Tag: summer 2018

international

Another Visit to the Embassy of Haiti

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Recently, I visited the Haitian Embassy again: this time, it was for a cocktail-hour social event. The Embassy of Haiti is easily my favorite, and anytime I can find an excuse to go, I make it my business to be there.

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Bust of Toussaint L’Ouverture in the embassy

The last time I visited the embassy was last year, during the Around the World Embassy Tour weekend. Unfortunately, my time in the embassy was limited: it was my last stop during the tour and the embassy was closing within 30 minutes of my arrival. However, you couldn’t tell that the embassy was about to close by how gracious the staff was: the diplomats at the embassy were so charming, warm and friendly. This evening at the embassy was much of the same: the congenial spirit of Haiti was on full display.

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Photograph of His Excellency Jovenel Moise, President of Haiti

The food for the evening was catered by Gisele’s Creole Cuisine, and it was excellent! I’m fairly certain I’ve never had authentic Haitian food, so it was a real treat for me. I wish I had taken pictures of the food but alas, I was too busy eating!

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Gerard Valcin, Agoue Ceremony, 1977

The embassy is my favorite because of the fact that is absolutely gorgeous on the inside, and it could easily double as a Haitian museum. There is so much breathtakingly beautiful art on the walls that I never realized that they have a LIBRARY on site. I almost squealed out loud when I stumbled into the simple but elegant library that housed all sorts of books on Haitian history, culture, art, food, politics – you name it!

So, it’s official: I want to live in the Haitian Embassy. Just put an air mattress on the first floor and I’ll be set LOL! Seriously though, I don’t know why more people aren’t talking about the beauty of this embassy. It is easily one of my favorite places in DC, and I fall more in love with it every time I go. If you ever get a chance to go to this embassy, DO IT! You’ll be glad that you did.

beauty

More Beauty Reviews Coming!

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Happy Monday friends! It’s been a less-than-productive weekend (aside from working on my writing) because I had some beautiful distractions cross my path. Having my focus elsewhere was great for adding some variety to my daily routine.

But now that things are back to normal, I can get back into what matters – beauty reviews! I purchased a boatload of products that I’m dying to try out, and some overdue reviews from a while back. Yeah, I’ve been slacking a bit, but you have to forgive me: between my birthday and those previously mentioned distractions, I didn’t have much time!

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If you want to get sneak previews of some of the products I’ll be trying, be sure to follow my Instagram and see some of the goodies that will eventually make their way over to the blog. Here’s a sneak preview of the last product shipment I got:

I have some more fun posts coming this week, so stay tuned. Talk to you all tomorrow!

fitness

Day 43 – 49 of My Fitness Challenge

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Halfway through my fitness challenge, and I’m still plugging along. Things have been really good overall, so I’m happy to share this week’s report.

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This week went SO much better! I ate much closer to my intended eating plan so I had a lot of energy. I also got a lot of “accidental” exercise; for instance, the elevators in my building decided to stop working, and I had to walk up 7 flights of stairs. Funny enough, this was my first full week where I didn’t pop into the gym and yet I moved more this week than normal.

However, this week is going to be more intentional. In fact, the remainder of my fitness challenge will be more focused, structured and challenging. I have a big trip coming in October and I want to look my best for it. So, I’ll amp up the exercise, clean up my diet even more, and keep watching my body transform. This is so exciting! I love the changes I’m seeing!

 

life curation

Motivation for Writers

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Hey folks! Today’s post is going to be a super-short one, because I am majorly behind on my 1000-words-per-day goal. I don’t mind occasionally falling behind, but I don’t want to have to do a mad dash at any point because I’ve slacked too much. So, today is a writing day. Time to play catch up!

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However, if you’re a writer looking for a little motivation, check out this podcast from Side Hustle Nation. This is one of the earlier podcasts available on the website. An author lays out his exact formula for writing success including (you guessed it) a minimum writing quota that helps him generate enough content to create his books. This could easily work with any genre, and can be tweaked to accommodate anyone’s schedule. I highly recommend listening to this one if you’re a writer: I’ve listened to it more than once!

In fact, while you’re on Side Hustle Nation, check out all of the self-publishing podcasts and blog posts: you’ll find so many great resources for aspiring writers there. Have fun gleaning all sorts of tips, tricks and recommendations to help you achieve writing success!

relaxation · travel

Review: TownePlace Suites Hotel in Cary, NC

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I’ve been to Raleigh numerous times, but when I visit, I stay in Cary, a small incorporated town bordering the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area. Every time I visit, I stay at the TownePlace Suites, a cozy aparthotel that meets all of my needs.

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Quiet? Check!

Conveniently located? Check!

Reasonably priced? Check!

Ample amenities? Check!

Eligible for reward points? Check!

I always love my stays here and I’ve raved about it each and every time. However, I wasn’t blogging when I’ve visited previously. So now that I’ve had a recent visit, I can finally share this information with you all!

Instead of adding a bunch of photos, you can check out this video room tour. I stayed in the studio-style suite with an “office” (it had a desk area). If you’re ever in the area, I can’t recommend this hotel enough!

life curation · travel

Why I Have To Get Away . . .

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Recently, I had an acquaintance comment on the frequency of my getaways. As you all know, I like to go on short and long trips as much as possible. The gist of what was said was, “It must be nice to get away whenever you want [. . . ] I wish I could do that [. . .] But it’s not like you actually need to travel [. . .]”.

Funny thing is, I do need to travel. I feel a bit bored and uninspired when I spend too much time in my routine. I crave the experience of going new places and seeing new things. I truly feel that traveling has made me a better person: I’m more creative, more educated, and more comfortable within my own skin due to my traveling experiences.

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For me, getting away is a necessity. I must have different experiences and see new faces. It’s part of what gives me new things to discuss and new ideas to ponder. My last trip to Raleigh left me buzzing with excitement and clarity regarding what I want to do over the next year. I also felt so much PEACE, as I was enjoying a stay at one of my favorite hotels in the Raleigh/Durham area. It makes such a difference to my state of mind when I can disconnect from the ordinary and spend some time living at the pace that I choose.

I know that I’m not the only one that loves travel, and I realize that there are a lot of people that want to travel but can’t quite figure out how to afford it. I will be remaking a video describing how I can afford to travel. The original video was on my Instagram live feed but I would like to “polish it up” before I add it to YouTube. When that video is finished, I’ll come over here and let you all know. I know you’re going to love it!

art · life curation

The Dark Side of the Art World

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As an art fanatic and insatiable autodidact, I stay on the lookout for interesting resources for learning more about the art world. My current favorite e-learning website, Future Learn, has yet another great course related to art. This time, the course dives into the dark side of the art world. Antiquities Trafficking and Art Crime “delve[s] into the seedy underbelly of the art world, looking at smuggling, theft, fakes, and fraud […]”.

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I don’t know about you, but this course sounds like it will be great for indulging my inner spy! So yes, I’ll be doing this course. Depending on how quickly I go through the materials, I may explore another Future Learn course before the end of summer. For now, though, I’m going to concentrate on this course.

Thinking about art crime, I remember watching a cute Audrey Hepburn movie years ago, about an art forger that was on the brink of getting caught. I can’t remember all of the details of the movie, but I may watch it again to refresh my memory. The movie is How to Steal a Million, and it’s starring Audrey Hepburn (as mentioned previously) and Peter O’Toole. From what I recall, it was a light and cute comedy, so you may want to check it out.

Anyhoo, that’s it for today. I’ve got some running around to do today but I’ll be back tomorrow. Ciao!

 

art

Review: Nasher Museum of Art

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During my trip to Raleigh, I had a chance to tour the Nasher Museum of Art (Nasher). The museum is located on Duke University’s campus and was easy to find. Nasher’s focus is contemporary art from artists of color, though there were several exhibits that covered ancient and more modern periods of time.

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I spent a few hours enjoying the exhibits and taking a few pictures for you all. I will be doing a separate post about one (maybe two) of the exhibits that really caught my eye. Until then, enjoy!

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Uncategorized

Updated Barbie Wish List

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Do you all remember when I wrote about how I love Barbie and still collect them? Well, I’ve gotten all of the dolls I wanted from that previous post (and a few others . . . ). Now, I have a bunch of new Barbies that I’m dying to add to my collection because it’s obvious to me that Mattel likes for me to spend all of my money with them. Whatevs.

I don’t know what it is about Barbie: I’d love to attribute my fascination to nostalgia, but I think it’s something else. Probably the glamour? Hmm, I’m not sure if the glamour of Barbie is enough to keep me buying over and over again. I do know that I’ve always loved dress up, and seeing dolls in gorgeous outfits resonates with me. In any case, here’s what’s on my current wish list:

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Selma DuPar James Doll

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Blue Chiffon Ball Gown Barbie Doll

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Barbie Fashionistas Doll 93

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Ibtihaj Muhammad Doll

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Barbie 2018 Holiday Doll

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Barbie Styled by Marni Senofonte Doll

 

fitness

Day 36 – 42 of My Fitness Challenge

Mstldelano3 Comments

Is it still a “challenge” if you’ve fallen off a bit?

I hope so, because I fully intend to get BACK onto the fitness bandwagon this upcoming week. This past week wasn’t as focused as I would have liked.

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For starters, I got sick in the middle of the week and on one of the days, I spent all day in bed. That was really tough for me, because I prefer to be up and moving, but my body responded well to the rest so I’m not going to fret about it. I also spent a lot of time sleeping over the past few days (the biggest thing missing from my regular routine is adequate rest). I still have a cough but I’m feeling better overall. I found myself wanting to eat outside of my eating window while I’ve been under the weather, and I indulged because I believe in being gentle with myself.

I got plenty of exercise though not all of it came from gym time. I ended up doing quite a bit more walking than normal this week. During the upcoming week, I’ll be incorporating more than just cardio in my routine: I’d love to see the results that I can get from strength/resistance training.

That’s it for the week: getting back on track and changing up the exercises. I’m excited to see what this upcoming week will be like!