Shopping In Philly!

I'm not going to lie I barely shop in center city unless it’s a last-minute buy or if I'm just breezing through if I am shopping in the Reading Terminal or on the commute home and in need of some retail therapy. The main stores I shop in, in Philly are Macy's and H&M. I usually shop outside of the city or online. However, Philly is about to become a good shopping destination like New York with stores that are popular in New York like Century 21 (located on Market St at the old Strawbridges) and UNIQLO popping up in center city. Along with these stores there was a huge grand opening for Nordstrom Rack which is located at 17th and Chestnut at the old Daffy’s location. Another store soon to be opening is Forever 21 which will also be located on Chestnut St. . I like that Philly is starting to get on board with providing new stores to shop in especially stores that provide more fashion designer labels. It gets me excited to shop in Philly again like it was in high school, lol when the gallery was a go to mall even though I didn’t necessarily look at it as such, lol. Although it's not so great to park in center city and that will take the fun out of shopping at these particular stores it will give people without access to cars better shopping choices and it will bring more revenue to the city with it being a top tourists destination. These stores have also come at a good time just in time for the holiday shopping. We'll now have a great selection of stores to choose from when shopping in Philly!

Philly's Own: Brianna Cash

www.instagram.com/BriannaCash

On October 23^rd, 2014 I had the pleasure of attending Marsha Ambrosius’ Friends and Lovers Tour at the Theater of Living Arts . I was lucky enough to win two free tickets to the show from Veteran Freshman’s own Yusef Muhammad, which were super clutch by the way! The show had two opening acts before Marsha Ambrosius and they were Philly’s Own, Brianna Cash and MPrynt.

I have seen MPrynt quite a few times (and grown to love them more each performance) ; however, this was my first time seeing Brianna Cash and she did a great job might I add! Her voice was very soulful, her lyrics spoke truths, stories, and positive messages, and her band had a great sound.

Where's My Refund?

Early October, the IRS rumor mill struck into full rotation as speculations began to spiral about expected delays in Income Tax Returns in 2015. To be honest, I had not even heard such a thing until a friend of mine brought it to my attention, just yesterday. I have to admit, I hadn’t given it much credence, since I had not heard even the slightest whisper about it but of course I figured that it would be worth checking out. My first line of defense was to take to “Google” (it’s the new American way) and see what kind of information was in circulation. Several finance blogs/columns were reporting that IRS tax refunds will be delayed until October 2015. The stories they told were pretty consistent, and given the IRS’s recent history of (minor) delays, quite believable. Now, combine that with the latest news confirming that 50 “Tax extenders” expired at the close of 2013 in conjunction with the simple fact that our country is BROKE and….. Whalaa, the perfect recipe for Terror among Taxpayers.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Nationalbreastcancer.org

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I love how everyone, down to the football players, are rocking their pink gear to raise awareness for this sometimes fatal malignancy in women and men. I want to stress to everyone, although, not recommended by the U. S. Preventive Services Task Force, to perform monthly breast exam to detect any fixed mass in the breasts that could possibly be malignant. Breast monthly examines are not recommended due to the false positive from women but I would rather you be safe than sorry. For instructions on how to perform monthly breast examines, see below.

Black Girls Code

Photo cred: blackgirlscode.com[/caption]

I'm not sure how I came across Black Girls Code on Twitter but I have been following them for quite some time. I have been so amazed and in awe at what they have been doing with young Black girls. So I decided to find out more information about Black Girls Code to share with our readers!

Neiman Marcus Fashion Showcase hosted by MakeMeOverMalika

JAE Bloggers

On October 3rd, we had the pleasure of attending Neiman Marcus Charity Drive hosted by MakeMeOverMalika. It was located at Neiman Marcus in King of Prussia Mall. The event included a VIP cocktail reception and fashion showcase highlighting Neiman Marcus's top trends for Fall 2014.

Fall Shows You Don't Want to Miss

This fall, Philadelphia has a lot of great concerts coming up featuring some popular and very talented R&B, Soul, and Hip Hop Artists. I have created a list of shows that you don’t want to miss. Below you’ll find information about them, when and where they’ll take place, prices, and links to where you can purchase tickets. Enjoy :-)

$1 Million for Youth Crime Prevention in Philadelphia

Philadelphia; the City of Brotherly Love…yea, not so much. As one of the most violent, high crime cities, Philadelphia has been in need of crime control for quite some time. On Sept 29,2014 , Mayor Nutter made an announcement proving that concerns around violence are no longer being over looked.

EBOLA in the U.S.

http://jaeblog.com/2014/08/07/the-ebola-outbreak/‎

If yall didn't know, there has been cases of Ebola in the U.S. First there were two doctors that cared for patients in Africa who were treated down in Atlanta's Emory University Hospital, where they survived. Now, the first reported death from Ebola was in Dallas, Texas this week. Refer to JAE's Ebola Outbreak article for more history and clinical info. In this article, I am going to let you know what you can do to help contain the virus outbreak and prevent the spread!‎

New ABC Comedy: Black-ish

photo cred: abc.go.com

Like most people I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the new ABC comedy Black-ish starring Tracee Ellis Ross, Anthony Anderson, and Laurence Fishburne. I was certainly turned off by the name and pre-judging the show before I watched it. Black-ish sounds like someone who is trying too hard to act “Black”. But I am one of the people who complain about it not being enough positive Black shows on television so I decided to give it a try.

The Scandal Collection!!!

Photo cred- thatsmee

Ok so Scandal is back and so is its fashion! Yes our Thursday nights are back and we are invoked with its edge of your seat madness... However, if you have an eye for fashion like I do you will in fact notice how well tailored and how fashionable the characters garments are such as the white Prada that Ms. Pope so fashionably handles, lol. My point is that while you are eager to want to get to the bottom of the newest scandal you can't help how well dressed these characters are, even the men!

Heart Walk

On November 8th, 2014, the ladies of JAE Blog will be participating in the AHA Heart Walk. We will be walking in the memory of Wayne Brickley, the father of our music blogger Kelisha Brickley. The Heart Walk will take place at Citizens Bank Park from 10am-2pm. If you would like to join our team, partipate in the walk and/or donate money to the cause please click the link below.

Beano's "Let It Go"

www.instagram.com/JusBeano

"Ayooo Beanooo!" I remember the first time I saw this talented guy perform, it was at The Blockley, when he opened up for Musiq Soulchild in February 2013. He performed a few of his own songs, along with his own rendition of “Adorn” by Miguel and “How does it feel” by D’Angelo … and it blew all the ladies in the audience away, including myself. He had such a beautiful voice, with a down-to-earth personality to match it.