Jennifer M Lima

The House of Love and Luck reigned in the holiday season with their one year anniversary. Making the celebration all the more memorable, they featured jewelry from designer Nola Singer along with a one night only special sale. As guests crowed into the seemingly larger than life boutique (the mirrors give that effect) they were greeted by shop owner, Ricki Miller and surrounded with one of a kind vintage pieces.

Miller, who has been an avid shopper for years, has spent her recent days searching endlessly for the perfect pieces just in time for the holiday season. Knowing better than most how tedious it can be to find an ideal piece of jewelry, Miller has made it her job to lighten the burden.

Along with breathtakingly beautiful jewelry, guests enjoyed a champagne bar, yummy holiday cookies and even went home with a VIP goodie bag. Among the guests was featured designer, Nola Singer, along with actresses Amy Smart and Ever Carradine, each showing off Singer original necklaces.

All in all, given that the boutique caters to those who appreciate the beauty behind buying jewelry with a story to it, everyone seemed to be feeling the holiday spirit. But hey, who doesn’t love shopping and champagne?

***Photos courtesy of Landon Zagales

When I first started this blog, I thought it would be like a track record of my work…or my attempts. I planed to merely inject some humor into the difficulty of having a stable place in the magazine/publishing world. Somewhere along the way the lines that separated my personal life from my work became a blur. That blur allowed this blog to become a safe place for my many ramblings and occasional craziness, So I just let it happen, for once I went with the flow.

Lately, in my attempts to grow up and actually feel like an adult, I’ve linked all my social networ4ks to one another, All except this blog. These entries, these words have become more than just an attempt at anything, I’ve literally barred my soul within these pages, sharing my joy along with my pain. Telling the world, my good, my bad and my ugly. I hesitated to link this for those reasons. This was all just…too honest. Too raw for the people closest to me to see.

I’ve never been the type to react well to confrontation, I tend to get very defensive and it doesn’t help that I have a temper with a short fuse. I don’t like being judged, well I don’t think anyone actually enjoys being judged. I’ve never been the type to give you a play-by-play explanation of my actions and lets face, I probably won’t ever be that girl. But, part of growing up is facing the world with your head held high. Putting all your cards on the table and calling the bluff.

So here I go…Hello you, welcome to my world.

A trade as old as time: Prostitution.

One woman shocked the world with her “spare no detail” accounts of her intimate adventures as a London call girl. Her blog became so popular that it turned into 3 books and a hit show on Showtime. Taking the world by storm, Belle de Jour brought the hot, raunchy truth right into our living rooms and became our favorite dirty little secret.

Her identity remained anonymous, both on her blog and the show, until now. Dr. Brooke Magnanti revealed herself as the woman behind the words of Belle de Jour, this week in The Sunday Times. She explained that while she had planned to remain anonymous, she feared that a former flame was going to out her to the public. So naturally, our little Belle had to beat him to the punch. She went on to say that “Belle and the person who wrote her had been apart too long. I had to bring them back together.”

So why is it that a woman with a PhD is being cast out and judged for simply having the nerve to tell it like it is? She’s not the first woman to use her body as a mean to pay for school, and you know she won’t be the last. Instead of being damned, shouldn’t she be applauded? For making her own way…without leaning on anyone’s shoulders? Let me rephrase that. For making her own way without leaning on a man’s shoulders?

Why is it that since birth women are prepped, primped and polished? Some mothers’ teach their daughters to be ladylike and polite, while others teach their daughters to be strong and opinionated. One thing they always tell us is that it’s a man’s world. A statement that through the ages, has kept women working twice as hard just to prove they belong.

A wise woman once said “I don’t mind living in a man’s world, as long as I can be a woman in it.” Her lifestyle ultimately shaped the views of a nation, becoming the stepping stone for a society where women use their sexuality as a weapon. A way of thinking where sex sells and power is everything. So why are we still fighting for it more than a decade later?

Are the Monroe’s of our time still topping the female power charts? In a world where a woman ran for President and actually had a fighting chance? Where women are continuously dominating the charts in music, film and non-profits without showing a little skin. Perhaps it was never female sexuality that was the weapon, maybe it was pure female spirit. Tell a woman she can’t start a business and she’ll build you an empire.

I guess in the end, it’s true what they say. You’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

It was only a matter of time before I found myself at the local hospital in my new city, I tend to make at least one trip a year to the ER What can I say? It just happens.

Last night was that day for me and just in time too. I was feeling way too comfortable in this big bad city of angels. Since I had just gotten over a case of pink eye in both eyes, I had been wearing my glasses for a few days so my eyes could heal. I finally put my contacts back in on Friday and naturally I feel asleep in them too.

So I wake up on Saturday with bloodshot eyes looking like I just fought my way back out of hell. I wasn’t too freaked though, thinking that I had just contracted pink eye again. The panic came after I removed my contacts, and realized that my vision was totally off. It was like looking through a thick cloud of smoke when there was none. My eyes were also highly sensitive to light and wind.

I finally figured out that I must have scratched my cornea…again. My Mom wasn’t too happy to find that we were doing this again when she dropped me off at the nearest emergency room. I walked in dressed in sweats, looking like hell with my hair having a field day and topped off with classic aviator sunglasses. It was quite a spectacle. I have to admit.

I was surprised though, by how small the ER was in comparison to the ones in Miami. More surprised to hear people complaining about the wait and how full the tiny room was…when there we still empty seats. Even more shocking was actually being registered, treated and discharged within 2 hours. An average trip to the emergency room in Miami was at least a 5 hour thing.

Anyway, since this was my second time scratching my cornea, I remembered the Doc giving me these drops that numb your eye thus eliminating the pain. Try to imagine having a gash and pouring salt water on it. Now imagine that gash was on your eyeball. Okay, now multiply that by 10 and you’ve got an idea at my level of pain. It was like someone setting my eye on fire and trying to put out that fire with cooking oil.

Needless to say, I was fiending for those drops like a junkie looking for a fix. A fact that I made sure to express to the nurse you checked me in. Let me tell you, those drops were like a little piece of heaven. If hard core drugs give you that kind of bliss, I have to say I see the appeal. So, thanks to the kind and efficient nurses, doctors and staff at the hospital, I am slowly recurring from my big scratch…again.

Good thing too, because I’m a big fan of seeing.

She is stands cold. She is rock solid. She stands there, alone with her chin held high. She knows the price she pays, still she looks the other way. It is always easier to hear the truth, than to see it for yourself. This cold, dark world has the power to tear her to shreds, yet here she is. This cold, dark world is not her biggest fear. “Oh cruel world,” she says, “give me shelter.” Pain she can manage. Loss she can survive. Love…love is another story.

Love is something to be feared. It has the power to destroy, humiliate and turn your entire life upside down. And that is merely the beginning. Love can turn even the most confident woman in the world into a sad, insecure little girl. A girl who is hopeful and lost, waiting for a happy ending that may never come her way.

A bit cynical? Perhaps. Is she jaded? To the core. But the true question is, does she still believe in love? YES, she does. Which is exactly why it scares her deep into her soul. Her very essence trembles at even the thought of love approaching.

What makes a strong, confident woman shiver in her Jimmy Choos at the mere thought of something so seemingly harmless? That no matter how many times she is hurt. No matter how many broken hearts she endures at the hand of love…she would still willingly let love in. One more time. To face her fear? Maybe. The fact is that in the end of the day, love is what it all comes down to. Even when it’s over, LOVE is always worth the ride.

So, do you have a ticket?

With the state of the nation still putting itself back together and Obama trying to pull this country out of a serious recession, everyone is feeling the heat. Still glad you voted for Bush? The second time too? I guess the conservative should have listened to all those liberals when they had the chance, a consequence we all pay for now. But enough of the gloomy.

While many industries are taking a plunge and scrounging to make money by cutting budgets, the fashion world is taking an even bolder step. Welcome “Rent the Runway,” the first ever rental service for designer dresses. An innovative idea to say the least, when the American people are cutting back on spending, RTR will serve as a new alternative to buying that $2,000 Gucci dress. Why dish out the big bucks when you can rent it for a fraction of the price?

All rentals will range from $50 to $250 and are yours to wear for 4 days. After which you simply put the clothes in a prepaid bag and drop it in the mail. Simple as that and just in time for the massive holiday parties coming your way.

Check it out at http://renttherunway.com/