On Vogue Italia the judges comented: “The issue has undoubtedly raised questions amongst consumers and critics as to how casting agencies and other fashion promoters include non-white models in their portfolios and magazines, as it’s now proven that ‘black’ does sell.”

20:??pm
Sad to hear of the collapse of Senators Ted Kennedy and Richard Byrd at the luncheon.

21:??pm
I enjoy watching the Obama’s walk/drive parade especially when they get out on foot. I’m also in awe of the security that surrounds them and soon believe that should they all decide to holiday together they could quite easily sink a small island.

22:??pm
I sympathise with Malia and little Sasha as they appear to be wilting with the longevity of the parade. At this point my mum somehow manages to extract a very reluctant me from in front of the TV to do a quick late-night shop for some groceries. Not surprising that I go about it like it’s Supermarket Sweep.

22:??pm
I return to find the parade is coming to an end and Malia and Sasha have disappeared, hopefully to rest from the long and weary day. I’m not quite getting the NASA float? Where’d the astronaut go with the flag?

01:00am
CNN end transmission??? What the Elois! I hunt through TV and internet to see who’s still following. Manage to get CNN coverage online. Phew!

02:00-ish am
When I nearly give up hope of capturing a glimpse of ‘The Gown’, all the news channels come back to their senses and show their arrival at the first ball. Am waiting with baited breath to see Michelle Obama’s choice for the inaugural evening gown. It’s a surprise but it doesn’t disappoint.

02:30-ish am
It’s time to head home and we hit the road with every intention of grabbing sounvenir editions of the newspapers. Finally, I spot a 24-hour shop where the shopkeeper looks more than a little amused when I present him with the many copies I wish to purchase.

04:something am
After arriving home, and updating my blog post on the First Lady’s inauguration gown I slip into a deep and satisfying sleep knowing I’ve taken the day off work tomorrow.

On my hit list are The Guardian, The Times, The Daily Telegraph and The Independent all of which are displaying highly collectable front pages for their Wednesday January 21, 2009 editions.

I think The Independent cover is my favourite

Mum – “Look Michelle’s wearing gold and green”

Sister – “And Barack’s wearing red”

Mum – “And black… together they’re wearing red, gold and green, and black! I love the way they represent”

Love my family.

Courtesy of Armando Javier, this handmade leather purse will set you back $195 and can be purchased from Boutique Mix.

The cover is to celebrate the upcoming inauguration which reminds me, I should really let my boss know I won’t be in on the 20th… and maybe the 21st too.

So below I’ve selected my top 10 events for 2008 that have either sparked my interest or completely floored me.

January 2008
- Disney begin work on a new film to be released in 2009 featuring their first ever black princess, The Princess and The Frog.

June 2008
- Former Manchester United football player, Paul Ince becomes the first black man to be in charge of a premier league team (Yay!). Unfortunately, a series of poor match results for the already troubled Blackburn Rovers see him dismissed just six months later (Booo!).

July 2008
- Tennis player, Venus Williams wins the Women’s singles against her sister, Serena, at Wimbledon. Fortunately, all must have been forgiven by the time the doubles competition came around as they both worked fantastically well together in winning the lot.

August 2008
- Jamaican sprinter Usain “Lightening” Bolt thrills us with his super speed and wins the world records for the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay with his team mates.
- Christine Ohorougo wins a gold medal for the 400m at the Beijing Summer Olympics and in doing so becomes the first British female to become an Olympic champion in that race.

October 2008
- Film director, Tyler Perry opens the first black-owned production studio.
- A young woman with a crazy need to share all the things she enjoys most in her life starts a blog, Harlem Loves, and is pleasured to find others from around the world who appreciate some of her interests

November 2008
- At the Brazilian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton becomes the youngest driver and the first black man to win the Formula One World Championship.
- Barack Obama achieves the seemingly impossible and wins the US general election to become the country’s first black president.

December 2008
- The superbly talented Alexandra Burke beats off the competition and scores a duet with Beyonce before winning the X Factor.

So it looks like Essence beat both Ebony and Vogue in the battle to have Michelle Obama on the cover of their January issue…

Furthermore the president-elect himself also gets his own cover. What a souvenir! Now all I need to figure out is how I can get my hands on one…

 

Whilst some of my friends are making the trip to Washington to see his inauguration on January 20th, I was feeling very concerned that I was missing out on major moments in history but now a major moment will be happening on my doorstep and to quote Aerosmith, I don’t wanna miss a thing.

I can’t quite believe I just quoted Aerosmith but moving on… it’s so very exciting, I think I’ll have to make a mini-checklist to ensure I don’t miss out on the major souvenir moments of the day… You never know, if I play my cards right maybe I could sell a newspaper for $200 on ebay???

My most recent find is Obama O’s, a cereal which claims to have “hope in every bowl”.

Whilst all the world seems to be falling into recession, Obama merchandise looks like a booming industry and these little O’s have already proved to be a collector’s item.

For a listen to the Obama O’s jingle and a look at the rival Cap’n McCain’s cereal visit www.airbedandbreakfast.com