La Nuit Noire: A ball dedicated to shedding light on suicide

"We have galas, fashion shows, and fundraisers for cancer, heart disease and a million other things. It's time for an elegant event to be held to stop suicide. This is a cause that can be directly impacted just by spreading education and awareness."

The matter of suicide is delicate and difficult to discuss. Pretty Living PR co-owner Allyn Lewis, a suicide survivor, lost her father to suicide in 2008. After years of coping and dealing with pain and confusion, it has come time for Allyn to share her story. On November 20^th 2008, “I walked in the door, and five years later, I can still hear the words from mom stinging in my ears, ‘They found your dad,’” Allyn shares, “People say that it gets better as time goes on when you lose someone, but when you lose someone to suicide, it does not work that way.”

And so, La Nuit Noire (the dark night) was born. It is with this debut event that Allyn hopes to provide support to those currently suffering from the loss that suicide creates, and to provide the public with the drive to spread resources and education for suicide prevention. The first annual La Nuit Noire Ball will be held to inspire fellow suicide survivors, pay tribute to the memory of the loved ones lost and raise awareness in their honor.

You're invited to attend the first annual La Nuit Noire Ball on January 25, 2014 at Cefalo’s in Carnegie PA, from 7-11p.m. and to join the effort in sharing Allyn’s story and suicide awareness with the public. Event features include the launch of Tidal Cool Couture with a fashion show presented and designed by Andrea Howell, live performances by Ambition, Shaun Novak, Kiersten Kelly and Danielle Barbe, along with local celebrity guests.

All proceeds to benefit The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), the leading national not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to understanding and preventing suicide through research, education and advocacy, and to reaching out to people with mental disorders and those impacted by suicide. 

Purchase Tickets | Donate | More Information

This is a partnered post, but all opinions are my own. 

Golden Globe Awards 2014 Best Dressed

Although I was unable to watch the Golden Globes last night because I had to work, I of course made sure to catch the after-show specials to be able to see all the fashion. I love that there seemed to be two major trends throughout the evening of mermaid style gowns and metallic elements, both of which, I love! These lovely ladies made it into my top ten best dressed of the evening.

Amy Adams in Valentino | Jenna Dewan Tatum in Roberto Cavalli | Sofia Vergara in Zac Posen | Rocsi Diaz in J. Mendel | Olivia Wilde in Gucci

Mila Kunis in Gucci | Nancy O'Dell in Marchesa | Lena Dunham in Zac Posen | Emma Watson in Christian Dior | Zooey Deschanel in Oscar de la Renta

All photos from Hollywood Life

However, I have to say that three of them just stole the red carpet for me, Olivia Wilde, Sofia Vergara, and Mila Kunis, who I picked as my Best Dressed Female. I love Olivia Wilde and thought she looked fabulous in this tight, emerald Gucci dress, that showed off her little baby bump perfectly. I also thought that Sofia Vergara looked stunning, as usual, in her black, strapless Zac Posen dress. I appreciated that she (and/or her stylist) decided to go with a ball gown instead of her usual look of a skin-tight mermaid dress. She always looks like a knockout, but I think this dress makes her look more regal, and the pop of teal in her necklace is just the right amount of color to balance out such a large dress. However, I don't think anyone compared to my girl crush, Mila Kunis. Her stunning Gucci dress, with the mix of hard and soft elements just took my breath away. So gorgeous! Although she could have looked better if she didn't look so angry in all the pictures of her, how could you be upset in a gown that beautiful?

And a special shout out to the guys who made the red carpet interesting as well, Kunal Nayyar, Matthew McConaughey, and Best Dressed Male, Usher. I love when guys actually wear color on the red carpet instead of the typical black suit, white shirt and black tie, and these three spiced it up just enough to make the right statement.

Who were your best dressed celebrity picks from last night's Golden Globe Awards?

Chels Wears: Mockingjay & Pop of Red

Mockingjay pin: WalMart | Ring: Charlotte Russe | White blouse & wedges: Kmart | Red skinny jeans: delia's

Versions of this outfit are my go-to looks for winter. I got this sweater freshman year of college for Christmas (so I don't have a clue where it's from) and didn't really consider liking it until about a year later. See, sometimes it's okay to let things you're not sure about sit in your closet for a little bit! I now love this sweater and probably wear it during the winter months more than I should, but now that the Aztec prints are on trend, why not!?

Also, these are currently my favorite shoes, in case you haven't noticed me wearing them in my last outfit post as well - sorry not sorry in advance for how much you'll probably be seeing them in future outfit posts. They are just the perfect wedges and are so comfortable and versatile. And while I usually opt for just a plain t-shirt under this sweater, I thought I'd dress it up a little more by pairing it with this flowy blouse that I scooped up from Kmart. By the way, surprisingly, Kmart has a lot of great clothes right now. I kind of wrote this store off for awhile, but if you haven't been there recently, I suggest you get to your nearest one for some great clothes at seriously low prices. I got these shoes there too!

Oh, and this mocking jay pin. Shut. Up. I love it. I'm not a die-hard Hunger Games fan, I have yet to read the books and I've only seen the first movie, but I do like the story so far (don't ruin it for me!) and think the fashion in the movie is so inspiring and honestly innovative. It's also refreshing to see a young female character kicking some serious butt and not letting people control her, and of course...Jennifer Lawrence. Anyway, when I saw this pin in WalMart and on sale for only a dollar (!!!) I had to have it. And yes, look forward to seeing more mocking jay inspired looks on Friday for Fashion Forward Fridays. What are your go-to items to wear in the winter?

Linking up with Because of Jackie. &

Gig of a Lifetime: Vote for Lovebettie!

Photo provided by Alexandra Naples. 

Hey everyone, today's post is really just to ask you to check out the band Lovebettie in hopes that you will vote for them to play at The Grammy's! A friend of mine from Seton Hill is the lead singer and they are currently in the finals to win the Grammy Gig Of A Lifetime hosted by Surface.

It would mean a lot to me (and them, of course!) if you would at least cast your vote for them today and get them one step closer to achieving this goal. You can however, vote up to 50 times every day for the next three days and every vote helps! And only takes a second to select to give them your max amount of votes per day. 

In case you need a little persuasion in why Lovebettie deserves your votes, here's what people are saying about them: 

"Band To Watch" - Rolling Stone

"Pittsburgh's Hottest Band" - Microsoft Windows

"They will soon be headlining at big arenas." - Eat Sleep Breathe Music

"One of the most unique, best indie bands in the United States right now!" - Indie on Air!

And while I, personally, could go on and on about why Lovebettie deserves this "gig of a lifetime" I'll let them speak for themselves through sharing their music and their submission video. Here's the official music video for their song "Stranger," which was shot in Pittsburgh, and a video from the Milwaukee Summerfest, in which they perform my favorite song of theirs, "Your Own Worst Enemy." And with a special treat of this beautifully simple cover of Rihanna's "Stay" that they just posted on their YouTube channel, yesterday. 

Official:  www.lovebettie.com | Facebook:  www.facebook.com/lovebettie | iTunes:  www.itunes.com/lovebettie
Lovebettie's new CD, "RISE", produced by Jim Wirt (Incubus, Live, Fiona Apple) is now available at
www.itunes.com/lovebettie

This is a partnered post, but as always, all opinions are my own.
Thank you in advance for voting!

Chels Wears: Puppies In The Snow!

Chambray, tights, scarf & tee: WalMart | Skirt: Target | Wedges: Kmart

I took a break this past week because...I moved! If it looks like there is a lot of snow in these pictures, you just wait until my next outfit post. I'm now near Erie and I cannot even talk about how much snow is on the ground and how cold it is outside. I hate winter. Don't ask why I decided to move north in January, it still isn't making sense yet to me either.

This outfit is possibly one of my all-time favorites. When I bought this skirt, I thought I might where it a few times, but I probably wear it at least three times a month, I am in love with it and it's surprising versatility. And when I bought these tights I could have sworn they were grey, but I think I like them better in this blue shade, at least for this outfit! I also think my favorite trend right now is wearing dresses and skirts in winter, even though that sounds dumb, there are so many cute ways to dress them up and still be warm. Hopefully it won't be too cold and I can keep up with this cute look.

Also, because I cannot help but make a PSA for the ASPCA with a post title like this one, please don't leave your pets outside if you are in a severely cold (or hot) area. Just because they have a fur coat, does not mean they are safe outside for any longer than you'd like to be! Bring those puppies inside!