First Fridays: Dress For Success Central Virginia - Look Book Launch Party

All my RVA folks- while you're out and about during First Fridays this week make sure you stop by Blue Bones (Vintage Store) and check out the Dress for Success Central Virginia - Look Book Launch Party! I know I'll definitely be dropping in to check out the festivities; the event serves to promote awareness of the Dress for Success Central Virginia organization and all of its many services, advertise for future events such as the 'Shop for Success' sale (July 18th & 19th)  in addition to celebrating the work of the artist who contributed to the Look Book. Drinks and refreshments will be provided- so come out and shop for some dope vintage threads, network with some great people, and support a wonderful organization!

Blue Bones 

322 W Broad St

Richmond VA

A Few Local Restaurants on my Radar

Here in RVA we love to eat; between the numerous food festivals that we have throughout the year and all the local restaurants this city is truly a Foodie's dream! I'm all about being a tourist in my own city, there's so much history and culture to explore here in Richmond and why not start with some good eats. This Summer come along with me as I explore some local hot spots! With there being so many restaurants to choose from its going to be hard to figure out where to start, but a couple that I have on my radar are The Savory Grain, Casa Del Barco, The Daily Kitchen and Bar, and Millie's Diner. Stay tuned to BarclayINC as I recap my experiences at these local hot spots. From comfort food to Sunday brunch, Richmond really does offer a wide variety of eateries for locals. For all my RVA folks what are your favorite local eats?

The Savory Grain

2043 West Broad St

Richmond, VA 23220

Casa Del Barco

320 S 12th Street

Richmond, VA 23219

The Daily Kitchen and Bar

2934 West Cary Street

Richmond, VA 23221

Millie's Diner

2603 East Main St. 

Richmond, VA 23223

Twist and Talk

Event alert for all my fellow naturals- mark your calendars for July 13th for the Summer edition of Twist and Talk- a hands on twist class .Twist and Talk is a class taught by Lenise Robinson a stylist at Canvas the Salon. The event will take place at 6:30 pm- the salon is located on Clay Street in the heart of the city (more dets. below). We all know how hard it can be to find styles that work on natural hair textures during the warm Summer months, so what better way to learn then to attend a class that will focus on protective styling, techniques, products, and hair maintenance. Tickets are $35 for adults and $15 for Children. Yours truly will be a hair model, Lenise will be demonstrating her twisting technique on my tresses, so I'm super excited to not only be attending but being a hair model as well! If you've been following my blog for a while you know that my staple style is a blow-out, I love a good full blow-out! I don't wear my hair in its natural state nearly as much as I wear it straightened so I'm excited to be getting twisted up! Hoping to meet some of my readers there, so if you plan on attending drop me a line below!

Twist and Talk

July 13th @ 6:30pm

Canvas the Salon

212 E Clay St.

Tickets $35 Adult/ $15 Children

TwistandTalk.eventbrite.com

Summer Slides

This Summer I swear its all about the slide; as much as I love a great 70's- esq inspired platform and chunky heel- I must say I am really diggin' slides this Summer. After seeing them just about everywhere from magazines, to my fav go-to bloggers, I decided to take a trip to Forever21 (as they have an amazing Summer sandal collection this year) and not to disappoint they had tons of great slides. I ended up snatching up a super cute gold pair, I could've easily bought them in every color but I didn't want to get carried away, I hate impulse shopping! So, I'll see how I feel by weeks end and may make another trip to Forever21, and add a few more pair to my Summer sandal collection. For under $20 bucks you really cant beat it! FYI if you're shopping online I would say go up at least a half size I typically wear a 7 1/2 and had to get my sandals in an 8. Ladies, what sandals will you be adding to your collections this summer?

Faux Leather Crisscross Sandals

$24.90

Nailhead Faux Leather Sandals

$24.90

Added these Metallic Crisscross Slides to my collection

$17.90

Beauty Wanderlust Brunch

All my RVA make- up artist, make- up lovers, fashion junkies, and those who just want a chance to network with some amazing ladies and enjoy a great brunch- make sure to mark your calendars for June 14th! Renata Lynette of Renata Lynette Makeup and Canvas the Salon will be hosting the Beauty Wanderlust Brunch at Water Coastal Kitchen! The Beauty Wanderlust Brunch is going to be super dope event, that will feature a great panel of women sharing tips about summer trends, fashion, make-up, wellness, travel, and more, and what a better location than Water Coastal Kitchen on Cary St. Yall already know that's my spot! They have an amazing brunch to add to the many reasons that you need to be in attendance. Renata Lynette is based out of DC, and has hosted several events like this in the past in the DC area, and decided to extend the Beauty Wanderlust movement to RVA, being that she has strong roots here. Ladies register now while space is still available, registration is $50 (includes brunch & mimosas), be sure to use the discount code: BARCLAY to receive an additional $10 bucks off!

Register at 

www.beautywanderlustrva.eventbrite.com

Registration: $50 / Includes Brunch and Mimosas

Save an additional $10 using Discount Code: BARCLAY

Check out BeautyWanderlust on Facebook 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Beauty-Wanderlust-Brunch/101091653558851

Local Eats: Water Coastal Kitchen

For those of you who live in the RVA area or travel through the area often, and are looking for a great seafood restaurant make sure to check out Water Coastal Kitchen formerly the Water Grill. This is one of my fav spots in the city (you've probably read prev. post about me eating at this spot), Water Coastal Kitchen is perfectly located in the heart of Carytown. I've been plenty of times and I'm never disappointed with the quality of food; the seafood is always fresh, the presentation is on point, and the ambiance is lovely. I'm a creature of habit, so I typically order the same thing every time I go which is the simply grilled salmon, with sticky rice, and fingerling potatoes. The prices wont break the bank either, I would say the average price of an entree is $20 bucks or so. If you're looking for a cute spot for a date night or ladies night definitely check out Water Coastal Kitchen. By the way they have an amazing drink menu, I love their Mojitos!

Water Coastal Kitchen

Simply Grilled Salmon x Sticky Rice x Fingerling Potatoes

Dress for Success: Red Carpet Runway Recap

I had the pleasure of attending the Dress for Success: Red Carpet Runway fashion show last Friday, it's an annual fashion presented by the organization to help raise money and bring awareness to the cause. This was my second year attending the show and instead of attending as a blogger, I was actually one of the judges on the panel this year along with Clovia Lawrence from 105.7 Kiss FM, Tara Hawkins from Style Weekly, Troy Michel with The CW Network, and Angela Patton from Camp Diva. It was such an honor to meet these ladies and be on the judges panel with them. Every time I attend a Dress for Success event I end up networking with lots of influential women from right here in Richmond, its always nice to meet people who are passionate about what they do! The Dress for Success team including Jonathan Copeland, Shantell Malachi, Melissa Ross and so many other amazing people put on an excellent show every year; and for such a great cause! If you're not already familiar with the Dress for Success mission, it's to assist disadvantaged women by providing them with professional attire, career development, and a network of support to help them have a smooth transition back into the work place! This organization has helped so many disadvantaged women right here in the Richmond area, and you can help too by donating your gently used suits, dresses, and shoes along with volunteering your time. Visit dfscentralvirginia.org for more information on how you can assist this wondering organization. Being that I was a judge on the panel, I didn't have my camera in tow as I usually do, but I still managed to snap a few pics!

Myself along with the other lovely judges!