Slow Down St. John: Pacing Ourselves + Resting in Luxury Swimwear

As you walk through this week remember that it's okay to slow down. Life is not a race or a competition. While Spending last week in St. Thomas and St. John I noticed a lot of people there who are originally from the states or spent years living in the states and chose to make the islands their permanent home. When I asked some of these people what made them choose to live in St. Thomas, they all mentioned the slower pace of life was the key factor in their decision. They felt happier because they weren't rushing or living in a society that prides itself on grinding your way to death. They all had this calm and joyous energy that radiated through them based on the intangible elements of their lives. 

So as you walk through this week remember to pace yourself and enjoy things that nourish your soul.

If you could spend one week doing anything anywhere in the world and money was no issue, what would you do? Let me know in the comments section.

When I saw this swimsuit earlier in the year, I wanted it but wasn't sure if I needed to spend so much money on it. Well as the months went by and summer came, I decided that I deserved it. Also, the quality of this bikini is incredible. I also have a one-piece Andrea Iyama swimsuit from a few years ago and I have to say the quality is impeccable! I have no doubt this bikini will last me for years to come because it is so well made. It also comes in other colors but this orange spoke to me and I fell in love with it.

Shop the Look:

Life Lessons Birthday Reflection + Blue Dress

Happy new week! I celebrated my 28th birthday on Friday August 20, 2021, and my entire birthday weekend was amazing! On Friday, my parents came over my apartment and we enjoyed some of our favorite Indian takeout food with red velvet cupcakes for dessert. Just being with my family and enjoying so much good food warmed my heart. On Saturday my husband took me and 3 of my closest and oldest friends (whom I consider sisters) to dinner at Suede restaurant in Brooklyn and we had an amazing time! Like we stayed out late as if I didn't have to be up for work at 5:15am on Sunday morning and even got soaked running from the restaurant to the car at the end of the night lol. I can honestly say this was the best birthday I've had yet and I have God and my loved ones to that for that.

God has blessed me abundantly over the past year and I'm so grateful for this life I get to live every day as well as the abundance of love, support and joy in my life. Every day is not smooth and I face my fair share of challenges, but even on my hardest days, I am filled with gratitude when I remember that my whole life is an answered prayer. Like I really prayed, worked hard, sweat, cried, and sacrificed for the life I have now with the level of peace and wisdom I have now.

Dress- Rumours | Shoes-Steve Madden

I have by no means "arrived" because everyone has room to grow and there are always new levels to experience, but I learned some life lessons and had some epiphanies over the past year I'd love to share with you. So here are some life lessons:

1. Celebrate every win no matter how big or small.

2. Write down your goals. Every single big goal I achieved this year started as a prayer and then I wrote it down in my journal, on my vision board, or in the notes app on my iPhone.

3. The most important validation comes from God. You are not always going to get a "good job", "thank you" or even basic acknowledgment for doing something good or great and that is okay as long as God is pleased with you and your work.

4. You will inspire people who never give you credit or express gratitude for your influence. 

Even when I don't publish a blog post, I make it a point to share food for thought on Instagram because my first goal as an influencer is to inspire people. Two weeks ago someone plagiarized a piece of my writing and it really upset me and hurt my feelings. I pour my heart out into my messages and sometimes it takes me a while to think about what I want to say and all my longer thought-provoking captions are always inspired by personal experience and are messages for the both of us. So when this person stole my words I had to remind myself that my mission is to inspire and clearly the person was so inspired that she stole my words without giving me credit lol.

5. Give and accept grace freely. There will be many times when we are in need of grace from others and ourselves and many opportunities will arise to show someone grace. Be kind to yourself and others in those moments.

6. Say yes to opportunities and experiences that have the potential to bring growth and rewards. I said yes to working the night shift for the foreseeable future in July 2020. Working nights was not conducive to my sleep schedule or family time on the nights I had work, but I did it for a year, got a promotion, and now I work daytime hours!

7.  Creating boundaries for how you spend your time and checking your capacity before you make plans to do something is a game-changer. We live in a world where the constant grind to get up and go after things is glorified, but it's also grueling so pace yourself because if you keep going without adequate rest breaks you are bound to burn out.

8. Dream big. Remember that promotion I told you about in point number 6? Well in 2016, the younger silly me told my boss at the time I had no aspirations to do the job I have now. The truth was that I was intimidated by the job and didn't think I could actually develop into the person worthy of that job. Well, I grew over the years and realized that I was playing small by thinking so little of myself.  Somewhere between 2018 and 2019 I went through a major mindset shift, grew a lot closer to God, and decided to start prayerfully going after everything He wants for me by walking in my purpose, dreaming big, thinking big, and praying more purposefully and my whole life changed!

I hope this blog post gave you food for thought and resonated with. I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments. 

Capacity Planning, Colorful Shorts + Crop Top

When was the last time you checked your capacity? 

If you've ever worked in business operations, the prase capacity planning has probably come up pretty often. In my line of work, capacity comes up all the time. In fact, capacity planning is so crucial to the success of the business that we have multiple meetings dedicated to it each week. Capacity planning basically means that we plan for the work that we want are asked to take on and will work out possible solutions to meet that demand. If we are asked to meet higher demand that we have the capacity to take on based on our available labor hours, then we will have to cap down to our limits.

Capacity planning can also be applied to our everyday lives. Before you put something else on your plate, check your capacity. If you find that you don't have enough time, energy, whatever the resources may be that you need to complete all the things you want to accomplish on a given day or within this week, be real with yourself and set your limits. Personally, capacity planning creates more peace and limits stress and burnout because we set boundaries to not take on more than we can handle. So before you make any more plans for the rest of this week, check your capacity!

Some ways to address capacity in your own life and plan accordingly are:

• make a list of your needs and wants, then prioritize them
• set goals with different timelines so you are not putting unrealistic pressure on yourself to accomplish something that may take more time and planning
• set boundaries for your time
• say no to things that don't bring you peace 
• learn to rest often and give yourself grace

Outfit details: Top-Zara | Shorts- Farm Rio | Shoes-Katy Perry Collection

A Promotion Worth Praying for Part 2

The life you are dreaming of and praying for is possible.

The life you want to live is possible.

You are worthy of living the life of your dreams and so much more.

Nothing is impossible with God.

When I wrote about getting promoted a little over a year ago my next promotion was not on my mind. Heck, my next promotion was not on my mind even a few months after getting promoted. I was just grateful to have been promoted and was soaking up the blessings of my season as a newly promoted manager. 

But I'm here to tell you that by the grace of God, one year after I got my first promotion, I've been promoted again!!! So I want to tell you, that after you reap your harvest and enjoy the fruits of your labor, plant again. Even when you've arrived at a destination, there are so many more places to experience. Think of yourself as a tree or flower that keeps on blooming. In the case of my first promotion, I waited, prayed, worked hard, and lamented with God for nearly 5 years. So when I finally got the promotion I decided that was enough for me for a while. But then an opportunity came to launch a new site with my company and I decided to reach for more by letting my direct manager and site leader know that I was interested in taking my skills to new territory in July. The move came with a little more money, a significantly heavier workload, and the opportunity to develop several leaders who were either new to the company, newly promoted or new transfers to our department.

So I decided to give my utmost to my job and my team when my site launched in September 2020. I poured in all my knowledge and significant amounts of time into this job. I never once asked for or demanded a promotion from my superiors. I simply put in the physical, mental and spiritual work because I wanted to do well and I knew promotion was possible even when no one was talking about it. My family supported me 100% which looked like my husband taking on even more responsibility with our son, my mom came over on Sundays to help us around the house and my dear sister-friend and her parents who offered to keep Avery for weekends here and there when she sensed I just needed a break because juggling motherhood and a demanding career is tough and there is no playbook with how to handle it. My prayer warriors never took their minds off me. 

To be honest, when I started working at my new site I wasn't sure how far I wanted to grow in this department, but one thing I was sure about is that my work would speak for itself. Excellence always speaks for itself. So every day I prayed for the Lord's favor to be upon me and every day He gave it to me. I've been praying this prayer since before I got my first promotion and I have never stopped praying it:

        " Dear God, please help me to find favor with my superiors, my peers, my subordinates, my                           support partners, and all whom I need to be successful"

Now, this doesn't mean that every day went according to my will, but according to God's will. The good days were glorious and the days I wished for better were never as bad as they could have been because God was with my team and me. Soon my team became number one in our sub-region at the time and I got selected for several opportunities that could only be described as a reward for excellence. By January 2021 my site leader told me to start withing my promotion document. Fast forward to April 2021, I got THE BEST annual review/compensation review I have ever received in my career. 

In May, my manager called a meeting with a few other co-workers to publicly announce that I was promoted. After we finished celebrating for a few minutes, two black women separately pulled me to the side to congratulate and thanked me for showing them that anything was possible. Now that was an answered prayer for me because something I have prayed for years is for God to allow me to be a positive example to other people at work and to help me to make space for more women and leaders of color. Another amazing thing that I want to tell you is that I was able to help three amazing leaders get promoted since joining my team in September 2020 as well which is also an answered prayer because one of my missions and prayers in life is for God to allow me to lift others up as He elevates me.

Top-Asos | Jeans- H&M | Shoes- Nine West | Bag-Coach | Full outfit links and similar items are available here

I know this was a very long testimony and there are so many details that I haven't even written down because it would take so long (maybe I should do a video), but I promised God that long before He promoted me, I would honor Him by sharing my story. When God does something great for you, you owe it to Him and the people around you to share your story. I don't know who needs this testimony, but I want you to know a few things God has taught me through my career:

• The days ahead of you are greater than your past 

• God can transform your financial situation in a few months, a year, or a few years. God increased my salary in less than a year and nearly doubled my starting from 6 years ago this year. I don't tell you this to brag but to let you know that if God can do it for me, He can do it for you too.

• There is no substitute for hard work.

• Your success will require you to sacrifice. I spent more hours away from my son and husband at work over the past year than ever before. I've barely seen my friends. 

• Be consistently excellent

• Create boundaries with your time, respect them, and require other people to respect them as well.

• Do not hoard your knowledge. A good and wise manager always shares their knowledge with others who are willing to listen, learn and apply it because you're only as strong as the people on your team, and some work is too great to accomplish alone.

• Don't wait for a special occasion to treat yourself. Big wins are always preceded by several small wins so celebrate the small wins. The coach bag I'm holding in these pictures was a gift to myself in April. Prior to getting the bag I often told myself that I'll treat myself to something nice when I get promoted, but I decided that I deserved that bag in April because I had been working hard for a long time and decided to gift myself.

Family Funday + Fashion at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Happy new week! My family and I had the most beautiful day in Brooklyn this past Friday. Both my husband and I happened to off from work so we decided to turn it into a family fun day! Going to Brooklyn in the summer is a must for us. We have plenty of family here and some of our favorite spots are in Brooklyn like the Botanic Gardens. So we decided to start our day with a visit to my sister in-law and her family where we had an amazing lunch (she's an amazing cook and I need some lessons from her), then we spent a few hours in the garden. After gallivanting through the garden for several hours, we winded down our day at my brother-in-law's house where Avery and I fell asleep on the couch while my husband and his brother caught up. 

Seeing Avery run around so joyful and carefree made my heart smile. I hope he always basks in that joy as he continues to grow and discover more of the world.

This was our first time in Brooklyn this year and it felt wonderful to be among family and the beauty of nature. Kofi and I have been to the gardens a few times before we became a family of three, but this was our first time bringing Avery. It was so fun to watch Avery run around the garden exploring and enjoying the beauty and freedom of nature.

My high-low babydoll dress is from the Christopher John Rogers x Target Collection and I think it was the perfect dress for the garden. My husband, who does not give me fashion advice often, suggested I wear the dress with sneakers and I'm glad I took his advice because I think it made the look even more fun. The dress is sold out on Target's website but you can find it in several places on ebay and poshmark

As you walk through this week, I hope you stay close to places and people that bring you joy from the inside out! I hope you're able to find peace and beauty in the most simple moments and savor your experiences. 

Blazers, Boss Moves & Kicking Imposter Syndrome to the Curb

May was a fast, exciting and grueling month for me.  I celebrated a big win I new was coming and it felt really good to look up at my vision board and cross off the biggest goal five months into the years (more on that in a future blog/IG post). I got sick for two weeks during May and really learned what happens to my body when I try to power through work at the expense of my health: two fevers and burnout. So I decided to listen to my body and be kind to it by taking multiple days off from work during May and June, got back to writing in my journal, reflected on my growth and spent some quality time with God praying very intentional prayers for this interesting and exciting season of my life.

With so many good things happening to me, imposter syndrome and anxiety crept up on me as it often does when things are going well and bring about unknowns. So this is a reminder I wrote myself this weekend:

As you walk through this week, remember that good things are coming your way and you are deserving of them all. Don't let imposter syndrome talk you out of the goodness and glory you have earned. Fear is no match for your blessings.

I also wrote down this message/reminder last week: 

You will never need to sacrifice your boundaries, faith or mental health to achieve success.

Recently someone had the audacity to ask me to ponder if I could stay trie to my faith and respect my boundaries while maintaining a certain level of success or working towards greater achievements. I was able to smile at that person and confidently tell them that my boundaries are firm and require respect because I know that the success that I have experienced throughout my life is because I made a decision a long time ago not to sacrifice y boundaries or faith to flourish in this life.

Remember that success has no ceiling when you're living in your purpose and honoring God.

So that's the message for this week. I hope you are encouraged to walk confidently and live your best life.

Blazer- Farmrio | Jeans-Old Navy | Shoes-Katy Perry Collection

New Month, New Wins and Why We all Deserve Nice Things

Hello! I hope everyone is doing well. It's a new month so I figured that it's only right that we kick it off with a new blog post. I had no intention of pausing from blogging during the month of April, but life happens. April was such a full month for me that needed more of my attention. In full transparency, it was one of the most exhausting months of my career this year but it was also an incredible fruitful month. 

Celebrating wins: Some of my highlights during the month of April were receiving the best annual review and compensation increase I have ever received in my nearly 6 year career, being chosen to go on a business trip that turned out to be everything my soul needed, getting my hair straightened for the first time in years, purchasing a luxury bag I've had my eyes on for months, and most importantly celebrating 3 years of marriage with my husband because life is nothing without relationships!

Reflections/ Lessons from April:

• Seasons of fruitfulness are always preceded by seasons of rain: I've been working hard throughout my entire career, but working nights (which I have been doing since August) is a new level of hard that took a toll on my body. Working nights also came with longer hours which honestly made me feel burnt out sometimes. So being recognized for my excellence and hard work in the form of a positive annual review and pay raise was deeply satisfying because it took a lot of sacrifice, grit, and determination to get to the place I'm in today. So if you feel like you have been putting in work towards whatever goal you have and you're not seeing results, trust and believe that your time is coming and it will be glorious!

• Celebrate every win: It's easy to be so focused on achieving big goals that we forget to pause and enjoy the milestones along the way. While I'm still working towards and waiting on my next promotion, I can still celebrate every win along the way like my review, raise, being acknowledged for my leadership by my peers, superiors, etc. I even celebrate being able to get 8 hours of sleep on my days off and 7 hours of sleep on a work day because the little things make such a huge difference in our well-being.

• You deserve nice things:  I often tell my husband and friends that I'm going to buy a luxury bag when I get promoted to reward myself. However, I've started to realize that we don't need to wait for a special occasion to treat ourselves. I had my eye on the Coach Pillow Tabby 26 as soon as it came on the scene but told myself I should not be spending $500 on a bag when I have rent, daycare and personal savings goals to think about. The truth is that housing expenses, childcare costs and my savings goals are not going away anytime soon and I can afford to splurge $500 on a bag because I work hard and I deserve it. When I asked my husband if I should buy the bag he said: "You work hard for your money, you literally sacrifice sleep to earn your money so you might as well enjoy it". Now, I didn't need my husband's permission to buy the bag but just knowing he supported my purchase made it easier for me to treat myself. So treat yourself every once in a while or whenever you feel like it and have the means to do so!

Blazer-Asos | Pants-Asos | Suit Crop top (worn under blazer)- Asos