Jewel's Fab Life: Fashion, Fun and Everything Fabulous!

Social Media Week: Making Your Event Go Viral

Jewel — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 21:42:11 +0000

Shout out to Social Media Week Miami! What an AWESOME week of topics and panels–everything from The Social Foodie to Social Media and Novelas to Social Media as a Driver for Reality Television to A Digital Chat with Rico Love (my bestie), and all in between.

As I announced a couple of weeks ago, I actually spoke on the first panel of the day on Friday–a discussion entitled Beyond the Walls: Making Your Event Go Viral. It was an amazing experience. Shout out to everyone who came out, as well as those watching the livestream. At one point, my Twitter name, @TheTinyJEWELBox, was trending in Miami. WOOT!

In case you were not able to catch my session, here’s the link. However, be forewarned, the camera was set up and recording wayyy before the panel discussion started, so fast forward to 6:40 to see the beginning.

I can’t wait to do it again.I was quite honored to sit on the panel, amongst such esteemed folks. Watch it and tell me what you think!

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Please Breakfast, Don’t Be Mad at Me!

Jewel — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:21:13 +0000

It is said that Breakfast is the most important meal of the day because it jump-starts your metabolism and helps with things like concentration. Knowing this, I’m sad to say that I don’t consistently eat breakfast. I don’t know why, but my first meal on a typical day is lunch. And, to add insult to injury, I LOVE breakfast food–eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, fruit! I just never seem to get around to it. I’m sorry, Breakfast, please take me back–I have no idea why we broke up.

So, going along with my theme of being a Healthier Jewel in 2012, I’m on a quest to eat breakfast daily. Well, daily might be a lofty goal, let’s say 4 times a week. And, because this is a Family Goal, my husband and I went shopping this morning for Breakfast Breads. I hadn’t shopped in the Bread section of the grocery store for a long time, so some things were quite surprising for me. Here’s a link to my Google + Post about the shopping adventure.

So, TOMORROW starts my breakfast undertaking. I’m going to have a Bagel spread with guava jelly. Wish me luck!

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. All opinions are my own. #CBias

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Jelly Belly AND Snapple? Yes, Please!

Jewel — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 13:36:34 +0000

For as long as I can remember, I’ve had this love affair going with Jelly Belly. My all time absolute favorite is Buttered Popcorn. I can get a bag of them and nibble all day. I also love Snapple. With them, my fave is the Half & Half, their spin on a bottled Arnold Palmer.

Well, in a move that totally DELIGHTS me, these two brands are partnering for a new line of Jelly Belly beans, inspired by Snapple, free from artificial coloring and made with 100% natural flavors. Jelly Belly Snapple Mix features five sweet and tangy flavors, now available in clever miniature bottles:

Fruit Punch
Mango Madness
Cranberry Raspberry
Pink Lemonade
Kiwi Strawberry

The new Jelly Belly Snapple Bottles are modeled after the real Snapple Juice Drink bottles. The miniature size is perfect for party favors, snacks and conveniently-sized for pockets and purses.

I can’t wait until they hit stores!

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Doo.Ri Is the Draped Crusader of Macy’s

Jewel — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:22:50 +0000

Nobody does drape quite like fashion designer Doo-ri Chung. During her rise to lead designer with Geoffrey Beene, she perfected the art of drapethed apparel. She first launched her own line, called Doo.ri, in 2003, and has since taken the fashion world by storm. By 2005, she she had been inducted as a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and in 2006 won the Samsung Fashion Design Fund Award, CFDA Swarovski/Perry Ellis Award for Emerging Design Talent and the CVFF grand prize. In that same year, she also became the first American designer to be nominated for Switzerland’s Stella Award.

Yesterday, Macy’s launched a collaboration with Doo-Ri Chung. Featuring doo.ri’s iconic draping and love of lightweight knitwear and mixed fabrications, the doo.ri for Impulse only at Macy’s collection will be sold in approximately 185 Macy’s stores nationwide and on macys.com. The limited time collection went on sale yesterday.

The doo.ri capsule reflects the designer’s signature styling and treasured craftsmanship that have made her an instant success. With modest, yet fascinating details, from the choice of fabric to her signature draping, the doo.ri collection is a fusion of sumptuous and collectible pieces that can easily transition from day-to-night. Priced on average from $39-$159, the collection features soft fabrics, art-inspired prints and feminine silhouettes, all grounded in blues and greys with red, black and orange infused throughout. Statement outerwear, short and maxi length dresses, sweaters and cardigans, knit and faux leather mixed skirts and leggings and great blouses are each stand out pieces that can be worn alone or mixed together.

This capsule collection has allowed me to reach a wider audience, and that is exciting for me. I want to dress a modern woman, and if I can give her a different price point then that’s great! The collection is feminine, wearable and definitely Doo.Ri! –Doo-ri Chung

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Timesaving Tools of the Trade

Jewel — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:40:22 +0000

Being a solopreneur, the one thing i’m always short on is TIME. So, anything that can help me shave a few minutes off of a task is a welcomed item. And, over the past few years, I have gotten my day to day stuff down to a science, including events. In fact, once the automakers come up with a vehicle that doesn’t require me to keep my eyes on the road, life will be PERFECT!

In the meantime, here is my arsenal of time-saving tools:

As bad as I hate to admit it, my smartphone has become a prominent part of my life. I could do without a lot of things, but my phone isn’t one of them. Since much of my time is spent on the road, my phone allows me to keep up with email, take pictures on the fly, and update my Twitter, Facebook, and Foursquare streams. On top of all that, it’s a phone! LOL I’m an avid Blackberry user and my current device is the Blackberry Torch.

I’m also a tablet user. Though I have both a laptop and a netbook, I love the portability of the tablet. I use it to access the internet, respond to emails, take pictures, etc. Though there are many tablets on the market, I use the Blackberry Playbook, as it serves as an extension of my phone.

A few years ago, during a Super Bowl weekend red carpet, I had the great fortune of standing next to a reporter from People Magazine. When celebrities came over to answer questions, I pulled out my notebook and pen, and he pulled out a voice recorder. I struggled through my interviews that night. And, during a lull, he quietly suggested that I get a voice recorder. The next day, I did. And it changed my life. It’s voice activated, and that makes it handsfree. I can record the entire interview and then come home and download the entire thing to my computer as a mp3 file. Transcription is a breeze. Also, it’s good to have a recording of the actual exchange, as I have learned that sometimes folks will misspeak and then say that they never actually said the thing that I said that they said. I use the Phillips Voice Tracer.

So, these are my timesavers. What do you do in your professional life and what things can you not live without?

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Juicy Couture Spreads the Love

Jewel — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:54:38 +0000

Leading up to Valentine’s Day, guests staying at the Hotel Victor in South Beach were presented with blank cards and asked to write a love note to a stranger. They were then asked to take the note to the nearby Juicy Couture store, where they could exchange it for a cool swag bag.

So, what did Juicy Couture do with the collected notes? Well, yesterday some hunky “Cupid” boytoys showed up in surprise locations, including Lincoln Road, to deliver the notes to strangers. One lucky recipient also received a $500 Juicy Couture gift card AND a 2 night stay at the Hotel Victor. How cool is that?

In addition to creating happiness for hundreds of strangers, for each card written by the Hotel Victor guests, Juicy Couture will donate $1 to loveisrespect.org, an online initiative that brings together Break the Cycle and The National Dating Abuse Helpline to engage, educate, and empower teens and young adults to prevent and end abusive relationships.

The same program ran simultaneously in New York City, using guests at the 60 Thompson in SoHo.

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Congrats to the Ritz Carlton Cancun!

Jewel — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:18:05 +0000

Last summer, I had the opportunity to take a press trip to Cancun, Mexico. One of the most marvelous parts of the trip was staying at the ridiculously FAB Ritz Carlton Cancun. The place was beyond amazing. So, it’s no surprise to me that it was one of only SEVEN hotels in Cancun that recently received the prestigious 2012 AAA Five Diamond Award. It’s the only Ritz Carlton Hotel in Mexico and each of the 365 rooms has an ocean view AND a private balcony or terrace. Here was my view:

And the food? Good grief. I will never forget one of the dinners there. Imagine being on the beach. I mean DIRECTLY on the sand. On a warm August night. In a cabana that is transformed each night into a dining room. So close to the ocean that you can hear the waves. Then imagine the servers bringing you this:

Yes! The fist picture is of ONE of the appetizers. A seafood platter: Alaskan king crab legs, Jumbo shrimps, oysters, chilled Caribbean lobster tails, and tuna tartare. The second picture is the main course. New York steak, Chilean salmon and grilled chicken breast. All on one plate. I REFUSE to show you the sides and dessert. I don’t want you to completely hate me.

Again, no surprise to me about them receiving such an award. Well done, Ritz Cancun! Well done!

Disclosure: I was a guest of the Cancun Convention & Visitors Bureau during this trip. They provided my travel, lodging, meals and activities. All opinions are my own.

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I’m Speaking at Social Media Week Miami

Jewel — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:52:58 +0000

Social Media Week is coming! In fact, it starts on Monday. The hoopla is now in 21 cities around the globe. In the United States, Social Media Week is currently being held in Los Angeles, New York, DC, San Francisco, Chicago, and Miami. It was conceived and is now being nurtured by CrowdCentric, based in New York City.

Many of my friends are speaking on panels that are being held all week at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami. I was asked to speak on a really interesting one. The title is Beyond the Walls: Making Your Event Go Viral. It’s at the Arsht Center on Friday morning at 9am. My fellow panelists are:

Sara Shake of Exposed PR
Josh Miller of C & I Studios
Stephanie Ruiz of General Motors
Stephanie Dunn of Tara, Ink.
Jenny Lee Molina of JLPR

We’ll be talking about some of the viral events that have gone on around town, including Ikea‘s scavenger hunt and flash mob, GM’s crawls, etc. I’m looking forward to it.

Oh, did I mention that most Social Media Week activities are FREE, including my panel. You can register here! WOOT!

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Learn to Cook Romantically at Macy’s

Jewel — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:49:21 +0000

It’s sometimes said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. I’m not sure if that adage is true, but just in case it is–you might want to skip on down to Macy’s Dadeland tomorrow afternooon and check out world famous Pastry Chef Bruno Portelli. Chef Bruno will show you how to prepare mouth watering recipes that will woo your sweetheart on Valentine’s Day and all year long.

And, as an added bonus, you’ll receive a complimentary Macy’s wine chiller with any $40 Housewares purchase.

Look for Chef Bruno tomorrow between 1pm-3pm in the center of the Mall!

Disclosure: This is a Sponsored post. I received compensation for announcing this to you. But, I’ll be there and that was NOT part of the deal–I wanna learn, too!

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My First Kiss

Jewel — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:03:13 +0000

I shall never forget my first kiss. He was a classmate from good ole Brightwood Elementary School in Washington, DC. His name was David Betts and he was the smartest boy in the class (I’ve always been attracted to smart men).

He’d invited me to his “birthday party” and it wasn’t until after my mom had dropped me off that I figured out that it wasn’t a real party. Not like the ones I had. It was just his parents, his little sister, him, and me. They had a regular dinner and afterwards, a cake.

I remember thinking how cool his house was. They had built-ins everywhere, filled with books. He and his sister could actually ENTER their living room, unlike my own home where the living room may as well have had a velvet rope cordoning it off from the rest of the house. You were NOT to enter. EVER. In fact, my mom preferred that you not even turn your head that way when passing. It was OFF LIMITS. In stark contrast, David and his family hung out in the living room. They played games and watched television and just kind of lounged. It was there that it happened.

As I recall, I was so taken aback with the house and the whole living room situation, that I never quite figured out that he thought of me as his girlfriend. In fact, it wasn’t until his little sister blurted it out that I even gave it a thought. And, once considered, it wasn’t a bad idea. I could be his girlfriend. Heck, in his mind, I already WAS his girlfriend. So, when he asked me to close my eyes so that he could kiss me, I obliged. It was a quick peck on the lips. Nothing at all to write home about. Unless you were 8 years old and it was your first one. Romantic, huh?

Well, I WOULD be embarrassed if I didn’t know that a few of the Victoria’s Secret Angels had worst experiences. Watch as they share their own First Kiss experiences.

Now, YOU tell ME. What was your first kiss like?