song of the week.

songoftheweek

So… I’m gonna be honest.

It takes a lot for me to give new artists a fair listen.

I don’t know what it is, but USUALLY I just like what I like and that’s what I listen to all the time.

But every once in awhile, a new artist catches my attention usually after tons of recommendations from friends.

This artist in particular was a name I kept seeing passed around on Twitter until a song of his came on Songza.

Gamechanger.

I love just about every song I’ve heard off of this artist’s new album T R A P S O U L, but one of my favorite songs would have to be this one… mainly because it samples one of my favorite songs of all time, “Shawty Swing My Way” by KP and Envy. lol

Enjoy!

Gam

road trip. fort worth edition.

Fort Worth Selfie

(Because no good road trip starts without a selfie first lol)

I live for spontaneity. Though I am a planned down to the inch type of girl, I love the times of my life where I can just get up and go. So when my dad called and said he’d be heading to Fort Worth, TX for a conference, I jumped on the opportunity instantly, even though it was a legit 4 hours away.

(So maybe I missed him a little bit lol)

dad selfie.

What I wasn’t expecting though, was to find the gem that is the JFK memorial. Now I’m sure you know the story of JFK’s assassination so I won’t insult your intelligence. BUT what I didn’t know was that he addressed a crowd at Hotel Texas (now the Hilton where we stayed at on our impromptu trip) the night before that fateful day. So naturally, Fort Worth honored him with this beautiful memorial (pictured below).

image4                         image5 image6        image3-1

If you’re ever visiting Fort Worth, or passing through, or whatever you may be doing around that area, I would definitely recommend at least driving by and taking a peek.

And while you’re in the area, stop at Frankie’s for a frozen margarita. They’ll get you right. 😉

in the beginning. my fitness journey.

Recently – like maybe a month ago now – I began my latest quest to build my best body ever! By 25, I gotta have it together so what better time to start than immediately following my 24th birthday. Now don’t get me wrong, to the naked eye I probably look pretty in shape, but *I* know where I need some work. Maybe I’ll let ya’ll see some before and after pics another time.

Anyway!

As a part of my blog, I wanted to include some of the fitness shenanigans I get into. I am currently on a 12-week training program with Hybrid Lifestyle, an online training system which is FAB (and not just because I know the guy who runs it… #heyboo).

So in phase 1, the main focus is stability which is something I feel like I’ve struggled with since I had my achilles repaired May 2013. I’ve learned very quickly that a lot of the exercise moves that I would’ve jumped into wouldn’t have been done as effectively without completing this phase first.

Here’s a few clips of me “getting that work”. 😉

the millennial struggle. social media part 2.

millennial

Social media plays such a big role in my everyday life that I felt the need to make another post about it. lol

This one in particular focuses on Facebook and how we, as millennials, have a very unique relationship with this social media powerhouse.

So… when Facebook first started, it was aimed at college students. Like… you literally had to have a college email address to make an account. The networking opportunities amongst that limited population was in my opinion, optimal.

NOW, with billions of people using Facebook, there is a huge range of characters you might find on your friends list; from some of your closest friends in “real life”, to co-workers, to distant relatives, to people you’ve never actually met. All of this is fine of course, but there’s also a struggle that comes along with what’s appropriate to post and what’s not.

Continue reading “the millennial struggle. social media part 2.”

song of the week.

songoftheweek

This week’s song of the week comes from a special place in my heart.

I’ve been reading (well, technically re-reading though they feel like new) the books from my first ever book series, Attractions & Distractions, trying to get my head right to write the last installment; Senior Year.

(Pray for me, ya’ll lol)

This particular song is a reoccurring theme from those books and anybody who’s read those books will understand. 🙂

ten things i learned during my first month in houston.

I can’t believe I’ve already been living in Houston for a whole month!

Time has seriously flown by, but not without a bunch of lessons.

Nothing bad or life-threatening, just… lessons. lol 

Anyway!

Here are ten things i learned during my first month in H-town.

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1. When they say, “Everything is bigger in Texas”, they’re talking about meal sizes. 

I really try to stay away from fast food, but during our first week here, when we were so busy unpacking and getting our lives together, desperate times called for desperate measures. I’ve heard it’s called the #Texas10 (I haven’t gotten on the scale to check), but literally every meal comes with large fries, large drink, large portions, large EVERYTHING. My boyfriend even asked for a small one time and the worker replied, “Well it comes with a large so…” lol.

Long story short, don’t be surprised when you can’t finish a meal.

While we’re talking about meals…

2. Jack in the Box + What-a-Burger = devil.

Stay away. Just… listen to me and stay away. They will both have you questioning how you ended up in the drive-thru for the 2nd time in a matter of days. And if you do choose to indulge, don’t say I never warned you. lol

3. Every freeway has a name and a number.

GPS has been an absolute Godsend since moving to this city of freeways, highways, tollways, interstates, etc. Things get even more confusing when people choose to reference a particular route by its name instead of its number or vice versa. For example, I live off of 290. If we’re going to and from the city, we use 290. GPS calls it Northwest Fwy. AND there are two routes that take a literal loop around the city, so you may be in the loop or outside of the loop, which are also often used as points of reference.

Actually while we’re talking about getting around the city, let me also throw this out…

Continue reading “ten things i learned during my first month in houston.”

song of the week.

songoftheweek

What A Time To Be Alive.

Drake and Future released a joint mixtape overnight that people either seem to love or hate. Well, not necessarily hate but just aren’t as impressed by as they imagined they would be. I think I fall in that latter group of not completely blown away, but I don’t *hate* it.

ANYWAY, for song of the week, I had originally picked my favorite song from the mixtape, Jumpman. BUT…the SoundCloud Gods didn’t want me to be great, so instead the Song of the Week is the song that more than likely kicked off the whole idea of those two creating a mixtape.

sample sunday. the pregame ritual.

MANY thank yous to everyone who has already snagged a copy of The PreGame Ritual. For those of you who are still thinking about buying, here’s another sample to entice you. 🙂
thepregamecover

I couldn’t believe what was happening but I knew it was real.

In no time at all, the bill was paid with our entrees in to-go boxes and we were dashing through the streets, trying to get to my apartment as soon as possible. Miles kept his hand on my leg the whole drive, using stoplights to tease me by skimming it up and down my thigh. Even that little gesture was enough to get me fired up, ready for whatever our night would turn into.

When we finally did make it to my apartment, Miles parked his car in the lot reserved for guests before we both hopped out and started running towards my apartment. He chased me all the way to the door with tickles and made me fumble my keys when he held me from behind and started kissing me on my neck.

“We’ll never make it in if you don’t quit.”

He didn’t stop his pursuit as he responded, “Hallway it is then.”

“Miles!”

“Alright, alright. Hurry up though, ma. My hands have a mind of their own,” he said, smacking my ass as I bent over to pick up my keys. I giggled, dropping them again on purpose. “Ava…quit playin’.”

“Anxious much?”

“Anxious is an understatement. Now open this damn door before I ram through it like a SWAT team.” I laughed him off, turning the lock over and opening the door. Since it was the weekend, I expected it to be empty. But low and behold, Avery was sitting right on the couch with the lamp on reading a magazine.

Buzz kill.

Ava knows that she’s the best girls basketball player in the country at the collegiate level.

She knows that she’s going straight the pros once her senior season comes to an end.

And she knows that finding a man is the least likely thing to happen while she’s chasing that dream.

That’s until she meets Miles.

A freshman phenom who has no idea what college life is like but is in for a red-headed surprise with a mean crossover.

Their chemistry is a given, but will age be more than just a number?

Or will the pregame ritual be enough to even the score?