Thriftanista in the City

I wear these when I'm looking to add a little interest to what I'm wearing.  The color is really vibrant. I'm looking forward to experimenting with color blocking with these shoes as a focal point. I just need the weather to cooperate. 

She loves Kisses - she understands "Give me a kiss?" in english and swahili and opens her mouth wide and leans in for a wet smooch. She's also starting offering up kisses to us too. Awwww. Crawling - She's crawling buuuut it's not her preferred mode of transportation. She'll explore what ever is around her and will crawl around to search for lint, cords, cell phones, and remote controls. However, if I try to get her to crawl to me she starts whining, falls on her tummy, and demands to be carried. She was interested in nibbling on my shoe (another one of her favorites) so I kept moving back and she kept crawling.  Why yes I am wearing a black shoe and a purple shoe. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse - still a fan. She's now starting to laugh and talk/sing when it's on. I love that she loves it and I can make coffee in peace. Climbing - She's trying to skip the crawl and get to walking and standing. She's been trying to pull herself and also stand from the ...

We have a stroller situation in our 1200 square feet condo. We have 3. That is 2 too many. I'm in cleaning mode and doing my best to eliminate the clutter. I'm annoyed that we have 3 strollers sitting in our living room. Why do we have 3 strollers? Stroller #1: This is a baby shower gift from my Mom. I picked it out based on information I read in a book. I forgot that we have steps on the outside of the building and I would have to lug it up and down because it's to big to fit in our cars properly so I can't keep it in a car and just grab it on the way to our journey. It also doesn't fold up easily so it was a total hassle. Source Stroller #2: Our wonderful friends gave this to us. We needed an infant car seat and they generously gave us the entire stroller system. It was great because I could use the stroller immediately and it can fold up with one hand. Unfortunately it doesn't fit well in our cars. I've stuffed this in the car but it's a ch...

First time participating in a meme! I like this one because I like shoes and I want to look at other people's shoes.  These shoes are strictly for sitting and they don't get out much. Can you guess why I bought them? Go ahead take a guess. They're purple. As you probably already know I love the color purple (the book/movie too) and try to incorporate it in my life daily. Easy to do now that I say Violet many times a day.

....And we're back to half disgust when I put food in the Queen's mouth. We had 1 really good week. It may be because I was feeding her expensive baby food in a pouch  Ella's Kitchen. They are very tasty fruit and vegetable mixes. She ate those nearly $2 a pouch meals in one sitting. She also enjoyed quite a few french fries from our plate. I don't like that but it keeps her from flipping the eff out when we're in a restaurant. So I say to myself I can do that. Anyone remember the Eddie Murphy skit about Mama Burgers vs. McDonalds? Anyways, I think this must be what she was feeling because she doesn't get that same yum-yum look in her eye when I serve up Mama Gourmet. I've made green beans with basil, roasted sweet potato fries, and sweet potatoes mashed. Greens beans were an absolute no. I tasted them and understood. Flavorless. Blech. I put a lil unsweetened applesauce in the mix and got a couple nibbles. She likes to squish the sweet potato fries in her ...

We already know who her #1 favorite person is.

Last week was a really busy week for me and my sidekick: I went to a job interview and V was left in the care of her baby whisperer Uncle. The wine consultant job turned out to not be the dream job I had pictured. V did well with her first time being without Mom and Dad. We went to the babywearing Zumba class. It was a lunch time party and we will be going back. Next time I'm putting her on my back so she can see everything. I managed to break a little sweat. *pats self on back* V participated in a study for Northwestern's Infant Lab. She was more interested in the chair we sat in than the pictures and noises she was presented with. V started eating food with gusto! Fabulous! Good thing my mommy bought me a Magic Bullet. Gourmet baby food will be served. Made 2 trips to the other end of the city. This is unusual for me. We went to a BGLH Natural Hair Meetup and saw @LilOmm from the Twitterverse. We visited with my grandmother, mama (all the way from Vegas), and m...

I love it when me and the Universe are on the same page. I've been seeking yoga/pilates/fitness classes so that I can get my mind right and spend some time out of the house ( momcation location other then Tarjay ). Pre-baby I was anti-class. Driving? No. Groups? No. Exercise? No. I was looking for a place nearby because a) I'm lazy and b) I need free or almost free since I'm practicing frugality. I was led to a cozy female owned studio/woman/mother space looking to barter. Score! I'll be working 4 hours at the studio in exchange for classes. My first class was last night -- bellydancing! I felt awkward because I didn't know what the heck I was doing and I'm better at reading and doing rather than watching and doing. I felt really beautiful though. This was the first time I looked in a mirror and didn't see one flaw. Magic mirrors? Bellydance side effect? I don't know but I do want to go back for more of that and learn ICC (100 points if you know what t...

I normally describe my style as "hooka chic". I like to wear a mix of tacky and classy at the same time. While circling the mall and putting the Queen to sleep, I found this fabulous and cheap ($10) bag at Charlotte Russe. It has a long shoulder strap so it can be worn cross body. Now the question is how do I rock it? Suggestions? Update: I wore it with a thrift store dress converted to top. Cargo leggings. Black wedge sandals. I was pleased with the look!  

I've been thinking a lot about where I'm headed career-wise. Reading Super Rich and watching Oprah's Master Class featuring Ms. O herself have really motivated me to get serious about work relationship. I am not in a hurry to return to work unless I'm working with passion. I firmly believe you have to be passionate about what you're doing or you will never be successful. In thinking of what my next gig will look like, I wrote down some  Work Truths   for myself. Money can only keep me happy for so long. - I fell into this trap a lot. I'd always say even if it's not ideal I'll still be able to do my own thing after work because of the extra income. In the end, it never worked. I am not suited for cubicle life. - I. Need. Space. I sometimes want to work while reclining. I need my own bathroom. I am very bad at pretending to care. - Acting like you care even when you don't really helps the team. No one wants to look at your sour mug when they come to...

We were at the of the Registrar DAILY for an entire week before she agreed to marry us. She wanted something a little extra to perform the ceremony. As you can see in the picture I was less than thrilled about it. It was a long and stressful process and I just wanted to have it done stateside. Ugandans (generalization based on the people I met) are laid back and easy going and everyone just ignored my foul mood.  Anyone else get married with their belly button exposed? No. Just me? Ok. These disgusting giant birds were everywhere clustered together and pooping so much that all of the pavement was covered in white. I was fortunate enough to be shat on multiple times. That only added to my mean mug at the civil ceremony. Happy Anniversary, Part II to us! Anyone else have a non-traditional, kooky, oddball or weird wedding story?

A toast to us. Off Topic: Me on my knees at the wedding...there's a joke waiting to happen. With much love. Off Topic: What do you think the cameraman is thinking? Cheers! Together 10 and married 5 years Off Topic again: I did not have a pedicure so don't enlarge the picture. About a month after the Valentine's Day proposal, we were married in a traditional Ugandan ceremony planned entirely by His family. My dress was made the day before the ceremony. Neither one of us knew what to expect. We had "coaches" that whispered to us what to say and do. Professionals were called in to dance in our honor. I served the guests pieces of my wedding cake. Definitely one of the most unusual days of my life.  Love was between us and around us. Proud to be His wife. So glad we found each other. In the club? Who does that? Thankful we stepped outside of all things familiar. Happy Anniversary to Us! Old School Nice hair and 'staches.

I thought I was getting very little sleep until 4 nights ago when I heard her first real cough. I'm use to hearing her test her vocals out by coughing for sport. The real cough surprised me. I woke Him up to tell him she's coughing for real! He was half asleep and turned over to indulge in a pre-alarm snooze. Good thing He got it in. Just a little cough. Then came a sneeze and snot from her tiny little nose. I guess she's sick. No biggie. It's a cold. She'll be right as rain in a couple of days or so I thought. The coughing and sneezing is now on day 5. She's still in pretty good spirits but I can tell she's off her square. She's exhausted. Now the little cough is hacking and disturbs her sleep along with the constant sneezing and nasal drippage. I hope last night was the peak. I've been sitting in the bathroom with her with the water on scalding and bouncing her in the bouncy seat. I'm breastfeeding her around the clock hoping it will help keep ...