Glimmers of My Future Life
beauty · life curation · luxury · relaxation · wine

Glimmers of My Future Life

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I completed a workshop a few days ago, and the goal of the entire program was to see my future life and lining up with that reality. Here’s the thing: if you have a vision, you can absolutely create it. But there’s a catch: you can unravel your dream by being unprepared and overwhelmed. The best way to create a dream life that you can sustain is to get ready for it now.

One of the exercises I completed was to bring an object from my future reality into my current world. I sat quietly and the idea came to me: champagne flutes. My future self always has something to celebrate, so she’d have gorgeous champagne flutes at the ready. I went ahead and ordered glasses from a collection named after one of my totem animals, the Black Swan.

JoyJolt Black Swan Champagne Glasses, Premium Crystal Glassware

I realized that my recent order history has several items that reflect my future self and what’s normal for her. I had essential oils that smell incredible and have cultural significance (both scents are Southern-inspired). I combined these to make a lusciously scented body oil. My future self is always glowing, hydrated and smelling fabulous.

Peach Premium Grade Fragrance Oil – Perfume Oil
P&J Trading Sweet Tobacco – Premium Grade Scented Oil

Speaking to my hydrated, silky-skinned future self, I also know that maintaining the softness of my skin is a priority, both now and in the future. So I invest regularly in exfoliating products and debriding creams. I re-purchased my debriding cream recently (I just finished up my supply), and I will be repurchasing my facial exfoliating pads if I don’t get the result I desire from some of the other exfoliating products I want to try.

PurOrganica Urea 40 Percent Foot Cream – Bundle with Pumice Stone and Brush

Finally, my future self is prepared for emergencies and makes sure that herself and her family. My future self isn’t undertaking this responsibility by herself (my future husband is at my side, being even more prepared than I am!) But, having emergency supplies always ready is something she prioritizes. I ordered some additional “bug out” bags a few days ago, for my grandmother and her sister (I already have some at my house).

Ready America 72 Hour Emergency Kit, 4-Person, 3-Day Backpack

Those are some of the glimmers of my future self, as well as little ways that I’m acclimating to my dream life. How have you all been injecting little bits of your “dream life” into your current reality? I’d love to hear all about it in the comments below!

*This post contains affiliate links.

business · writing

Writers Wednesdays – March Writing Accomplishments

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It’s time for another writing accomplishment update! I have some good news and some not so good news (nothing life-changing or devastating, just a little disappointing) about my writing practice. Let’s dive in!

Photo by OVAN on Pexels.com

The good news is, I worked on my book in the month of March, and, as of the time of this post, I’ve edited more than 70% of it! If I’m diligent, I can be done with this first round of edits by mid-May. Then I can put the book down fora bit, then come back to it for Round 2 of my edits. I am so happy to see some progress on this work!

The not so good news comes down to two things: firstly, the amount of time I spent editing in March, and secondly, the gaps that need to be addressed in the story. I did my last edit on March 14, because my life suddenly got much busier (if you saw my Monday post, you’ll hear part of what was happening in my world). So, while I understand why I spent less time editing, I was still a little disappointed that I lost some of that precious editing time. The disappointment has passed (thankfully) but I learned a valuable lesson: even a few minutes of work on my book every day will feel better than thinking I’ve lost a block of time.

The second point refers to something that isn’t great for my editing timeline but a fantastic “find” when it comes to the story. I uncovered multiple “gaps” in the story that need to be addressed either directly or indirectly. I’m thankful for the editing process, which helps me to see where my story can be improved, but I know that this adds quite a bit of time to my timeline (hence the mid-May completed editing goal). I’m okay with that, since the discovery of these gaps will help make my story much smoother and cohesive.

That’s my writing updates for the month, and I’m looking forward to seeing how this all comes together in the next few weeks (mid-May will be here before you know it!) Take care friends, and I’ll talk to you all soon!

Uncategorized

500+ Followers! Wow and Thanks!

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Hey everyone! I am not really a “stats watcher”: I don’t spend much time focusing on the numbers because I love this blog regardless of how it performs. I will occasionally throw out a follower goal, but it isn’t my motivator. My main joy is sharing my world and connecting with others.

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

So imagine my delight and surprise when I saw that my baby blog has exceeded 500 followers! Thank you for following and reading. It means so much to me that you all are here, and spending a little bit of your day with me.

That’s it for today, because gratitude is always enough. Take care, and I’ll talk to you all tomorrow!

Get Ready With Me – Trying Makeup From The Beem Box
beauty · life curation · luxury · style

Get Ready With Me – Trying Makeup From The Beem Box

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Happy Monday, friends! I hope you all have been doing well. I took a little blog break because my offline life was crazy for a few weeks. That being said, I decided to do a video putting on my makeup and discussing what’s been happening in my world. As a bonus, I used products from previous Beem Boxes. I’ve mentioned Beem Box in other posts (like this one and this one) and I was really excited to show how certain products looked on my skin.

Enjoy, and I’ll be back with more content tomorrow. Take care!

beauty

Spring is Here! Let’s Try New Perfumes!

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Happy Monday, my friends! Today is the second day of spring, and I’m so happy to be enjoying these warmer days. The past few days were consistently warm, and left me so hopeful about the fact that my favorite season, summer, is on its way and will be here soon!

I’m going to have some spring themed videos for the next few weeks, discussing fragrances, clothing, beverages, and hobbies (like gardening). This week, I’ll share some of my perfume videos, as well as my most recent video, highlighting a fragrance that is perfect for this season.

Earlier today, I posted a video reviewing CLEAN Rain Reserve, a fragrance that is ideal for this season, as well as the summer. It’s fresh, floral and conveys a lot of watery notes, making the fragrance profile “light” enough for warmer days.

Last week, I posted a different perfume review. This review featured MIX:BAR scents, a collection of fragrances that are made for layering and customizing into your own signature aroma. This discovery set has a 5 different scents, but I’ll note that Tangerine Squeeze, Glass Rose and Coconut Palm, in particular, are lovely for warmer days.

A slightly older video that I posted is this one featuring another CLEAN fragrance: this time, it was Solar Bloom, which I didn’t really like, but you may find it to be wearable for you. It made me think of hair grease (you’ll have to watch the video to see what I mean).

There are more fragrance reviews over on my channel, but these three are great if you’re looking for a starting point for researching which scent is perfect for the springtime.

Do you have my favorite fragrances? I’d love to hear all about them!

art · beauty · style

Three Easy Ways to Clarify and Confirm Your Kibbe Style ID

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Last year, I posted about my Kibbe style ID and some of the revelations that I had related to that. After I published that post, I realized that some of my readers may find the Kibbe system confusing and even a bit overwhelming. I had some subsequent posts about the Kibbe system (like this one and this one) but these may not be clear enough for someone that is hearing about the system for the first time. Admittedly, I had no problem interpreting my original results from doing the self-typing test, but I can imagine how someone with no experience with analyzing their bone structure and flesh may not be able to come up with a conclusive answer.

I checked out a few videos that attempted to clarify how to get a good set of Kibbe results, but I found that there are a few other things that you can try to give you more clarity on what your true style ID is. Here are three things that you can try, to get a better “guess” of your Kibbe type.

Reface yourself with a celebrity that shares your Kibbe style ID. I stumbled across this method when I was curious about trying a new hairstyle. While playing around on the app, I refaced myself as Marion Cotillard, Teyonah Parris (an unconfirmed Kibbe SC), Grace Kelly, Veronica Lake and Dita Von Teese (another unconfirmed Kibbe SC). At the end, I noticed that I looked more seamless when I refaced as a SC. But, when I refaced myself as Dorothy Dandridge (Kibbe Theatrical Romantic), Halle Berry (Kibbe Soft Gamine) and Diahann Carroll (Kibbe Soft Dramatic). While the final videos were cute, none of them looked as “true to me” as the SC Refaced clips.

Get a friend to do the test for you. Sometimes, we cannot see ourselves accurately. In fact, one blogger than I came across recently couldn’t see her own type, though quite a few of her readers advised her of what they suspected her Kibbe ID was. After many months of experimenting, she finally determined that yes, her readers were correct and had typed her accurately. What you may want to do is get a friend (or two) to complete the Kibbe ID test for you. Though David Kibbe no longer recommends the test as a way to get an accurate interpretation of your body’s lines, the test is not completely inaccurate, and having your friends complete the test based on what they observe about your body can be tremendously helpful in getting a more objective understanding of your personal lines.

Try the “squint” method. Instead of looking at your physique head on, try squinting to give a less defined but more wholistic view of your body. Sometimes, zooming out and blurring the fine details can help you take in the overall silhouette. It may not be the surest method for determining your style ID, but it can help with getting a better sense of your shape.

Those are my three tips for finding your Kibbe style ID when you’re struggling with identifying your body type. I hope these tips can help! Take care, and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.

books · writing

Writers Wednesdays – Writing Is Contagious

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Happy Wednesday, friends! I hope you all are having a fantastic week. This will be a (relatively) a short post because I’m reading books, writing books, and trying to manage my energy levels with the many other things I have going on in my life. It’s all good stuff, but whew, EXHAUSTING! I take comfort in knowing that this is just a season, and things will go back to quiet sooner rather than later.

As someone that believes in universal laws, such as law of attraction and law of assumption, I believe that we tend to get more of what we’re creating in our lives. Thus, if we’re working hard, we find more opportunities to work hard. If we’re regularly feeling joyful, we tend to have more instances to relish joy. So you can imagine that I was not surprised that, in the midst of me working diligently on one of my books, one of my dearest friends announced that she is writing a book of her own!

Photo by Charlotte May on Pexels.com

I’m so proud of her efforts and her vision for creating the personal brand and legacy that she desires for herself and her lineage. I know her book will be stellar, as she does this (and everything) with excellence. And the theme of her book is fascinating: I can’t wait to read the finished product!

Energy is contagious, particularly when you’re in a group that is “tapped in” to one another. The more frequently you engage with aligned individuals, the more that your collective energy will be shared and grown. So if you want to accomplish your writing goals, tap into a group of writers that are engaging JOYFULLY with their work. Unhappy writing energy is just as contagious as the good stuff, so choose carefully. Pick your group wisely, then get ready to see the shift in your own life.

That’s all for today. Have a great day, and I’ll talk to you all soon!

art · culture · life curation · luxury

Artful Moments

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It’s Women’s History Month, and I wanted to share some art created by a female artist of yesteryear: one that is especially meaningful when considered through the lens of current issues.

Artemisia Gentileschi is (I believe) the only female Renaissance artist with surviving pieces credited to her. She painted in a style similar to Caravaggio (my favorite Renaissance artist) and was brilliant and skilled in her own right: she was particularly gifted when it came to portraying the female body and in her use of light and colors. Unfortunately, most of what we were originally told about her was related to the fact that she was raped by fellow artist Agostino Tassi (who was convicted of rape after the case went to trial). It’s a shame that this gifted artist was, for many years, known as a victim that transferred her own trauma into art.

Gentileschi is so much more than what she experienced, and I’m glad that art historians are finally giving her story the balanced interpretation that it deserves. As someone that just learned about her in the past few years, I never thought I’d get to see her work in person (there really aren’t that many Renaissance art pieces by high profile artists outside of the major museums in large cities) without traveling outside of my city.

However, there was a surprise for me, waiting right at my local museum, Virginia Museum of Fine Art. As I browsed the Renaissance section, I stopped at a lovely painting that I hadn’t noticed before. I looked at the identification card and, lo and behold, there was a Gentileschi painting!

I’m so glad that I got to experience the creative genius of Gentileschi right in my own backyard. I really liked her use of light in the painting: it looks like someone had just opened a window and let it stream across Venus’s body. I also love that Cupid remains only partially in the light, emphasizing him as minor (secondary) to his mother Venus, the goddess of love. In this portrait, Venus (the embodiment of all sorts of love, prosperity and fertility) is the star, and Cupid (a symbol of erotic and passionate love/lust) is in a supporting role. I interpret this as the passion of lust is unable to outshine the vastness of real love, and I suspect that even the source of light depicted wouldn’t shine quite so brightly if Cupid was the only subject of this painting.

Another thing: I really enjoyed the depiction of Cupid fanning his mother, showing him in service to her. It makes me think of how lust and passion are at their best when they are in service to higher forms of love. (Just a personal takeaway).

I just wanted to share that moment with you, because I still love art and find inspiration in it. I hope this post inspires you, too! Have a great day, and I’ll talk to you all tomorrow!

health · life curation

Fibro Friday – Let’s Talk About Soursop

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Happy Fibro Friday! I hope you all have had a great week. I’m recovering from a mild flare and I’m finally coming out of it, which makes me happy. This is one of those unavoidable things that comes with fibro: even when you’ve done your best to manage your symptoms, you may still have occasional flares. My flare was triggered by inconsistent weather patterns, because when the air goes from hot to cool to warm to cold, my body goes haywire.

Part of what really helps with my flare is getting enough rest, but, as you all know, rest can be challenging when you have fibro. One of the things I use to help get deeper, more restorative sleep is soursop leaf tea. There are a lot of benefits that you can reap from drinking soursop leaf tea, because it’s a highly nutritious plant. The fruit of the soursop plant is delicious and there is a strong case for it being antibacterial, antimicrobial, and anticarcinogenic. But we’re not talking about the fruit: the leaves are what interest me most (when it comes to fibro).

I first learned about soursop leaf tea from Debbie over at The Jamaican Cooking Journey. I’m inserting her video about soursop tea for your convenience:

When she mentioned that soursop tea is good for your nerves, I knew I had to try it! So I did, and I’m so glad that I took a chance on it. It helps me to sleep like a baby! Remeber, fibromyalgia is a neurological issue, not a musculoskeletal one, so by address nerve dysfunction, you can reduce or eliminate most of your symptoms.

Because I love science, here are some articles about soursop (graviola) that are worth checking out: WebMD article; Anti-microbial Efficacy of Soursop Leaf Extract (Annona muricata) on Oral Pathogens: An In-vitro Study; Anticancer Properties of Graviola (Annona muricata): A Comprehensive Mechanistic Review. I believe in doing due diligence and seeing what the science says, and I encourage you all to do the same.

I am posting my video that I did on this topic, and in that video, I share my results from consuming soursop leaf tea:

Please note, I am not a doctor and I’m not offering medical advice or solutions. That being said, I’ve enjoyed using soursop leaf tea as part of my regimen to encourage deeper and more restorative sleep. Try it and let me know your results!