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atlanta

Lifestyle, Party

Get Jazzed Up for Hosting Dinner Parties With New Dishes

When we got together in college it was so basic. You’d send a mass text with someone’s apartment location and everyone would pool together money for the bare essentials. Those essentials usually consisted of readymade mac & cheese as well as cheap beer!  Let’s face it, most of us were living on a dime and it was more than acceptable to eat off paper plates and survive off $5 Dominos pizza! I knew one day I would become an ‘adult’ and eventually graduate from disposable plates to proper table ware.

In a perfect world we’d continue to live that same carefree life, but as with most things, we get older and our taste develops based on our life experiences.  I got married at the ripe age of 24 to my childhood sweetheart.  I remember being excited at the prospect of hosting “dinner parties” with other couple friends after marriage….that’s what people do after they get married, right?

We headed to Bed Bath & Beyond armed and ready to scan items for our registry that we planned to use while hosting these “dinner parties.”  At the time what we picked seemed amazing, but folks,  It’s been 11 years and we are still using those same dishes . Just like furniture and clothing, serving ware needs updating too….who knew!?

The Dishes

We’ve recently been hosting more often and every time I pull out my dishes I cringe!    I asked around and got some suggestions on places to go without breaking the bank. I picked up some cloth napkins, napkin holders, and fun silver wear from Pier 1 and some gorgeous placemats and beautiful Ito plates from Crate & Barrel. It’s definitely not perfect, but its a start, and a fun way to feel good having people over! Is it bad that I might be addicted to wanting to have the perfect tablescape? With limited storage space in my house I’m only keeping what I absolutely need.  Happy hosting!

Your Chick,
Sonia

Oh an don’t forget to light a candle one hour before your guests arrive, my GO TO candle is Natalie by Natalie Frangrances – I know its a bit pricey but for the aroma it gives off, its totally worth it, I promise!

Chicks Picks:
Fashion, Lifestyle

From Brunch To Birthday Parties, The Wrap Dress Has You Covered (Literally!)

Ok, first off let me say that wrap dresses look good on ALL women, they just do – but they do a little more for curvy women by enhancing and contouring the silhouettes of our bodies.  Women love nothing more than that Marilyn Monroe feeling you get when you get that fit-to-flare look that comes from accentuating a girls waist.

That being said, Sonia and I have attended everything from Brunch to Birthday parties in wrap dresses.  Most recently we decided to go for a little matchy-matchy look with these floral wrap dresses by Yumi Kim and Lilly Pulitzer to celebrate the 1st birthday of our niece, Sofie.

Happy 1st Birthday Sofie!

These designers created very similar one shoulder ruffled wrap dresses that were super fun to wear and photograph.  You can see that when it comes to a wrap dresses – YOU wear the dress, not the other way around.  These both have a midi length on us that is great for showing off a fabulous sandal or stiletto.  These prints and fabrics made for the perfect outfit for a daytime event.

The colors of the flowers combined with the delicacy of the chiffon and the shoulder cut outs made these romantic and extra feminine we got so many compliments!

Tips And Tricks

We are not new to wrap dresses (hello DVF!) but we are new to these brands which made them even more special. The beauty of a wrap dress is you can go for any which look!  Some wrap dresses can be super sexy. If that’s the look you’re going for some boob tape will be your best friend! In other instances if there is a deep neckline (and/or you tend to shy away from cleavage), a bandeau can be your best friend… it gives just the perfect amount of coverage. Finally if you are more conservative then you can put a full tank underneath for full coverage in the event that the neckline opens slightly while sitting. One hack I’ve recently been seeing on many wrap dresses is a snap button to keep the neckline in place. If the wrap dress you absolutely love doesn’t have this, it’s a fairly easy addition to put on yourself!  Happy wrapping!

   Shop a similar blue pump on sale here.

Cheers,

Rina

Chicks Picks- Best Wrap Dresses UNDER $50:

 

Fashion, Lifestyle

A Unique Experience: Global Runway Fashion Presentation at the Atlanta Hartsfield Airport

Chicks And Salsa was honored to be included in one of this years most exclusive and unique fashion events in Atlanta.  Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) presented Global Runway 2018, a fashion presentation and retail pop-up experience on Wednesday, May 16th. Hosted by InStyle Magazine’s Editor Kahlana Barfield, over 250 guests experienced a few of the retail offerings that represent ATL Skypointe, a program designed for guests to shop, dine and explore ATL. This year, guests also experienced an expanded industry-driven fashion experience, which included a silent auction to benefit Bert’s Big Adventure.

©2018 Decisive Moment Event Photojournalism, Atlanta Airport, Global Runway Event
©2018 Decisive Moment Event Photojournalism, Atlanta Airport, Global Runway Event
© 2018 Decisive Moment Events, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Global Runway on International Concourse F in Atlanta, GA
The Designers

In its second year, Global Runway featured four U.S. retail brands: Spanx, ExOfficio, Brooks Brothers and Sean John, which is celebrating their 20th anniversary. Also bridging the gap between beauty and style, the event highlighted national brands MAC Cosmetics, Michael Kors, Bijoux Terner andXpresSpa via a pop-up shop.

The Mission

“Each year, ATL serves over 103 million passengers, and many of them are unaware of our award-winning concessions program,” said Airport Concessions Marketing Manager Pamela Simmons. “In addition to being a global transportation hub, ATL is also a hub for quality global brands and Global Runway is designed to showcase these brands and raise the awareness of all that the world’s busiest airport has to offer.”

All in all this event was beautifully planned with the who’s who of Atlanta and we were glad to be a part of it! Thank you to Angela Watts at 10 Squared PR for the invitation!

Your Chick,

Rina

Chicks Picks:
Beauty, Fashion

Keep it simple this Summer with Sneakers, Bodysuits, and SPF!

Living in the South, the sun is strong and HOT!  As someone who loves the outdoors and spending time doing stuff with my kids means getting a whole lot of fresh air.   There was time where I would wear wedges to the zoo, but thankfully, sneakers are trending with dresses, skirts, and shorts.  Now  it’s so much easier to be trendy and cute with a cute pair of white kicks.  I do wear different sneakers for the gym and for family outings so I am going to focus on the later.  I personally have about four pairs ranging from Adidas to  Gucci, it just depends on the occasion, but a zoo outing for example is perfect for my Adidas Rose Gold sneakers.

As a denim junkie, I almost always wear high waisted jeans – I need the pockets and love the way this pair make me feel!  But cami’s that are bodysuits (like the one I am wearing here) are going to be my best friends this summer.  There are so many designs that have merged the comfort of a loose cami with the stay power of a bodysuit.  With young children I love being able to bend over and pick them up without showing too much in the front and back (if you know what I mean!).  Here are a few of my picks for this summer like the one I am wearing here.

Bodysuit Picks:

Now that I have got my #OOTD together, my next thought goes to skin care.  Neutrogena’s line of Healthy Skin Make Up has SPF 55 in it!  It’s a great drugstore find that takes all skin colors into consideration and the fact that you plan to enjoy the sun.  The liquid foundation has SPF 20 ( I am wearing color 100 Natural Tan) in and the pressed foundation has SPF 55 in it ( I use color 60 Natural Beige) !! It’s perfect for a family outing to the zoo!  I almost always lather up with Neutrogena’s water resistant sunscreen lotion before applying makeup on days that I will be in the sun all day. 

Plan on seeing variations of this look over and over again this summer, check out more beauty and fashion from the chicks here!

The countdown to summer starts now!

Your Chick,

Rina