Dear Summer, It’s Been Great

Photo by : Tisha Innis

Labor Day unofficially is the end of the summer! I’m always sad at the end of the season because I always miss the warm weather (it’s an island girl thing!). However, I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I’ve had one of the best summers ever! The key to enjoying is planning what you’re going to do in advance. I’ve done some pretty cool things and made major personal and professional milestone. Some of which I’ve share on the blog and some I haven’t. Here are my top Style & Vibes summer moments:

The Soundtrack: Machel Montano’s Monk Monte & Morgan Heritage’s Strictly Roots – my two favorite albums this summer! I’ve been playing them both continuously.

Vacation: My Trip to Atlanta was awesome, I spent time with family and got to be a tourist for once!

Leisure reading: Somerset Grove was an easy and delightful read! the story was so intriguing that I literally read it in a few days once I started. I haven’t read a book like that since high school. I was very much what I needed to fall in love with fiction novels all over again. Soca Mom hosted a Google hangout with the author Dionne Peart when the book first launched.

Date Night: Brooklyn Museum‘s first Saturday’s I got to check out the Basquiat and Sneaker exhibit (and of course eat at Sugarcane!)

Kid Friendly: My first kiddie carnival experience was pretty cool, my little one wants to play mas next year! Let’s see how that goes!

New Venture: Podcasting with Kerry – Bringing back my days in radio! Podcasting with my blog bae Kerry has been so much fun. I’m glad she asked me to share her journey with her as she continues trail blaze. We still have a few episodes coming up so stay tuned.

Personal Goal: Bought a new house! This has been the one of the most rewarding challenges apart from being a mom. My boo and I finally bought a house in June. We’re all moved in and taking on one project at a time to decorate.

Get Fit: Kamp Kamila , Zombie Run and My first Color Run – I made fitness a top priority. Maintaining a routine of working out 3-5 times a week and committing to healthier eating habits has been pretty challenging and I know keeping it up in the cooler months is the REAL

Eat & Lime: Pops & Reggae on the Hudson – Pops in Long Island was such an unexpected gem! Hanging out with family with a beach scene and good drinks always gives me that island vibe! Pops was family friendly in the afternoon and as the night time came it was more of a bar/lounge scene with a live DJ. Reggae on Hudson at La Marina was cool too after a little confusion on where and what we was available to eat, the band and DJ made it worthwhile.

Party, Party, Party: Grits & Biscuits – If it were up to me, I probably would have partied a little more, that house we bought put a little dent in my finances so I only got to a few good day parties. Luckily they were both worth it! Grits & Biscuits is always a good time, it was their first time outdoors there were a few drawbacks, but I had fun (the drink line was way too long and they needed a Jamaican sound system for that place!) and newbie to FunBrunch the music and atmosphere was on point, but I was a little disappointed with the “brunch” part with just appetizers, but I’d definitely go again, but not starving.

Local Vibes: Adult Field Day, Slide the City & Shaggy in Stamford, CT – I was born and raised (primarily) in Downtown Stamford, CT so to see the expansion of the city is amazing. That’s the main reason we wanted to stay here when we bought a house. They always try to bring cool events to city every year and Slide the City was one of them. Think big slip-n-slide in the middle of the street! Lots of fun. My friend hosted a mini after party with a water balloon fight in the middle of the city, I haven’t done that since I was a kid.