with love from Guyana

I recently listened to the first episode of the Sew and Tell podcast: Deadly Under 36 Inches. The ladies hosting the podcast referenced an article on Sew News all about Barbie and how she has influenced so many different sewists. I went in search of the article because those people and I had something in common, Barbie influenced our sewing and love of fashion, whether directly or indirectly.

I was less than 5 when I got my first Barbie doll. I don’t remember if it was a Christmas or birthday present but I know that it started an obsession. By the time I was no longer interested in Barbie, I had accumulated in excess of two dozen Barbie dolls not including Ken and all of her friends like Skipper. I had Barbie’s dream house; and my Barbie had a red 2-door convertible, Wrangler, Vespa, and minivan with 3 rows of seats. When the MyScene dolls came out I had to have them too.

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Let me open this review by introducing myself as someone who is terrified of open flames. TERRIFIED. When I as a toddler in NYC with my mother, there was a high rise on fire and I saw with my two little eyes, people jumping from their apartments flailing through the dark night sky on fire. Can you imagine the nightmares that I suffered through after that? But to this day, more than 2 decades later, I still have yet to light a flame myself, ever. I stay as far away from open flames as humanly possible. Thank goodness for electric stoves. Up to 4 months ago, you would have never found me burning a candle. So to be able to write this review means that I have come a very long way.

I continuously sing praises of Immortelle Beauty products – the Esscentials skincare line is unrivaled by anything else I have tried (read that review here). The scrub, shave, butter is my go to for date nights and is sometimes a part of my self-care ritual. Kathryn also ensures that her customer service is unrivaled by any other Caribbean brand (which truly isn’t hard) but she also goes beyond some foreign brands as well. Read More

I like to consider myself somewhat of a healthy eater. I am lucky enough to live in a household that cooks multiple healthy meals a day – not a lot of deep fried food but lots of veges and a good mix of carbs and protein.

BUT!

I don’t say no to my sweets and treats. I’ll eat cake and cookies for breakfast, cheesecake is yummy, I don’t say no to Cadbury chocolate, and I like condensed milk by the teaspoon. You name it, I’ll eat it shamelessly. Plus, despite healthy food being cooked in my house sometimes I don’t feel to eat meat, or rice, or… whatever it is on the dining table.

I have been super lucky (I was going to use #blessed here but I hate the way people use that word) to be born into a family that has really good genes when it comes to weight and metabolism. Let’s not talk about the genes that govern our eyesight though. But this has meant that I can look fit or slim and trim without putting in much work.

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