Girls Trip | Essence Festival

Where have I been? The real question is where haven’t I been. This has been one busy summer for the books. From traveling just about every weekend with Just for Me, to sneaking away to New Orleans for the Essence Festival,  I’ve barely had time to gather my thoughts.

Historically, I’ve always taken a hiatus from creating content here in the summer. Well seeing as how the school bell rings in a little over a week, summer is technically over and it’s time to get back on schedule.

So let’s catch up with my girls trip to the Essence Festival. If you follow me on Instagram and saw my stories you already know we had a ton of fun. I was a little leery about heading to New Orleans in the middle of summer, but to be honest the heat wasn’t that bad. I opted to wear my hair wrapped during the day because I was sure the relentless humidity wouldn’t let my bob be great. That decision really worked well because I didn’t have to worry at all with my hair.

The ride from Atlanta to New Orleans took about 7 hours. To be completely honest there are few things that can set off a girls trip like a good road trip.

I know every mother isn’t about leaving their kids and heading out of town to decompress and let their hair down for a bit….but I am. Now that we have that out of the way. This mama had a ball.

New Orleans and the Essence Festival doesn’t owe me/us a thing.

 

I am the biggest Erykah Badu fan. I was real hype to go to her concert until I saw the $250 price tag. I was like next time. Luckily we were able to find some last minute tickets for $100. Erykah Badu and Jill Scott on one stage? Yes please. I had a ball with my bestie.

Initially I hadn’t planned to attend more than one concert. I’m cheap, and $500 on concert tickets wasn’t in the budget. Like the church folk say, “Favor ain’t fair” and there was truly a blessing with my name on it when the Vaseline brand slid into my DMs gifting me free tickets to the Mary J. concert.  Sometimes these little places on the internet are good for something! Since everyone else in my crew had already purchased a ticket to the concert, I asked Tiffini of Latched and Hooked to be my +1. We had a ball! I had no idea Mary J. was such an amazing performer.

Other than that, we took it easy. Naps were had….cause….nearly 40. We roamed the streets of New Orleans dodging rain drops, catching trolleys, and Lyfts, eating good and enjoying one another.

There were three separate groups of us, at times we all came together and other times we went our separate ways. We were all celebrating the queen in the middle, because breast cancer didn’t win. Life is precious, we should always remember that.

I even got a chance to catch up with some of my internet/IG friends.

I’ve been following Carla for  6 years. Seeing her was like connecting with a long lost sister. I’m SO glad I got a chance to hug on her neck! She’s an amazing writer, and well traveled I might add. Check her out on Rae La Soul

Saw my IG buddy @Peonylova

….and @effiespaper (she has a super cute line of stationery)

There are far too many memories, photos and words to describe how much fun we had. This might be an indication tho.

Simply put, self care is whatever you need it to be. Spending time with my friends has always been important to me and I’m thankful that I have no guilt about taking time to recharge.

Here are a few of my other girls trips:

Cherokee, North Carolina

Jekyll Island

Well, school is on the horizon and I’m readying myself for the hustle and bustle. I’m really glad I took the time to get away and just let loose. Now back to organizing and cooking and cleaning and grocery shopping, and chauffeuring and……

How’s your summer going? Are you planning for back to school yet?