Love

"If you don’t define yourself for yourself then you will be crushed into other's fantasies of you and eaten alive"- 

Audre Lorde  via Love Jones

Cha-Cha-Chia!

you be the JUDGE!

Spring Ahead

Beautiful

I was walking by an office at my place of work and I saw an adorable little girl smiling at me ever so sweetly. I went on about my business and once I had a moment I went back to determine just who she belonged to. She was just too cute!

As it turns out, I knew her mother. In fact, I have spoken with her mother quite often about natural hair. as she is apart of an interracial couple and was learning all about how to manage 3 heads of lovely African-American hair :) After making that connection I shared with both mother and child how grateful I was to receive such a welcoming smile from a lovely child.

My colleague then told me she had asked her daughter who was there earlier. Her daughter had responded to her mother, "I don't know who she is but she's beautiful". It was humbling to receive such a sweet compliment from an unassuming child. But, my first thought was gratefulness that her daughter was able to appreciate my brown hue. I should have known she would have that depth of understanding for her mother sacrificed her longer straight locks to care for the courser hair of her daughters, previously saying to me she could afford (time and energy) to care for only three heads of hair and not four!

A small sacrifice but a noble one, I thought, as she sought to give her daughters an appreciation of their own diverse beauty. For those things begin at home lest we allow the world to define us. It was a small but impactful moment to me.

Anyway, with that little girl as my inspiration I will share with you a little about my outfit today. Its just a perfectly lovely go to work dress in my most favored hue of navy blue with cool jewel tones to give the pattern some depth.

The dress is on sale now at Old Navy.com. Ha, I just made the connection that Old Navy is feeding my goal of acquiring navy colored clothing!  See the dress on sale here. I finished it with boots from Loehman's, belt to give some shape to my straight and thick frame from New York & Company. Purple earrings thrifted (Unique Thrift Riverdale, NY), bracelet from Mandee and headscarf gifted from my sister. All items already in my closet when I received this dress in my mailbox on yesterday. ((It helps to work from a similar palette. It makes coordinating your clothing a snap!))

Thanks to my sister  Kim, for finding the dress and sending me the link.  Perfect for the Bronx's very first day of true Spring.

 Enjoi~

I didn't even need the cape!

 

(Thanks to my photographer Ayesha for the shots)

Joi (y)

sometimes you have those days. the one where night falls into day.
the times where you know you were born to do it.

the moments where your life was more than through it.
when day turned to night and you lived through it.

the moments where you feel this air. breath this breath.
and all through it you... you just know that you were meant to do this.


to tackle this life and beat it down like a man.
to look the devil in the eye and laugh like hell at his plans.

days you know where not meant for man.
days you did not plan. even when you miss yo' man.

you can stand. you can lie. you can cry.
might even die if your master sees fit.

but you don't bug. you don't trip.
you just smile right through it.

that's it. the day you experience true Joi.


oh boy, when HE made me he broke the mold.
The story is yet untold. But HE foretold it.

He don't condone it all. But Lawd He don't leave me.
He loves me despite it all.  Even after the fall.


He gives me joy. breathes new life into this life of strife.
new joy in me, oh boy!

that's all. it's me after the Fall. through it all.

Box Braids! My Latest, My Greatest, Hair Obsession

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