Afropunk

Last summer, I enviously watched post after post of greatness on Instagram of a festival I had never heard of in Brooklyn, New York. From the fashion, to the music, to the general lack of conformity and black excellence, I knew I had to be in attendance the following year. So fast forward to August 26, 2016. 

My friend and I bought tickets way back in March. We teeter-tottered with the idea of going so often, that we literally didn't buy our plane tickets until mid-August. The way 2016 has been set up we just didn't know if we should pay to go to New York, or what if anything at all could happen with us randomly heading to a festival, but thankfully everything worked out in our favor. 

Let me tell you this.... I. Love. Brooklyn. I literally love everything about it and when I tell you I got my entire life on this trip.... Words can barely describe the fun, the freedom, the energy and good vibes. This was probably the most fun I've had in a long time. The right people went and everything just flowed well. 

Background on Afropunk: Literally the Land of No Fucks Given. No judgment, plenty of self expression and absolutely no hate. My black hippie, nerd girl self felt as if I had stepped foot on Mecca. Definitely not the destination for the more bourgeois or conservative friend... 

But I digress. 

We frolicked in Manhattan a bit, but mainly spent the majority of our time in Brooklyn. Outside of my must have detour to the New York Public Library, this was a very go with the flow weekend. I even ended up randomly getting an eye exam and buying new glasses in Williamsburg. 

I truly enjoyed Afropunk and I think this may be my new annual event that I attend. (Sorry Zula Ball in New Orleans)

September...

It's been a month and some change since I took the time to sit and reflect... Or even write for that matter. Two trips since my last post. Hundreds of news stories, controversies and disasters have happened... And here I am, sitting unscathed on the other side. This summer has been heavy. Not so much in the sense that I've been bearing the weight, but heavy in the sense that the world & people around me have been dealing with so much and all at once. It's hard to feel happy when everyone around you is going through so much, so I've just kind of laid low and tried my best to keep my strength since it's been needed so much and so necessary as the times have changed..

September always serves as my catalyst for better days. Fall represents newness, new opportunities, fresh starts and an end to the misery known as summer. I always say, I come alive in the Fall, and I expect this year to be no different. I anxiously await the first cold front, the days when leaves begin to fall and I'm forced to add that extra layer to my attire. I can't let the stains of summer, overshadow any of the happiness and better days that wait right across that threshold. 

September, I welcome you with open arms. The summer is almost over, and things will definitely get better, for everyone. 

#KaftansAndTurbans

Once upon a time, I was a bored law student with an affinity for Blackberries, Yahoo Messenger & MySpace. Those forms of communication kept me sane, gave me a way to stay connected with the real world, and bullshit pass time during class. I met a lot of people during my tenure in law school.... Our lovely bride was not one of those people.

Blackberry... The happening phone of the moment, was my lifeline. Blackberry Messenger, or more affectionately referred to as BBM was probably the most advanced technology I had ever seen. I could simultaneously talk with as many people as I wanted at once! Groups, people could create rudimentary group chats that could last days with dialog. All it took was a pin number and the world was at the tip of my fingers. One day, a notification came through alerting me I had been added to a BBM group chat. A friend from another law school asked me if I knew everyone... "Deonne? No, I don't know her..." "Well get to know her" was the response I received... "She's fabulous."

Never have I been one to chance after friendships, but this time something was different. I just knew I HAD to know this chick... So commence the BBM takeover till finally I had broken her down.

A combination of my persistence, hunting her down like a gazelle, meshed together with various events where we had no choice but to bond, not only created a friend for life, but truly another sister for me. And run-on sentence of the year award goes to me..... But I digress.

Deonne. I could go on and on about her & how wonder of a person she is, but that would lead to a bucket of tears and that's not my focus for the moment.

Fast forward five years and my friend's wedding is less than 3 months away!!!

And before any prosperous wedding, there must be a full fledged production to ensure the bride has a phenomenal time at her bachelorette party.

Enter Kaftans & Turbans.

What started off as just an idea on a list of brainstorm potentials became our reality this past weekend. A group of us headed down to St Petersburg Beach, Florida and made the vision a reality. We were very fortunate for a friend who lives in the area for coordinating the whole affair & it was perfection.

From the food, to the swag bags, the individualized bachelorette t-shirts to the hangover kits, right on down to the beautiful beach and of course the Kaftans & the Turbans.

Our weekend was perfection.

Such a good time was had by all. The conversations were positive, the laughter genuine & the love for the bride radiated all over the room and the beach!

Our weekend was calming. It was warmth. It was love. It was pure and unadulterated friendships.

It was perfection.

Kaftans & Turbans was truly everything.

More photos to come once editing is completed by the brides sister, because of course she would have a sister who's a professional photographer in attendance to capture our weekend. 

#KaftansAndTurbans

The Edge......

It's as if I played catch up, only to get back behind again. I feels as if I've been to the edge of the world & then back again. But in reality, I have.... Literally, the edge.

Let's be honest, it's no secret that I hate the summer and this summer has been no different. The heat in Houston is unbearable, everyone is on edge, the sweat, the humidity, it's just hot. I tend to lay low. I flake on plans, and find every excuse to not leave the comfort of my air conditioning. This summer has been no different, but even with my avoiding activity at all cost, this has been one of the most physically and mentally draining years summers in a long time. The world has just been... unbearable.

I'd prepared a post a few weeks ago to discuss all that's been going on in the world, and after reading and reflecting on it all over again I had to press the delete button. It hurt too bad to see those events memorialized in print, even though it is hard to watch television or look at social media without the negative reality of the world smothering you all over again. It's just been too much. I was starting to lose sleep over all the images and thoughts & harsh truths about the world we live in. Then I decided to disconnect so to speak to preserve my peace of mind. You can't escape reality, but you can escape from being a slave to it. Watching every news segment, reading every think piece and Facebook status update is just not necessary.... But I digress.

We are so far into 2016, that albeit 2017 seems a life time away, it is legit right around the corner. Plans are underway and soon there will be some reprieve from the monotony of my everyday. I'm days away from a trip to Florida, then a little over a month away from a trip to New York, followed by a trip to Costa Rica for Labor Day. Yes, Labor Day is literally right around the corner.

Then on to Fall..... So much to do, with so little time. Yet all the time in the world. Time is relative. When I want the days to fly by, they drag at an unimaginable pace. The moments I want to bask in are so fleeting... It's just life.

So when I say I've been to the edge and back I really have. Mentally & physically. My thoughts, my doing, my comings & goings. Life has had me on the edge and I'm looking forward to getting away so when I return things can be back to normal again.

Photos Taken at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston ~ Kusama ~ Aftermath of Obliteration of Eternity

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.