lookbook.nu is the best personal style site I’ve come across so far after trying over 5 others. I like it because of the quality control – it’s very hard to find a bad image on the site, effects – all the images look very arty, and the users and their styles. I can spend hours on the site and have finally added my own look on it! Check it and let me know what you think.

Parasuco Jean Jacket, American Apparel Pencil Skirt, Diesel Ballet Flats

via LOOKBOOK.nu: “Ivy me” by Stylester.

I wore this outfit on the first real warm day of spring this year. The shirt is actually a kurta I got in Bangladesh when I visited over Christmas from the store Deshal. My leggings are plain old F21 and studded ballet flats from Diesel.

The photo was taken in one of my favorite neighbourhoods in New York -  DUMBO, Brooklyn, a neighbourhood where I worked for over 2 years after moving to NYC.

Blowout sale!

Labels: Design History, Bibelot, Milly, Smitten, Michael Simon, Interlud and E.vil. There is an “unnamed designer” who I’m quite sure is Tory Burch.

When

Date: Today – Monday, March 22, 2010
Time: 11am – 7pm

Where

Address: 261 W 36th Street (between 7th & 8th Ave)
Link:  Clothingline.com

Subway Douchery

Consider yourself lucky if you don’t live in NYC and have to witness some of what you’ll see on this site first hand. For those that do live here, your subway nightmares have their very own site. I love how Tom Sibley, creator of Subway Douchery, adds in his stories along with each photo and video.

Link: http://www.subwaydouchery.com

Dear Girls Upstairs Twitter feed

A screenplay writer’s hilarious recounting of things he hears through the ceiling from his upstairs neighbours. If you’re wondering, these are all true anecdotes!

Link: http://twitter.com/charliemcdowell

Pavement Chaser

Read Brittney’s blog on her fab life in NYC! She also gave TheStylester a sunshine award. So nice of her!

Link: http://brittneycastine.blogspot.com

My all time favorite female artist MIA is doing a concert in NYC this July and I’m too excited to type right now. I so can’t wait! Look for me on stage just like the last time I went to her concert at the McCarren Pool in Williamsburg.

When: July 24th, 2010.
Where: Governor’s Island, NJ
Tickets: Buy them here.

Catch the last two days of this all American sample sale!

What

J Crew Sample Sale
By Clothingline.com
Tops, Blazers, Dresses and Accessories from $15-$65
*Note: Some of the items may have “SAMPLE” written on the inside with Sharpie markers. Watch out for those, but there is a huge selection so you’ll probably find something you like.

When

Date: Thursday, March 18, 2010 – Friday, March 19, 2010
Time: 10am – 7pm

Where

Address: 261 W 36th Street (between 7th & 8th Ave)
Link:  Clothingline.com

My colleague, the beat-master percussionist has been listening to this mashup at the office non-stop for a couple of weeks and it has grown on me. Actually, it’s grown into me and all over and now I’m obsessed as well. Tom Caruana is the genius behind this musical masterpiece called Wu-Tang Vs. The Beatles – Enter The Magical Mystery Chambers. The best parts of the collection are the Beatles Mania news snippets and interviews from the 70s. My favorite track on the album is Got Your Money followed by Forget Me Not.

Listen to the album on Grooveshark.com here.

Read the New York Times review for the album here.

The first time I found a pair of Zigi shoes was at a high end shoe store in Toronto in 2004. It was love at first sight! In comparison to only the Stoneridge and Aldo shoes that fit my college years budget, the Zigis were like Cinderella’s glass slippers. I found the perfect pair of black wedge knee high boots by Zigi soon after that lasted me years and earned me lots of compliments. The comfort factor cannot go unnoticed either – I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge in my 3 inch wedge boots and could still keep walking.

When passing the flagship store in NoHo today, I couldn’t resist peeking in.  I took advantage of the big sale at the store  and bought another pair of super comfortable wedges. I think these will be the perfect transition from the ankle boots of winter to the strappy sandals of summer, while still keeping a hard chunky edge. I’m still not 100% sure though – should I keep ‘em or do the old return?

Check out the Zigi shoes sale for yourself at 647 Broadway (at Bleecker).

Read the JetSetGirls post about wedge shoes trend for spring!