Monday's are for Pretty Manicures with So Gloss Nail Wraps!

This week I'm kicking off a week long feature of local beauty businesses in WNY. Each day I'm featuring a woman who pursued her dreams in the beauty industry and is helping make women in the WNY area feel beautiful inside and out!

Today I'm starting my week long feature with Jesse from So-Gloss Nail Wraps. I LOVE nail polish, but I, like most women are to busy to find the time to sit and wait for their nails to dry. I also can't stand when I paint my nails and an hour later I find I chipped the nail polish off already. That's where So-Gloss nail wraps come in - they are so convenient for a person who is on the go.

Want to know why - check out my interview with Jesse below!

-B

How did it all get started? How did your brand come about?

I lost my dream job as a fashion buyer & merchandiser 6 years ago due to a company wide down sizing. Unfortunately, there are not many fashion buying & merchandising jobs in Buffalo, so it forced me to think outside the box and provide myself with a job. I was selling nail wraps for 4 years before I got "discovered". One day my phone started going nuts with the cha-ching noise my phone makes when I get an order. Refinery29 had featured So Gloss on their landing page, twitter feed & facebook page. I got a years worth of orders in ONE DAY!!! The orders have been rolling in ever since!

What is So-Gloss? Is it affordable for everyone? Who is your target audience?

So Gloss Nail Wraps are heat activated and applied directly on to your nail, you get instant results. Just heat, stick & file your way to awesome nails. The nail wraps are made of vinyl, so they don't chip or smudge like nail polish {even better!}. So Gloss Nail Wraps are $8 for 24 wraps, they last 4-14 days on your finger nails and 2 MONTHS on your toes! My target consumer is girls ages 2-40.

If people want to learn more, where can they go to get information?

sogloss.com

Do you have general products that anyone can purchase, do you make customizable products?

I wish I could customize products but at this point I don't have the machine to do it.

Has anyone ever done private parties with a bunch of their girlfriends? 

I used to do parties but with 2 kids and a booming internet business I just don't have the time.

Do you offer any specials, promotions? Or would you like to share any fun events you have coming up?

I sell on daily deal sites like  zulily.com, jane.com & groopdealz.com and I have a buy 4 get the 5th free deal!

How did you land in Buffalo? Are you originally from here, what made you stay? What do you love best about this area?

I have lived in Buffalo all my life. My husband and I have a farm in Clarence with horses & chickens. There aren't many places in this world where you can live in the "country" and yet have major shopping centers just a few miles away.

To find Jesse's products Like her page on Facebook and check her page out on Etsy! Thank you for letting me share your story!  {Photos all courtesy of Jesse @ So Gloss Nail Wraps}

Friday Favorites!

{Volunteering is one of the best things I could ever do - the reward is priceless}

I've been kind of "MIA" this past week, but I've been busy thinking of new ideas and posts to bring to my site. I hope you enjoy your weekend and Happy Valentine's Day! xoxo

-B

{I'd love to design my own wine tasting.. maybe one day}

{I've been cooking a lot more and nothing beats homemade stuffed peppers!}

{I just love the furniture at Globe Market on Hertel}

Because the Makers are Gonna "Make, Make, Make"

{Picture above: Photo credit - Makers Buffalo}

This past Sunday I attended my 3rd Makers Buffalo class. This time it was being held at Revolution Buffalo and it didn't disappoint. We were making DIY workout shirts! My sister came along with me and we created shirts that I can't wait to wear.

The class was $28 and included all of the supplies - screen printing {we got to do this ourselves}, shirts and all the other craft materials we needed. The wonderful ladies at Rev provided champagne {delicious mimosas to go along with Sunday Funday!} and healthy snacks - salsa, chips, hummus and fruit!

It was a fun Sunday afternoon. If you haven't taken a Makers class yet, you should, I haven't taken a class that doesn't disappoint yet!

-B

{Getting the shirts prepped for screening}

{Gretchen from Makers, showing us the next steps to take}

{My shirt choice}

{My sister's shirt choice}

{Putting the finishing touches on the shirts.. stamping it with the word Rev}

Tuesday's Tastings...

Like we have done for the past few years, my friend Karen hosted her annual birthday wine tour on the Niagara Wine Trail this past Saturday. While we have been to all of the wineries I'm about to mention before, this time I tried to take a different approach on each place... instead of going to just drink, I observed more -picking out what I liked, didn't like, etc. about each place. While I am no wine expert, below is my review.

I'd love to get to the Finger Lakes and do a comparison of wine trails in the months ahead.

Cheers!

-B

Honeymoon Wine Trail - while it is nice and cozy with the fireplace, I won't purchase wine or tasting from this winery. After what I think was poor customer service, I decided that even if we go there I won't support a business that I think needs some attitude adjustments.

I will mention they did have an artist painting this wine barrel which was pretty cool to see, but she was set up right by the bar area making it a little crammed when groups came in for tastings.

On my top 3 wineries on the Niagara Wine Trail: Niagara Landing Wine Cellar. I love just about all of their wines {minus the chocolate one}. I love the wine bottles, the layout of the winery and you can't beat the price - $3 for 6 tastings, that's a deal to me!

Perfect idea for those couples looking for something to do on Valentine's Day weekend...

Part of the wine trail group!

So many options to choose from...

Schulze Vineyards, while I'm indifferent with this winery, I used my tastings on a lot of their red wine, but did sample the Chardonnay last which was pretty good. The only winery that uses the nicest wine glasses to sample from, the tasting room was nice and clean, along with their bathrooms.

Freedom Run, this made the top of my list of favorite wineries. Not only because I love their barn they use for private functions and weddings, the customer service was amazing. While I don't know the gentleman's name who poured are wine, he was the nicest and most informational man I've met on all of the tours I've been on. Not only was the staff great, but it was a spacious tasting room with unique seats made from wine barrels.

You can't beat the sweet and hot pepper relish and apple butter snacks they had out as well.

Becker Farms, you can't go wrong there, while I opted out of the wine at this stop I ordered a pint of the Winter Ale {I believe that is what it was called}. It was a nice stop and I love all the areas where you can walk outside.

The last stop of the day was at Leonard Oakes, while I liked a majority of their wine and the layout of the tasting room, I didn't like are pourer. I felt like she was a little rude and hurried us along. Offering not only wine, but beer flights as well I thought the flights were a little on the higher price {$8 for 4 5oz. samples}.

Friday Favorites!

{Thank you Kate Spade for having the best phrases to start my month off right. #GoalsforFebruary}

Yay for Friday! I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy that the weekend is almost upon us. I'm looking forward to hitting up the wineries on the Niagara Wine Trail tomorrow with some of my favorite people. Here are some things that made me smile this week. I hope you have a great weekend! -B

{A look at the frozen lake and Peace Bridge in the background}

{Catching up with a friend on my lunch break. You can't go wrong at Globe Market on Hertel}

{My husky, Sabre, he is the only one I know right now that loves this cold, wintery weather we've been having}

Thursday's Thoughts

There are some people that come into your life and leave an impact, one of those people was Ray Marks. He was a professor of mine at Buff State during my junior year. While I was in college I really didn't know what I wanted to do with my life, I entered the communication department - focusing on Broadcasting at the time. It was when I entered his class that my world changed.

He pushed not only me, but all of his students to go find what we love to do and do it. He encouraged us to do internships and see if we really like what we're studying to do. If it wasn't for him I don't know what path I would have went down in my career. Yesterday, I found out the news that he passed away and while I'm sad, I'm celebrating his life and remembering him in spirit. It was with his help - he encouraged, inspired and guided me to where I am today and I will never forget that.

He was a good, good man who taught his students to believe in themselves and find their passion and go out and do it and for that I thank him.

-B

#Itsjustfun My Ellicottville Day Trip!

This past Monday my friend, Annette and I took the day off and decided to make a day full of fun in Ellicottville. We knew we were going to grab brunch at Katy's before heading to Holiday Valley to try out the ski boards. As we got closer to the date, we decided on either doing cross country skiing or tubing to save a couple bucks {because I'm "living on a budget" more now a days}.

{I love these coffee mugs at Katy's}

When we arrived in Ellicottville it was a little later than planned {this was my fault because I arrived late to Annette's house}. Katy's only serves breakfast until noon {note to self if you plan on doing the same thing}. So we grabbed lunch which was pretty good {I had the Firecracker Panini and Annette had the Tannenbaum Panini} and then decided to go to tubing.

{Holiday Valley Tubing - Open Thursday thru Sunday}

We went down the street {because Holiday Valley tubing isn't located on the main resort that the skiing and snowboarding is on}. When we arrived, the parking lot was plowed, but no one {I mean NO ONE} was there. To our surprise they are closed Monday thru Wednesday. Yes, I say to our surprise because I assumed it was open the same hours as the main resort is {don't ever assume}. So we decided to head to the main lodge and get an adult beverage and then decide if we wanted to hit the slopes. When we arrived, the bar was closed {we literally laughed out loud at this point}. We then decided to just head back in to town and grab some drinks at EBC {Ellicottville Brewing Company}.

{Some of the slopes}

{The view was so pretty}

{Beer flights at EBC! I found some new beers I like beside my go to Blueberry Wheat}

While the day didn't go as we planned, we still made the best of it and had a fun day off { #itsjustfun - Holiday Valley's tagline}.

As much as I dislike and never really post anything negative about places I go on my blog, I am always honest with what I share and share my opinion, so here it goes... I love Holiday Valley, I think its a great place to go, but I do think that their website is a bit confusing and isn't as "straightforward" as it could be. I feel like it takes multiple clicks and pages to get to the information you are looking for.

I will also say, it seems {comparing to my last year's snowboarding experience} that weekends and nights are their busiest time, so instead of having coupons geared for more of the Canadian clientele or offering coupons for your peak hours, why not offer coupons or discounts for those "off peak" hours. There wasn't nearly as many people on a Monday afternoon as compared to a weekend.

I understand Holiday Valley is ranked in the top 10 for best resorts in the East, but for those people on a budget and not as experienced in skiing or snowboarding {like me}, it can be expensive and steer people away. While are plans for a adventure packed Monday didn't go as we had planned, we still made the best of it and have new memories we made.

Until next time.

-B

#BuffaloLinks

Kicking off this Saturday for a limited time, Curious George at the Buffalo Museum of Science. The exhibits portray buildings and locales from the book - Let's Get Curious. Definitely something I'd like to take my niece to.

A new restaurant {to me} on Connecticut Street that makes me want to check it out - The Black Sheep

LP Ciminelli is celebrating Black History Month with a Black Tie event on February 27, 2015 at the Tralf. For tickets and more information click here.

February To-Do

We are in the second month of the year and not to get to boring, but the beginning of 2015 hasn't gone exactly as I wanted {yes, I know that's how life goes}. While I focused so much on what I didn't do and what didn't go right for me, I need to think of what did. I met some amazing people and did some pretty cool things. I, {like I think most people are}, am my worst critic, I focus on always improving myself and the things that I didn't do, that I don't take the time to enjoy what I've accomplished.

February is about getting back to me - focusing on my goals and enjoying the things I do for me and not being so hard on myself {or at least trying to - this isn't going to be an overnight switch-a-roo}. So today I'm kicking it off by heading to Holiday Valley for the day. I took the day off and am looking forward to a day of Ellicottville fun with Annette.

A  couple other things  I have on the calendar that I'm looking forward to this month are trying some new fitness classes out {Barre at Catalyst, Pound at BikeorBar, incorporating a little yoga in my life - if you know of a good studio to go to let me know! and learning more TRX at Revolution Buffalo}, a Makers Buffalo Class is always fun!, a Niagara Wine Trail wine tour for a friend's birthday, the Polar Bites event benefiting the Buffalo Zoo and planning the finishing touches for my 30th birthday party next month. Who knows what else will come up, but sometimes its those "unplanned" adventures that make the best memories.

What are some fun things you are looking forward to this month. Leave them in the comments section below and I'll pick a random person to win a gift card to 716!

-B

Friday Favorites!

Yay, for Friday! I hope all of you had a nice week and enjoy this weekend and the Superbowl {for those watching it}. Here are some things that made me smile this week. -B

{I just love looking at all the buildings on Delaware Ave.}

{Downtown, Buffalo}

{Prepping for my 30th Birthday Bash. I'm trying to "embrace" turning 30 this year}

{Sometimes I wish my real life could be a fairytale.}

#BuffaloLinks

{ A local pizza place on Grand Island that I'd like to check out. Why you ask, because of the comic book café! Say Cheese! Pizza Company}

{Another place to add to the thriving "Beer Boom" in Buffalo... the World of Beer {based in Florida} announced they will be opening a location at the Walden Galleria Mall}

{An event I wish I could attend this coming Saturday at Larkinville - the Ice Festival. Offering a variety of activities for friends and family!}

A Saturday Morning Well Spent!

Over the last couple of years I've grown more "in love" with farmers markets in the area. Being that we live in Buffalo and it would be difficult to hold one during the winter, outside, I have had on my list of places to go, The Winter Market at Horsefeathers. What an awesome place! A couple weeks back my Dad and I took a drive down to Connecticut St to experience the indoor market. From fresh eggs at Prudom Farms to delicious pierogi and polish sausage from Betty Crockski. Maybe its the unique building and the unique concept of bringing local farmers and vendors {like The Public, Lockhouse Distillery and Public Espresso} inside each week that make it a neat place to check out, I'm not sure, but its definitely a place to go on a Saturday.

The best way to stay up to date on what's going on each week is to follow on social media. Facebook  Twitter  & Instagram

-B

{Green Heron Growers}

The Broadway Market

Growing up on Fillmore Ave, the Broadway Market has been a permanent staple in my life since I was a child. While it was more of a "booming" neighborhood when I was younger, now it is only a hot spot to go during the Easter season. People {I lose that word loosely} are scared or have a bad perception of the area where the market stands in their head. While I will agree that the neighborhood has deteriorated as I've gotten older, the market still has a lot to offer. The last few weeks I visited the market to pick up some essentials, such as meat from Lupus Meats and homemade pierogi's from Pott's Deli. Not only are these staples that have stood still at the market for years, there are also wineries that offer wine sampling, Gridlock Lacquer offering handmade nail polish for sale and Hands and Paws Cookie and Treats that offer doggie treats for man's best friend. There are also a handful of other local stands that sell seasonings, baked goods and misc. items.

Its sad to see what I think is a staple in Buffalo, falling apart and not being able to get the funding it needs to replace the roof or fix the cracks in the floor. Sometimes you need to put a little more into a building than just a coat of paint. I think the City of Buffalo should put more than just a few hours of their time into this Buffalo staple and market the Broadway Market as a place to go throughout the year and not just at Easter time...

Its great to see all the great things happening down at Canalside, but in my opinion there are other areas we should focus are attention on as well and not just half ass it {excuse my language}. The Broadway Market is just a short trip away and my hope is that people can see the life that it still has and what it could be if it just got a little more TLC.

Broadway Market on Facebook and Twitter.

-B

{Those are some big pickles!}

{A look inside the market}

{They have plenty of horseradish if you need any}

Friday Favorites!

{I'm looking at you}

This past week has been a crappy one for me to be honest. I've been in a funk and just can't seem to get out of it. I don't know if others go through times when they just need to "refocus" and reprioritize their goals, but that's where I'm at right now and its frustrating. Even though I haven't been in the best of moods, Tuesday I spent my afternoon at the Zoo helping put auction items together for their upcoming Polar Bites event. I took a break to go see Tiberius, the new male lion, but the two females were out instead and let me tell you they scared me a little {look at the picture above}. It's childish for an almost 30 year old to say this, but just being at the Zoo for a little bit this week took my mind off of things I just didn't want to think about. I  think its important when you are in a funk, to go out and do something you enjoy, whatever it is, because sometimes you just need to get away and enjoy some fresh air.

Until next week! Have a great weekend!

-B

{Just hanging out on a Tuesday afternoon}

{Walking into the zoo, one of the first animal I saw was this Monkey}

{The beautiful Ellicott Square Building}

#BuffaloLinks

A place that has been popping up on my social media list has been Bally Hoo. Located at 211 S. Park Ave in Buffalo. They don't have a website site or FB page, but from the pictures their drinks look good and its definitely a spot I want to check out!

Blue Table Chocolates, a vendor at the Winter Market at Horsefeathers, puts a unique twist on chocolates. Offering a range of flavors that high end chocolate can offer, they do custom orders and much more. Check Ben's business out!

Sticking with the caffeine trend and calling all coffee lovers, a new favorite place of mine is Public Espresso, a small batch roaster in Buffalo, NY. You can find their coffee at a variety of places in WNY {click here for the list}.

Across the border on Niagara on the Lake is Chateau Des Charmes, a winery that I'm planning to pay a visit to at the end of next month. What wins me over outside of the great customer service, is their support of local non profits. I can't wait to taste the wine!

{Women Who Move Buffalo} Katie Jordan at the Buffalo Zoo

This week's Woman Who Moves Buffalo is person who is not only a colleague of mine, she is a friend and mentor and overall wonderful person, her name is Katie Jordan. Katie is the Senior Events Director at the Buffalo Zoo and not only shares a passion for animals, but she loves Buffalo!

Katie graduated from New York University in 2008 with a bachelor degree in Media, Culture and Communications.  She didn't really have a clear idea of what she wanted her career path to be until she started working with a small firm in New York during her senior year. It was made up of two women who had just started an event business in Manhattan. Since it was only a two person company at the time, she was able to really dive into the business and get some great experience out of it. They relied on her to be part of their team and also gave her the creative freedom to bring her own ideas to the table. Through this, she found her path and learned to love being a part of the events world.

Katie has always been someone who looks to better the community and really wanted to come back to Buffalo and use her career to do so. "Non-profit work isn't glamorous, but the end result is definitely worth it. To see your work benefit someone or something really puts everything into perspective." To have your work mean something is very important to me. Animal conservation is very important to me, and working for the Buffalo Zoo has given me the opportunity to use my skills and expertise to help a cause I am very close to. I am able to raise funds for the Zoo, while also educating and providing awareness to the Buffalo community about why the Zoo is so important to our city and to the survival of precious species around the World."

Other than seeing her work mean something, having a job that allows Katie to work closely with some of the most beautiful creatures on Earth is incredible. From being able to feed elephants, getting kissed by a sea lion, working up close with a baby rhino or introducing a baby polar bear to the public, her job is unlike any other and she couldn't be more grateful for it.  Each day is unique and she never knows what to expect.

When I asked her what she loves about Buffalo this is what she said: "When I moved to New York City, I didn't expect to come back to Buffalo so soon. After living in Manhattan, I appreciated what I had left in Buffalo right away. Unlike other cities, Buffalo is a place where life long friends can be found on any given day. I've learned this first hand and can thank community spirit and friendliness for it. Not only are great things on the horizon for Buffalo as a whole, but more and more people are recognizing that the positives are outweighing the negatives in our city, and that is something to be proud of."  

So working with the Zoo is a pretty neat gig and has a lot of memorable moments, but for Katie she says, BuffaLoveFest, {which she created in 2013 along with a team of community leaders} would have to be her best event/most proudest moment so far. "We wanted to have an event that celebrated everything we love about our city, at the most unique venue in town, the Buffalo Zoo. I really wanted to take advantage of the "BuffaLove" movement so we gathered a group of popular food trucks, Buffalo themed artisans, Buffalo trivia and more."  If you've attended BuffaLoveFest, you've seen tents around the Zoo including a variety of locally crafted beers and entertainment acts (rest in peace Lance Diamond). In it's inaugural year, this event brought in over 1,800 people and raised more than $30,000 for the Buffalo Zoo. This was above and beyond Katie's expectations, but once again proved to her that Buffalo is a supportive community. "A lot of hard work, sweat and even some tears went in to this event, but it was all worth it in the end."  Now Katie and her team are headed into the 3rd annual BuffaLoveFest planning and the event seems to be growing with even more support each year.

Anyone who works in the event business knows that you never stop working. You are always looking for new ideas or trying to make something bigger and better. The events business is demanding since things are always changing and you are always planning ahead and rarely living "in the moment." Because of this, Katie doesn't get to attend as many other events or fundraisers run by organizations as she would like. She would love to go out and support more organizations and check out what they are doing because there is some great work out there that she would like to support.

Overall, Katie is a driving force for a lot of events and activities that take place at the zoo. Some of the most popular being Polar Bites {coming up on Feb. 19} and Wines in the Wild {July 22}. If you ever go to the Zoo or attend one of these events and see Katie make sure to stop and say hi to her! Thank you Katie, for letting me share your story and for all that you do  in our community and for Buffalo's Wildest Place in Town.

{Fun Facts about Katie}

1. I have coached women's basketball at Amherst, which is my Alma mater, for 5 seasons.
2. I started dog sitting over 10 years ago and now "pup-sit" over 30 dogs each year.
3. I live in North Buffalo with my two rescued cats, Agnes and Arlene.

Comics and Coasters

I have to give credit to my brother for this post. Over the holidays I ran into a local artist Sal Sciandra, who was at the Queen City Market. He was selling these comic book coasters that I eventually purchased for my brother. There was a huge selection to choose from! I thought what a neat concept and idea this is for those who love comic books.

Check out his website here. And "Like" his Facebook page here.

Do  you have a favorite comic book character? Let me know!

-B

{The coasters I purchased for my brother}

A Little Sake at the Saigon Café

With everyone's busy schedules now a days my friend Nicole and I try to meet up at least once a month to catch up at a new restaurant in the area with wine and food. A few weeks back we met at the Saigon Café {which happens to be in a new location on Elmwood since Oct. of 2014}. While I was waiting I figured I would get a sake flight {its been a while since I had one and it took me back down memory lane when I visited my cousin in Japan}. The Black and Gold was my favorite!

Once Nicole arrived I ventured over to wine, we stayed at the bar and order a bunch of food!{See what we ordered in the pictures below} I had never been to Saigon before so I was going off of Nicole's expertise {she did an awesome job, everything we had was delicious!}.

{Vietnamese Hot & Sour Soup}

{Pad Se-Ew with Chicken}

We also order the Curry too, but I didn't snap a pic. of it. ..It was a Tuesday evening so while the bar area wasn't that busy, the dining area had a decent crowd. People had also been coming in and out, picking up the take out food they had called ahead for {I think this is a nice service to have and gets bonus points in my book!}. The overall feel of the restaurant was cozy and nice. I loved the lighting, and the windows, Saigon is located on the corner of Elmwood and W. Utica so you can see everything going on outside, which I liked.

If you've ever been what are some of your favorite dishes? What are your thoughts on the new location? Do you like, don't like? Share them with me!

-B

Friday Favorites!

This week's favorite things are a recap of my favorite fitness places from this past week. Each one is unique and fun in their own way and makes me enjoy going there. Thanks to those of you who shared your favorite places with me and suggested new places I should try! Have a great weekend!

-B

{Revolution Buffalo}

{BikeorBar}

{Barre Centric}

{Catalyst Fitness}

Thursday :: Tone : Tighten : Tuck at Barre Centric

Continuing with my favorite fitness places in Western New York, today I'm highlighting a place I featured a few months back, Barre Centric. Offering two locations, one in Clarence and one in Buffalo, Rachael and her team offer a wide array of classes to help strengthen, tone and tighten your physique, all while making it enjoyable! Their studios are very clean and time flies when you take a class. If you haven't taken a Barre class, Barre Centric is the place to go. Check them out!

-B