Wednesday, October 29, 2014

PINK POST: BREAST CANCER AWARENESS

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to everyone who joined in to be part of this Pink Post and support the fight against breast cancer. I will be donating $10 on behalf of each of you to the CAROL ANN READ BREAST CENTER, a place near and dear to my heart. I've had a lump for 10+ years and because I discovered it when I was so young it was always assumed that it was benign. Well 3 years ago, while I was in grad school and under-insured the lovely folks at this center held my hand, hugged me, checked in on me, did a biopsy on the lump and gave me a mammogram all for FREE! I am so grateful that everything was/is benign and so grateful that a place exists that a woman with little to no insurance can go and know that she will be taken care of. Now that I have insurance and a full time job, $100 is the least I can do to help the next under-insured lady who walks through those doors.  

DID YOU KNOW...
Did you know that 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer?
Did you know African American women are more likely to be diagnosed with the disease before age 40 than other races?
Did you know most women who develop breast cancer do not have a family history of the disease?
Did you know around 40% of lumps are discovered with self exams? (I found mine!)
Did you know 80% of biopsied breast lumps are benign? (I'm part of this 80%!)
Did you know extra pounds increases your risk of breast cancer and decreases your chances of survival?
Did you know 2,000+ men will be diagnosed with breast cancer each year?
Did you know breast cancer is not a death sentence?

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This post is dedicated to my Aunt Linda. May 20, 1956-October 20, 2014. May she rest in perfect peace. 

Monday, October 20, 2014

CONFESSIONS

If you haven't submitted your pink moment (clothes, polish, accessories or whatever you want) to be featured in my Pink Post, there's still time! Email your submission to iamsimplychic@gmail.com or use the tag #simplychicpink on Instagram. Don't forget, your submission also means a donation to the CAROL ANN READ BREAST CENTER. Go Pink!
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I hope you enjoyed traveling through London, Paris & Amsterdam with me. I am back to regularly scheduled posts for now. I wore this particular look to church/brunch and then I turned around later in the week and wore it to work ;) Confessions of a lazy fashion blogger.

WEARING: target jacket via NIC'S PICKSBANANA REPUBLIC PANTS, neiman marcus purse, nordstrom necklace & blouse, JEAN-MICHEL CAZABAT PUMPS

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Monday, October 13, 2014

NOTTING HILL + I WANT TO FEATURE YOU

I'm working on a special PINK POST for Breast Cancer Awareness Month and I need/want your help in showing support! Please email me (iamsimplychic@gmail.com), or tag me on INSTAGRAM (@iamsimplychic) with the hashtag simplychicpink showing off your favorite pink moment (outfit, shoes, nail polish etc) and you'll be featured in the post later this month! Plus for everyone who joins in I will donate money to the CAROL ANN READ BREAST CENTER.

Enjoy the pictures from my day in Notting Hill...
So many cute colorful homes in this neighborhood
 
London buses and cabs are so chic!
Yummy street food everywhere!
No shortage of clothing and accessories in the area also
 

WEARING: h&m blazer (SIMILAR), gap dress (PINK RACHEL ROY DRESS UNDER $70), j crew necklace (SIMILAR)

**Simply Chic Travel Tip: Notting Hill**
This little area is so charming and although it's a great place to buy souvenirs, it didn't feel touristy at all. I recommend having brunch/lunch at 202 RESTAURANT, which is also a boutique, and staying long enough to have some street food.  Also, do yourself a favor and pick up a fascinator and some super affordable body products from SUNEETA while you're there. 

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Monday, October 6, 2014

AMSTERDAM PHOTO DIARY

A few people have asked me about travelling solo, specifically in Amsterdam. I did not go to Amsterdam solo and I actually haven't traveled anywhere solo, but I would imagine Amsterdam would be a great place to do so. 
It's safe. It's clean, and it's small. But there are lots of canals that look like this and it might get confusing to navigate. Haha. That's when having WIFI would come in handy, and if not, most people speak perfect English. 
Everyone...EVERYONE rides bikes here. We have parking lots and garages for cars. They have parking lots and garages for bikes. I tried to rent a bike the moment I got there and the man at the shop said "you are going to kill yourself" as he saw me practicing and wouldn't rent me the bike :-/ So make sure you practice before you go if you are not a regular rider. It's not like riding around a park or a neighborhood. This is how people get around in this town.
 Rosé beer?! O boy this was delicious. Beer drinker or not, if you see it on the menu, get it! And also regardless of how you feel about beer, take the HEINEKEN TOUR. I didn't get to do it because of that whole 24 HOUR thing, but people rave about it. 
If you need something to coat your stomach before or after beer, try a sandwich out of the FEBO vending machine. Apparently it's the thing to do.
Besides Heineken, beer and Febo, Amsterdam is known for its coffee shops, where you have to be 18+ to enter and no one is actually buying or drinking coffee ;)  
The floating flower market was at the top of my list of things to do here. It was a great, BUT it wasn't what I thought it was going to be. I was expecting something similar to the markets in Thailand where you ride on boats, but it was little shops selling beautiful and unique flowers and souvenirs and the shops happen to sit on the water. 
And last but not least, do you know what this is? It's a pancake. Yes, a pancake...with chocolate sauce, caramel sauce and two scoops of ice cream. If nothing else in this post motivated you to go to Amsterdam, do it for the pancakes. 

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