VOLUME 2 - ISSUE 5: February 26, 2024

Author

mikala
February 26, 2024

👋🏽 Hello There

My current favorite snack is pizza chips plus the garlic smear (slightly melted) by Trader Joe’s.

I blink and now it’s almost March. February has flown by quicker than I expected. There was a lot of rain - California is no longer in a drought so that’s good news! I’m also learning that I am definitely solar powered now because I feel off when it’s not sunny here.

This month has a been a lot of fun but also chill since I’m doing as I said by not going anywhere. I was tempted to go to Vegas when a friend invited me but I didn’t go. I also forgot to tell her not this time but she knows me well enough lol so hi CD!

In more exciting news, I haven’t told many people but I met Angela ‘MF’ Bassett earlier this month (hi ZC!). Of course, I kept my cool but immediately FaceTimed my family to tell them after I left 😂. Speaking of actresses, I’ve been loving Zendaya’s choices during the Dune II press tour. The only reason why I would be okay with being famous is for the fashion/archival pieces pulls.

This month marks three months of this newsletter which has been quite the journey for me - in all good ways. In this issue, I’m wrapping up Black owned/founded businesses in the last categories that are left so in comparison to the last one, it’s short and sweet. The categories in this issue are: Fun, Travel, Health & Wellness, and Something Really Bougie & Ridiculous. I also want to highlight a non-profit that is serving the homeless communities in Los Angeles, San Diego and Las Vegas - Beauty 2 the Streetz. The last newsletter was clipped so you may have missed a few categories, click here for the last issue; it’s a web version link.

HOUSEKEEPING

  • Does the subscribe link at the bottom show up for you? If it doesn’t let me know as I don’t see it but it could be an issue just for me

  • I’m in the process of figuring out guest column contributors for the rest of the year. If you’re interested in contributing let me know. It can be a visual or written form of medium.

IN THE ‘MEWD’ FOR..

FUN

In honor of BHM here are some movies and television shows that I’ve enjoyed that I wanted to share minus Iwájú (it hasn’t come out yet but wanted to includet) .

Movies

Iwájú (Disney+) - Tola, a young girl from a wealthy island, and her best friend, Kole, a self-taught tech expert, discover the secrets and dangers hidden in their different worlds.

One Night in Miami (Amazon) - On the night of Feb. 25, 1964, in Miami, Cassius Clay joins Jim Brown, Sam Cooke and Malcom X, and they discuss the responsibility of being successful black men during the civil rights movement.

Love & Basketball (Showtime) - Monica and Quincy are two childhood friends who both aspire to be professional basketball players. Over the years, the two begin to fall for each other, but their separate paths to basketball stardom threaten to pull them apart.

TV

Living Single aka the OG friends IFYKYK (Hulu/Max) - Six black 20-somethings -- four women and two men -- share their lives and loves in a Brooklyn brownstone. A trio of women share one of the apartments, receiving frequent visits from a fourth pal; meanwhile, two men who've been friends for years share an apartment one floor up.

A Different World (Max) - A sophomore, Denise Huxtable shares her quarters with divorced freshman Jaleesa and naive Maggie, one of Hillman's few white students. Other Hillman students include Whitley, a Southern belle full of attitude; Dwayne, a math major, and his best friend, Ron; and Col. Taylor, aka "Dr. War."

All American (Netflix/CW) - Spencer James is a rising high school football player and A student at South Crenshaw High, but when coach Billy Baker recruits him to join his team in Beverly Hills, Spencer's mother, Grace, and his best friend, Coop, convince him it's an opportunity he has to seize. Forced to move in with Billy and his family to protect his transfer permit to Beverly.

TRAVEL 

View from Airplane of Washington Monument/National Mall - Taken by Me (Mikala)

USA

Middleburg, VA - Salamander Resort & Spa (There’s a Washington, DC location too!)

Nashville, TN - Urban Cowboy

Milpitas, California - Sonesta Silicon Valley

CARRIBBEAN

Rendezvous Bay, Anguilla - Anguilla Great House Beach Resort

Gosier, Guadeloupe - La Créole Beach Hotel & Spa

St. James, Barbados - La Maison Michelle

Leeward Island, Anguilla - Paradise Cove

SOUTH AMERICA

Tierra Bomba Island, Colombia - Blue Apple Beach

Near Cartagena, Colombia - Islabela

EUROPE

Amsterdam, Netherlands - Hostelle

AFRICA

Katunguru, Uganda - Elephant Plains Lodge

Marrakesh, Morocco - Jnane Tamsna

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe - Mbano Manor Hotel

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Hollywood, CA Desaur 

Multiple Locations - Mellow Massage

Atlanta, GA - Iwi Fresh

Worldwide - The Jenesis House Retreats 

Baltimore, MD - The Spa At The Ivy

SOMETHING REALLY BOUGIE AND RIDICULOUS

Mickalene Thomas - Jet Blue #55, 2023

Song Inspiration for Volume II - Issue X: Tony! Toni! Toné! - It Never Rains (In Southern California)

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