Category Archives: friends

summer wine

July was wild. It’s my favorite month because we make our annual trip to Hilton Head, the days are rife with summer storms, the gardens are overflowing, and there are many celebrations. This July was particularly full, as we enjoyed the beach, drove into Savannah, toasted a friend’s engagement, and then I flew off to Philadelphia and New York for the DNC and to see two of my best friends. Now that I have a month off from the 2nd of my 4(!) jobs, I will have some time to catch up and actually write! While I get everything in order, here’s a sneak peek through photos of what is to come.

img_1644

sunsets at Hilton Head

img_1285

sunday morning tea blending

img_1654

trespassing through a nearly demolished recording studio in Savannah

img_1365

vegan blueberry banana bread

Processed with VSCO with f1 preset

twilight hour engagement parties

img_2436

the shakespeare garden in central park

img_2265

celebrating the success of nominating HRC as the first female candidate of a major party

img_2577

thrift store finds & birthday surprises

Fingers crossed I can get on a regular schedule here! 😉

 

Fight like a GIRL

I want to take a step back and talk about two of my friends who are facing some tough challenges right now.

First up is my lovely Afro gal pal, Kaitee. A few months ago, after suffering extreme exhaustion, difficulty breathing, and finding a lump on her neck, she decided to go to the doctor – a challenging thing to do when one doesn’t have health insurance. It’s a good thing she spent the money to do so, as she was diagnosed with Stage II Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. While – thankfully – treatable, it costs a lot – financially, emotionally, and physically. A working mom, Kaitee has had to quit her job indefinitely, while her fiance works as much extra as possible to take care of her and the family. I’m happy to say she’s destroying this cancer like the bad ass that she is, but she’s still got a way to go. She’s one of the hardest working, kindest people I know, am I’m glad to have been able to call her my friend for the past ten years! Here’s the link to Kaitee’s gofundme, started by our friend, Lindsey, and where she is SO CLOSE to the goal! Let’s get her there!

12650839_10156487292960500_3117825256216196856_n

No one sparkles quite like Kaitee!

Next is my and Rosie’s Boston buddy, Tammy. Rosie and Tammy’s Boston, Coach, have been Instagram friends for a couple of years now, and you might recall that I got to meet both Tammy and Coach in March at the dog beach meet-up in California. Immediately, Tammy embraced me as a member of their tribe, trying to convince us to move to California. I couldn’t have felt more welcome, and can’t wait to take Rosie to a meet-up! Not long after that trip, Tammy found out that she had Stage 4 Ovarian and Lung cancer. She, like, Kaitee, is a total warrior, and is kicking cancer’s ass! But, also like Kaitee, she has had to leave her job in order to fight the good fight. She and her friends have rallied to start BAM for TAM, a group effort to get her where she needs to go, the supplies she needs, and all of our support. Coach, Rosie, and my mom, who is a Scentsy rep, have teamed up and formed TEAM BAM FOR TAM, a fundraiser where all commissions from their Scentsy sales go directly to Tammy and her family. We’re about to start another one, with a custom Tammy and Coach warmer! Here’s the current link to TEAM BAM, but since Facebook only lets one hold events for two weeks at a time, we’ll be creating the new event page this weekend. I will update as soon as it’s live!

13151942_10153474170222611_5257571394858752333_n

Coach & Tammy, cruising Cali on their bike!