ou remember her right, Go Ricki, Go Ricki! Well, she is back and a few of you had asked about me having a tape or clip about it, and I finally do! Thanks to Sterling Digital, I got my fancy first clip of my appearance! I am not going to lie, I was sooooooooooooooooooo nervous! LOL

BUT!

In addition to talking about my blog, I did a makeover! Woot! Take a peek:

What do you think? Leave me some feedback and/or love and Let me know in the comments!

PS. Are you subscribed to my You Tube Channel?

PPS. If you are in LA, have you RSVP’d to my blog anniversary party? Spaces are filling up fast! Come on down!

So, as you may or may not know, Nordstrom is one of the few department stores (in over 100 stores) that carries plus size fashion not only online but INSIDE their stores. The ENCORE department is there with the same designers you know and love online…

With their exclusive partnerships, bringing us the inception of White Label by Rachel Pally, Lucky Brand, Vince Camuto, Nation Ltd, and quite a few others, Nordstrom want YOU to know that they are quite size inclusive and I am here to help you know this!

Over on the Nordstrom Plus size page, you will see The Curvy Fashionista tab on the left hand menu! If you click it, you will see my favorites from the new arrivals that come into town! Yes! Every two weeks there will be newness on my page with the newest arrivals and some of my fave accessories!

BUT IT DOESN’T STOP THERE…

I will be taking this offline to host a few events across the US, just like I did at South Coast Plaza this summer!

What was our First Stop?

CHICAGO!

This was such an amazing time and on the other side of the New Year, more locations will be shared and announced!

In the meantime, check out my Favorite picks from Nordstrom Here!

How cool is this?!?! I am hyped and excited!!!!

Organized into seven categories, Creativista, Empirista, Empowerista, Enchantista, Evangelista, Flowista, and Lifestylista, the Digital Sisterhood 100 packs a wallop of women across the internet who are doing their thing in their respective fields. And they are quite impressive! It was SUCH an honor to be listed among them!

What is the Digital Sisterhood?

“Digital sisterhood is the feminine currency women use to create relationship wealth through the connections they make, conversations they have, communities they build, causes they support, collaborative partnerships they establish, and commerce they engage in with women they meet online and offline. The relationship wealth of digital sisterhood is based on what women care about and their shared interests and experiences. This wealth supports women as they stand in their own power and reclaim themselves online and offline. When they do so, they move with a power not seen before.”

Please check out the other 99 listed in the Digital Sisterhood 100!

On November 1^st 2012, the Black Weblog Awards, that honors and recognizes the best of the best African American-run blogs, announced their 2012 winners.

Among those, my fashion blog, The Curvy Fashionista, was nominated and took home the popular vote for Best Plus Size Blog! Last year, in 2012, The Curvy Fashionista won “Judges Pick” for Best Plus Size Blog, and this year we took home the Popular Vote!

This is such an amazing honor and I am so grateful for the votes and support in this win! Truly an honor to be recognized amongst 38 other bloggers!

Thank you for those who voted!

About The Black Weblog Awards

The Black Weblog Awards was founded in 2005 to give recognition to Black bloggers (and those of the African diaspora) which were largely overlooked by other Internet award events online. What started out as a barely-known event has now grown into an international showcase. With participants from over 90 countries, the Black Weblog Awards stands out as one of the most widespread Internet award events for Black bloggers.

To date, the Black Weblog Awards has recognized nearly 180 blogs in over 30 categories. The Awards has also been featured in several mainstream and online media outlets, including NPR, CNN, and others. Winners of the Black Weblog Awards have also went on to appear in other media outlets, like MSNBC, the Huffington Post, BET, and many others.

The full list of winners is here, at the Black Weblog Awards.

It is on RICKY LAKE!

I am going to be on RICKY LAKE !!!!!

YES! I am geeking out a bit and am really excited to share with you! I am quite nervous, excited, and besides myself!

Did you know that Ricki Lake has re-launched her show? How many of YOU grew up with “Go Ricki, Go Ricki!” I did! LOL So, when I got the call to be on the show, I was beyonddddd the moon! Little ‘ol me? Yess!!!

Please Continue reading on The Curvy Fashionista

The Curvy Fashionista: Marie Denee on Plus-Size Fashion and Leather Peplum

While a majority of the fashion industry praises stick-skinny bodies and size 0 garments, Marie Denee, better known as The Curvy Fashionista, empowers women of all sizes to love their figures and look chic at the same time.

“I want to help plus-sized women embrace their curves,” said Denee. “It’s humbling to see readers say, ‘Wow, that person looks like me and I can be fabulous and rock an amazing fashion.’”

Continue reading and Take a peek at the story here!

You know, oftentimes you will hear xxx was the best ever, or xxx changed my life, and are quick to brush it off as that person being dramatic. However, there are truly times when something or someone impacts you, moves you, or reignites your drive.

The latter is what happened to me while attending my very first Blogalicious Conference.  Blogalicious, if you do not know is a blog conference for multicultural bloggers of all niches! I could be hitting myself for dragging my feet or for not attending more of these, but I am a firm believer of everything happening JUST the way it is supposed to- for whatever reason. For me to attend Blogalicious when I did with where I am in my life? Could not have come at such a pivotal place for me.

Where do I begin? Where do I start? It literally took me four days to sit back and marinate in the experience. So, I will start from the beginning and share with you my greatest highlights.

1. The Attendees:  Such positivity going around it was infectious!  Everyone I met was happy, giving hugs, cards, and truly networking! Catching up with Brotha Tech, RaiJean, Kitty Bradshaw, Monica from Blueprint for Style, Gigi Biggins, , FINALLY meeting Justice Fergie, Jazzy, and Xina, and to all the NEW homies I met? YES.
2. My Roommates: I have to give a special shout out to Sharelle from Classy Black Girl for kicking my tail to attend and for being a roommate. Her hustle and grind is quite admirable and I like how she is repping the Bay Area (I miss the Bay). Telisha from Goddess Intellect and Amber from Digital Runway made the whole experience as roommates and colleagues such a joy! Scandal and the night on the strip? EPIC!
3. MARIO ARMSTRONG. I got on the phone with my sister soooo motivated by this man and his wife that I was almost in tears. Seriously. HE turned it out, giving each of us a renewed perspective eon blogging. When he opened with: You are NOT A BLOGGER, YOU ARE a MEDIA COMPANY, and I was already done. On top of that, he left us with a digestible 21 day plan that I plan on attacking next week.  
4. The Keynote Speakers: Yes, I just gave a huge shoutout to Mario, but I would be remiss not to mention a few others whose words and side conversations left such an imprint on my heart. Harriette Cole brought NICE back to blogging and writing, Judene, EVP from Moguldom Media gave us the biz with niche, advertising, and attracting readers; and Corynne Corbett and Miss Lori made it personal and spoke to the Me in Media. These women? Definitely power players who I have to thank for taking the time out to speak with me, have a drink with me, and truly cared about what I was doing. SHUT IT DOWN!
5. 6 Minutes, 6 Minutes, 6 minutes Dougie Fresh You’re On, uh uh on! Um, so Gain? Gain Fresh threw an AMAZING party for Blogalicious in which DOUGIE FRESH came out and hosted! I mean, I do not know the last time I dropped it like it was hot and picked it up like it was cold. I don’t know. Gain Fresh tapped roomie, Amber from Digital Runway to host, and this night was epic!!!!!
6. The McDonald’s Pool Party: So, McDonald’s? sooo not the boring type. When it came down to party on the first night? THEY HELD NOTHING BACK! Handsome gentlemen to greet us, a seriously hyped DJ, massages, manicures, disco lighted glasses, photobooths, and of course some of our faves from Mickey D’s… there were no holds barred and proved to be a great night for all of us to get to know each other better!
7. The TECHNOLOGY. I am a baby tech nerd. I was soooo impressed with Brotha Tech’s introduction of the QR codes with Vizibility. These QR codes were on our business cards and this could not have been cooler! Ran out of cards? Forgot them? No worries, you have your phone and voila! Scan your new friends badge and you have it all! Asides from this, I learned about Social Cam, in which I posted my first video of Dougie Fresh! THENNNNN!!! I won the contest Brotha Tech had for the person who scanned the most people during the conference! HA! Serendipitous!

I literally could go on and on, but the best takeaway for me was clarity and vision. I am not going to lie and say that swag wasn’t cool, cause it was and my MOM died over the Grace doll I brought her back (her name is Grace, so…). But most importantly I feel I have a milestone that I will be able to look back on and say, this moment here, was my turning point.

You can learn more about Blogalicious here, listen to what people are saying and still talking about on twitter @beblogalicious and the hashtag #blogalicious12. In the meantime, I have work to do!!! Pardon the lack pf photos… I was busy… and most are on my phones!!!! Thanks to Jyl of Mom it forward for hooking that up!

Will I see you next year, because I will be there!

They had the four of us bloggers choose a look we love, based on our style and comfort level. I went a little more laid back in the wide leg trousers and the tan jumper (tunic) from their collection! An easy running around town look.

You can view the Evans shapes and blogger picks here! 

Beyond the Rack Expands Into Plus Sizes

Beyond the Rack is adding plus sizes.

The Montreal-based off-price flash site today is scheduled to go live with My Curvy Closet, a destination site for plus-size apparel, accessible both…  If you are a subscriber to WWD, you can read the full article here!

BUT, as the excitement comes about, so does my angst. I am quite the meticulous one when it comes to packing and preparing, BUT I am also the procrastinator. Hence why lists are perfect for me. As I get ready to learn, meet and greet, and party (Yes, I plan on letting my hair down a bit), I still have business to tend to!

I thought I would share with you my checklist and how I prepare to head out to a Blogger Conference, as I notice these are way different than the standard event trip plannings… I mean, Blogalicious is quite tech friendly and savvy, so this adds a brand new element to things!

My Checklist:

• Create my schedule on the Blogalicious Schedule Page (it is quite interactive!)
• Create my mobile business card via Vizibility! Too cool, our badges this year will have QR codes!
• To carry on or to check the bags? I need to Plan Outfits for four nights, five days (two looks a day?) What does one wear to a high tea?
• HTC EVO 3-D, HTC EVO LTE, HTC Tablet, and Toshiba Laptop chargers (can you tell I am an HTC girl?)
• Charge Camera and pack extra memory card
• Schedule posts while I am away
• Pack business cards, Just in case!!
• Pack makeup and toiletries (I have this new Soho Accessories Travel pack, kind of in love with them!)
• Chargers. Chargers. Make sure I have my chargers.
• Set “Away” message (figure it out via Gmail)

I know I am forgetting something… BUT when you are going to a conference, especially unpacking to pack again, it can get exhausting AND overwhelming!

What do you bring to your Blog Conferences and what are your MUST haves for travel?