Weekend Adventures: Hanging in Harlem

Dress (old)-Doru Oluwu for JC Penny

Shoes-Me Too (similar)

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a great week. It was a struggle finding time to write this week as I was training in Arizona for work. However, I do my best to post on here at least once a week so thank you for patiently waiting for me to publish a new post. Being a real adult (haha I now consider myself one since I'm 21, recently graduated college and have a full-time job) is very rewarding but also tiring. I have the opportunity to use my skills, grow as a person and professional, and learn new skills every single day. However, I also have less time for myself as a result of my busy schedule. Thus, I like to spend my weekends going on adventures and doing things that I don't typically have time to do in the week. The above photos were taken last week in Harlem while my friend Kia and I did some exploring and running around.

Our first stop was the Malcolm X. Shabazz Harlem market, which is an African market with beautiful fabric, clothing, and accessories. We then ventured to a soul food restaurant and later ended up by some brownstones where Kia snapped a few pictures of me. Afterwords we spent some time at the Studio Meusem which primarily featured modern and black art by American artist. I apologize for the lack of pictures from the market and museum as my pictures didn't come out very well, but I encourage you to check them out if you're ever looking for something to do in Harlem. Our last stop was the Harlem Meer, which is the northeast corner of NYC's central park. This day was extremely hot, hence my shift dress and lack of makeup (Sidebar: I don't wear makeup often because I barely know how to apply it and I hate wearing makeup when its extremely hot, but I'll gladly accept any make up lessons you lovely folks have to offer:). This dress was perfect for the weather because it's loose and made from linen. I like to wear dresses that show off my figure from time to time but I can't resist a good shapeless dress aka a shift dress. Shift dresses sometimes have a way of hiding curves, yet still being cute and comfortable which is a plus for me. I found this dress last year at JC Penny on sale during their designer collaboration with Doru Oluru. I love designer collaborations with affordable stores because it allows you to experience the designer's work at a fraction of the cost.

Here are some shift dresses I'm loving at the moment: