Special Thanks to smartwater!

Thank you smartwater for making me your special ambassador for Charleston Fashion Week 2012! I had the most amazing time... your team rocks!

XOXO,
Marian

Disclaimer: smartwater provided travel expenses and compensation for Charleston Fashion Week 2012

smartwater Brings Haute Hydration to Charleston Fashion Week!

Designer Mychael Knight

As an official sponsor for Charleston Fashion Week 2012, smartwater offers fashionistas runway ready hydration. As a special ambassador for smartwater I got to cool off in the Charleston heat along with a few noted designers, models and fashion week –insiders with our favorite premium water in hand. As I moved through the tents on Marion Square, I could see smartwater flowing everywhere! Haute hydration mixed with fashion chats made for refreshing talk under the tents.

Charleston Fashion Week Creative Director Ayoka Lucas

Check out our pictures as we strike a pose with smartwater… the zero-calorie vaper-distilled water with added electrolytes became our haute new accessory. Some might even say vapor distilled is the new black and smart because it’s made that way!


To learn more visit http://glaceau.com/
Become a friend of smartwater on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/smartwater and follow on Twitter http://twitter.com/smartwater



Model Cynthia Bailey





Haute Ready-to-Wear Collections Hit Charleston!

Take a look at some emerging fashion design talent hitting the runway at Charleston Fashion Week 2012. The five-night event is produced by Charleston Magazine and offers young talent a gateway to New York City's fashion week. I had a bird's eye seat with smartwater in hand to capture the latest in style trends. Take a look at a few pieces that caught my eye.

What's your haute new fashion accessory for 2012?

yet another misunderstanding

i found out shortly before this incident that it is common for boys in korea to be circumcised in their early teens. they believe this is better because the child will understand why they have to get the surgery and they can be put under for it.  one day, i had one of my students who is around the age of 13 walk into my classroom limping. i asked the students what happened and half burst into laughter and the other half set to work trying to figure out how to explain this to me in english. one student volunteered,"teacher, he cut his..." and makes a cutting motion on his finger. i THOUGHT i understood but was confused as to why he was limping. when i asked them they shook their heads and kept making the cutting motion, "no, no, no....a part very important to a man." after i got the awkward "OH!!!!" expression off of my face, i explained that in the states we do that when the boy is still a baby. the conversation ended shortly after that but about 5 minutes into the lesson i had one student interrupt and say "i think the states way is much better teacher."

Mychael Knight Debuts Bridal Collection in Charleston

Atlanta-based fashion designer Mychael Knight introduced his new line of gowns and dresses during Charleston Fashion Week’s Spring Bridal Show 2012. Knight was the featured designer for the much anticipate sold-out show during the sixth annual event.

As a special ambassador for smartwater, a premier sponsor, I had a front row seat to all the haute fashion designs coming down the runway. Knight’s collection was tastefully done, but a bit restrained. Although Knight has been making wedding gowns for the past couple of years, this is his first collection to hit the runway.

The Project Runway, fan-favorite for season three, showcased an assortment of form-fitting silhouettes. In this collection, he took a bit of a detour from his “club-style” garments that generally merge the future with the present. This collection offers a softer, youthful approach for the girl who wants more simplicity and less glamour for her wedding day. Knight says his dresses are “sleek, sophisticated, and wearable.”

Knight is known for dressing Hollywood celebrities like Jennifer Hudson and Queen Latifah who love his bold and futuristic approach to designing unforgettable clothing.

Haute Bridal Collections Hit the Runway in Charleston!

Fashionistas, brides and so many others came out to view the spring bridal collection from emerging design talent during Charleston Fashion Week. As special ambassador for smartwater, an official sponsor, I was sitting front row at the celebrated show.  

 

The collections offered something for everybody about to walk down the aisle and say ‘I do.” This year, designers added a bit of color to traditional gowns and dresses. Romantic blush colored gowns and other more passionate collections accented with red accessories offered a modern approach to traditional classics… building on a canvas of white garments for that special day.

Featured designer Rachel Gordon offered a first-time bridal collection that simply flows down the runway. Her “One Love” Bridal and ready-to-wear collections were attention grabbers. Silk draping, vintage-inspired creations and the celebration of women down to every detail made Gordon one of my favorite designers. She even ended her showing with an eco friendly –inspired ball gown made of live plants.

To learn more about Rachel Gordon visit http://www.onelovedesign.com/

Join the smartwater Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/smartwater

one year later

i can't believe that it has already been a year since we arrived in korea. the time seems to go so much faster here compared to back home. the other day jeremy and i were talking about how different life is now compared to when we first arrived.

some things that we had to face when we first arrived:

-eating ramen everyday because we couldn't read any of the menus. we still can't read half of it but now we can recognize what we like

-jetlag! getting up at 6am every morning. we figured we could walk around and see the city only to find out that koreans are not morning people. the streets are deserted till at least 9, if not later.

-staying in a love motel for the first two weeks. exactly what it sounds like. rooms can be rented by the hour or the night and mood lighting is always provided ; )

-sticking to the same two restaurants because they had pictures on their menus

-taking hours at the grocery store staring at labels i couldn't read and trying to find any food slightly resembling something i knew

-spending the meal avoiding the free kimchee on the table (i still do this)

-getting yelled at for crossing the street without a walk signal (they're really strict!)

- figuring out that there are no preservatives in a lot of the food. we have to race to eat certain foods before they go bad. especially fruit and bread.

-since there are no dryers we try to put all the fans on our clothes to get them to dry faster before the mildew smell sets in.

-waking up to the smell of kimchee, fish or whatever else the apartment above us decided to cook for breakfast that morning.

-buying a car for around $200 but having to push start it anytime it rained. (we got it fixed eventually)

-going to the bathroom outside at work. in the summer it was a race to see how fast you could pee before you were attacked by mosquitos

even though we don't have to deal with most of these things anymore, it just adds to the experience of living in a different country.

Haute Hydration Mixed with Fashion!

I’m thrilled to be a smartwater Ambassador for Charleston Fashion Week 2012! The hautest fashion event south of New York City takes place in less than two weeks under the big tents in Marion Square in Charleston, South Carolina. Fashionistas can expect more than 30 runway shows, emerging new designers, and fabulous cocktail parties over five nights. This year, 7,000 people are expected to hit the charming southern town as smartwater gets runway ready as the official water sponsor for the big show!

Join me as I bring lots of photos, tweets and style trends from some of the most exciting designer talent to emerge in years.

What's the hautest new accessory for 2012?

Haute Birthday Fun!

I’m a Pisces girl with lots to be happy about. This year, I celebrated my birthday with friends who inspire me to live my highest spiritual self. It was a weekend to remember but none-the-less, I’m so grateful to have friends who really care about me.

My haute hair stylist and groovy friend, Robin, gave me sexy, seductive hair to ring in the start of my special day. It brought my hair to life and a few extra looks from some unlikely admirers with an ego boost to match.

Although, I’m a year older, I’ve never felt better… cheers to me!

what's in a name

before walking into a classroom at my previous school, you could guess what about 80% of the kids names were going to be. john, sally, ann, jimmy. basically all the typical western names. at my new school, the names are a bit more unique which i love but i can never get the spelling right. when my student told me her name was donna, i excitedly wrote it on the board, how could i mess this one up? after writing it, the students started hysterically laughing. "teacher! you spell it d-a-n-a." the whole class was a lesson in korean spelling of western names. lincoln was l-i-n-c-o-n, ellen was e-l-i-n. then there were the ones that i've never heard before. i had an alva, lyon, rani (pronounced ronnie), claude (pronounced cloud), lina and zinee. the names will be easy enough to remember but the spelling may take me awhile.

i have what??

a brief explanation of what jeremy and i are doing now. we have decided not to resign with our previous school, ecc. it was honestly the perfect school for our first year and we are forever grateful for the experience and the opportunity to work with such amazing people. we decided, however, that we want to do some more traveling this next year and therefore picked schools that allowed us to do so. jeremy got a job at a vocational high school which he started the other day and loves. i will be working part time at an academy which will be a nice change of pace and allow me more time off.

with that being said, in order to change schools there are several hoops to go through and forms to be filled out. one of these was a health check at the local hospital. simple enough, urine test, blood test, hearing and sight, along with a chest X-ray. when jeremy and i went back to the hospital to pick up our results the nurse looks at jeremy "you're fine" then proceeds to turn to me and say "you have kidney disease." i love how delicately she put it. now, after being here a year, i have heard of several serious misdiagnoses, which is why i wasn't too concerned.

i went back to the hospital the following week and had more tests done. i walked into the doctor's office to get the new test results. he had my chart with my passport picture on it and when he looked up he jumped back. always the reaction you want when someone looks at you, right? he continued to go on and on about how i look so different from my picture and how my cheeks were "sharper" now. reading in-between the lines: you used to be fat, but not to worry, you look fine now. he then turned to me "oh and you're fine, no kidney disease." i can't wait for my health check next year.