Happy Friday, dolls! Here’s what I did this week:
🍳 Sunday Brunch: @biyoubk feels like you’re sitting in someone’s New Orleans kitchen getting a home cooked meal. There’s only one hard working chef, so be prepared to have a relaxing, leisurely meal
I started blogging (anonymously!) in 2008. At the time, I felt insecure, rejected and unsure of myself. I wrote about those feelings and slowly people around the world began to follow me as I did my best figure things out. If you’ve been here since the beginning, thank you for sticking with me this long. If you’re new here, welcome!
Word on the street is that I’ve had a “glow up”.
I don’t know about that, but I do know I have been working on myself. Like, really working on myself.
The process of my “glow up” has been painful, frustrating and sometimes terrifying. I made a decision five years ago to start doing the spiritual work, mental health work and physical work to become the best version of myself that I could.
I’m committed to helping you build self confidence, so today I’m going to share some of my glow up secrets with you.
This is How to have a Glow Up: 5 Secrets No one Talks About
I always have Prosecco chilled in my fridge– this way I’m always prepared to celebrate! Lately, I’ve been sipping on Prosecco from Cupcake Vineyards. It feels good to have a friend over for dinner and toast to her accomplishments (or mine!). Thankfully with the dope group of women I have in my circle, celebrations happen often at my apartment!
It is finally boot season, and I’ve already added a few beauties to my collection.
There are three boot styles I like to keep in rotation: ankle booties, knee high boots and over-the-knee boots.
If you’ve got thick solid legs like I do, you may need a little extra room in the calf area… I’ve got you covered!
Do you ever notice that you have random jars of unused beauty products around your bathroom?
If a jar is sitting in my bathroom for months and I’ve only used it once or twice, chances are I didn’t love it but I feel bad about being wasteful so it just sits on my shelves.
I recently realized that a great way for me to figure out which products I truly love is to look at the containers that are empty!
This month I’m sharing five products that I’ve used all the way to the end. I also made a video review on my instagram – you can watch that video here!
I went from a size 28 to 18 and now my tummy rolls and back fat are a bit… um… UNRULY.
I keep my confidence up with foundation garments…
Some might ask if foundation garments are “body positive”. That’s a decision you have to make for yourself.
Walking into a meeting feeling self conscious about my back fat pulls my focus away from work. If sliding on some Shapewear keeps my mind on building a better future for plus size women, as I build theCURVYcon then it’s a body positive decision for me.
Here is my Guide to Flawless Shapewear & Strapless Bras:
Five years ago, I had a corporate job… today I’m a model and ambassador for LOFT!
I can’t believe I’m saying “I’m a model” because I never ever saw myself as a model.
I never thought I was good enough (or pretty enough) to be a model.
Instead of dreaming of becoming a model, I dreamed about building my self confidence. As my confidence has grown over the past 10 years, opportunities that I couldn’t have dreamed of (like modeling) are coming my way.
This is very exciting to me because I now know that if it can happen for me, it can happen for anyone… including you.
Don’t quit your daydream, doll!
As co-founder of theCURVYcon, my dreams are coming true, which also means that my work life is a lot more demanding than it used to be. This is a beautiful thing, but I don’t get to spend as much time just hanging out as I used to. I’m noticing that people in my life are much more appreciative of time spent together, than they are a perfect meal made from scratch. So, I do the best I can and give myself grace so that I “don’t make perfect the enemy of good” -Voltaire
Here’s How to Throw a BBQ in 1 hour or less:
A few months ago, I moved into my dream apartment here in New York City. This apartment is the first time I’ve rented a space completely on my own with no help from my parents. I’m growing up, yall!
At first when I moved in, I was really intimidated by the idea of interior decorating. I was convinced that I didn’t have the talent for home decor. I reached out to a bunch of decorators to help me, but no one I contacted was the right fit.
I’m learning in life, that if something isn’t coming together smoothly, it means I need to take a pause and revisit my approach.
I sat in a semi-furnished apartment for MONTHS and then it finally hit me… maybe I should be the one to decorate my space! I know what I like and more importantly, I know how I want my home to feel.
As a Cancerian (June 26th), my living space is like my crab shell. I want to feel safe and cozy! So, maybe my new apartment would feel most like home if I had a hand in decorating it myself.
