When I Say On The Rocks, I Mean It!!!

Like a real man, I 'm not really into mixed fruity drinks. I want to drink stuff that'll put hair on my chest! Stuff like whiskey! But I hate warm alcohol. I like my hair promoting beverages to be on the chilly side. Now normally, I would just throw a couple ice cubes in a glass, pour my whiskey, and sip away like a proper Gent. But now there is no more need to have watered down whiskey. Thanks to the On The Rocks Whiskey Stones, I can make my drink cold without it getting watered down.

These are hand carved soapstone cubes made right here in the USA. The best part is, they are easy to use, just pop them in the freezer until you are ready to use them. Then just drop a couple in a glass and top with whatever your favorite spirit is. Come on, what's more manly than drinking whiskey with actual rocks in it?

So now when your buds say "On the rocks!", you'll be able to impress them with these babies!

Pick up a set of these on amazon

What Could Men Wear To A Gallery Opening???

I get asked this question all the time. Usually by my female friends that want to dress up their men or by my single guy friends that aren't used to going to places like gallery openings or trendy restaurant openings. So I have made a couple selections of pieces that I feel would make a man stand out in a great way. Of course season, time of day and specific event will always play a role in dictating your outfit, but there are a few key rules that will almost always apply. And those rules are:
1) Black is classic! It's always in style and is a safe bet when you're not sure.
2) Don't be afraid of color! It could be a bright tie or one daring option is bright shoes. Men do it all the time in Europe. Solid dark or muted colors for the outfit and then BAM!- bright orange shoes.
3) Wear clothes that fit you! Too many times do I see men wearing clothes that do not fit. Too big or too small is just not good gents. Our bodies come in all different shapes and sizes and not everything we buy will fit perfectly. Don't be scared of your friendly neighborhood tailor. There was a time when men would take all their clothes to a tailor and this is a tradition that needs to be resurrected.
4) Jewelry! Don't be scared to show some bling bro! There are tons of great choices out there for men now. They can be found in many retail jewelry stores now as well as indie places like etsy.com Figure out what metal looks good on you and don't be afraid to experiment with different materials like fiber, glass, wood or rubber.
5) Hats! Somewhere along the way, men wearing hats became less fashionable. Well that time is over. Dudes should not be scared to wear hats. Now I'm not talking about your grubby Mets cap. I mean real hats. The kind you can tip to someone when you say hi. Or a really nice beanie can be pulled off if done right.
6) Scarves are not just for the winter! Women have known for generations that a good scarf can transform any outfit. Well dudes are finally catching on to this. There are tons of scarves on the market for men now that are meant more as a fashion accessory than a utilitarian object to keep your neck warm. Look around for these. I have found great ones in our local Little India but many major retail stores and indie online shops are also carrying them now.
7) Shoes are in! I remember when you would go into any men's department store and all the shoes looked the same. They were black or brown and just a few variations on the same style. Well now the world has woken up and we men have options! Granted the women still have more options, but we are catching up. So go in to the stores and look around. And TRY THEM ON!!! Nothing is worse than spending a whole night in shoes that are uncomfortable.
8) Scent is key! Luckily there are tons of cologne options for men now. I recommend setting aside an afternoon and going with a friend that can be honest with you. Smell as much as you can and remember to ask for the coffee beans to clear each scent out from your nose before moving on to the next. I also recommend getting more than one scent. It's always nice to have variety and different occasions could call for very different scents. You could also have your own custom scent mixed. A lot of times it's cheaper than the commercial stuff and it's your own signature scent so you will always stand out. Check out your local holistic shops and see if anyone does custom blends.
9) Be fashion forward! There are so many great men's wear designers out there that aren't getting the media attention they deserve. If there is some new concept out there and it speaks to you, don't be afraid to go for it. Every trend started with one person wearing it. Maybe you could be a new trend setter.
10) Be you! Don't try to be Usher or Brad Pitt. Let people see who you are, reflected in your style. If you're a little more rock, then gear your outfit that way. There is nothing wrong with injecting personality into clothing. Just remember not to overdue it.

Here are just a few samples of things guys could wear. Explore dudes! And don't be afraid to ask questions. If you're not sure what looks good on you, ask for opinions.

1) Ray Vincente Eclectic
2) Necklush
3) Joseph Cuevas
4) Eve Shan
5) FORZIERI
6) Lotus Jewelry Studio
7) Wendelart
8) FORZIERI

My very first one....

Well I kept saying I would do it but I kept putting it off. So I decided to take advantage of this flu/cold/sinus thing I have and sit down to get it done. That's right, I finally made a youtube video of my work. It's nothing fancy but I am proud of it. Let me know what you think of it.

Love you all!!!

Felicity Kind of Mood....

So being born in 1982, my teen years were all about the WB network. I was a WB whore. I watched every show they came out with and loved every second of it. I learned all my big words from Dawson's Creek and all the shows taught me how to be overly dramatic when it came to matters of the heart. But there was one show that always touched me. One show over all the others. That show was Felicity. Something about Felicity always touched me. From the very first episode, she took the biggest leap she ever could. She followed a guy to NY. A guy she didn't even know. And as the show progressed, she progressed. She grew into this amazing person and challenged everything she had always held true in her heart. She quit pre-med. She loved two guys. She embraced her art. She over thought everything and yet still managed to follow her heart whenever possible.

My life paralleled that of hers in a lot of ways. When I started college I was pre-med. I did that for a couple of years and I was good at it. But there was always something missing for me. I wanted to work on my art but I didn't have time with all the labs. I over thought every situation and weighed out pros and cons before acting. Till oneday I was tired of it. I was tired of feeling like my whole life had been planned out. So I quit pre-med and I jumped on a plane destined for California. I had never been there, I just knew I needed to find myself in a completely new place. See felicity had used following Ben as an excuse. She really just wanted to break away. She wanted to find her own life somewhere else. Well my life not being a TV show, the road was a lot bumpier for me than it was for her. I had to live out of my car for a while and there have been really good times and really bad times but all in all I am happy I made the leap. I am finally working on my art full time and I love it.

But let's get back to Felicity. In the last season of the show the creators did something amazing. First they gave you what would have been an incredibly perfect ending to the show at mid season. She graduated college and ended up happy with her life and Ben. She became her own person after trying to find herself for so long. But the show went further. They decided to show us what could have happened if she had made a different choice. See Felicity had always loved two guys, one was Ben the guy she followed. The other was her best friend Noel. Well the writers wrote in a plot that had Felicity unhappy with her life a few years after graduation. She was wishing she had chosen Noel over Ben all those years ago. So her Wiccan friend Megan casts a time travel spell and sends her back in time so she can choose Noel. We got to see how different everything would have been if she chose Noel over Ben.

This was amazing to me because, as I've descibed in a previous post, I often sit and wonder how life would be different if I had made a different choice in even a small way. She was incredibly unhappy with the way things turned out when she chose Noel. She realized she was happy before. Would I not like my life if things had been different? What if I had waited a year to move to California? What if I had started working with glass earlier in life? What if I hadn't taken back my husband so many years ago when we split up for a bit? Even the small stuff. What if I hadn't been late to class? or What if I took an earlier train?

Every choice we make has so many reprecussions and we never think about it. So is it better to follow your heart?

Haha wow I started with felicity and gave you guys a lot of info about me. Hope you enjoyed it! I'll leave you all with a youtube video of all the theme songs they used on Felicity. Senior year was my favorite. Listen to them all and enjoy!