Soul of a Lion

So there's been Michael and Janet, Brandy and Ray-J, James and Dave Franco, the Mowry's and their brother, Hilary and Haylie, Toni and Tamar, and the list goes on and on really. Some successes and many failures in what seems to be a nearly impossible feat, stepping out of their sibling's shadow or even *gasp* obtaining more fame. We can literally talk about so many crash and burn stories but that's not really what we're here for. Ask anyone, we love a good (or bad) excuse to celebrate and what a better person to celebrate than Miss Solo herself? Sol-Angel, saintrecords, the lady many of us hardly directly associate with Beyonce anymore, at least not on that comparison of success basis. Honestly this is just B's hipper, younger sister who's so damn effortlessly cool and in tune with herself.

spirit animal: a statement that said person or thing is a representation of you or who you want to be, as Urban Dictionary has helped us define it as.
[missusmonroe:] I like to say Solo is half my spirit animal, the other half being Rihanna (what a combination...). I just think we're so much alike, I admire her expression so much and how embracing she is of herself; exactly how I encourage others to live and love.

Solange makes it known she's still learning, still very much so a work in progress but what a great work she is thus far. Fearless. So unconventional in her family life and work life. Her music will never be that typical hip hop and R&B, which to us is awesome because it is a direct reflection of who she is. Isn't that what your art is supposed to be? From her travels to her community efforts, it just feels like she's got this life thing down right.

Another thing we really love about Solange is her fearless and creative approach at life. When we first came to know Solange, we knew her exclusively as Beyonce's little sister. And quite honestly, there was still a mirrored image of Beyonce in her. But it seems like that there was surely a break in that pattern, because we have now come to her as "Solange Knowles." on her path of self identity and discovery, we've have been invited exclusive access to her life. Below are some images that we really fell in love with as almost as much we are inspired by her!

Sade & Lola

images courtesy of Google, edited by Sade and missusmonroe

Y'know something, I really appreciate the cozy aesthetic but never have I been able to get with it. To actually commit. Since I'm the type who doesn't wear/buy sweats besides for the purpose of pajamas, the "cozy" wave, I deemed cozi because I mean it's more fun to look at let's be honest, was never really for me. However I seriously love seeing it. This day in particular I just randomly put this together and I think I finally somewhat mastered it for me and my taste. I think the thing was that I've always thought it just didn't do enough to be honest, it just lacked. As in.. if I were to replicate the outfit of someone else for example, I'd look like I just rolled out of bed. The type of thing where it's perfectly cool for you girl, but that shit won't rock with me. But how awesome is this look! One of my resolutions this year was to step even further out of my box. To be even more limitless with my style and to take even bigger risks, personal risks independent of any and everything around me. So I would certainly place this look in that direction. Yes, my hair is indeed purple again, I'll do a separate post on it because honestly in these pictures you can hardly really tell. The reason for this? Well..

Thrifted sweater, missguided dress, Hooters socks, thrifted shoes

So let's touch on this kitchen bit for a moment. As I was leaving Texas my tripod took its last stand (!!! I swear I don't mean to be so funny, swear) and I've been struggling ever since. My camera is still crippled in such a way I never actually explained, but nonetheless it's out of commission. I came back to my suite after a long ass day and it was nearing sunset, explanation for your inability to see the purp, but I knew I had to capture this look...but where?! Suddenly my kitchen smarted gleaming, in all honesty it was sparkling..and my kitchen is not that type of kitchen, okay? *cough* *cough* suite mates *cough* In any case, I suddenly got the vision of this theme for the editorial and this was the wonderful result, cozi homey vibrations. I'm not sure if you can tell, but my shoes are definitely my favorite part of this outfit. Shoes for sure, forever, make or break an entire look. Am I the only firm believer?

xxoo missusmonroe

P.S., blame my ipod, the light position, and the nearing sunset for the wary colors that refused to color correct

I come to you in hopes everyone had a cool-as-a-cucumber Valentine's Day, no ice-cream partnered with tears and hopefully not a "bitch he's my nigga!" type of thing because, I mean what a headache. I don't think I've ever thought too much about this "holiday", because lets be forreal, it's only another money plot. But I do enjoy the idea of a day specifically dedicated to lovers and genuine feelings. Does it always turn out like that, well not even close, but at times it's nice to imagine it will be all perfect with someone worthwhile. But some people turn out to be unworthy.

In any case, this wasn't supposed to be a negative thing! As "Tshirt" by Destiny's Child is currently humming in my background, I reminisce that as a forever single gal (y'all on them black singles chats er nah?), I've always loved Valentine's Day. I think it's the simple fact that other's happiness or perceived rather, doesn't bother me. Seriously, for as long as I can remember I've just always thought my company was the best company. Not that I don't love that of others, but nobody gets me like I get me, you feel me! Haaa, it's a weird mentality from the outside looking in, but it really makes a lot of sense. It's comforting. Self-love really is the best love, I believe. However, these past few months I've really come to terms that it's okay to love others with the same amount of passion you love yourself. It's scary, it feels really risky or something. As if you're about to give up this thing you've held near and dear for so long. Synonymous to a childhood bear or whatever may have you. But at the same time it's liberating? It's okay to receive that love shit as well? Life is as confusing as crack yet crystal meth clear at the same damn time. Like imagine, someone can actually add to the love you have for yourself, the appreciation you've got, even (...wait for it...) supersede it. Solange, aka my muva aka half my spirit animal, says it's the icing on top of the cake. Y'all ever experience this faraway land? I can't wait to wake up to such craziness. In a way I feel like I've been preserving myself for it...

xxoo missusmonroe

Forever21 top, thrifted pants, forever21 loafers

I totally am having a bit of cabin fever combined with some wanderlust. I was looking through my old photo albums from Thailand and was caught with a bit of fondness of how brave and carefree I was to travel solo in such a foreign country. Along the way, I surely learned that the world is not as scary as it seems, and that people all have a common bond of belonging.

Over that past summer, I traveled to Burma, Cambodia, and throughout Thailand. I didn't get a chance to visit Vietnam but if I did, here's what I would look forward to:

The country has such beautiful terraces!

Vietnam's very famous, "Halong Bay". I'd argue this is very similar to Thailand's Krabi island.

Ho Chi Minh is also such a vibrant city!

And How could I forget the food???

Where would you go if you had one summer?

This post was certainly supposed to be my wrap up Texas post, but as you can see that never really happened. Right before I left I captured my last day of work and went to a new restaurant for me, that was my experience in Texas in a nutshell honestly, named Kona Grill. That thing on the menu you squeeze your nose at believing you'll hate is usually the one item you'll die for, from experience! Leaving Texas was mayhem then I arrived home and only stayed for about a night, then it was off to school with class the very next day. It was crazy scheduling and now I'm back in the mix of school without a tripod. That's been the real problem, not that I haven't been busy because I have, but I don't even have the option right now *gasp emoji*

Not that there's been much to capture this past week with me being sicker than a dog. I actually had the opportunity to participate in the iAmiKonic dance convention in DC with choreographers such as Hollywood, Rob Rich, Say'Quan, and Kaelynn "KK" Harris and immediately transitioning from that I came down with feverish temperatures and migraines to kill. I've really been out of commission and unable to function until a few days ago! But thankfully and by God's grace, I'm ready to kill this week.

xxoo missusmonroe

Hey There! I got the chance to visit Boston earlier in the year to visit my best friend of almost 10 years! She goes to school up in Boston, and I also took the chance to meet a few other friends that are up there.

I packed ultra-light with just a backpack (Thank you SE Asia solo backpacking for teaching me about packing)! I was super excited to get a better feel for New England and to experience more of Boston this so popular city that I've heard so much about. The food was great, and it wasn't as cold as I imagined.

I went to a performance by the Trap Music Orchestra. They were so eye-opening and amazing!

The Charles River at night!

Totally felt like I was back in Thailand, with this Khao Soi! We got dinner at this awesome jazz restaurant, Thelonius Monkfish. It was amazing. Highly recommend it. It had great live music and a nice feel.

The beautiful Charles River

Until next time,
Sade

This article is inspired/ripped from Blavity's Jonathan Jackson's article. Please read below:

http://blavity.com/a-public-list-of-my-struggles-and-failures-in-2015-and-what-im-shifting-for-2016/

After reading the article, I wanted to reflect on what were things/habits that I wanted to recognize and improve upon for the upcoming year. To be honest, it still doesn't exactly feel like a "new" year. I am not exactly getting a feeling of being "refreshed." I understand that time is a concept, but still..

Anyway, Let's get started shall we??

1. I would wait to start things because I wanted them to done really well instead of haphazard.

One word: tabs. tabs. tabs! I would have 11 internet tabs open at once and only touch them when I was "ready" to conquer that task. Little did I know that it would be easier to complete things incrementally than to wait and attack it all at once. Also, I would delay work in general. Of course I would get it completed in time, however, the gap in between my completion and knowledge of my assignments was a bit much.

In 2016: Get that shit done. Perfection is relative. And reality is that it won't be perfect because you waited longer to start it.

2. I fell off in writing and utilizing in my journal as regularly as I did earlier.

2015 for me was suppose to be the year of writing and reflecting for me. Well I did stick to that goal during the summer as well as earlier in the year. However, it became difficult to keep up with it. Now, as I read my diary entries from March, June, and July, I'm humbled by the growth that occurred during that time.

In 2016: Being more intentional with my writing and reflecting.

3. I wasn't mindful when it came to myself and others.

Although this is something that, I don't think can be crafted-- I wasn't mindful of my space and others during 2015. There were times when I didn't think about how my behavior or simple phrases that I utter could possibly be taken the wrong way or even cause uncomfortable tension.

In 2016: Practice cognitive thinking but understand that I'm not here to please anyone (that's for damn sure).

If anything else comes to me, I'll add it in.

Things I did do really well in 2015:

I took control of my mental health and prioritized my health!
I ate good food.
I traveled with a fearless spirit.
I meditated (on and off).
My budgeting was a little bit better.

with love,
Sade

Let's take you to a quaint town of Provence, France.

Of course this place is known for this its beautiful lavender fields!

As a town on the South of France, their meals offer the freshest of seafoods.

Eastern Europe has never really interested me all that much. But I have an understanding that there can be such beauty in the smallest of towns. Maybe this calls for another backpacking trip?

These past few days have been a bit crazy... Wednesday I decided to break out my new booties from a random splurge at Forever21, probably the worst decision I could make that day. I say this because I just so happened to need to go to the bank. Let me clarify, I needed to make that 20 minute walk to the bank, no options. When I say half way through I almost took these babies off, I'm not joking. I hate when girls do that, to me it's just like don't wear the damn shoes then, and I also dislike seeing girls practically limping in heels for the same reason. But I was so dang-on close maaaan, if it weren't for my pride I think I really would've broken down. The shoes are actually super duper comfortable, they just weren't prepared for the work ahead of them on day one. In actuality, I never have a normal break in process. Some girls just walk around their house in the shoes...who actually has the time for that! In any case, the blisters on my feet show maybe I should start making some time or something, dang.

Today was a nothing but a tragedy at first. I overslept, I was a true mess, I had to go through some things to be able to telework since I didn't bring my work laptop home... ugh it was a lot. However, I did get to end the night finally exploring further into the city. It was an expensive ass Uber, but I got a chance to see OSHUN NYC perform live. I never did get to make it to AFROPUNK last year and I didn't catch them at Broccoli City Fest, but y'all know I've been wanting to go to a small, intimate SOB's type of performance in a bar type of space or so. It's almost as if it was thrown right into my lap, the exact atmosphere. Honestly I had never really listened to their music previous to a few days before, but I seriously like some of it but especially their vibe and mission. It's crazy how they're originally from Maryland as well and go to school in New York, basically my original dream since forever. The performance was Unplugged, similar to Lauryn Hill's, it was a very intimate environment, we got to ask questions and it didn't feel like they put themselves on any type of upper hand or pedestal. Not to mention, Live out Loud band was freaking amazing. I love live bands and the trumpet and sax crept into my soul for sure. Their new release in on soundcloud, y'all should check it out!

xxoo missusmonroe

Thrifted everything, forever21 booties

Today was arguably one of the most tiring work days I've experienced yet. I don't even have much to ramble on, I'm just beat. I'm still trying to wrap my head around how I switched off all of my alarms, rising with not one, somehow opened my eyes at the correct time, actually physically rose, and got ready for my day. God is an amazing being because when I say I was dead when I made it to the bathroom, I'm talking my body was actually weighing me down. I can't be doing this any longer, school is about to resume and I really need to be well powered beforehand...

There is one thing I look forward to every morning and motivates me even as the pain grows behind my eyes as I brush my teeth, even when I'm about to fall asleep on my desk or at a lecture. It is one constant I know will keep me looking forward. As strange as it is to say, it's whatever I'm wearing. Some people solve math problems for a living, decorate, paint, cut bodies open, catch bodies but for me I go to school of course but I also dress for a living. This is really what I mean by style being life; my style is a depiction of myself. Just a simple example of me motivating myself, I look forward to where my creativity and fearlessness will take me next. Yes, I love taking risks with my clothes because that's how I am in real life, I am an outside-of-the-box thinker. This outfit had many forms before it finally took shape into this combination. The bright color not only makes it shaky territory, but the button-up's main color only matching one of the blues in the skirt (the pictures kind of make it look matchy I think) also mixes things up. Last week my music was blasting and I was singing like Ms. Houston herself as per my usual creative process of forming outfits. I was looking at some other pieces when it struck me like lightening in an open field, my teal top had an essence that would match this marble-ish skirt. I literally had to search my suitcase, they weren't even in my line of vision. Most of the time that's how I operate, the sudden idea hits me and I bring out the pieces to see if they work as I'd envisioned. It's not often it doesn't. Then pairing it with sneakers? To the office?! I swear, my brain can't be wired the same as everyone. But this one was kind of genius.

xxoo missusmonroe

Thrifted top, hand-me-down skirt, thrifted shoes, AA socks

Those Mondays you wish were still Sundays? Yeah. I had an amazing conversation last night that was clearly more important than sleep, as they usually are. Today wasn't that special really, I did get to leave work a bit early so that was a true blessing. Surprisingly I wasn't falling asleep in a pool of my own drool, so I'm very grateful for that. The true gem was last night, well it wasn't that special, but I did go back into town and saw Concussion, lemme tell you guys, that movie is superb. Not only does everyone need to watch it because of the health concerns it addressed and because it is a Will Smith movie, but also the important messages it shares. Especially in relation to race and immigrants, socially out-casting people and big, corporate, high-power, greedy, scandal-prone bullies. Lol, a mouthful but very important to see for yourself. I was telling my friend, if it wasn't for Will looking like, well Will, he could almost convince me he was Nigerian. I realize now the adrenaline from its greatness must've temporarily deceived me because, well that's particularly true but he did do a great job. Everybody check it out.

xxoo missusmonroe

JC Penny kimono, forever21 jumpsuit

Oh me oh my. This week. Well, it really wasn't a bad week at all just very tiring. While I'm in school I'm like this walking caffeinated zombie, literally an addict. So getting myself off when I began vacation was one of the hardest things, really because if I wasn't drinking coffee during my regularly scheduled schedule, I'd have these terrible migraines, just messy. In any case, that explains the tiredness I've been feeling suddenly plummeting myself into an early morning-late night schedule once again, with this time an attempt to hardly drink coffee at all.

My internship in itself is pretty interesting, I've been getting into a lot of numbers and end-of-the-year clean up.. One thing I've never been a fan of are lazy people, lazy people who depend on others and the responsibility they've hoarded on others to get the job done. I just can't live my life like that. You really don't aspire to be great? Aspiring to be mediocre is an actual thing you all! I just could not live that way. Things seriously hardly ever work in my favor, or the way I'd like my favor to go, but I wouldn't want to be regular. It may not be the way I want it, but somehow things just work out in a way...

So the weather here turns out to be not too different from the DMV, freaking fantastic. Came all the way over here to also be freezing! Lol, ironically the tricks began when I first landed and the warm air was blowing, the sun was out, it wasn't uncomfortable heat at all, because everyone knows how much I hate being hot. Then all of a sudden, literally between the time of early afternoon and early evening, the world flipped. It was so cold I thought I had died and woke up in another world... okay cue drama but seriously I don't understand why it's not warm in Houston/Woodlands! Can we discuss how I only packed sandals and open toed shoes and the week I began work the weather plummeted. I literally had to run out during lunch on my first day and buy these flats. Y'ALL KNOW I HATE FLATS! Lol, man and what a mess it was even finding some decent, comfortable shoes I could wear everyday.

I don't know what next week has in store, but this weekend.. well it's almost over and I just don't think there's really much for young adults that are legal but not enough to get shitfaced i public. Tomorrow's a new day though, so we shall see.

xxoo missusmonroe