HAVE I LOST MY SPARKLING MIND???

Sep22

By Constance Palelei

Source:http://constanceinthegiantjewelrybox.com/

 

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As I sit in my dressing room between shows admiring my gorgeous Asscher cut band ring I have to ask myself… “Am I losing my mind?” I am a diamond jewelry designer completely in love with these synthetic stones I now work with. Where is the girl who shunned the idea of Cubic Zirconia? Where is the girl who loved to play with real diamonds and said proudly that every woman should own at least one diamond because you’re worth it? Am I cheating on my “Girls Best Friends”? Continue reading →

Eating Clean Does my Body (and Mind) Good

Sep19
**The following is a re-blogging from: http://netiebee.blogspot.com UHB has not change the content.** 

“Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth” — Pema Chödrön

A few years ago, my friend Holly was talking to me about Tosca Reno’s Eating Clean diet. Fairly quickly into her “eating clean monologue”, her words fell on deaf ears because I had dismissed it as something that would be so incredibly complicated, expensive and downright hard for me to incorporate into my life that I didn’t want to hear anything else about it.

My thinking back then was, “how could this eating regimen be fulfilling when I would have to limit refined sugar, give up fake sugar, white flour, pre-packaged and processed food?” Frozen meals save me time. Diet Dr. Pepper hits the spot when I start getting sluggish at 3:00. And word to your Mother and mine – ain’t nothing like a Snickers to take the edge off during that time of the month.  I was also on a popular weight loss program at that time and I was losing weight, so if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Right?

Okay, I was hella wrong. Now, I can see that I was giving so much push back because this was taking me out of my comfort zone. These were HUGE changes and I was too nervous and too scared to make them at that time.

i-love-healthy-eatingEven though I was losing weight, I knew what I was putting in my body was not good. I would always hit the wall at 3:00, I had spikes in my sugar levels, and rounded out with stomach and digestive issues – yea, I was gross. I could not keep lying to myself – I had to man-up and make some changes.

Right now, it is six in the morning as I write this post and in 30-minutes, I will begin my eating clean regimen. I have been eating clean since mid January 2012 and I can honestly say it has really done my body and mind – good.

I usually have my first meal by 6:30 a.m. (everyday) and I eat every three hours. Each meal includes a complex carb and protein. I spend either Saturday or Sunday cooking a week’s worth of food for me and Jack – and I love it. The meals I cook are the bomb-delicious – just ask my sister and her boyfriend! My monthly grocery bill is down 85 bucks and I no longer need a weight loss program, so good-bye fees.

My partner in crime Naomi is on her own eating clean journey and it is cool to be able to share ups and downs with each other. Don’t get me wrong, I slip up but slip-ups are expected after decades of poor eating habits. Bottom line is – I’m doing it.

Shout out to Clean Eating magazine for the delicious recipes and flax seeds – for doing what you do!

If you are doing something that is pushing you out of your comfort zone – please share, I’d love to hear your story.

Dating: The Problem Might NOT be What You Think!

Sep19

Source: http://www.reachupmag.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=MPZ6PKo1NL8%3d&tabid=110&mid=569                         ReachUP Magazine Winter/Summer 2009

“Will you accept this rose?” You’ve probably heard these words uttered on ABC’s The Bachelor. I know, not a verybig_red_roses_closeup_picture_2_166713 good show to watch! But there is something special about watching people find love in such a magical way.

The media really has a way of enticing us to believe that love is a fairy tale, and we can find the man of our dreams in six weeks. They call it “reality TV,” only it’s not real, as many of you saw when Jason broke up with Melissa. Broken-hearted Melissa was left to ask the questions we’ve all asked ourselves before, “What did I do wrong?” “What’s wrong with me? “Why can’t I find love?”

This is the part where your best friend says, “Girl, it’s not you. He’s just a jerk!” But two or three jerks later, you need to realize the problem may not be him. The problem may be with you and the men you select.

We must be wise in the selection process. Ask yourself – how do you choose whom you date? Does he need to be tall, dark and handsome? Does he need to be career-driven and have a good job? Does he need to dress a certain way, talk a certain way,like to do the same things you do? Although all these things are important, they are not the most important when choosing a suitable dating partner. Continue reading →

GRANDMA’S GOT HER EYE ON YOU!

Sep18

grandma_thumbSOURCE: http://constanceinthegiantjewelrybox.com

Yesterday I was flying back from Minneapolis and had a really sweet chatty skycap. He asked me what I was doing in Minneapolis that I only came for one day. I said work and then he asked what I do. As soon as I told him I was a Jewelry Designer he lit up and showed me his ring. (This is one of the things I love about what I do. It allows people to open up and share a little part of their story with me.)

He began telling me of how when his grandmother passed he received one of her brooches which had several diamonds in it. He glowed as he told me that he took the largest one out and gave it to his wife. Knowing he wanted to keep a little piece of his grandmother with him all the time he kept the rest for himself. He told how he had played around with the stones for many months and was finally inspired to create a rings with an eye on it because, “They always said Grandma’s got her eye on you!”

#Gemstalking

 

 

Constance

About Constance Palelei

As a self-taught designer and jeweler, I have been the jewelry industry outsider so I take great pride in being able to make jaw dropping jewelry more accessible to everyone, because everyone deserves luxury. I am the clumsy girl next door who happens to now be a jewelry expert. I know what it is like to work hard for your money and there is nothing more satisfying than purchasing something for yourself that is beautiful, durable and legitimately valuable.

I hold these truths to be self evident: Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend, and Gemstones are like Love Affairs. Goddesses drip in Gold but life isn’t the same without the Silver Lining. And as Coco Chanel said “Women should mix fake with real”. 😉 Oh and a little party never hurt nobody!

NATURAL HAIR IN THE BUSINESS WORLD- “SO ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO WEAR YOUR HAIR LIKE THAT?”

Sep18

NATURAL HAIR IN THE BUSINESS WORLD –

“SO ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO WEAR YOUR HAIR LIKE THAT?”

Sharing an article with you that  I read here: SOURCE: http://www.curlynikki.com/2013/10/natural-hair-in-business-world-so-are.html

 

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Dr. Kimberly Nettles writes:
I will never forget my first time preparing for a pharmacy job interview. “So are you really going to wear your hair like that?”, my fellow colleague asked peering into my Afro as if it were a foreign object. I had never given a second thought to the idea if my hair would be “acceptable” to wear to a job fair. I always put more emphasis into making sure my makeup didn’t look too bright, my business suit wasn’t too tight, or that my heels weren’t too high. Professionalism was something I always took pride in, but the concept of how I would style my hair was never a concern.


Continue reading →

You Got The Cancer

Sep15
**The following is a re-blogging from: http://netiebee.blogspot.com UHB has not change the content.** 

You Got the Cancer

May 1, 2014

SOURCE: http://netiebee.blogspot.com/

I got the call Monday morning, March 31st, while I was at work. “Hello, Ms. Burgess. The results from your biopsy came back and the tumor in your right breast is cancerous.”

A stage 2, non-hormonal, triple-negative cancer – to be exact.

I can look at that fragmented sentence and no longer be scared or pissed-off. Not that I was scared when I received the news from Dr. Roth but I was a little bit pissed-off. Okay – a lot. Honestly, what the dilly-o, like – how did I get cancer? This crap does not run in my family, so how is my name attached to that diagnosis? Continue reading →

The 2014 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report

Sep13

The beauty of being a woman is that we are innovative, flexible, ever growing, changing and reaching! I came across this report and wanted to share for inspiration, support or just food for thought – ENJOY!Quotes About Moving On 0203-205 (Women Quotes) (8)

Click HERE to check out the 2014 State of Women-Owned Business Report that was commissioned by American Express OPEN and published in March of 2014.

This publication marks our fourth annual investigation into the state of women-owned businesses in the United States, providing stakeholders in the women’s enterprise development community – policy makers, entrepreneurial support organizations, suppliers and customers, and women business owners themselves – with information and intelligence that can aid in their efforts.

The 2014 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report contributes new and timely insights concerning the growth and development of the nation’s women-owned businesses. It also provides details on where growth leads and where it lags, thereby pointing the way to areas where policy and programmatic support can help even more women-owned firms reach their full potential.

Black Women Find a Growing Business Opportunity: Care for Their Hair

Sep13
By SEPT. 8, 2014
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/09/nyregion/black-women-find-a-growing-business-opportunity-care-for-their-hair.html?_r=0

 Kadeian Brown, left, and Judian Brown own Black Girls Divine Beauty Supply and Salon, off Church Avenue in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Kirsten Luce for The New York Times

Posters of African-American women with long, sleek hair fill the window. Round jars of shea butter belly up to slender boxes of hair dye on the shelves. Wigs perch on mannequin heads.

What makes Black Girls Divine Beauty Supply and Salon’s visitors do a double-take is the skin color of the proprietors. “I go, ‘Look at all the faces on the boxes,’ ” said Judian Brown, recalling other shopkeepers’ and customers’ surprise when they realize she is not an employee, but the owner. “Who should be owning these stores?”

The Brown sisters’ is one small shop in a multibillion-dollar industry, centered on something that is both a point of pride and a political flash point for black women: their hair. But the Browns are among only a few hundred black owners of the roughly 10,000 stores that sell hair products like relaxers, curl creams, wigs and hair weaves to black women, not just in New York but across the country. The vast majority have Korean-American owners, a phenomenon dating back to the 1970’s that has stoked tensions between black consumers and Korean business people over what some black people see as one ethnic group profiting from, yet shutting out, another.

 The Hair Shop is one of many beauty stores on Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn.Kirsten Luce for The New York Times

A growing awareness of this imbalance has spurred more black people to hang out their own shingles. The people producing the products have changed, too: As “going natural” — abandoning artificially smoothed hair in favor of naturally textured curls and braids — has become more popular and the Internet has expanded, black entrepreneurs, most of them women, are claiming a bigger share of the shelves in women’s medicine cabinets. Continue reading →