Nalu Boutique Archives

What Would You Say?

Posted on December 20, 2016December 24, 2016 by lavishcafe

Happy Holidays Lavish Lovelies! My hope is that you are enjoying the impending arrival of good ole Saint Nicholas. I certainly am because I am soaking up every minute of my glorious time off (If you are a teacher…HOLLA!). Instead of totally indulging in this season of eggnog and insane hustle and bustle, I have decided to take some time to get organized for the next year.

While cleaning drawers that have been severely neglected, I came across some photographs that I had not seen in a long while. Oh, the memories! I filtered through pictures of my baby when she was a baby, pictures of me and husband when we were young fine thangs (that is the Southern way of saying “things”), and multiple pictures of great holidays past. I even uncovered a couple pictures of a very young me. A me who had yet to discover her lavish. A me whose eyes held tons of wonder and hope for the years to come. As I gazed at the chubby little girl in the photo, a question that I had previously heard came to mind: “What would my adult self say to my little girl self?” To keep it short and sweet…the answer was just five words.

Well, this question was too prolific (horn tooting..ha! ha!) to keep between me and myself. Soooo, I sent it to some members of my band of beauties (thank you…love you) and here are their responses:

Me: Stop fretting, you are favored

Buga: God will never fail you

Mom: Stay on your diet, Boo ( only, my mother! remember, she is wild flower child)

Sweet Spirit: You are more than enough

Sister: My existence is enough justification (she is DEEP)

Bestie: Always keep candy on hand ( she DOES love a good candy apple)

C: Beloved! It’s gonna be something

Mrs. Wells: Put God first…do YOU

Wife: Stay fine your haters watchin (another wild child!)

Lavishites, I ask the same question to you. “What would my adult self say to my little girl self?” Although I can not hear all of your answers, I am quite sure whatever the answer may be, it will awaken your awareness of how far you have come and how lavish the rest of your days shall be!

Happy Holidays!

Dress ~ Nalu Boutique GET HERE || Shoes (OLD) SIMILAR HERE || Bracelet (OLD) GET HERE

Dance… like everyone is looking!

Posted on November 5, 2016December 9, 2016 by lavishcafe

While driving along, have you ever looked to the right or left and seen arms flailing, head bobbing, and facial gestures that looked too hilarious for words? That was probably me driving along aside of you. I was singing and driver’s seat dancing (just in case you did not recognize what it was).

I LOVE to dance. Standing up, sitting down, in my office, in my head…anywhere there is music. I have danced backup for Janet Jackson and Beyonce (now, that is in my head…Hee…Hee). Dancing is a release, my form of exercise, and doing it gives me immense joy! I am free when I dance. Am I any good? I don’t know…it depends on who you ask? If you ask yours truly, I say…”Yep”

The person who fostered my love for dance was my mother. I vividly remember her dancing with my sister, brother, and me. It brings a smile to my face as I remember her grabbing my hand and we would do the Chicago slide. Our bodies would twirl and dip as her afro and my tiny ponytails would follow. Many years later, I would take my beautiful daughter’s hand and we would slide across the kitchen floor. I would teach her what my mama taught me.

This is not intentional…it was just something my entire family does. We dance! We talk loud, we laugh loud, and we dance loud. Any time we are together, insert music, dancing, and laughing until we literally pass out from happy exhaustion. We dance because we are happy…we dance because we love each other…we dance because when we had nothing or no one else…we had each other.

I am going to home state for Thanksgiving. My whole family will be there, as we are every Thanksgiving. You already know what is going to happen…we are going to cut a serious rug. And while the turkey is baking and the dressing is being mixed, I am gonna grab my mama’s hand so we can twirl and swing while everyone is looking….because she gave me the permission and the ability to truly embrace all that I am (flaws and all)!

The next time you hear a catchy tune, don’t just sit there! Flail those arms, bob that head, and dance backup for your favorite singer! Dance, get lost, and for a moment enjoy being your wonderful amazingly authentic self.

This thrifted bracelet was a gift from heaven. I has my mother’s, my daughter’s, and my birthstone in it. Homage to two of the people I love most.

Dress~ Nalu Boutique HERE // Shoes ~ Zara HERE // Bracelet ~ (Thrifted) SIMILAR HERE

It Wins Everytime…

Posted on October 6, 2016December 9, 2016 by lavishcafe

My best friend and I recently spent the weekend together. Bestie and I have been together for almost three decades. We pride ourselves on having some “us” time every year. Since this year has a crazy wonderful rollercoaster ride, we decided to meet in a halfway city and have an extended sleepover. We went to a movie (which we discovered we had never done), ate ourselves into a coma, and flexed our shopping muscles at the local malls. We really became tickled when we realized we were dating for the weekend.

As Bestie and I were talking and waiting for a particular parking space at an outdoor retail heaven, there was a car of young women waiting to park, as well. The young lady driver made a gesture that indicated to me that we could have the recently vacated parking space. We pulled in the space and the car of young passengers SPED off in a huff to locate another space. For a second, Bestie and I looked at each perplexed and then burst out laughing. OOPS!! I misread her gesture. After the laughter, I began to feel a bit guilty.

The younger me would have not given a second thought about taking that parking space; I would thought I had made a marvelous move. As I reflect, I would have made a fantastic addition to the Bad Girls Club. However, the more evolved me tries to live my life through kindness, humility and grace. The parking lot fiasco sparked a conversation between bestie and me. We discussed how we used to love to be confrontational, aggressive, and sometimes down right mean. Back then, I was willing and ready to snap my neck, roll my eyes , and spit out profanities in rapid succession. Oh boy! I prided myself on the compound curse words I would create. No one was off limits. Husband, neighbors, retailers, waitresses, dogs, cats, or goldfish…all of them were one second from experiencing my wrath. Ahhh…young foolish me (I am cringing right now)! And to apologize for my behavior…NEVER. As a matter of fact, I thought I was owed an apology because of the energy I had to exert. Youth and ignorance are bliss!

Now that I am a true adult, I realize to be gracious in all situations is an art and a sign of maturity. I once thought to be taken seriously, I had to be aggressive. I wanted people to think “Don’t mess with her because she means business.” The actual truth was that some chose not to interact with me because I was a nicely dressed cussing CRAZY mess.

Now, please do not assume that I am a rug waiting to treaded upon. I am an educator, so therefore; I am not weak (shot out to the teachers of the world). I now realize that I can clearly get my point across while leaving myself and the person I am speaking to with dignity…even through the most difficult conversations.

As I continue to mature, I desire to be known as a woman who is kind, sympathetic, elegant, trustworthy, and gracious who takes care of business. Lavish lovelies, we can strong without being mean and crass. Always, remember KINDNESS wins EVERYTIME.

And to the vehicle full of young shoppers (if you are reading this), my apologies for misreading your gesture. I didn’t have my “old lady” glasses on. I thought you were saying “Go Ahead” instead of “Go Away”. Maybe our paths will cross again and I will happily give up the parking space that we are both vying for because my more lavish behavior dictates that I do.