BE CAREFUL...ITS A CONSTRUCTION ZONE!!

Hello everyone...BellaBombay is currently under construction. I know this sucks. But I am currently working on a new updated website that will allow me to give each viewer the amazing experience you all deserve!! Soooo please check back here at the end of the month!!! 

Birthday: Part 2

Hey!! So here are a few pictures of my ending celebration for my birthday. I invited my friends and family out to brunch at a restaurant called M Street Bar & Grill. I must say I enjoyed myself. The food was very tasty and the endless mimosa was a lovely treat!

I'm wearing white linen pants by Cabi 

Top | white one piece by Arden B

(Not shown in pic) shoes | plush pink pumps by Aldo

xx.

My Birthday: Part 1

Hey! I'm back with a few pictures I was able to snap while on the go. My birthday kicked off with a small "Happy Birthday!" at my boyfriend house. It was cute and thoughtful. 

Soooo in case you didn't notice. I switched up my hair for the summer. Despite popular belief short hair is actually very hard to maintain and even harder during the summer months. So I thought I would take a tip from my past looks and go blonde again but with a twist. Below is the result. 

I will be doing a review on this hair and the company...and trust me it won't be nice. 

                       Recently I've been saying how I'm in great need of a professional massage, so my boyfriend took me to get just that. We went to a local massage polar where I did a full body for an 1h 1/2 .  It was amazing and everything I needed after a long stressful year of being 23. (lol)

                                         

                                        I am wearing:

Dress | Free People

Bag | Louis Vitton

                    Shoes | Fab Find from Marshalls

We then finished up by going to eat one of my favorite types of food...Mexican! Where I indulged in great food and multiple drinks ;)

Stay turned for  My Birthday: part 2 & 3!!!

xx

It's My BIRTHDAY!!!

Today is my day of birth. I am officially 24. I'm not sure what the day will bring but I must say I feel kinda old. But I'm glad I've grown up and learned a lot in this past 24 years of my life. I'm excited to see what else the day will bring. I hoping that life will get a little easier. But that may be wishful thinking lol.

Anyway...I will be back later with more picture from todays adventures!

Get Connected: 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act

 Yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. So I took the time to really reflect on what a major achievement it is. 50 years ago, African Americans weren't allowed to drink out of the same water fountain, eat at certain dinners, or sit at the front of a bus! But because of so many strong willed individuals who put their life on the line, I am here today..able to drink, eat, and sit where I please. I am truly grateful for the amazing acts of courage from both African Americans and Whites who fought together to end the ignorance of segregation and discrimination.

Although my hertiage history isn't pretty, it is filled with amazing stories of growth and triumph. And I only hope that my generation doesn't run to far away from the understanding of our communities struggle; but learns from it. That way together all Americans are protected and provided the equality we are all entitled to.

Life Liberty and Happiness.

xx.

Monthly Obsession: May Favorites

Hey!!! Welcome back!!! So "Monthly Obsession" will be me giving you all my favorite things I've used or wore during the pervious month. So lets jump right into it!

( Left to right)

1. Statement Necklace

2.Daily Bracelets

3. Multi-purpose GOD Send!! lol

4. New Lip Combo

5. Go-To foot wear

Jewelry:

                                          

Lately I've been seeing a lot of people wear long chuncky necklaces, also known at "statement necklaces". So of course I went on the hunt!  I'm still on the hunt for one seen below on Rihanna:

So my necklace below is a softer approach for those who want to ease into this trendy look.  You can find my necklace at Forever 21 in their accessory section.  Although the gems appear black, they are actually a deep royal blue. Which is what caught my attention originally.

Here are some bracelets that quickly became a most have in my jewelry collection: Alex and Ani. What seems to be a regular local boutique is actually far from that. Alex and Ani's products are hand crafted in the USA and focus on providing each person with positive energy.

So here are the two that I bought myself; G for Gabrielle and Sister for me and my sibling. I bought my little sister Madison the same Sister charm bracelet and my mom a Mother charm bracelet. 

Unlike other charm bracelets, with this company the idea is to stack as many charm bracelets as possible:

Beauty:

These next products are seriously my favvvvvsssss!!!! But I found them so randomly. lol. Up first: Albolene. This product is a moisturizing cleanser / makeup remover. It reminds me of using vaseline but BETTER! Why is it better?? Because it not only does double duty but triple duty because I use this bad boy in the gym.

YYEESSSSSSSSS the GYM!

When your working out, you take a good amount and rub it on your problem areas. For example, your mid-section and place your sweat ban over it and work out. Once your done the Albolene mixed with the heat focuses that area to sweat even more! In turn helping you lose the weight :) 

You're Welcome.

This is my new go-to lip combo. On deep complexions this lip combo is a great alternative to "candy yum yum".  This is MAC lipstick: Flat Out Fabulous and lip pencil: Magenta. On me this combo is a perfect pink-berry color that has a matte finish.

Footwear:

I am in looovvvveeeeee with these birckenstock inspired shoes!!!!!

These have quickly become my everyday...go-to...must wear shoes. These Birkenstock dupes are Circus by Sam Edelman and they are super comfy! I love the spikes on each strap. They take the style shoe from regular to edgy. 

These shoes will run you a cool $79.00. But if you look for sales, they can be a cheap alternative to the newly trendy Birkenstocks.

Ok I hope you all enjoyed this post. There will be more to come..so until next time!

xx.

Let's Play Catch Up

I'm sorry for neglecting my blog. I've been searching for some new elements to bring to my blog. I've also been thinking about starting a YouTube page. 

So I will be doing "Monthly Favorites" , OOTD and let you all in on my weight loss movement. 

Either way I will more diligent in my posting!

Be sure to check back later today for updated post!! :)

Happy Memorial Day: Thank You Troops!

#OOTD

Top | H&M

Jeans | Joe Jeans

                               Cardi | H&M * cheap n cheerful!!*

Bag | LV

shoes | vintage 

A Day For Mothers

The wonderful lady below is my mother, Lisa B. In light of Sunday being Mother's Day, I thought it would only be fitting to feature my mother in this post. =)

Sunday my sister Madison and I treated our mother to brunch for Mother's Day at a cute little restaurant called New Town Kitchen & Bar. I made sure to snapped a few pictures so that I could  capture the day.

I'm wearing:

jean top | H&M

Skirt | Costume make

Shoes | Zara

Watch | Michelle 

Lisa B. | OOTD

I hope everyone enjoyed their Mother's Day, and I hope you celebrate many more!

xx.

Cheap & Cheerful : I'm Officially SOLD! =)

Lets chat...

So I've been literally flip-flopping on my commitment to buying a visor. As we all know Rihanna has been seen in many types of visors,  from plastic to a leather version, and if you follow my tumblr you can see that I've been posting them there.

 

Fast forward to now: unless you've been living under a rock, you know about the Donald Sterling scandal surrounding his racist comments towards African Americans and its effects on the Clippers franchise. The girlfriend V. Stiviano (despite how you feel about her) has been seen in this ammmmaazzzinnnggg visor...AND I'M OFFICIALLY  SOLD! But the visor is a slowly moving trend, because it can be found in certain designers collection and in their shows. (seen Below)

     

Yes its over the top..yes its super dramatic...but I like it. So if you are now about this visor life like I am, lets make the jump together! ^_^  Below is the visor I just bought, and they can be found on Ebay.com and on Amazon.com 

 

 But if I were you...I would move fast! As of now this visor is selling for about $9.00 to $30.00. But again you can also find a 'cheap and cheerful' if you know where and how to look.

xx.

Saturday.

During this spring transition I've been trying add pops of color into each outfit.  Seeing that black and white have become my go to colors when going out.  

I'm wearing.....

Pants | H&M

Top | Forever21

Shoes | Steve Madden

Watch | Michael Kors

         xx.

Skyscraper

I've always been a fan of the designer Olcay Gulsen skyscraper style heels. Around this time last year, I saw a picture of Angela Simmons in a yellow suede pair and I immediately went on the hunt!! 

Each time I went to buy them either my size was sold out or a combo of the size and color were gone. 

Nevertheless, I finally got my hands on the perfect summer shoe. (At least one...for now..) I recently wore them but sadly didn't take any pics. =( But I will try to incorporate them into my next outfit. 

xx.

Get Connected: Lets talk MONEY

Remember that Budget Plan, then Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney and then Vice President/current Congressman Paul Ryan announced as their financial plan for the U.S.??? The budget that was famously connected to the "47% of Americans" comment...well its BBAAACCKKKK!
                                

Yesterday the House debated Rep.Paul Ryan (R) budget H.Con.Res.96 along with 2 alternative budget plans; The "Better of Budget" by the Progressive Caucus and the 2014 CBC Budget by Congressional Black Caucus. But as you can imagine the main focus was on Rep..Ryan's budget. Now is it different? Not really, it is structurally the same. However, what is different is the current state of the economy, which allows for what I call "creative adding". Here is the break down of whats in the budget from my research:

• $5 Trillion (yup that's a T) in spending cuts to non-defense discretionary funding.

*TIME OUT* What is non-defense discretionary funding you ask??? Its anything the federal government would fund that has nothing to do with defense. Sooo...that crappy road you drive down each morning hoping not to get a flat...Yea the construction you wish will happen to fix that road isn't going to happen, because the government won't have the moneyyyy.

•  This cut will take spending $791 Billion below current Sequestration cuts
• $1.3 Trillion below the amount required to maintain current services
• Keeps the savings from the ACA (Obamacare) roughly $2Trillion but will repeal all of the ACA benefits
• Medicare will become a voucher program and Medicaid will be a block grant.
• Cuts SNAP (food stamps) by $125 Billion 
• Adds $483 Billion to the defense budget..and claims an additional $966 Billion in cuts to "other mandatory" non specific programs.

As for taxes?? The short and sweet version: Lower the corporate and individual tax rate to 25% and repeal the AMT.  The AMT (alternative minimum tax) is basically an exemption, so if you are paying the AMT rate, you are paying more in taxes. Which most people on the higher end of the income scale sometimes pay after the exemptions like charitable giving.

A House vote on Rep.Paul Ryan (Budget Committee Chairman) fiscal 2014 budget resolution is scheduled for today.  It will be one of the final legislative actions completed before the 2 week break.

xx.

Great Find : Marc Jacobs The Face

I came across this brush while doing my usual stroll on Youtube. This is the Marc Jacobs 

"The Face II" brush. I've heard all of his brushes are to die for, but this little baby isn't cheap.  This brush retails for $48.00. 

It is definitely an investment piece that I would highly suggest for those who wear liquid foundation.

The Face II is a sculpting brush, it is long in the back and tapers off in the front. This design allows for the foundation to glide across the skin, leaving an air brush finish. Just go ahead and take the plunge...you can thank me later. 

xx.

Waterfront Views

I went to a late lunch at a restaurant called "Nick's" I felt like being near the water since the weather was nice, and Nick's gave me that with the outdoor seating.  I went for an easy breezy look for this outing. 

Jean Top | Forever21

Jeans | Joe Jeans

Booties | Vintage