Hello Brooklyn!

The sound of Salsa music, horns honking and loud conversations woke me up out of my sleep. The entire week had been fun-filled and this was my first comfortable rest. I looked out of the deep-paned windows and saw the sun beaming off the brick wall on the building across the street. I'm use to quieter Sundays but I had no complaints. It was actually quiet refreshing. This weekend I took a drive to New York to visit my big sister, Nicky, who lives in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn. I live in South Jersey so the drive wasn't too bad. My sisters memory foam mattress is the best mattress I've slept on in a long time and considering the fact that I have one rises some questions for me. Like where the hell she got hers from?! Hanging from a rod in front of the windows is her collection of purses. It's a healthy amount. Not like the shameful trunk on the floor of my closet full of purses most of which I don't even wear. The light grey that decorates her walls reminds me of my own room except her's is much more spacious, neater and tranquil. I felt like that little sister that prefers her big sister's things more than her own. And she was such a gracious host. Besides sharing her room and tee shirt, since I forgot something to sleep in( true Krystal fashion) she shared her city with me as well.This wasn't my first time visiting Brooklyn but it was my first time experiencing it.


My first night there we uber'd from Brooklyn to Harlem to eat at Solomon and Kuff, a Caribbean restaurant down by the Hudson River. It was a bit pricy but hey that's New York for you plus the food was ah-ma-zing. I had the ox tails, rice and beans and sweet plantains. You definitely get what you pay for in taste, portion and ambiance. After dinner, we took a stroll by the river where there were children playing, couples enjoying each other, older folks listening to music, young ladies striking their best pose for the camera and of course the smell of loud was ever present. On the way home, she pointed out other places in Harlem she wants to visit with me when I come back and I was excited and bright-eyeded like a true tourist.


Once we got back to her apartment we relaxed for about an hour and than headed out to Bed Stuy to listen to DJ Rich Medina's set featuring Lady Alma at C'mon Everybody. Now, I wasn't familiar with either artist but they tore it down. The whole house music scene is its own culture.

 Lady Alma

Blacks, Whites, Asians, the hip, the nerdy, the polished and the "little ruff around the edges" were all in attendance jamming with one goal in mind. To experience a good vibe; and that it was. Neither one of us are use to hanging out too late anymore so by 2am the only dancing we wanted to do was in our dreams.




In the morning, after we both got ourselves together, we took an uber to Sweet Chick on Bedford Ave to have brunch. There was a 30 minute wait so to kill time we walked around to check out the brownstones in Park Slope. I wanted to scream out "And stay off my stoop" so bad. 🤣 Shout out to Crooklyn.

Back at Sweet Chicks, it looked like a scene out of the HBO series Insecure. The crowd was mostly hip, black millennials and the food was great. I had the shrimp and grits with a grape soda (ode to my blackness LOL) Nicky had the ricotta pancakes with a side of bacon and lemonade. After brunch I headed back home to my baby Jersey but my BK visit with sissy was everything.

I really wish I would have taken more picture because my weekend getaway sparked my new hobby idea. TRAVELING!! Whether its long distant like my recent vacation to the Dominican Republic (blog post coming soon) or a local staycation, I want to travel and see this world.


Stayed tuned!!

Me and Nicky



Thoro Gem Thrusday: Theresa Patricia Okoumou

"Well-behaved women seldom make history"

-Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

Here's the thing, I never encourage breaking the law(clears throat) but sometiiiiiimes, you gotta say to hell with the rules and take a stand......or sit.


And that is just what this week's TGT feature did. Yesterday, July 4th, wearing a "Trump Care Makes Us Sick" tee shirt, jeans and pink sneakers, Theresa Patricia Okoumou climb onto the base of the Statue of Liberty and planted herself at the hem of Lady Liberty's dress in protest of the separation of migrant families and declared she would not come down until all the children are released.


Theresa Okoumou,a Congolese immigrant is a member of the organization Rise and Resist, who was also on site to protest ICE. After nearly three hours, officers detained an unharmed Theresa and she is due to appear in the Manhattan Federal Court to face possible misdemeanor charges such as trespassing, disorderly conduct and violating national park regulations.


Personally, I see nothing wrong with the action she took. I'm glad that she wasn't injured or worst because that's always a factor but how is her stand for justice any different from the March on Selma, lunch-counter sit ins, Bus Boycotts, and most recently the removal of the confederate flag by Bree Newsome who climbed a 30 foot steel pole to remove the banner. How Sway? How is Theresa any different?  When it comes to an act that takes place to STOP an inhumane practice and/or treatment, like I said earlier in the post, sometimes you gotta say to hell with the rules and take a stand. My only question is how the hell did she get up there?


Strong and brave in the face of adversity, Theresa Patricia Okoumou, you truly are a thoro gem!

Thoro Gem Thrusday: What About Our Daughters

"Behind every successful woman is a tribe of other successful women who have her back"- Unknown

So yall know I'm all about loving on and encouraging women especially with other women who have the same goal in mind because there is really nothing we cannot do when we support each other. That's the power in numbers. Recently I learned about the organization, What About Our Daughters which is based out of Burlington County, NJ. Their movement was created to empower young girls into becoming fruitful, well-rounded women someday.


It's often emphasized that the lack of a male presents in the life of a young person is extremely detrimental especially during their developmental years however, the lack of a woman's presence has the same effect. That type of love and guidance is crucial to their emotional, social and mental growth. I personally know ladies that have lost their mothers or the relationship with their mother is broken. Although most of them are successful and amazing mothers now themselves, there's still that avoid of not having their mom around at times in your life where it was needed the most. Even in my own life, my mother and I are extremely close now but that wasn't always the case. Fortunately for us, we did our on work to repair our relationship through talking, inventiveness and forgiveness. Sadly, that's not every girls story but THANK GOD for organizations like this.


I cant wait to see what is in store for this movement and the lives that will be impacted. I'm a firm believer in reaping and sowing and I'm sure that they will reap greatly.

To learn more about the organization please check them out at www.ourdaughters.org
IG: whataboutourdaughters_

Living with regrets!

This is the time of year where your timelines on  Facebook, snap chat and Instagram is bombarded with a barrage of pictures of proms, graduations, and weddings. It’s truly a beautiful time for families and I love seeing the people I know celebrating these moments with their loved ones but I can't help but to think "what if".

"What if I kept the baby that I was pregnant with at 19?

That could be my son or daughter going to their formal or getting ready to go to high school. What type of mother would I've been? How would have keeping my baby have changed my life besides the obvious? Would I be a cool mom or Over protective mom? I know having a baby by a man absolutely does not guarantee that you and he will be a family but, I wonder how our interaction would have been. Possibly together? Most likely not! But more importantly I think about the baby. Would it have been a boy or a girl? Who would've she or he resembled the most? Would they have been creative like me or diligent like their father? Would they have been outgoing like me or laid back like him? Have my moody attitude or his tendency to be secretive and bend the truth (sips my Tetley super green tea). It’s not just this time of year that brings these questions to the forefront of my mind because I actually think about them all the time. Especially since I'm at the point in my life that I really want a family. However this year is a bit different because one of mothers celebrating her child is my age. I actually know her personally because we went to school together. As a matter of fact my child would have only been a couple of months younger than hers so it hit home so hard. We were both pregnant our senior years; super green to the world and all that life had in store for us. The thought of being a young mom scared the shit out of me. Of course getting an abortion scared me too but not like being responsible. (Mind you, I'm just relaying my past thoughts.) I had no idea who I was or what I wanted to do with my life. My prom pictures are still packed away and were never given out because you can see my belly bulge. Even though I participated in school activities at the time, I was being homeschooled for the remainder of the school year due to an emotional breakdown months prior. I was neck deep in depression and an active cutter. My baby dad was locked up and if you caught the shade I threw earlier in the post than I’m sure I can tell I don't care too much for him. He and I broke up a couple months before I got pregnant and honestly, I was dealing with a whole other guy who was 10 years older than me when I got pregnant. (Please reserve your judgment, thanks) although I had a great support system that consisted of two awesome friends that I still call my sisters to this day, my mom, dad and brother, I was still a broken little girl bringing a baby into a mess. That was the last thing I wanted. I recall a time when I was in bed trying to sleep but the thought of an actual human being alive and growing in my body cancelled any plans of rest and I stayed up the whole night crying and praying.

My pregnancy was terminated on April 28 2004 at 2 1/2 months.

My feelings often sway from contentment to disappointment to utter sadness and then here come the “what ifs”. As I try to remember the reasons that lead to the decision I made, I tell the 19 year old Krystal that all eventually turned out ok and you did what you felt was best for you at that time. Which is the truth. But I struggle with what to say to 33 year old single, Krystal who's thoughts stretch from what type of mother I would’ve been to if I’ll ever be a mother. I would be lying if I said that at times I didn’t feel like I was being punished but I like to believe that’s not my Gods way.  We can’t change anything that we’ve done in the past and I believe that the hardest thing for a lot of us to do when it comes to the topic of regret is detaching the emotions attached to our past decisions from who we are in the present.


It’s hard. Damn hard. But the like the famous quote by Robert Frost says “The only way out is through”. Move forward with forgiveness for self and learn to live with the regrets.

 

I'm going on break..yall want anything?

I'm not sure if Superman or Superwoman ever took "time out" periods but in the real world there is no such thing as Superman and Superwoman. You can have similar qualities but you're still a human being that needs a moment if not two, to regroup and reset when need be.

April was my golden, blooming month. I turned 33 on the 3rd and released my first book on the 14th.

May was my month of maturity. Emphasis on maturity. I had no choice but to interact closely with people that I don't see it for AT ALL. Being that I physically have a difficult time acting as though I'm okay with the situation or person when I'm not, this definitely brought me out of my comfort zone. On the other hand in the month of May I also disconnected myself from a few people and ended relationships that were no longer healthy or servicing me.

And now we're in June. The beginning of a new season in many aspects for me. There's so many things that are going to be taking place this month that it's important for me to pull away from everything that requires more than I have to offer right now to rest and resolve within myself. 

I've been paying a lot more attention to my body and I'm finding that I am more irritable than usual with people and myself. I've caught myself being distracted by matters that have absolutely nothing to do with the woman I am or becoming. Not to mention that I have a horrible habit of entertaining toxicity and also giving off that same energy. And I hate that! I hate that I haven't mastered my own energy yet. As a creative( I'm literally cringing..yall know how I feel about titles lol) my emotions are always on one hundred and my mind and heart get effected more deeply than the average person so it's important for me to check myself before reality does. Social media can be such a tricky place that if you're not careful you can lose yourself trying to help people discover who they are. I've decided that for the remainder of this month I'm taking some time to be selfish enough to be generous towards my soul.  

Church Vs. State(of mind)

I was a little leery to write about mental wellness because it's such to delicate topic but in light of recent tragedies and the fact that I literally stumbled upon this article that pretty much had me screaming at my computer while at work, I knew it was time. Today I posted the following on Instagram about the importance of getting help for your mental wellbeing.

Sydnei Jarman, Editor in Chief of Her Modern Life, not only pulled the sheets off of the "pray it away" theory but also incorporated practical steps towards getting the help that is needed. There are so many people that don't get help out of fear of being labeled "crazy" so they suffer in silence. Then there are people who do seek help but get frustrated and hopeless because what looked like healing for others didn't work for them.

I had the most darkest and difficult time dealing with my depression while I was in church. Not at all because I didn't have enough faith in Christ to bring me healing, but because by the time I could no longer be cute and mute about the war happening inside of me, I was spooked into thinking I was demon-filled instead of a girl who was neglecting the wellness of her mind. Contrary of how I was made to feel, I fell in love with Christ in that moment of my life because I grew to know Him personally. While dealing with extreme anxiety and depression, I came upon my favorite verse that still chokes me up to this day.

"Who [faithfully] remembered us in our lowly condition,

For His loving-kindness endures forever"- Psalm 136:23

I do believe this verse hand in hand with professional help saved me. Note that I mentioned           pro-fes-sional help but if you it eases your spirit to keep things in a biblical sense, take the following into consideration. The apostle Luke was a doctor and referenced as such. Yes, God can be your healer and lawyer, etc but He also has granted people the wisdom to be experts of that field in this natural world.

On the other hand, as far a diagnoses is considered and this is truly my personally opinion, I do believe that we are quick to diagnosis people as manic depressive or bipolar because they display signs of sadness or irrational ways of coping. Sometimes folk are just sad or bothered about a situations and need healthy strategies on getting to the root of their problem and changing their way of thinking. Of course that's not everybody but a diagnoses of mental illness isn't for everyone either and I can really go on and on about how convenient it is for other races to be label as mentally ill after they shoot up schools and churches but African Americans are killed on site if not immediately thrown in jail...but that's for a different post.

All in all, seeking help is one of the most bravest and strongest things one can ever do for themselves. Its more important for the masses (church are carnal) to be slow to judge and quick to heal.

Thoro Gem Thursday: When The Whole Gang Lit!!! Supa Cent, Da Real BB Judy and Tokyo Vanity

This weeks thoro gem feature is not one but three beautiful and successful women from New Orleans, Louisiana. Not only are they making huge names for themselves in their respective fields but they're also best friends in real life. Supa Cent, Da Real BB Judy and Tokyo Vanity.

Supa Cent grew to fame by making hilarious and too real videos about herself and life experiences on the Vine and Instragram. Everything from her comedic videos to  #StoryTimeWithSupa ,her #AskSupa segments where followers reach out to her for words of advice, to #CookingWithSupa and of course the supa (see what I did there LOL) success of her very own cosmetic line The Crayon Case. Also a music manger, clothing designer, and just one year into becoming a major indy brand, Supa proves that with belief in yourself and dedication there's no excuse to not chase greatness.

But wait, how genesis is her branding by making the makeup of her brand look like actually school supplies! Sis was really on to something.


On another note, over this past weekend she hosted an event in her home town of New Orleans where her now fiancé that we all know as Lou, proposed to her. Congratulations love!




















You may have seen her along side her bestie, Jesseca Dupart affectionately known as Da Real

BB Judy, CEO of Kaleidoscope Hair Products. In 2014, Judy launched her brand in with her savings and a plan. If you tell me that you haven't seen her videos where she's busting in studio sessions, running down of celebrities in the streets or interrupting brunch dates to advised potential clients on their need of her miracle drops, I'm going to ask you where have you been?!

 Of course all her videos are in good fun and pre-planned with everyone involved, Judy knew how to catch the attention and memory of her audience with her brilliant marketing. She also doesn't shy away from  sharing knowledge. You can see her in several interviews sharing her tips for success and spreading love.

The baby of crew, Tokyo Vanity is famously known for her 2015 hit single "That's My Best Friend".Tokyo has been booked and busy with getting her feet wet in the music game and also recently casted as one of the new and fan favorite personalities on Love and Hip Hop Atlanta.  Personally, I don't care too much for LLHH Anywhere, but watching her a few others is cool from time to time. On the show, Tokyo revealed that she was a virgin and received a lot of mixed opinions about her personal choice to remain on lock and key until further notice. I LOVE IT!! A lot of young girls and even grown women get caught up in the pressures of sex so her unapologetic stance is refreshing and NEEDED.

The authenticity and obvious love between these ladies is something awesome to watch. They're supportive, hold each other accountable, promote each others company's and encourage one another  like a friend should. I remember a couple months ago I saw a video where Judy surprised Supa with keys to her own store. I cried watching that video because that level of friendship is beautiful. She believed enough in her friend to assist in making her dreams a solidified brand. My TGT features pale in comparison to that level of support, but that's the reason why I do Thoro Gem Thursday. I love spreading love and have NEVER BEEN A HATER. When women support other women, its as powerful as a movement and when the support is in your own circle...you lit!

Supa, Judy, and Tok, you ladies are some thoro gems.

For more information ob these ladies, check out their social media handles and websites below.


Supa Cent:
IG: @supa_cent and @thecrayoncase
www.thecrayoncase.com


Da Real BB Judy:
IG @darealbbjudy
www.iluvcolors.com


Tokyo Vanity:
IG @tokyoxvanity
Twitter @tokyoxvanity