Beauty's Only Skin Deep

I recently read an interesting Huffington Post blog by lawyer and mother Devon Corneal entitled, “Pretty is as Pretty Does.” In it, Ms. Corneal recounts a story of 14-year old Nadia Ilse who, from age 10, was bullied at school because of her protruding ears. She considered suicide and in an effort to save her…

Mother to Mother

A few months ago, I started a major project at work and one of the consultants, who is also a mother of two young children, shared with me that she was so glad to be working with another mother. It reminded me of the relationship I have had with my career mentor over the past…

Going For Gold

There is no way I could let this week pass without paying homage to an extraordinary young lady, one whose talent and triumph embodies the very spirit of the Olympiad. Yes, I speak of Ms. Gabrielle Christina Victory “Gabby” Douglas, the 16-year old athlete who re-wrote U.S. Olympic history last week by becoming the first…

Independent Artist Spotlight: Ahmed Sirour

As promised, This and That With Calandra is committed to supporting independent music and spotlighting independent artists. Our first spotlight is my interview with artist Ahmed Sirour. Ahmed Sirour is a native of Brooklyn, NY and self-taught keyboardist/pianist with no formal or informal music training, learning how to play in his early 20s by listening…

FOTD: Purple Haze

Well it’s been a while since I posted anything on makeup, so here’s a new Face of the Day…I call it Purple Haze. Seems that purple has become my signature color this summer, so I’ve been playing around with all the purples in my collections. I wore a purple print dress to church today and…

Music Notes: Support Independent Music

Being a lifelong music lover, I must admit that I never thought much about independent music and independent artists until the past year or so. In my mind, I always defined indie music as a genre of “alternative” or “non-mainstream” music. I thought of indie artists as folks who sold their music out of the…