My New Year Post

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If this person is in your life, keep them close and let them know how much you care. If this person is not in your life and don't want to be in it, have the grace and respect to let them go. You have a whole new year ahead of you, full of possibilities, new opportunities. Every day, you have a chance to make that day awesome, so put a smile on your face, dust off 2011, and make 2012 a memorable year.

Oh and one more thing, they "say" the world is suppose to end this year, well we better make our last year on this rock,

the greatest year eva!!!

Food Porn #10

Instructables

chocolate & carrots

two tiny kitchens

smitten kitchen

Bakers Royale

Recipes from Kevin and Amanda

See you next year. XOXO

I Heart......

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Ted Thursday #65

For the last Ted Thursday, I present the speech Steve Jobs gave at Stanford in 2005. I hope it will inspire you as we say goodbye to 2011 and hello to 2012.

About The Talk

Drawing from some of the most pivotal points in his life, Steve Jobs, chief executive officer and co-founder of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, urged graduates to pursue their dreams and see the opportunities in life's setbacks -- including death itself -- at the university's 114th Commencement on June 12, 2005.

The Talk


To see other Ted Thursdays, click here.

Male Appreciation #20

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Honestly speaking, I don't know what to write. I don't think it is a matter that there is nothing else I love about men, it's just at this moment in time, I'm drawing a blank. So I will be doing a quick summary of the Men Apprection posts. I started the Male Appreciation posts out of a whim and because I recognized there are certain things that I love about men. It could be a physical thing or something related to their character and I felt like sharing.

1. Men's hands
2. Men who kill (bugs)
3. Men's Backs
4. Men
5. Men with their children
6. Good men
7. Tattoos on legs
8. The pelvis area
9. Men with facial hair
10. Stanley Tucci
11. Men with style
12. Men who respect the word "No"
13. Men who work hard at the things they love
14. Men in suits
15. Bill Cosby
16. Smiling men
17. Men with bare necks
18. Men with style
19. Men who wear cologne

So what is the future of Male Appreciation? Well, I'm thinking I want to hear from you, what do you love about men? It could be normal, unusual, even kinky, LOL. 2012 is all about you, so leave a comment below and let me know what you love about men. Also, I will be asking my FaceBook Friends as well and don't be surprised if you some of my own personal appreciations. So, my lovies......

What do you love about men?

Leave your comments below.

Traillers!!!!

I want to see this as I haven't read the book and I vaguely remember watching the cartoon version when I was young, so I'm looking forward to it.


OMG!!! I am so excited about this movie!!! I am a fan of Aliens and the Alien franchise. Before I hyperventilate from the excitement, may I add that it has some actors I love like Charlize Theron, Idris Elba. Need paper bag. Not to mention, I am waaaaay overdue for a deep space thriller. Why do I feel faint?


I guess I should mention The Dark Knight Rises, but I will be honest with you, I love Anne Hathaway as an actress, but I'm not feeling her as Catwoman who so happens to be my favourite comic book character eva. I could be wrong, look at Heath Ledger as the Joker, which made him my favourite movie villain eva. The thing is I'm quite lackluster when it comes to this installment of this Batman series. I will be honest, I was not crazy about the first one, the second one I loved because of the Joker (I have the DVD), but this last one..... it better be good. That's all I have to say. Here is a link to the trailer: Link.

One of my awesome Facebook friends, Ms. Andreen put together this playlist of trailers and some I have come across and some I haven't. To see the entire playlist, click here and below are my thoughts.

1. When I first saw this trailer, I wanted to see it even though I knew it would not come to Antigua. For one it is a story of struggle and perseverance and it appears to address so many layers from the frivolous (the fashion world) to the serious (female circumcision) to the endearing (finding one self). I'm definitely going to have to look for this on DVD to add to my collection.

2. Love it!! It reminds me of a movie back in the 80's, a coming of age story. I love that it reflects the human spirit and it is very inspirational. It also gives you a look into Africa so you see beyond the suffering and see the true nature of the people.

3. I love that this movie delves into something I haven't seen in films which is black homosexuality. I love the cinematography in this film and I don't know if it is because the main actress is unknown that I can see pass her and see the actress. For some strange reason she reminds me of Whoppie Goldberg, not for her physical presence, but her ability to convey emotion without words.

4. Okay, I think I have to move to the States and get NetFlicks and spend my weekends watching these movies. Talk about dynamic, plus this trailer makes me want to watch the movie. It is beautifully shot, the plot looks intriguing and I want to watch this.

5. The first thing that came to mind was: "Is this a recent film?" The feel is very 1970's, and I know they are speaking French, but even if they spoke English, the acting screamed French film. I will admit, I'm not a fan of French cinema, I am intrigued to see what happens in the end.

6. This one had me smiling like crazy. I want to watch this so much. We take education for granted but there are people out there that would do anything to be able to read and write. I am speechless. Somehow, I'm going to have to get NetFlicks or something so I can watch these movies and more that fly under the radar.

There are 18 trailers in this playlist and I will be covering the rest over the next two weeks. If there any movies you think I should watch, leave a comment, I lurve comments as much as I lurve movies.

Interior Love

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Why Am I Single #5

Answer #5: Self Enforced Small Dating Pool

 

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I'm sure you have heard the countless accounts of how bad off black women are in terms of finding a life partner. We are constantly bombarded by media generated content about how little black men are out there who are educated, available, not in jail or willing to settle down. Somewhere there is an unspoken rule that we should not date outside the race.

There are the funny looks, as though you are a representative for a whole race of people and you have let them down. The sad thing is it is acceptable for a black man to be with a white woman but God forbid if a black woman is with a white guy or asian or indian. It is also acceptable for a black woman to have kids out of wedlock. So is it safe to deduce that society would rather us be alone than be with someone outside of our race? Then again, it's truly the loud ignant (note not ignorant but ignant) folk who have a problem with interracial coupling in general.

Don't get me wrong though there are also some internal problems to get past. For instance, will the non-black man understand my hair? Will he understand my culture? Well, my colouring is not the same as the colouring of his race, will he like what he sees? What does he see when he looks at me? Does he see the stereotypical black woman or does he see me?

I know being black is something to be proud of, my fore parents had gone through so much and persevered, but they fought so hard to be viewed as equals to other races. In being equals, race should take a back seat to the character of the individual. It should not divide people but bring them to a place where they can exist on common ground.

So how do I get past it? Once again, open mind and open heart. I saw a clip from a Tyra show, where a Native American woman said her father taught her to look a person in their eyes and see them not the colour of their skin. I'm paraphrasing, of course. From now on, I will look into people's eyes and try to see their souls.

Food Porn #9

Hiya!!! Now normally I would just post these mouth watering pics of food, but I'm going to take it a step further and add links to the recipes. So if you want to test your cooking skills and make these recipes following the links below the pics.

Dominican Cooking

Pinch of Yum

Dashing Dish

sweet anna's



Sugar & Everything Nice

No Face Plate

I Lurve This Dress

I am loving this dress so much, I would even venture to make it. I could go on and on but I won't.

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Ted Thursday #64

About The Talk

We're taught to try to live life without regret. But why? Using her own tattoo as an example, Kathryn Schulz makes a powerful and moving case for embracing our regrets.

The Talk

Male Appreciation #19

One of the things I’ve learned to appreciate about men is when they wear cologne. I’m guessing this is another throw back to my dad since he and his father have a thing for cologne. The thing is I won’t be able to tell you that I like one cologne over another; I just know when the scent is working with the individual. I don’t know what it is but it also creates a nice little atmosphere of yum yum. Bear with me here…..

Just imagine a good looking guy walking towards you and just when he gets close, you smell the most divine scent. It’s is not overpowering but you just want to get close and just exist in his personal space. LOL.

As great as the great smelling guy can be, there are drawbacks, for example:

Wearing a cologne that older men wear – Please note smell is the senses that is associated with memory. Why would any decent woman want to devious things with a man that smell like her dad or even worse, her grandfather.

Spraying all over excessively – I apologize for the TMI in advance. So one evening, while getting to know a guy on a deeper plane, I was kissing his chest and …… well let’s leave the rest for another day, and he tasted bitter. I didn’t say anything and I continued to pursue that line of thought but it did leave a bad taste in my mouth (pun intended) and I would think twice about kissing a guy in that fashion.

Don’t wear the same cologne every day – I am not saying put on cologne everyday, keep that for special occasions. Keep it for special outings, just so that we know that you really want to put your best foot forward.

Less is more – Just put on enough that will peak a woman’s interest at a couple paces away and make her want to come closer. Imagine when you smell your favourite dish as soon as you come home and it pulls you to the kitchen, that is what your cologne is supposed to do.

I would say to a guy, either spend some time in a perfume store and try out scents that work for you, or just get a great smelling soap or aftershave. If anything get a girlfriend, a sister or a good female friend to guide you in the right direction. Oh, and remember, you are a man, so smell like one, I don't want to be smelling something I would wear on a man, not cute.

So for the great smelling men out there, I appreciate you.

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This is a fake ad, but I'm such a fan of Stanley Tucci that I had to add it to the mix.

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Now I'm not saying that women will be acting like the women in the Axe commercials or sniffing you like below, but we will take notice.

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Trailers

Men In Black 3: I'm not planning on it being uber great as it is the third installment and the second was all right.

Note Pad Tutorial

Since high school I have had a thing for note pads. I always had to have one handy, and I would either be doodling in it, writing poetry or making quick notes to myself. Yes, people, I had a "journal" before it became cool, I know, so hipster of me. 

Anyway, I have been on a recycling kick for some time now, it's just hard for me to throw away something that I know can be recycled. I just don't want my water bottle or my can in some landfill long after I'm dead. 

Don't worry, this is not a recycle or die post. This is a tutorial on how to make a note pad out of cardboard and an old almanac/desk thingy. So here is where we start.

Interior Love

fitted trousers

 

my ideal home

 emmas designblog

desire to inspire

interior porn

now this is living

Why Am I Single #4

Answer #4: I'm an idiot.

 

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There are many reasons why I would boldly wear the dunce cap but the main one is when I talk myself out of a possible suitor. Yeah I used the word, I can go old school too, suitor. I even wrote a poem about it, want to read it, here it is.

Basically, I would see an attractive male specimen and all the visual points are there, but right after the build up, there is the demolition. What is his deal? Is he in a relationship? Is he married? Is he gay? Would he be interested in me? and on and on and on. Even if he was interested in me, I've already talked myself out of the running. As I said, I'm an idiot.

So how do I rectify this? Well, I've already started, I'm building up my confidence so that I view myself as a worthy contender and someone worth a hello and a conversation. I know it's also a matter of shifting perspective once more, I complain about people putting labels on me in the first Why Am I Single post, but I turn around and put labels on others, shame on me. Then again, we are all hypocrites. Another way of moving forward is living my best life and to stop figuring out what the next person is thinking or their status. Leave my mind and heart open, even if I get hurt I will become stronger for it. It's like a scar, you get cut and the skin grows over but thicker. Hopefully, I don't get hurt too much.

Food Porn #8

I Stalk PhotographY

Ted Thursday #63

This is a cool idea.

About The Talk

Britta Riley wanted to grow her own food (in her tiny apartment). So she and her friends developed a system for growing plants in discarded plastic bottles -- researching, testing and tweaking the system using social media, trying many variations at once and quickly arriving at the optimal system. Call it distributed DIY. And the results? Delicious.

The Talk

Male Appreciation #18

Cilla B of FASHBERRIES mentioned in the comments of the last Male Appreciation stylish men and I must agree, I love seeing a well put together man. In my book there are two types of men with style.

1. The man who takes the time to put together his look. He knows his body, he knows what he likes and he know how to pull of a look that will make him proud and will turn heads.
2. The man who is just naturally stylish. I would say it is more nurture than nature but he can wake up, go to the closet, pull a few items and look great.

Although I like the latter a wee bit more than the former, I have love and respect for both. There is something about a man who takes pride in his appearance that is very appealing. So to the stylish men out there, I appreciate you and I knew you existed before Kanye West stepped on the scene.

colourlover's pinterest

guerreisms

The Fashionisto

Modern Hepburn

Street Etiquette

P.S.
I know a lot of men are inspired to wear sizes that are bigger than their true size, but I find a garment with a good fit goes the distance. Be it a suit, a button up shirt, a pair of jeans, the male body is a beautiful thing and it is a damn shame that some men want to hide it. Think of the pride you feel when you are with a well put together woman and everybody is checking her out, now why would you want to deny us, women, that feeling? Think about it *wink*