Greetings Spring!

After a CRAZY winter, I am so glad to see spring! The Snowpocalypse plagued us twice in 2 weeks, first time having people in their cars for over 20 hours. O_O. To me new seasons equals new opportunities and fresh beginnings. Spring in particular, equals blooming flowers and reaping the fruits of the seeds you planted in fall and winter. Metaphorically speaking. 

Spring also means March Madness! I've blogged about how much I love it. It started today and my bracket is already messed up with all these upsets. I did babes bracket for his pool at work.....it's not looking so good. *covers eyes* Texas is playing now and I'm trying to keep calm. I really love this time of year because it shows the versatility of each team and the heart of the players. Of course I love the cinderella stories (as long as it doesn't mess up my bracket). The fact that a game could down to a shot just to make it to the next round is amazing to me! I got Louisville taking in one bracket and Michigan State in another. Who did y'all have taking it all?

♥ A.Erika ♥ 

Today's Devotion.

That's all the words I have to today. It's been a rough day emotionally but I'll be back tomorrow with some good stuff! I promise! Day 3!

♥ A.Erika ♥   

why I liked the movie, Need for Speed.

Source: CHUD.com

This weekend I treated my fiancé to movie date which is a big deal because he hardly lets me pay for anything. Not a bad thing at all. Plus he likes the little things. Anyways he loves cars so Need for Speed was a perfect movie for us to watch together. I won't tell the plot of the movie but Kid Cudi played one of the friends of the main character. He plays this full of himself but not overbearing guy. He actually was hilarious! What stood out to me though is the fact that his character was a) in the military and b) a pilot. The latter is what resonated with me the most. The fact that a black man, a hip hop artist, was playing a character piloting a military helicopter is really cool. And I know Denzel was a pilot in Flight but I really hated strongly disliked that role for Denzel. I can't stand Denzel to play negative characters. I strongly disliked Training Day too. We need more images of positivity! Thanks to the internet, we can create our own images and don't have to wait on Hollywood!

♥ A.Erika ♥  

the overdue new years post

Happy New Year! Lololol! I'm actually laughing as I type that because it's March and I've finally decided to do a post for the new year. Every weekend has been filled with something to do (even though I said I was hanging up my socialite cape) and I haven't had any down time to freely write until now. I'm notorious for writing a delayed New Years post anyway. Well maybe not this late. Eh whatever. I hope your new year is off to a wonderful start. Mine surely is. :D

If you follow me on social media, you already know that I'M ENGAGED!!!! On March 1, my babes asked me to marry him in Savannah, GA in a fairytale fashion! I had an idea because he was acting weird all day but I had no idea it would be so extravagant. It was perfect and I couldn't ask for a better person to spend the rest of my life with. So wedding planning begins. I can tell you that my favorite part of this wedding planning process is the design element like stationery and event design. Everything else I'm just like whatever. People are like you are just so cool about it. I'm like my family and friends won't allow me to be a bridezilla so I might as well be calm. But this is an exciting process!

I want to commit to something for 40 days and see what comes of it. Soooo...I'm challenging myself to 40 days of blogging. I know my sis Z will happy to read everyday. Lol! I have a couple ideas for what I want to write about but I would love to know what my readers would like to know. Leave a comment about what you want me to write about. Before y'all even ask, yes I'm doing a post on the proposal. I have to get my feelings right for it because the thought of the proposal story makes me tear up. Anyways, I've missed y'all. How has the new year been so far?

♥ A.Erika ♥  

best of 2013

Last year I did the lessons I learned in 2012 (I and II) and decided to do something different this year. I wanted to share some of my favorite things that happened this year. So here it goes....

•  Found Love. Or love found me. At the beginning of this year, I had this HUGE crush on this guy who was even interested in me. Basically wasting my pretty, like Belle says. I remember on my birthday, my friends urging me to date and I was like nah I’m good. They ragged me so much that I said fine I’ll date come June. May was a crazy month for me: my 25^th birthday, a wedding, my brother’s graduation. So I figured June I could give my full attention to dating. Well God had a different plan. I met a guy on May 19, two weeks later, we went on our first date, and I am elated to say that I finally found someone that I can grow old with. He is truly amazing and humbled to call him boyfriend. I LOVE YOU BABES!
  
• Inauguration 2013. My family and I drove to Washington DC and stood in the cold to see the 1^st black president be inaugurated for a second term. An experience that is difficult to put in words. Joining together with people of different races, ethnicity, ages to celebrate this great moment in history is a moment I will forever cherish.
• 25 to Autism. This year I dedicated my birthday to autism, a cause that's very dear to my heart. It started on World Autism Day (April 2) and continued to May 31st. I was so nervous about the fundraiser and almost didn't do it. But by the end, I was able to raise over $1000 for autism. One of the happiest moments this year and in my life!
• Travelling to NYC, Charleston, Charlotte, Orlando. In February I took a trip to NYC to see my friends from college and it was more than I expected. In July the beau and I took our first trip together and it was wonderful seeing the art scene of Charlotte and riding on the back of a bicycle in a buggy. Loved seeing Charleston at night! And the cobblestone streets were a perfect touch!
• Seeing Joyce Meyer Live. Over the past year, Joyce Meyer has been one of the saving grace as I commute to work. It's a miracle that I have kept my sanity this past year. And I'll attribute it partly to gaining inspiration from Joyce and her wise words. When I got word that she would be in Atlanta, I marked it on my calendar and counted down the days. And the experience did not disappoint! It was surreal to see her in person after countless hours of just listening to her voice in the car. Learning to focus what I can do and letting God fill in the rest.
• Concerts: John Legend, India.Arie, Jonathan Butler, Emeli Sandé, John Mayer. Being blessed with the opportunity to work at venue has afforded me opportunities to see some of my FAVORITE artists in the world. It's something about seeing an artist person your favorite song live that makes you fall in love with the song even more. I mean the ability to speak with Jonathan Butler and embrace me like when we're friends from way back when is humbling and exciting! Sitting front row and seeing how smooth John Legend's skin is just....wonderful. I plan to attend more concerts in 2014. Praying for an Adele concert. It's time for a post baby album.
• Hosting Ladies Lunch. I've always dreamed about creating an atmosphere for my friends to come over, eat, and talk for hours about any- and everything. And I think that I did that in January with some of my good who live in Atlanta. Jamaican food, arranged seating, mama & papa lindo, and good conversation. Doesn't get better than that!

 2013 has been a year of growth and decision making! I can really say I learned about creating the life you want to live instead of just waiting for it to be created. I will carry that lesson in 2014! 2013 was blessing and I am grateful to have seen and I know it was just a set up/ preview of what's to come. 2014 I'm ready for ya!

 ♥ A.Erika ♥

Hello December!

I can't believe it's December already. Like I was telling a friend today, it seems like this year just zoomed by leaving us no space to breathe. Well maybe very little space to breathe. I am reflecting in all that has happened this year so I can give my recap for the year. I can't wait to share the highlights of the year with you all!

I've decided to step a back from many activities to really re-focus on what I want for my life. I saw this quote: "The best way to predict the future is to create it." And I couldn't agree with it more! I'm excited to share that I'm creating another blog, focused on art, design, culture! I hope to launch in January 2014. Don't worry this blog isn't going anywhere. This new blog is a year in the making. I bought the domain name last year (true story) and FINALLY decided to start. I'm really looking forward to sharing it with you all. Awesome content to share so stay tuned! Additionally, I am relaunching my personal website. Right now, it just hosts my portfolio but I want a site that will be reflective of my personal brand as well as support my freelancing endeavors. And this blog will be an extension of that site! Big tings a gwan!

I'm enjoying working on these projects. Tons of work but I'm doing what I love so it doesnt feel like work. Are you all planning to end 2013 with a bang?

 ♥ A.Erika ♥

Autumn Begins...

Autumn is here! Always preferred the word 'autumn' rather than fall. Fall seems so generic to me. Autumn just sounds cooler. (Well at least in my head it does.) I am actually excited for this new season. New beginnings, new opportunities, new commitments, new goals, new accomplishments are to come in this season and I'm excited for all of it. 

Since my last post, we were able to raise $1,018 for 25toAutism. I do not have enough thanks and appreciation to share, express, say, etc to those who supported the campaign monetarily and by spreading awareness. I still have yet to send thank you notes (I know shame on me), but I still plan to send them before October ends. Hold me to that.

The evening of my last post I went out on a date to dinner with a guy that changed my life. God has an interesting sense of humor and most times you have to just look back and marvel at His doing. Marvel then thank Him for what an AMAZING blessing He has given. Within these 4 months, I have learned so much about myself, the babes, and a healthy relationship. A good relationship is not easy by no stretch of the imagination. It takes HARD work but the results that yield from that work are truly awesome!

I've really been doing some thinking along with the push from the BF and friends to turn my gifts into a profit. In the past, I always created an excuse as to why I couldn't do it. But I've realized there is no time but the present and there is never a right time. You just have to be like Nike and do it. So I'm working on a big project that I've been putting off for way too long. I'll reveal in due time. Just know I'm working. 

Along with this project, I've been evaluating my schedule and why I'm so busy. Busy does not equal progress or productivity. I found myself just doing out of obligation, not getting the same fulfillment as I used to. With this realization, I've decided to commit or do activities/projects/etc that bring me fulfillment or what God places in my heart to do in this current season of my life. Some understand, some don't and it's okay either way. I'm deciding to put myself first and I am learning that is okay. 

So I promise I'm back. Really didn't mean to leave y'all hanging but life happens. I love y'all and stay tuned!

 ♥ A.Erika ♥