I had the pleasure of seeing the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at The Fox Theater this past weekend. As someone who lives and breathes the Arts, I was not new to this show. This was my third time seeing the performance. If they performed the same pieces every year, I’d see it over and over again. There’s something so moving and peaceful about dance that stirs me up inside. I get all choked up! Lol. Needless to say, it was AMAZING!

The show I saw opened up with Arden Court and I couldn’t contain myself. It was a mixture of the classical music and graceful movements that captured me. My heart was beating so fast. The men did a fabulous job in that scene.

I had the pleasure of wearing a dress made by Liberian designer Archel Bernard. She is AMAZING and I LOVE my dress! Please check her out and support small businesses.

So happy my friends were able to join me.

Whitney

And Esther

And Stephanie but she refused to be photographed.

Sunday

I spent time with one of my godbabymama and my goddaughter. After carrying on like most two-year olds do, by the end of the night, she held my hand, kissed me AND gave me a hug. Love.

Some powerful words to live by.

So, I’ve discovered that a children’s large is a women’s small. Tee’s on sale at Target for $5. Score.

Target booties and shirt, F21 mini skirt

 Stop for a quick bite to eat in Midtown with my friend. The setting sun was beautiful!

Boots: Zara; Shirt and Jeans: Target; Purse: stolen from my sister

 Random but…Hi Beyonce.

I would be remiss if I didn’t stop and mention the sudden and shocking passing of Whitney Elizabeth Houston on February 11, 2012.

I cannot even BEGIN to list any favorite songs from Ms. Houston because so many of her songs has been a part of me. I remember in middle school, like many young girls, I sang Greatest Love of All. The lyrics of that song have so much power. It took her death for me to finally realize it.

I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone’s shadows
If I fail, if I succeed
At least I’ll live as I believe
No matter what they take from me
They can’t take away my dignity
Because the greatest love of all
Is happening to me
I found the greatest love of all
Inside of me
The greatest love of all
Is easy to achieve
Learning to love yourself
It is the greatest love of all

Still, I’m having trouble believing that at 48, God decided to call her home. Of course I didn’t know her personally but through it all and through her performances, she radiated a love and zeal for life. I don’t know what she went through personally but we all can see that being a major celebrity is not easy. Everyone is watching and almost wanting you to fail. How incredibly lonely that must be. And to still smile through it all as Ms. Houston did…I just don’t know.

I seriously cried as if an aunt of mine passed away. But Whitney really made you feel like she was your aunty. She often referred to many people as “baby”. I just can’t believe that she’s gone. So young and so soon. I’m saddened for her family. Her ex-husband, Bobby, her daughter, Bobby Kristina and her mother, Cissy Houston.

I’ll never forget how her music has shaped my childhood, even with the mature lyrics for my age, lol. I’ll always remember the love she has left us with. I’ll never forget her diva attitude and those CLASSIC hairstyles. And I hope and pray to see her in Heaven. We love you, Whitney.

“It’s a wonderful feeling to be looked at and not be judged. Judged not for your flaws, but for your triumphs.” -Whitney Houston

What are your all time favorite Whitney moments or songs? The only one I can watch without crying…

Friday

My friend Mark turned 25. Unfortunately, he is not pictured here. Sorry Mark! Lol. But I did take a picture of my slamming burger. Thanks, Gordon Biersch!

And some of my favorite girls from college.

And a quick outfit shot. FYI, Marshall’s is on the come up. I’ve been sleeping on them. How cute is my top?!

Saturday

After bridesmaid duty, a friend and I stopped by one of my favorite brunch spots, West Egg.

Later, I went to my friend Tiffany’s housewarming. Can I just ask WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE?! Tiffany’s townhouse is just a splash more than amazing.  But I digress. Happy for her. She works hard and deserves it. CHEERS!

Sunday

It was baby Preston’s birthday!!! He got his first haircut just for the occasion. I don’t think he’ll remember his first birthday but the adults had fun on his behalf.

Oh yea, then there was Superbowl. *yawn*

And I did get my Iphone. Check me out on Instagram: miss_lucy26.

Of course Sydney from The Daybook slays in them. Click here for more pictures.

Just give me a few more wears and I’ll be slaying too.

Anyway, I was really tripping off of the whole thing. I don’t want to stop smiling when I get braces. Smiling makes me happy. One song came to mind and I thought I’d share some of the lyrics with you. If/when I eventually get braces, I’ll have this song on repeat to get me through it.

I Smile – Kirk Franklin

I smile, even though I’m hurt see I smile,
I know God is working so I smile,
Even though I’ve been here for a while
I smile, smile..
it’s so hard to look up when you look down.
Sure would hate to see it when you give up now
You look so much better when you smile, so smile.

And I believe you when you say that you’ve lost all faith
But you must believe in something, something, something
You gotta believe in something, something, something

[Hook:]
I still believe in man
A wise one asked me why
Cause I just don’t believe we’re wicked
I know that we sin but I do believe we try
We all try

The fact that I can’t pinpoint the exact source of my unhappiness really unsettles me. At this point, I really just want to give up. Expressing this openly is hard because I never know who is reading my blog in search of some inspiration. Today, it just might let you down. I’m human.

All I am certain of is this: I am unhappy and I have to do something about it.

PS. I just realized that I skipped dinner. WHAT WAS I THINKING?! Now eating rice and goat. Yes. At almost two am. Yup, I have to be up at 5:30 am EST. I’ll worry about that when it comes. This food is an instant mood lifter. Oh, and Haitian music. Carimi. ^___^

I came across this picture of three well dressed men in one of the only male fashion blogs I subscribe to, Street Etiquette. My knees buckled a little after seeing this picture. See more from the shoot here. Swoon ladies, swoon.

My God, My God.

I came to win,  to fight, to conquer, to thrive
I came to win, to survive, to prosper, to rise
To fly, To fly

Everybody wanna try to box me in
Suffocating every time it locks me in
Paint their own pictures then they crop me in
But I will remain where the top begins
Cause I am not a word, I am not a line
I am not a girl that can ever be defined
I am not fly, I am levitation
I represent an entire generation

Get ready for it, I came to win.

In 2012, I will…

1. Read six books.
2. Pet a dog without flinching.
3. Create two lasting business relationships.
4. Learn HTML and CSS.
5. Attend three seminars for personal development.
6. Set one small goal/theme a month.
7. Create a proper/detailed business plan and launch my business. EXCITED!
8. Rebrand my blog.
9. Save $2,000 in emergency fund.
10. Eat more.
    

    Yup, that's me. Happy as I wanna be.

You know what else I’m gonna add just as a mental note: lounging. I don’t ever want to get caught up in the busyness of life that I forget to just chill out. I’m gonna work, eat and chill some more. Yea, that sounds about right.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 26,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 10 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Clearly, 2011 was a great year for blogging. It was also a revealing year for me, experience-wise. I overcame some fears, I got my first tattoo, I experienced a broken heart, I did something daring (ziplining), and I developed personal relationships. Thanks for reading about all of that. It’s crazy going through my posts and realizing the ones that got the most comments/views were about fashion and relationships. I’m not sure how I feel about that yet, lol. Here is a list of my favorite posts as well as some of yours (in no particular order):

1. Although short-lived… Why I Gave Up Facebook
2. Dating Exclusively vs Commitment
3. The #Swag Wedding
4. 7 Reasons Why I Might Be Going To Hell
5. I Am A Christian
6. My Favorite Fashion Bloggers
7. Retiring Samantha…?
8. Fashionable Atlanta Blogger Meet Up
9. The Constant Battle, Pt 2
10. Living Fearlessly
11. 9 Reasons Why I Possibly Wish I Had A Boyfriend
12. Summing It Up Pt 2: 30 x 30
13. 26 Life Lessons in 26 Years
14. To Follow Or Not To Follow

Hola amigos!

Happy New Year everyone! I know, I’m six days late on this post but it has been quite a busy week so far. I just wanted to update you all on the many changes coming up on my blog.

One, I changed my blog name to my first and last name. We’ll see if that will come and bite me in the booty later. I just went on a design and web hosting overload. I finally realized that hosting is not what I’m ready to dive into right now so my page will stay as is until I find the proper time to dedicate to switching it up. (PS, if any of you know a really dope web designers, please shoot me a note!)

Two, I’m waiting on WordPress to send me my year-in-review for 2011 (like the one I received last year). It was an amazing year of blogging for me! First off, who knew they kept up with every single detail?! According to WordPress, I started this blog on  December 19, 2008. I didn’t officially decide to blog until January 2010. So this month marks my THREE year anniversary! Yippeeeeee!

That’s all I want to say for now. New year, new “me”. More goals (that I will share with you later). More focus. More CREATING.

Life isn’t about finding yourself, life is about creating yourself. -George Bernard Shaw

Be blessed,

To date, this was the toughest decision I’ve ever had to make. To leave my closest friend. The only man who has been a consistent factor in my life for the last damn near four years. Gosh, I sound like a broken record. Ugh. This whole healing process just seems to be taking forever. Where’s the manual? How can I skip to chapter ten or the end, fast-forward past this pity party? Until then, I’ll cry until I don’t want to. I’ll hang out by myself to clear my mind. I’ll eat magnum ice cream bars and listen to Sara Bareilles and India Arie. I will love him until I don’t.

I was lamenting to my homeboy when he hit me with some words of comfort:

Instead of chasing an idea that’s tied up in a person that no longer exists, get your mind right to focus on a person who will love you right now. Cause that ex aint that dude. To me you just want to get with a dude who feeds your spirit instead of drains your spirit. This whole ex bf thing is draining you. The point is there are ppl all over the place who would love to see you poop, and be your friend, and sex you down, and talk about God, and hold your hand, and feed you, and tell it to you straight when no one else will and all the other stuff that we need as human beings to feel fulfilled. It’s just not him now. He showed you what love was, and for this we thank him and fondly remember what was. But to him we say bye bye. You are a nice, kind, gentle, attractive, fun person with a lot of love and sick of bullshit. At some point you have to develop a low tolerance level for the bs. And shut him out of your mind until you have healed enough to have a convo with him without catching vibes.

SMH!!! Can the church (and all of my close friends who are tired of hearing this story) say AMEN?! His words meant SO MUCH to me. I cried and I’m ready to let it go, again. Sick of writing about this shit, lol. Leaving it in 2011. Attempting to open my heart again in 2012. Hello.

Challenge deets according to Positively Present’s blog:

There’s no real “challenge” to it; it’s mostly just a way to motivate you (and me!) to stay in the present and focus on things that we’re grateful for. There’s no reward, no punishment — just an opportunity to be more present.

I will only post the pictures on January 31st. Hopefully I’ll get my Iphone squared away by Friday so that I can use Instagram like the cool kids. Feel free to join at your leisure.

But first, my cousin had a Christmas party. You know those people who get really excited about decorating and spreading Christmas cheer? She’s one of them. Lol.

me, my cousin and my sister

I don’t speak about animals because quite frankly, I’m scared of them. BUT, I met a poodle that night named Apple-Love that may have cured my fear. She is soooo cute and harmless. I hope my cousin gets her.

Saturday, I attended a wonderful service at Buckhead Church. Something beautiful happened at the end. All those who were recently baptized or rededicated their life to Christ were asked to light a candle. Myself included. This year, I made a serious decision to find God for myself and it’s been the most eye-opening experience ever. No regrets.

I attended a second service at Berean Seventh Day Adventist Church. Needless to say, I was churched out for the day.

Christmas Day, I attended Destiny Metropolitan Worship Church. HAPPY “BIRTHDAY” JESUS.