Tag: life

life curation · travel

An Abbreviated Travel Itinerary

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Happy Thursday, beloveds! I’m enjoying my first full day in Raleigh, NC and, if all goes well, I’ll have a special treat for you all in the next few days. I thought I’d share with you all some of the basic things I consider when planning my travel. I hope it helps you to plan your perfect trip!

checklist

Make a list, check it twice

  • Visit to at least one museum
  • Dine at one of the finest restaurants in the area
  • Dine at a “local favorite” (a restaurant most highly recommended by people living in town)
  • Spend time in a park, at a river or on a trail in the city I’m visiting
  • Shop at a local thrift store
  • View the local monuments and the downtown area
  • Visit a local bookstore

Whenever I plan a trip, I try to include as many of these things as possible. For me, these things comprise an ideal trip: shopping, dining, sightseeing, books, and some time in nature. Every now and then, I can incorporate two or more of these things in one outing (for instance, a visit to a park in the downtown area that’s located a block or two away from the “local favorite” restaurant).

One item that I didn’t list on this sample itinerary that I *hope* you all will include is REST. I can’t begin to describe how hard it is to do all of the fun stuff you’ve planned when you’re exhausted. So make sure that SLEEP is part of your plans, as well!

That’s it for my mini-itinerary. Enjoy your Friday, and I’ll talk to you all tomorrow!

 

 

 

life curation

More About My Finished Book . . .

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Happy Tuesday, friends! Today’s post is going to be a light one, because I’m preparing for my trip out of town and I’m taking care of a few open items that need my attention before I get away for a few days . . .

typewriter

Thankful that I don’t have to type on one of these beauties . . .

Anyhoo, I just wanted to give you updates on my finished book. I gave it to a few friends for feedback, and they’ve spoken. They love it! I’m so excited, because I need that vote of confidence before I move forward. I trust that they will tell me if there are any topics that need to be discussed further or if there were any incomplete thoughts or unclear ideas. They all confirmed that the book was complete, well-written and immediately actionable.

The SIGH of relief that I felt when I got their feedback was tremendous! I’m eager to get a little more feedback before publishing, but at this point, I’m really happy that it’s being well-received. Every bit of feedback brings me closer to making the book available to the public, so this has been a great experience.

art · travel

Flashback to Kansas City, Pt. 2 – The Kemper and Nelson-Atkins Museums

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I mentioned in a previous post that I had spent some time in Kansas City, MO and I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent there. In that post, I mentioned that I visited 18th and Vine and I also went to the Jazz Museum there. This post discusses two different cultural institutions in Kansas City – the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

The Kemper Museum was, sadly, closed when I went. However, there was an enchanting outdoors sculpture garden that I photographed while I was there. Fun fact: while en route to the Kemper Museum, I saw a chipmunk for the first time (they aren’t as common in the area where I currently live). I enjoyed the sculpture garden so much that I vowed to return to Kemper and see the works inside of the museum. My return trip hasn’t happened yet, but I suspect that it won’t be much longer before that trip becomes a reality.

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Sculpture of Bellephoron taming Pegasus

The Crying Giant at the Kemper Museum

Spider Statue on the lawn of the Kemper Museum

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A much younger me posed under the giant spider

After leaving Kemper, I went to Nelson-Atkins, where I promptly fell in love with the meticulously maintained grounds and gardens. This was a very popular spot for newlyweds, as I saw at least 5 different wedding parties taking photographs on the lawn. I knew that these were different wedding parties because I counted the different colored bridesmaids dresses that I saw with each group!

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Exterior of Nelson-Atkins – it looked like one of DC’s museums

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Close up detailing on a vase on the exterior of the museum

Two of the famous giant shuttlecocks on the lawn of the Nelson Atkins Museum

Rodin’s The Thinker at the museum

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A view of the lawn

Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures inside of the museum, but I have a few from from the exterior. I would love to return to Kansas City and do a proper tour of both museums. Fingers crossed, I’ll be able to make that trip happen within a year!

fitness

Days 22 – 28 of My Fitness Challenge

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Happy Sunday friends! I’m delighted to say that I think I’ve FINALLY found a really good health and fitness routine for me. I incorporated the elements of this routine at the beginning of the week, and I’ve enjoyed how I’m feeling, so I think I’ll keep it up!

Last week, I mentioned that a friend recommended intermittent fasting (IF) to me, and I gave it a try. This week, I stuck to the IF plan for 6 out of 7 days. The IF routine that I’m following consists of fasting for 16 hours and limiting my food intake to an 8-hour block of time per day (16-8 plan). I usually begin eating at 10 or 10:30 AM and have my last meal before 6 or 6:30 PM. After this time, the only thing I will allow myself is water or herbal tea. Likewise, before I have my first meal, I’ll only have water or tea.

sneakers

If all continues to go well, I will eventually transition to a 17-7 plan (17 fasting hours, 7 eating hours). The goal is to eat using the 18-6 plan consistently.

During my 8 hour eating window, I’ve eaten whatever I want, including some junk food. I took off my food restrictions while I tested out the eating times because I wanted to see how my body would react to “cheat day” meals while doing IF. All went well, so it’s time to really kick this into gear. Now that I’ve settled into a routine, I’ll go to the store and stock up on a bunch of good-for-you foods so that I can compound the positive effects of IF.

Speaking of positive effects, I noticed that I slept well and had more energy. I noticed less bloating and even my skin looks a little better. This could all be coincidence, but I’m pretty observant and I notice small bodily changes, so I’m thinking that I can credit all of this to IF.

I worked out five times this week and have already started to see my body beginning to tone up a bit. I used an old trick to get back into consistently working out: I wore my workout clothing to the office. You see, my gym is in the building where I work, so wearing gym clothes to the office practically forced me to go to the gym before I start working. I’ll continue to wear the workout clothes to the office so that I won’t have any excuses for not going to the gym.

Well, that’s it for this week’s update. I look forward to having some more great updates in a week. Thanks for stopping by, and talk to you all tomorrow!

reading list

Book Review: Your Life By Design By Curtis R. Estes

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I had to schedule this book review a little later this month, because I had a really hard time making it through this book for the purpose of reviewing it. You’ll understand a bit later why writing this review was challenging.

writing

The book I selected to read during the month of June was Your Life by Design by Curtis R. Estes. I’ve had this book for several years but never managed to read it – until now. The book is a series of exercises and examples designed to help the reader examine current patterns and choices. After examining the present, the reader is gently lead through the process of creating and executing a new vision – a vision that reflects the reader’s closely held values and desires.

In short, this is a workbook that requires thoughtfulness and time as you complete the exercises. That, by default, makes it a difficult book to “review”, since there are actions required from the reader in order to get the most out of the text and I sincerely feel that these exercises should not be “rushed”.

This book contains many fantastic tips for examining lifestyle balance and harmony. I’m a fan of how this book emphasizes looking at your life and determining how much joy you derive from your activities. For instance, I was intrigued by Estes’ personal calendar, that not only listed out his activities for the day but also assigned an emotional score to each activity (identifying how happy or unhappy he was about completing that particular task) as well as a list of the day’s overall goals and the expenditures required for the day. This holistic view of the day really helps to put individual activities into perspective.

All that being said, I HIGHLY recommend the book for anyone trying to create new patterns and a clearer vision for his or her life. The steps are great for creating the kind of changes that will nurture and boost behaviors that contribute to a quality lifestyle. I thoroughly enjoyed this workbook. In fact, I liked it so well that I decided that I would be going through the exercises, individually, in the fall of this year.

fitness

Days 15 – 21 of My Fitness Challenge

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Happy Sunday, friends! I’m three weeks into my fitness challenge and I’m getting additional insights with every passing day. This is going well!

healthy

One of my friends recommended that I try a version of intermittent fasting. The concept resonated with me, so I’m thinking about trying a version of it during the upcoming week. If it works for me, I’ll keep doing it. If it doesn’t, I’ll let it go. I’m not interested in torturing myself, or making myself uncomfortable, just to see the numbers shift on the scale.

I am now at the point where I’m looking for support on my health journey. A visit to my doctor during the week yielded some good ideas, including the decision to start utilizing my health app on my iPhone (I didn’t even know it was there!) and using the Blue Cross Blue Shield Wellness website to help keep me accountable. I’ll be trying those during the week and seeing if I can make those tools part of my healthcare arsenal.

That’s all for this week. During the upcoming week, I expect to report some intensified activity (both in the dietary and the exercise realms) so look out for that next week. Thanks for stopping by, and talk to you all tomorrow!

beauty

Beauty Review: Fenty Beauty Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter

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Yup, I have another Fenty Beauty product to review! I know that all of my reviews are a bit late (I wasn’t eager to hop on the Fenty bandwagon) but I am finally getting a chance to replace my empties and stock up on new items.

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I got the Fenty Bomb Baby Mini Lip and Face set with the Fenty Glow lip gloss and (the product I’m reviewing today) the Killawatt highlighter. The highlighter shade enclosed in the set is Hu$tla Baby, described as a “peachy champagne” shade. The full sized Killawatt Highlighter comes as a duo: Hu$tla Baby is paired with Mean Money, a softer champagne shimmery hue.

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Hu$tla Baby

I swatched Hu$tla Baby and I swooned – the shade is so pretty! It looks peachy before using the flash, and is a shimmery, multidimensional gold when the flash hits it. This is so flattering on so many skintones: I loved how it looked on my skin! The subtle glow lasted all day, and looked incredible. You have to use a light touch when applying this product: it’s super-pigmented and a small amount goes a long way. You get a lot of bang for your buck with this one.

Hu$tla Baby without flash, and swatch without flash – blended on the top, concentrated on the bottom

The Mini set is $23, while the full-sized highlighter is $34. I’ll be investing in the large one as soon as my mini runs out. This is such a fun product – I highly recommend it!

 

Uncategorized

It’s Almost My Blog-A-Versary!

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I let some of the days get past me, but we’re less than a month away from my blog-a-versary! I’m so excited to be celebrating one full year of blogging here at Bronze Butterfly. It’s been such an enjoyable journey, and I’m eager to start unveiling some new stuff in this space.

Untitled design

I’ve got some pretty incredible stuff coming in the year ahead, and I’ll be posting more about that in the very near future. I also have some updates to share – including resuming my “Best Year of Your Life” series, which I put on hold while I worked on a few others things – and some other fun changes.

There is some great things on the horizon – I hope you’re ready! Talk to you all tomorrow!

fitness

Days 8 – 14 of My Fitness Challenge

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This week was so much better! More exercise, better food choices, and LOTS more water, sleep and relaxation.

kettlebells

You may have noticed that I haven’t been including measurements or weigh-ins. Well, to be honest with you all (and I do strive to be honest), those are good metrics if I just needed to change things for the sole purpose of hitting a weight goal. But that isn’t my plan.

Sure, this started as a “challenge”, and I plan to drastically increase the good habits and decrease the bad ones. But hitting a particular weight is no longer my only goal: now, I want to change my way of being. I’m striving to feel great and look great, so I’m concentrating more on my day-to-day “wins” and letting those accumulate. The more daily wins I experience, the closer I’ll be to hitting my weight “goal” but, more importantly, I’ll be closer to hitting the overall health goals that I’ve set for myself.

For that reason, I think I’ll extend this “challenge” beyond 31 days, and make it a weekly update until I’m inspired to stop recording any progress.I’m also not going to commit to follow the Brittne Babe plan religiously, though I think it’s great for those that are inspired to do it that way. I tried, but I didn’t enjoy it at this point: I’ll try it again, before the end of the year, and I’ll see if I’m more inspired at that time.

Anyhoo, that’s this week’s update. I’ll talk to you all tomorrow!

hollywood glamour

It’s a Sheila Guyse Weekend for Me!

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A smile that could light up any screen

A couple of weeks ago, I threw myself into a Lena Horne movie marathon. I love watching old black-and-white movies because beauty, style and class are always worth watching.

A few years ago, I watched the movie, “Boy What a Girl!“ and I was captivated by one of the actresses. The actress that really lit up the screen was Sheila Guyse. She played Francine, one of the two daughters of the wealthy Mr. Cummings. She was a gorgeous and talented actress – it’s a shame that she isn’t well known today.

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Guyse as Francine Cummings, with Alan Jackson as Mr. Cummings

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Another photo of Guyse, this time with Betti Mays who played her sister, Cristola Cummings

In honor of Sheila Guyse’s birthday (July 14th) I’m watching three of her movies this weekend. Luckily for us, all of these movies are available on Archive.org and YouTube, so you can enjoy them for free.

A radiant Guyse in Sepia Cinderella

Boy What a Girl was my introduction to Guyse, but I’ve never seen the other two movies on the roster, Sepia Cinderella and Miracle in Harlem. I’ve added some stills from each of the movies, so you can see why she was a sought-after actress during her career.

Serving smoldering side eye in Miracle in Harlem

These movies are not only a tribute to Guyse, but a way for me to celebrate the book that I just finished! I’ll be back with fitness challenge updates tomorrow. Talk to you all soon!

 

Ending this post with a wink and smile (from Boy What a Girl)