2018 Reflections

Can't believe I never posted this look from Cuba which was my favorite look I wore there. This Dress is a must on every girl's summer closet. It's so flattering and the material as heavy as it
is, is very breathable. I just snagged 3 more on sale for than 60% off at $35 to be exact. My summer vacays are set for life.

Relationship:
As we are approaching Christmas, 6 days away to be exact I will use this post as a time of reflection on my life this year covering relationships, friendships, travels, work... this year.  This year has been quite busy & fun one if not the funnest one. This year started off with a break up in the 2nd week of January which was expected & unexpected at the same time(doesn't make sense right, I know). This break up was honestly what I needed and one of the best thing to happen to me this year. I think it's time we start reframing break ups. I no longer see parting ways with someone you love as a bad thing. You can choose to celebrate the wonderful time you've had with the person, how they've contributed to and made your life better(if that's the case, in mine it was), reflect on what you want in your next partner/relationship,  move on & be happy for you & them. I will cherish the wonderful time we had together and I want nothing but happiness for him, I couldn't find a bad thing to say about him if I wanted to so thank you! Don't get me wrong, break ups are never easy especially if you still have feelings for that person, but remember time heals everything & don't make it harder than it needs to be.
It's always better to lose someone else than losing yourself. Once you've fallen in love with yourself completely whether someone wants to stay or leave your life won't faze you. I've done a lot of inner work to get this point & it's the best investment I've ever made.
Nowadays when and if a friend tells me they've had a breakup, I say congratulations! I see it as a rebirth & a celebration of love. I think we should take that time to celebrate the love we shared and ready for more love. Love is such a beautiful thing and there's always more of it.
Funnily enough, the day it happened I was on instastories that morning saying how today was going to be the best day ever! The universe has the best sense of humor if you ask me. I knew then that the year was off to a great start.

Friendships: 
I am going to be totally honest and tell you I didn't always value my girl friends. I was that girl who would rather spend time with her partner than girl time. I think that stemmed from not having girls that were into the same things I was into when I lived upstate. The last couple years I've learned how important are relationships with my girls & I can have such a great time if not better with them.
Currently I have a very nice group of girls & I must say I've always kept my circle very small, too small might I add. I'm learning it's quite fun to have a nice group of girlfriends.

Travel

It was the year of travel for me. I've pretty much been to all the countries I out on goal list at the begging of the year. I cannot stress enough how important it is to write your goals down. There's something about putting pen to paper what you want to accomplish.

I was in Paris twice this year, Cuba,Mexico and Vegas.Check out my travel tab to read about all my travels.

Work:
Let's do a little recap from last year which was all work for me. Started Dadou Studios making all the pieces myself, taking sewing classes whilst still working my 9-5 & photography on the weekends. This year, I knew I needed a break and my body & mind were asking me to.
Sewing everything for my line was becoming too much and felt having them professionally done would be better. I started working with factory but had to stop.
My photography picked up a lot this year. I am so grateful to get to travel for it. I've been more active on Youtube and the blog this year. I have issues concentrating one thing at a time, I'd like to say it's probably one of the reasons why Dadou Studios has not been successful as I would hope. I know things don''t work sometimes because better ones are in the works. Would I consider that a failure? No. I am so proud  of myself for going for it, even though I din't get the results I wanted. What I've learned in the process was immensely valuable and would not trade it for anything.
Sometimes I still tell myself maybe I could have done more, but I know dwelling on the past doesn't change it. I should spend that time creating the future. Coming back from Paris fashion week has given so much inspiration to get back into it.

Most of you know I also have a 9 to 5. Working full time and trying to do everything is very challenging. Wish I was doing all these things in my early 20s when 3 hours of sleep was all I needed. I never had much appreciate for sleep until now, the struggle is real.

Home: 

Where do I even begin? I lived in the Bronx for almost 3 years now & it hasn't been the best. I honestly moved there because my ex lives there and I lived in Brooklyn prior and he found me the place. If you guys know NYC, you know that living in Brooklyn and having a partner in Bronx is a long distance relationship. I was not a fan of the Bronx prior to living there & still not sure I am. My train sucked, closed most weekends and the train traffic in the morning is something out of hell if it exists. The only great thing about living in the Bronx is that I was closer to my family and they visited often & of course being a train stop from the ex. My landlord and I have never gotten along. I think it's a Caribbean thing, two very strong personalities. I am a rebel and hate being told what to do. My landlord always treated my like a child and I hated it. He's gone into my place without permission. Always creeping and looking who's coming in and so on. He always tried to tell me what to do and it's the quickest way to work my nerves and do the just the opposite out of spite or because I do things my way.

We had a huge argument over the summer and by September I was given notice to move out. What he didn't know is I am not at the mercy of his house and I moved out within 2 days of given notice and he refuses to give my deposit back(thief). I could take him to court but I am honestly so busy and don't have the time to be trailing in court. All I know is what you put out you get back.

I will say never live with your landlord and when I become one myself, I will never live with my tenants. 

It was time for me to move on. I am so excited to be moving to Harlem within the nest few weeks.

If I could describe this year for me. I'd say it was the year of fun, money and travel. I've never laughed so hard, eaten so much, met so many lovely people, attended so many cool events thanks to my friend Monroe. I prospered a lot this year. I can honestly say this year is best to date and could not be more grateful.

I know 2018 hasn't been the easiest for everyone. I know a lot of you may hate me for saying this, I just thing it's all about perspective. This used to me for many years until I changed my mindset and only focused on everything that's going right for me. One of my favorite quote, "Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. Charles R. Swindoll. It's the absolute truth. I don't really label things as good or bad anymore. If something happens that I am not in favor of I believe it's for my own good. When you see things that way, your life is nothing but a breeze. I could have easily labeled the break up and being evicted as bad but I know it's because it's exactly what I need right at that moment and for my own good. I know it's because there's someone better out there for me(vice versa) and I needed to move to Harlem.

Thank you for reading,
Xoxo, Rose