Black Creatives - Lexington, KY
December 22, 2019
Ciara LeRoy of Pretty Strange Design slid into my DMs one evening and asked if I'd be willing to participate in a photoshoot she was hosting for black creatives who are oft-overlooked in the city (my city/ my hometown) of Lexington. Without hesitation, I replied with an enthusiastic yes and it set into motion what we would be the meeting of minds, ideas, collaborations and unbeknownst to me at the time, the beginning of a movement.
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| Ciara LeRoy - artist and Black Creatives organizer extraordinaire as shot by Amani Nichae of Honey Sage Photo Co |
EVERYTHING about this gathering was black AF. Every creative featured including the photographers, down to the hostess/owner of the event space named Peri Ave which also functions as a space for the NoLi (North Lime) community and city of Lexington at large. All black-owned and black orchestrated.
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| Me pictured with Danielle Meadows-Stinett of Octane Designs and MTG Podcast (co-host), Aisha Nwandu owner of Kentucky Bloggers |
As you know at ANY and EVERY black event there MUST be food. Here is a look at the spread curated by Ciara.
THIS is the type of community I needed when I was 18. This is what I needed to see when I was growing up trying to figure out where my lofty and seemingly odd dreams and aspirations could fit in. I needed to see beautiful, successful, artistic, off-the-beaten-path black people doing things I wanted to do or at the time didn't even know existed.
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| Me in my usual grinning element as shot by Amani Nichae of Honeysage Photo Co. |
Ciara did more than just create a gathering space for some black folk that day, she helped to highlight just a portion of the talented black people that exist, work, thrive, uplift, build, create and contribute to the Lexington community at large. Her goal was to give us visibility in our own city, in a city where the same types of people are usually well represented on the same types of platforms. Lexington is a diverse city and it does a disservice to the people of all colors who have helped to build, grow and contribute positively to our town when we're not acknowledged.
Venue: Peri Ave owned by Maya McCutchen @periavelex (IG)
Organizer: Ciara LeRoy of @prettystrangedesign (IG)
Photographer: Amani Nichae of @honeysagephotoco (IG)
Black creatives (Instagram handles): @csevolutionofstyle @_martibarksdale @porschalynette @what_shayna_say @anonimuss_rose @samanhattanpr @somaisaias @octanedesigns @busticebonez @ky_ambassador @prettystrangedesign @lafetaylor @honeysagephotoco @_forgottenmagic @aishadaobi @geminisrvng @periavelex
Me and #SomebodySon
December 17, 2019
*Originally written 12/17/2019...published 2/11/2020*
As the Universe/God would have it. The man who I was meant to be with hadn't even crossed my path upon writing my September entry. Much has transpired since that post. I subsequently found out some hurtful details about my then-boyfriend and ended things. I had to realize that I want and deserve better and move on to something better that was right around the corner.
As the Universe/God would have it. The man who I was meant to be with hadn't even crossed my path upon writing my September entry. Much has transpired since that post. I subsequently found out some hurtful details about my then-boyfriend and ended things. I had to realize that I want and deserve better and move on to something better that was right around the corner.
I then got hyper in tune with the type of man I had been calling into my life vs the type of man I actually wanted. I set my intentions on the new moon that followed and I literally prayed that I would stop "kissing frogs" so to speak. Thinking, well next year will finally be my time and I would just focus on myself and my goals.
Then, it happened. I met R. He came out of nowhere. I wasn't looking for him to come into my life so soon, but I now know that's exactly how things were meant to be all along. From our first conversation to our first 3-hour phone call to our first date to me never wanting him to leave, I knew something and everything about him was different. He makes me laugh, he makes me smile, I light up when he's around and he does the same. He is positive, he is genuine and he is real. We can talk about any and everything. He loves kids, has his own and wants more. Liam likes him. He came home and met my family for Thanksgiving and fits right in.
Nothing about my relationship with him is forced. While I was overzealous to finally have a man show up for me earlier this year, R does that in word and action. Not only do I know he will do anything for me, but he made his intentions known from day 1. He wanted me to be his and vice versa. Nothing is ever forced, everything has and continues to flow naturally. It's the most natural transition I've ever had from mine to ours. THIS is what I've dreamed about, written about and manifested all this time. He's finally here.
For the first time in my adult life, I can breathe a sigh of relief because the man I asked for and waited for has finally made his way to me. I'm still truly amazed by how wonderfully and divinely things in life work out.
Knowing that we had found our forever in each other, we solidified out love in a ceremony at our home in front of a handful of family and friends. We became husband and wife on December 31, 2019.
Here's to my forever man crush Monday, forever Valentine, best friend, lover and confidant all rolled into one. Here's to the man picked directly from the pages of my Manifestation. From 2019 til forever.
Until again,
Bougie Beauty Babe
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