Forever Fierce Meet Up at Chico’s in New York City

October 9, 2017 / 42 Comments

As you probably already know, I attended the Forever Fierce Meet Up in New York City this weekend with the most amazing group of fiercely fabulous women! At the end of this post, I am going to try really hard to shout out to each of the attendees, but please forgive me if I forget to add your name! And please do add it in the comments if I have forgotten it.

My weekend began on Friday when I headed to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to spend the night at my sister’s house. Being a ball of nerves as I packed up my things for the weekend, I had to wrap myself in some mom-love for my traveling day. I dug out my favorite tunic that my mother made for me many years ago. It was the last garment that she ever crafted for me before her death and I cherish it with all my heart. I have styled it on the blog before here and here.

*This is a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

When I posted a photo of my traveling outfit on social media, my sister spotted it and apparently it pulled at her heart strings a bit. And she reacted by posting this image in response:

She is clothed with strength & dignity & she laughs without fear of the future. -Proverbs 31:25

Thank you, sis, for helping me find my strength! Your support always overwhelms me and I would never be where I am if you hadn’t pushed me here!

My drive to Pennsylvania should take about 4 hours, but with the small defective bladder that I have been cursed with, I usually need to add an extra hour onto travel time for multiple bathroom stops. And at one point during my drive, as I reached the point of complete discomfort, the universe saw an opportunity to taunt me as it strategically placed a trailer carrying not one, but two, port-a-potties directly in front of me on the highway…16 miles from the next rest stop! But that’s okay, I can take a joke. Even when it is made at my own expense. And in case you were wondering, I made it to that rest stop with dry pants. So joke’s on you, universe!

I spent a relaxing evening with my sister and her family the night before the big event. And the next morning, as if all of the wonderful things decided to make it the most magnificent day, this pretty hot air balloon flew directly over my sister’s front yard while we were enjoying our morning coffee.

As the time to get dressed drew closer, I was quite stressed that my Chico’s outfit consisted of layers of suede and knit perfectly appropriate to showcase their new Fall line. But alas, Mother Nature has decided that it is not quite Fall. With temperatures spiking well into the 80’s, I had to come up with something else…at least for traveling into the city. So I settled on a Summer dress with my Chico’s ruana and belt.

*Ruana and belt c/o Chico’s.

I did switch into my complete Chico’s outfit once I arrived at the store on the Upper West Side. I will share more detailed photos of how I styled that outfit in a later post. But I am glad I opted for lighter layers for traveling because during transit I really did become quite the mess!

My hair after the ferry and a cab ride with 4 open windows!

But mess or not in 80 degrees of heat and humidity, we rocked the day in the fiercest way! Because we are Forever Fierce!

Sandra, Tracey, and Janette
Michele, Janette, and Kim
Janette, Angie, Eugenia, Channing, Netta, Diana, and Lydia
Michele and Shelbee

Eugenia Hargrove of The Age of Grace worked so hard on coordinating this event. Without her, it never would have happened. So thank you so very much, Eugenia! You are so appreciated and so beautiful in every way!

Catherine Grace O’Connell is the driving force behind Forever Fierce: The Midlife Revolution. Without her, this entire initiative would not exist! I feel so fortunate to have met this amazing and empowering woman this weekend. Her energy is intoxicating and so inspiring! Her soul shines as bright as her beautiful smile!

The models representing Chico’s were all so gorgeous inside and out!

Eugenia Hargrove of The Age of Grace
Dawn Bell Solich of Plumage 59
Cherie Peake James of Style Nudge
Catherine Grace O’Connell of Catherine Grace O
Tracey Crockett of Chic. Classy. Spicy.
Kimberly Kepler Higgins of Kandidly Kim
Janette Mercer-Braddock
Michele Wojciechowicz Clark of seechele_styles

It was so wonderful spending the day with you all and joining forces to show the world how fabulous we midlife women can be!

It was also so empowering and inspiring to meet all of the other fascinating women who attended the event as well.

Lydia Gobena of Birabiro
Elle Berman of The Elle Diaries
Caytha Jentis of The Other F Word
Angie Bellant of Your True Self Blog
Ginger Green Acevedo
Sandra Mimran Smith of BOOSTwear
Netta Young-Johnson
Nancy C. Donahue of NancyDonahue.com
Victoria Flynn
Catherine Lartigue of Atypical 60
Pat Iturbe
Diana Gabriel of Diana Gabriel NYC and @dianagabrielnyc
Channing Hargrove of Channing in the City

And a huge thank you to Kenya Pickles Jones and James who were our marvelous photographers for the day. They were both so patient and kind with us, but still managing to keep us in line! Their creativity and eye for detail was superb! I am so excited to see the final outcome of their work!

Kenya and James

I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to be a part of this event. And I feel like I am a more enriched person just from being in the presence of so many inspiring and empowering women! I thank you all for the most memorable of days!

Stay tuned, my friends, for more to come about this Forever Fierce Meet Up and my Chico’s style.

Keeping it on the edge,

Shelbee

I also need to send out a thank you to all those who sponsored this event and filled our goodie bags with some marvelous things!

Chico’s: Luna Stretch Reversible Bracelet
The Hall Center: Radiant Again & Forever by Dr. Prudence Hall
Montagne Jeunesse 7th Heaven: Charcoal Masque
Simply Venom: Day and Night Cream
BOOSTwear: Pink Balloons

Linking up with these Fabulous Link Ups

I am a midlife woman, wife, and stay-at-home mother of 2 boys and 2 cats. I have a passion for helping other women feel fabulous in the midst of this crazy, beautiful life.

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