A Juxtaposed Mind: October 2016

Fall is undeniably the BEST season to see emerge in Chicago; there's just something so satisfying about crunchy leaves, crisp air and the notion of Mother Nature wrapping up another glorious year of beauty. But let's be honest: fall fashion is pure bliss. I get a genuine thrill starting the season off with the right boots, scarves, and dark nail polish (my go-to is usually Lincoln Park After Dark by OPI).

For this post then, I wanted to share some fabulous events that I was lucky to attend as the leaves began to change colors. Be warned: there are a lot of pictures!

Latino Fashion Week was hosted at Block 37 from September 29 through October 1. Arabel Alva Rosales and Cesar Rolon--the masterminds behind Global Runway--succeeded once more with their 10th annual event that featured celebrity emcees and models--including Vinicus Machado from HBO's "True Detective" and Ruth Diaz from Azteca Chicago. Each night of LFW had a different theme; guests were encouraged to wear white on Thursday, lace and velvet on Friday, and to channel their inner black swan on Saturday. Although I wasn't able to attend the lovely tea party hosted on Friday during the day, I still enjoyed just about everything provided by LFW. The food was catered by popular restaurants like 90 Miles Cuban Cafe, Nando's Peri Peri, La Havana Cafe, La Bomba Restaurant and Cesars, while music was played by Czarina Mirani, 5 Magazine, and Bear Who. I absolutely loved the live performances by David Guevara and Ricky Luis as well!

The beauty about LFW is that, in accordance with their slogan "By Latinos, For Everyone," the mix of fashion designers, emcees, models, sponsors, and additional talents all helped the event thrive. My personal favorite fashion designers of the event were a collection of local and global innovators: designers like Moi Soli, Iridium and Catterina Rose hailed from Chicago, while Willfredo Gerardo from Miami, Yirko Sivirich from Peru, Edgar Lozzano and Benito Santos from Mexico and Royal Black from Puerto Rico all added stunning glamour with their creations.

Here are some snapshots of all fabulous nights!

A Night of Opulence


My photographer for the night, the handsome Zubair.

Ricky Luis doing his thing. Such a great performer!

My favorite, Ruth Diaz.

Iridium's models and head designer.

Memories de la Moda

Willfredo Gerardo

The beautiful Heather and I.

Snapchat fun with Alex and Eric.

Black Swan Soiree

Too pretty to eat?

Ruth Diaz interviews Arabel. FYI- Arabel designed that dress herself!

Arabel and Cesar closing out the night.

After party shenanigans with amazing new friends and social media moguls, Tornu and Jennie. We were so photobombed by our bartender at Latinicity!

As you can tell, there was SO much to see, eat, and do at LFW. I'm so grateful and honored to have gotten the chance to attend as a special invite blogger. Shout out to Shantallah Hagerman and Nailah Simpson for the hookup!!

My friends and family have also been on the forefront of my social life. No matter how busy work may get, I still strive to make time for the people who make me laugh and smile the stress away. Below are some pictures from the birthday party of a good friend of mine, as well as the notorious Applefest at Ravenswood. Applefest had a variety of goodies, food, live music and activities for the family. I was a little bummed that The Chopping Block stopped selling whole apple pies on Sunday, but I managed to get a slice and cup of hard cider from their tent.

Enjoy!