In another life, I was a 1950s housewife. One who loved slim waist cut floral print dresses, had pumpkin pie scented hair and just a tiny bit of dirt under her nails from playing in the garden. I’ve lived this life for a long time in my head.
As part of my pledge to do 28 acts of random kindness, I found a community garden for weekend volunteer work.
Saturday
I volunteered at the Edgewood Community Garden with a group of high school students from a gifted program. One of the first youths I spoke with was Tasha. She attends the Carver School of the Arts and will be attending Spelman college after graduation. I was really impressed with her as well as the other students and what they were doing for the community.
A few years back, a friend invited me to see The Nutcracker. I’m always amazed by the agility of dancers and I’m further mesmerized by the music. Ballet and sweet sounds in one? I’m all in. There’s the Nutcracker: sweet and soothing, and then there’s New Choreographic Voices: emotional and tantalizing. I wasn’t sure what to expect as I’ve never heard of the group before. As the production began, though, I knew I was about to experience something astonishing.
Claire Stallman and Jonah Hooper in Christopher Wheeldon’s “Rush”
On any given day, my favorite nail color would be nude. I want to say I have over 40 bottles of polish but I rarely wear them. My patience has greatly waned these days. Gone are the times when I would stay at home on a Friday night and give my nails some TLC like I used to. But I love buying polish.
One of my most recent purchases isNo Place Like Chromeby Essie. Only once I get back into my groove will I attempt to add designs.
I decided that I wanted to be a photographer in high school. I loved working with film, spending countless hours developing images in the dark room, playing with lighting and just being a general observer of people. When I was in college, I got the lofty idea that I could be the next Gordon Parks. I just knew that I’d become an amazing photojournalist one day. Until I realized that that really wasn’t my dream, lol. My love of photography still remains but I’d much rather appreciate the art as an observer.
I’ve been a fan of Ross Oscar Knight’s work for many many years. Any chance I can get to show my support of his endeavors, I will. In 2010, he attended his first trip to Haiti. I was so very impressed by the images at his opening exhibition then. This time, I was able to hear the story behind his first (and recent trip) to Haiti.
I’m so glad I got the opportunity to see the Atlanta Ballet. Thanks to Mattie of the Atlanta Style Bloggers, I was about to see an amazing performance by the New Choreographic Voices. MAN. I’ll discuss it in Wednesday’s post. It was absolutely phenomenal.
The best and most hilarious part was when my friend Naomie (see: short girl; red pants) got chosen to go on stage and dance. I could not stop laughing. Most importantly, I couldn’t stop thanking Jesus that it wasn’t me the dancer picked. I can’t dance to save my life.
I last posted about some inspiring young ladies a while back who are definitely women to watch. This past Saturday, Diamonde and Bella hosted a brunch at The Mosiac for their new women’s empowerment group, Be Bella. The sisterhood was created to promote inner growth which includes, but not limited to, spiritual, financial and emotional growth. I was really pleased to see women coming together to share ideas and supporting one another. It feels good to be surrounded by young, beautiful and powerful women.
Be Bella, “Changing the world one woman at a time.”
My first experience with a Technicolor film was the Wizard of Oz. I remember watching the movie in amazement, wondering what kind of funky business was happening on my television screen. My eyes were having a color party. It wasn’t like the films that we see today. The Wizard of Oz was one part sepia-toned black and white and another part color. But…a weird color. Vibrant but also subdued hues. It was dreamy and almost aggressively saturated.
Recently, I decided to look up some popular films using this medium from that time. First, here’s the skinny on Technicolor:
This year has been really interesting so far. My weekdays have been ridiculously busy with work but my weekends have become so dry. Maybe I’m getting older and the things that used to interest me aren’t interesting anymore. Maybe my friends (not me) are getting older and committed while I’m forever dateless. Maybe everything I want to do is too expensive. I. Don’t. Know. What I do know is that I’ve had several very boring weekends. Yawn.
Being a loner, I do A LOT of things by myself. When I went to a concert at Phipps Arena alone, I knew then that I could go anywhere on my own. But, there are some things that are better done with company. So, I’m really trying to reconnect with those that I never got to spend time with last year. And most likely joining clubs with people who share similar interests. A little bit of knitting, pilates and dancing.
Saturday
So excited to announce that my precious goddaughter is now three years old! Gosh, I remember holding her in the hospital room. I really can’t believe how much of a big girl she is now. We celebrated the little diva with a few of her friends atAll Fired Up. I’ll admit, I got a little carried away with my Buddha box. I love art!
Afterwards, I headed over to hear hip-hop lyricists The Remnant perform at Cooper Blue. Back in college, they performed at a spoken word event at church and I’ve been hooked ever since.
My sunlight, my muse, do you even know?
Sunday
Ended the weekend with friends at Ormsby’s for a little bocce ball and bangers. Bangers & mash, that is. I have no idea why that weiner is called a banger. I didn’t make it up. And are those not the BIGGEST onion rings you’ve ever seen??????? They were delish!
Playing bocce ball. As many times as this game has been explained to me, I still don’t understand it.
Man, living for the weekends have become the highlight of my life. So essentially, I try to make the most of each and every minute.
Saturday, I attended an event at The High Museum of Art. They called it Culture Shock: Homegrown. Wow. What an amazing event. A night filled with music, art, food and culture. Approaching the museum, people on the lawn watching a screening of Micah Stansell’s “The Water and the Blood”. Inside, we listened to sweet sounds of hip hop and bluegrass by Ashanti “The Mad Violinist” ft the Symphony Crack Orchestra (DOPE!!) and The Whiskey Gentry.
Yeah, there was food and booze. And yeah, there was all of the exhibits. But omg, we got to paint mason jars!!! I felt like a proper Southern girl. Except my friend decided to outdo my balls jar. Grrr.
I can’t even count how many times I’ve visited The High. I never tire from it. There’s always a new exhibition to see. Check out these pieces. Shattered glass and an illusion mirror.
Sunday, I waited until the very last-minute to catch Kenny Leon’s adaptation of “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” I’m so glad I did. It is one of my favorite movies and Leon did not disappoint. I was so pleased to see my pretend aunty Phylicia Rashad performing ever so gracefully. That woman is amazing.
This weekend, I will be spending time with family in South Florida. More fun pictures to come!
A few weekends ago, I attended a social event at Hotel Indigo called Artlanta. In an attempt to get the arts scene that we currently have jumping, I would say that it was a success. Several artists featured their work throughout the unique hotel. Whenever there is art, music and creative people, it is sure to make for an enjoyable time. I had a blast.
