Gesphania

Jacket: www.shopgesphania.com

I had a close relative visiting from Ayiti (Haiti) for a short visit and I wanted to make sure we had a chance to spend time together before she headed back. My brother recommended we take her to this fairly new Haitian owned restaurant north of Boston. At first I was hesitant because I wasn’t sure if taking her out to consume cuisine that is normally on her menu as the best option. To me, that’s like if I visited Cuba and the locals took me to a restaurant that served American food. But I took his positive review in stride and we headed to the location.

Named Infused Kreyol, this restaurant is located on Main Street in Malden, MA. Upon arriving I was delighted by the artistic decor, dim lighting and classy Caribbean vibe. We were immediately greeted by a friendly and approachable host and sat ourselves at a table. As we waited for our menus, I decided to walk about and a hallway of artwork caught my eye. Beautiful canvases created by Afro Caribbean artists. Some labeled for sale. I stared at each piece as if I were in an exclusive art museum. The peaceful atmosphere gave the restaurant that exact feel. My trance of artistic appreciation was interrupted by the voice of my relative signaling us to take a photo. Our waitress quickly offered to be our photographer and took a few snaps of our group. By this time menus and water were already awaiting us at the table.

Now my usual challenge of public dining is the menu. My husband and I are vegans. As my brother & relative were easily making their selections, my husband and I stared at the options at a tilted angle. There weren’t any vegan entree’s but that is to be expected especially for a restaurant catered towards a culture that consumes meat and dairy heavily. We ended up creating a plate. Warm Salad, which consists of sautéed cabbage, spinach, onions, tomatoes and garlic, with avocado and sweet plantains. My relative had Fried Haitian Meatballs (boullet) , Haitian Black Rice (diri djon djon) & Fried Plantains. My brother had Fried Pork (griot), White Rice & a seasoned Puréed Black Bean Sauce (sos pwa nwa). As we ate the room went silent. You know food is delicious when everyone stops speaking and just focuses on each bite. We all thoroughly enjoyed our selection.

As we ended the night and paid our bill our waitress gave us more information about the owners and pointed out the significance of some of the pieces & paintings that depicted the owners family line. I felt a sense of pride and appreciation of these two sisters of Haitian decent opening such a well represented restaurant of my culture. Overall everything was wonderful. I do hope in the future there is a vegan entree or two added onto the menu, but other than that it was truly a beautiful dining experience.

Visit Infused Kreyol at:

423 Main Street
Malden, MA 02148

Enjoy a few flicks of my visit

Dress: www.shopgesphania.com

I wrote this poem about 10 years ago. It was in a season of my life when I wasn’t quite sure what love was but I knew the type of love I desired. I took it upon myself to put those desires into words in hopes that if I write out my expectations, these attributes would come into fruition. Fast forward about 5 years later, I met a man that embodied all that and more. As our 1 year wedding anniversary approaches, I would like to dedicate this poem to him. To my love, Thank you for bringing these words to life.

The wedding world was not on my radar of passions growing up. In fact, as a child I was convinced that I was going to be a doctor. Whenever I was asked the question "What do you want to be when you grow up?", I would always choose what I thought would give the most impressed reaction. Doctors were always looked at with such prestige so naturally I gravitated towards what was perceived to be the best in my world. It wasn't until I started to form my own identity that I realized my interests were far from the medical field.

My mother influenced my love of fashion and beauty. The way she is able to transform a room with gorgeous floral arrangements and decor took my breath away. She brings joy to women as she styles them in both custom made and curated gowns. Each bride's elated expression brought renewed excitement. I wanted to become apart of that and create my own unique stamp within the family business.

I pushed forward and added the skill of Wedding Planning to my arsenal of talents. I have extended the experience by not only seeing my client in her gorgeous gown for the first time or watching her expression as she enters her gorgeously decorated venue, I am also able to walk with her in her wedding journey from the very beginning to the end. To be able to be that support for a woman as she embarks on this new season and transition in her life is an honor. I know I have big shoes to fill as I carry the torch that my mother has kept burning for over 25 years, but she has laid a strong foundation for me to build upon. Cheers to the many more weddings I get to create with my inspiration, my mother.

Love & Light Rising Roses

Remember the time when if you were romantically interested in someone you just walked right up to that person and introduced yourself? Face to face, in each other’s physical space, moments full of butterflies & bits of awkward silence. In today’s times we are provided with the convenience of swiping left or right depending on if that person’s face catches our attention. If they swipe in the same direction of agreement, the possibility of a conversation can spark, which could maybe lead to a face to face date, one night stand or blossom into a relationship that stands the test of time.

Online dating has been booming in the last 10 years with an array of platforms to choose from. One would think there’s no more room for another dating site, until social media giant, Facebook boldly jumped into the dating pool. It only makes sense right? Facebook already has billions of members. With their algorithms the site can easily compile data to match Facebookers looking for love. And the fact that members don’t have to download an additional app and just create a separate dating profile right on the Facebook app they already use makes it even more convenient.

The service will list potential matches based on location proximity, preferences and other factors. “Facedaters” will also be able to choose to match with potentials who are apart of the same Facebook groups or attend the same events. Facebook has rolled out it’s preliminary advertisement to members in the United States today. The feature has been active in other countries since last year.

What do you think about Facebook dating? Will we see a spike in Facedaters in 2020? Only time will tell.

Love & Light Rising Roses

As a fellow member of the natural hair movement I was elated when I received the news that actress Tracee Ellis Ross has thrown her natural hair care hat in the ring and is launching her very own line. Titled Patten, according to Ross this vision has been a 20 year dream and 10 years in the making. Writing her first brand pitch in 2008, Ross took her time and worked with a team of chemists for 2 years to formulate what she finds as the perfect combination of safe ingredients to cater to the 3B - 4C audience. After testing over 74 samples on herself along with her panel of different hair types, Ms Ross finally landed 7 products as an introduction to the Pattern collection.

What is also exciting about this brand is the sizes available for purchase. One of my main issues personally with natural hair products is the small sizes. Usually after two washes I need a whole new bottle of shampoo conditioner. Ross provides the option of large, refillable travel sizes and reasonable pricing to make Pattern affordable and accessible. Now the question is will all melanated hair types love it? We shall find out when Pattern makes it’s debut on September 9th. I for one will be following up with a review and photos of my results.

For more information and to get updates on the launch, visit https://patternbeauty.com



-Love & Light my Rising Roses!