elleELLEeye Recap

365 days, 991 posts (and counting), 95 followers (and counting), 1146 Facebook friends (and counting), 553 Facebook fans (and counting), 6 interviews, and a zillion eyes (and counting) later, who would've thought that elleELLEeye would be what is today? Honestly, I'm not surprised. I've been a humble and modest individual my whole life and for the first time this blog has been something that I've started on my own, and has opened (and closed) a lot of doors for me. I've had the opportunity to work with, meet, and interview people that may not have crossed my path otherwise; and for that, I am grateful.

I'm happy and proud to work with a staff that continues to grow. Although I go blog crazy at times, they have been played significant role in the number of posts, topics, and writing that you see on the blog. And for the person who coined the phrase, "There's no I in team"; let me introduce you to the eyes in mine...

Kareema Bee - My buzy bee who is doing so much and still makes time for elleELLEeye. You're an extremely talented person and I'm glad to have the pleasure to know you as a friend and team member. You bring a lot to the table, along with constructive criticism that I take in and digest, advice & a growing expertise in the "business" world. I'm sure with you on the team, elleELLEeye's buzz will soon become....ummm....a bigger buzz?!

Aliciia - My little Fashionista, if I never knew one before. You know it was only right that you joined the team, I mean with a tattoo that says "Be inspired", how could we not have asked you to?! You've been a great help and I'm glad to have seen the growth of your writing before my own eyes. Keep on "Zoin' it" and Stay Couture!

Perlita - Thank you for what you have contributed. I can't wait until you have more free time on your hands so the elleELLEeye world can see more from you. Keep it HOT Perlita =)

Basquiat - You're the newest addition to the squad, and you've already become a force to be reckoned with. I appreciate your writing and your opinion on the different topics you choose to write about. You know, those "things that make you go hmm"...Looking forward to what the future has to offer you and us as a whole!

DANiE - You've been there before DAY 1! When I was testing out graphics, trying to figure out a name, to when I finally started publishing, you were elleELLEeye's #1 fan. You commented and made pictures for me, and it was only right that you joined me in this quest. You're the Kelly to my Beyoncé, the Bleek to my Jay-Z, the branch to my Michelle, and the Deuce to my Ace. You've had some crazy ideas that I've hated, and said "okay" to, and some that were great, but just didn't work out for us. The ideas of "FASHiON FiGHT", "WoRD UP", "ToP THiS" started with a thought from you, and now they're some of my favorite things about elleELLEeye. You've dealt with me being nervous as ever on our first interview with Shanelle Gabriel; which turned out great, and countless other worries. Without you, elleELLEeye would still be here, but would be missing something that it has today... Love you sis!



A special thank you and appreciation goes out to those that have associated themselves and their name with elleELLEeye; Skye Townsend, Shanelle Gabriel, Ayindé, the Oxymorrons, Iran Ortiz, Parlé Poets (Kevin Benoit, Kesed, and Marcus Wright) and all of our readers. For those of you who read, comment, share and enjoy or dislike the blog, thank you! I appreciate everyone that was and is a part of this process. See you next year ;-p


...and to think, it all started with this post, "Welcome to elleELLEeye"...
♥ t i f f a n y
Spread Love. Live Life. Be Inspired.
Proud supporter of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

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WoRD UP

Live

/lɪv/ [liv] verb, lived  /lɪvd/, liv·ing.
–verb (used without object)

1. to have life, as an organism; be alive; be capable of vital functions: all things that live.
2. to continue to have life; remain alive: to live to a ripe old age.
3. to continue in existence, operation, memory, etc.; last: a book that lives in my memory.

Example: Live life. I live for this.

♥TeAM elleLIVEeye

Spread Love. Live Life. Be Inspired.
Proud supporter of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
For more definitions of "live" click here.

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eyeAsk: Do You Apologize?

Do you apologize?
After a fight, serious or petty, one of the hardest things for a human being to do is to suck up their ego and say sorry. But why is this? Some people feel like it makes them seem weaker and others just don't feel as though they owe anyone an apology. At the end of the day, it comes down to perception and personal reflection. But here's something to remember:

"Apologizing: does not always mean that you are wrong and that the other person is right. It just means that you value your relationship more than your ego."

Agree? Disagree? Comment!

Spread Love. Live Life. Be Inspired.

♥ t i f f a n y
Proud supporter of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

To Tweet or Not To Tweet...

...that is the question! Since Twitter was created in 2006, it has become a way of worldwide connection. Want to see what people are tweeting about in Brazil, it's a click away. Want the link to Trey Songz's newest video? Go to his Twitter page, we're sure he posted it. Want to know what's new at your favorite blog (which happens to be elleELLEeye)? You better be following them! But why Twitter?

For many people, Twitter has become their go-to e-spot to find out what they want to know. Whether you're looking for info on your favorite musicians, blogs, countries, etc., you can always put it in your favorite search engine. However, many adults and teens alike choose to look up the latest tweet about their subject of choice.

What do you think? Do you tweet? Why tweet? Do you use twitter to look up information, about your favorite subjects? What makes Twitter so different from Facebook? Let us know by leaving a comment!

Stay Couture, Aliciia

Spread Love. Live Life. Be Inspired.
Proud supporter of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

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Turn the House Around

How do you make a house a home when it's turned up-side-down? I guess the same way you would if it wasn't. This bizarre upside down house was created on the grounds of a German zoo. The roof is reinforced with steel girders.

Local carpenter Gerhard Mordhorst and his colleagues Gesellse Splettstößer and Manfred Kolax put the unusual building together. 'It was a challenge for us,' Mr Mordhorst said. 'You had to constantly think of the mirror image.' They described the job as the 'craziest' one they had been asked to do and found the bathroom the trickiest to put together because of bulky items like the shower.

The 'crazy house' is reminiscent of a home described in Roald Dahl's children's book The Twits. In the children's story a group of monkeys are forced to hang upside down by their owners. They have their revenge by sticking all of the couple's furniture to the ceiling and convince them to stand on their heads. The 'crazy' house was thought up by Hamburg investor Dirk Oster. He will open it to the public on March 30.

Spread Love. Live Life. Be Inspired.

♥ t i f f a n y
Proud supporter of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
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"A Walk Through Brooklyn"

A good book is hard to find, but once you find one, it expands your wanting to read even more. Author Rashaun J. Allen writes “A Walk Through Brooklyn”; a collection of nineteen poems that express the black experience from a vivid point of view.

The book's perspective is that of an African American man who has experience growing up in American society without a father, and losing a loving mother. “A Walk Through Brooklyn” covers a range of topics such as self-motivation, love, friendship, abandonment and loss - all things that elleELLEeye value. His poems attempt to ask and answer questions such as: How does self motivation lead to success? What’s the difference between love and lust? Can a friendship be repaired? And how does a parent’s addiction affect a child?

Be sure to keep up with Rashaun as he does book signings around NY. You can see him on March 27th at 12pm for a Book Signing for "A Walk Through Brooklyn" at:

Market Block Books
290 River Street Troy, NY 12180
www.marketblockbooks.com.

But if you can't wait until then...
PURCHASE "A WALK THROUGH BROOKLYN" NOW!
Spread Love. Live Life. Be Inspired.

♥ t i f f a n y
Proud supporter of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

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Whatever QUOTES Your Boat!

This is a quote I thought of. I use it as my INSPIRATION everyday...

"Why be the

same

when you can be

different?"

Hope it can inspire you too =)

Stay Couture, Aliciia

Spread Love. Live Life. Be Inspired.
Proud supporter of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

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8 People to Avoid

Everyday we encounter people and while some of those people stick around for a while, the others...well let's just say that they're not around for a reason. And although that reason may not be clear at first, we soon come to realize the type of people and personalities we should surround ourselves with. Here are the worst of the toxic personalities that we should steer clear of and how to spot them:

1. Manipulative Mary: These individuals are experts at manipulation tactics. As a matter of fact, you may not even realize you have been manipulated until it is too late. These individuals figure out what your 'buttons' are, and push them to get what they want.

Why they are toxic: These people have a way of eating away at your belief system and self-esteem. They find ways to make you do things that you don't necessarily want to do and before you know it, you lose your sense of identity, your personal priorities and your ability to see the reality of the situation. The world all of a sudden becomes centered around their needs and their priorities.

2. Narcissistic Nancy: These people have an extreme sense of self-importance and believe that the world revolves around them. They are often not as sly as the Manipulative Marys of the world, but instead, tend to be a bit overt about getting their needs met. You often want to say to them "It isn't always about you."

Why they are toxic: They are solely focused on their needs, leaving your needs in the dust. You are left disappointed and unfulfilled. Further, they zap your energy by getting you to focus so much on them, that you have nothing left for yourself.

3. Debbie Downers: These people can't appreciate the positive in life. If you tell them that it is a beautiful day, they will tell you about the impending dreary forecast. If you tell them you aced a mid-term, they'll tell you about how difficult the final is going to be.

Why they are toxic: They take the joy out of everything. Your rosy outlook on life continues to get squashed with negativity. Before you know it, their negativity consumes you and you start looking at things with gray colored glasses yourself.

4. Judgmental Judy: When you see things as cute and quirky, they see things as strange and unattractive. If you find people's unique perspectives refreshing, they find them 'wrong'. If you like someone's eclectic taste, they find it 'disturbing' or 'bad'.

Why they are toxic: Judgmental people are much like Debbie Downers. In a world where freedom rings, judgment is sooo over. If the world was a homogeneous place, life would be pretty boring. Spending a lot of time with these types can inadvertently convert you into a judgmental person as well.

5. Dream Killing Keith: Every time you have an idea, these people tell you why you can't do it. As you achieve, they try to pull you down. As you dream, they are the first to tell you it is impossible.

Why they are toxic: These people are stuck in what is instead of what could be. Further, these individuals eat away at your self-esteem and your belief in yourself. Progress and change can only occur from doing new things and innovating, dreaming the impossible and reaching for the stars.

6. Insincere Illassis: You never quite feel that these people are being sincere. You tell a funny story, they give you a polite laugh. You feel depressed and sad and they give you a 'there, there' type response. You tell them you are excited about something and you get a very ho-hum response.

Why they are toxic: People who aren't sincere or genuine build relationships on superficial criteria. This breeds shallow, meaningless relationships. When you are really in need of a friend, they won't be there. When you really need constructive criticism, they would rather tell you that you are great the way you are. When you need support, they would rather see you fail or make a fool of yourself.

7. Disrespectful Dannys: These people will say or do things at the most inappropriate times and in the most inappropriate ways. In essence, they are more subtle, grown up bullies. Maybe this person is a friend who you confided in and uses your secret against you. Maybe it is a family member who puts their busy-body nose into your affairs when it is none of their business. Or maybe, it is a colleague who says demeaning things to you.

Why they are toxic: These people have no sense of boundaries and don't respect your feelings or, for that matter, your privacy. These people will cause you to feel frustrated and disrespected.

8. Never Enough Nellies: You can never give enough to these people to make them happy. They take you for granted and have unrealistic expectations of you. They find ways to continually fault you and never take responsibility for anything themselves.

Why they are toxic: You will spend so much time trying to please them, that you will end up losing yourself in the process. They will require all of your time and energy, leaving you worn out and your own needs sacrificed.

All of these personalities have a few things in common.
1) The more these people get away with their behavior, the more they will continue.
2) Unfortunately, most of these people don't see that what they do is wrong and as a result, talking to them about it will fall on deaf ears, leaving you wondering if you are the crazy one.
3) Most of these people get worse with age, making their impact on you stronger with time.

Frankly, life is too short to spend your time dealing with toxicity. If you can, avoid spending much time with people who are indicative of these behaviors and you'll feel a lot happier.

Have you encountered these personalities? What have you done? Any personalities you would add?

Spread Love. Live Life. Be Inspired.

♥ t i f f a n y
Proud supporter of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
eyeSite

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A Poem For You...

I've been noticing a big trend in woman today; and that's pain. But ladies, just know that YOU ARE NEVER ALONE. This is life, pain will inevitably come, but you can get through it. This is a poem that I wanted to share with ya'll that I wrote about two years ago during my freshman year of college. It's called "TODAY".....

Today
As I continue to dictate my book of life
I must wonder how I came to be the person that stands in front of you
Because a year ago at this moment
I was dead

Tortured by the models I wanted to look like
Shot by the men who I wished noticed me
Put into the ground by people who had the taste of my name in their mouth
And the rest of me?
Decomposed by The family I wanted to make proud
I wanted to be everything to everyone at every time of day
Perfection
God, in the form of a 18 year old college student in a blazer and makeup
But through the process stripping away the burnt skin from my manipulated, tortured body
Removing the bullet from my flesh with the use of an instrument made of honesty, dignity, and self acceptance
I have risen from that box where I used to lie
Weak and gullible
And now, when I look into the mirror of my soul
I no longer see tears of self hatred rolling down my face
But
Tears of joy
That I no longer allow others to profess who I should be
I wear a full body suit of protection
Made of love for myself by who I am.

Stay Couture, Aliciia
Spread Love. Live Life. Be Inspired.
Proud supporter of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

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Forgiveness

F O R G I V E N E S S

"There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love.” - Bryant H. McGill

The Three Essentials of Forgiveness
1. Forgive Yourself First:

In order to succeed in your path to forgiveness you must first forgive yourself. How can you expect to forgive someone else when you can’t even forgive your own faults and shortcomings? So often we forget this essential first step.

Sometimes we have issues within ourselves that keep us guarded and stubborn from realizing the truth. We expose others to cover our own insecurities. Once you learn to forgive yourself, forgiving others will become easier.

2. Accept Your Past:

Depending on how much hurt you have suffered in a particular relationship, this can and most likely will, take some time. But with the right attitude, anything is possible.

Look you can’t change what has happened to you, you and I both know that, but what you can change is how you look at your past events. I’m not suggesting that you have to recall hurtful periods of time and smile about them, but rather simply acknowledge that they have occurred and move on.

Soon you will realize that if your relationship is to ever exist in a peaceful state, you first have to accept our past.

3. Choose The Path Of Happiness:

If you choose to forgot the path of forgiveness you are essentially choosing a path of misery. Forgiving can be challenging, but forgiveness is essential in living life to your fullest potential. One of the greatest reasons we are miserable is because we subconsciously believe that suffering is necessary. We amplify the hurt long after the initial act has taken place.

What we fail to realize though, is that suffering is not normal, we choose to suffer. The sad thing is we are naturally made to be happy, but our social conditioning tends to make us believe other wise. We don’t need the latest product to make us happy, the only thing we need to live a happy life is a happy mind, a mind that can love and forgive.

Who is it that you need to forgive? What are you waiting for?

Spread Love. Live Life. Be Inspired.

♥ t i f f a n y
Proud supporter of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
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Healthy Relationship 101

10 Basic Truths About Keeping Your Relationship Healthy

I think it's easy to make things more complicated than they need to be. Here are some basic rules of the relationship road that will keep you headed in the right direction.

1. Successful relationships take work. They don't happen in a vacuum. They occur when the couples in them take the risk of sharing what it is that's going on in their hearts and heads.

2. You can only change yourself, not your partner. If you love someone and think that after a while he or she will alter behaviors you find uncomfortable, think again. If you want changes, put them on the table, so your partner knows what you need.

3. All arguments stem from our own fear or pain. When you become upset, check out what's going on inside you rather than getting angry with your partner. Truth is, we usually aren't upset for the reasons we think we are.

4. Understand that men and women are very different. We're not from Mars or Venus; we're not even in the same solar system. Understanding and celebrating our differences will make living together more peaceful, interesting and fun.

5. Honor each other in some way every day. Every morning, you have the opportunity to make your relationship sweeter and deeper by recommitting to your mate. Whether it's a good morning text, or a breakfast in bed. feeling respected and cherished by the one you love makes life much nicer.

6. Anger is a waste of time. Anger also is a relationship killer because it makes you self-absorbed and won't allow you to see the good. If you are annoyed with your mate, give yourself some time to calm down and then gently discuss what's going on for you.

7. Get regular tune-ups. Go to a couples workshop, talk with a counselor or read a relationship book together at least once a year. I would only suggest this for serious/married couples. But if you're not into this idea just talk about your relationship with one another. This process alone will strengthen your connection.

8. Find a way to become and stay best friends. For some, this sounds unromantic, but for those who live it, most say it's the best part of their time together. It's a great thing when you can just be yourself. When you're each other's best friends, that bridges the gap between your personal friends and your partner

9. Be responsible for your own happiness. No other person can make you happy. It's something that you have to do on your own. If you feel that it's your partner's fault, think again, and look within to find out what piece may be missing for you.

10. Give what you want to get. Our needs change with time. If you'd like to feel understood, try being more understanding. If you want to feel more love, try giving more. It's a simple program that really works.

There are no guarantees, but couples who practice these techniques have longer and stronger relationships than those who are not proactive in their love.

What works in your relationship? COMMENT!
Spread Love. Live Life. Be Inspired.

♥ t i f f a n y
Proud supporter of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
Thanks

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eyeAsk: What Makes You Smile?

No one is completely sure of the number of times one might smile in their lifetime, but I'm sure everyone has experienced at least one. But what caused that smile? Was it after your very first kiss? Maybe you were just looking into the eyes of the one you love? Or maybe it was the relief after your younger sibling finally got the answer correct after you teaching them thier times tables for hours.

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S - T - I - N - G

It doesn't matter if you're a 12-year-old being told to clean your room - or a corporate executive that needs to write up a business proposal, we're all affected by it...procrastination. Here's a solution to this problem; turn your procrastination into action! I know what you're thinking, you've tried it all, right? Wrong! One technique that you may not have heard of is called the "STING" method. This is a fairly new method of addressing procrastination, and it's an acronym that stands for:

S - Select one task.
T - Time yourself.
I - Ignore everything else.
N - No breaks.
G - Give yourself a reward.

Select one task you've been putting off. Break it down to just one small piece if it's complicated. For instance, if the task is cleaning the kitchen, reorganizing a drawer is just one piece of the larger task. Time yourself. Use a kitchen timer so you don't have to watch the clock and give the task one full hour. Children might need to reduce that time to just 10 or 15 minutes. Ignore everything else that needs to be done. No breaks allowed!

Give yourself a small reward when the task is completed (a few minutes on Twitter, Facebook, a piece of chocolate...whatever you need).


Everyone's attention span is different, but it may be wise to I set a timer for three 30-minute increments with 5-minute breaks (depending on how much you have to do), exit out of your email and Internet explorer and go into your own personal space. The beauty of it is ... it works! I hope it works for you!

Spread Love. Live Life. Be Inspired.

♥ t i f f a n y
Proud supporter of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
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