Read about our news and latest updates.

Oh Happy Day!!! 🍂🍁

Fall Season is finally here and I couldn't be more overjoyed.

The month of October is one of my absolute favorite months of the year, outside of my birthday month of December. Not only is the weather beautiful in October with a nice breeze in the air but it's also the start of fall fashions, which I believe most of us love. I switch from rocking my light and airy springtime hats to my gorgeous and stylish fall hats.

In addition, I am ALL about rocking a nice comfy poncho, or a moto leather jacket and booties, as I am indeed a boot loving chic!!

But aside from all of that, the month of October is also a celebratory month for "House Piazza," with anniversaries, milestones and special occasions to celebrate all month long. In truth, for me and my Husband the Fall season is the start of back to back celebrations from October through January, including our birthdays and the holidays mixed in.

Annually, October 4th kicks off the festivities with the anniversary of Allured By Design. This year my Home & Lifestyle brand turned five years old and what made this year's anniversary even more special was the celebration of recently being awarded my legal and federal trademark registration.

Going from this: ALLURED BY DESIGN™️

To now this: ALLURED BY DESIGN®

This has been a long time coming and something I'd been working on for a little over a year. So to finally claim the victory is such a HUGE WIN!!! I've shared with you all before in previous newsletters that I'm working on some pretty big things for my brand, projects that ultimately requires for my brand name, logo and all of my creative works to be legally protected.

I've sat back and watched many cross over the threshold of inspiration into full blown imitation and duplication of things they see me doing. Literally down to boldly copying my style, my logo and let's not even talk about all of the folks that have come up with iterations of the word ALLURED.
It is so frustrating to say the very least!!

Social media and the world wide web can oftentimes feel like the wild, wild west where anything goes because authenticity seems to be a foreign concept to so many. I personally despise and detest imitation, duplication or any type of work that infringes upon the creativity of another. While I fully support inspiration, I absolutely cannot support imitation because there is no flattery in it at all.
Only theft, laziness and non-original ideas.

And, it's for those reasons alone why I secured an attorney whose niche and specialty is working with creative brands in the the social media market. As I prepare to evolve into a bigger boutique brand with bigger projects to launch in 2022 and beyond, ya girl needed to be protected and ready to fight for what's legally mine.

Cease and Desist orders are aimed and ready to be fired towards anyone that infringes upon what's authentically...

ALLURED BY DESIGN®

If you're reading this and believe this may be you,

you've been warned. 😉💁🏽‍♀️💋🥂

In addition to my brand's anniversary and trademark registration celebration, my Husband and I are also celebrating our ten year wedding anniversary this year...along with fourteen years of being together all in the month of October. So yeah, October is that MONTH for us!!
Make sure you're following me on Instagram and Facebook where I'll share some anniversary photos of us on the actual day of our Anniversary, which is October 15th.

Ok, moving along...

To those of you brand spanking new to my email list, every quarter you'll receive a seasonal newsletter delivered directly to your inbox.
The Allured By Design® newsletters are used as a way to go beyond the world of interiors and home decor. And, more of a way to connect with you all if possible on a deeper level by addressing things going on in our world and things that we may all be dealing with in some form or fashion.

My newsletters also serve as an opportunity for me to highlight my hometown and most favorite city in the world, New Orleans...showcasing a mixture of beautiful city exteriors and cultural landmarks. But most importantly, my newsletters are meant to be a source of light and hope, especially in today's world where there's so much darkness. If I can provide just a brief moment of joy and happiness (or deep reflection) into your lives through my newsletters, then I've done my job...

And, it's my absolute pleasure.

Sooooo very much has happened since my last seasonal newsletter was published, which was my Summer 2021 Newsletter. Whew Chile!!
What a year it's been already just within these last few months.
Let's see...

We're still in the midst of a global pandemic, folks are still refusing to get vaccinated, life feels more and more like we're living in the twilight zone, oh and Hurricane Ida descended upon the city of New Orleans on the sweet sixteen anniversary of Hurricane Katrina,
August 29, 2021.

Like I said...Whew Chile!!! What a year it's been ALREADY!!! 

For those of us living in the Gulf Coast, not only are we dealing with this pandemic but now we're in the midst of hurricane season until the end of November. I mean seriously can we catch a break?!?!
I purposely wanted to shoot my Fall Newsletter in City Park to take in the beauty of the historic oak trees and the ambiance of the park itself.

But also to capture some of the remaining debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida.

Ironically, Stacy and I shot on a day that it rained. We decided to make the rain work as part of our shoot and it couldn't have been more perfect for the tone of the shoot itself given the city was in recovery mode from a hurricane that did far more damage than what any of us were expecting. In that very moment, all that came to mind was New Edition's popular song...

"Can You Stand The Rain"

Sunny Days...
Everybody loves them
Tell Me Baby...
Can You Stand The Rain...
Storms will come, this we know for sure...
This we know for sure...
Can You Stand The Rain?

While the majority (not all) of the Greater Metropolitan area of New Orleans was spared from Hurricane Katrina level flooding and damage, we were not spared from days and weeks of no electricity. We weren't spared from many knocked down trees all throughout our parishes. Some parishes were not spared extensive damage to their homes.

Nor were we spared from the loss of use of our homes for any families without generators. And, we most certainly weren't spared for the loss of food.

After three days of trying to ride out the storm and making do with no electricity...my Husband and I finally couldn't bear the heat or discomfort anymore and evacuated to Gulfshores, Alabama to a beach resort property I have a relationship with through my film career.
The Lodge @ Gulf State Park became our safe haven and our place of serenity and refuge while we waited for power and resources to be restored to our area.

Yet, even with the blessing that came because of my direct relationship with the staff and Director of the hotel, I must make it clear that evacuation travel is NOT the same as vacation travel.

All Photo Stills by Stacy Marks Photography

Vacation Travel is usually by choice. It's planned and budgeted for in advance with a pre-determined amount of days you'll be gone.
Most importantly you leave your home happy and expect to return to it in the same condition you left it in.

Evacuation Travel on the other hand is out of necessity with one leaving their home usually in distress because you now have unexpected expenses...even if you can afford them, they still weren't planned for.

In addition, you have no idea how long you'll need to stay evacuated for. And, nor are you for certain what you'll be returning home to. What your neighborhood will look like, what your own home will look like, or what the infrastructure of your city will look like. What resources will and won't be available to you. Or, how long will it take for recovery efforts to get underway and for life to return to a sense of normalcy.

Again, evacuation and vacation travel are NOT one in the same.
They are two completely different situations and scenarios.
Yet, I am so happy that my Husband and I survived Hurricane Ida with "House Piazza" sustaining only minor exterior damage to our home. Sure we accrued a lot of unexpected expenses while being evacuated, but that's exactly what having a "loss of use" in our home owner's insurance policy is for.

I am just happy as ever that we have FINALLY made it to the month of October with some sense of normalcy working to return. Many parishes throughout the state of Louisiana, including the city of New Orleans are still in recovery mode and will be for some time to come for those that experienced extensive damages. But at least recovery is now underway and have been for some time.

I'm just grateful and thankful for my blessings because me and my Husband's situation could've been far worse than it was. But thankfully and by the grace of God...we live in a parish and a subdivision that was spared extensive damage to our homes.

In each of my newsletters, I always like to update you all with something I've experienced in life that I think you all may be able to relate to.

Or, share some kind of wisdom or significance to a location I'm shooting in. I believe I've done all of that thus far but sometimes to go even further, I like to share with you all what television series or feature film I'm currently watching that's caused me to think even deeper about life.
Y'all know for as long as I have breath in me my mission will always be to be true to both of my creative passions...Film & Design.

Since returning home from our evacuation travel, my Husband and I have started watching the Apple TV Series titled "See" starring
Jason Momoa and Alfred Woodard.

Here's the premise:

Mankind has been given the gift of sight. However, after centuries of abusing the earth with their vision, the ability to SEE is striped away from them and the world has now shifted back to living life more primitively and in tribal culture, albeit it blind. Everyone literally has to depend on their other four senses (smell, touch, sound and taste) to survive. However, the dawn of a new day and a new world is on the verge of rising when a set of fraternal twins are born with the ability to SEE,

which sets all of the drama in the series into motion.

Here's how the premise relates to current times:
About a week ago, several big tech social media companies, including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp were shutdown with many of us not able to communicate with our audience and dear followers as we typically do through these expansive platforms. Although the shutdown was brief only lasting for several hours as opposed to several days, weeks, months or years...Many still freaked out nonetheless just from no longer having access to what's become a daily part of their life.
While others took advantage of the much needed break and downtime away from social media in an effort to focus on more important things in their life.

When going through a natural disaster such as a hurricane and things we use and need daily are no longer available to us...we're forced to survive in the most primitive way and simply do without things we heavily rely on or take for granted. We're forced to look at life and view what matters most from a completely different perspective.

While I am so grateful to be back in the comfort of my own home with food, running hot water, internet, electricity, gas, television, etc...I'm also even more grateful for having those very things taken away albeit for a brief period...if only to help me focus even moreso on what's most important in my life, what's deserving of my time and attention and absolutely what's not.

I'm a continued work in progress, as I'm sure we all are.
Figuring this thing called life out day by day, or as my late paternal Grandmother would always say...

One Day At A Time

Slowly but surely, I'm working to be ok with that and not feel such pressure or discomfort in not having it all figured out or not having all of the answers. Because if I or any of us did, what would the point or purpose of our lives be?

For the beauty, discovery and adventure is within the journey

not the destination.

Even if the journey is both worrisome and scary as all hell, it most certainly provides for an interesting or rather thrilling time nonetheless.
In addition, it helps us appreciate the distance of how far we've come along. And, hopefully allow us to be all the more appreciative for the most simple of things we oftentimes take for granted in this life.

This photo shoot in particular definitely allowed me to not only be in the moment but to also appreciate even more the beauty of nature itself...even in the midst of the aftermath of the storm.

I still found beauty all around me.

And, even on a rainy day, there was still remarkable beauty!

What We’re Up To

As I finally begin to bring this newsletter to a close,

I'd like to point out that if you're brand new to my blog or to my email list and would like to catch up on previous newsletters beginning from the 2020 debut up until now, click on the links below...

2020 DEBUT Summer Newsletter

2020 Fall Newsletter

2020 Christmas Newsletter

2021 New Year Newsletter

2021 Spring Newsletter

2021 Summer Newsletter

Also, you can always head to the home page of my website and peruse about, where you'll always find all of my current video content.

To head there, click here.

If you haven't had a chance to check out the Apple TV Series, SEE...

I highly recommend adding it to your list of streaming content to watch this Fall Season. The show is not only amazing but the story itself forces you to think and ponder about a life without.

And, for those that love to be fashionable in every season but in particular for the Fall, the creative artist behind my gorgeous hat is none other than Kara Sanchez. Kara and I have worked together in the past on various design collaborations with our 2019 Glam Pumpkin collab being one of our most memorable and favorable ones.

This year, Kara has turned her creativity to the attention of beautifying and creating custom artsy hats, like the one pictured in this newsletter.

When I tell you I am in LOVE with my HAT!!! This bad boy is oh so FLY!!!

And, of course mine's would have the BLUE feather because I mean DUH!!!

If you're a fan of my brand and have been following me for some time, then you already know...I am tried, true and loyal to my favorite color BLUE.

💙

These hats are not available for purchase on her website and must be custom ordered. To do so, you can reach out to Kara via her Instagram page, where you'll also see more images of these custom hats on her feed. Just send her a DM or of course you can always email her.

All of my followers and email subscribers will receive 10% off of your order, so be sure to mention you're a friend or social media fam of Allured By Design®

Art By Kara Sanchez - Instagram

Art By Kara Sanchez - Contact via Website

Oh I almost forgot...guess who was chosen by national brand,

Hello Beautiful this past Summer as one of five

Interior Designers to follow on social media? Yep, ya girl was honored with such a high privilege and I'm so humbled by it.

The acknowledgement for all of the hard work, time, effort and money

I put into this brand of mine, simply to share my passion with you all means the world to me.

To view the article, click here.

Until next time my allured loves, let's all work to be fly and fabulous this Fall Season. Appreciating not only the beauty of life but also the simple pleasures of life as well. Let's work to take some time out to be in the moment and slow down a bit if need be.

Even if only for reflection.

For we ALL love the happy, bright and sunny days...

But can we endure the rain and the storms as well?

On A Perfect Day...

I know that I can count on you...

When that's not possible...

Tell me, can you weather a storm?

Can You Stand The Rain

⚜️

Until next time...

⚜️Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler⚜️

Get in Touch