Modern Girl Style

Nothing Happens Unless First We Dream

Modern Girl Style Dream Office by Russell+Hazel

Letter from the Editor:

Who doesn't love a makeover?! Modern Girl Style had a quick restyling and was very eager to show off the new look.  SO....A big thank you to the awesome authors, business owners, artists, designers, and of course, the lovely & beautiful readers, that have made Modern Girl Style what it is!

Let's keep dreaming in 2008!

I love Red!

Red is everywhere this holiday season & what's not to love! Add some red to your life.

Why not add a red scarf to your little black dress or spice up your pouty lips with a blaze of red! Anyway you try it, just remember to have some fun!

Do You know the Real Santa?

Ah...It's hard to tell. I mean Will Ferrel knew a fake Santa when he met one. But, I think I might have to say that the real Santa is from Miracle on 34th Street because he knows how to whip it!!! HAHA!

Modern Girl Style wishes you a warm & beautiful Christmas Eve!

Have a Rockin' Holiday!

Modern Girl Style wishes you a Rockin' Holiday, lots of laughs, and fun!! Spread the holiday joy to every person you meet!

How to Holiday like A Celebrity

Got your Invitation to vacation with Johnny Depp in Ile de Re, France? Yeah. Well, cough, maybe not this year. But, that doesn't mean you can't have your own fabulous holiday away from home! Why not? So, if you're on the way to paradise, and you can't decide what to wear. Modern Girl Style suggests you pack  Diane Von Furstenberg, Roberto Cavalli, and Juicy Couture. Or if you're like me, at least it's fun to dream about shopping for an exotic getaway!

Wait! Is that Tom & Katie down the beach! I simply love Costa Smeralda, Sardinia!

What should you be wearing in case George Clooney stops into the Hotel Cala di Volpe for a drink?

Cavalli, Cavalli, Cavalli! Period. Just take a look. You'll see what I mean. Who wouldn't look hot?

Drinks will be on the house if you wear this Roberto Cavalli!

For the girls who like to party at the beach and keep it real...Penelope Cruz knows what I mean..I mean St. Barths instead of Honeyball hams, snow ball fights, and boring aunts. Pack up the Juicy Couture & head to the beach! And...why not invite the whole family? That boring aunt might actually be a closet surf girl!

Nothing Happens Unless First We Dream!

Holiday Drinking: When Drinking Becomes Dangerous and The Signs of Alcoholism

Who doesn't need some holiday cheer? Holiday eggnog, spicy coffee, and wine are some of the  holiday's choicest of drinks and there is nothing wrong with drinking. However,there is a distinction between drinking and alcoholism. Can you tell the difference? Will you be able to know how to tell a friend, co-worker or family member that they have too much? This is a great example of a Holiday Drunk at the annual Holiday Office Party:

This is what a Drunk Driver drives like:

In my own situation, I was forced to write this letter last night at three o'clock in the morning to my soon-to-be family-in-law.  It wasn't easy, but I knew it was time that I stopped being quiet about my fiance's brother's, who I call J. in the letter, and his alcohol problems. Here's the actual letter I sent:

Dear H. Family,

As a soon-to-be member of the H. family, I feel it is necessary for me to voice my opinion that I am deeply uncomfortable and concerned about J.’s drinking that has contributed to four major eye-awaking events in the last four months. The first serious event that involved J. & his drinking may have began with totaling his car on M. Road. While drinking was never listed as the reason for the accident, I was told by my fiance that his father, who arrived at the accident scene to help his son out, had advised J. to not “breath or stand close to the officer on scene because he smelled like alcohol.”  The second incident that comes to my mind involved J. pushing his long time friend, D. S. through a plate of glass. Although this was yet another “accident,” everyone in the party had been heavily drinking and the whole accident could have been avoided. The third incident occurred two weeks ago when J. was arrested for being drunk in public. Although police later released him for being the brother of a police officer, he still had been initially detained for drunkenness. Lastly, twenty minutes ago at 2:30AM, my fiance and I received a call from his brother, J., downtown, that he had failed RIDE (which is road side drunk test in Canada), his car was impounded, and he was issued a 12 hour license suspension. These are not the events that happen to a responsible drinker.

As a child of an alcoholic, I understand the devastating effects of alcoholism. Furthermore, my roommate in college was an alcoholic and I went to AA meetings with her to help her with her sobriety. In my experience, friends and family members have a duty to let loved ones understand that their behavior isn’t acceptable. I’m tried of waking up at two or three in the morning to J. or his girlfriend calling about some incident that involves J. and his drinking behavior that has had a brush with the law. Some of the direct consequences of his drinking problem include: J.'s girlfriend's was in the car accident in which J. totaled his car and she is suffering loss of complete dexterity in her left arm and a metal plate where her left forearm use to be, his long time friend, D.S., has a scar on his face that begins at the corner of his eye and streaks down to his chin like thick lighting from J.'s drunken mistake of pushing him face first into the plate of glass, and then there is J.'s drunk in public arrest, and last night's 12-Hour suspension. When is it enough? This has all happened within a four month time period and it is enough to convince me that J. needs professional help before he dies or he kills someone.

J., you may feel that I’m completely out of line sending this email, but I am deeply disturbed by your behavior because of my history with alcoholics. In my experience, the alcoholics that I dealt with in my life had deep unresolved anger issues that caused their heavy drinking.  I have first-hand experience of your anger issues in direct relationship to your family and your girlfriend. You don’t have to live the rest of your life yelling, berating, fighting, or humiliating those that you love or hurting yourself with heavy drinking. It is within your power to heal your anger and fill it with a peaceful love that involves giving respect and happiness to your family and loved ones.  Your choices really do make a difference in everyone’s quality of life. Tonight, I’m taking the moral courage to try and make a difference in the quality of your life. Hence, this email. 

One place that may help you with your drinking and anger issues is Alcoholics Anonymous. I hope that you take a look at more possibilities as well.

I believe that individuals have a responsibility to each other and society. I will not in anyway enable your anger and drinking problems nor encourage my fiance to legally help you bounce out of whatever situation that you have brought on yourself.  Now is the time to be accountable for your own actions and I pray that you find the moral courage to want to live a better life without anger or irresponsible drinking. I pray that you understand the severity and gravity of your situation before it hurts your future or that of others.

With peace, strength, & love,

Kamela

This wasn't an easy letter to write and I did it at 3:00AM. But, when is enough really enough? I had to act be responsible to my morals, ethics, and experiences. I wasn't going to participate in my  family-in-law's practice of dealing with his bad behavior by silently sweeping it under the carpet.

These are the simple steps to saving the world from another drunk driving accident.

Don't be quiet.

Tell that person that they've had too much to drink.

Take their Keys.

 

You just might be saving a life.

Party Responsibility!

Cozy Holiday Dresses

I love Michael Stars! I had to let Modern Girl readers know that all dresses are up to 40% off at Michael Stars & can make it to your home by Christmas! These are wonderful cozy, no-brainer, dresses. Make them over in your style with the belts, necklaces, purses, and more!

Yeah, so let's keep up the shopping frenzy! However, girls don't go for broke. There are the after-Christmas sales to consider!!

Homemade Holiday Gifts

Rudy the Pink Nose Reindeer

Holiday gifts don't have to come directly from the mall, but it's rare that they don't. Why not make an exception this year and follow a creative inspiration to craft gifts for your loved ones? If you don't have time for that, then there is always Etsy.com for beautiful, humorous, and lovingly made objects!

Any that you choose to give, give something inspired!

Polka Dot Christmas Stockings

Pax Holiday Hippie Bear


Sweet Treat Earrings


Green Hand Knit Neck Scarf

Christmas Tree Cards


Felted Bird Fuzzy

Cutest Fairytale Ornament Set




 

Party Away Your Winter Blues!

I'm not genetically built for cold winter blah weather. I swear! But, I bet this might be true for lots of ladies & gentlemen. What can you do in bad super-yuck downright no good horrible evil snow storms? Buy a ticket and get out. If that's not an option, try this martini! It'll beat the blues!*

*Yes, this watercolor was a modern girl creation! It was loads of fun to draw, but I'd still rather be by the pool in Cali!

A Guide to Winter Blockbuster Movies

Welcome to the last of 2007! That means that Hollywood & others are throwing out the last of their movies to try and contend for an Oscar in 2008. That translates to lots of films to watch! Where do you get started? As usual, Modern Girl Style always recommends to follow your heart, but there are three movies that many people are really excited to check out. Here goes:

I Am Legend

Will Smith on the Movie & he sounds extremely heartfelt about this project!

Atonement

Atonement, like most things, this started as a book. Ian McEwan's book, Atonement, has been one of the most prolific novels I've ever read and that might mean a really lousy movie. But, we shall see, right?

On the hottest day of the summer of 1935, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis sees her older sister Cecilia strip off her clothes and plunge into the fountain in the garden of their country house. Watching Cecilia is their housekeeper's son Robbie Turner, a childhood friend who, along with Briony's sister, has recently graduated from Cambridge. By the end of that day the lives of all three will have been changed forever. Robbie and Cecilia will have crossed a boundary they had never before dared to approach and will have become victims of the younger girl's scheming imagination, and Briony will have committed a dreadful crime, the guilt for which will colour her entire life.

The Kite Runner

A movie about two kids growing up in Afghanistan doesn't sound like it has the makings to be a huge blockbuster. But the film is based on the best-selling novel, "The Kite Runner," by Khaled Hosseini.

The novel, which gave many Americans their first detailed glimpse at life in Afghanistan following the Soviet invasion and eventual rise of the Taliban, became an instant hit with many book clubs, helping to keep the paperback version near the top of The New York Times paperback best-seller list for the past 129 weeks. And Hosseini's latest novel is currently the best-selling hardcover fiction book. So clearly, there is a large audience there for fans of Hosseini.

So will the book's millions of readers come out and see the film? Adaptations of blockbuster books have done pretty well in recent years, as the "Harry Potter" films and the movie based on "The Da Vinci Code" have all been big hits.

But one possible problem for "The Kite Runner" is that it has no major stars and will go up against "American Gangster" and the animated film "Bee Movie." Nonetheless, people should not underestimate the possibility that women who loved the book will turn out in droves for the film.

 

Now, turn your cellphone off and just add popcorn!