Charlotte isn’t on anyone’s radar as an international city, but we are so fortunate to have people from all over the world in our community. And if you know where to look, you can find businesses from regions all over the globe.
Quite a few of the area’s Latinx businesses were represented at last weekend’s Hola Charlotte Festival, held in Uptown. Michael and I made our way over on foot, soaking up the beautiful weather and working up an appetite for tacos. Unfortunately, we didn’t linger at each nation’s tent, as the area was quite crowded with a lot of attendees not wearing masks. But we found a couple of seats off to the side and enjoyed our delicious tacos and listened to bachata. Hopefully by the time the festival returns next year, we’ll be able to enjoy every aspect of this festival (and all the others!).
Aside from tacos, I received some really great news this week that I can’t wait to share with you all. I’m just about bursting from holding it in, but unfortunately, it has to wait just a little while longer (it has zero to do with marriage or babies, though).
In unrelated news, we’re looking for an additional Art Search Coordinator; if you’ve been looking for a way to get involved with the Charlotte art scene, this is a fun way to do so. Outside of, well, searching for someone to help run Art Search, here’s what I’ve been up to in the last week.
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Reading
Bookwise, this is the slowest I’ve read anything in a long time. Because I’m dedicating so much time to getting back to blogging, I’m going to bed later than usual – which is my prime reading time. I’ve taken to listening to my audiobook in the car now, which kind of feels weird when I’m at a stoplight…
And I also finally cracked open Sally Rooney’s latest, and though I’m only a few chapters in I’m feeling kind of underwhelmed by it. I haven’t found myself really caring too much about the characters, and without quotation marks it’s so tedious trying to figure out which parts of the text are spoken by characters and which are not.
Some interesting things from around the internet:
-Michael and I enjoyed comparing our results from this comprehensive “Which Character Are You?” questionnaire. Among my top ten results are Donna Moss from The West Wing, Abbi Abrams from Broad City, and Jess Day from New Girl. Who’d you get?
-Two slow fashion brands are better than one! Brass and Tradlands have teamed up to offer a discount on this timeless bundle (no longer available). Not ready to commit to both? You can take $25 off your first Brass purchase with code WAYWARD.
-DYK that otters have pockets? (Now, when will all women’s clothing get to have pockets?)
-I’m not a sneakerhead, but this Reebok x Eames mashup is both unexpected and amazing.
-Since I spent a good portion of 2021 working for a local jewelry business (more on that one day!), I feel like my eyes have been opened to the world of nice jewelry… How stunning is this ring? And this solid gold stunner is a steal.
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Charlotte
I added two new mini-reviews to my Charlotte brewery post: last week I visited Birdsong Brewing and D9’s new location in Uptown (head over to the roundup to see what I thought!). Because of that extra visit, we skipped our afternoon coffee/working date this week.
Well, that and we’ve now spent two more evenings working out at Volofit (now closed). It feels so good to be back in the gym, but I don’t think we’re going to stay longer than my free month pass – it’s definitely out of our budget to pay for two memberships (despite the proper butt-kicking workouts!).
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Home
Meow has been extra demanding of attention this week for some reason. It’s not uncommon for her to beg for snuggles in the mornings and evenings, but last week I couldn’t do anything without her meowing at me and trying to lead me to the sofa to pet her. She even sat through a few at-home yoga sessions with me, which she normally doesn’t like. It’s hard to complain about it though, because she’s such a sweetheart.
I did steal off during one of her many naps last week to make my favorite zucchini bread. It may look and taste like the richest, most chocolatey cake of your life – but it’s vegetables. Highly recommend!
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Beauty & Style
I shared this photo on Instagram last week, and along with it, the fact that I tend to stick with a beauty product once I find one I like. With Black Friday approaching, it might be a good time to evaluate how many products you use from your favorite brands and consider stocking up for the year. For example, I know I will go through 3-4 tubes of Boy Brow in a year, and once I see them go on sale I stock up.
Last week I also gave myself a negative space manicure (you can kind of see it in the photos below, but essentially it’s the same as this). It feels a lot more suited to my lifestyle than a solid paint job that will chip, although I do keep looking down and thinking that there’s a smudge of something on my nail!
I’m still on the hunt for a pair of jeans that fits my body as it is right now. As I anticipate my body continuing to change over the next few months due to getting back to exercising, it’s not something I want to spend a lot of money on. I’ve also decided not to try to pursue new jeans either since I’d prefer to buy something to only wear for a short period of time secondhand rather than something that consumes new resources.
So last week, I returned to Uptown Cheapskate in South End and also paid a visit to Clothes Mentor down in the Arboretum, about a 25-minute drive from the center of Charlotte (I greatly mourn the loss of their midtown location!). Both resale stores sell gently-used mid-level brands of clothing at prices on par with Poshmark sellers. There are some designer products in the mix, but the bulk of their inventory seems to originate at your standard mall stores.
Frustratingly, I left without any denim (I was so tempted by that light wash pair from Hudson, but $50 is a bit steep for secondhand, in my opinion), but I didn’t leave bottomless! I picked up a Babaà-esque cotton sweater, a silk open jacket, and a vegan leather pant from Clothes Mentor as well as a black wool mini skirt to pair with tights and cute boots this winter from Uptown Cheapskate (or whenever it gets cold).
*no longer available; linked to similar
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Next Week
It’s a volunteer-focused week for me next week – tomorrow Michael and I are cleaning up the Rail Trail, on Tuesday I’m delivering bread donations to a local organization, and next weekend brings yet another Art Search! Here on the blog, I have some fun things planned, including a giveaway. I can’t wait to see who’ll win!
What are your ride-or-die beauty products?
