The Big Catch-Up.....

Sooooooooooooooo, about life. Let's just say that I got so busy living it, that I didn't spend too much time documenting what was happening in it. This year, has been something else to say the least. It's been so much going on that I have dedicated this long weekend to getting my life back in order, detoxing, re-shifting my focus for the latter half of the year & really just sitting the fuck down for a moment to just exhale.

Let's just start with June...

Aside from the up and down rollercoaster ride better known as my love life, June was an extremely busy month for me. One of my good friends turned thirty this year and in celebration of her birthday, I decided to coordinate a girls weekend in New Orleans for her. This was her first time ever going to New Orleans, as I kind of forbade her from going until she was mature enough to handle all that New Orleans encompasses. A little background.. this friend is more so like my baby sister, better yet my child at times. We are five years apart, and have known each other for almost ten years now... and we have been through A LOT together. My 30th, her 25th and let's just say I have been waiting a long time for us to finally be back in the same decade of life again before I turn 35 this year. Anyways, I decided that now, at 3o, my little girl was ready for New Orleans!

She gave me a list of all of the people she wanted in New Orleans to help her celebrate & I took it from organizing and coordinating to get all six of us a short block away from the French Quarter and ready to bring in her 30th the right way.

New Orleans is truly one of my favorite cities, and I go there atleast once or twice (sometimes more) a year. Since my friend and the majority of the other ladies are from other cities (not Houston) this was their first time ever going to New Orleans. Once everyone arrived from their respective parts of the country to our AirBnB apartment in Treme, we were ready to head straight to the Quarter!

A lot of my Bourbon Street & French Quarter pictures are a tad bit hazy, because New Orleans, Bourbon Street. Drinks. Digressing...

Let's just say it's been a long time before I actually did Bourbon Street like a tourist, probably since I was in undergrad, but when I tell you we DID Bourbon Street. We did.
My head hit my pillow at 5:08 am. And we were back up bright and early the next morning & ready to eat and explore the city in a tamer fashion..

We had breakfast at Lil Dizzy's then Ubered over to Jackson Square for some sightseeing...

My New Orleans during the daytime photos are a tad bit hazy as well, because New Orleans, during the daytime drinking...

Overall our trip was perfection. There were lots of laughs, lots of sightseeing & a lot of new memories made in the city. I enjoyed playing tour guide, but better yet I enjoyed seeing my friend bring in her 30th the right way!

Coming back from vacation is always a struggle. Work has been hectic, and my days literally blur together..... The week after my return from New Orleans flew by and before I knew it, it was the weekend and Fresh Dark Fest!

I went to Fresh Dark Fest for its inaugural year last year, and this year was even more fun than last!

Fresh Dark is kind of the like the Houston version of the huge AfroPunk Festival in Brooklyn, a lot of music, a lot of culture and a lot of positive vibes all around.

Another busy work week, combined with car issues & stress kept me preoccupied for the majority of June.

I found a little time to catch up on my reading & attended my monthly book club meeting with the ladies in my book club.

& went on a day trip for a Pop Brunch with another one of my girlfriends who is getting married this year. She wanted to sample the featured chefs food as a potential for her wedding so we all met up to drive about 1.5 hours to Burton, Tx for a super quaint brunch in the elements.

Brunch was amazing, the atmosphere, the bottomless drinks & the company.. The only thing we were not that impressed with was the food. But the experience made up for it. We met a couple at brunch that owns a Bed & Breakfast and they invited us over to have a look around. Let's just say, we all have plans to return for the moments when we need to get away from the city...

The rest of my June was in all honesty, pretty mundane. Stress is a bitch a lot to deal with in addition to the day-to- day grind that comes with being a fully functioning adult. By the end of June, I had decided that I needed to change up a few things, including the way I have been thinking about and approaching certain situations. I put a few wheels in motion, and woke up yesterday morning ready to tackle the rest of this year in a much better fashion than I did in the beginning half.

I have a few more things planned for the summer, but for the most part my focus for July and the rest of the year is bettering myself and getting all the way back on track.

And that is that.