My memorial for Sandra Anderson Baccus 1945-2012

On February 5, 2012, my world as I knew it seize to exist. My mentor, style maven, and sometime life coach, left her earthly body and began to be my nudge on the shoulder and whisper in my ear. I hear her infectious laugh and her grunt when something " isn't right."There hasn't been anyone like her in my lifetime and I really doubt I will ever meet anyone remotely like her again. I was the fortunate one to be able to say I was more than her make up artist, she called me her friend. She predicted I would do well in this city, and that I didn't need her guidance anymore. Well, she was wrong ( shes a Virgo, like me...We are never really wrong) I do need her, not to get me in to the best parties or take me on trips around the country in a private plane, as she did for 15 years, but to say simple things like; you should try parting your hair different, grow a grey streak or wear more lip color Nikole. My life was enhanced by her shear presence, and I will forever be indebted.

Sock-it-to-um...

My awesome bff brought me back some beautiful knee socks from Paris. I've wanted a pair of anklet socks since I saw them on the Dolce and Gabbana runway two seasons ago. But, by mistake she bought the knee version. Well, I don't think it was a mistake at all, I have always toyed with the idea of wearing a pair with knee high boots, so the socks stick out a bit. But, these socks are way to pretty to just peek. Low and behold, I was skimming through some fashion magazine blogs and found out that this is a new and very cool trend. So, I'm sharing this discovery with you all, with some rules...

1. Don't wear them with sneakers.

2. If your calf looks as though its circulation is being cut off, please don't proceed with wearing them.

3. If you are over 30, don't wear the argyle version with a pleated skirt, you will look as though you are role playing with your significant other.

I'm sure I need to make a few more rules to this look, but I will see if the socks even turn up around these parts, it could be a fleeting notion for most.

You can't judge a book by it's cover...

Most people associate me with manners, pearls, and Chanel... I  actually get asked if I wear or own sweats at least twice a week. I know it comes from seeing me in work attire and in my business environment. But, I have many layers, I feel there are times and places for everything, and if I'm in a professional setting, that is what I am....Professional. I actually listen to rap, hip hop, jazz, alternative, folk, country, and pop music. I have an obsession with Mike and Ike's, I have more than one messy dresser drawer, I've been known to dance on tables, I've smoked, and used profane language. 

Making up a persona for someone else is the fantasy you have for them. But, we all have many layers, if all you have is surface stuff, you can end up being very empty. Living life means seeing things from a different perspective. I want to LIVE life, not just exist on this earth. That's why I love Chanel so much, she was born in poverty, given away by her father to an orphanage, became a follies girl ( kinda like a strip tease singer/dancer), she had a sugar daddy take care of her and open her first atelier. Her brand now is associated with tradition, etiquette, and wealth. If that's not the perfect testimony to having layers, I don't know what is...

Just eye's...

I think I speak for most "Artist" as I write this blog entry, we DO not enjoy just doing your eyes!

Picture having your car vacuumed, shampooed, and having all the interior polished as if it was right off the the assembly line. Then, picture the exterior chipped, nicked, dirty, and the tires drug through the mud. It doesn't make much sense does it? Well, that is exactly what you are asking when you want someone who does make up for a living and has a passion for a perfect finished look to "Just do your eyes." Your skin is the foundation or the exterior, and if you think you don't have any blemishes or an uneven skin, you are probably 3yrs old, because that's the last time you went without the environment affecting your skin. So, next time you ask a professional artist to do your make up, let them do what they have worked so hard learning to do!

" It is, what it is"

I have a habit of saying "it is, what it is" when I no longer can effect the change of the outcome of a particular situation. I don't have a problem seeing things to the end, and I give up even if things get hard, but I know how to stop myself before I get obsessive. I think that when we fixate on a certain outcome or thing we want, we are blocking the real outcome, or the ultimate reason for the situation. I have had some pretty disappointing experiences in my life, but I wouldn't change a thing. The journey through the disappointments have created friends I wouldn't have met, ambitions I didn't know I had, and enlightenment that would have not been exposed so early in my lifetime.

I recieve gifts daily!

Nature fuels my soul

New day!

Today is new, I get to start over, in a new way of thinking, and being!
How amazing is that? We all get to choose letting old stuff go, and creating new improved stuff starting today...Thanks for reading,  I woke up feeling new...lol

To the next 39yrs!

My parents celebrate their 39th wedding anniversary today. I think they are the cutest couple, I love the way my dad looks at my mom, and the way he adores her every word. I love the way my mom knows my dad can do anything ( even if he hasn't ever done it before), and it's cute to see them laugh and poke fun at one another. Their later years of marriage have been the coolest to see, because they have begun to date and socialize. I wish them 39 more years of marital bliss....Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!