The Fairytale

Because I believe in the magic of the fairytale and wanted to see a brown girl tell it,  I went to see Keke and Sherri play Cinderella and Step Mother.

Tears, Laughter, Dreams and Truths,  the play was Awesome and should be seen by everyone, Red Yellow Brown and all the other colors in the earthly spectrum.

At 56 years of age it was my very first Broadway show and it was Phenomenal.   The entire cast was wonderful, the imagery and costumes, Magnificent!

Been Away but Back Now

Ok so it's been a min since my last post, so I have a Lot to fill you in on and I'll do so all on Saturday so do check back you'll be amazed.  Promise...

One Skirt Endless Possibilities

 A note from the Ladies over at Sofistafunk

Introducing: The "Gathering" Skirt

Inspiration: The Honeybee

Highly Social and Cooperative

The Honeybee is a symbol of Unity, Focus, and the power of Gathering

Multifunctional Timeless and Chic
The Gathering Skirt is a One-Size-Fits-Most little Bottom Frock with Endless Possibilities.

This Spring we venture to where the earth beneath our feet thrives on promise; where woodland creatures frolic amongst nectar sweet hues - like honeycomb, moss, and fuchsia.

From the bluish grey palettes of a cloud heavy sky to the shade of a bears paw, we've allowed nature to take center stage as we pollinate your summer with color.
When honeybees gather they unintentionally provide over 80% of our food

supply

When we designed the Gathering Skirt we intentionally offer you One Skirt with Endless Possibilities

#BeeBold
#JointheGathering
#BeLiketheHoneybee
#OneSkirtEndlessPossibilities

The Queen and the Bee Keeper

Had the most awe inspiring morning ever meeting Mr. Bee Keeper.  Learning is everything!  I added so many more bee facts to my brain cells that I thought I wouldn't bee able to drive home.   The Honeybee is unintentionally responsible for over 80% of our food source, and a major inspiration to the me and the ladies over at Sofistafunk. 
Honeybee Facts.

Mr. Bee Keeper was such a gracious host sending me on my way with a host of sweet goodies.

Right here below is the Dark Queen

 and here: a most beautiful wooden home/hive for the winter.

Do find out more over at http://beeboldapiaries.com/

To Be or to Bee

To be the Bee

Climb towards your highest potential, climb knowing that failure is NOT an option.

I was once asked if I've ever had a dream of doing something Big, until today I've always said no because I've never stopped to think about the question on a whole.

I've never known what my dream was because I've always been busy living in it.

One day oh many moons ago I was faced with reality of single parenting. I had one choice. Fall or Fly... at the time I had a desk job but I knew I could sew and people liked what I created sooo, on that very unexpected day I knew I had only about 15 minutes to either pity or party so I "Gathered" my thoughts, cleaned my desk and unknowingly began living my dream. -ArlindaM.

Moral: Sometimes adversities can be just what you need to to soar
#WeightedWingsCannotFly-ArlindaM.

To "Bee" or not to be

The Bee's that taught me to "Bee"

Beecause of the legacies that have preceded us our only requirement is to "Pay it Forward", If you have nothing but information, it has value. No trumpet is necessary for your doings if it's done from the heart.

Judgement of others is a waste of valuable brain space, use your seconds precise because Life is not as short as it is Unpredictable.

"Bee" comfortable with and stay true to your gifts and offerings. If you are a Black girl, you only Rock if you are comfortable with the Legacy that only you know you will leave behind. We are role models.

As a child I wasn't taught about my past, but I know now and I Live my life in respect of my fore parents related and not, those who shed tears to be, those who said yes but meant no, those who died from lack of respect, and those who will be the us for generations to come. They paid it forward.

In the midst of your adversities and self doubt the only way out is FOCUS, you were born with exactly what you need to thrive, just remember that Weighted Wings Can Not Fly.

To my fellow entrepreneurs, it does not matter the size of your bank account, brand or how many likes you get on your social networks, what matters is What We Give Back.

I'll use the Bee as an example of the power of community, diligence and teamwork, they co-exsist in harmony, live as a unit and we eat. Be the Bee. Pollinate.

ArlindaM.

Weighted Wings Can Not Fly

'tis the Season, now and Always #Season-less

A Rooster on my Head and a Flower on my Skirt

Hey Everyone, while searching for gluten/wheat/dairy free breakfast this morning I stopped to get a quick Hump Day Skirt Pic and instead of the expected camel, I instead ended up with a Rooster on my head LOL

Oh, the Skirt???, it's from Sofistafunk and is called
"One Winter Bloom"

About Face

Yes!
That is all.

Colitis and the Fashion Designer

Until then I had never heard of Ulcerative Colitis.  The road to discovery started one morning on my way to the fabric markets,  that morning I was experiencing some lower back and right side back pain, by the time I reached NY I was in so much pain that I was weak and sweating.

I went into a pharmacy and purchased advil thinking that would stop or lessen this never-felt-before monster in my back.  fast forward >>> later that evening I had to visit a client, on my way there and the rest of the 6 hr. appointment I was miserable but I never said anything even when she asked me if I were ok, This insane urgency came for me to use the rest room and what I delivered into it was like a horror flick, red yellow and white was all I saw and I was petrified.

Back track a minute, about a month prior I had lunch with a dear friend.  Later that evening I started feeling this aweful abdominal and back pain that sent me to the ER, after the morphine and ultrasound they told me they didn't see really see anything that would warrant this kind of pain and that I should see my doctor.  The next afternoon I had to make an urgent trip to the restroom where what I put in the toilet looked like something Stephen King would have written about.

Back to the ER with stool photo in Iphone, 3 hours later I was being scheduled for a colonoscopy indoscopy and food allergy blood work.

Colitis with wheat, shrimp, milk and others allergy.  This is where my new life begins...
to be continued...

More information on Colitis

It's My Birthday...

So I turned 56, re-launched this here Blog, and Introduced a fun little collection of Skirts designed especially for Celebration and Color-blocked For the FUNK of IT.  See it here: Sofistafunk

Ready for the day in my extra long hand crochet "Commuter Scarf" with chilly thoughts of the Holidays to come.

1st stop Breakfast, not at Tiffany's

Works for Me

 My morning started out with a quickie photo shoot and on return to the studio I made one of my morning mixes that I like to call "Mega Shots"

Bananas are one of our best sources of potassium, an essential mineral for maintaining normal blood pressure and heart function. Since the average banana contains a whopping 467 mg of potassium and only 1 mg of sodium, a banana a day may help to prevent high blood pressure and protect against atherosclerosis. http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=7#healthbenefits

Prep:
Nutra-Bullet
2 banana's
4 oz. of GoodBelly Probiotic Coconut water
Puree' 2 seconds and I'm a happy camper:)

The Art of Aging

Is there?
I mean is there a particular "Art" to aging, well actually no there isn't really because if you're amongst the living you're aging, getting older, declining etc...

There is however an "Art" to aging gracefully and in my humble opinion, that starts with acceptance, acceptance to what is, what is if left alone will surely age.

I am not my younger self, I am seasoned, learned, I am Old-der, not-as-young-as-I-used-to-be, more than half of 100 and comfortable about it.  I am of that menopause group, the mid-life elite, I am a 56 year "old" me.

I Do-Not-Like when people say to me, "That's looks so good on you, it make you look younger", (Blank Stare right here) first of all (my older sister's fav word) first of all Nothing, not-one-thing at all is ever again gonna make me look younger a-g-a-i-n.  I am comfortable knowing that my facial skin is not as tight as it once was.

My hair is not as red/sandy hued as it used to be, well that is the red/sandy under the black dye, and not black dye because I'm trying to hide the grays, I actually love them it's the gray and sand that I don't like so much so I guess there is one thing about the aging process that I can do without, everything else is well "What it is"

Years of not knowing what I should'nt eat has left my older self with internal issues that forbid me to eat as I'd like but even in that diagnosis was a bit of great happened, weight loss, weight loss that I will never find again.

On the inside, I am an uninhibited creative, a deep into the galaxy thinker and dancer-extreme.  On the outside I am an uninhibited creative, a deep into the galaxy thinker and I dance, I dance at the thought of a base beat.

In my head I live in an enchanted and open place where the wisteria blooms forever, where I take magical rides on butterfly wings as the birds sing songs only my inner soul can understand a place that I know doesn't really exist but is awesome to visit.

I am me I am myself I am I and I'll be that til I...

"The Art of Aging" (an openly secret conversation) Coming this Summer 2013,
Join the conversation.

Perfume for the Soul

tis' the little things that perfume my soul,
a butterfly in flight... the aroma of mint tea on the breath of a heartbeat or the melodic vibrations of our earth's song.

Life is but a dream illustrated before us, in some instances you are in control of the paintbrush.

May your pathway be painted beautiful and filled with the desired aromas of life -Arlinda M.
4/25/13 4:37am

  

Photo credit: GardenWorldImages.com  

Inhale the moment

In your minds eye take a morning walk with me
relax
release
breathe,  and have a Great Day:)

 Photo: DK - Arches & Pergolas © 2000 Dorling Kindersley Limited via HGTV.com

An Ode to Dance

1. 
   

   Oh Dance, How do I love thee let me count the ways 5, 6, 7, 8
   I love thee to the depth of the air that I breathe, your base notes consume my entire being and nothing else does it for me like you.
   
   As I move to the rhythm of life you are to me as milk is to weed as text is to a smart phone, I love thee like Dr. Seuss loved "Green Eggs and Ham" whether in a car or from afar, Fast or slow and everywhere I go, I Love You
   (Que Music) Beyonce's "End of Time" drops mic and exits stage right.
   
   (Re-enters stage left) Cymandes "Bra" (deep-house-baby-powder-on-the-floor sweaty club mix)
   I may never own a million but surely I've danced a trillion steps in the name of the Love of you, and I may never know who truly "Runs the World" but what "I Know For Sure" is what sets my soul free.
   Like true love, you ask for nothing and surely without you there would be no Skirts... 

   - Arlinda M. Certified Dance-a-holic

    

   

    

Spring is in the Hair

LOL I Love words, sooo today we Welcome Lady Spring, Yay!  In honor of this glorious time of New Beginnings I have a new do and it's Blue:) see I told you I love words.

This is the Casually Elegant & (Sofista)cated Arlinda M. "designer for Sofistafunk, the Skirt Co."

This right here, this is the Boldly Uninhibited & (Funk)y Arlinda M. designer for Arlinda M. the label
 (Coming later this Spring)

Today I welcome you the Life, Times and Fashions of this Baby Boomer,
Definition: a person who was born between the years 1946 and 1964, yep, that makes me a certified BB.

Spring Hair Credit: Stylist Wil Robinson Instagram him: wilrobhair

Funk'n after Fifty: Disgestive Issues

Yep, it's true, every last thing my mom told me about Sex, Lies, and Life after Forty,

Sex, sure enough if you do it once you'll do it again, the good the bad and the ugly.

Lies, ummm yeaha you'll definitely have to follow up the first with a multitude more just to cover the first one.

For me life after forty has for sure had it's roller coaster rides. Children, (anyone under 30) do consider that your digestive system is not made of metal, try and think at least 5 times what you expect it to work with, my parents and fore parents have said, " chile i been eating this way awl my life and um still here", but here's the question, yes, u r still here but what's happening on your insides?

We are not Lots wife, so it's ok to look back. Look back for your future health, look back at your bathroom deposits, like fashion, Colors Matter.

I'm no doctor nor do I offer any medical advice, I'm just telling you what I "found" about me and decided to share with you.

After my digestive issues surfaced, I had to change my eating habits to possibly what they should have been all my life, emphasis on "should have" no one knows for sure what is perfect but, what I know for sure is that since I've changed what I consume I no longer see unusual colors where I make my deposits, my energy level is Awesome and my skin is more vibrant that I can remember.

I find that when I eat what I call "Sun foods" ie: fruit and vegetables I feel more energetic, but when I eat "face" foods, (foods that do as i do) I don't feel the same energy as the fore mentioned foods.

Foods that do as I do: eat chew and potty, (now I do not challenge anyone that eats meat), eat as you please because I do, I'm just saying, focus on how you feel after you eat whatever it is that you eat, and remember always check the du.

To be continued... or not


Photo credit: http://jennplusfood.blogspot.com/