2024 Be Good to Us!!!! (Issue #35)
This week’s theme is resolutions – entering 2024 with intention (no pressure 🫶🏽).
Hi friends!
I’m baaaaaack!! Did you miss me?
While I was away for the holiday break, the third and final 2023 episode of my podcast Truer Crime was released into the world.
Here’s the description:
From 1920 to 1940, no Black people lived in Forsyth County, Georgia. None. But by the time Tamla Horsford moved there with her family, a lot had changed. Or so it seemed until Tamla was found dead in the Fall of 2018. Suddenly, a century’s worth of trauma resurfaced in the once all-white Georgia county. Today’s episode reveals what happens when a woman and a county collide.
You can listen to “Tamla Horsford” (and all of the episodes of Truer Crime) here on Apple Podcasts and here on Spotify (you can also find it on other podcast players by searching ‘Truer Crime’)!
Before 2020, I entered each new year with intention. I’ve always been a planner (and still am), but Celisia in her early 20s took it to the next level. Each year, I’d await my Cultivate What Matters PowerSheets to arrive in the mail, filling them out with precision. At the time, I was in the early years of my wedding photography business and navigating what I wanted my life to look like post-college. Goal-setting was empowering and grounding in a time when everything felt so uncertain.
It continued that way every year until March 2020, when the pandemic lockdown began. And as legal restrictions on group gatherings (including weddings) were put in place, I felt the goals I’d set at the start of 2020 slipping through my fingers. As the days passed my life changed in more ways than I could name, and the year ended with my financial advisor stealing my life savings (read more about that here). I entered 2021 with a calm resignation to skip the goal-setting and just let the year unfold as it would.
And unfold it did! Just like every year does, inevitably, with all its complicated ups and downs. As the years have passed, I no longer feel the same desire to spend hours goal planning as I once did. Last year, my best friend and I wrote letters of intention to start the year, and I liked that more flexible interpretation of goal setting. It’s also a nice sentimental keepsake to mark the passing of time.
So, in the spirit of setting new year goals and intentions, or simply honoring the passing of time, today’s theme is all about resolutions. But these aren’t the restrictive, overly goal-oriented resolutions of my past. Instead, these are little moments of reflection and intention, to help us to continue showing up as the best version of ourselves (whatever that may look like).
A round-up of things to watch, read, and listen to as you head into the weekend.
Podcast: The Defenders
I have yet to listen through this whole show, but it’s a great listen if you’re looking to cultivate hope as we head into the new year. Hosted by Samantha Bee and Gloria Riviera, each episode covers a different story from the fight to expand abortion access and care in a post-Roe America. Progress always has its setbacks, so I love intentionally visiting stories of resistance as a reminder to keep pushing for what’s right.
Podcast: For the Healthy Hoes
My friend Madison recommended this show to me, and it sounds like a great mental health podcast! listening to it, she said, feels just like talking to old friends. The show describes itself as “a (safe) space dedicated to providing resourceful wellness information via casual + everyday chats about mindfulness, intentionality, and self-awareness.” The hosts, who are a couple, give examples from their lives and relationships, which adds a helpful and personal touch.
YouTube: Sydney Cummings Houdyshell Workout Videos
While working from home is a privilege I’m grateful to have, it also means that things around here get sedentary reaaal quick. While I’ve never been the gym type, moving my body does feel good and has a huge impact on my health (both mental and physical), which is why I’m excited to check out Sydney Cummings Houdyshell’s videos. Recommended to me by a friend, Sydney’s workouts are all centered around just showing up as your best self, with a focus on strength rather than any particular shape or physical style. The videos don’t feel pretentious (a huge downfall of many traditional “gym-bro” videos), and many feature modifications to make the workouts accessible no matter where you are on your fitness journey!
Featuring someone I’m obsessed with (talking about what they’re obsessed with).
Kemi is a ceramic artist formerly based in Minneapolis, MN, and recently relocated to Brooklyn, NY. I first met her through a mutual friend, and within an hour of meeting, I was swooning over her beautiful pottery (and brought a few pieces home with me 😊). Her background is primarily in graphic design and community engagement and has recently shifted to ceramics over the last few years. Her ceramics brand, Ikokomi, consists mostly of tableware and accessories aesthetically and functionally inspired by the concept of home and place. You can find Kemi on Instagram @_ikokomi, and on her website here.
Check out Kemi’s obsessions below!
Andre 3000's new album: New Blue Sun
I recently made a big move that in some ways I was very prepared for, and in other ways, I was a whirlwind of chaos. Andre 3000's new (and first) solo album came out a couple of weeks later, and it has been my go-to album to soothe my nerves when I'm feeling overwhelmed, slow my thoughts when I'm trying to fall asleep, or provide calm background vibes to my work. As someone who is embarking on a new adventure in a new home and who has a lot of interests and passions in life, it is so inspiring to see Andre 3000 not necessarily reinvent himself but express even more of who he is.
New Routes
Before I moved, a friend gifted me a small care package that included a set of cards with new-city challenges. One of the ideas is to spell your name or a word on a map and then walk that route. For spots that are not walkable, and to integrate this idea into my work week, I have pushed myself to take different routes to destinations I frequent. For example, my new studio space is about a 50-minute commute by bus or train (or both), so to get more acquainted with the area, I've challenged myself to not take the same route within a week.
Yam is one of my favorite small jewelry brands that I randomly discovered on Instagram in 2020. Inspired by the founder's late mother, Yam's aesthetic is the perfect balance of contemporary trends and comforting nostalgia. I almost always have a Yam piece on, whether it's a bead in my braids (Yam x BREAD), or one of the sweet posy necklaces that remind me of my childhood.
Breezeblocks / African Brutalism:
Definitely more of a random but true obsession, I have been OBSESSED with breezeblocks for a while. I have always loved architecture in general, but I am specifically enamored by the aesthetic of breezeblocks, whether in a fence or as part of a building. As a potter, I love the intersection of function and art, and breeze blocks are a perfect example of this in the architecture world.
Things to try + share in the group chat.
Note: Links preceded by an asterisk (*) are affiliate links that allow me to collect a small commission when you purchase something I’ve recommended. That said, I can promise I’ll only ever share items I love. Buying through these links is one way to support me and my small biz. ❤️
I want to elevate my party guest reputation in the coming year, mainly by bringing food (obviously). I’m excited to try this Flaky Prosciutto, Brie, & Spinach Bites recipe because it looks impressive, delicious, and most importantly easy to pull together. 😈
Another recipe I’m excited to try is this Insta Pot Coconut Lime White Chicken Chili. Yum!
This reusable, *wooden calendar puzzle gives you a different puzzle each day. A great way to incorporate a little brain stimulation every morning.
And there you have my first issue of 2024! I’m excited to be back, and to return to our normal Friday + Monday posting schedule. I hope the new year is kind to you, and can’t wait to see what it has in store for us all. <3
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