The Dune
“Electromagnetic
Melanin.
Blue-black color
of her skin
Upon the dunes
of my Motha’s Earth
The inner glow
Of her rebirth.”- A.M. - poet
Imagine walking down a sandy pathway and stepping into your own private beach 🏖️.
Every year for the last ten years, we’ve ventured to the waters for relaxation. Any Scorpio knows that’s our element for healing. This is your reminder to enter into your space of peace and nurture your happiness ♏️
Thank you @photos.bybe for making this ritual special for us to reignite our flames.
Photographer: @photos.bybe
Swimsuit Link: Matte Collection
I’ve almost reached 200 followers 🎉 Please continue to like, comment and share! @iam_alimanning
Photographer: Be Manning (@photos.bybe).
Navarre Beach, Florida
Carpe Diem,
Ali
Quarantined: Damn, Corona!
Photo by J.C. on Unsplash
Covid 19 came in and halted everything! The funny thing about black folks is, we know how to make light of every situation. The jokes are endless even in a scary and somewhat ominous situation. The stories change daily, but most of us are on pause; working from home or ordering take out, homeschooling the kiddos and trying to make the most of the situation. Food businesses are suffering, not sure how they’ll get by day to day. It’s a shame, many have ransacked the grocery stores with lines wrapped totally around the aisles. Toilet paper is at a 2 pack minimum yet one thing remains…there’s plenty of fruits and veggies. What in the world folks?! As for us, I’m not much for playing by the rules, so me and my hunny have been out and about a few hours a day, maintaining our distance. Yet, It’s tough for the extroverts inside of us, we live for socializing and just being outdoors. Here we were watching this pandemic coming, yet acting like it wasn’t going to affect us. Oh well, hopefully it’ll all be over soon. Now get back to that virtual learning, working, yoga and watching those bad ass kids!
Memphis Health & Fitness Cover!
The September cover is out and I’m front and center on the Memphis H&F September Issue! I’ve always had a love for fitness and challenging myself to learn new things, so getting back to skating was no different. I started skating again because it brought me joy (in the midst of the pandemic), now I’m so glad I’ve been able to create joyful moments for others, by simply doing what I love.
When I was little, I was the only black girl in my ice skating class…now look at me?! On the Cover with dark skin, an Afro and a big pretty smile! Look how far we’ve come. #blackgirlmagic
Denver- 1st Post Quarantine Travel Experience
Soooo Denver, yeah it’s a great city, even during a pandemic. We had planned on going during March, but of course the world came crashing down, so we pushed our flights back and were determined to go no matter what. I made sure to have lysol wipes, alcohol spray, masks and hand sanitizer. I think I might’ve been overly cautious but it was worth it, we had a really enjoyable and safe flight. If you plan on flying keep these things in mind—American Airlines isn’t doing in flight service (which is fine) and although everyone had masks on the planes were packed! Sanitize, sanitize, sanitize!
When we landed in Denver, it was smooth sailing. We dropped our bags off at the 420 friendly airbnb and headed to the nearest dispensary. I had a few items in mind, so I tried Dixie Elixirs, Berry Lemonade with THC and Mary’s CBNa transdermal patch. The elixir lasted the entire weekend, let me tell you both products are top notch and effective. The next day explored Lodo, Larimer Square and checked out the Nari Ward exhibit at the Denver Museum of Contemporary Art. It was such strong and emotional exhibit that displayed the juxtaposition between Amerikka today and African heritage.
I was determined to go for a hike, so the final full day we went to the lovely Green Mountains. I didn’t prepare well for it, but thanks to no humidity we made it to the very top without an ounce of sweat. It was beautiful and peaceful, yet exhilarating because this was a first for both of us. Later that afternoon we lunch at a place called Tupelo Honey that had the most delectable fried chicken and pancakes. For dinner, we visited Humbolt Kitchen which has an extensive and well priced menu to close out our final night in the city. Denver is just one of those places that makes you feel welcomed, no matter who you are. We had fantastic foods and incredible service, we met unique people and just enjoyed spending time together.
It’s all about making memories for us and this is one I’ll never forget.
Food Science 4 Kids
Food Science 4 Kids has brought me such great joy! I started this program during the pandemic and we’ve been going for 14 weeks! Every Tuesday, little one’s from all over the U.S. join us to learn and perform really awesome experiments virtually. We’ve learned things from sensory evaluation to nutrition to how ice cream is made. What’s great is that we were featured in Choose 901 and on Edible Magazines social media. I am so happy to be able inspire and show them that a black woman scientist exists. Representation matters! Tell you friends and family to sign them up Food Science 4 Kids !
Roller Skates or Roller Blades?
I forgot how much I loved skating, but oh how I remember now! I few months ago, roller skating was trending heavily on ticktok. Although I had just gotten roller blades for my birthday, I couldn’t help but want some roller skates too. I searched high and low and finally found some Chicago Skates from Sports Unlimited (before they sold out). I was a bit clumsy at first, but I feel so confident on them now. Roller skating is an art, it’s really about feeling the music, footwork and pushing the boundaries on spins and turns. Roller blading, on the other hand, is about fitness and speed for me.
A friend of mine mentioned that the Shelby County Green Line was a great option for blading and after my first visit, I’ve been hooked! It’s serene, shady and the perfect spot to test my speed and endurance. The Shelby Farms Green Line is an 11 mile urban road that stretches from midtown Memphis to Cordova. I can imagine what a bird feels like flying, when I’m rolling around on my skates. It’s not too common to see black women outdoor skating here in Memphis, but who knows? Maybe some more of my sistas will join me out on the wheels.
40th Bday in Quarantine
So, First I’ll say that it’s a blessing to be in good health during this time, but it still sucks that we had to celebrate my husband’s 40th Be-day in quarantine. I had all these awesome things planned, but “rona” said nahhh! not this year for a lot of us.
I thought to myself, what can I do to still make it special? Luckily, I came up with a few special surprises that made his day special after all. From April 30th until May 5th I made sure to get a few of his favorite things to smooth over the fact that we wouldn’t be out partying with friends. Here’s the breakdown of our “Be-day” Food Tour!
Thursday: So Delicious cashew milk ice cream with salted caramel clusters is so indulgent and delicious! (Found at Target and Kroger)
Friday: Sunrise Memphis http://sunrise901.com/ for a to-go brunch with mimosas, on a Friday… It’s 5’o clock somewhere.
Friday Evening: City Tasting Tours virtual dinner https://www.citytastingtours.com/ . Her package comes with food prepared by local businesses. We got an appetizer sampler, dinner from Rizzos and dessert from Primas Bakery & boutique.
Saturday: Kitchen Guru Catering prepared a fantastic meal! Grilled Trippletail with crawfish Dorothy sauce, shrimp, butter potatoes and asparagus. It was slap yo momma good! https://kitchengurucatering.com/
Sunday, we made one of our favorite dishes (roast beef with veggies) and spent some quality time together. I managed to coordinate a compiled birthday message from friends and family that he watched the morning of. Later that day. he was surprised with a few bottles of his favorite scotch from a few friends which was the icing on the cake.
It wasn’t the most ideal birthday celebration, but it was still, absolutely special.
Links to restaurants below!
https://rizzosmemphis.com/
https://www.primasbakeryandboutique.com/
