澳門 Macau Baby!

VEGAS

No, Macau baby!

Macau, a former Portuguese colony, thrives on a booming economy of gambling and tourism. Its one of two "special administrative regions" in China - Hong Kong being the other.

The "turbojet" was a speedy one hour ride from Hong Kong to Macau. Riding in "super-class" had its perks, like snack service and being the first passengers to exit upon docking. You still need to go through customs and unfortunately that was a timely, crowded mess.

Miss Macau, as we dubbed her, was poised elegantly at the entrance of the Wynn Hotel and Casino where she greeted guests with a gleaming smile.

The lower level of the Wynn Hotel, in high-end chic Vegas style, hosted designer showrooms from Dior, Miu Miu, Gucci, Prada and more...

Macau's Portuguese origins were most evident at the center of town.

One of the most popular sites at Macau was this facade... The Ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral...

I believe this was a fashion shoot rather than a wedding shoot as the photographer's cap read

"fuck the paparazzi"...

The weather got stormy on the return trip to Hong Kong making the turbojet ride not as pleasurable. Thank goodness it was only an hour long!

fashionado

New York New York

I have always loved New York.

The abundance of art, fashion and shopping sets New York City not only apart from any other place in the U.S. but also sets trends nationally and beyond.

There is an incomparable energy that exists in NYC that filters through everyone, residents and visitors alike.

Now there is one more (major) reason to love the entire state of New York: Same-Sex Marriage.

This is a victory not just for gays but for the nation as we move towards equality. New York is the 6th state to sign the bill.

CLICK Here to read CNN story & watch CNN Video, AndersonCooper

reports.

There are so many songs about the fabulousness of NY and this oldie is one of my favorites. [Perhaps reveals a little bit about myself.]

Sing it

Nina Hagen!

fashionado

The Happiest Place on Earth!

Alright, so lets get the bitchiness out of the way first... If you have a strong aversion to 1) crowds and 2) small children, do not go to Disney World

OR

just get over it and have a blast. (Seriously, I can't recall the last time I had so much fun wearing just a t-shirt, shorts and sneakers.)

In 1973, my family and I went to Disney World for the first time and its fair to say that the Magic Kingdom was, well,

magical

and it still is. The fun I had inspired me to tell you about it.

My family has been returning to Disney every year since '73 ... me... not so much... I accepted the large crowds and walked around the strollers and didn't worry about anything at all. I rode every attraction.

TIP

: If you get to the Magic Kingdom when it opens in the morning and hit the attractions, you'll have almost no wait time. Really! Leave the shopping for later, ride first.

Impeccable landscaping throughout the grounds. Creeping fig topiaries like this can be found everywhere.

Love Splash Mountain! Sit in the front seat and you are sure to get soaked! That's my cousin Stephanie next to me and my sister, Miriam, behind us. Sports fans, check out Miriam's blog:

A Fishy Situation

.

Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow of the Pirates of the Caribbean. Not really, but a damn good look alike!

The Haunted Mansion.

My favorite ride still is Space Mountain!

The Electrical Parade at 9pm is a million-sparkling-light extravaganza.

Cinderella's Castle transforms at night through amazing saturations of color.

The Happiest Place on Earth!!

fashionado

Paris London Miami

Mark and Brett are tres chic!

They recently moved to the fashionable Notting Hill area in West London after living fabulously in Paris. I recently caught up with them at their "vacation" home in historic Coral Gables, Florida.

First... the quick backstory!

Mark and I met and became instant friends while working together at Nordstrom some thirteen years ago in Atlanta. I was with Mark the night he met Brett. They've been together ever since.

Brett is an business executive with an international firm and is the left brain thinker of the relationship. While Mark, an architectural designer, is the right brain creative force. Together, they are a perfect balance of intellect and intuition - and they both have style, grace and charm. In Paris, their place was on the sophisticated Champs-Élysées.

The view, from their balcony, of the Arc de Triomphe was so close that you could almost touch it! After five years in Paris, they moved to London as Brett's business territories shifted.

While spending [my] Christmas in Miami I visited with Mark and Brett and got inspired to do this story after touring the gorgeous home they just bought. To be honest, I saw it at Thanksgiving during a very brief visit with Mark. This time around, I had an all day catch-up with them which included dinner at the well known Havana Harry's.

The entrance to the 1926 home built by famed architect Robert Law Weed was stacked with 250 moving boxes which had just arrived from London two days prior to my visit.

One of several varieties of heliconia that grace the property. The landscape will undoubtedly change and evolve to grandeur as Mark has the greenest thumb I've ever seen.

The house itself is undergoing a transformation as it has some fixer-upper characteristics! For example, check out the new french doors... every window and door has been replaced, upgraded and modernized by Mark and Brett.

Mark has many creative outlets, like knitting, gardening and antiquing. You should see his impressive collection of Lu Ray pastel dinnerware. Mosaic tiling is another hobby. This fabulous planter is just one of many works of art by my multi-talented transatlantic amigo. Mark creates them out of broken tiles and upon his return to London he's going to take a workshop with a Parisian artisan who'll teach him to make them from glass.

The living room. Remember, two days before this picture, all boxes, everywhere.

Mark, his brother Kenneth and I, picked Brett up at Miami International a couple of days before Christmas. Brett had one very special [and fragile] carry on luggage. A surprise for Mark of the most exquisite glass ornaments he picked up in Finland.

Mark in his office.

I miss Mark and Brett terribly, though I am happy their lives are so complete. Plus having friends living

abroad is a nice bonus. I'll be seeing them while in London this Spring and will be sure to tell you about their place in Notting Hill, which by the way, opens up to the private Rosemead Gardens. The same gardens in the Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant movie, Notting Hill.

This is a Winter view of their London place taken by Mark in early December, 1010:

fashionado

TOP Fashion Blogs / Made the Top 100 ~thank You!

fashionado

Earlier this week I was honored to learn that fashionado made the Top 100 list of the world's top fashion bloggers by a NYC based social media/marketing firm, Sparkah.com

They contacted me through a tweet- a very appropriate method I thought! Thank you to Sparkah.com for noticing and a

big thank you to YOU, for the continued support of fashionado!

Here are highlights of the Sparkah feature:

"We’ve compiled a Top 100 list of “sales generators” for our fashion industry clients. These are the top niche fashion bloggers globally. They have influence beyond well known magazines for the following reasons:

1. Writers from well known print publications do not have an open dialogue with their readers.

2. Writers from well known print publications do not build a rapport with their readers.

3. Writers from well known print publications do not have personal influence over their readers. They don’t let their readers into their personal Facebook account. They don’t let their readers see their personal photos on Facebook. And they certainly don’t do any drunk sexting with their readership on some random post Taco Tuesday 2am flurry.

4. Bloggers Do.

5. If you get a blogger to cover your line, you’re not just reaching into their fanbase, you’re reaching through to their friends (THINK: clickable links to your online store that go to each of their 350av Facebook friends. This means top 100×350=350,000 Facebook impressions. If you had to pay for that, any idea how much it would cost? SEE: Facebook Marketing Strategies ).

BONUS. continued: If You had to choose between taking a 

news anchor to a $200 lunch vs a non-celebrity blogger, who would you choose?

We recommend that you follow all of them. Get to know them. Pitch them. In truth, the buyers at Nordstrom’s read their blogs more than the hipster magazines. Their blogs get comments. Magazines don’t."

For the entire story, CLICK HERE!

fashionado

South Beach at Night

The sweet scent of coconut tanning oil combined with the aromas of grilled cuisine and cigar smoke travelled through the salty ocean breeze in Miami. Live music played at many outdoor venues and salsa everywhere else. Even 25 years ago when SoBe was undergoing its retransformation, there was a magical element about the area. From the architecture to it's colorful residents, SoBe's energy filters through every visitor. Of course, the mojitos help too!

As I walked around Lincoln Road, Ocean Drive, Collins and Washington Avenues, I tried to capture the energy, bright lights and deco aesthetic which can only be found in South Beach at night:

More than 25 years ago, I sat with a friend, on the Carlyle's patio over beers. A bright light in the sky caught our attention. It looked like the brightest shooting star I'd ever seen. Or maybe it was a meteor? The next day, we learned it wasn't a shooting star or a meteor, but a Russian satellite that fell to earth!

An icon of South Beach, the former Versace Mansion. It now operates as a boutique hotel known as The Villa by Barton G.

The holidays have already gotten a hold of South Beach's Lincoln Road Mall.

Holy Hooters Batman!! Even the mannequins have implants in South Beach.

A larger than life Menorah & Dradle made completely of sea shells, Lincoln Road Mall.

 Apple, Gap, JCrew, Victoria's Secret, Banana Republic and Starbucks have commercialized South Beach.

fashionado

Atlanta PRIDE 2010

[caption id="attachment_4986" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="Atlanta proudly celebrated it's 40th Annual Gay Pride!"]

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The weather could not have been more pleasant for the

40th Annual Atlanta Gay Pride Weekend

. Saturday and Sunday, Piedmont Park was filled with people from all walks of life coming together for the most festive weekend of the year.

[caption id="attachment_4987" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="Brian & Jenny Leahy"] 

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I had a prime location on 10th Street. Not only did I find shade, but found a party as well!  I was a guest of a colleague, Brian Leahy, who, with his wife Jenny, hosted a big cookout at their place. This was the way to go. Great company, great food and too many cocktails at a prime spot. Happy Pride!

The Pride parade which ran for a solid 90 minutes+ did not disappoint. The floats seemed more elaborate and colorful. As usual, there was a strong political and religious presence mixed in with all the drag queens, non-profits, restaurants, corporations, night clubs and radio stations.

Atlanta favorites, Baton Bob, Nicole Paige Brooks, Bubba D. Licious and Project Q's Matt Hennie were doing their enthusiastic and respective roles in the parade. And that's just to name a few. Check out the photo gallery to see all the incredible supporters.

[caption id="attachment_4988" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="One of my parade favorites are the "dykes on bikes" that start off the event and set the tone with such great energy!"]

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[caption id="attachment_4995" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="The fabulous Nicole Paige Brooks!"]

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[caption id="attachment_5001" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="Wells Fargo went all out in a beautiful red horse drawn carriage to celebrate the 40th Annual Atlanta Gay Pride."]

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[caption id="attachment_5002" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="Gay Pride wouldn't be the same without its share of eye candy!"]

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[caption id="attachment_5007" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="Another Atlanta staple, Baton Bob, doing what he loves most, swirling his baton!"]

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[caption id="attachment_5010" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="The famous Armorettes!"]

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[caption id="attachment_5013" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="Gay friendly Orbitz."]

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[caption id="attachment_5015" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="The Digging Dykes of Decatur!"]

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[caption id="attachment_5016" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="The 20th Annual AIDS Walk Atlanta is next Sunday October 17th!"]

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[caption id="attachment_5018" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="We three Queens, representing Pets Are Loving Support! Bubba D. Licious, Erica Lee, Deserie Storm!"]

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[caption id="attachment_5020" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="Chris Kids, an important organization for GBLT youth, look into them."]

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[caption id="attachment_5023" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="Youth Pride is another group for GBLT youth work checking out."]

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[caption id="attachment_5024" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="Matt Hennie, the genius behind the very popular ProjectQ Atlanta, stop over to say hello and snap a picture, when I snapped one back!"]

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[caption id="attachment_5026" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="I have a thing for butterflies."]

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Gay Pride is a celebration of life and diversity. We need to go deeper than that. Now more than ever, we must go beyond tolerance and embrace acceptance. Human life is precious. One suicide, one beating is one too many. The hatred, violence and bullying must stop!

Take action and save lives through The Trevor Project.

[caption id="attachment_5027" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption="Please do your part to save a young life. Check out The Trevor Project."]

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fashionado