Too Many Choices

On normal work days when I do not have plans for the coming evening, it doesn't take me long to get ready in the morning. As far as wardrobe goes, I am ashamed to admit it, but in my older age I have succumbed to what my GB and I call "lawyer drag." Lawyer drag is typical, conservative corporate casual gear. Blech. But I do it, I suppose because it's so easy. That and the fact that sitting on my arse for 12 hours does not inspire me to be fully Ji-ed out everyday, know what I'm sayin'? Although my girl Shir points out that even when in lawyer drag, I usually have at least a touch of Ji-ness going on, whether the earrings, the boots, you get the picture.

However, on mornings when I know that I will be partaking in evening festivities, I put more thought into my get-up for the day (natch.) I don't really strive for that whole "it goes from day, straight into evening" thing that magazines are always pushing. I prefer to just focus on the evening.

Tonight Mr. Ji and I will be having dinner at a sexy restaurant with some friends. Funny thing this morning is that I never doubted what apparel I'd be wearing (kimono inspired gray dress from funky cute boutique "Flirt" in Brooklyn), instead it was the jewelry that threw me for a loop-de-loo. My first selection was a beautiful chunky gold and ruby red necklace from India. This piece is so substantial that I have to go light on any other pieces. So, I had it on, it looked great but, being Ji, I wanted more. I added a red, triple wrap, beaded bracelet and some small, red, looks like berries earrings. I thought that was it, but clearly it wasn't. The earrings came off and I put on a pair of black crystal, long and skinny dangly earrings. Obviously, now the necklace had to come off. I switched the red beaded bracelet for two wooden, one green, one deep brown, bangles. Eh, still not quite right.

Finally, to my delight, I remembered this pair of wind chime like, long, silvery- white earrings that I bought upstate. Bingo. Took off the bangles, added my tennis bracelet duo, put on my always wear it Buddhist bead bracelet on my right arm, and I was done. Honestly, there were some other combinations in there too but I realize there is virtue in brevity.

Just as I thought I was done with the indecision, I realized that I had to choose my outer wear. This past weekend I bought a dream of a trench coat at "La Vedette" a cute little boutique on 5th Ave. in Brooklyn. The trench is double breasted with large buttons and is an antique white color (it is so a color.) My dilemma with this dream of a coat is that I am deathly afraid of it getting dirty but I can't never wear it. Life is too short to leave our beautiful things in the closet -yes? So, I bravely put it on, saddled up my bag (new from Stone Mountain Handbags, but that's a whole 'nother post) and thought I was ready to leave. That is, until I had the ingenious idea to try on my long, custom made beige, soft as butta, leather jacket on instead. Bingo again. The only problem was that now I had to switch bags because the mango leather of the bag clashed with the beige of the jacket. This conundrum caused me to pull out my all-time favorite, forever fabulous, patent leather Fendi bag. Finally people, supremely Ji-ed out, having survived the many choices, I was ready to go.

Local Spot Review - Elements Beauty Lounge

Brooklynites, and those adventurous enough to travel into the hood, behold! There is a new primping spot on the block. The stats: Element Beauty Lounge, located at 73 5th Ave. btw. Prospect Place and St. Marks, phone 718.398.2969. I have three syllables for this place: FAB. U. LOUS. Elements is super clean, stylish, reasonably priced and most important of all, filled with highly skilled and pleasant employees. You will not get a better manicure/pedicure anywhere. As if it needs to get any better, the joint is open 7 days a week? Yep, 7.

By the by, last week I discovered a new perfect deep burgundy red polish(at the suggestion of my favorite person there who shall remain nameless because it is already hard enough to get her.) The polish is called "Prune Danish" and it's Opi. I'm normally an Essie girl myself but favorite employee woman told me that Opi usually lasts longer. Such an assertion is probably open to debate but I must tell you, I had my nails done Sunday and they still look perfect on this beautiful Thursday morning. I kid you not, not a chip to be seen on these nails.

Also, Michelle who is the general manager does waxing too. She's my new brow girl. Won't go to anyone else. She's good, very good. Elements also offers massages and facials etc. I plan on trying a massage and will get back to you on the verdict. I have a facialist of almost 10 years so I won't be able to report on the facials unless I am so moved to try one just for the sake of you, my dear friends. (P.S. I'll blog about my unbeatable Ela another time.)But, listen, take my advice and check out Elements. My only complaint if I have to have one is the choice in music played at Elements. I think it's considered pop? rock? whatever it is, it's just not my cup of tea. But a complaint to me may be a plus for you - yes? A final point, if you are in a hurry then you may just want to go to the cheapy nail place across the street from Key Food. They are decent enough, especially when you need to be in and out and only want to pay $6.

For comparison sake, I have been to D'Mai Urban Spa up the street from Elements and I have to give them a Ji hearty two thumbs down. I so wanted to love D'Mai when they first opened. The hood had been in desperate need of a fab.u.lous. spa. I tried a facial, I tried a manicure and pedicure; I tried to love them but I just couldn't. It was all bad (that's bad meaning bad, not bad meaning good.)It's a beautiful spa but it lacks in quality when it comes to services.

For my friends who don't ever venture over the bridge into the wonderful borough that is Brooklyn. The best place for nails/waxing in Manhattan is the downtown Rescue. Ah, but your beautiful self already knew that!

Serenaded by Former Big Wigs

Last night my beloved husband and I got a good laugh when he was reading the Financial Times. There on the front page of one of the sections was a big color photo of Thomas Middelhoff. Who? Exactly. Middelhoff is the former CEO of Bertelsmann/BMG. Why did the photo bring us such chuckles? Thus the story...For my birthday dinner in 2002, my beloved husband and I went to Nobu. There sitiing next to us was this Thomas Middelhoff with an unknown female companion. We don't remember how but, somehow, we started talking and when Middelhoff was told that it was my birthday, he serenaded me with his rendition of the well known American classic "Happy Birthday." It was funny, yet embarrassing all at the same time. Middelhoff then pointed out Tommy Motola across the restaurant and proclaimed that we should get Tommy to come over and sing as well. Thankfully, my protestation of such an idea worked. The kicker to this whole vignette is that the next day Middelhoff was fired as CEO of Bertelsmann. Ah such fun! Anywho, apparently he is now the head of a German retail chain called Karstadt and he is desperately trying to reverse the companies debt situation. He's firing German retail employees all over the place. Good job Middelhoff, good job.

The Irony of the Perfect Single Man

Yesterday I got a call from a dear friend of mine, he's like a brother to me. Let's call him Dante (what? John is so boring.) Dante is, for all intents and purposes, the perfect single man. I know, I know, no one is perfect but he comes pretty darn close my friends. Let's go over the list, shall we? Tall -check (6'3''?); F-I-N-E -check; well educated and professional, check; conscientous -check; well-dressed -check; athletic -check; geez what else is there? Whatever else there is -check, check and check.

I met Dante about eight-nine? years ago when we worked at the same firm together. I remember when he first started at the firm(he was a paralegal at the time.) Word shot around that there was a new F-I-N-E paralegal on the premises. (For those of you without any corporate law firm experience, the F-I-N-E factor amongst the male population is abnormally low.) Secretaries, paralegals and associates alike took notice of Dante. Of course, he'd been used to such attention so it didn't really phase him. Fast forward, had I not been in a committed relationship already with my then boyfriend, now beloved husband, Dante and I would have most probably dated, had a falling out and would never have ended up the close friends that we are today. Thus we are both happy that I was already committed.

Anyway, back to the phone call yesterday. Dante called me, as he has so often, to discuss his woes with women. One would think that being as almost perfect as he is, that Dante would have been taken off the market a long time ago. But he just can't seem to find the one. He's constantly got a few different women in the rotation but his Mrs. Dante has thus far been elusive. He's come close, or so he thought, on a few occasions but he just can't seem to hit the mark.

What makes this whole scenario even more baffling is the number of women, particularly Black women since Dante is himself a Brother, who claim that there are no more good single men left. Sho 'nuff ladies, they are out there!

I have another single friend in the same category as Dante. This friend, whom my GB (gay boyfriend) calls "Brickhouse," also has all the checks, yet no woman. Although I have no doubt that both of my friends will someday be happily married, I just marvel at the irony of it all.

Faux Lawyers All Over the Place

This morning I went down to our cafeteria to get a vanilla yogurt and some bottled water only to walk into a room filled with extras dressed in suits. Hilarious! The cafeteria is now the holding area for the Clooney movie. A partner and I agreed that we could have, and should have, been the extras. We're real lawyers for goodness sake, you can't beat that for authenticity! The funny thing, of course, is that no one wears suits anymore. With the exception of the occasional old school partner, or someone who has to go to court/meeting outside of the firm, lawyers don't wear suits anymore! (Much to my sheer joy.) It's just actors who play lawyers that wear suits. Ah, the irony, or something like that. On the way back up to my office I saw another famous actor but I'll be darned if I can remember his name. Guess we'll have to wait for the movie to come out.

Product Junkie Review

Ok, so as a confirmed, no hope of rehabilitation product junkie, I am constantly asked what is my favorite product. I'm sorry folks but there is no way I could ever pick just one. However, as far as categories go, I believe strongly in the importance of a good cleanser and a good moisturizer. Thus, today let's focus on cleansers. I have tried so many different skincare products that I am scared to think of the not-so-small fortune I have spent. But we must look at the money as an investment - yes? Currently I am using three cleansers (we need different cleansers for different occasions.) I'm using Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel, Dermalogica Dermal Clay Cleanser and DDF Pick Me-Up Pink Grapefruit Cleanser. I started focusing on Dermalogica after having a conversation with the owner of a major line of retail product shops a couple of years ago. Major owner told me that she once asked the editor of British Vogue which skincare line she thought was the best. British Vogue editor answered without faltering, Dermalogica. When I first tried the Dermal Clay Cleanser, I thought that I loved it. The menthol action combined with the green clay gives the sensation of deep cleansing. It's a good cleanser for post workout or other intensive sweat causing activities. My only complaint is that I don't think it adds to that healthy glow for which we all strive. The Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel, however, is exactly that. The special gel has a beautiful light lavendar scent and a wonderful smooth feel on your skin. It's not too harsh but cleanses deeply. Best of all, the special gel promotes a luminescent glow. Thus, the special gel is on my top five list and will be permanently in my rotation. Onto the DDF Grapefruit. Eh. This is a foaming cleanser that is quick and easy to use and cleanses well. I have one major complaint that is enough to make me never buy this product again. I decided to try this cleanser because of the grapefruit. One would think that a product with the word grapefruit in the name would smell like, well, grapefruit. Not only does this "grapefruit" cleanser not smell like grapefruit but whatever it smells like is not pleasant. You may be asking yourself, why would Ji buy a product if she didn't like the way it smells. I'm about to let you in on a coveted source friends. I buy most of my skincare products on the trusty shopping haven known as the internet. www.medi-spastore.com No shipping costs, no tax and they are always having sales. Only problem, of course, is that you can't smell the products beforehand! I've been shopping at medi-spastore for a while now. They are usually super fast in their shipping. However, one time they did take over a week to ship. They redeemed themselves on the next order and every order since. Thus saving our business relationship. So, friends, continued good wishes in your quest for that luminescent glow. But remember, the glow always starts from within. Please feel free to share which cleansers you love.

Clooney on the Premises

Word on the street is that George Clooney will be in our offices today filming a movie. Straight women and gay men alike are all a flutter. All of the excitment really cracks me up. It's not as if George is going to stop by and have lunch, ya know? Although I do understand why George does it for some people, he just doesn't do it for me. I mean if there were only 3 men left in the world and he was one of them, I wouldn't cry if I was forced to procreate with him in order to keep the human population afloat. But he's not on my top ten list, probably not even top twenty for that matter. I'm just upset because apparently he's playing a lawyer in the movie and I already have him cast as a lawyer in the movie that is to be made out of my first novel! Oh the conundrum.

Muffin Tops be Gone!

Yesterday while I waited in my doctors office, I read a Newsweek article regarding the rising of waistbands in jeans. Thank the Lawd! The article reminded me of my recent quest for the perfect pair of jeans. I, former President of the "I Hate Jeans" club, am now a convert. I've officially joined the "I Heart Jeans" club. It's a much happier club, I have to say. Before my recent quest, I owned one pair of Mavi jeans that I bought about six or seven? years ago. They aren't the most comfortable jeans but they did the job. These Mavis were bought before stretch and arse-showing low riders came on the scene. They are basic, good for daytime weekend wear. They were loyal and sturdy but had to be retired. I also have a pair of super stretch, super arse-showing, low riders that I bought for a pretty penny at Butter in Brooklyn. These funky in a good way jeans, I can't even remember the brand, are good for going out at night with four inch heels, as long as there's no sitting down involved. They are super comfortable but oh so tight and as I said, arse-showing. These being my only 2 pairs of jeans created the need and thus the quest for the perfect jeans. I started my research by asking my most jean obsessed friends which brands they would recommend. After a long and arduous process, (which included going to Bergdorfs and Bendel only to be completely depressed because all of the jeans are made for six feet tall women weighing 100 pounds) I consulted the great cultural leader of our time - Oprah. I think it was no less than divine intervention that caused Oprah to do her jean intervention right when I needed it most. I checked out Oprah's perfect pair of jeans - the AG Club. After being depressed by my actual shopping experience, I turned to the trusty, always reliable cyber shopping haven otherwise known as the internet. I Googled the Ag Club, found www.revolveclothing.com (love revolve!) and ordered the AG Club in Legend (the darkest wash.) I also ordered the Citizens of Humanity, Ingrid jean in the darkest wash. I bought the Ingrid on the suggestion of my shopping obsessed friend, let's call her designergirl. Designergirl has about 50 pairs of jeans and is forever on the quest for the perfect pair. The COH Ingrid used to be her perfect pair until, she says, she had her baby. Post baby, designergirl is now back on the constant quest. She's just as skinny post baby but something about hips being different...anyway, the AG Club is the answer! (Thanks Oprah.) The Ingrid is a good 2nd place so I kept both pairs. Luckily for me, I also recently visited designergirl and she unloaded about 4 pairs of her misses (as opposed to hits)on me. Yeah that's about $700 worth of denim baby! She gave me another pair of Ingrids, a pair of COH Faye, a pair of Rock and Republics, and a pair of Sevens. God she's a good friend. So, now post quest, Ji is happy in the city in her comfortable, yet stylish jeans. The best part of the jeans, of course, is that they are not so low as to cause any unsightly muffin top action. Muffin tops be gone friends!

Never in a Million Years

Never in a million years did I ever think I would have a blog. But here I am y'all - blogging to the world. I'm a Gemini people so be warned, I could be all over the place. I might throw an inspirational quote around once in a while. Mostly though I'm going to have fun and review products and happenings around the city. I'm a thirtysomething confirmed product junkie living in downtown Brooklyn. I've lived in the city for about 17 years - half my life - and I am truly, madly, deeply in love with my city. So come back regularly to read my musings on all things Ji. That's me - Ji. Welcome to Ji and the City.