Spexy Lady | A Blog On Fashion, Life, Money, Health and More

2012 NEW YEAR, NEW DO'S

2012-01-02T13:33:00.001-06:00

It's that time again! Making that list of resolutions, choking down black eyed peas (canned if you cheat like MOI), and adding cabbage for good luck and good measure (coleslaw from the grocery deli works for SL!).

Looking back, did you achieve those goals? Did you do what you promised? Did you do any of those things you jotted down Jan. 1, 2011?

SL looks back, and sure 'nuf, having fun was No.1 on the list, and she did it in spades! Traveled solo (not so much fun), joined a gym and took pilates, and thanks to the holidays GAINED 8 lbs., not lost any (not so good).

What's more "fun" than standing in the TSA line at the airport getting frisked by Brunehilda? Getting to your destination.

This year it was Spexy's year to fly! Beaver Creek in January to eat mounds of chocolate. April to Florida for martinis on the sugar beaches of Long Boat Key. May to the deserts of Tucson. June to party with the Sis-tahs in the Colorado Rockies and bid mom 'good-bye' down the South Platte River. July beach bumming in Laguna. August to Boulder to channel those college move-in days. October to Halloween in Tubac, AZ.

And finally! The dash to the last of 2011-- a 3-city trip. Boston, Charleston and Breckenridge, Colo, all in one week! Now that's my kind of year!

Too bad Spexy didn't have all those flights on AA to run up the miles.

So what can top 2011?

2012 is the year of the knee -- is that a Chinese symbol? Thanks to a back-hand return gone bad, and years of skiing on that repaired knee with the Frankenstein scar, it's time for the latest and greatest new knee! A Triathalon Knee that should be ready for the slopes by next Christmas. Through the miracle of technology, a very, very cool and pretty cute knee surgeon, and lots of pain meds, Spexy should be back in 5-inch Manolos, and the newest Rossignol skis this time next year.

This is the big resolution this year: get back on the slopes, and conquer the greens! With visions of perfectly groomed runs, diamond-sparkling snow-covered pines, and chic new ski garb, Spexy Lady is pumped (no Manolo pun intended!) for 2012.

Like the song, "Seasons of Love" from "Rent" notes, there are 525,600 minutes in a year. How do you measure a year?

Yours truly is going to measure every minute closer to Beaver Creek's Haymeadow Bunny Slope!

How will you measure your year?

Happy Spex-tacular 2012!

WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR DASH?

2011-11-17T15:41:00.016-06:00

If there's one thing this high-heeled fashionista loves, it's luncheons where the Manolos can come out of the closet and see the light of day. Some luncheons are just too "lunchy,"-- filled with nice, benign conversations over rubber chicken covered in some kind of goop, and bread hard enough to cause a concussion if it hit someone.

Today's luncheon of the week was anything but that. SL had plenty to ponder after the speaker talked about that dash we'll have decorating our tombstone someday. The dash between our birth date and our date of death is truly life's most important punctuation mark. She challenged the audience of women entrepreneurs to ask, "What are you doing with your dash?" Now that's really some food for thought!

Steve Jobs' dash, one would expect, would be long and thick, reflecting someone who had filled that dash to the brim with life-altering technology that made lives better in endless ways. Evelyn Lauder's 75 years would be a beautiful, colorful, long dash drawn for not only her contributions to the beauty industry, but also to breast cancer research with her endless support for finding a cure.

I'd like to think my dash would be long on making a difference in at least one life along the way, and that it would probably have a few cracks here and there for the stumbles, failures, mended fences, and a broken heart or two. Interestingly, if you look really, really closely at the dash on a headstone, it's not a razor sharp line. It waves slightly, microscopically, in the marble, granite or cement tombstone it sits in. Rather like our lives, that aren't so perfect, but meaningful nevertheless.

Every day I plan to challenge myself and ask, "What am I doing with my dash today?" How can I fill it up, make it strong, make it matter.

Something to think about before that dash is carved in stone.

WHEN PATIENCE PAYS

2011-09-29T22:19:00.009-05:00

Spexy Lady would hardly be called a patient person. Somehow, SL was doing something else-- perhaps shoe shopping-- and didn’t get the memo on “Patience is a virtue.” But being the hard-headed redhead that she is, she's had to suck it up and BE PATIENT, lest she lose her entire Manolo Money Fund to the high-roller math mavericks on Wall Street.

And Math Mavericks they are! Get this...98 percent of the stock market is controlled not by your garden variety stockbroker, but by computers. Tech-wizards with genius IQs work up endless algorithms that would make your head spin like that scary scene from “The Exorcist.”

What’s a Manolo Maven like moi to do when there seems no end in sight to the latest dizzying stock market gyrations? She does what any smart shopper would do. She checks out the sales!

But these sales are not for the faint of heart, and there's more to be lost than some undersized pair of jeans that hang in your closet with the tags still on. These are the kind of sales you shop with a real money pro. When SL goes it alone, she might be inclined to buy something that doesn’t “fit” or costs too much, or simply just isn’t a good buy.

Spexy's go-to shopping buddy is her shrewd, savvy financial advisor, worth her weight in gold (whether it's up or down). It’s hard enough for the experts to navigate the shark-infested Wall Street waters these days, let alone trying to do it on your own!

So listen up dear readers, day-trader wanna be's, or new students of The Street.

If you want to dip your toe into the market and score some good buys out there, arm yourself with good advice – whether you visit those smart people at places like Fidelity, call Chuck at Schwab, or sign on with a financial advisory firm that charges fair fees. Check ‘em out as closely as you would a nanny for your precious babies through sites like www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.

For tips on good buys, pop in on CNBC’s "Mad Money" host, Jim Cramer (photo above), airing daily at 5p CST Central, 6pm ET. His mantra is "Buy America." What a thought! Consider purchasing stock in strong, healthy U.S.-based companies that pay dividends in the 3% and up range. While your picks are riding the Wall Street Roller Coaster, they’ll be paying you to wait out the storm with a nice dividend check. And that’s the kind of waiting Spexy Lady likes—getting paid to wait.

The smart money says, "Be patient, don’t put all your eggs in one stock-basket,' and ease in knowing it could well be a couple of years or more before the skies clear.

Parting thoughts: Keep some powder (not face powder) dry to pad that Manolo Fund with cash for six-months to a year’s worth of income, 'cause you never want to run out of Manolos.

And that's your Spexy-nomics lesson for the day!

WOMEN ON BOARD

2011-09-11T20:15:00.004-05:00

Slow but sure, women are making some headway, finally, on joining the Board Room good old boys.

April's Wall Street Journal report on "Women in the Economy" had some discouraging news that women had lost ground, and fewer women were on boards over the last year.

Thanks to the WSJ's tracking, women grabbed a record number of new board seats in the second quarter of this year. The good news...48% of 116 new board seats went to women, and 34% of newly elected directors were female.

Perhaps the big wigs in those corner offices read the April WSJ "Women in the Economy" report, and took to heart what heavy hitter female CEOS had to say about board positions, and getting more women in those rarefied corner offices.

Spexy Lady will continue to lobby and rattle chains to get more women on board in the Board Room.

Congratulations to the new female board members!

THE LADDER DIARIES: BLING ON THE TECH

2011-06-14T22:12:00.006-05:00

If there's one place where women need to leave a deep pump-print, it's in that left-brained world of science and technology. Spexy Lady is hardly one to talk. She's embarassed to say she's barely figured out her Blackberry, and how to upload iTunes. But being somewhat trainable, SL is jumping on the band wagon to get more women on the tech track to the top.

What's needed, says the WSJ's April 2011 report on Women in the Economy, is more bling to the tech thing. Make it chic to be a geek. Cool to be a C-suite techy. Glamorize technology with ad campaigns showcasing women in technology. Imagine television and movies with tech heroines who fight cyber crime or scientifically save the day in their Chanel suits and stilettos. Or better yet, maybe science should clone Google's gorgeous Marissa Mayer (left).

But it all starts in the classroom, and if WSJ's task force has anything to say about it, educational institutions would wise up by offering more science, technology and math classes appealing and empowering to women. Follow that act by opening doors to juicy tech internships. Once hooked, these women can flow into the hiring pipeline, where few now exist, to garner those coveted interviews for spots once open only to their male counterparts.

Certainly there are other industries where women are under-represented, but in the burgeoning technology and science fields, where fortune and fame are built, women are but a whisper. Once in the door, women need mentors, coaching up the ladder, and a "pay it forward" philosophy once "they've arrived."

Perfect world? Perhaps. But not out of the realm of reality if word gets out, "Being a Geek is Chic." Marissa got the memo on that one.

THE LADDER DIARIES: LIVIN' WITH THE GUILT

2011-05-21T13:03:00.007-05:00

When a soccer mom used to ask me, "Don't you feel guilty leaving your baby every day with a nanny?" I told them, "You learn to live with the guilt." Duh!

Maybe there are some Iron Maiden Moms out there who don't have that nagging feeling when they leave their kids with the nanny, babysitter, daycare, grandma, or other caregiver, but I'm not one of them, and neither is that Wall Street power house mama, Sallie Krawcheck, Bank of America's big wig at the global wealth/investment management desk.

WSJ's "Women in the Economy" team talked to her about that very thing -- the guilt thing--the mommy thing--the "should I or shouldn't I" syndrome.

Know what she said? After crawling around on the floor with her baby son, it hit her. She needed to work. Why? She had too much "neurotic energy," and perhaps didn't want to burn her kid out. She needed to channel that energy into clients. Nevertheless, she felt the guilt.

"When you leave a three-year-old crying, 'Don't go Mommy, don't go,' you have to have a heart of stone not to feel guilt," she said. Oh yeah, Sallie learned to live with the guilt--perhaps like many of us do--but she hung on to climb through Citigroup, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., and now BofA.

Every time I plop down my BofA credit card for Manolos and more, I think of Sallie. What would Sallie do? She'd probably buy those Manolos knowing that yes, a few tears might have been shed by a little person at home, unaware that mommy was not only working to fund her Manolos, but also the Nikes', hockey sticks, basketball camp, drama lessons and probably a college education. And we all know that stuff is far more expensive than a pair of Manolos.

Check out this spex-tacular lady's story at WSJ.com/WIE.

THE LADDER DIARIES 2: SHOOTIN' STRAIGHT

2011-05-13T22:16:00.006-05:00

Indra Nooyi is Spexy's idea of the real deal. She tells like it is. No BS. Shoots straight and takes no prisoners. She's top dog (CEO) at PepsiCo and she scored a big-time interview with WSJ"s Report on "Women in the Economy." She's the kind of person who tells you the truth; not what you want to hear. Imagine what she's like in the board room. You can bet things happen and sparks fly! My bet is she gets things done.

From her rarified perch at PepsiCo, she's a wealth of wisdom for women envisioning themselves someday in her heels.

She makes no bones about how women have a hard time taking negative--read that constructive--criticism from other women. Men? It's not personal. It's locker room talk on how to perform better on the "field." Women need to get over it and accept women mentors. More important, there need to be MORE women mentors. Hello? Where are you? Step in, step up and help your sisters up the rungs to the C-suite.

Ms. Nooyi had some more pearls to share, and not the ones she was wearing for her WSJ interview. When the tough turn-around assignments come along, she advises, "raise your hand." You'll win more than just brownie points for making lemonade out of lemons. Be fearless and volunteer for those difficult jobs, logging each win as another step up the ladder and into the
C-suite.

Churchill had it right when he said,"If you're going through hell, keep going." I have a feeling Ms. Nooyi would agree. There were trade-offs and sacrifices she made along the way. The kind she hopes her daughters don't have to make on their way up. Amen sist-ah!

THE LADDER DIARIES: WOMEN UP AND DOWN

2011-04-23T12:27:00.010-05:00

Spexy Lady is stepping onto her soap box. What a surprise, no?

The Wall Street Journal is Spexy's night reading, for lack of anything more exciting these days (but that's another story for another day!!). WSJ's report on "Women in the Economy" April 11 left SL aghast and emboldened. When it comes to women in the workplace, the gears have shifted into reverse. After all these years, all these Labor laws, all these Family Life laws, diversity quotas, blah, blah, blah...the research is showing women have lost ground.

Over the next several months,, the "mouth from the south," otherwise known as Spexy Lady, will be using her old newspaper skills to comment on the WSJ's "Women in the Economy" Conference Report. Knowledge is power "they" say, but knowledge without action is futile.

Here's a stat that should make you feel warm and fuzzy: "Only 11 chief executives of Fortune 500 companies are women, down from 15 in 2010" Catalyst tells us. Catalyst is that very cool non-profit group that has been tracking the stiletto-steps of women for more than 30 years.

Just yesterday, I was explaining to one of my mentees, whom I love and adore, that women are promoted on performance -- think work hard, work harder, work hardest and you might climb another rung. Mid-management men get promoted on potential McKinsey & Co. says.

What this means is that we THINK we have to prove ourselves. We THINK we have to work harder, so therefore we do, and therefore we further reinforce that ridiculous thinking that women are only as good as their current or past performance rather than their potential. Not.

Message to mentee: learn the rules of the game at hand, play on the field you're in, and get an ace coach (and nurturing child care)-- a subject SL will get into soon.

Today's take-way from they way Spexy sees things: Promote the untapped, highly valuable, and truly bottom-line POTENTIAL of women on the ladder.

More spex-tacular food for thought for getting on the ladder, staying there, and climbing to the top without breaking a heel...

IF YOU DON'T MOVE, YOU WON'T

2011-04-18T22:56:00.005-05:00

It took a recent article in the Wall Street Journal to get Spexy Lady off her posture-perfect chair parked in front of her computer to move more. "Arthur" better known as osteoarthritis, has become my constant companion living in the right knee after downing too many blue-greens on Beaver Creek's Centennial ski run back in the good ol' days.

You'd think giving Arthur a rest would be just what the doc ordered. Not. You'd think those shark pills--oops, Glucosamine supplements, would be the magic bullet. Not. And you'd think a daily dose of Advil Extra Strength or Aleve would do the trick. Not.

Exercise says a recent WSJ article is the answer, couch potatoes! It juices up the cartilage in your joints, maintains mobility, and keeps Arthur from barking so loudly! Good options: pilates (we've taken it up and love it!), Tai Chi, Yoga (not that hot yoga guaranteed to put SL in traction), swimming, biking, and simply walking. And shall we also mention shopping? Arthur loves a 30-minute stroll through the mall scouting out Spring's latest and greatest.

Moving the bod. That's what the smart docs are ordering up. "Cause if you don't move, you won't move." And who wants to go shopping with a walker? Not this chic chick!

Have a spex-tacular week walking!

A MOUNTAIN OF CHOCOLATE

2011-03-29T22:27:00.006-05:00

What could be more fun than chocolate, lots of it, and lessons from one of the world's best chocolate pastry chefs, Francois Payard.

In the spirit of adventure...and honoring SL's (aka Spexy Lady) New Year's resolution to have fun, it was off to Beaver Creek this winter for Bon Appetite's Master Chef Classic and indulging in serious gastronomic delights. Day one took us to favorite BC haunt, the Golden Eagle and some classic Colorado fare. Day two called for a journey up Bachelor Gulch to join snow-shoe afficianados for lunch with Chicago's top chef and owner of Girl And A Goat. Hess vineyards came out to share their select Hess chardonnays. Day 3 gave us chocolate heaven with Chef Payard, lessons in making the perfect chocolate cake and all the chocolate trimmings and ribbons. Closing out the day at the Ritz with a feast from some of America's best chefs left us in a true food coma...after an hour of endless bites, sips and savoring, SL left on the bus down the mountain home to The Chateau to curl up for the night with a Movie on Demand.

Day four required working off all those calories with a snow shoe hike out the doors of the Ritz, but not before grabbing a quick bite at Spago with all the beautiful people. Breathing in that crisp mountain air, gazing on snow-capped peaks, captures all that is good about Colorado...

and even better, recalling beautiful memories when ski season beckoned friends and family to the house near the pond.

All too soon, the big AA bird flew me home the next day at the crack of dawn to reality.

Until next ski season...

It's a New Year--Have FUN!

2011-01-06T23:03:00.006-06:00

Spexy Lady is back for 2011 after a rather long hiatus. Call it writer's block. Call it life happens.
Call it waiting for the angel of inspiration to fall upon my fingers.

For some, the concept of having to add "Have Fun" to your New Year's Resolutions is a foreign concept. For yours truly that's No. 1 on the list of resolutions, along with the usual "lose weight" "exercise more" etc.

What does "Have Fun" look like to you? Being "black out" wasted every weekend on the latest Vodka concoction? Finding the next hook-up? Escaping somewhere and leaving the kids and hubby for a weekend with the girls? Cooking up your favorite chocolate indulgence?

Here's what fun is NOT. Making friends in cyber space and never having the pleasure of a hug, a real smile, a contagious giggle. Sitting in front of the TV for hours on end, alone, with a bag of chips every single weekend night, living vicariously through LifeTime Original Movies of the Weekend. Working an extra shift, a second job to make ends meet. I could go on, and it's because I can relate to all of that NOT FUN business.

This year is the year to dance, fly fish, climb mountains, walk on the beach, travel fearlessly solo, take up art, invite people to dinner even if it is marinara sauce out of a jar, spaghetti and a prepared salad. This is the year for renewing old friendships, finding lost ones, and re-connecting with the "kid" inside.

Can't wait to start having Spex-tacular Fun! Plans are brewing! Hope yours are too!

Happy Spex-tacular 2011!

COACHING OUT THE FAT

2010-09-18T15:09:00.002-05:00

Spexy Lady has had her share of amazing coaches along life's journey...a great volleyball coach, winning sailing team coach, and invaluable life coach.

Now that the flab of the '50s was setting in and totally devastating the look of those fab fashions lined up in Spexy's closet, it was time to call in a pro. A quick call to clinical nutritionist, fitness guru, and stunning TV health celebrity, Laura Lewis, Spexy is on her way to fighting the flab fat-gram style. Amazing what those almonds have in them! A quick afternoon pick up that's just loaded in fat! Or how about the tortilla chips at my favorite Mexican foot haunt, hard to stop after one! Fat gram heaven!

And cheese -- talk about who's moving my cheese these days, it's Coach Lewis. The cheese had been moving right out of the fridge and onto the muffin tops. It's gotta go, says the Coach, along with a laundry list of other hidden gremlins, like salad dressings, even low-fat (wink, wink) on those salads I'd been ordering for lunch.

Rabbit food is rabbit food. Do you know any rabbits that consume salad dressing?

Coach Lewis has her work cut out for her. Spexy Lady has to come clean with the goods...no cheating allowed. And fat grams? How about 20 to start. And calories, we're talking 1200. Add to all that, exercise, cardio and some weights...and not the kind of weight that comes from carrying bags of groceries filled with all my favorite cheeses and wines from Whole Foods.

Time to move the buns and muffins away from the screen and dash off now for a spex-tacular fast-walk with my four-legged BFF Holly Berry.

THE INTERN DIARIES: SPEXY LESSONS

2010-09-18T14:27:00.003-05:00

Back in the day, Spexy Lady actually was an intern. Life lessons came at me like a fast ball.

As soon as I thought I'd learned one thing, I'd get hit with another. Mom always said stuff like this builds character. I wouldn't have admitted it then, but I can now admit, she was right as rain.

Take the time I was given the undeserved job as an editor over about 6 writers, and production staff of 5. My tough as nails approach (hiding my complete insecurity in the job) led me to driving away the best writer to our competition. Skills in diplomacy, the art of compassion, and just plain common sense would have helped.

Or how about the Monday mornings when the escalator up to my office looked like a moving noodle after too many Harvey Wallbangers the night, before partying with friends? I quickly learned the hard way through the loss of plum assignments and proofing mistakes, my college partying days were a thing of the past. And so were Harvey Wallbangers. Can't remember the last time I had one of those.

A stinging pass-over for a big promotion etched into Spexy's cute little brain the importance of rank, knowing the rules for corporate politics and playing the game to win, not lose, as this rather loud-mouthed, self-possessed 20-something that I was. Those games are played best around the conference table, and are won by the wise, and lost by the clueless. Spexy's nemesis went on to be VP, then President, because she knew the rules. Spexy opted out, started her own company, and now shares her war stories to spare other bright young things from similar pain. Tip from the men who mentored me: "Up The Organization" is still a valid business tome in corporate America. Read it or weep.

In the end, the best lessons learned come out of The School of Hard Knocks. Spexy Lady has earned an honorable Ph.D, and is working on her second doctorate.

Embrace your lessons Spex-tacularly!

THE INTERN DIARIES: IN THE NEWS

2010-09-15T18:53:00.002-05:00

You might not believe this, but Spexy Lady is an avid Wall Street Journal reader. How else is she supposed to figure out how to make enough money in the market to purchase those Manolos?

This week's WSJ (WSJ 9/12/10, pg B10) talks about top colleges recruiting grads, but also talks internships and their critical value as an entry point into the market for a real live paying job, and one with benefits, and paid vacations, and maybe a real desk and a real computer of your own.

WSJ College Survey of college recruiters says more than 50% of their new college hires had been interns at their companies. Even better, some 57% of students from the class of 2009 went from intern to full-time hire, up 50% from the previous year! And firms are even targeting and tracking freshmans and sophomores. Granted these numbers come from the Deloittes and the GEs of the world who are on campus recruiting, but on a micro level, it's holding true, I find. Companies, large and small, value good employees, and appreciate knowing what they're getting

when they make a hire. A strong intern often is your next good hire.

Applying for and securing an internship this Fall for next Summer, or for during the school year, could very well be your ticket to full-time employment and a "real job". Now that would make the moms and dads of the world who are footing some hefty college bills very, very happy!

Here's to finding your own spex-tacular internship!

THE INTERN DIARIES: SUCKING UP

2010-09-05T14:31:00.002-05:00

Maybe you learned this in school when you made a horrible grade and needed to schmooze the professor into cutting you some slack on that failing test grade. If not, Spexy Lady says listen up, schmoozing the boss, or "sucking up" is not a bad thing, unless it's so overt and annoying the boss runs the other way when he or she sees you comin'.

Who doesn't like to be complimented? A good SU (Suck Up) Tactic when used judiciously scores points. Like his tie, her jewelry, her new lipstick? Then say so. Making people feel good and letting people know you notice the details, goes a long way in this cyber-world of impersonal click-and-send interactions. (Say it, by the way, and do not send your compliments via e-mail.)

Who doesn't appreciate an extra hand when the paperwork stacks up like the Rockies, or when the phone's ringing off the hook, or when the coffee room looks like a tornado hit it? Pitch in, with a smile, while the boss is around and can see you're there.

I like to think of the Art of SU as the Art of Personal PR. Trust me, it works.

Suck up Spex-tacularly interns!

THE INTERN DIARIES: CUT IT

2010-08-19T21:03:00.003-05:00

Spexy Lady chatted up Shag colorist Kelly Ladd recently to check in on hair and makeup tips for our fall interns. Those long locks, ladies, looking hip and hot with skinny jeans and bare little tops, have got to go, Kelly says. Not the look you want to sport when hunting for that hard-to-get internship and first job. Go for longer layers, a chic bob, or gentle flip at the ends.

And those bright platinum streaks? She tones them down to a more natural shade. Highlights and lowlights add texture. With color applied on under layers, you can stretch your beauty budget and wait longer between trips to the salon. Bleached blonde looks great on the beach but ban it for the office in favor of a softer shade.

A tat-fan herself with lots of ink all over her petite little body, Kelly says be sure necklines and sleeves conceal any artwork you've applied. Unless you work in a tatoo salon, or really creative field, like creating video games, or managing a rock band, keep the ink under wraps.

Raccoon eyes, heavily lashed, and smokey, can work the runways, but not the office. Our beauty experts tell us Fall beauty focuses on dramatic eyes and bright lips. A great look to try for nights out, but for the office, Spexy Lady hears tone the eyes down with softer shadows, and a pretty natural lip color. A light foundation or moisturizer and powder for unblemished skin, and touch of shimmer for a youthful glow adds polish to your professional look.

Most important beauty tip, let the real you shine through when you walk through that door for your job interviews, not the "student" you used to be.

THE INTERN DIARIES: THE TAKEAWAYS

2010-08-13T00:04:00.002-05:00

How did our interns fare this summer? Accolades all around. Light bulb moments, when one intern comments: "By the time you get ready for work, hit the freeway to make it to work on time, get through a full day, then hit the freeway to go back home, and grab a work-out at the gym, it's a full 12 to 14 hour day!"

SpexyLady pops back, "Welcome to the real world!" The good news is no tests, no papers, no snooze-worthy profs, just a paycheck if you're one of the lucky interns who scored a paying gig this summer, and a great addition to the resume.

Quick takeaways on what our interns learned:

How to meet deadines
How to communicate with clients effectively
Going beyond the extra mile wins lots of brownie points with the boss
How to do cold calls without going cold on the call
Where to find the best lunch nibbles on a budget
How to balance a social life, summer school, and staying buff and trim

And then there were the other important takeaways:

How to mask your weekend hangover on Monday morning
How to make a 30 minute drive in 15 when you sleep through the alarm
How to come up with a believable excuse for taking a day off

All important lessons for the real jump into the job world next year!

Bravo to all the spex-tacular interns this summer!

THE INTERN DIARIES: WHAT WEARS WELL

2010-08-05T16:41:00.004-05:00

Spexy Lady has watched all summer what her favorite interns have been wearing. She loves eavesdropping on conversations about the interns' competition in the front office. And she's only too happy to share. Winners all-around are those who heeded the advice below.

Making the right impression can go along way in calming those First Job Jitters. Invariably Spexy Lady gets a call or e-mail from a sweet young thing or buffed up guy about what to wear to the interview.

Well, fashion friends, it's not flip flops, and it's not jeans unless they are the nice, un-ripped kind that pair well with a shirt and jacket, and the culture of the company is jeans-friendly.

It's not bare sandals you'd wear to the beach, and it's not that cute wrap top that dips low revealing cleavage best left for your nightlife. Forget those hot designer shorts, or those strappy dresses --even if it's 100 degrees outside.

What wears well is a smart suit, paired with a pretty shell or tank underneath, and a knee-hovering skirt or trim pant. Colors can make a memorable statement, but if you're hitting the buttoned up corporate world of finance, consulting, or marketing for a big brand, you can never go wrong with black with some stylish details, or khaki that doesn't wrinkle. Stay away from crushable cottons and linens. Test out the crush factor by scrunching up the sleeve of a jacket or skirt/pant and see how badly it wrinkles in store.

Not the suit type? Mix it up with a sleek sheath worn with a jacket over, or for more casual environs, slip a sweater over to cover bare arms. Where to go? Check out Ann Taylor and Banana Republic--touting this season the very stylish, very chic Mad Men look.

A pretty pump, peep toes, or sling back shoe works with everything. Keep accessories simple, and be sure your legs look are beautiful when bared...if not try a little leg makeup to tan them up and cover blemishes. Spexy Lady loves Sally Hansen's spray-on tan. Donna Karan also makes a great Nude hose that imitates bare legs.

Guys...it's not so complicated. You can never go wrong with a navy or black blazer, open collar shirt for casual office settings, or coat and tie if you're hitting the high-finance world of work.

Love Kenneth Cole's tailored dress pants in gray, navy or black, or new-looking fine stripe.

Shoes--no sandals, no cowboy boots (unless that's the type of environment you're in!!). Look for a great tie oxford or loafer, even leather driving shoe -- Kenneth Cole and Banana Republic hit it on the nose. Be sure you buy the best quality shoe you can...some bosses judge their prospects by the shoes they wear! (True story!!!)

When in doubt err on the conservative side. It's better to look like you could own the company some day rather than a member of the mail room.

Wishing all interns spex-tacular luck on that coveted first job!

THE INTERN DIARIES: Work It!

2010-07-14T23:38:00.002-05:00

Someone once told Spexy Lady when she was starting out, "There's no substitute for hard work." For this summer's legion of interns and intern-wannabe's, that's what it's all about.

Bosses are impressed by the early birds who are first in and last out in the office. One intern we know and love wouldn't take his nose off the grindstone one early Friday evening until the boss said, "Go home, it's Friday for God's sake!" He noticed.

Bosses notice when a young intern says, "What else can I do for you?"

Bosses notice the friendly attitude toward customers, the cheery voice on the phone.

This year's grads and the ones coming up next year are facing the toughest job market in decades. For those who've scored an internship now, hard work matters more than ever. Who gets the call back for a real position paying real money with real benefits will be based in large part on this summer's performance.

High IQ's, a stellar GPA, and a pretty (or handsome) face have little value if the work ethic is an F, and the attitude is negative.

Spexy Lady hired some fab interns, and then again, there were those who strolled in late on Monday morning, left early on Friday for happy hour, or simply didn't show up some days.

They were toast. Out the door. And they lost that important reference on their resume.

Want a call back next summer? Work it now.

Have a spex-tacular summer!

SPEXY SUMMER STYLE TIP

2010-06-19T14:49:00.002-05:00

Love those sexy wrap dresses, but don't like fiddling with the ever-moving v-neckline that shows more of Spexy Lady than she likes!

Found just the solution from a very fashion savvy Carlisle Collection executive who had trolled the Galleria Dallas mall for top trends, and great fashion finds during the semi-annual sales meeting. The discovery? Cami Too, a little lacey bandeau--in black or white-- that slips over your bra and creates the illusion of a full lace camisole. Lighter than air, easy to hand wash and dry, it's pure genius!

Spexy Lady is trotting out the door right now to snag a few for popping under all those plunging V-necks, wrap dresses, and button-up jackets.

Another spex-tacular fashion idea I hope you enjoy!

THE INTERN DIARIES: GET CONNECTED

2010-06-19T14:28:00.003-05:00

A very long time ago, Spexy Lady's precious daddy gave her some timeless advice...it's who you know that counts. So true.

In this Buyer's Market, new grads -- and just-about-to-be grads should shamelessly...yes, shamelessly, work every connection they have to score interviews. Parents, aunts, uncles, former employers from your high school days, parents of your friends, that helpful salesperson at the department store, your doctor. One name leads to another, leads to another.

The trick is to use the name of the referring person when you make that very friendly, professional phone call, i.e. Here's how it might go...

"Hi I'm Susie Intern Wannebe. Wanda Well Connected referred me to Betty Big Wig to set up an appointment with her to discuss job opportunities at Dream Job Company." The name dropping often results in at least getting an audience with her highness Betty Big Wig, and once the interview is granted, the key is to get another name from Betty Big Wig to use as a referral for the next call, and so on.

Spexy Lady often had no positions available for these fresh-faced grads, but her name after several years in the biz, did carry some weight in certain circles. Every interviewee who visited always received at least 2 or 3 names...and was expected to write those names and numbers down on the back of my business card before getting up and walking out my door.

Spexy Lady's network started with zilch..zero..nadda when she hit the Big D, so she let her fingers do the walking through The Yellow Pages. It worked, but it was an arduous process. Every interview led to another and then another...and the rest is history!

Now go out there and make some spex-tacular connections...oh and by the way...you don't have to be an intern to benefit from these words of wisdom!

GUYS DON'T DESERVE IT

2010-06-17T23:25:00.002-05:00

It just occurred to me, as the mother of two amazing young men, that guys are getting a bad rap. Everywhere.

Guys really do ask for directions when lost.

Guys really do put down the seat.

Guys really do remember birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays.

Guys really do wash dishes.

Guys really do stroll through art galleries even when there's a Cowboys game on the tube.

Guys really do say "I'm sorry, I was wrong."

Guys really are getting a bad rap, from the bumbling bad boys depicted on TV to the "clueless" in the kitchen commercials they suffer through, or probably zap, to couch potatoes selling chips and beer while they and their Bubba buddies are glued to the tube.

Spexy Lady is mounting her campaign on behalf of all those guys who defy those stereotypes and simply don't deserve it. I've met plenty who really do all of those things! Really!

Guys are spex-tacular! Give 'em a break!

THE INTERN DIARIES: FIRST IN A SERIES

2010-06-13T22:32:00.008-05:00

Life is a series of do-overs -- mulligans -- golfers call them. That's how many of us learn. From the School of Hard Knocks with a mulligan or two for every life experience encountered.

If you have children who are within a few years of graduating from college, and they're seeking their first internship, or....if you are a student seeking your first internship, Spexy Lady is only too willing to share her pearls of wisdom. And hopefully spare one the need for a costly "do-over."

Dozens of college grads in their first or second year out of school sat down across from my desk eager to sign on as an account exec. Many made the grade. But plenty didn't get off first base to the second interview. What separated the winners from the losers?

In this first of several INTERN DIARIES, Spexy Lady tells all.

Dressed fit to kill, arriving even a few minutes early, freshly printed resume in hand on Crane's quality paper, the intern candidate is called in for THE INTERVIEW. The usual pleasantries are exchanged, then it's down to business...work experience, GPA, goals, charity work, and then...just as the interview is almost over and it looks like a done deal, out of the mouth it comes.

"Would you mind if I took a week off to go to the beach with my sorority sisters, since we've had this planned for a couple of months?" Silence on the other side of the desk. Wide eyes from the well-dressed Clueless One across the desk.

Fughettabout it! Interview over. Next.

Hundreds of resumes cross the desks of employers. Employers are looking for the best and the brightest, the hardest workers. It's a buyers' market. To ask for time off before even getting the job or even within the first 90 days of employment is the Kiss of Death. It sends the wrong message, no matter how fabulous you look!

Be Spex-tacular. And delete the time-off idea.

10,000 HOURS

2010-06-11T22:31:00.003-05:00

Practice makes perfect, or so Spexy Lady's dear, sweet mama once told her when she was pounding away on the piano. But apparently that really is true, according to Malcomb Gladwell that guru of contemporary thought, trends, and whatever else boggles our mind...remember "Tipping Point" and "Blink"? If you've never heard of either, you probably are living under a rock.

Gladwell's new book, "Outliers" is a must read, if nothing else but to challenge what you might think makes millionaire's billionaires, and ordinary people, extraordinary. The key take-away on this quick read is success takes hard, hard, HARD work...10,000 hours to be exact of deliberate practice with the intention to be the best.

"Practice --that is purposefully and single-mindedly playing their instruments with the intent to get better," Gladwell says.

Start early and never, ever, ever give up. Or as Nike says, "Just Do It."

Here's to the countdown....

LEGALLY SPEAKING

2010-04-14T23:14:00.003-05:00

Spexy Lady was sitting on the patio sipping a crisp pinot grigio with one of her BFFs and the topic turned to bullying on Facebook. Girls can be pretty bitchy when they want to be, and those teenage to early college years are bitch city! (So glad I have boys, but if I didn't....)

It probably never occurred to those mean girls that what they say could actually be classified as "slander", that's right...communication that is designed to basically ruin another's good name for no reason other than maliciousness. Imagine what would happen if a few parents peeked in on what their daughters' were reading, and others as well. Imagine what would happen if a parent decided to file a lawsuit for slander against the mean girl, and perhaps her parents? Think about it...a parent with deep pockets, or not so deep, but deep enough, gets a copy of the Facebook slam, takes it to her attorney, and goes to town. We've all heard the bullying story that led to a teen suicide.

Spexy Lady is waiting for a few brave parents to step up to the plate and put a stop to "Teen Slander."

HAIR TODAY MAY BE GONE TOMORROW!

2010-04-04T22:36:00.003-05:00

Spexy Lady had her first full blown hair emergency. And if the quick-thinking master colorist at Toni and Guy hadn't figured it out, she could have ended up with no hair at all!

Over-processing hair is the worst thing you can do to your locks, and that's exactly what happened. A prior colorist used what she called an organic hair color, only to find out it wasn't. It appeared to have henna in it...permanent natural hair color used as far back as Cleopatra, but a disaster when mixed with traditional oxidating color found at most salons. My hair went from auburn with highlights to dark brown with stripes of black and chunks of old highlights. (That's attractive! Fortunately, I haven't had any dates yet...another story.)

After shampooing with a red color shampoo--hoping to return my hair to its highlighted auburn original shade--the color worsened, and became a muddier ashy brown. That's why my colorist resorted to a total color correction, stripping out the old color to lighten my hair, toning it down after it turned yellow, and finishing with a heavy conditioner. Three hours later, I'm still freaking out -- my roots are still black, so back we went to more processing to try to match what stripping the color accomplished to cover up the black and gray roots. Any more processing, and I could have look like my dog chewed it off!

After 4 hours in the stylist chair--no potty break, no water, wine, Coke or coffee--my hair wound up more like it did before, but it was parched dry as toast. My stylist told me to mix up some olive oil and mashed avocado and spread it like butter all over my hair to return the lipids to the hair cuticle. Not moi. I headed straight to my favorite wine spot with my BFF and drowned my hair woes in chardonnay for the night!

Happy hair days to you!

TAXING THOUGHTS

2010-03-24T21:51:00.002-05:00

Spexy Lady likes to shop, but who would guess that some of this spending might have a tax advantage? Uncle Sam wants to get every penney he can, after all, he's bailing out most of the modern world, and he can't do that without your help.

Most people take the standard itemized (if they itemize) sales tax deduction, which is a percentage of your taxable income. However, it is possible that the percentage of your taxable income spent on items that had sales tax is not be sufficient to cover all that you actually did spend! The purchase of a new car, re-doing the kitchen with new appliances, a long-awaited vacation to exotic lands, when taxed add up. And in states like Texas and New York with big sales tax, those numbers can add up fast!

Check out that sales tax, add up your credit card expenditures for the year and see if that sales tax deduction Uncle Sam hands you is really enough. If it's not, you could be saving yourself a little money this year!

Have a spex-tacular tax season!

FROM THE WOMB TO THE TOMB

2010-03-24T21:44:00.003-05:00

It's the call you dread...the one when the phone rings about 4 a.m. in the morning and the voice on the other end of the line says, "You son is going to be alright...." After you pick yourself up off the floor, you ask, "Which son?" then you ask "What happened?" and then you just listen as hard as you can because your heart's beating so fast it's drowning out what the doctor is telling you.

As long as we mothers shall live, we will always be steeling ourselves for one of these call. When the phone rings at such an hour, we know it's probably not a Nielsen Survey, or the State Troupers wanting a donation, it's that call.

Spexy Lady in her early morning stupor got one of those calls, and thankfully, it wasn't as serious as it could be...too much alcohol, too much testosterone on someone's part and precious youngest son's face happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. This too will heal.

Until the next spex-tacular life moment...

FAMILY IS RELATIVE

2010-03-14T19:56:00.002-05:00

Aha moment! Just because we are related by blood, played Barbie's together, threw our green peas under the table because we hated eating them, and stole each other's clothes as kids, doesn't mean we're family 100% of the time.

Sometimes it's our best friends who get us through the tough times, and our family who is MIA.

Expect the unexpected. It's all in a day.

What Do Men Want

2010-03-13T14:27:00.002-06:00

Men aren't really so hard to figure out. They just want much of what women want at a certain point in time.

Spexy Lady is hearing it loud and clear on internet dating sites. Men want to be loved, respected, and not an audience for our drama, woes, complaints and bitching. A little goes along way.

Of course they want the obvious. But there's a heart beating inside and sometimes we of the fairer sex forget that.

Give a listen.

The Net Net of Dating

2010-02-26T16:12:00.003-06:00

Curiosity killed the cat...or more aptly...killed the date! Spexy Lady asks alot of questions...not that she's nosey or wants to pry, but because, well, she just wants to know more about people, finds them endlessly fascinating (for the most part), and can't erase the "reporter" software from her brain.

After an unmentionable amount of time on internet dating sites, we've come to some conclusions, about what NOT to do, to say, or appear as. Case in point. Take cute fellow A-- lots of shared interests, he has no warts, can spell, and loves dogs. Everything goes along fine in the guided communication phase, or in what is called the "connections" phase. Then you hit "ask a question" or "send him an e-mail." The trick is ask only one question, and be cute and clever while you do it. (We're working on the latter.) Not a string of "Do you...blah blah blah," or "Where did you blah blah blah" or What is your favorite blah blah blah" all in the same e-mail.

Spexy Lady is learning the "Rules of Engagement" for internet dating the hard way. Messages like "There are no matches" and no response days, weeks, months (alas!) after the first e-mail are dead giveaways something has gone awry. Too many questions. Next! Delete. Delete.

Lesson learned: men have a one track mind, and that includes e-mails. One simple question should do it, not the Spanish Inquisition (as my dear sons would call it). Men, unlike women, think linearly...in a line. Dots must be connected.

Women, well, we're all over the place, multi-tasking, thinking upside down, side-ways, cross-ways. Our brain is firing in a million different directions. Works for creative types like moi, but can drive the male species absolutely mad when they're trying to get to know you and move from the bench to the playing field (not to mention 1st, 2nd, 3rd place and home).

So, periodically, Spexy Lady will be sharing her Net Net of Dating Adventures, wisdom won the hard way, and great gaffes she hopes her dear readers avoid if they try the world of online dating.

Stay tuned for some spex-tacular tales from Dating CyberWorld!

SHE'S BAAAACK!

2010-01-23T16:08:00.002-06:00

Spexy Lady has not dropped off the end of the earth.

Nor has she taken an extended vacation somewhere exotic and fashionable like St. Tropez.

Spexy Lady is ....gasp...working! Not shopping 'n dining, or popping into the latest cocktail soiree.
And Spexy Lady's other job as ...very cool, very hip, totally indulgent, adoring mom of two handsome sons...has kept her busy since November and her named sons departed for their college lives just weeks ago, leaving mom to clean up the dirty socks, and various and sundry surprises young men leave behind at home (which will remain un-named).

New Year finds us thoughtfully focused on the '10s, another decade, and wondering as Daniel Pink, NY Times best-selling author of "Drive" says, "What is your sentence?"

Is it "She is a fashion passionate, mother of two sons, and ardent mentor of women-owned businesses"? Or perhaps, "She is ever-evolving in search of 'What is her sentence?' til death does she part? Meaningful stuff to ponder in this new year of an upside down world, where nothing seems safe, sacred or sound...kind of living on Jell-O Land.

Wishing all a
Spex-tacular New Year
finding your own
special Sentence!

Dressing Down Memory Lane

2009-11-07T15:14:00.003-06:00

On a recent trip to The Big Apple, Spexy Lady took in the hot off-broadway play, "Love, Loss and What She Wore" --Nora Ephron's latest production.

Five actresses sit on tall stools facing the audience--we saw Tyne Daley and Jane Lynch while Rosi O'Donnell and Rita Wilson were off that night-- all wearing black (of course) while reading a collection of essays. There's the monologue on black, black, and more black except for the author's wedding day, the hilarious handbag story, the comments on the dress she wore to her mother's funeral, and more musings on how love and loss in the author's life were immortalized forever in her mind by what she wore.

Remember what you wore on your first date, your first prom, the day you graduated, the day you brought home your first baby, an important gala, your most embarrassing moment?

It was hard not to see images of my own life told in what I wore back when as I listened and laughed through the play with my BFFs from New York.

I couldn't help remembering the yellow silk moire gown I made for my junior prom I attended with one of my dearest friends who died of AIDS. Or the absolutely fab Christian Lacroix copy created in lace and poly-silk by Victor Costa for the CFDA gala at the NY Museum of Natural Science. Or my favorite Adrienne Vittadini sundress that I wore (shamefully) for almost 10 years to drive carpool.

But talk about immortalizing what I wore, I still have both the yellow prom gown and the Lacroix. Sweet memories of my former, slimmer self! The blue and white flowered sundress with safety pins keeping it together in the back was finally retired at the begging of my sons.

Take a moment to remember what you wore when...

Have a spex-tacular trip down memory lane!

The Female Factor

2009-10-21T23:05:00.004-05:00

Spexy Lady reads like she eats chocolate...voraciously! Business books by definition are usually one big snooze, but here's one that will keep you awake and leave you with plenty to mull over well after you've turned the last page.

"Womenomics: Write Your Own Rules for Success" by Claire Shipman and Katty Kay, two very savvy journalists, is the new "it" book on the nightstands of female corporate heavyweights. Though much of what this pithy tome has to say applies to the corporate world, and not to die-hard entrepreneurs like Spexy Lady, there are some fab insights for any woman trying to balance it all...work, family, personal time.

Love these nuggets to noodle on:

*Women "at the top" produce more profits and success in ALL economic categories!
*Women are the HOT commodity in today's workplace
*Women have more college degrees: undergrad now 60% women, 40% men
*Women do most of the buying...and buy MORE CARS than men!
*Women are better at building new relationships
*The war for talent favors women because of their education and unique style
*Women are time-famished and want to SLOW DOWN
*Women need to sometimes let "good enough" be "good enough"

And finally, my personal favorite, "Women need to learn to say 'no" without guilt."
Amen.

Hats off to all of us spex-tacular women out there...trying to do it all.

The Big D...and not Dallas

2009-09-27T16:38:00.002-05:00

Spexy Lady is forever fighting The Battle of the Bulge. Call it genes (Thanks mom!)...call it "the change"...call it nutrition. With all the green leafy stuff I'm eating these days, I'm sure I'll turn into a rabbit anytime soon.

But there's some nutritional info out there to fight fat that many of us may not know about. It calls for upping our Vitamin D intake. Spend a few minutes with nutritional guru Laura Lewis (you see her on Veria TV or may remember her from her Nature Made commercials), and she'll tell you that there is a relationship between metabolism and Vitamin D. Many of us are not getting enough in our diet or through Mr. Sunshine. Exactly my problemo! Too little could be contributing to Spexy Lady's "muffin top" dilemma!

Off we trotted to our local pharmacia to buy a big, and I mean BIG! bottle of Vitamin D. We're starting off with 2000 milligrams a day. Good news too, Vitamin D is good for bone health. (While Spexy Lady was on her New York country sabatical, she wound up seriously deficient in Vitamin D...not surprising since winters in New York are hardly known for sunshine!!!)

Vitamin D is inexpensive, easy to find at your local Whole Foods or drug store, and it can make a difference in how you look and feel. What a smart weapon to battle the bulge! And we need all the weapons we can get!!

Have a D-lightful week!

SAKI TO ME!

2009-09-13T21:09:00.003-05:00

One of Spexy Lady's fave beverages is prosecco, that Italian sparkling wine that is such a spirit lifter after one of those Mercury In Retrograde Days...like we're having this month. Now there's a new must-have chill-pill...a cloudy, pina-colada colored Nigori Saki discovered at Kenichi-http://www.kenichidallas.com/ --Dallas' destination for more than a hundred different saki varieties, most you won't find anywhere else but Kenichi...or Japan.

What a gem this little bit of Japanese heaven is on Victory Park Lane, located just down the street from Victory Park's W Hotel in downtown Dallas. The fried calamari strips to go with Tozai Saki were delish. And the marinated squid, even more amazing, perfect with Kenichi's Hyogo saki.

Saki, my BFF and I learned, is best served cold! It's best not stored over a year. And it's best when savored, not gulped down like a bottle of Bud.

For something a bit out of the way, more exciting that a burger and a movie, take yourself and a few of your BFFS on a fantasy trip to Japan, and slip inside Kenichi. You can spend an entire evening with their saki sommalier learning more than you could ever imagine about this divine rice-derived adult beverage. Don't lose count, though, the 14-18% alcohol content can sneak up on ya fast!

Maybe I'll see ya there soon!

Spex-enomics: The Manolo Money Fund

2009-09-05T12:24:00.003-05:00

Spexy Lady can't imagine herself not wearing sexy spex and stilettos til the day she's pushing up daisies. Can't imagine not jetting off to locales exotic til the day I'm wheeled to the gate. And simply can't imagine not hitting Last Call at Neiman's every season.

So Spexy Lady has set up the Manolo Money Fund for her Golden Years. (Someone challenged me about not giving equal time to Jimmy...oh well.)

It all started many, many, years back, when Spexy Lady had so much on her mind--hung over employees, two babes with chicken pox, a secretary who failed to show up for work to became a fitness icon with white spikey hair, and an office manager who ran off with a month's operating budget...details.

Brain overload.

She couldn't remember which bank account she had, and how much was in each account, until one day she received a bank statement with money in an account she had set up forever ago. Found money.

In the lexicon of Suze Orman, the money would be called EMERGENCY FUNDS. In the lexicon of Spex-enomics, the fund would be called THE MANOLO MONEY FUND. Of course, a case could be made that one could have a Manolo Blahnik emergency.

Moving right along...Spexy Lady highly recommends having more than one bank account, and opening this new bank account online, or at a reputable (yes, reputable, as there are some buggers still closing), and squirreling away a few hundred bucks ...or more if you have it. Online banks, like ING Bank, make it really easy to stowe it away for stilettos, and there usually aren't bank charges. Spexy Lady simply transferred bank funds from her big bank account...one of the nice ones that paid back all their TARP money...and put it into an online bank account.

Once you pop those funds in, you're done. Forget about it! Leave it alone. Do not touch it. Don't worry about it. Let go and Let God. This is Plan B money. The Manolo Money Fund. Your little safety net. You'll rest easy at night knowing that when the right Manolo shows up, you'll be ready with cash in hand!

It's simple spex-enomics! Works for me!

Spex-enomics: Bank On It

2009-08-29T11:39:00.003-05:00

Spexy Lady follows the Kate Hepburn School of Thought: If you follow all the rules you miss all the fun...or something like that. And Spexy Lady has certainly lived that axiom to the fullest...could explain all those poor grades in conduct in grade school! (Yes, I've had ALOT of fun!)

When it comes to credit card debt, I have just a few rules I follow. (Well, we all have to grow up sometime!)

My No. 1 rule is...with the exception of emergencies...a typhoon hits Dallas and wipes out my neighborhood, or I develop the rarest form of typhoid fever and need to be airlifted to the nearest ER...I don't believe in incurring credit for more than you can write a check for within 24 hours. Slap my hands if I spend $500 on a handbag, and I don't have it somewhere else appreciating!

Credit is always leveraged with what's in the bank, under the mattress, in a fund, or in an asset, like a pair of hardly worn Manolos for posting on e-Bay. This of course begs the question, "Ok, so why would you have credit card debt if you could easily wipe it out the next day?"

Simple answer. It's all about cash flow and managing what goes in and what goes out. Even the best of budgets get blind-sided by an unexpected expense...and I don't mean a close-out sale on designer handbags. Like the time my sweet Sheltie took a bite out of the new Pit Bull puppy's face. Trips to the ER Vet are NOT cheap, friends!

Rather than blowing up her budget for the month by paying off the card at the end of the month, Spexy Lady makes the credit card payments, paying always more than the amount due...anywhere from 1% to 50% more depending on the expenses for that month.

Credit card debt is like any debt or IOU...it is managed to your benefit. Again...credit card debt is managed to your benefit.

For example, it benefits you to have $5000 in a bond fund that pays you dividends of 5%, and to use a credit card with a promotional interest rate of 0%. Why dear ones you ask? The $5000 is earning money for you while you use your credit card for something you NEED (we'll talk about that concept a little later) and pay it off in increments through the promotional period.

The other benefit of making these payments (gotta do it on time, fans, or else!!!) is that you build up a positive credit history with the Big 3...Experian, Transunion, and Equifax.

The basic idea in a chocolate nutshell? Manage credit to your advantage, stay above water, and enjoy life without someone we know (initials S.O.) giving you a guilt trip every time you plop down your plastic

Stay tuned for more Spex-enomics!

Spex-enomics vs Suze Orman

2009-08-24T23:19:00.005-05:00

Every time Spexy Lady turns on PBS or Oprah and Suze Orman shows up, beating up on another unsuspecting couple who want to know if they can afford to ... you name it...re-do the bathroom, buy a new (used) car, take a vacation, get married, have a funeral, bear children, have surgery, get lipo, send the kids to college, etc. etc. Spexy Lady's eyes cross behind her bright red spex!

Now Suze does indeed offer tidbits of wisdom...like marrying someone with similar financial values, or keeping the creditors from your door by not running up your all credit cards to the limit and then holding your breath til the tooth fairy comes to pay them all off.

What turns Spexy Lady on tilt is what Suze DOESN'T talk about when it comes to credit and credit cards. Her message to those poor unsuspecting masochists who sign up for their 15 minutes of fame on her show or Oprah's, is that all credit is bad, bad, bad. No debt, no debt, no debt, no debt.

Great idea? I don't agree.

Did anyone send that message to The White House or Congress? Did anyone send that message to the titans of business or the Masters of the Universe on Wall Street?

Credit is what makes the wheels on our world go 'round and 'round...'round and 'round...'round and 'round...

Imagine what would happen to the businesses in America if ALL of them joined the Suze Orman No Debt Club...do you think there would be businesses adding employees, building new buildings, adding new divisions, doing more research to find cures for cancer, expanding internationally, training new people? Not.

The same principles employed in business, apply to the business of You and Me. But most people haven't gotten that memo yet.

In the next upcoming Spex-enomics columns, Spexy Lady is going to take aim at the
NO DEBT SCHOOL of SUZE ORMAN. Sorry Suze, I love you, but it's time to share the wealth.

Stay tuned for some Dirty Spexy Money Tips!

Set for Jetting

2009-08-16T17:54:00.003-05:00

This Fall, stock up on all those great GWPs...that's beauty biz lingo for Gift With Purchase...so you'll be ready to rock and roll for quick business or pleasure trips.

Those nifty little cosmetic bags filled with lip, eye, and cream cravings in mini-sizes are the perfect travel companions. Spexy Lady loves her pink bag (from a really, really good YSL GWP), large enough to hold travel sizes of toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant, shampoo, and conditioner, plus all the absolutely necessary war-paint to look positively glamorous all day long. It's always packed, ready to pop into the carry on. Makes last minute travel a breeze.

And don't forget to stroll by the fragrance counter while you're doing your fall shopping. The lovely smell-good ladies are only too happy to share some of their perfume samples...easy to pop into your purse for a refresher after work, and into your travel-ready cosmetic bag.

Just a reminder...keep the heavier perfumes for special occasions, and use lighter, clean, barely noticeable scents when you're boarding a plane. You don't want that passenger next to you sneezing all over you 'cause he's allergic to the fragrance you're wearing.

Happy Packing!

SPEX-ENOMICS: Budgeting for Dummies

2009-07-28T23:26:00.003-05:00

Math has never been Spexy Lady's strong suit. Nor has budgeting for that matter. As long as there was plenty left over every month for a mani and pedi, no worries, yes?

However...the gold-buckled patent leather belt has just been tightened. Spexy Lady is now a Recessionista, a stylish one no less, and SALE is her favorite four-letter word. Spexy Lady is on a budget...gasp!

A nifty new on-line site called Mint.com (http://www.mint.com/) has made budgeting a breeze. It's positively secure, accurate and up-to-the-minute, and it has the credibility of being touted by The Wall Street Journal. Mint.com does everything for me, updates expenses, alerts me with an e-mail when I'm over budget, and has a category for just about everything you might spend...there's "fast food" for my always hungry sons, there's personal care for spa time, and even a pet category to track my four-legged companions' trips to the puppy-parlor.

It's just too easy for words! Now, I have a new obsession...beat the budget. Anything extra goes to satisfy a craving for all things Manolo. Simple Spex-enomics!

Steamed to a Tee

2009-07-18T23:03:00.004-05:00

You can never have too many shoes, diamonds or ... T-shirts.

There's nothing like popping on a smooth, never-worn cotton tee with your best butt-beautifying jeans. Not a wrinkle anywhere. Sleek, clean, smart. That's how a T-shirt should shine.

Sadly, our brand-spanking new T-shirt is a one-show wonder. There are no encores for that smooth, off-the-rack look once Cotton Tee has taken a tumble through the washer and dryer.

At least that's how it was in my house before I purchased the best appliance since the microwave...a standing steamer that has put a smile on the face of every one of Spexy Lady's T-shirts! I never thought I'd part with almost $200 for something that looked that ugly...but looks are deceiving. My Jiffy 2000 has won my heart...and saved my tees from early termination.

All it took was a few swipes of the steamer across necklines, sleeves, fronts and backs, and those tumbled tees came to life! Little nubbies that cover some less-expensive cottons (Don't ya just hate those on your T-shirts?) vanished under the steam heat. Within minutes, my tees were transformed.

No need to hit The Gap or Banana Republic to load up mid-season on more tees in every color, and double up on whites. Even better, my ever-ready steamer cuts down on trips to my local dry cleaner for pressing once-worn pants, skirts and jackets too wrinkled to wear twice.

And steamer has been known to revive clean khakis stowed wrinkled under my son's bed!

Who would have thought? I even dream of steaming!

To The Point

2009-07-09T17:47:00.002-05:00

Spexy Lady has been known to be a little long-winded, but a little clip from talk radio got my attention!

The story goes that an employee who was known to write very long e-mails, to the chagrin of co-workers and boss alike, had an Issue, as they say, at work.

This Issue needed the attention of the boss, so our wordy employee writes an e-mail to his boss seeking an answer to the Issue. The boss, known for his impatience, and "get to the point" attitude, receives the employee's e-mail, imploring him for a response.

He looks...note...he does not read...he LOOKS at the e-mail. And he responds quickly to the employee. What do you suppose the boss says in his e-mail after not reading the employee's
e-mail.

The boss responds...."SHORTER."

Let's hope the employee got the message.

The next time that irritating, gets-under-your skin co-worker, relative, neighbor... writes you a long, long e-mail bordering on the sequel to Gone With the Wind...consider the one-word response.

"Shorter."

The next time, perhaps, they'll get to the point quickly in a few sentences or less.

Say it spex-tacularly...short and sweet!

Not Your Average BBQ

2009-07-01T22:03:00.003-05:00

Spexy Lady loves her BBQ! We're thinking barbecued chicken 'n ribs, that are sticky-finger sensational. The kind that has you digging around for a pile of napkins and hopefully sitting next to someone who will wipe the tell-tell drips off your chin. I find that such a romantic gesture!

But here's a new one for the be-spectacled one...an out of the way fabulous discovery shared by a friend. This little place reminded me of China Town in New York where I sat eating dim sum one Sunday afternoon with a die-hard New Yorker. It took me back to my 10-day trip to Hong Kong and the side streets where chickens hung like curtains in the windows of restaurants and grocers.

This was truly a find...I didn't want to leave it. Everything smelled wonderful...the dishes were fresh, spiced to perfection, and as authentic as you'd find in Singapore. The decor and music set the mood, and I was ready to book a flight right then and there for the Orient...but then I had a deadline, two dogs, a son at home, and I hadn't made my bed that day.

Oh...I forgot to mention...this little bit of China heaven is called Joy Luck BBQ just North of the intersection of Coit Rd. and Park Blvd. It's worth the drive ...where ever you are. And yes, they do have barbecued ribs on the menu! It's at the top of my list of faves!

Enjoy a spex-tacular time at Joy Luck!

Tailored To Perfection

2009-06-21T17:21:00.003-05:00

Spexy Lady has a new best friend! Her name is Natalie and she's my alteration lady. She's a master tailor who has magically transformed my ill-fitting clothes that hung at the back of my closet because they bagged in the seat, were too long, hung off my shoulders, or were a tad too tight from too many cookie raids in the night!

How many of us can pull something off the rack and have it fit us like it was truly tailor-made? Not many that I know of.

After seeing some old photos of myself in too-long jackets, oversized shoulders, and blouses that hung well beyond my wrist, I realized how valuable Natalie is. She's a genius at nipping in the waist of a boxy jacket, giving me the illusion (yes, the illusion) of a real waistline. She pulls up the shoulders of a long-waisted vest and tells me quite frankly, "This doesn't fit you," and pulls up about 2 inches from the back and pins it.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to have your own tailor, who designed and sewed every piece of clothing you owned to fit your body with all its special curves, bumps and angles? Since that's a pipe dream for most women, the next best thing is to cozy up to a great alteration lady. Not in your budget? How about asking someone you know who sews who'd be willing to nip, tuck, and trim your clothes to fit.

Whether you spend a lot or a little on your wardrobe, tailoring your jackets, pants, dresses, skirts and blouses to fit makes all the difference in the world in how you look and feel in your clothes.

And when it comes to presenting a professional image, that well-tailored outfit can make all the difference in the world!

Happy hunting for your own Natalie!

Closet Strategy

2009-06-04T21:17:00.002-05:00

You'd be living on Mars if you didn't know there was a recession out there...a big one.

Unemployment hovers at close to 10%, over 500,000 people lost jobs in the month prior, add to that the number of high school and college kids on the street trying to get summer jobs that their friend's father is applying for because he was laid off.

Now what does that have to do with your closet?

If you're out there looking for a job, pondering a career change, recently laid off, recently divorced and need to jump back into the work force...take a look at what your closet says about you.

Do you really think those cute baby doll tops are going to fly in a job interview?
And what about that great boob top with the V-neck that your gal pals tell you makes you look 10 years younger. Or the tight jeans with just the right butt lift?

Getting a job today is more competitive than the Olympics. Not only is your resume important, as well as your degree, your experience, your contribution to someone's bottom line, but also how your look is part of that "resume".

David Wolfe, one of the top fashion trend watchers in America, and a frequent speaker at Fashion Group International events, tell us the Interview Suit is making a return. Why? Because you, we, them on the street looking for work, a job, a career need all the help we can get.

Packaging ourselves to sell is more important now than ever before.

Looking professional, polished, and smart in the right suit, dress or ensemble can make the difference between that dowdy MBA, and professionally dressed you with the BA and the MBA in process (read that "future").

Go back to your closet. What's in it. Anything in there that would make someone say, "I gotta hire that woman!" If not, it's time to go shopping and find a sales consultant you can trust, a mentor, a lifestyle coach, or simply someone whom you admire as always looking so put together. You don't have to spend a fortune...whether you're a Neiman's shopper or Marshall's maven, looking professional, competent, and more importantly...competitive...doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. (No you do not need that $1500 designer "It" bag to impress a potential boss! Quite the contrary!)

And if you're stumped, Spexy Lady works 24-7 and is happy to help with any and all of your closet conundrums. (The closet doctor is in at SpexyLady@gmail.com)

Dress spex-tacularly. And go get 'em!

In The PINK!

2009-05-23T12:08:00.003-05:00

PINK...you either love it or hate it. Seems like it conjures up all sorts of images...like Barbie, Pepto-Bismal, Mary Kay Cadillacs, '60s lipstick, etc.

I admit it. I'm a Pinkanista. It's one of my favorite colors...it's happy, it's a color of "protection," it's feminine, it's witty, it's flattering to the skin tone in the right shade. And I've found the perfect pink-thinking interior designer/lamp designer--Kathleen Allen, owner of Etu Verite' in Dallas, and at Casadelino.

Good news for pink-aholics! Pink is popping up now in haute home decor! My style-savviest pal in New York is doing her entire living and dining room in pink! Elle Decor is featuring pink...in living rooms, dining rooms, on drapes, cushy sofas, and scatterings of pillows. It goes sleek and modern with blacks, white or grays, or goes totally Baroque with touches of gold, filigree details and damask patterns, or country in pink florals and ginghams.

Consider adding a little sweetness to your life...Pink is a wonderful way to freshen up a bedroom, bath, or even add that punch of whimsy to a stale living room. Pinks come in all shades...I'm sure you'll find yours!

Spex-tacularly in the PINK!

Give for Good

2009-05-14T00:03:00.003-05:00

Aha moment! I'm a giver...alot of women I know are. And I'm finding out that the Giver Software programmed in my brain some time ago needs to be deleted, zapped, melted, removed from the "programs" list and re-worked. It appears to be faulty.

How many times do we give to our kids, our spouses, significant others--you name 'em -- with the underlying motive of guilt, to please, to manipulate, to apologize? That's the software that's been playing in my computer brain!

How about giving for good cause, because it makes another feel good, because it just feels good. Give freely, give joyously. What a concept!

I'm learning how to give mindfully...new software inserted.

When going through the grocery store, I'll pick up something special for one of the boys, just because it feels good, or it will bring a smile, not to assuage my thorny guilt because I was late picking him up from school on his birthday, or I missed an important soccer game, or over-reacted when he let the dog in with muddy feet.

To paraphrase the great Thomas Merten, I am working on staying "faithful to awareness." Aware of why I give, when to give, and when to hold back.

Think about it. And give spex-tacularly!

It's The Little Things

2009-05-12T13:28:00.003-05:00

Mother's Day came and went, but the warm, grateful feelings still linger, even as the dryer spins out the 11th load of laundry from youngest son's formidable pile he dumped on the reading room floor.

It has been a long 7 years since my sons were both home for Mother's Day...and Spexy Lady embraced every moment. I was glad to have laundry to do...my sons both arrived safe and sound at 3 a.m. on a Saturday morning having driven a 14-15 hour trip in just under 12 hours. How many parents have waited just like I did for their children to come home from college only to receive a devastating phone call. Their son or daughter wouldn't be needing anyone to do their laundry anymore. Several mothers I know received one of those calls at the end of their child's school year. Flying home for the comfort and love moms seem to provide in unlimited quantities.

Nope...No complaints here. I am glad to be washing sticky bowls of dried on cheese dip. Throwing smelly flip-flops and sneakers into a basket by the door. And doing laundry for my sons who made it home--safe and sound--for Mother's Day.

Hold them close.

Fashion As Art

2009-04-17T23:51:00.004-05:00

Out and about in Big D downtown took Spexy Lady to the absolutely fab Fashion Talk by FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology)Costume Museum curator Dr. Valerie Steele. Sponsors of this Easter Saturday evening affair were FDLuxe and The Fashionistas...THE group to join if you love fashion and want to support up-and-coming fashion stars emerging from the surrounding fashion schools.

Our well-dressed group got a peek preview of Dr. Steele's upcoming exhibit on design sensation Isabel Toledo. You may remember, Toledo created Michelle Obama's stunning citron-colored ensemble for her husband's inauguration.I've already circled the date on my calendar for the June 17th FIT museum opening of "Toledo & Toledo," a retrospective of Isabel Toledo's innovative designs and her husband, Ruben Toledo's art.(See Ruben's sketch of Isabel, right.)

Isabel can't sketch we're told, so Ruben interprets Isabel's vision into the wonderful sketches for her collections. BTW...Ruben Toledo is behind those whimsical sketches we see in the Nordstrom's ads. What a romantic couple they are...gorgeous, artistic, terribly in love, and truly a dynamic duo in the fashion arena. Together they make art together.

June's just around the corner, and I'll be first in line to be enthralled. Look for me at 26th and Broadway on June 17 at The Costume Museum at FIT.

Have a spex-tacular weekend in the City!

COMFORTING THOUGHTS

2009-04-05T17:31:00.003-05:00

Once upon a time, when the need for some good comfort food would rise up and growl at me, I'd head off to my nearest Black Eyed Pea for meat loaf and mashed potatoes, one or two of those pudgy rolls, and a big ol' iced tea. Good food, yes, but atmosphere, NOT!

Now Spexy Lady needs a little more out of her dining experience...after all, the kids are gone, the dogs are house-trained, and she's got lots of gal pals who just wanna have fun. Needless to day, atmosphere often trumps food!

Leave it to Dallas' chef extraordinaire, Kent Rathbun, to make comfort food cool with his new Blue Plate Kitchen at Dallas' Preston Center. It's like going home to grandma, but my grandma's never looked like this! The sleek warm interior and open kitchen invite casual conversation over fried chicken or a shrimp coleslaw salad, or even better, warm (ask for it) apple pie.

Now when the mood arises, and it's been one of "those" days, Spexy Lady will be heading over to Kent's latest stroke of genius for a Blue Plate special to chase the blues away!

Off to a spex-tacular treat!

Sweet Stuff

2009-04-05T16:44:00.003-05:00

As a recovering Oreo-addict, Spexy Lady has had to seek new sugar-free sources to satisfy her sweet tooth! Sugar is no friend when it comes to battling the bulge!

While rolling my way through the local supermarket, yours truly discovered a chocaholics dream among the variety of Jello Pudding cups hugging the shelves.

Jello Sugar-free Dark Chocolate Pudding!A mere 60 calories, 0 sugar, 13 grams of carbs, and only 1.5 grams of fat!

Next stop, the ice cream aisle and what should I find but Blue Bunny Health Smart vanilla fudge bars made with Splenda! Just 60 calories and zip fat! Just the thing for curling up and watching one of those Saturday night Lifetime Movies.

As more and more of us swear off sugary sweets and desserts for health and diet reasons, the food world is coming up with some pretty fab ways to keep us happy but not fat! I'm always on the look out now in the snack and beverage aisles, frozen food and dairy section.

Want to make your own sugar-free concoctions? Snag a bag of Swerve, an all-natural sugar substitute that measures and bakes just like the real thing! It's a patent-pending blend of Erythritol and natural flavors that has zero calories, fat, and sugars, and only 5g of carbs per teaspoon. Love, love, love it in my flourless chocolate cake recipe!

Stay tuned for more sweet talk, sweet ones!

Credit Crunching

2009-03-30T10:40:00.003-05:00

What fashion-savvy gal doesn't like to shop? Not this one! But when it comes to shopping and plopping down the plastic, I've had to learn a few hard lessons about interest rates. They can eat up all those savings you thought you snagged if these cards carry high interest rates. And most retail cards do!

Think about it. You hit the 20% off rack, pick up some great deals, and pay with a credit card carrying 21.99% interest. Unless you pay that charge off, you've just eaten up the savings, plus added an extra 2% to your "great buy"!

Ditch those high interest rate cards. Cut them up. Slice 'em and dice 'em, 'cause they're no deal if you are carrying balances on them.

A better option is to look for low interest rate credit cards or to negotiate with your existing credit card company a lower rate. Simply call the credit card's 1-800 number, ask to speak to a supervisor because he or she is usually in a better position to help you out than the front-line person, and request their lowest rate. Even a promotional rate is better than what you may be paying.

Reducing your debt, even better, eliminating debt, is a worthy goal. But sometimes, it simply isn't possible to do that, and with today's tough times, it may be the only option until that job comes along when you've been laid off. It's critical to keep paying your bills on time and making at least those minimum payments to avoid wrecking your credit rating.

Sorry Suzy, but here are 2 rules of thumb regarding debt that seem to make alot of sense:
1) Never carry credit balances of more than you can write a check for tomorrow!
2) If your investments are making more money than your credit card interest rates, it pays to keep that money invested and make your minimum required payments on the presumably low interest rate. In today's economy, unless you have credit card interest rates at 0%, this option doesn't make alot of horse sense. Or unless you are generating monthly returns in the double-digits. If you are, please share your secret!

Smart money management is in everyone's interest. Hello?Wall Street, GM, AIG are you listening?

The better you manage your money, the more you'll have to pick up some of those great bargains out there! Watch for more horse sense money management in future columns!

Have a spex-tacular week!
And remember...it's negotiable!

Home Depot Beauty Tip

2009-03-20T12:51:00.003-05:00

Is red red? Is blue blue? There are a bazillion shades of color. And lighting makes all the difference in the world whether a red is a tomato red, a pepper red, a cherry red, a rose red, etc. etc.

In a previous life Spexy Lady was in the advertising game and learned a few tips about color. Lo and behold, while poking through light bulbs at Home Depot, what should she find but those curly energy-saving bulbs in a Daylight version! She heard echoes of her art director advising her to view fashion slides ONLY under a "daylight" slide box!

For true color, Daylight bulbs are what you want over your bathroom vanity to give you the truest shades of lip, nail and eye shadow when you are coordinating your makeup to your new spring outfit! Daylight bulbs give you essentially the same light as you would have outside in sunlight, so that when you leave your house you really will be wearing coral lipstick and not a screaming orange!

I bought several of these puppies for the weekend bulb switcheroo. Oh...and by the way...if you're worried about these whiter bulbs lighting up your wrinkles, don't look so closely in the mirror!!

If you have overhead light bulbs in your closet, switch out those yellow-y dogs with these more color-accurate Daylight ones for mixing and matching your separates.

Daylight bulbs make finding navy among the blacks alot easier! (Spexy Lady has been known to run out the door with one navy pump on one foot and a "matching" black one on the other foot!)

I couldn't help but share this tip with the cute guys in the light bulb department at Home Depot! Hope you'll pass it along too!

Have a spex-tacular spring!

VIENNA IS PUFFED UP!

2009-03-14T17:01:00.003-05:00

Spexy Lady has been a bit of a jet-setter lately, hopping across the Big Pond recently to visit the palaces and castles of Vienna, Austria. Hint: Europe is always better in the winter if you want to avoid those pesky tourist lines winding around the art capitals of the world. And airfares are a bargain...my 5-star hotel was half price!

After being thoroughly palaced out, Baroqued to death, and dizzy from an abundance of art from the Renaissance and rebellious Expressionist eras (think Gustav Klimt and Egon Schele), my favorite site was street fashion!

Smart thinking, all I brought was black to fade into the parade of black, black and more black on the fashionable plazas and city streets.

However....It was as if everyone in Vienna got the memo..."Wear ONLY puffer coats and jackets. All other varieties of outerwear will be looked at suspiciously."

I did not get the memo. I brought a LONG wool coat...one of about only 2 people I saw wearing anything below the knee. I wore my short Patagonia fleece with 4 other layers and still froze trying to fit in. NOT!

There were chic hip-length puffer jackets cinched at the waist and narrow through the body (if that's possible with this Michelin Man inspired trend). There were the longer, mid-thigh puffer coats that were boxy, and usually seen on the more matronly ladies. There were pea-coat inspired puffer jackets, certainly zipped up, ski inspired puffer jackets as if everyone had just
landed from the slopes of Tyrol. And of course, these puffers were black.

The best looks were sported by Vienna's German-speaking college coeds (University of Vienna has only 73,000 students!). Skinny jeans tucked into black knee-length Italian leather boots (few had spike or tall heels!), Uggs, suede fringed boots, or rugged thick-soled boots, anchored the fullness of the puffer jackets.

Even the guys kept warm under these black cushy coats, and of course, worn with jeans a knit beanie and wool scarf.

What was I thinking! I left my ski jacket at home! I did bring home the puffer look though...I packed on an extra puffy 10 pounds trying to find the perfect apple strudle. (Warm please with a capuccino.)

I'm planning my next adventure as we speak...and am on a strict less-than-spextacular diet, dammit!

Never-the-less It Works!

2009-02-08T00:46:00.000-06:00

Kids are persistent. Some kids are so persistent and relentless, you know you'll be reading about them someday as a famous trial lawyer. Today, though, if you have teenagers, Persistent and Relentless are two twins you'd rather send to Siberia!

Here's a tip from a very wise and shrewd parenting authority. When Tiffany says she wants to go to a party where you do not know the parents, or the kids she's going with, the word "NO" usually brings on a barrage of every reason why she should be allowed to go..."all the other mothers are letting them go," etc. Rather than get into an escalating shouting match, try this.

"Never-the-less, Tiffany, I said NO." and keep using "Never-the-Less" as a response to the million and one reasons she'll have for why she should go. Using "Never-the-less" is a way to keep you focused, and to steeling you against the buttons that they'll push, the rants that they'll rave, and the tears that will be shed.

Keep those spex on so you can see straight during the topsy-turvy teen years. They may resist you now, but never-the-less they'll thank you later for keeping them safe.

Spex-tacular parenting takes Spex-tacular strength!

Have a (healthy) Heart!

2009-02-08T00:15:00.000-06:00

Here's some sobering news...heart disease kills more women than breast cancer. In fact, it is the No. 1 killer of women. This month is a SPEX-TACULAR time to devote to heart healthy habits, and to begin incorporating little differences that can add up to a big deal!

Think you need a gym to get exercise? Not! You can incorporate exercise into everything you do in a day.

The most important thing, however, is that you MOVE! And Keep Moving!
*Walk when you talk. That's right...when you get on the phone with one of your BFF's, don't sit there and chat! Move! Walk around your house and before you know it you've just walked off 30 minutes of time!
*Looking for the closest parking space? Try parking farther away and getting a brisk walk in to the store or mall.
*Need a stairmaster? Think stairs instead of elevators.

Carrying groceries, vacuuming, gardening, mowing the lawn (and not sitting on a riding lawn mower!!!), shoveling snow, all are good exercise!

One of the healthiest people I know is my 85 year old mother who still walks up and down her stairs every day to do the laundry, and who is still shoveling snow, and trimming her shrubs.

Eating right, getting plenty of rest, and reducing stress are equally important...in fact, stress has been found to be one of the primary contributors to heart attacks in women.

Take a good LOOK at your life...could it be a little healthier? Take these tips to heart, and promise me, you'll be extra good to yourself this month!

Have a spex-tacular Valentine's Day and heart-healthy February!

CHOICE THOUGHTS

2009-01-08T20:17:00.001-06:00

Now that '09 is here with all the news of businesses closing, layoffs, downsizing, etc. it seems like a good time to think about how we spend our money.

We have choices every day. One of my goals for 2009 is to rattle chains on customer service, whether it's Neiman Marcus or my local nail salon. Customer service is more important than ever before. No one in business right now, this minute, can afford to take even one teeny-tiny little customer for granted...yet businesses are! Un-Be-lievable!

We have a "vote"...a choice of who we shop with, hand over our precious dollars to, and to those who don't honor that, who take that very valuable choice we all have for granted...good riddance!

I don't mind spending an extra dollar for good customer service, a value-added product or service, but what I do mind is spending that extra dollar for mediocre or poor service.

It's your money...more meaningful today than ever. This is truly the best time perhaps in history to register our complaints, demand good service, and let those business establishments know you will trot ourself out the door and take your business elsewhere if you are not given good service.

One good thing about all this economic upheaval is that the cream will rise to the top. It always does. And painfully, our current economic woes will necessarily flush out the ego-inflated, over-priced and under-servicing businesses that have characterized the last 3-5 years. What we'll have left are the real merchants, the real bankers, and the real hoteliers and restauranteurs who will be thrilled to see you.

I'm looking forward to these spex-tacular days ahead!

Crystal Ball Gazing

2008-12-31T11:16:00.000-06:00

As 2008 crawls to a close and 2009 looms just hours ahead, gazing into my crystal ball seemed like the thing to do.

Google-in Faith Popcorn, the guru of trends, coiner of such common phrases as "cocooning", and you'll find a listing of what the prophets profess for the new year.

A couple trend-worthy sites to peruse while perhaps sipping on your champagne include:
www.trendwatching.com, www.marketwatch.com, and www.rossdawsonblog.com.

It's going to be much of the same for the coming year, but take heart, there are some bright spots on the horizon like the new "discreet chic" and "rough luxe" trend that Trend Watch talks about--flea market finds, garage sale adventures, and spending more time on friendships, philanthropy, and reflection. Not a bad thing.

Green just gets better and more important. Social networking sites, blogs and the warp-speed social world of Twitter, will all save time, gas, airline tickets, and phone minutes as we stay connected in this ever-uncertain world.

Faith Popcorn invites us to reclaim, retrench, reset and reinvent in the new year. We'll question (as if we haven't already) our pillars of society; we'll retreat to our homes and cocoon again; we'll reset our luxe lifestyle and wannabe for a simpler way of living; and we'll reinvent ourselves and the way we shop, bartering, haggling, and connecting one-on-one with those purveyors of products and services. Time to staff up in customer service!

One thing is for certain, whenever there's a downturn in the economy, social change seems to accelerate. And that's a good thing.

Be strong. Be positive.
And have a spex-tacular new year!

Reading Through Rose-colored Glasses

2008-12-12T09:40:00.000-06:00

When times are tough, it helps to look at the world through rose colored glasses. And now is no exception.

Headlines scream with bad news! If you wanted to spend money, you'd be afraid to!
Thoughts of being in a soup line, begging for quarters on corners, and selling your mother's china have crossed the minds of many, I'm sure. Having been one of those muck-racking journalists a zillion years ago, I can tell you, bad news sells newspapers. Scarey headlines grab readers.

I have decided to read the news through rose-colored glasses! All I see are lots of sales, mark-downs, and coupons! There are more coupons out there from stores that wouldn't even think of sending out coupons...Ralph Lauren? J.Crew? There are discounts on discounts! This Christmas, it's easier than ever to get that special someone something they've always wanted. Go for it!

The economy is buckling under fear. Don't cave in to it. The recession, yes, is real. Lost jobs, yes, are real. But staying home with the covers pulled over our heads, won't improve the economy or help people keep their jobs. Get out there with your rose-colored glasses on and go shopping!

Have a spex-tacular time shopping!

Art Attack

2008-12-06T11:43:00.001-06:00

I seem to be prone to art attacks. Give me an extra dollar or so and I'm off to shop the art scene in Dallas.

If you want a great way to spend an evening...solo or as a duet...I highly recommend popping into one of the many artist receptions held by Dallas' Dragon Street galleries. Enjoy a glass of wine with like-minded art lovers, and make a friend or two! Who knows, you may be shopping the next gallery affair with a brand new gal pal or perhaps really cool dude!

My new favorite gallery? HCG Gallery at 1130 Dragon, just off Howell. Check out Houston artist Bert L. Long, Jr....it brings out the kid in me! Showing through Jan. 10th '09.

Have a spex-tacular time!

Stuck in the Closet

2008-12-06T11:26:00.000-06:00

Ever stood in your closet 30-minutes before a big event...glitzy cocktail party, an impress-the-client dinner, that holiday soiree and said to yourself, "I have absolutely nothing to wear"?

Well, have no fear dear, Spexy Lady has her spex-clad eyes always peeled for the latest trends, the hottest tips to look hot, and how to turn that "nothing" in the closet to a "fabulous something."

Send me your closet conundrums, your "what to wear woes" and I'll be happy to help.

The Spexy Style Doctor is in and works over-time too. Sorry I can't make house calls!

Have a spex-tacular time in whatever you wear!

Lash Out!

2008-12-06T11:06:00.001-06:00

Don't let your eyes disappear behind the glass!

This season, the sultry, sexy eye is NOW! And falsh eyelashes are bigger than ever! Whether you feather them on professionally, or apply strips of lashes along your lash-line, looking glam in lashes has never been more fun. The trick is, you don't want to look like Tammy Faye!

Professionally applied lashes last several weeks, depending on how gentle you are on your eyes.
Lashes applied with traditional lash glue -- find them at beauty supply stores like Sally Beauty Supply -- can be a challenge, especially after several cups of coffee or a can of Red Bull. When removing them, you must be extra careful not to pull your own lashes out...a lash pulled from a hair follicle is history and won't grow back.

Want an even better solution! I found it at the MAC cosmetic counter when I asked the cosmetics sales person if she was wearing falsh eyelashes. She confessed she was wearing MAC's Prep+Prime that when applied adds delicate fibers that attach to your lashes. The more you roll on your lashes, the thicker they become. Roll on your favorite black mascara over your now primed lashes, and Voila! Thick, long lashes without the hassle or loss of lashes.
I won't leave home without it!

Now, flutter those lashes and flirt like crazy!

Keep looking spex-tacular!

Brand New Eyes

2008-12-06T10:48:00.000-06:00

Anybody in marketing? Own your own company? Personal branding is becoming the next "hot thing," and we can probably thank our Celeb Set for that.

Think of Paloma Picasso, that divine designer for Tiffany. She's always photographed wearing her jet black hair slicked back away from her face to flash an amazingly wide smile, lips rimmed in the brightest red (probably Chanel) lipstick. It's been her signature look for more than 20 years! Think of Carrie Donovan, The New York Times' beloved fashion editor, whose thick round glasses instantly identified her.

With all the fab spex out there, how about picking a pair that's "You" and wearing them for all your important meetings and networking events.

Are you a black and white gal, then go for some very cool black and white striped spex. Look for the black and white striping on the temple pieces.

Are you passionate about purple? Pick a pair in a subtle treatment with the color on the upper portion of rimless glasses.

Spex have become what hats once were in making a statement. Oh...and while your shopping, tell them Spexy Lady sent you!

Have a spex-tacular time finding your brand new You!

A Girl in Glasses Gets Passes!

2008-12-06T10:39:00.000-06:00

I just couldn't help myself...this is too good to pass along.

At a recent Girls' Night Out, one of the girls announced she was ready to start dating again after her divorce. Cute as a bug, tall, with a fabulous smile and wearing the latest Alain Mikli-style plum-colored glasses, she was bemoaning the e-dating process. Almost everyone had an unattached brother-in-law, boss, brother, or friend whom they would be only too happy to introduce to our Girl in Glasses.

But...wait...two fabulous looking gentlemen walk by our giggling gaggle, and one handsome fellow with close cropped gray hair taps our Girl in Glasses on the shoulder. We thought she knew him. Nope. He just wanted to say, "Hey, I love your glasses!"
He moved on too quickly before the Mother Hens in the group could grab his phone number!

It's working!

Have a spex-tacular weekend!

Muffin Tops

2008-11-24T23:52:00.001-06:00

I love those huge, freshly baked bran muffins I used to grab at the deli in New York before dodging trucks and errant drivers for a cab. Who cares that they probably contained half my day's calorie allotment! Yes, I know, I should have walked those puppies off...shame on me!

Too many muffins, and many years later, I am shocked and chagrined to discover that I have what the fashion police call, "muffin tops"...those jiggly rolls that spill over the top of my designer blue jeans, that can only be camouflaged by over-sized sweaters...not the look this season, I might add!

Thanks to Charla Krupp's book, "How Not to Look Old," I am told to trot as fast I can over to my nearest department store and stock up on a wardrobe of Spanx. They promise to peel away pounds and banish the bulges. I arrive in lingerie. There they are, hanging in a nude-colored line-up, just begging for me to take them home. Compared to a year's worth of lipo, they're a bargain. Compared to my Bargain Basement Budget, a wardrobe of shapers, as they're called, is out of the question.

But SpexyLady is a stealth shopper! Just as I was rounding the corner from my weekly Target trip, what should I find, but the answer to my muffin tops! Assets by Sara Blakely...the inventor of Spanx! Slightly looser than the Spanx tank top version, and almost half the price of its department-store cousin, Assets--only at Target and Target.com -- has plenty of hold-in power to trim the torso, ridding me of my unsightly rolls until the pilates kicks in, or I win the lottery and lipo those lumps! As for those bran muffins, I think I'll pass!

An Early Inheritance

2008-11-24T23:34:00.000-06:00

I thought one had to be deceased...you know, 6 feet under, toast, gone, good-bye...so that after you've left this planet for the big house, your children could receive a chunk of money, some credit card debt, lots of lawyer fees, and of course, Uncle Sam's take.

Well, apparently the memo never made it to my youngest son. Upon hearing he would not be receiving an immediate replacement for his broken I-phone, nor an immediate repair for the jammed CD-drive in his relatively new I-Mac, he turns and says, "Why can't you afford it? I'm an heir and there's plenty of money for that." I almost died laughing...no pun intended.

Ever hear of the book, "Spend til the End?" I'm rushing out to get it.

Have a spex-tacular day!

Cover the girls

2008-11-21T01:03:00.000-06:00

Have a little more girls in front than your deep V-necks cover? If you heat up like I do, year round because, you know... then you probably aren't crazy about layering up your scoopy cute tops with a knit cami. Found the perfect cleavage cover...Chickies by Jules and Meg...remember dickies that we used to pop over our heads to layer under our preppy V-neck sweaters? If you don't remember, ask your mother (does that date me...alack!). Check out Chickies at www.julsandmeg.com. These clever cover-ups clip onto your bra strap, and cover just the front. The back is open and held with a narrow strap that attaches in back. Just the ticket for those easy on, (easy off) wrap and go dresses. Wear Chickies in the office, slip them off for drinks and dinner. He'll definitely see past your specs!

Concealer

2008-11-21T00:52:00.000-06:00

Ever get those really deep, dark circles under your eyes? Maybe one too many cosmos? Allergy attacks? Whatever the cause, pop on your specs after you have dabbed on plenty of concealer, and covered all with a moisturizing foundation (SPF, please!), and a light brush of powder. No one will know you pulled an all-nighter on that proposal! Psst! Model tip...Preparation H is great for under eye circles and puffy orbs. A little dab does it! The secret? It shrinks the red blood vessels... you could say, it works top to bottom!
Later...

Why I love Spex...

2008-11-15T00:17:00.000-06:00

I started wearing glasses as a kid for the obvious reason...life looked blurry and fuzzy without them. People looked like Martians with no eyes unless,of course, I put those ugly, plastic-rim things on. I managed to get contacts in high school, because I was convinced I'd never get any dates if I didn't get rid of those plastic-rim things.

In college, I pitched my contacts for rose-colored wire-rimmed things, primarily because I kept sleeping with my contacts after too many pitchers of beer and had the misfortune to wake up in the morning unable to see because I had scratched my corneas. I finally lost those buggers when I fell overboard on a hobie cat during a regatta.

After graduating from college and in my first real job, I was shipped off to Hong Kong for a magazine assignment, where I discovered eyeglasses could be ordered and picked up within hours! I fell in love with my new huge, Hong Kong plastic specs.

I looked like Jiminy Cricket with a Farrah Fawcett hairstyle. And oddly enough, guys started making passes at me with the glasses! I even ended up marrying one of those guys who made passes at me with the glasses! (That's another story for another day...)

As fashion would have it, however, I ditched the specs for soft contacts. Glasses clashed with whatever I decided to throw on in the morning. And...I had since given up my beer drinking days, so there was little danger of me nodding off with my plastic eyes in. I looked pretty cute without those bigger-than-big plastic-rim things, until I realized as a business woman now, I didn't want to look cute. I wanted a serious, "I mean business " look. I wanted to fend off the attractors, the guys who made passes. And off I marched to my nearest Lens Crafters to pick out a pair of large, black, squarish specs. The kind that said, "I mean business, and not THAT kind of business."

I successfully hid behind my specs for most of my career, tossing them aside only for photo ops or black tie functions.

I have a collection of specs now, ranging from the original -- yes I still have 'em -- Hong Kong specials, to a pair of red leopard plastic aviators, to bizarre multi-colored square Emanuel Khan's I picked out of a sale bin at Henri Bendel.

Looooong story, long, I'm back in my specs, right where I started, wearing them for the obvious reason, to see stuff. And that's how this blog was birthed...for ALL of us lasses who choose to wear glasses.

Have a spex-tacular day!

Welcome to SPEXY LADY

2008-10-30T17:33:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the SpexyLady blog - a place for fashion, trends, beauty, money, health, dating, life and more. Check back soon for great content - from a seriously SPEXY LADY.