My Week (and a half) in Review

I love this time of the year. Flowers are blooming. Weather gets warmer and my DC social life amps up a few notches. I had a fun week and a half. Too much fun that I don’t have time to blog about it but I can share a few snapshots.

I had the pleasure of volunteering a few hours for The Winery at Olney pouring samples during the Decanter Wine Festival. Sooo much fun!

While at Decanter, this cracked me up. A guy decided to store some of wine purchases in his (or his wife’s??) rain boots.

I may or may not have ordered a double portion of these panko crusted leek croquettes. Yum!

Discovered a new restaurant. Ambar located in Barracks Row, DC. Great happy hour prices, although the options left little to be desired. The bartender was super friendly, so I’ll def be back.

Woke up at 5am to see a huge moon setting outside my window. Awesome view and high in the sky. Came back from the bathroom and caught the last glimpse of it as it disappeared into the horizon.

Took a spontaneous trip home to see my family. Made the decision at 11:17am. Packed my iPad, toothbrush, and clean underwear. I was on the Marc by 12:20pm.

Upon arrival at home, my sister and I arranged this romantic setup for my grandparents in their suite at a Bed and Breakfast.

The main reason I took my spontaneous trip home was to see my baby sister off to her senior prom. I’m soooo proud of the young lady she has become.

Sisters are a blessing! Here’s all of us sharing a silly moment before hitting the road back to DC.

Elk Forge Bed and Breakfast has two doves on site in their dining room. I *gushed* at the two baby doves nesting below the parents.

More birds: During sunset I spied a family of geese swimming. At one point one of the mother geese and the 2 babies started swimming towards the left. The father geese decided he wasn’t going that way and started swimming the opposite direction. After a minute or two, when the 3 discovered the father wasn’t behind them, they quickly paddled towards his direction.

I’m not quite sure how I ended up at a Bluegrass & Folk festival in DC. It was… interesting. I love that DC offers a diverse range of events for all lifestyles and tastes.

I took a moment to appreciate nature’s beauty.

Ended my weekend with a girl’s nite in with one of the BFF’s. We sipped on B!tch wine while noshing on guacamole. The wine was definitely appropriate for our B!tch session as we chatted about our favorite subject: men.

What was the highlight of YOUR week? Share with a Sista in the comments. Also follow me on Instagram: Jazzy Jonez

Canola Oil vs. Olive Oil

Last week I spied some plantains on sale at my local grocery store. Before settling in for a movie, I decided to make a batch to munch on. The last time I fried plantains, I used way too much oil and it was a hot, greasy mess. That was a few years ago.

This time, I poured just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. I was curious to find out if plantains taste better fried in canola oil or olive oil.

Fried in canola oil

The above batch was fried in canola oil. It took a while to heat up, but once hot, the plantains cooked quickly, within five minutes.

Fried in olive oil.

A few days later, I was craving them again, this time with my morning coffee. I decided to slice them length wise for easy munching. The olive oil heated up fast but took longer to brown. I’m pretty sure it’s because I sliced it differently than the first batch and  required frequent turns to brown all the way around. Another surprise: the plantains were a lot more greasier. Still delicious, though.

My vote is for canola oil.

How do you fry your plantains?

Thankful Thursday: Spreading a little joy…

Last week I was inspired to give. In my gifting bag I had a handmade peach broach that I’ve gotten from my summer trip to Savannah. It’s very pretty but not my style. I didn’t know whom to pass it on to, until now. I decided anonymously give it to my Pastor. I wrote a quick note, sealed it in an envelope, and placed it in the mailbox.

A peach broach made of real southern grits

Easter Sunday I went to church. During announcements Pastor held up the pin and the note. She asked the congregation: “Who blessed me?”

Naturally, no one raised their hand. She went how to explain how pleasantly surprised she was to see the broach and note in her mailbox and wanted to publicly thank the person who did it.

Ummm… that’s why the letter was anonymous, Ma’am.

Anyway after reading the note attached to the broach out loud she said “Thank You” again and went on about the service.

Internally, I did a happy dance inside. I was grateful I was able to put a smile on someone’s face and pass the broach off to someone who will use it.

What are you grateful for today? 

 

Putting a lil’ Spring into my wardrobe…

Last week I was invited to a Spring Fashion show hosted by TV show personality & author, Daisy Lewellyn and Macy’s. I was there to get up close and personal to learn about the #5essential 2013 spring fashion pieces.

Daisy Lewellyn
{Photo Credit: Blueprint4style}

The awesome thing about Daisy’s new book: “Never Pay Retail Again”,  is she teaches you how to be chic and stylish under $100. That’s a budget I can hang with.

I’ve been paying a lot of attention to spring trends. Especially since one of my clients is a personal stylist, so she has been schooling me on what hot in the streets so I can represent her brand properly.

On to the fashion show. Daisy was a gracious hostess, rocking a royal blue dress, accessorized with a hot pink belt. Girlfriend talked fast. If you closed your eyes, for a second you’d think you was at an auction and not a fashion show. I had a great time and loved the pieces the models demonstrated. I didn’t take a lot of pictures because I was getting my learn on.

I almost forgot to tell you the 5 Essential pieces you need for Spring:
1) Pullovers
2) Peplum
3) Prints
4) Lace
5) Dresses

A combination of the spring essentials. I didn’t photograph lace tho…

Sounds simple enough, right? Ehh… maybe. I’m boring when it comes to fashion. I’m not a huge fan of lace, it reminds me of itchy underwear and Madonna. Prints scare me most of the time. My idea of a pull over is my old college sweatshirt. You see where I’m going here…

Not to fret, Daisy gave me some visual pointers and then I was on my own to find my Spring piece. After browsing the racks, I didn’t see much peplum, (disappointing!) so I narrowed down on these four choices. I couldn’t really decide, so I took a quick 20 minute poll and asked my Instagram followers to chime in.

I had 5 votes for the leopard print shirt, 2 votes for the maxi dress (Which I looooved) and 2 votes for the red lace dress. Hardly anyone selected the black lace dress. (I’m sure if it was accessorized with a belt, I’d have more feedback)

Folks picked the shirt…

So I went ahead and purchased the shirt. $24.99 at Macy’s. I guess my Instagram followers make the same safe fashion decisions I make.

By the time I gotten home, more votes came in. I literally was tied across the board while drafting this post. Ladies really wanted me to have the leopard maxi dress. I was told I glowed in that dress by one follower. Another follower said there was no need for me to overdo the fierce-ness wearing the dress. Lawd! See why I was confused?!

I just may end up getting the dress anyway. ($49.99 Macy’s)  I can already visualize me swaying in this sheer dress while at the Caribbean Wine Festival next month.

What are your favorite spring essentials? What did you think of my choices above?

 

A few of my blogging friends attended the same show. Check out their insights: Bren Herrera and Blueprint4Style 

 

{Thank you to Xina+PR for extending the invitation for me to attend. I had a great time!} 

Creating New Friendships: Foodie Penpals

A while ago, I stumbled upon Nae’s blog and saw a button for Foodie Penpals. What?! Where has this been all my life?! After scrolling thru the site, I was in love and signed up within minutes.

Early March, I was assigned my first Foodie PenPal: Natalie of “In Natalie’s Shoes”.  I’m tickled to learn she’s into travel and food like I am.  More on the goodies I sent Natalie in a moment.

However, my package came from Athena. Love her blog name: “Fitness and Feta.” I love that you get to make two new friends each month out of this interaction! Athena reached out to me and requested my foodie preferences. I briefly mentioned that I was a pescatarian and I loved ginger & cherries. Last week after I came home from BlissDom, a package was waiting for me.

My goodies from Athena
http://www.fitnessandfeta.com

The first thing I pulled out of the box was the bag of chocolate covered cherries. Chocolate AND cherries?! Yes, ma’am! *shimmy shake*  I also got some seasoning & flavored olive oil, which Athena mentioned in her note thought will compliment my fish dishes. She’s right! Tonight I have a hot date with a plate of salmon & asparagus. I can’t wait to use these while cooking.

I was pleased to also get a gift set of 4 different ginger flavored marmalades.  The small size is perfect for me to take on my travels or keep in my purse. Don’t lie. I know I’m not the only one that keeps condiments in their bag as a “just in case” when dining out.

Thank you, Athena for my goodies! My first foodie penpal experience is off to a fun start.

Back to Natalie: I reached out to her and we chatted briefly. I’m tickled to learn she lives in Napa. Yes! THAT Napa. As as wine lover, how come I have not been there yet?!

After reading her blog, It didn’t take me long to learn that she has a weakness for Thai food and chocolate. Two weeks ago, I sent her my package and waited with bated breath for her explanation.

*Excited Squeals*

She loved EVERYTHING I sent her! Check out her reaction here.

I’m so excited this small gesture brings so much joy. (I’m not being cheesy, it’s true) I already signed up for next month’s pal. Interested in joining? Click here for more details.

(P.S. I owe you guys a post about the Chuao chocolate. Last summer I divorced Vosges and now Chauo and I are current lovers.) 

*swoon* 

 

Thankful Thursday: I Believe In…

A few scribbles from my vision journal…

And a few more…

* Instant gratification

* Gentle ocean breezes

* Dancing when no one is around

* Lavender scented bubble baths

* Fitting like a perfect piece of puzzle when cuddling and absolutely loving it!

What do you believe in? Inquiring minds would like to know. Share in the comments below.

It’s Coming: JazzyJonez.com

It’s coming…

The NEW JazzyJonez.com

Stayed Tuned….

Holla at {Jay-zero-en-ee-zee}

@JazzyJ0nez
{Jay-zero-en-ee-zee}

For more than a few months, I’ve been dreading the “travel” in front of my twitter name. I’m not into the travel thing as much so the name was misleading to my brand a bit. I was crushed when I learned @JazzyJonez was taken on twitter. Even more annoyed that it was an inactive account. No tweets. No followers. Nothing.

Seriously?!

I tried a few attempts to reach out to the account owner as well as reaching out to twitter directly. Dead end.

I didn’t want an underscore. I didn’t want gimmicky words like “The real” or “the jazzy jonez” as my handle so my brand strategist and I felt the next best option was to replace the letter O with the number zero.

I wasn’t in love with it but it was the best I could do.

So, holla at JazzyJ0nez. {Jay-zero-en-ee-zee} Let’s keep in touch!

In the meantime I’m still planning on nagging twitter about releasing the inactive @jazzyjonez account to me. If you have any suggestions I can go about that or have a hook up at Twitter headquarters who can move & shake things in my favor, HOLLA!

Girls Night In: On Tap

On tap: Prosecco with Ginger liqueur. I added frozen berries which made the drink pink.

Happy Saturday.

I’m Heading to BlissDom Conference

 

A week from now I’m heading to Dallas, Texas to attend BlissDom conference. No lie, I’m nervous. Why? Um… we’re talking about a thousand ladies in attendance. In the past I’ve attended Blogalicious and PowerUP conferences with a much smaller group and felt a little bit at home. 

Y’all forget that behind these red lips, I’m a shy gal. 

I’m looking forward to using this event to break out of my shell a little bit. Learn a thing or two about upgrading my writing skillz and iPhonography. Oh, super excited about putting on some of my heels and checking out fellow Gleek, Amber Riley. 

I’ll check back in next week and let you know how it goes. I expect nothing but amazing things. Apparently, there’s lots of glitter involved with BlissDom, according to the chatter on their private Facebook page. I intended to ignore that as much as possible. Glitter is hard to remove off your skin. 

Just sayin’

Celebrating My Legacy: International Women’s Day

I’m proud of my blended family: The Jones & Smiths. (Couldn’t our last names get any more common?) Today in honor of International Women’s Day, I salute these God-fearing women.

[Top]: Great-Grandmother, Granny (RIP), Mama
[Bottom]: MamaT w/ Nana, Aunties, Grandma Truehart (RIP)

Look at my legacy. Look at that flawless cocoa butta skin. Our black don’t crack!  I pray I will be blessed to live well into my 90’s just like my two grandmothers: GG & Truehart.

Thirsty Thursday: Whatcha Sippin’ On?

Enjoying Happy Hour with Sassy Sophia.

Happy Thursday!

Its been a couple days since I’ve had a glass of wine, so today the thirst was strong. I recently visited The Winery at Onley, taking advantage of a Living Social deal. I owe you guys a review of that place. (It’s fabulous!). I left the tasting with a few good grapes. Today I’m sipping on the winery’s “Sweet Nothings: Muscact” wine. It’s a semi-sweet wine with a dry finish.

Whatcha Sippin’ on today?

 

The gift that keeps on giving …

I just ended things with an ex and threw away all the gifts he’s given me. The above pictured aerator is the one gift I cannot bear to throw away. Honestly, it’s the most useful thing he’s ever given me.

In a nutshell, the aerator’s purpose is to breathe air/oxygen to your wine, thus enhancing the flavor or reducing the harsh tannis. Or something like that! I’m not that quite confident. I just know there was a noticeable difference when I poured my first glass without the aerator vs the second glass with the aerator. My wine was smoother as a result. I like WineStrong’s explaination about the benefits of aerating. Click here to check the post.

*cheers!* 

 

Game Blouses, Moonwalks, and *Shimmy Shakes*

This is what’s going down tonight!

My new love… Chobani

A quick story:

One day, this happened…

A few weeks ago when I was traveling home from my winter escape, this happened…

I sent a quick email and three days later, this showed up in my mailbox…

 Chobani, you’re the new love of my life. We’re not breaking up any time soon.

XOXO