Dreams Unleashed

🎶You’re a man of your Word…🎶

Took some time off and one of the greatest gifts during that period was getting to visit Jubilee + Rashida + Jasen.

There’s so much I want to say but there truly aren’t enough words. If you don’t know their beautiful story of God’s faithfulness, their faithfulness to Him, and the miracle, head over to .banks page to just curl up, cry, and rejoice.

I thank God for all the many blessings and miracles that “…and it came to pass” over this past year. He’s a man of His Word.

This picture. THANK YOU. A woman I had just met at an event snapped this picture at its conclusion. I was trying to fix my own hair before taking a photo and her friend who I also just met through a client, saw me battling and came over and said — bend down…I’m shorter but I got you. Honey!!!! That kind of love and the depths of her words transcended that moment.

LISTEN! I know my people when I meet my people in this world. Women who want to see you show up as your best, even if it means they’ll give up some of what they have or inconvenience themselves for a bit so that you are good.

There’s this prayer that I heard say one day and I’ve adopted into my own life — “Lord, let my helpers find me.” And let me tell you, the number of times this has manifested through God’s favor via women and men has blessed me.

And I love what the good sis in this video shared — I have found such rich relationships in my women friendships that I don’t want to settle in my male partner (haven’t given up on you fellas) but what I will say is that I do hope even more men will experience the depth, richness, support, love, and vulnerability that we give to one another as women. The way we do community as little girls all the way through our senior years, is what helps us to live longer.

Who are some of the people who have straightened your crown that you can’t let another day go by without thanking them? 🥂to them!

Happy 10 Year Anniversary to us — the Dreams Unleashed Community!!! Back in November 2014, I hit the Maryland Department of Assessments and made it official — I put a ring on my baby, this dream of God and me and we’ve been rolling ever since through the highs and lows of life and this economy. But the assignment remains….whether I do this work exclusively full-time or while I juggle other things, I’m committed to helping women (and a handful of good men) discover, define, and confidently live out their God-given dreams.

I’m probably my number one client as I constantly reinvent myself and lean into the twists and turns of life — discovering me, what I love, how to love, and how to truly live life with intention. But you know what? I couldn’t do it without this community and the countless people (too many to name) who have given me opportunities and catapulted me into rooms to share this gift along the way.

This is my work — in short, helping people get from where they are to where they want to be…be it a corporate executive, working mom juggling it all, an empty nester trying to rediscover who they are now, a woman who has lost her identity, or even like me…a woman who in many regards lost it all and had to find the courage and community to rebuild her life and even better this time around.

Thank you for the many who have given me my flowers along the way…today, I want to give you yours for rocking with me as we did this great work TOGETHER! 🥂 to us all for unleashing our dreams!

Truly a perfect Sunday. Love this woman beyond what words can explain. Sharnikya is a giant in every sense of the word when it comes to how she is impacting this world yet her heart is fully grounded and rooted in service.

It’s a blessing when we see that God loves us so much that He connects and surrounds us with really good people who aren’t here for the shenanigans. People who give generously to humanity with their whole hearts and who also want to see you win as much as they do…if not more at times. Those are my people.

Love you woman. Such a joy to spend a sacred Sunday with you and the little….breaking bread, eating my faves while reflecting on the beauty of this journey we’ve been given.

COBALT Blue Dress. Of everything I saw at The Hirshhorn, this piece by is what I fell in love with the most.

The placard tells this story:
Amoako Boafo creates striking portraits that document and celebrate Blackness today. In this large painting of one of his friends, he limits his palette to bright blue, beige, and brown, adding visual interest by varying paint handling and texture.

Boafo is noted for his approach to painting Black skin: using gloved fingers, he swirls together multiple colors before touching up details with a fine brush, lending dimension and movement.

With its brilliant hues and confident subject, Cobalt Blue Dress matches the power of works by John Singer Sargent, the leading portrait painter of the late 1800s, who was renowned for representations of the elite. Boafo, however, expands portraiture’s ability to elevate and honor subjects from a broader swath of class and race than was customary in Sargent’s time.

So grateful for my girl .ish catching this photo of my friend and artist discussing the piece. I just remember my excitement talking about it and my heart lighting up as I thought about Amoako Boafo using his fingertips to swirl the hues on the canvas to create texture that artfully displayed the beauty and regalness of this black woman.

I just stood in awe staring at her beauty both inside and out, thinking about not just my own beauty but the beauty of women who look like me who for so long even when the world didn’t accept us as beautiful, we’ve had to start on the inside and tell it to ourselves and then spread that knowing to the sister next to us in all of the hues of herself. It’s an inner language we use with one another from one black woman to the next that says, “I see you, sis.”

Cheers to the woman wearing a Cobalt Blue Dress of your own. May you stand proud as we rewrite the stories of our beauty for ourselves, our children, and our ancestors. I see you, sis. 🥂

This coat….ummm yeah, it’s still my birthday month if you’re trying to slide by The Hirshhorn to gift me…size medium. I’m only serious. 😊

One of the things that I love about Fashion is how it invokes conversation…..be it a compliment, a “where did you get it”….a stare. So this wearable art …. Basquiat trench spoke to me in such a way, I just had to put it on. And you know as much as your girl loves a dressing room, I had to make the lobby of The Hirshhorn my dressing room this day. And it invoked looks and of course a conversation from the sweetest woman who I believe I’m now her daughter and coming over for Christmas. 😊

Love what Basquiat said “It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you are not.” Whew…honey! That is my work. I know who I am and whose I am but sometimes, often times these days — the thoughts trying to kill the greatness on the inside of me, as I told my daughter yesterday — that my love, is a daily battle to slay that giant.

Sound familiar for you too?

It’s your time, love. You…okay “we” have been dancing around and avoiding stepping up and into this next level that I know you can hear that still small voice telling you that it’s TIME. YOUR TIME.

But…let’s face it. Fear is whooping your behind on this next level, this pivot:

“What if I can’t do this?”

“What if I make a fool of myself?”

“What if I fall?”

“What if it’s too hard?”

…or how about this one….

“What if I succeed beyond my wildest dreams?”
Ouch!!!!

Because with that success will come a level of responsibility to yourself and others to no longer “play” with this calling God has on you.

Anybody else feel that one?
***
Remember playing doubledutcb outside as a kid? Doubledutcb is all about timing and rhythm. You see the two ropes and you feel the stares of everybody looking at you. You don’t want to disappoint the two rope turners at the end as they get it just right for you. And you don’t want the embarrassment of getting tangled in the ropes. So what do you do…

You start rocking back and forth…wanting to catch the rhythm and jump in at just the right time. But for many of us, we’re actually just procrastinating because of the fear.

But here’s the thing…you kinda gotta just jump in the ropes and if you get tangled, you get tangled. But after consistently trying, you’re doing your thing…basic jumping at first and then turning around and touching the ground. lol…yes you! But you can’t do any of this if you don’t jump IN!

Cheers to one of my friends who shot this text to me last night, reminding me of my own work…it’s time to stop playing small, Michelle. You know it’s time.

So I’m passing that back to you…stop playing small, friend. We NEED YOU to jump in.

Love ya! -miche

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polka dot top & jeans:

Maybe it’s just me but there’s something beautiful about the juxtaposition of how coffee can make you feel. For many people, it gives them that jolt and burst of energy in the morning. For me and others, coffee is sensual. It’s romanticized. It’s the slow sips of a smooth blend like this Iced Nola from (my favorite summer cooldown beverage these days).

Or, coffee is the beauty of a 1-2 hour Ethiopian coffee ceremony that nudges you to slow down your life pace to be fully present through stories and laughter with friends and family.

And maybe your favorite thought and mine — coffee is a slowed down morning when your love brings you coffee in bed as you watch a favorite show together over slow sips, conversations, and glances at one another that this is the richness of living — enjoying the simple things with your person.

That’s the amazing thing about life…one thing can be different things to different people. And yet, what I also know is that time is flying by. Enjoy that cup — iced or hot. Savor it and that’s not just coffee. I’m talking about your life, your dreams, and people. Take slower sips.