One of the great things I love to do is to travel. I still remember my first solo trip. I had this urgency, a need to explore. In fact, I always have and still do, quite frankly. However, I had only been a few places and only a couple of times out of the country. For my 40th birthday (a few years ago, now six to be exact), I wanted to treat myself to seeing two of my favorite places in the world...at least by all the pictures I kept on my vision board - Paris, France and Zanzibar, Tanzania just to name a few. I chose these because my of deep love for the beach and my incredible and somewhat insatiable desire for fashion.
I wanted to combine both of those loves so what better way than to explore the beaches near the Indian Ocean after visiting art museums and boutique fashion stores.
I also wanted a solo trip because I wanted to create opportunities for me to be open to new possibilities, conversations and friendships. I wanted to only rely on myself for figuring out how to navigate new cities and new countries while not being able to speak the language fluently. So…I purchased my ticket and created a trip with a loose itinerary to Paris by way of Zanzibar, Tanzania. At first, I was overwhelmed by anxiety and frankly for the first couple of days, I completely freaked myself out. On the third morning, I prayed and told myself to let go...everything will be alright as long as I follow my gut instincts.
It was one of the most memorable times in my life. In Zanzibar, I indulged myself in new foods, went dancing at a local bar, went deep sea fishing, laid out at the beach as much as I could and met really cool people from different parts of the world. In Paris, I took long walks in different parks, visited museums and wineries, asked strangers to take my picture as I stood in front of castles, visited fashion houses and slept in whenever I wanted.
On my birthday evening in Paris, I treated myself to dinner, a bottle of red wine and an outside seat at a gorgeous little cafe to people watch as the dusk turned to evening. I reflected on when I first put my feet in the sands of Africa and prayed that the Lord would continuously guide my footsteps. No longer was I looking at my screensavers on my computer, imagining myself being there. I was actually doing it. I had leaped. From gorgeous beaches to off the road towns in the middle of nowhere, I had wanted to visit them all. And now…It was real and actually happening. It’s been 6 years I haven’t stopped since.
Never had I thought that in my mid-forties, I would be branching out and starting a business. Mind you, I had always wanted to and envisioned myself running a company but I had always (and probably am still quite a bit) been one of those people who wait till it’s perfect to start. It’s time to let that go, cause honey...things will never get done.
I also want to introduce you to some of the incredible people whom I've met on my journey. Some have graciously accepted special contributing roles in writing about fashion, lifestyle, wellness, travel as well as food and wine critiques. Others have lended a hand in creating music soundtracks for our Spotify, mixcloud and podcast shows. I am so fortunate to work, travel, share stories over food and wine and just create with incredible people.
From South America to the Middle East; from the United States to Europe; from Africa to China to Australia, we are here to celebrate the uniqueness of our cultures - the wonderful foods, places (both exotic and off the grid) fashion, lifestyle and all the little things in between that creates a beautiful, insatiable gumbo pot of colorful goodness that celebrates the uniqueness of who we are as human beings. This blog is about the exploration and constant pursuit of adventure and love.
We’re here to inspire and empower people to create their own life adventures and on their own terms. Don’t look back. What are you waiting for? The time is now.