Iconic then, iconic now: 90’s IT Girl Fashion Returns!

It's Focused on the Fruit Fridaaaayyyy!!!

We are talking 90's trends that are coming back in style! As a fashionista, I consider myself a fashion KILLA (cues ASAP Rocky😁) and the 90's era was one of my absolute favorite times in fashion! There are so many things that I like about that particular time in fashion but today, we will be talking about 10 vintage pieces in particular...

10. The denim-on-denim moment: I have always loved the denim on denim look! I recently bought a gray denim oversized shirt and paired it with some gray denim jeans. The denim shirt had rhinestones all over it. It was so cute👽 I have always loved an oversized jacket...OR denim shorts with a deniim vest! 

09. Mini Skirts: Being an athlete, I have always had bigger legs so I haven't always been able to find mini skirts in my size but I have owned a few in my day. I think mini skirts look extra fresh on women who have longer legs. I was on Pintrest the other day and I pinned a Prada silver mini with sequins and it was so cute. I am working on toning my legs so that I can buy it at some point in the future!!

08. Faux Leather Jackets: I bought one of these earlier this year in a chocolate brown tone. It was so cute but someone ended up stealing it from me at my job. It was faux leather and it fit me like a glove! I would eventually like to cop one in black, tan and chocolate brown. 

07: Leather Pants: Leather pants are so cute in the winter months. I have always liked them in a winter white color or in black. 

06. Tracksuits: I bought a tracksuit last year in a money green/kelly green color! It was so cute and comfy. Tracksuits are usually worn in the fall months and the brighter they are, the better, IMO! You can usually find them on sale at like TJMAXX or Walmart if you look hard enough!!

05. Slip Dresses: I have always liked slip dresses during the spring months. I like to pair mine with a flat, a sandal, a kitten heel or a basic tennis shoe of some kind!  

04. Mini Bag: I have never been a big fan of the mini bag! They are just too small for my items that I carry to fit into. I have always liked a tote bag instead. OR a cluth purse. 

03. Claw Clips: LOVE these! I have several in different colors. I have been using these for years. You have to be careful with them because sometimes they can dig into your scalp, escpecially if they are cheap! Make sure you buy quality ones that last and will not break!

02. Scrunchies: I remember using scrunchies as a little girl. My mother bought my sisters and I different colored scrunchies and barretts to wear to school and to church. She would let us pick them out on our own. They usually would match our outfits. There is this really dope boutique where I live called 'Gracious Me' that sells scrunchies and they are the best quality!! They even have some that are tie dyed. I have a very interesting taste when picking out colors for the hardware that goes into my hair! I have even bought some at the Dollar Tree before and you know everything there is $1.50! Check them out..

01. Headbands: I have been wearing headbands for years. They will never go out of style to me. The more blinged out they are the better in my opinion! I like wearing them with my hair straightened or in a bun. I think they kinda play up your look. They will always be vintage glam to me!

It is Temple Tuesday! Heirloom Recipes-4th of July traditions in my family.

It's Temple Tuesday, my love!

I hope you already got your workout in and are at work or taking a much deserved day off! I am working as usual and I think we are all looking forward to the holiday weekend!! July 4th is what I am talking about. I cannot believe that July 1st is tomorrow...This year is literally dissolving right before our eyes!! In my family, we have several long standing traditions that will probably always remain in our family. When my brothers were playing in the NFL, all of us would fly to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida during the off season. That time of the year was usually during the 4th of July! We would get dressed and go to fancy dinners, bake chocolate chip cookies and stay up really late watching movies and playing UNO and TABOO... at that time in our lives we were clubbing so we would go to out spot, Prive, LOL! We had the best time together. But now we are older and most of my siblings are married with kids of their own.

During those summers in Florida, we would turn on the grill and lay out all of our burgers, hot dogs and bbq ribs! My mom would make the deviled eggs, sweet potato pies, cake, and banana pudding. My sisters and I would make potato salad and macaroni salad...we always had cookies and a cooler full of drinks💗 It would always be so hot in Florida for the 4th and we were just happy to be together for another holiday, with our health in tact! 

We have so many memories as a family and I am so blessed to pass these down to my kids when I am blessed to have my own family someday! 

I wish you a very happy 4th and a beautiful weekend!

eat some for me!!!

love you, mean it!

peace☮

My Williams-Sonoma Letter!

Happy happy Mindset Monday!

I hope you guys are enjoying this hot girl summer☀️

It’s SO hot today and it is supposed to be in the high 90’s the entire week!! When it gets hot like this, it can only mean 1 thing!!! MY BIRTHDAY is coming soon!!! Whoot Whoot👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

But back to the topic at hand! I wanted to reveal something to you guys that I actually forgot about until a few days ago! This is SO cool and I was so excited when the Holy Spirit brought it back to my attention. During the COVID pandemic back in 2020, like everyone else, I was looking for ways to make some money. I was looking for a job and I was trying to get creative. I remember watching CNN one evening and I think it was Anderson Cooper saying that because of the Black Lives Matter movement, fortune 500 companies were looking to hire more qualified black people! I mentioned it to my Dad and he suggested that I make a list of several I could find, get their mailing addresses and mail them a letter introducing myself and tell them I’m looking for employment! I immediately got to work. I vividly remember mailing letters to the Williams Sonoma CEO, Laura Alber!!! My brother, Thomas helped me to craft a really professional letter!! I typed it out and printed it AND mailed it with a wing and a prayer!!! I was so excited but I was not sure if my letter would make it all the way to San Francisco, California🔥🔥🔥🔥

I have always loved that store and I have previously studied Interior Design so I figured I had a good shot at landing a job if their team did receive my letter!! SO, I waited! And waited AND the I got an email!!!! It was from Patty Claauss, the Vice President of Global Talent Acquisition for the Williams Sonoma, Inc!!!! It was dated Thursday, September 10, 2020❤️❤️❤️ The email read…

…Hope this finds you well. Laura Alber shared your kind letter with me and I would be more than happy to learn more about you and your experience. Do you have a resume you can share with me?!!!!!!!

I was speechless! I immediately responded by sending her my resume! We chatted back and forth over the phone and even had a few phone interviews but it just wasn’t a good fit for me at the time! But I was honored to get that email! God was definitely the one orchestrating the entire situation!!! Later, I went back into my email inbox, printed the email and put it in a frame! 🖼️ 

The moral of the story is… NEVER GIVE UP! Faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains, my love! I never thought my letter would reach the CEO of Williams Sonoma BUT God, hunny!!!!!! Anything is possible when you believe. ANYTHING! Apply for that job, send the email, make that call, ask that person out that you like!!!! You never know what could happen when you step out on faith!

I hope you enjoy this day and I’ll see you next week!

love you, mean it❤️❤️❤️

✌🏾 

Our First Focused On The Fruit Friday! One of my Favorite Health Hacks….Juice Plus.

Happy happy Friday, love!

I hope you are having a beautiful day and are enjoying the sun wherever you are! I am SO happy and proud to bring you guys a new segment that I like to call, ‘Focused on the  Fruit Friday’s’! I have so much to say and give and I want to share my hopes, dreams and desires with the world! I will be bringing you my favorite music, food, beauty products, skincare, health hacks and SO much more every single Friday! Just think of it as a fun kickoff to the start your weekend! We are focused on the FRUIT! Bearing fruit is a metaphor for a Christian’s growth in Christlike character. In other words, fruit are the blessings that flow in and through your life when you are a child of God! 

Today , I want to talk about a product that I was introduced to about a year ago by a really good friend of mine! I was experiencing lots of fatigue and a lack of energy. I had gained a lot of weight and I was sleeping until 10 every morning. I was just really lethargic and in need of some major changes with my health! My good friend Abi Nowlin is a top tier spokesperson for a company called Juice Plus! It took me a while to commit to buying it but I finally decided to commit to it in April of 2026! They are a packet size of berries and veggies that you put in your water! You take one every day with water and ice. I have mine in a mason jar because I am from the country! I started taking a pack a day at the beginning of April and it has totally changed my body from the inside out! I feel better, look better, have lost 23 pounds, sleep better, AND feel extremely blessed to have Abi as a new sister and FRIEND!!!!! She is so sweet and kind! When I met her, I knew something was so special about her! I will continue taking Juice Plus for life! 

If you are struggling with chronic fatigue, arthritis, sleep deprivation or sleeping too much, Juice Plus is your guy. You will really appreciate it. They also have capsules and gummies! If you have any questions, please reach out to me🥰 I would be happy to help you on your health journey!! 

Have a wonderful weekend and I’ll see you next Friday!

love you, mean it!

peace☮️

MY ON-ONE Playlist!

Happy Wednesday, cool people! 

I hope you are having a wonderful day and are getting some Vitamin D! The sun is shining bright where I am for sure. There are days in life where we feel on top of the world, like we can accomplish ANYTHING! AND then some days, we are fighting for our lives. I have experienced both but today was one of those days where I felt like I could conquer the world. I was going to get my nails done and I was just feeling so bossy on the way there. Here is my playlist that I had playing on the way there...These are all 90's and 2000's Hip-Hop tracks. I hope you enjoy!

10. No Problem-Lil Scrappy

09. In da Wind-Trick Daddy

08. Blow the Whistle-Too $hort

07. Wipe Me Down-Boosie Badazz

06. Shine-Lil Wayne

05. Get Like Me-David Banner

04. Money Maker-Ludacris

03. ASAP-T.I.

02. Bout It, Bout It-Master P

01. Freakum Dress-Beyonce

It is Temple Tuesday! My 1st Disaster Recipe!

Happy Temple Tuesday, my love!

I hope that you are well and are having a great day so far😃I was thinking of what kind of content to bring to you guys today and then I started researching a few weeks ago topics that might be relevant to food and millenials for such a time as this! My content is for everyone but I speak from a millenials perspective because I am one. Before I became a professional writer, I was an educator for around 8 years. I taught abroad and all of the United States and hopefully touched hundreds of childrens lives. I really enjoyed my time as a teacher but it was only my calling for a season. God pulled me out of the teaching world in 2022, right as the Covid pandemic was ending! I will always remember my time as a teacher. I learned alot about myself during those years and I will always remember the impact the kids made on me! 

Between 2013-2016, I was a teacher in Eastern, North Carolina. It was a very rural part of the state. Our principal would give all the staff a free turkey for Thanksgiving and the Christmas holidays. One of those Thanksgiving's, I could not make it home to visit my family so I decided to cook the turkey on my own. I had mac and cheese and collard greens as my sides. I got the recipe from my Mom. Because it was my first time making all 3 of them, the turkey came out really dry, the greens were not properly seasoned and the mac and cheese was runny😓 In the black community, we put vinegar on our greens to add flavor! I tried that but they were still bland as I don't know what. I ended up throwing all of the food away and I think I cooked some chicken soup in the crockpot to replace my Thanksgiving meal. 

The moral of the story is, we all have more than one experience with a disaster recipe! I definetely bake more than I like to cook. Maybe it is because I do not have any kids yet. When I get married and start having kids, I am sure that I will become better in the kitchen! Nourishing your body properly takes alot of trial and error. I have started following tons of food influencers on IG and I also love The Kitchen and Girl Meets Farm on the Cooking Channel! The best of the best cooks have made mistakes in the kitchen and I believe that is what gives them their badge of honor! 

Keep Cooking, you guys! 

I hope you have a great Tuesday and I will see you next week💜 

love you, mean it. peace☮

Delayed Gratification💪🏾

Happy happy Mindset Monday, everyone!

I hope you all had an amazing and truly blessed Father's Day! We took my Daddy to a resturant named Clyde's in Clarksville, Tennessee. He really likes the vibe and the food is amazing! They had a good playlist yesterday and we had a great time just talking, eating, and laughing! My father is an associate minister at a local church in Clarksville! He has been in the ministry for about 12 years now! I have learned so much from him about God's way of blessing us during and after a storm. That is the thing that most of us do not understand is that storms in our lives do not come to break us but to shape and mold us, to bless us, to equip us to share our testimony with the world and to ultimately, prepare us for eternity! I have seen and experienced many storms in my young life. None of them I would have been able to survive without a strong foundation in Christ that was built by my parents but mainly my Father! He is such a kind and gentle, loving father who has taught me that waiting on God always has its challenges BUT the rewards it produces are so valuable!

Today, I want to talk to you about delayed gratification! I spoke a little about this when I was writing for SHEEN Magazine in 2021. We are all using social media these days and the reels and pictures will have us thinking that everyone's life is picture perfect! No ones life is problem free and I really believe that you have to have a really strong relationship with God to understand that when participating in social media. I had to learn this lesson over time but it is locked in to my mind at this point and when I log into social, I have the mentality that I am posting for God's glory only! Delayed gratification is pleasure or satisfaction that cannot be experienced immediately, but that you must wait for or work for. I think the joy in waiting and working really hard for something that may be typically handed to someone else is rare! Most people are not willing to put in the work. My personal journey has been so rocky but I have been blessed tremendously by waiting on God to deliever what I need in each season of my life. I have had to perserve and develop lots of patience and endurance during my trials. It has taken me years to finally become a professional writer. I got my Bachelors degree in 2003. I just became a writer in 2024. That was one of my dreams and I had to work really hard to make it happen! I am such a better person for having gone through those delays, denials and trials. Ultimately, that recipe leads to massive success! 

The bible says that delayed gratification is the ability to resist a small immediate reward for something more valuable in the future. Hebrews 12:2 Instant success never lasts, my friend! It will make you happy only for a short time. The real blessing is in doing the real work when it gets difficult and leaning on God for strength and courage to get through your specific trial. He WILL bless you during and after your test. I know because he has done for me! Time after time, in my Cyndi Lauper voice! smiling.

You've got this, Love muffin!

I hope you have a wonderful day and I will see you guys next week!

love you, mean it. 

peace.