I attended the 2017 Woman’s Day Red Dress Awards to join the fight against heart disease as a guest of CocoaVia® brand. I'm a sponsored CocoaVia® brand influencer, but all opinions are my own*. What an event! I truly did not expect the evening to be as spectacular as it was—it completely blew me away! Upon entering the Jazz at Lincoln Center atrium right above Columbus Circle, I was enveloped in a soft red glow and a room full of happy people buzzing around. It was a fantastic sight, with wait staff lined up to hand you a drink. Everyone (with their phones in camera mode) was drawn to the gargantuan heart “centerpiece” pumping good vibes through the room. I grabbed a drink (red bubbly to match the event’s color theme) and sashayed around during the cocktail hour in my red dress, matching every single woman in attendance. Not only is it so much fun, but it’s truly an honor to attend events like this one. Empowering women to better health...

This topic is an important one, especially in light of the deaths of Karina Vetrano and Vanessa Marcotte, which both really affected me as an avid outdoor runner. Karina's death was just too close to home. Her body was found along a Howard Beach path she ran down often. And finally, just a few days ago, her murderer/rapist was caught and charged. Vanessa Marcotte's death, while it didn't happen in New York City proper (her body was found in Massachusetts where she was jogging while visting her mother), was still a major reality check for me because she worked at Google, a mere block away from where I used to live here in NYC. For months, every time I walked past the Google building, all I could think about was her untimely death. What a tragedy in both cases. These attacks from 2016 prove that we need to be a lot more cautious than ever. If you're a runner, be safe out there, but also keep an eye out for your fellow brother and sister runners too. We need to look out for each...

Meditation in the fast world. Is it really possible? Especially with how busy and complicated our lives have become? How is it even possible to meditate to relax and focus inward when we are so attached to our devices? Like our mobile phones, headphones and wireless earbuds, GPS health trackers and more! I wouldn't have been able to answer this question for you until I started learning more about meditation and relaxation due to the trend I began to see growing (and which continues to grow) in New York City. My forecast is that it will soon reach the city you live in. Are you ready to relax more? In November of 2016, it seemed like all of a sudden meditation studios were popping up all around Manhattan, and I'm not talking about Buddhist type meditation rooms and sanctuaries. New York has a ton of those already that cater to a more traditionally zen crowd. What I'm talking about is more in the vein of "modern meditation", if you will. It caters to more mass market, every...

-- This is guest blog written by Samantha Olivier -- Coffee and tea are universal drinks – wherever you go, you can notice the differences in the preparation of these drinks, as well as the times, occasions, and ways in which people consume them. No matter how you take them, one thing is certain – both tea and coffee are quite beneficial for your health and wellbeing. The market is filled with a wide range of options to choose from, and you will certainly be able to find a flavor that suits your tastes. Health Benefits of Tea The birthplace of tea is China, and legend has it that Shen Nung, the second emperor of China, discovered it in 2737 BC, when leaves blew into his pot of boiling water. Served hot or iced, tea is a tasty beverage for every season and it has been proven to improve health. Tea is full of antioxidants that help keeping our body young and protect it from illness and other types of body pollution. It has 50% less caffeine than coffee, while it...

I'm going to be absolutely candid here. I got filler put in my lips and I love it. And I'd be lying if I said it was the first time. But really, I have nothing to hide. I'm always open and honest about all the health to esthetic treatments I try. It's what I do! I'm sure a lot of you who are considering lip injectables have questions about it. This is the place to ask so feel free to leave your questions in the comments section below once you watch the video I made about my dermal fillers treatment with Lisa Hartman, PA. Lisa Hartman is a wonderful practitioner and friend, and someone I feel very comfortable going to for my facial chemical peels, high performing topical creams and anything else I splurge on related to preserving my skin and maintaining a youthful appearance. She's basically a walking billboard for her services. She believes in a natural and fresh look, so you'll never see anyone overdone walking out of her office. I have worked extensively...

#Th3Fight #ad #CollectiveBias From the title of this post, you can gather that Paul Nichols is no longer alive. I've blogged about him before but it's always been hard for me to talk about. This will be the first time I go into detail. I heard a song that reminded me of him recently. It's called The Fight by Taboo. I miss Paul so much and hope there's WIFI in heaven so he can read this. It's an understatement to say he changed my life because he did so much more than that. He became like a father to me in a city where I was thousands of miles away from my real dad or any family for that matter. The story goes like this... One day at work, back when I was a creative art director at TBWA/Chiat Day working on Madison Avenue, I received an email from a co-worker saying she was running the New York Marathon with an organization that was very special to her.  I had always wanted to run a marathon. Intrigued, I read each word of her fundraising email very carefully. She...