Are you a planning queen?

 I used to be super obsessed with Ban.do Planners but they exposed themselves in 2020 as a problematic company. I swore to never use them again and have tried out a few different planners. I usually am a target for instagram shopping ads but this one realllllyyy spoke to me. I follow them and repost their quotes a lot but this right here: 

I like how its for the culture but is the perfect mesh of what I loved about Ban.do and what I love about Blue Sky.  

I will say, yes-- it is pricey at $45 but it is a small WOC owned business so I decided to support. I have been following their Instagram for a while and share their content often, content is time consuming to create. I decided this was worth adding to my cart! It ships later this month and I can't wait to start the new year with it!

How cool are the founders?:

-T 

Friday Inspiration

When I first started blogging over 10 years ago I would post "Friday Inspiration" to wrap up the week. It was motivational quotes or aspirational style that should inspire the weekend energy. 

This is really fitting.

-T

COMPLEXCON 2021

 Maybe 2 weeks into a new job and I got the chance to go to complexcon. Very different perspective than the first time around, and so much more to do while I was in town. I actually got in Thursday before the event, and only hung out for day 1. Honestly, outside of meeting Justin Messingner, Sean Evans and eating a lobster roll there wasn't much of note. I genuinely did not get a lot of time to really go to concerts or truly walk every booth thoroughly. I did go to a handful of booths from some people I follow and even got to meet a lot of the owners or designers. Divine timing was on my side for those moments!

I meant to post this recap a while back but... I'm more than rusty. 

Check out my recap from 2017 here. 

-T

I'm participating in blogmas forreal this time

 I decided this year to participate in blogmas to keep my creativity up and get back into a routine of writing again.  I think it's only right that today I spend some time sharing a few Virgil mood boards. If you were a fan of my original blog, Virgil was someone I posted a lot, be it directly or indirectly based on his circle of friends.  

One of my favorite quotes of his and really random reflections: 

Reminds me so much of my own personal journey. It definitely isn't lost on me that I am fortunate enough to work in the proximity to my idols.

 I also feel the universe giving me a lot of pushes lately. I listened to a podcast where someone mentioned that ideas are like living entities. Think of them like fairies, and they travel from person to person kind of haunting them so that people bring them to life. If they are with someone that they aren't vibing with they leave. But they stay if they know the person can bring them to life, isn't that wild? I have like 3 ideas that won't leave me alone. In the last few months travel has had me cross paths with people asking me "when will you do your own thing." Literally after he passed one of the first things a friend of mine asked me was if I wanted to design. Yes, I do. 

Y'all, I lack confidence. BUT BITCH WHEN I FIGURE IT OUT IT'S OVER FOR YOU. 

A few summers ago I got to see Figures of Speech in Chicago. I am such a nerd I think I was in awe of the layered meanings of everything Virgil produced. I picked up a tote bag and a shirt from the exhibit. Cherishing them a little extra now. 

OKAY, lets see if I actually keep up with blogmas this year. 

-Tamara 

Are we all obsessed with wearing colors?

Spoiler alert: Yes. We are obsessed with colors. 

I read an article about "Dopamine dressing" and wondered; can you dress yourself happy? The answer is  yes. 

From Buro

As an adult, I get needing a fun pop to get you through your subconscious telling you "its not business as usual, no your email did not find me well." It's always weird when I pop on a teams call and someone says I'm "All dressed up today" like I should feel ashamed or weird for doing so. Sometimes I just want to pick myself up when a nice shirt and a lip color. I still do it. All of the rules are fake. Dress as fun as you want. 

At the risk of sounding like '"trend forecasting tiktok" if you like that sort of thing-- this will be pretty huge next spring and you will see a lot of orange paired with pinks or blues. The colors wane on the pastel side signaling a fresh, hopeful, aspirational mood.  

Women in Sneakers | Her Grails , from HTX to PDX

All the rules are fake, do whatever you want Sis. 

What have I even been up? Working from home, spoiling my dog, reading, trendspotting, discovering that I feel like I did when I lived in Huntsville, TX. I felt like I had so many stories and experiences to share but nowhere to do it so I started a blog. 

Today everyone is a content creator and I'm trying everything I can to not point at words to music... but it kind of looks like fun. I miss this. 

I MISSED THIS:

Tausha reminded me what I love and miss so much- being in a room of boss bitches with something in common. I love when anyone has a side hustle, and for us all to be women who love kicks, *chef's kiss*

I feel like there is still a void in the world for what I do. There was a while where I was like , "I don't think the internet needs me." I don't think I care about that anymore. I just want to share what I like in one place, for me... again. So many times do I just do back to my blog to share a memory I regret not really having that for one of the most pivotable periods of my life. 

So a few things. I stopped blogging because I was going through A LOT. I also still felt different when I was doing it. It wasn't as fun for a moment. I I felt like people I worked with thought it was kind of a joke, and I was embarrassed for the first time ever. It didn't help that this city was foreign and I wasn't sure what to write about. 

But it's me: I'm the main character. 

I am a black/asian woman beating down the sneaker block and I never talked about it. I never shared how to navigate, the sexism, the racism-- even the idea all skinfolk ain't kinfolk. For the last 2 years in person it's been a mission to in person show representation/ host events/ have conversations... I always talk about access but I limited myself and possibly others by not writing. 

So I am here on that "devote the next 6 months to your dreams" meme.

-T