I’m huge on fashion in a sense that I love when people can be expressive, confident, and dress on a budget. I’m a huge budget person, and I’d like to think you can be trendy without breaking your bank account. I also think it’s interesting to see what people do wear, and can wear, to their jobs. Are they able to express themselves? Do they dress more basic? It’s all very interesting to me.  I decided to showcase new people every week, in hopes to inspire your style, or simply for a good read! This week we are featuring Michelle Gomez and Sal Bolanos of Chicago, IL.

Chicago’s known for having the best pizza, the best hot dogs, one of the best skylines, and, in my eyes, some of the best dressed people. Here are two of the finest dressed people I know!

Sal Bolanos, 25, Designer/CreativeDirector

You can view some of Sal’s work at http://www.salbolanosdesign.com and follow Sal @sbolanosdesign

I desperately wanted to write a reflection at the beginning of 2013, but have graciously (haha) put it off until now. January and February were both such a whirlwind that I finally got a chance this week to sit and reflect everything from this past year. Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t thrive on money, so this isn’t going to be about how much money I’ve made in the past year (let’s be serious…it’s not a lot…at all) or about all the cool or fancy things I’ve bought (come’on…I don’t buy anything that isn’t on clearance) but this is about things I’ve accomplished, things I learned that I want to implement this year, and all the little things in-between.

Within the past year plenty of memorable things have happened. There has been good times, bad times, and more than anything…confusing times. Through it all, I really feel as though I’ve grown as a person. I got the amazing opportunity to continue doing some work with Us Weekly Magazine and got to meet and interview people like Snooki, Taylor Kinney, and Justin Timberlake…just to name a few. As someone who has dreamed of being in the Entertainment Industry since my first acting class at 11 (ok, way before that, too) and has loved writing ever since I can remember, combining the two has been nothing less than a dream come true. Through all my experiences being at red carpets, premieres, and even over the phone interviews, the butterflies I get doing this will never be compared to. 

I’ve had the opportunity this year to take a full time position that would leave me unable to pursue the rest of my dreams, and decided that the money (and taking a job that was just OK to me) wasn’t worth it, or worth taking the opportunity away from someone who really passionately wanted it. I did, however, decide to take a job that I thought would be perfect..it was a freelance job that gave me the flexibility to continue the million and a half things I do during the week, but it turned out to be a disaster, which then turned out to be a huge blessing. To sum it up in a nutshell, I took a position and worked really hard…got a tad bit (hugely) screwed over, but in the midst of it met a phenomenal person (cough cough, Christine, if you’re reading this…it’s you) who ended up a best friend AND a business partner. Christine was in the same position as me and we decided to take a leap of faith and start our own business. Yes, our own little PR business. So far, it’s been a mess of wonderful, crazy, stress and hysteria. I’ve loved every second of it. Cannot wait to see where the next year leads us!

In the past 12 months- Sal and I moved in to our first place together, dealt with crazy work situations, even crazier neighbors, and pleasantly survived it all! Just last month we finally moved into a new place, and could not be happier! We’ve definitely realized that together, we can make anything fun and enjoyable. I couldn’t be more thankful for the inspiration he is in my daily life, and the love he has for life. This next year will be amazing, and every day with him is a new adventure!

Within the past year, I got exactly what I wanted. When I moved home, it was to be closer to my family. To be able to spend time with everyone-whenever I wanted! It’s been so amazing to have everyone close. Random lunch dates with my mom make me appreciate being close to her so much. Small things like Monday night TV night with my mom and Sal couldn’t make me happier! I love being able to watch my godbaby Dean whenever my sister needs. Being so close to my sister, my brother, and my brother-in-law makes everything so much more fun. From Italian Fest, to random martini outings, everything is a lot more fun with them! 

I got the chance to put on an event benefiting someone in need (check out my previous post) and that taught me that giving back seriously IS the best feeling. Whenever you think you have it bad…someone has it much worse. The least we can do is lend a hand to someone in need, because in reality, that may someday be us in need. Give back. It DOES make a difference.

I’ve learned that disciplining myself doesn’t mean I’m doing something wrong, it means I want to take the next step in doing something right. 

All in all, this past year has been such an amazing year, and I cannot wait to see where this year goes.

If you’ve read all of this- thank me. I could have made this MUCH longer, but for your sake I stopped halfway through

It’s obviously been too long since I’ve updated this, and I want to start making weekly posts, so I’ll start with this! December 2012 I planned and held an event Headshots for Max, benefiting 3-year-old Maxwell Peppers who suffers from Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a disease that causes muscle damage and weakness, because of this, our sweet friend Max will never have the ability to walk, and will be wheelchair bound for life. Max is a vivacious little boy who is so full of life, this was the least I could do to help him and his family out. This event took a lot of work, but was worth every single second of it. Thanks to my amazing friend and business partner Christine Hindle who got us so many donations for raffle prizes as well as refreshments for the social aspect of it- this could not have been done without her, she also flew in with her boyfriend the morning of the benefit from MD! Thanks to my phenomenal boyfriend, Sal Bolanos, who volunteered his time & talent to take thousands of headshots which turned out so great! So, so many thanks go out to the beautiful and talented makeup artists who volunteered their whole day helping everyone look their very best! A huge, huge thanks to my lovely mom for trucking me all over the city the night before to make sure everything was perfectly set up, and for helping tend to all of the guests on the day of! Without my family and friends, this could not have been possible, for everyone who attended and a major thanks to Will Walker who let us use his studio space in Wicker Park!

There were a few moments of anxiety during the planning of this event where I thought I wouldn’t be able to pull it off, but we did it! Together, we helped raise money that Max needs to put towards the lift for his van to make for a better quality of life!

The event was an idea I have had for a while and was excited to implement it for such a great cause. In the entertainment industry, it is so important to have a professional headshot, and actually, thanks to social media and visual business cards, it’s important for anyone in any industry to have a professional photo. These photos can cost an arm and a leg to get done, which is normally why we put them off for so long. My idea was to sell tickets for headshots for the bare minimum price where all proceeds went to Max! We sold raffle tickets, and entrance tickets (all proceeds to Max!) had drinks, snacks, music, and great people! It was such a blast and I hope to be able to do it again very soon! I’m going to post some pictures soon!

Remember, no matter how busy you are- always take time to give back, it feels great and can honestly change someones life.

ChickChat Chicago runs a weekly “Chick of the Week” where they find, highlight, and share inspiring women in Chicago.I was extremely honored and humbled to find out that they wanted to feature me. It is such a whirlwind of emotions when you realize that your dreams are becoming reality, and when an outside person recognizes you and believes in you, it really is very touching! I wanted to share with you the post, so here it goes

Have you ever gone out on a date, or to a nice dinner and taken a look at the wine list just to stare blankly because it seems like gibberish? Do your friends constantly talk about their favorite wine, yet you have trouble finding one that you just love? Stress no more! The Wine Key is here to help you feel comfortable in your wine choice, because after all, wine should be something we drink to enjoy and relax, not stress about! Charlotte Chipperfield has created a one-stop-shop for Wine Education. Charlotte takes a fun and exciting approach to wine education. Not only does The Wine Key offer online classes, but they also have a monthly newsletter, a blog, and many fun and entertaining events. Make sure to check it out asap, this is something you won’t want to miss! www.the-wine-key.com

How did The Wine Key come about? Through my experiences of working in both Wine Industry and Restaurants, I have seen an increase of wine consumers who really enjoy drinking wine but are afraid to learn more or even ask questions for fear of sounded like a novice. I started The Wine Key because I am on a mission to remove the intimidation and trepidation of learning about wine, helping to bridge the gap between wine knowledge and the enjoyment of wine.

What is your biggest vision for The Wine Key? I have a lot of plans for growing The Wine Key! At the moment, I am very focused on the Pop-up Wine School which are my live classes “Popping-up” in different locations such as wineries, wine bars, weddings, language schools, etc.

I will be publishing the first of many ebooks within the next couple of weeks, just in time for the holidays! I am also launching my online courses in January 2013 in addition to more educational resources added to the website.

As for the biggest vision? I could say that I want to see The Wine Key grow into an internationally known company but at the end of the day, if I have helped one person feel more confident purchasing and enjoying wine no matter their company or audience, that means I have been successful.

What if your favorite part about running it? I’m a business nerd as much as a wine nerd, so I enjoy updating my spreadsheets and website. But the best part to running The Wine Key is meeting new people, hearing about their wine experiences and then seeing the excitement on their faces when they learn something new they can incorporate into their wine lifestyles immediately.

What’s your favorite type of wine? I have so many favorite types of wine! It really depends on what kind of day it is! I always enjoy bubbles, not only are sparkling wines great for food pairings but I try to celebrate the smallest of achievements. I think it is important. I also love Pinot Noir and Maderia is my favorite pre or post dinner drink.

I, personally, think its important for people to be wine-educated. Do you feel like it gives people an edge at a work party? dating? hosting parties? etc. Having more wine education isn’t about becoming a wine professional. It is about understand our own tastes, what we like and why. Getting clear on this will help to enhance our wine drinking experiences be it at a party, on a date or work event. Dating and work can be stressful enough! Why add to it by stressing which wine to order, my goal is to eliminate this additional spike in stress and let you get back to the moment.

With the election just about a month away and social media being bigger than ever, I knew it would only be a matter of time before I started to see political posts that make me cringe. I am a big fan of people educating themselves on the election and the candidates, but I am also a big believer in “politics shouldn’t be discussed.” So, when I sign on to facebook and see some of the rude, terrible, and bias things people say via statuses, and then see the arguments that they lead to, I can’t help but want to freak out. Most of the time, these aren’t educated statuses people are writing, they are more of political rants. I’m wondering if anyone else is feeling this way? I just feel as though when you know something is controversial, you keep it to yourself, or to the people closest to you- not to the 1,000 friends you have on facebook.

I want to do a full article on this, so I am taking comments for people’s opinions. Do you think political rants on social media are a yes or no?

Check out my interview with Second Glass Wine founder Tyler Balliet on my “Writing Samples” page! Let me know what you think