Fashion Fun Day on Easter Sunday!

First official outfit post! YAY! Big deal for me and long overdue considering this has been one of my 2012 goals. So what if I’m only 4 months late, right? It’s here and I’m happy to share! I could go on about how my husband makes fun of my love for Forever 21’s style finds (since I’m not really 21) but when trends come and go every season the last thing I want to do is spend a fortune on something I’ll wear just a handful of times.

I’d describe it as Miami Beach Art Deco Chic. Maybe it’s the color scheme or perhaps, the fact I wore it to stroll down Miami Beach. Although I didn’t spend it laying out under the sun, I did however enjoy a great Easter afternoon with my husband and goddaughter. After a few drinks, I let loose in a more quiet part of town to make this mini-shoot happen. I’ll confess posing alone was a bit awkward at first, but thanks to many fashion blogger inspirations I pulled myself together and came up with these.

Top: Forever 21
Pants: Forever 21
Shoes: Zara
Necklace: gifted by mom
Bangles: Charlotte Russe and Forever 21
Polish color: Essie’s School of Hard Rocks

**Shotouts to the style gurus and creative minds in the fashion world for making girls feel pretty one clothing article at a time, and to the new wave of style inspired women like me helping great fashions come to life via the blogosphere, but most importantly to my mother for showing me the potentials of great fashion without the hefty price tags. Because until I splurge on a classic Chanel or LV piece, I’ve learned chic can still be cheap ;)

Egg-citing Day!!!

Today is a special day for many, but without getting into the religious and historical informative, I'll just cut to the chase and wish my fellow Christians a blessed celebration.
I'll be spending the day making rounds around town delivering chocolate filled baskets to my god babies, and thanking their parents for the little blessings they gave my heart a piece of.
Hope your day is just as special and may you and yours enjoy a day filled with love, happiness, easter egg hunting and most importantly the gift of life.

photo credit: http://www.printpattern.blogspot.com/

P.S. Stay tuned for my first official outfit post EVER! Xoxo!

Lucky in Kentucky!

Heading to visit one of my favorite girls ever in the lovely city of Florence, Kentucky this weekend. I'm looking forward to catching up with her after a few months of her being away fulfilling an internship up in the Midwest. So while her husband (my cousin) is down here in Miami for a quick visit with their little one, I decided it'd be a great time for a long and overdue girls weekend! Here's to shopping, countryside sight seeing and The Hunger Games bonanza!!

May the odds be ever in YOUR favor!

Art is where the Heart is.

In my humble opinion, Art is not defined by the number of paint strokes or what you learned in college but perhaps acquired intuitively; art is self-identified. It wasn’t until fairly recent that I worked for a production in search of the next famed artist through which I discovered a more subjective appreciation for art work, and even then, I still find myself framing family pictures or assessing my wardrobe as my very own form of art. I am not a wall art aficionado but I am, however, all about cultural indulgence. Cue my husband who is very much on point when it comes to sweet and thoughtful surprises when the Salvador Dali exhibit came to town. Even though our highly anticipated evening was anything but glam amidst the Miami commotion and “complimentary cocktails”, I realized my favorite part was playing socialite with the hubs on VIP night and ending with a second and much more ‘laxed afternoon with my sweet pops.

Not a great pic, but take a look at the very neat “Elastica” installation that spans across the balconies at the Historic Moore Building in the Design District, followed by "Meli's Dali", a few portraits of the genius himself, and last (and most memorable) dad and I (post-Ombre hair coloring).

Dali's eccentric imagination and quirky 'stache ventured into the surrealist movement in search of self expression. I’d propose the lesson learned here goes without saying, but for the sake of words and wisdom, a blank canvas can easily be tranformed into a self expressed work of art, if and when your heart pours onto it, too.

Kudos to Dali for even giving me a piece ;)

March-ing to the beat of my own drum!

Woohoo, 1st quarter of the year is here!

So this month is filled with all things wonderful, from birthdays and movies to weekend getaways and a few "big" people events in-between, I'm crazy-excited just writing about it!

I've got tons to plan for starting with Daddy's birthday on March 5. We're keeping it simple this year, probably just a nice traditional family dinner with a sweet finish and possibly a night out around town. His birthday makes for great memories, some of which I'll catch on film.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with a few snippets from a lovely themed wedding shower in honor of a very special friend. Her nautical theme was inspired by the wedding itself as they plan to say their "I Do's" on a great big ship. Her bridesmaids did a beautiful job scouting for the perfect details, as we did trying to coordinate our outfits.

Definitely, Ever So Pretty APPROVED ;)

Happy Wedding Shower to you, Neen. We wish you a lifetime of love, hugs and bellyaching laughter. And Sashy, thanks for instagramming these ;)

Hello lover...

It's Valentine's Day Eve, HURRY! Everyone is out scrambling for last minute over priced gifts and reservations, aghhh! Somewhere along the holiday distribution line, this Love Fest somehow snuck in and made gift-giving and fancy dinners a must. It happens, enjoy it.

For my husband and I, this day has become more low-key, less fussy for obvious reasons mentioned above. I'll admit, I don't disregard the lovey, dovey-ness entirely, as a matter of fact, I'm all about preparing my own V-day affair in the privacy of our own home.

I can't take credit for this adorable table setting above (from http://www.hostessblog.com/) but I'll mix up a little bit of Ever So Pretty spirits to get something ready for tomorrow...and the best part is, I won't have to tip anybody but myself!

On that note, I'd love to give a BIG shot out to my new fellow blogger friend Ana from http://www.chicstreetsandeats.com/. Not only is she a really cool gal and totally fashionable (check out her gorgeous necklace from GILT...wink, wink...great V-day gift idea!) but also has a humbling disposition on life's offerings along with her charm.

Whatever you've got planned for tomorrow, make sure its memorable. Promise yourself a night of good-hearted fun and tons of laughter. Remember love is everywhere. In your heart, hopes, dreams and inspirations. Embrace it (and I don't mean Ian or Brad, those two are mine! insert winkey face) Just be thankful for the LOVE that surrounds YOU.

Happy LOVE day to you and yours!

2012, what the?...

WOW, welcome January 2012 and now move out of the way because February is a mere day away! With that said, I'm hoping everyone reading has kept true to their resolutions (at least this far) and looking forward to making new ones. It's part of growing and discovering what works and what doesn't. See for me, well that's been easy. I've learned I'm not the greatest blog keeper as being on almost 6 month hiatus means I've been busy working on other world peace plans! All kidding aside, it's nice to be back and ready for new experiences and surprises but before I officially move on with my BIG plans, I'll briefly mention what went down in the last few months.
The last post you read was dedicated to my sweet momma friend Jennylee and her adorable son's Dr. Seuss' birthday party. Shortly after, Jen contacted me for a birthday/breast cancer awareness event at Eleazer Delgado's Studio located in the Wynwood area of downtown Miami where I was more than pleased to assist. Both a beautiful evening and special cause to recognize. Thanks again for thinking of Ever So Pretty, Jen!
(pictures coming soon)

A few weeks after that was a particularly special day for me, my 30th. Yep, it's true, I'm old. But it's quite alright because I don't feel a day over 24 and I believe it (cause my 21 year old co-worker said so). November 14th to be exact...and in case you want to jot it down on your calendars ;)
My husband and best friends planned a wonderful surprise and weekend getaway to one of my favorite places of all, the great NYC. It was more than I expected and a memory I'll never forget. At the ripe old age of 30, I realized the significance of long lasting relationships and what they've meant thus far. I've learned to value the urgency of getting away for a just a few days, even if it means crying like a big baby cause you've missed your flight (yes, that was me...and yes, on my actual birthday), but more importantly, I've confirmed, a birthday is not a real birth day unless you're sharing it with the one who gave birth and the other who helped get you there...better known as, mom and dad. They'll never read this, but in their hearts they know my heart is theirs.

Moving away from all sorts of mushy-ness, the rest of the year flew by shortly after that. Holidays, birthdays, more holidays and more birthdays, a particularly special one that always gets me was my nephew's, who turned 8 years more amazing on Dec 26. But before his actual celebration day, we headed off to the happiest place, yep you guessed it, on Earth! The great big DISNEY WORLD! See, I told ya I was busy! The best news about this trip (as if Disney could get any better??) was getting the call I'd been waiting for a looooong time now. The kind of call that makes you jump up and down and scream "YES" outloud like a total dufus. The kind of call that goes like this, "Hi, Melissa, just wanted to let you know you got the JOB!" Now that's what I'm talking about!!!!

So, now that I've bragged about much more that you all were anticipating for, I'd like to mention what's in store for this year. I've decided to take Ever So Pretty into the realm of both FASHION and TRAVEL. I figured they're my most passionate subjects and at the present time, both seem like the perfect combination, so why not?!
Of course that doesn't mean, Ever So Pretty Events is taking a break, just expanding into the world of All things Pretty.

Stay tuned for pictures and more consecutive posts!!
Xoxo,
Me