Jun 28, 2013

Birthday Dinner at Sky City Restaurant (@Space_Needle)

Last night I celebrated my birthday with dinner at Sky City Restaurant atop the Space Needle in Seattle. Coming from Chicago I'm used to tall buildings and expansive views, but seeing the views of Seattle from the Space Needle were truly breathtaking.


The gorgeous late night summer sunset (above picture was taken around 10p), the water views, mountains and downtown city lights worked together to create the perfect backdrop for dinner.

It's funny to me because everyone has said that Seattle is one of the most beautiful places in the summer and I must agree. What I saw last night brought tears to my eyes. Yes, I'm already emo... but looking at the beauty of the landscape... mountains in the distance... water... sky... city lights... it just made me feel so insanely blessed and highly favored!

Unlike most buildings, the elevator at the Space Needle is exposed to the outside, so the ride up allows you to take it all in from the start. I did get a little bit queasy as we neared the top, but it was so beautiful. Oh, also adding to the "wow" factor was the fact the restaurant rotates around 360 degrees! Yes, that also blew me away... I was all, "Babe, the ground is actually  moving!!" lol... such a tourist.

Short Video of my Night




Jun 27, 2013

So, It's my birthday...

It's midnight in Seattle and I'm officially 29. Over the years I've learned that I have no idea what the year has in store for me... and that can more often than not bug out the obsessive planner that lives within my soul... but hindsight being 20/20 I know that for every high and low, struggle and victory I've had come my way, I've grown and been left in a better place.

So, what does it even mean to be 29? Well, besides having 30 knocking on my door, I have no clue. I used to think that age correlated to maturity and where you should be in life... but at 29 I've already been divorced and moved more times than I'd like to admit , so other than being a gypsy who knows! I don't feel pressure right now to get married. I don't feel pressure to pop out a kid. The only pressure I do feel is the nagging need to "find my happy" and find it fast. Of course I know that life is a journey, so I try to embrace the road to wherever I'm going, but it has its overwhelming moments.

The last few birthdays have been interesting... a crap shoot of sorts... some great ,some shitty. I'm not exactly sure where today will fall on the scale, but in this moment I'm excited to get older, learn more, feel more comfortable in my skin, and further develop into the person I'm meant to me. I still have flaws and am learning to improve... and love myself more in the process. Turn down some of my emo while turning up some of my inner strength. I've been through things I'll never share... yes, the open book motor mouth does have some limits... but life really is what you make it. I hope to be active and present in my life this year. Be accountable for the energy I bring to a situation and know that I do have a say in whatever I'm a part of.

So, anyways... all of this is more so me rambling for my own benefit and to reflect in another year lol. 29 here I am... let's do this.

Jun 26, 2013

Making our House a Home

Moving can be a drag, but with a new city comes a new home and new furniture! My boyfriend and I were able to find the perfect apartment, but the task of blending both our styles will be the next challenge. He likes industrial minimalism. I'm a fan of mid-century modern glam. Together, we've combined our styles to make what I'm calling rustic modern. I don't know if that's a real thing, but for all purposes we can rock with that label lol.

This past weekend we hit up a few stores to start sourcing pieces and figuring out the direction we'd like to go in. So far, it's looking like we'll be taking cues from the Pacific Northwest and incorporating a lot of earth tones and wood into our new place. Just a little background, we are moving into a very industrial loft (think cement floors and steel stairs lol), so we'll be relying on our furniture to warm up the place.

Has anyone else had to combine styles with their significant other? How'd the process go?






Jun 24, 2013

Fremont Fest in Seattle

This weekend we were feeling somewhat spontaneous and decided to explore the city and check out the Fremont Fest. I had been told it was a hippie explosion of sorts, so I knew there would be a few "peace and love" naked bodies, as well as a celebration for the Summer Solstice. Armed with that information, I went in with an open mind.

The day was bright and sunny and thankfully I added a few shades of color to my skin. I live for tan lines and think it's the true mark of summer. We were able to explore the vendor booths, spotted some dope artwork by Justin Hillgrove that we plan on adding to our apartment, along with seeing a few naked bodies.

Even though I knew folks would be naked, it was still a bit of a shock to see an older guy walking his bike while covered in gold glitter dust. I mean, I giggled like a little kid, but seriously... dude had gold balls! A real life "gold member"...

All in all the weekend was enjoyable. Our 2nd weekend in Seattle can be marked as a success lol.

Started the morning off with Brunch at Skillet Diner then headed to the Fest

Dope artwork from artist Justin Hillgrove plus a cool cuff we found from a local designer

Naked bodies on bikes... very hippie 

more folks letting it all hang out


Jun 20, 2013

Russian Tampon Commercial

As a certified scuba diver, and a woman that has a period lol, I've definitely given a few thoughts to diving during my period and the type of tampon I'd need to make sure there were no leaks. Of course it may seem like an extreme situation, but some tampons do leak and the last place you want to experience that is under water... where sharks can smell 1 drop of blood from miles away.

What do you think? A little too extreme? lol...

For the record, I don't use Tampax, but I go hard for Kotex!




Jun 18, 2013

How to Detangle Kinky Curly Weave (video)

I've been documenting my experiences rocking a Kinky Curly Fro sew-in for the very first time. I quickly learned that detangling this hair was not for the fain of heart... it was time consuming and required a ton of patience. In hindsight, jumping into a kinky curly sew-in that was more high maintenance than my own hair was probably not the best idea, but you live and learn. I actually enjoyed the fullness and length of the hair (1 bundle in 12" and the other in 14"). Next time I'll probably opt for a 3b/3c hair instead of 4a/4b.




Jun 17, 2013

Welcome to Seattle: First Stop Pike Place Market

The eagle has landed!! I arrived in Seattle last week and hit the ground running trying to get acclimated to the city. One of our first stops was Pike Place Market, and let me just say it didn't disappoint! Yes, it's super crowded and full of tourists, but if you can get past that the market is full of fresh seafood, amazing flowers, and other great deals on handmade finds and foods.

The highlight of my Pike Place Market visit was discovering the smoked garlic pepper salmon. Can I just take a moment to appreciate the awesomeness of that food! Ooh wee... and it wasn't cheap. 1lb cost me about $30, but it was worth every cent.

Another thing that impressed me? The endless supply of fresh flowers!!! This really did blow me away and put every Chicago florist to shame. The quality of flowers, vibrancy of the colors, variety, and price were so amazeballs. Seriously... there is never a need to look elsewhere. I was in heaven. Once we move into our new place I could totally see myself making a trip to the market at least twice a month to snag fresh flowers.

Pike Place Market in Seattle
Bonus: Unlike Chicago, Seattle still allows free street parking on Sunday and holidays. If you want to save coins on parking, feel free to hit up Pike Place Market on a Sunday and snag a free spot on the street.

Jun 7, 2013

Valley of the Sun

Yesterday we touched down in Arizona and can I just say how nice it is to be back home. The mountains, the blue skies... endless sunshine!!! Yes, I'll take it all. I haven't been back to visit for nearly 3 years and it's been great to see my family and relax before the move to Seattle next week.

Scottsdale is a big suburb (actually all of Phoenix feels like one big suburb), and it's a nice change of pace from Chicago. I'm definitely a city girl, but I have a suburban girl heart. Imagine the house and white picket  fence... but in a picture frame hanging up in my downtown condo lol. That's me in a nutshell.

We received a warm welcome to the valley with temps reaching 110+ degrees. There was even one point when my dash read 118 degrees! After cool, rainy temps in Chicago the past week I'm more than happy to soak up all the warmth I can.




Jun 2, 2013

Kinky Curly Weave on Natural Hair (video)

I previously blogged about going to get my sew-in Thursday night, and it's mainly been feelings of love with one 'what the fuck' moment sprinkled in between. When I first looked in the mirror I realized 2 things: 1) This  is the most hair I've ever had in my entire life force existence... and 2) I can't even begin to fathom what detangling this will be like. Never the one to be conquered by anything, let alone a weave, I put my natural hair skills to use and managed to wrangle this mane within the first 48 hours of having it. I share the results of my sew-in, texture shots, and initial thoughts in the video below. Enjoy!





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