HEARTC♡RE

It has an open floor plan (in the picture below the door to the left is the entrance and the one on the right is our bedroom)






First in the hall







Anyways, so far so good!! We love it, think we made a good choice, and our flat mates are pretty chill! There are a total of seven bedrooms so we'll see how full it can get. I will post much more soon!

melissa

Here I am having a relaxed night in, eating cheap pizza (I can connect with the little people) on a fine china (Joseon Porcelain 10.5 in) dinner plate, I am snuggly wrapped in my 100% Siberian Goose Down stuffed Mulberry silk blanket contemplating last nights $50K shopping spree on Rodeo Drive and if I can even make it to part 2 on the Champs Elysees a demain. The Netflix and Chill Koozie was gifted to me by one of my fans, and when I'm not drinking Krug Vintage Brut Chamapagne I like to enjoy a simple ginger ale. (& yes, my living room was designed by Benjamin Vandiver himself)


Here I am in my fresh spray tan being chauffeured around in my new black Mercedes Benz G-63 SUV enjoying a freshly picked GA peach I stopped for en route to my newly renovated cabin *coughs* mansion in the N. GA mountains. I think it's worth a mention that my entourage of 5 black equally customized Benz are trailing behind me to celebrate my birthday weekend. Happy Birthdaayyyyyy Mrs. President.


This is me sporting a Onepiece onesie inspired by Kris Jenner's 2015 Christmas look. On my freshly done pedicure are UGG Dakota Classic Suede slippers in the color Tabacco I quickly grabbed a Neiman Marcus. I'm resting on Sferra Capri Honey Egyptian Cotton sheets with a 1020 thread count. Enjoying lightly salted, freshly popped popcorn from my vintage popcorn machine that you can find in my basement movie theater all while talking to none other Leonardo DiCaprio himself on our plans next week to party in Ibiza. (can I get a hell yeah?)



This is me looking out of my resort hotel room from my ski trip in Aspen contemplating whether or not I want to have a soak in the jacuzzi. Truth is my mind was made up and I was just making this post so Annie Leibovitz, who was with my on the trip, would consider snapping my portrait and sneaking it into an edition of Vanity Fair. Unfortunately, I was beat out by Caitylin Jenner. Next time.


We took a quick break from the hustle and bustle of the World Cup in Brazil that year to more relaxed terrain. Here I am photographed in Canton Banos, Ecuador.  I am On the famous "swing at the end of the world" at the Casa Del Arbol. I couldn't take the risk of just sitting unstrapped so I requested our guide to add extra safety precautions. It was an exhilarating experience and had an expansive view of Mt. Tungurahua and the vast Ecuadorian wilderness. 10/10.


And last but not least, this is a quick snapshot of my short lived stunt as a Biomedical Engineering professor at John Hopkins. I won't go without saying that I am sporting Bvlgari diamond studded glasses frames. I had also just layed my Marte Omas fountain pen and replaced it with a generic number two pencil, but the point is I own one and it was made specifically for me. As soon as I left that terrible job though, I took the next flight out to Dubai to relax when I was unexpectedly offered a part time job at an undisclosed Saudi university. & even though it was quite the hefty deal, it still wasn't enough to cover my extravagant lifestyle and I think I've lost my passion for academics.

If you're out here realllyyy thinking we live in a post racial society. . you need a stark reality check. but anyways-




"On the morning of September 4, 1957, fifteen-year-old Dorothy Counts set out on a harrowing path toward Harding High, where-as the first African American to attend the all-white school – she was greeted by a jeering swarm of boys who spat, threw trash, and yelled epithets at her as she entered the building.

Charlotte Observer photographer Don Sturkey captured the ugly incident on film, and in the days that followed, the searing image appeared not just in the local paper but in newspapers around the world.

People everywhere were transfixed by the girl in the photograph who stood tall, her five-foot-ten-inch frame towering nobly above the mob that trailed her. There, in black and white, was evidence of the brutality of racism, a sinister force that had led children to torment another child while adults stood by. While the images display a lot of evils: prejudice, ignorance, racism, sexism, inequality, it also captures true strength, determination, courage and inspiration." Source
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I saw this photo set & caption on my dashboard not too long ago. It sparked some thoughts on how desensitized we've become to slavery, the civil rights movement, and generally any movements that have challenged the racial status quo. I think we are all full and aware that the Civil Rights Movement was only 50ish years ago but it's so easy to just be like "oh, yeah it happened" like it was a piece of freaking cake. This isn't to say it isn't happening in 21st century America (it clearly is), but damn. I mean, look at the photos of Dorothy Counts again. How utterly disgusting is this? Please tell me it stirs something in you? Ms. Counts is as bad as ever btw:


The people at the school? Most of them are also alive and well (*coughs* they were the ones running governments and various critical institutions not too long ago, probably yesterday). As the caption reads this is some brutal sh**. All the power to Ms. Counts because I, never in a million years, could have had the strength and poise that she displayed. I still think many of these brutally racist sentiments are, like the children in the photo, alive and well. They are just more subtle. Well, I can't even say that. . . . how many times have we gone online (twitter/FB/etc) only to read people spew absolute and utter BS. I don't think we give those who put (literally) their lives on the line enough regard or admiration.

I live in Atlanta, and with its rich history it is almost embarrassing that I have not taken advantage of all the resources, museums, and information that is available to me by living here (I toured MLK's home & the museum when I was younger). The latest memory related to this topic is of visiting the National Center for Civil and Human Rights (same property as the Aquarium & Coca Cola which I highly recommend!!!). There is one segment in the Civil Rights portion where you recreate a "sit in". There is a mock lunch bar, you take a seat, place your flat on the counter (at your sides), while wearing headphones. The audio that plays is a sample of the taunting that these activists would have to endure. It is brutal, moving, I was shaking and left in tears.

BUT ANYHOW, I really can't even say how I feel about this so I will just sum it up with: respect and thankfulness. Respect for what I wrote above. Thankfulness because the African American civil rights movement were the ones that pushed, made the breakthrough, and helped paved the way for and inspired other civil rights movements (ex. Brown Berets/American Indian Movement). Click this link to read how both movements worked hand in hand and supported each other.

Thanks mom & dad, Amal & Salim, God 🙌🏾😘