Good morning, dear readers, and I hope you had a great weekend!   Myself, I “slept in” a bit, rising rather late per my schedule today. The past days have been packed with work and fun, notably a trip to Neiman Marcus NorthPark on Saturday to meet with Tata Harper. Tata is pictured below, and in the midst of the buzzing afternoon beauty crowd at Neiman’s, this Colombian-born beauty created an oasis of calm as she walked me through her all-natural skincare line. Growing much of her organic ingredients on her farm in Vermont, she formulates gentle, anti-aging products that, incidentally, smell absolutely delicious. I especially loved this Hydrating Floral Essence.     The rest of my weekend was spent in the kitchen. No, really. As some of you may know, I started out in this crazy business as a dining and wine reporter, but these days, I find little time for anything more than steaming rice. Not to mention, a recent dinner party at my home resulted in what we’ll affectionately call the Flaming Skillet Incident of 2012.   …Anyway, I’ve been inspired lately to recommit to the culinary arts by the gorgeous creature you see below. Lorraine Pascale is her name, and following a career modeling for the likes of Donna Karan and Versace, she trained to become a chef, spinning out two successful books and a TV series I’m absolutely addicted to. Watch for yourself, and I’ll bet you get a girl crush, too.     And so, with the weekend wrapped, we head into another busy week here at DFW Style Daily. Coming up, we’ll fill you in on Dita’s latest visit to Big D, another revealing Obsession Confession, a treat from a brand-new local boutique, and plenty more. All this, as we busily prepare for our first-ever Summer Beauty Week, kicking off next Monday, June 18th. I can’t wait!   …And speaking of exclusive DFW Style Daily features, my reaction was mixed upon encountering an item in the latest FDLuxe, in which the free glossy purports to have “discovered” Diamond Mahone at a party. Diamond, possessing a singular style we celebrated in our Best Dressed in Dallas 2012 pictorials and videos (one of Sylvia Elzafon’s amazing images is shown below), also commented on our expert panel at the Mockingbird Station What to Wear poolside fashion event back in March. At first I was annoyed at this boastful claim, but then I was reminded by a friend that imitation, after all, is the sincerest form of flattery. The bottom line? Diamond is one to watch on the Dallas fashion scene.     Finally, I promised (and may live to regret it) that I’ll answer a style-related question in this new column each week. Today’s query comes from Yvonne Crum, who wonders, “What in the world does it mean for ladies when an invitation notes Black Tie Optional?” I went straight to the source for the solution, namely The Emily Post Institute, Inc. According to these etiquette experts, ladies may choose from a formal (floor-length) evening gown, a dressy cocktail dress, a “little black dress”, or dressy separates, when an occasion calls for Black Tie Optional attire. This may, however, be a time to read between the lines. Of note, the list omits denim, tee shirts, shorts, “holiday colors”, and “fun and unique accessories”. The latter two actually fall into the Festive Attire and Creative Black Tie categories, respectively.   Check out the full run-down here, and if you take nothing else from this little tutorial, just don’t wear this:     My best to you,   Lisa Petty, Editor Lisa(at)DFWStyleDaily.com     (Photo credits, from top: 1. DFW Style Daily, 2. Food.UK.msn.com, 3. Sylvia Elzafon for DFW Style Daily, 4. OneWed.com)