Friday's Simply Smitten - Blush & Blooms

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“Self love is the highest frequency that attracts everything you desire”

-anon

Happy Friday! I am back in New York after a quick trip to Ohio. I was in Columbus not only to visit my family, but for my nieces dance recital. It was a great weekend; exactly what I needed.

The recital was wonderful! Both girls did an amazing job and I am so proud of them. I asked my youngest niece who is 3 years old if she was scared being on stage and she looked at me like that was a foreign concept. She said no confidently and kept playing. Good for her. My family spent all of Saturday at the venue for the recital– ended up seeing 4 performances all together. My sister and I went to the evening performance so we could watch the older girls competition pieces. Completely blew me away! It’s so wild to see how much dance has changed. Growing up in the studio we never did any sort of acrobatics, but now it’s a major part of modern and contemporary. I was very impressed by the older girls, especially the seniors. Many of them choreographed their own solos for competition. I would never have been able to do that at their age. I learned how to choreograph a piece in college and didn’t get to do a solo until my senior year. Times have changed!

Besides the recital I went to visit my grandmother. She is 101 years old and pretty healthy! She gets a little confused here and there, but she knows who we are and can pretty much take care of herself. I hope I have her genes. Afterwards my mom, sister, nieces, and I went to the graduation party of one of my old dance teacher’s daughter. It was nice to hang out with the dance studio; old teachers and a few friends. Other than that I just went out to dinner with my parents and enjoyed being with family.

I flew back to New York late Monday afternoon. I didn’t go to DanceBody this week because I thought I was getting an x-ray for my neck. I was told by the front desk of my doctors office, and whomever I talked to at NYU Langone, that they take walk-ins. I was given a sheet of all the NYU Langone locations, so I picked the one closest to me. Turns out the sheet was outdated and only one location took walk-ins (or did x-rays). Instead of just heading to that location, I went home to work. The next day I got up bright and early to go to another NYU Langone location (the right one) and finally got my x-rays done. It was a quick and easy process. I really do not need x-rays but in order for my insurance to approve my MRI I had to get an x-ray done first. Next week I will get my MRI then hopefully meet with my doctor to figure out what is going on with my neck and traps.

Last night I went uptown to the Whitby hotel for a screening of For Love and Life: No Ordinary Campaign. I was invited through Guest of a Guest to watch the documentary– that is now showing on Prime. The documentary follows Brian Wallach in the aftermath of being diagnosed with ALS at the age of 37. Brian, and his wife Sandra, started a nonprofit organization called I am ALS which helps advocate for those affected with the disease. The documentary follows Brian and Sandra as they take their cause to Capitol Hill to not only get more funding for research, but to also aide in health care for those in need. The documentary is heartwarming, powerful, beautiful, and heartbreaking. ALS has been around for more than 100years, yet we are just now making progress in finding a cure and aiding those who have been diagnosed- all thanks for Brian and Sandra. It’s such a powerful and extraordinary story– a must see!

What I am watching: Last weekend my parents and I started watching the mini series Apple Never Falls on Peacock. It’s about a family who owns a tennis academy in Palm Beach when their mother goes missing. I finished the entire series this past week and really enjoyed it. It has so many twist and turns. I sorta had an inkling about the ending, but there were factors there that I didn’t see coming.

Speaking of documentaries, I started watching Dancing with the Devil on Netflix. I have only seen the first two (out of three) episodes. It’s about a group of dancers out in LA that found themselves in a cult. A church that also acts as a management company. While I do not follow these dancers on social media, they are always on FYP page. I would never have guessed they were in a cult– pretty much labor trafficking. One particular members of 7M (the management company) is Miranda Derrick (maiden name Wilking). Miranda and her sister Melanie used to do TikTok’s together under The Wilking Sisters. That is until Miranda got involved with 7M and Shekinah church, cutting off all communication with her family. The documentary follows the Wilking family as they try to reach Miranda, while raising awareness of 7M. It also follows other families who have loved ones within the church and under the management, as well as previous members of both. The story is wild and disturbing!

What I bought: I went on a little shoe shopping spree. First I bought these woven mesh ballet flats in natural. I think they are so cute and adds a nice little design detail to your outfit. Mesh is a huge trend right now for ballet flats. Next I bought these yellow strappy sandals for 40% off. I think they will look so cute with my summer dresses.

On The Blog

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This weekend I have evening plans a few friends. We are going out for a few drinks Saturday night; will probably go to a few new bars we have been wanting to try. Other than that I will be enjoying the beautiful summer weather.

Have a wonderful weekend xo

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