What Community Means to Me

When I think about the neighborhood I grew up in, the famous line from the "Cheers" theme song always pops into my head: "Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name/ and they're always glad you came." On my block, we had a strong sense of community. We all looked out for one another, my brothers and I had play dates with the kids around our age groups, we exchanged gifts on holidays and birthdays, and our annual summertime block party was an event that everyone looked forward to.

Stratford Girls Trip: Day 3

Overall, I really enjoyed my weekend in Stratford! It’s such a cute city, and I would go back in a heartbeat. The food was so fresh and delicious, all of the shop owners we met were so kind and genuinely excited that we were there visiting, our tour guide was truly the BEST, and I love plays and musicals, so seeing “Little Shop of Horrors” was icing on the cake.

Customize Your Life with Basic Invite!

To me, you really set the tone for your event with the invite. While text invitations are super convenient for my generation, sometimes there’s nothing like receiving something tangible in the mail. It’s like, “Wow, you really want me to come?!” Coming up with a design for an invitation can be the most challenging part – even more challenging than putting your guest list together! That’s why websites like Basic Invite exist.

FashionSpeak 2018: Interview with Phoenix Mellow

This year I was asked to be on the blogging team for Detroit Garment Group’s annual FashionSpeak conference. If you’ve never been before, FashionSpeak is a one-day event hosted at the One Woodward building downtown that focuses on the business of fashion. There are panel discussions, keynote speakers, live demonstrations (I got to see two students make shoes this time), and a “Meijer Merch Search,” where three small business owners get to pitch their product to Meijer executives. Instead of being a regular conference-goer, I was asked to interview costume designer Phoenix Mellow, the keynote speaker for the event, and write a blog post about my experience at this year’s conference. How cool! Thank you to the Detroit Garment Group team for thinking of me and allowing me the opportunity!

My New Favorite Moisturizer

While browsing around the store, I saw the Green Hemp Face Oil by Kenna Nicole, and asked the associate what she thought about it. The associate had several good things to say about the oil, with the most intriguing one being that her acne scars started to clear up once she started using the oil consistently. Coincidentally, I had an obnoxious acne scar right on the middle of my nose that was not budging, and I was willing to try anything, so I went ahead and asked for a sample.

#EvannsBohoBash

All in all, my party was absolutely magical. I was in great company, my decorations looked beautiful, everyone loved the food (I'm getting better in the kitchen, y'all), my playlist was poppin', and for the first time in some weeks, I felt at ease. Being surrounded by people that love you unconditionally truly does something to the spirit. For days, I kept staring at pictures and videos from the evening because I couldn't believe how wonderfully everything turned out!

#ProjectYouToday

#ProjectYouToday is Liz Louize's body positivity campaign that encourages women to celebrate who they are in this exact moment. Far too often, women hold themselves back from things out of fear of not being "thin enough," "pretty enough," "smart enough," the list goes on and on. We set these unattainable expectations for ourselves, knowing that they are unreasonable and farfetched, and then tear down our self-esteem when those "goals" are not reached. Maya Angelou once said, "You alone are enough, you have nothing to prove to anybody." As women, we need to remember and understand this. We are all on this earth to serve a purpose. We are beautiful, inside and out, and we should not wait until that "perfect moment" to start enjoying our lives.

It's My Workaversary!

It's been a full 365 days since I took on the role of the Digital & Social Media Associate for the City of Detroit. This calls for cupcakes! (Chocolate, please.) I know I've been saying this a lot lately, but time really does fly! I remember how anxious and excited I was when I first started. I was just so happy to finally be working in a field where I could utilize my journalism degree!

Hair

Hair is such a fickle thing. It can break off, tangle, grow longer, fall out, change colors...it's not always consistent. Why do we put so much emphasis on something that is just going to do what it wants to do when it's all said and done? Taking care of your hair is extremely important, and I believe that healthy hair should always be the ultimate goal, but hair should not be the be-all and end-all for you.

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