Mimi – Page 78 – Unlikely Martha

Living

village aunties

Whoever knew when I accepted a position as a call center worker for Sprint PCS back in 199*coughs into my hand* that I would not only be answering calls from irate customers but well over a decade later I’d be answering calls from co-workers turned friends turned sisters.

My children are blessed in that over the years I’ve amassed a village of phenomenal and loving women that care for them just as much as I do. They call on birthdays, spoil in the most unbelievable ways and will flip the script and set the record straight when they step out of line in a heartbeat. They paint nails and dance to Michael Jackson and are just all around awesome.

One of the village aunties lives downtown in a happening part of town and my children love to visit her. They ask for her almost weekly and this weekend we traded in a quiet Saturday night in the burbs for a fun evening in the city.

Their eyes light up at the skyline and the railcar and the murals….and Harold’s chicken

Once we made it back to her place after eating chicken and laughing and catching up the little one got some instruction on how to play mancala, while I begged for random pieces of jewelry and sunglasses like only sisters do.

So that’s the story of our Saturday with one of the village aunties or aunt or Antie…whatever they are called in your neck of the woods.

Do your babies have village aunties or are you the village auntie?

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Fashion• Mama Style

a shift in color

I’m trying to inject more color into my wardrobe. I mean when a man notices you only wear gray, black and white I think a little color never hurt anyone. I’m still sticking with my shift dresses though. Won’t be making any adjustments to that obsession any time soon.

Sunday the Mr. and I stepped out to see Cirque du Soleil. The weather was beautiful, and the fabric on this dress is certainly transitional but would be too heavy for Summer so I hope to get some wear out of it before tucking it away until Fall.

FYI… I am NOT on bump watch. The sun has set on those days.

I got this dress from the overseas site Shein. Y’all know I don’t do online shopping, and especially ordering something that is going to take weeks to get here but for $19.99 I couldn’t pass it up.

The shipping was free, and overall I was impressed with the quality and fit. I would say if you venture to shop here, just make sure you read the reviews regarding the fit and measurements. I haven’t ordered anything else from the site but I’ve been looking.

Dress: Shein | Necklace: Pynkluxe | Shoes: Old Navy (similar) | Bag: Wilson’s Leather | Sunnies: Tory Burch

…my husband and I have this thing with car selfies. I think I am going to create a gallery wall in our room with all of our car selfies over the years. Here’s our latest!

Happy Friday. Have a great weekend!

*this post contains affiliate links.

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my new fave home accessory | dyson small ball vacuum

This post has been sponsored by Dyson.

You know you have officially arrived into the land of the sho nuff grown and sexy when talks surrounding Dyson vacuum cleaners go something like, “Girl, I heard those things are the truth. I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on one.”

That conversation totally happened.

Oh, pulling this beauty out of the box had me at a loss for words. S E X Y she is.

Not only does she look good but she keeps her weight intact at just 12.15 lbs and she keeps her voice low cause the kids noise is enough. She is 30% quieter than her predecessors. She’s a little short, with the hose retracted she comes in at 2.6 feet. Small but mighty indeed.

The hose extends so long, I was amazed. Remember Inspector Gadget, the hose was like that. Looked small but expanded a great deal. I was able to attach the hose and climb on a step stool and dust the fan blades.

Dyson vacuums are known for their ability to remove dust and other pollutants from the air and this version in it’s smaller frame carries on the legacy with its whole-machine HEPA filtration, capturing over 99% of pollen, mold, and bacteria – keeping them trapped in the bin. This is probably why Dyson are regarded as the best vacuum manufacturer.

Unfortunately mine is no longer shiny and pretty. I promise to come back and tell you the story of scraping the ceilings. This baby made light work of getting the dust off the hardwood floors and clearing it from my sofa cushions.

Update as on 10th July 2018: Fast forward couple of years and my Dyson is still going strong. It still makes light work of the hardwood floors and sofa cushions. But now that stick vacuums in 2018 are not just compact but quite powerful as well, almost at par with their corded versions, I have finally bought a cordless companion for my Dyson Small Ball – a Dyson Cyclone V10 Absolute. It sure is tiny but manages to clean as good as my older Dyson. I’m sure in the later years or even months they’ll be a new method of cleaning with a robot vacuum cleaner to make the job hassle free, then no come can moan about doing the cleaning!

The Dyson Small Ball currently retails for $399.99 and is available on Amazon and on Dyson.com

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spring cleaning checklist | the kitchen

I like to deep clean at least twice a year, in the Spring and before school starts. Both times I would rather use my broom as a guitar and belt out show tunes at the top of my lungs on my front lawn with my neighbors driving by. Since the temps will be reaching nearly 80 for the entire week I’m happy to open the doors and windows to let in some fresh air and get started on the inevitable.

Yes, it’s that time of year friends.

Despite every good intention to stay on schedule keeping my house clean, I fell off the past few weeks and I am not ashamed to say my house is in complete disorder. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, I have decided to take it one week at a time focusing on each area, and I encourage you to do the same. The key is once you’ve cleaned that area make sure to keep it on the weekly cleaning rotation to maintain order.

This week I am focusing on the kitchen. I’m just going to go ahead and get it out of the way first. I’ve organized my pantry, coffee and junk drawers so all they need are tidying up. All of the other cabinets, need M A J O R love.

Here is a printable checklist of the areas to include in your kitchen Spring cleaning. I’m going by this and hopefully I’ll be back on Sunday to highlight at least one of the best transformed spaces.

I would say don’t worry so much about making things pretty, the main focus is to get rid of the clutter, organize and take inventory of things that need to be thrown out and replaced.

Who’s joining in?

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