#summerofdawn

I was offered some last minute FREE tix to see Aladdin on Broadway, now normally my couch would have had a secure hold on me BUT it's SOD so I got up and went!!!! Great time! Stay tuned,  I'm planning a SOD happening every week!  When was the last time you saw a play? 

Ps SOD=summer of dawn,  I probably didn't need to tell you that. ....

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!!

Hello Paris!!

Greetings Pooka Family!!
Hope all is well. This year is moving by so quickly.  Can you believe it is almost Memorial Day Weekend…the official start of summer!  This usually marks the beginning of travel season for most.  This is a special year for me.  I celebrated a special birthday.  Well let’s see.. April’s birthday just passed and she claimed 30, Dawn, celebrating summer of Dawn claimed 24??...ok really Dawn.  Tricia can jump in the middle of these numbers when her birthday comes in November.  Since I am the eldest of all 4 of the Pookalitas I will claim 32…yes that works for me lol!  Any way I wanted to do something really special in honor of “32”.  I decided to go to Paris!!!!  I had never been to Europe and Paris was on my bucket list.  My sister Bev also turned “32” and organized a group of 8 on a Paris foodie lover’s extravaganza!! (Thanks to Eileen and Alan our wonderful travel agents!)  It was the most amazing trip of a life time!!  We were there for 5 short days and really took advantage of every second. We did a shopping tour, a wine tasting, and ate at authentic Parisian bistros. A major highlight was the inspiring black Paris tour! http://www.blackparistour.com/   It highlighted the contributions of black Americans (I know about Josephine Baker but they truly worshipped her at a whole other level!) and black Parisians that contributed to what Paris is today.  We had an authentic meal in the Paris hood…yes there is a hood in Paris with beauty and hair shops on both corners!! We celebrated Bev’s actual birthday in a fab restaurant next to our hotel, with a meal that was as beautiful as it was delicious!  We went to an amazing Paris jazz club where the band playing was from Ohio lol!  They were happy to see their fellow Americans in the house.  A true highlight, my foodie fanatics, was taking a French cooking class.  So are you truly seeing the theme here!  We met a French chef in her historic French apartment that she shared with her chef husband.  She got her basket and we headed to the open market. Loved it!! I was living the cooking channel!  We sampled cheeses and fruits and olives, we learned how to pick the best fresh chicken and we took in all that is the French market.  We then headed back to the apartment where we prepared a 5 star meal!! 

Family, we had wine and cheese every day and at LEAST two croissants lol!  Every single person we met was so helpful and so friendly.  We navigated the Metro better than the NYC subway system.  I was so struck by the beauty and magnificence of Paris.  It was above and beyond what I could have imagined as we strolled through the streets and the Champs Elysees….hi Louis Vuitton!  We spent our last night at the famed Le Grande Colbert which is the restaurant featured in the movie As Good as it Gets with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton.  We dined on their most famous roasted chicken and raised our glasses of French wine to one of the most memorable trips of our life time!!  Au revoir Paris!  I am truly in love and will return to you one day soon!!  

SUMMER of DAWN!!!

Hi Pooka family!  It’s been a minute!  So much going on, opening the new store has been a real learning lesson, but I now know it’s GOING TO BE GREAT!!!  I just wanted to share my newest revelation, I know, I know, I have one every week :-)  As I get older (24 yrs old this yr...it’s my blog and I can say what I want!)  I begin to really try to figure out my life, my passion, my purpose things like that.  I have to admit I’ve always wondered what GOD had planned for me as far as marriage and children.  There have been times, while laying on my couch, eating cereal (with soymilk of course) that I wonder can I be a mom?  will the kids be able to sit on the couch with me and partake in a cereal dinner?  Can I share my life with someone and will that mean sharing the couch?!  With the other pookalitas having either a husband or children or both, I’ve often wondered, what about me?  I have no husband and no children, then last week it hit me! I HAVE NO HUSBAND AND NO CHILDREN!!! What am I doing?  Glass half full!  Now, I’m not saying that I don’t ever want these things but right now I LOVE MY FREEDOM! Instead of looking at it as a negative I began to see the positive and thats when the “Summer of Dawn”  was born!! This summer I’m going to do everything I want to do because I have no responsibilities to another human being, lol!!  I am very excited, I am going to try new things, go new places, go places by myself and experience LIFE!!!  I’ve always wanted to play the drums so......Yup get ready for essex counties newest rock drummer!  I’m going to take some painting classes and bone up on my creative side, I’m going to travel, hmmmm....maybe Tibet! (or maybe hoboken, travel is travel, people!!)   I am so looking forward to this summer, so If you’ve got something great to do, ASK ME! I’ll go, cause that’s what you do in.....THE SUMMER OF DAWN!  

ps my friends and family told me they will break my fingers off If I air quote “Summer of Dawn” anymore, lol!!  

On the road again!

Morning Pooka Family!

Hope everyone is enjoying the nice weather! This week I'm working in Portland Oregon! I'm enjoying the weather out here and my break from my normal routine in Jersey.  Prior to having Taiye, I would travel frequently for work but since then I rarely get to do much business travel.  I do miss being on the road sometimes but not as much as I miss my baby!!! I'm so blessed to have my sisters April, Dawn, Donna and Carlene to watch over my baby and check in on her while I'm gone. 

Have a blessed week Pooka Family! I'll see ya soon at the boutique!

Its my Birthday!

Friday is my birthday! Yeah! No I'm not going to tell you what year this one is, but if you want to say Happy 30th! I'm with you! What to do, what to do? I feel like I've had a hundred birthdays! I remember when I was in elementary/highschool and my birthday would come around, all I wanted my parents to do was to give me a big party, sleepovers, new clothes and money to buy whatever I wanted. When I got a  older all I wanted was money and to be able to go out with my friends. Once I became an adult, I was able to do my birthdays the way I wanted, trips to exotic locations, designer handbags,dinners, shows, spa treatments. I feel like I've done a lot but now I need to do something different, something that will last a lot longer than the month of May. Yes it could be age people, but this birthday I'm on a quest for higher understanding. I'm ready to delve deep into the human condition and discover the meaning of life. To grow more spiritually, mentally and physically. And I'm gonna start.......right after the party......heheheheh Happy Birthday to me!