EVER WANTING

THE SUMMER THAT NEVER WAS

2021-09-22T15:30:00.001-07:00

The summer that never was...

As summer officially comes to an end, a bit of relection of the summer that never was...I lost my mother in July so summer for me just wasn't what I had hoped it would be this year.

These images do not represent my summer, they are more of a "visual optimism" of what my summer could have been. So here's to chasing the sun, walks on the beach, rosè sippers, road trips and counting the stars and keeping summer on the brain.

Enjoy and Be Inspired!

"Summertime is always the best of what might be."

~Charles Bowden

My beautiful mother...Rest In Paradise.

ALAMEDA ANTIQUES FAIRE

2021-09-09T15:45:00.003-07:00

Sunday's shananigans with my sister Rhonda, we did something we haven't done in years, mostly because she lives in Atlanta, but we visted the Alameda Point Antiques Faire and it was just like old times. There was shopping, laughing, haggling, with vendors from all over, it was our sister time, our bonding time. It was the perfect day for outside activities and the weather was georgeous. We walked and walked, browsed everythig from vintage Levi's to amtique home decor and collectables and everything inbetween. Enjoy and Be Inspired!

Overalls, overalls, overalls

My sister Rhonda aka "eagle eye" with another amazing find.

Could't belive the seller wanted $175 for this sweatshirt.

This vendor has some beautiful dresses and kaftans.

These Moroccan textiles tho!

My sissy!

I love southweat silver and tourquoise jewelry.

An antique Coca Cola bottle opener

Tigger collection.

Vintage mini wicker peacock chair.

Love the color of this pitcher.

This cute miniture repilca of a cast iron, wood burning stove with accessories.

See my previous post on the bay's best flea market here.

The faire is every 1st Sunday of the month. The next faire is October 3rd.

**Mask will continue to be required & pets are NOT allowed!!**

all images are mine except 1st and 9th images.

PROCEED.

2021-05-11T13:30:00.001-07:00

A few lovely and inspiring words and pictures on finding your way, the power of positive thinking, manifesting the good, believing that great things will happen, reflexion and living the life you deserve. Here's to finding your own sunshine.

Enjoy and Be Inspired!

"If you think you are beaten, you are;

If you think you dare not, you don’t;

If you’d like to win, but think you can’t,

It’s almost a cinch you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost,

For out in the word we find

Success begins with a fellow’s will,

It’s all in the state of mind..."

~ Walter D. Wintle, 'The Man Who Thinks He Can'

REFRESHED & RENEWED

2021-05-05T14:00:00.010-07:00

Hello Friends! I am back! I really didn't expect to be away for so long, but try as I might, my focus just wasn't on blogging. But here I am 7 months later and back at it with renewed inspiration, intentions for the rest of the year and fully vaccinated.
Enjoy and Be Inspired!

Just a few things that I hope resonate with you...

1. I am hoping the rest of 2021 brings you promise, possibilities, and fresh journeys.

2. Please take care of your mind....thoughts are powerful.

3. Cultivate helpful habits.

4. Savor simple pleasures and take stock of what matters most.

5. And last but not least I hope you truly find "Where The Money Resides".

"The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams”~anon

BLACK GIRL SUMMER

2020-09-22T23:34:00.001-07:00

"I am dripping melanin, and honey, I am black without apology". Ode to the black girl summer that never was. Enjoy and Be Inspired!Yara Shahidi for Hunger MagazineLiya Kebede for Porter MagazineArlenis Sosa for New York Times Style Magazine

Tifeny Moreira forLucy's Magazine

Nneoma Anosike for Sommer Swim - InstagramRadiant Health Magazine InstagramKaren Alexander (my fav!)Arlenis Sosa for Porter Magazine

source unknown

SUMMER IS FLEETING

2020-09-19T13:04:00.001-07:00

Mood to moment, inescapable and eternal...My moodboard for the summer that really wasn't. Enjoy and Be Inspired!

Summer is fleeting,

Memories are inescapable and

Moments are eternal.

~S. Barnett

GETTING THROUGH IT PART 3

2020-08-29T11:04:00.000-07:00

How are you coping during Covid-19? I know we're all looking forward to reuniting with friends and with loved ones, and getting back to some sense of normality like being able to travel safely, visit museums again, taking trips to the aquarium and exploring our state and national parks.

Although we may not be able to go to the places we used to go to and do the things that we use to do, we can still see online exhibits, visit bucket-list destinations around the world without leaving the couch, tour national parks, caverns, canyons, volcanoes and old ship wrecks and even tour The Great Barrier Reef...virtually that is...I mean who knew there was a vast world of virtual tours just waiting to be explored? With everything from walking tours of the best cities in the US, to drives up the coast and destination travel, you name it. If staying indoors is priority then perhaps virtual tours are better suited for you. Enjoy and Be Inspired!

VIRTUAL TOURS...

Google Arts & Culture and Google Earth are also great resources for virtual tours, click the link here and here to explore. Buzzfeed has compiled a listing of virtual tours on travel, museums, outdoor adventures and more, all of which you can find here.

MUSEUM TOURS

Google Arts & Culture offers a vast collection with over 2500 top museums and galleries from the Guggenheim in NYC to the British Museum in London found here, here and here.

LIFE AQUATIC

MONTEREY BAY CAM & AQUARIUM & DEEP SEA WANDERLUST

Enjoy a variety of live cam featuring the coral reef, kelp forest, Monterey Bay, the shark cam and many others found here and here.

THE GREAT BARRIER REEF

Virtual tour of The Great Barrier Reef visit here. For more links to virtual tours and resources visit here.

WONDERS OF THE WORLD

Visit the 7 Wonders of The World here.

NATIONAL PARK TOURS

Google Arts & Culture Nation Park Tours found here, here, and here...Google Earth also offers tours of 30 other national parks with 360 degree video, see here.

Tour Yosemite National Park visit here.

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

Acadia National Park in Maine.

VIRTUAL TRAVEL TOURS

Travel the world without leaving your couch with live streams of far-off places and beautiful destinations found here, and here.

LOTS MORE TO VIRTUALLY EXPLORE

Want to explore more?

Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park here.
Dry Tortugas National Park here.
Kenai Fjords National Park in Alaska here.

More resources of The Great Barrier Reef visit here.

A live feed of the Grand Canyon click here.

Some of your favorite National Parks can be found here.

Want to stand on a glacier virtually? Click here.
The Hidden Worlds of National Parks visit here (frickin ah-mazing!).

Virtual rock climbing on El Capitan, in Yosemite National Park via Google Treks, click here to start the climb.

RESOURCES

Travel and Leisure

Google Arts & Culture
Google Earth

Conde Nast Traveler

Buzz Feed
Air Pano
Insider
Monterey Bay
Nomad and In Love
Earth Cam

GETTING THROUGH IT PART 2

2020-08-21T15:50:00.000-07:00

How are you holding up?
Did someone mention wine? Sign up for a online course on the fundamentals of wine, or ever sign up for a wine delivery service. Are you finding the time to lose yourself in good book? How about getting lost in a little visual optimism within the pages of a coffee table book on travel, interior design, or fashion? Are meditation & mindfulness apps like Calm (my favorite), getting you through these stressful and anxiety filled days? Have you been wanting to learn a new skill? Now is a great time to do so with sites like Skill Share, Adobe, and Master Class. How about being your own barista, and did I mention wine? Virtual happy hour anyone?
Enjoy and Be Inspired!
WINE O'CLOCK

A sweet moscato, a crisp chardonnay, a sparkling white, or a throaty red? For a listing alcohol delivery services click here. Black owned wineries like the McBride Sisters, and a complete listing found here. Skillshare has a short course on "Getting Started with Wine".

VISUAL OPTIMISM & GOOD READS

Coffee table books, novels, audio books and ebooks...escape-ism, time travel and adventure await!

MEDITATION & MINDFULNESS APPS

Feeling more anxious lately? Stop, Think & Breath...We could all use a wellness retreat right about now. These Apps offer help with solutions and help with anxiety, stress even sleep.

Calm - You can choose scenes from tropical beach to calm river to evening crickets that play relaxing sounds, breathing exercises and mindful movement techniques, sleep stories, music and meditations.

Headspace - Provides the user with spoken-word exercises that are designed to be used for around 10 minutes a day.

Sattva - Guided and inspiring daily meditations and mood trackers.

Shine - This self-care app with personalized affirmations, motivational messages,

Buddhify - This mindfulness app, meditation sessions are organized by theme according to where you are in your day. It is widely known to be one of the best apps for anxiety, and is personalized.

Aura - Provides daily micro-meditations that last only three minutes apiece. Aura helps users relieve stress and anxiety. You can listen to sounds of nature.

Stop, Breath & Think - If you need more structure and motivation to start your meditation habit, for kids and adults.

You can find more resources for meditation, mindfulness and mental health apps here, here and here.

WHAT TO DO?

LEARNING A NEW SKILL & ONLINE CLASSES

No time like the present to learn a new skill whether it's to reach a career goal or to grow your social following or a course of how to make money online from blogging to creative writing, coding, or even a course in photography, there are so many free online and inexpensive classes to choose from.

Skill Share is an online learning community.

Udemy Provides online learning resources, connecting students all over the world to the best instructors.

Master Class is the streaming platform that makes it possible for anyone to watch or listen to hundreds of video lessons taught by 85+ of the world’s best.

Adobe training courses for the Creative Cloud

Coursera is a great platform for achieving your goals whether it's learn the latest skills, certification and development training.

You can find more resources here, here and here.

GETTING THROUGH IT PART 1

2020-08-20T17:10:00.000-07:00

How are you holding up? Live on IG dance parties (Thank you DNice)?
Wellness & Self-care should be a priority whether it's an at-home spa day or a luxurious bubble bath. How about brightening your space with colorful flowers and lush plants? Or even starting your own garden? Backyard or balcony, or indoors? Exploring nature whether it’s a long walk through a beautiful garden or a stroll on the beach. Just getting outdoors (following proper social distancing and wearing a mask of course), bike riding, road trippin or even day trippin? Virtual tours? Who is hopping on a plane right now? As much as I daydream of being at a 5-Star tropical paradise, virtual travel is enough to fill my wanderlust cup for now.
Enjoy and Be Inspired!

WELLNESS

Be still, take the time to breath and take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health.Wellness resources ...self care ideas for black women found here, you can find self care tips here. Visit MILQ Magaznie and Radiant Health Magazine for more topics on wellness, health and lifestyle, both dedicated to the health of black women and Well and Good. The Thirty has a great article title "24 Things to Do During Quarantine".

SELF-CARE...ME TIME

SCENT HAS A MEMORY

Restore your sanity by creating Create your own spa day or a relaxation zone, with aroma therapy, indulge in fragrance...perfume, essentials oils, scented candles. Try a new sheet mask or a new body scrub, or splurge on that luxurious body oil. For tips and ideas visit here, here and here.

FLOWERS & GARDENING

The easiest way to freshen up and brighten up your space is with pretty flowers.

We know that keeping certain indoor plants in your home is actually good for your health but gardening also offers its own benefits, and there are so many options for

easy to care for indoor and outdoor plants, visit here and here.

THE BENEFITS OF WALKING

The perfect low impact exercise, especially if you haven't exercised in awhile, it's fun, relaxing and good for your health, it also has the ability to lower your blood pressure and strengthen your heart. For more on the benefits of walking and how it can improve your health visit here and here.

OUTDOORS

Get some vitamin D and some fresh-air (exercising social distancing of course), long walks, quiet time with nature, and take pictures.

BIKE RIDING

A bike ride makes for an ideal socially distant activity it's fun, it's easy to stay six feet apart, and it's a physical exercise that will get your body moving, see here for activities to do outside.

ROAD TRIP OR DAY TRIP?

Take a road trip or just go for an extra-long scenic drive to see some nature and change up your perspective. The Every Girl has a great article on The Best Summer Road Trips in Every State.

City explorer, coastal cruisin, or nature lover or just up for sight seeing and shopping? The benefits of living in the bay area are endless for a day trip excursion. California has the most national parks, and no shortage of quaint and scenic coastal towns, so open the sunroof, crank up the tunes, and hit the road most notably Highway 1 and the PCH aka Pacific Coast Highway. For more Bay Area day trip ideas visit here. This article on mistakes to avoid on a road trip.

VIRTUAL WALKING & DRIVING TOURS

If staying indoors is priority then perhaps virtual tours are better suited for you...who knew there was such a thing as virtual drive tours and virtual walking tours? These Wind Walk Travel videos aka virtual walking tours are absolutely brilliant! You can virtually travel to Manhattan, the Santa Monica Pier, San Antonio, TX, Hawaii just to name a few. I find that these virtual videos also help with my anxiety, it lets me focus on something else. You can also visit YouTube and do a general search for virtual travel and be instantly be transported to Rome, Paris, Canada, Cuba or Yosemite National Park, the videos are endless.

RESOURCES

The Every Girl

Palm Trees and San Pellegrino

Transparent Black Girl

The Thirty

*top image of rainbow in Hawaii found here.*

*the 2 self-care graphics found here*

BLACK CREATIVES VOL. 1

2020-07-09T14:08:00.000-07:00

Spotlighting black creatives...artist, designers, photographers, influencers and business owners, story tellers, wellness advocates, safe spaces for black faces and content creators to support.

Enjoy and Be Inspired!

Lee Litumbe of Spirited Pursuit is what I call a travel influencer, her pictures are just as amazing as the places she visits. Her ebooks and style guides are a must read.

Radiant Health Magazine - A bi-annual magazine celebrating Afro women & wellness.

Claude Home - NYC Vintage Furniture and Design.

Skin Buttr - Natural body butters, scrubs and skincare.

Fanmdjanm - Means strong woman, they make head-wraps and celebrate sisterhood.

By Chari - Simple, Sexy, Timeless Jewelry. Made in LA.

Nicholle Kobi -Afro -French Artist, her work is inspiring, representing modern black women, culture and Afro-heritage.

Brother Vellies - Designed in Brooklyn, handcrafted sustainably with artisans spanning Nairobi to New York

Fe Noel - Grenadian designer Felisha Noel's motto of Dress to inspire is clearly represented in her fashions, a passion for travel and a love of vibrant colors.