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

How to Style the Kai Collective Gaia Top

If you don't know about Kai Collective, allow me to introduce you. It's a black woman owned brand founded by OG fashion blogger, Fisayo Longe. Her brand includes pieces for every time of women from those who like to be sexy and show some skin to those who prefer more modest silhouettes. I'm wearing the Gaia top and what I love about it the most is the blend of colors. I feel like this top can be worn all year round because it's light enough for warmer temperatures and can be layered when it's cold. This top is my favorite high neck top ever and I love it so much that I dedicated a whole iG reel and pinterest video to it. So here are 2 ways to style it:

Top-Kai Collective | Pants-Asos | Shoes-Nine West

Wrapped up in Confidence and Pretty Patels

It may technically still be winter but spring is definitely near! One of my favorite color pallets to wear during the spring are pastels. Since it's still cold outside, I decided to incorporate spring pastels into my winter wear with this Asos knit dress and old Banana Republic Coat. Something about color seems to always brighten the mood and bring joy so I'm embracing it more and more as spring nears.  

Dress-Asos | Coat-Old, similar here | Boots- Nine West also available here

Weekly motivational message: As you walk through this week, remember to wrap yourself in confidence and self love knowing that you are equipped to handle everything that comes your way. 

I got some exciting news last week that I was not expecting. It turned out to be the answer to prayers I've been praying for years. To be honest, I felt excited and somewhat nervous after receiving the news because as the saying goes, "to whom much is given, much is required" and I've learned in my career that consistent excellence and good work is often rewarded with more challenging work. My new assignment is my biggest challenge yet and it's a huge undertaking. So I'm hyping myself up to have a great week and talking back to every nervous and anxious feeling that tries to creep up on me. Remember, you were created to shine through this season, even when you encounter challenging experiences. We were created to prosper!

Color Block Style: Red Slip Dress and Pink Blazer

Blazer-Asos (sold out), similar here and here | Dress-Target x Cushie Collaboration (sold out at Target) but found it on poshmark, also love this red dress | Shoes-Katy Perry Collection (Old)

I didn't realize how much I enjoyed the pink and red color combination until I put together this look a few weeks ago for Valentine's day style inspiration. We technically still have a few weeks left of winter, but the weather is finally warming up a little bit to the 40 degree range in New Jersey which has me so ready for spring and more colorful style. I tend to gravitate more towards neutrals in the winter but warmer spring weather makes me want to wear more color so you can definitely expect to see more colorful looks. This dress can be worn beautiful by itself or layered with a blazer or other pieces like I opted for. If you follow me on Instagram, then you saw a few different ways this dress can be worn.  

Running into the Week Refreshed

Happy new week! I can honestly say that I'm starting this week the most refreshed I've felt in months. Why? Because I made a conscious decision to lean into rest heavily over the past few days and do nothing but engage in activities that I enjoy, nourish my soul and leave me feeling happier than when I started (like cleaning). This looked like spending ample time with my husband and son, creating content because you know how much I enjoy fashion, actually finishing two books I've been reading for months, cleaning up my apartment, cooking, etc. It also helped that I enjoyed 5 days off from work so I was basically on a staycation. So it got me thinking, how can we start every week feeling refreshed even when we can't take off 5 days from work to engage in self-care: 

Coat- Missguided (old), never version here | Sweatsuit- H&M | Sneakers-Nike also available here and here

• Carve out some dedicated time before your workday begins to be still. I usually do this before going to bed because once I wake up to get ready for work, I'm in go mode. This time can be devoted to meditating, prayer/devotions, journaling, reading or whatever actives create calm in your atmosphere and nourish your soul.

• Turn off notifications or designate certain times throughout the day when you're not going to check notifications and/or put your phone on silent so you don't get distracted. I find that the more I'm checking notifications or scrolling through social media near bedtime or when I first wake up, the less at peace I feel. 

• Create boundaries with how you spend your time and honor them. I don't think we need to elaborate on this too much. So all I'm going to say is that wasted or misallocated time can never be recovered. Steward it well.

• Do not crowd your calendar during your time off with too many social events. Also, we're in a pandemic so if you spend every weekend out and about socializing without a mask, I'm giving you the side eye. On a serious note, we all crave human connection especially now. As fun as it is to hang out, it's easy to feel tired after a day or night out with friends because having fun requires rest afterwards. So I don't pack too much into my days off. If I am spending time with friends during one of my days off one week, I probably won't make any social plans the next week or only group my social plans to one day of my weekend so I have a day dedicated just to rest and another day dedicating to getting things done around my home (yes I almost always have three day weekends because I work full time 4 days a week). 

• Give yourself grace. It's not the end of the world if you don't accomplish everything on your weekend to-do list because you chose to rest instead. Your body will thank you for not being depleted.