adios 2oo9, it's been real.

so it's new year's 2oo9 and i couldn't be more ecstatic to be walking confidently into a new year. while i could have chosen to go out and party with friends tonight, i've decided to chill inside with the family and ring in the new year right. i'm so excited to see what next year holds for my family and friends and being able to be blessed to make it though yet another year.

this year has been one for the books - but i'm so thankful for the growth and maturity and the ability to stand up for myself even more. these last ten years have surely flown by and as i look back on the person that i used to be, i'm so grateful for the evolution and continued discovery that i am experiencing.

2o1o is about to be on and POPPIN'! so to all my peeps going out this evening - be safe, have fun and i will see you in the new year! <3

-*csc.

merry christmas : from my family, to yours

merry christmas everyone!

i felt like a little kid because i was so anxious to wake up this morning, not to open gifts, (#weoffdat) but just because of what christmas means : being with family and friends, enjoying each others compant and good food, but more importantly, celebrating the birth of a man who would save the sins of the entire world. even if you don't celebrate christmas, it's still a day to take time and be thankful for all that you have in this life. we're happy, healthy and prosperous.


have a blessed holiday everyone. here are two of my fave holiday songs :)

-*csc.



(the night that christ was born :: kirk franklin & the family)



(silent night :: boyz II men)

dont call it a comeback : the karate kid

i know there have been several installments of 'the karate kid', but this looks like a version that will definitely do well in theaters. starring jaden smith (son of will and jada pinkett smith), he moves to bejing with his mother, tarji p. henson and finds that he has to be able to protect himself in the tough streets of china. jackie chan serves as his instructor and my oh my, it looks like jaden does his thing in this movie. he has truly grown since 'the pursuit of happyness' with his daddy in 2006, and by the looks of it, this role was physically demanding. i'm sure papa smith threw some pointers about athleticism that he learned from 'ALI'. check out the trailer below.

the movie is due out some time next year.



-*csc.

get ready to carrie on :: sex in the city 2

ok, so before seeing the first installment of the sex in the city movies, i have to admit - i really wasn't a fan of the show. but my friends reassured me that you really didn't have to watch the show to understand the movie. so i watched it...and LOVED it! i'm so excited for the new movie to come out this summer - [hopefully i will be able to see it over in espana] but anyway, below is the trailer. i'm SO not surprised that "empire state of mind" is the theme song, i just hope after this movie it will die down a little bit (#noshots)

enjoy!

-*csc.

little drummer boy : steph jones

happy holidays everyone!

it feels SO good to be back home in the windy city for the holidays. i'm doing my best to relax and rest before i head back to the 'cuse for another tedious semester. but to get everyone into the christmas spirit, steph jones has released his own version of the holiday classic, "little drummer boy". i absolutely love steph jones as an artist, and i think that he has a very unique flavor that he is bringing to the r&b game.

check out the video that features cameos from pop sensation jordin sparks & socialite b. scott.

merry christmas everyone, & i'll be sure to holla back before the new year!







-*csc.

it just keeps getting better : dell presents OPI colored laptops

the dell inspiron 15 in OPI's "princesses rule!"

ladies, remember when we were younger and how much we loved to play in your mom's nail polishes? painting each of our tiny little nails a different color because we were so fascinated with how sparkly each shade was. now, we've got the chance to bring that dream to life.

dell has teamed up with OPI (the nail polish giant) to create a line of beauty-inspired laptop designs. i must say, i am a little jelly because i have a mac and i would love to have my computer be the same color as my nails - that's super freshness ^ infinity. with 26 different designs, all colors are traditional OPI nail shades, like green-wich village, teal the cows come home, big apple red, and my personal fave, princesses rule!

it's so cool that technology is advancing so much that companies like dell are allowing customers to personally characterize their appliances, and the collabo with OPI just shows that companies now days are starting to venture outside of their own realms, and initiating expansion for their own repertoire.

log onto http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/design_studio/en/us/design_studio?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs to check out the many different cool colors that are offered. it's an additional $65 to specific OPI color of your choice. this just goes to show that our lives truly to revolve around technological advances, and it's only going to continue from here.

-*csc.

visually appealing : kid cudi - pursuit of happiness

"if i fall, if i die - know i lived it to the fullest -- if i fall, if i die - know i lived & missed some bullets..."

i don't even have to go into the reasons why i love cudder so much, but i totally *one day soon* want to sit around a table with my friends just poppin' bottles of champagne because we can. but ultimately, we are all on that journey to happiness in life, but as kid cudi shows in the video, all that glitters is not gold. the video is SUPER dope with special effects to (josh hartness directed the video - clap for him.)

word to drake & jake gyllehaal for making cameos in the video. i can't wait to see this dude perform live in concert! :)


-*csc.

it's the kid in me : jamba juice smoothie maker

so my younger sister insisted in waking me up out of my slumber this afternoon to bring this absolutely GENIUS idea to my attention.

jamba juice has officially joined the ranks of real-food appliances like the easybake oven, the mrs. fields baking factory and the mcdonald's mcflurry maker. i really thought that i was going to go to culinary school, so i spent hours upon hours as a youngster making cakes, cookies and other goodies for my household. *giggle*

this christmas would be a joy if i saw this box under the tree, and while you make think that i am too old for novelties such as these, i must explain my love for jamba juice. and seeing that there is no jamba juice here in syracuse, new york (getcha money up 'cuse, let's make this valuable investment!) i think that this would totally make my spring semester and have my fellow classmates sippin' a little haterade because i'll have freshly blended jamba juice smoothies each morning on my way to class.


toys 'r us is just one of the few retailers selling the item for $19.99, and it's currently sold out online, so you know that it's going to be a hot item for the kiddies this christmas.

if santa knows what's best for him, he'll make sure to thrown this up under my tree - i've totally been a good girl this year. ;-)


-*csc.

**flyness alert! : alicia keys

photographed at her album release party in london town, alicia keys looks absolutely stunning in this white and blue dress. i love that she rocked blue tights AND blue shoes. if you didn't already recognize, this chick has a mean shoe game and she look totally fab.

her fourth studio album titled "the element of freedom" is in stores now

-*csc.

new sounds : "graffiti" by chris brown

[**note: the last week of classes was a little rough on a sista, so pardon my lateness on this post.]

this has been a highly anticipated album since the whole chrihanna incident, and i must say that chris does not disappoint. his sound is much more mature, and while there are so tracks on the album that seem to explicitly describe his recent heartbreak, he does a wonderful job of staying true himself and showing that he is in the process of healing. vocally, chris has impressively improved, and the content of his songs are exactly what i would expect to hear from a 20-something transitioning from being boyhood to manhood. i haven't been able to take this album off shuffle since downloading it last week (yup, somewhat exclusive - ha)

favorite cuts:

"crawl" - this is the second single off of the album that he's already put the video out featuring R&B chick cassie. clearly, this is about his recent highly publicized break-up, but the way that the song is written, it conveys the message of hope and no matter how many times we fall, we can always dust ourselves of & start over.

line for line --"if we crawl, till we can walk again; then we'll run until we're strong enough to jump--then we'll fly until there is no end, so lets crawl, back to love."

"famous girl" - an upbeat joint, brown describes this "famous girl" by using different song titles from artists like beyonce, keyshia cole, drake and even his old flame rihanna. while he points our her flaws about being famous, he also points out the fact that being famous doesn't guard him from being a heart breaker too. chris even takes shots at the bloggers in this joint, already anticipating that they're gonna dissect word for word of the song. i've heard a lot of people humming this joint across campus in the past few days, and i must say it is a very cute song that is radio-worthy.

line for line -- "keri would’ve said my love knocks her down, keyshia would’ve told me I was sent from heaven; sorry bey I don’t wear no halo--you were first to play the game though; sorry I bust the windows of your car..."

"take my time feat. tank" --true to heart R&B slow jam that features an R&B hottie that we haven't heard from in a minute. i was sooo surprised to hear tank's voice on this track, but at the same time very impressed because their voices fit perfectly. producers 'tha business' did the darn thing on this song *fans self*. in this track, an all-grown-up chris talks about being able to please his girl in the bedroom [which could make any girl go crazy]. i would say this is "take you down" turned up about six notches and i'm sure when he performs this in concert, the girls will go just as crazy as they did with that joint. muy caliente chico ;-)

line for line--"i got your back up against the wall, i've got strength won't let you fall --when i make you bloom like a flower babe..."

overall, i would rate this album a solid 4.3 out of 5 stars. chris does some experimentation on some tracks with techno-like sounds, but nevertheless it's still the same sound that we've experienced on his previous albums. after all that he's been through this year, i must say that he's shown a lot of maturity and his music is more than enough proof for that.

-*csc.

brand new flavor for ya ear : urbanears

"the plattan" headphones, $60

"the tanto" headphones, $40

these have to be some of the simplest, yet attractive set of headphones i've seen in a while. the ear buds that Apple provides for their iPods were cool at first, but they can be awfully annoying to put in your ears time and time again.

with urbanears you have a choice of 'the tanto' or 'the plattan' headphones, both which are very stylish and come in a variety of bright colors.

'the tanto' headphones run for about $40, and 'the plattan' headphones run $60. both can be found at http://www.karmaloop.com/.

this would be a great christmas gift for the music lover(s) in your life <3


-*csc.

There Can Only Be One: The Fortunate™

watch out chicago.



there's group of gifted teens that is looking to burst on to the fashion scene, emerging a fresh look of streetwear for trendsetters from coast to coast.



started in february 2009, the fortunate was created by six teenagers that hail from the south side of chicago & hyde park. specializing in tees, crewnecks, sweaters and hoodies, the fortunate has plans of emphazing the eclectic fashions of the chi, and will host their kick-off party this january in the legendary city.




if i were you, i would definitely keep an eye on the fortunate -- this group of teens is determined to accentuate the dope & fresh brand of fashion that is the city of wind, because we all know there is no city on the planet like chicago.





check out their facebook page and follow them on twitter:


http://facebook.com/pages/The-FortunateTM/192775337019?ref=ts

http://twitter.com/TheFortunateChi



-*csc.

JUST DANCE : vibe studios

(*photographs courtesy of vibe studios facebook page*)

heads up to all my dancers out there!

vibe studios is a brand new dance studio that has just opened in the syracuse this weekend. as a dance fanatic, i literally fell out of my chair with excitement when reading an email about the grand opening this weekend.

with the tagline "no committments, no monthly fees, no bullsh*t -- just dance" i'm totally stoked about going to dance at this studio next weekend. owned and operated by savannah featherly, vibe studios is a subdivision of central new york academy of dance arts that offers a variety of dance classes for students 16+ that focuses of choreograhy and different dance styles.

vibe studios is located at 303 east manlius street in east syracuse, new york. their opening weekends are december 4th-6th and december 11th-13th. the studio is offering several specials their opening weekend, including free classes on friday and saturday and a dance competition on sunday.

for more information, check out their myspace page and follow them on twitter.

http://www.myspace.com/vibe.studios

http://www.twitter.com/vibestudios

i can't wait to get my groove on in this hip new hot spot this upcoming weekend.

-*csc.

new sounds : "the first flight" by diggy simmons

so if i were 15, i would TOTALLY try to get @ Digg - his swag is ridiculously crazy! *lol*

any way, daniel 'diggy' simmons as everyone knows is the son of rev. run & justine of mtv's "run's house" and he has now burst on the scene with his first mixtape titled "the first flight'. i knew that dig wanted to break into the fashion industry from watching episodes of the show, but i had NO CLUE that he could rhyme.

favorite cuts:

"point to prove" - the first single released of the mixtape which talks about how even though he comes from a legacy of hip-hop royalty, this young chap has to show everyone who he is, regardless of his famous roots.
"laid back" - this track talks about how he's trying to holla at a young ya-dig, but rapperes chris classic & mike charles reassure diggy that he's got all the time in the world for the girls, and he should really just focus on himself & living the life of a teenager.

with eleven other tracks, diggy really has something going. i'm excited to see where he takes his rapping and fashion career. unlike his older brother jojo, who started the group "team blackout" *where they at?* diggy is blazing his own trail and talking about his experiences as a 15 year old boy - which just makes the mixtape so much more commendable and enjoyable to listen.

i rate this mixtape 4 out of 5 stars - this dude is about to blow up and everybody better get ready. check out a free download from datpiff here : http://www.datpiff.com/Dj_Spin_King_Diggy_The_First_Flight.m82094.html


-*csc.

**flyness alert! : gabrielle union

i love this chick's fashion sense. we're bffs *in my mind* & there have been a few times where people have told me i resemble her (maybe, just a lil' bit - lol). you can never go wrong with a little black dress, and she spiced it up with a skinny yellow belt and clutch. love the shoes too!


gabby is pictured here at a hennessy black event, holding her own & looking fab.

i'm tryna get like her one day soon ~ work it girl!


-*csc.

**flyness alert! : taraji p. henson

happy tuesday!

let me just say that i <3 taraji and i would TOTALLY rock this look *if y'all can't tell by now, gray is one of my all-time favorite colors* her hair is BEAT too -- work it honee!

i'm so going out shopping to find a similar look for this winter :)

-*csc.