Mani Monday: The Thin Gold Line

Just another Mani Monday.
This week it’s back to gel manis. I need some super durability in my life!

I call this one…The Thin Gold Line by @Hyewon8803 at my new neighborhood nail salon, Enamel Diction.

With the nude and gold, it’s such a classic, chic and sophisticated minimalist mani. I’m only sad I only get to have it a week! Why, you ask? After all, Enamel Diction gel manis usually last 2 weeks. Welllll…I’m headed to the iHeartRadio Music Festival and I need my nails to match all the fun that I’m gonna have!!

*necklace featured by Anthropologie

Mani Monday: The Thin Gold Line at Enamel Diction - mani by Hyewon Kong

xoxo,

BF

BF Asks: What mani are you rockin’ this week? 

Dawn on the Dear Mattie show on iTunes!

Dear Mattie podcast on iTunes, EP. 6 DAWN MCCOY OF BEAUTYFROSTING.COM - Dawn McCoy is THAT neighbor who cooks food for you and just sits right down on your front porch for a chat. I love her. She's also the creator of BeautyFrosting.com, which is all things beauty, baking, & being.

Oh, Mattie!

I am so honored and thrilled to be a guest on the Dear Mattie podcast this week on iTunes with one of my best friends (and neighbors) host, Matt Marr!

Download and listen on your commute, on a walk (like I just did), on the plane or just while washin’ dishes! Listeners’ questions we answer include: parents with narcissism, cell phone etiquette, discovering your true self and a 33-year-old woman in a romantic relationship with a 19-year-old (oh my!).

We also chat about southern sins, new chapters, branding, Step Up, rediscovering childhood passions, my Nanny, how I almost became an FBI agent and the new definition of layover. And just wait til you hear the Chatty Mattie questions. Oh my.

What fun we had on that hot summer day!
Click here to download and listen:
http://www.talktomattmarr.com/podcasts/ep-6-dawn-mccoy-beautyfrostingcom/

xoxo,

BF

BF Asks: Do you have a question you want Dear Mattie to answer? Send him one here. Or are there any questions you wish he’d asked me? 

High-Low 6/30/14: Bye, Bye Boys

As is the case in all of our lives, sometimes the high is the low and the low is the high.

That’s the case with this week’s High-Low.

As I’ve mentioned before, I live in this magical neighborhood called Wilshire Vista, which is  a flashback of the past. All of my neighbors and I say “Good Morning” every morning, take the dogs on walks around the block every day, borrow sugar from one another, walk to the french bakery and share a cup of coffee, take care of each other’s kids and pets, pop a beer on the front porch or a glass of wine in the backyard and whoop it up at one another’s parties.

But it’s much more than that. This neighborhood has become my family, here in Los Angeles. I am told that this is a rarity. So when some members of our tribe move away, it is a deep loss that is felt at our core.

This week, we said goodbye to one of our favorite families – the Bowers-Disney clan.

The Bowers-Disney family at my past birthday party

This family of four taught me so much that I never even knew I needed to learn. I met Robert on a walk one day when my 5-lb Maltese pup, Miss Ellie, took a shine to his huge brute of a dog (with a mushy heart of gold) named Bubba. A friendship was born between us and little did I know that their lives were about to majorly change.

Within the year, sweet Bubba passed away, Robert and his longtime love, Joe fostered two adorable little boys named Elijah and Theodore and then got married on the same day that they adopted those two little boys. The picture of seeing these 2 men and 2 boys become an instant family in one day was one of the most powerful things I have ever seen in my life.

They are such a beautiful, kind, creative and fun family and the whole neighborhood was inspired by them. I know I certainly was. From them, I learned that families can be formed in a million different ways and that love is the common ingredient in every enviable family.

This past weekend, they moved to Washington D.C. to start a new chapter together. And boy, will those boys be missed. But as they start that new chapter, I hope they will remember this slew of characters from their chapter here in Wilshire Vista, who will think of them with love and blessings every time we walk past their house.

I miss y’all already.

 

*Afterthought: Later, they told me that long before they adopted the boys, they had had a piece of art hanging in their living room that they were never able to let go of – even though they thought many times that they should as it wasn’t quite their decor. It was a painting of two men holding hands with two little boys. The power of this piece of art hit them after that day when they became a family. It’s as if it was always meant to be. Needless to say, they never gave away that painting.

 

xoxo,
BF

 

BF Asks: What’s your neighborhood like? 

High-Low 9/9/13: Neighbor-Family & New Scars

It has been faaaaaar too long since I shared a High-Low with you and, well, it’s time. These past few months have been such a wonderful, whimsical whirlwind – filled with travel, friends, family, rich opportunities, closing old chapters and – more importantly  – starting new ones. I have been to Texas and back, Nashville and back (more on that in another post), thought I was moving, found out I didn’t have to move, met new people, said goodbye to friends, hosted events and started becoming more involved in some philanthropic organizations that I care about deeply. But there’s no way, I can share all of the highs with you so we’ll just concentrate on the High-Low from the past week. Hope you enjoy! And I can’t wait to share more with you on a more regular basis, again.

HIGH: Neighbor-Family

After almost having to move out of my beloved home in July, I appreciate my neighbor-family now more than ever. Whether it be morning coffee with Hope across the street, laughing with Jenn as we organize my kitchen, Matty keeping me company with a glass of rosé and conversation while I frost cupcakes on a Saturday afternoon, having dinner at our neighborhood wine bar, Chic, with my old friend Sarah or Nora and Lucy bringing their laughter-filled light into my room as I get ready for a night out on the town, I am overwhelmed by the sense of family these friends give me.

So much so that they are not just friends anymore, they are my sister-neighbors and brother-neighbors…my neighbor family. And I love them to bits! Every morning I get to look out my window and say hello to these beautiful people. And every night, I get to see at least one of them before I turn in. It feels a bit like college and a bit like a small, southern town and it adds up to the warmest community I have ever lived in. I am so grateful for every second I get with them.

High: My Neighbor-Family

 

LOW: A New Scar

I have always wished I was more graceful. When I say this to people, they think I’m being modest, “But you are such a graceful and gracious lady”, I am told. Au contraire, my friends. While I am lucky that it doesn’t happen every day – or even every month – my life has been filled with its share of pratfalls and Three Stooges-style tripping accidents. So I wasn’t surprised at all when I was in a hurry at The Grove last Tuesday and totally bit it as I made my way up the stairs at The Apple store. Ugh. I gashed my knee pretty hideously. First, I was mortified…and then, I thought I might have to get stitches. I had no time for stitches! I had a manicure…and a meeting! Bless my heart.

Sorry for the graphic nature, folks...

Turns out I was okay. More or less. So why was I in such a hurry? Because there are lots of new beginnings on my horizon right now. New, fun, exciting and delicious things that I can’t wait to wake up to every morning. And, at the same time, there are also old chapters being closed. So, when I was asked by a doctor if I wanted plastic surgery, I said, “No, I think I’m gonna let this be a scar.” Scars are excellent reminders for us as humans. In this case, I feel like this scar will remind me that for new things to begin, we often have to get hurt, let ourselves heal and scab over before we can begin anew again. So while this is a low, it’s also an excellent jumping off point into the great unknown. And I am ready for all it has to bring.

 

xoxo,
BF

 

BF Asks: What was your High-Low this week? 

*So what exactly is a High-Low, you ask? High-Low is the BEST & WORST part of your day, week, month, etc. I started this tradition with friends & family after I discovered it through a movie decades ago. Not only is it useful for reflection sake but it is also an excellent way to communicate with your spouse, kids or friends over the dinner table. By introducing this tradition to folks, parents have told me that their kids have opened up more and friends have told me that their spouses have become more communicative. Try it for yourself and let me know what your experience is!