Melanin & Mimosas

Yesterday, thanks to Sheriden (The Indie Byline), we had the pleasure of joining six other Atlanta bloggers for brunch at 10th & Piedmont. The event was called “Melanin and Mimosas”.  It wasn’t the warm Sunday we were hoping for, but the good food and great company made everything alright.

What we ate

Ace: As if I haven’t had enough peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the last few days, I chose the “The King” Stuffed French Toast – stuffed with peanut butter and sliced bananas, and a side of fresh melon and pineapple (LOL, fruit). I paced myself and only had one traditional mimosa, however, my next trip to 10th & Piedmont will include a Granmosa (Grand Marnier, vodka, champagne and OJ) and/or “all you care to drink” mimosas.

Donni: This weekend a few of my friends from the famously hot Columbia were in town visiting and my healthy eating went right out of the window. I think I ate half of weight in fries and sriracha mayo at Ormsby’s. Also, how many calories do you think are in a vodka pineapple? So on Sunday, I debated with myself to turn the weekend around with the Feel Good Plate (scrambled egg whites with red peppers, spinach and feta, turkey sausage, low fat yogurt and fresh fruit). Ultimately, I decided to continue the “cheat weekend” and went with a peach Bellini and the Southwest Burrito  – with chicken, potatoes. onions. peppers, scrambled eggs, cheddar, sour cream and salsa.

What we learned

Donni: It was so nice to hear that others were struggling with finding the balance between their own path and emulating the path that some really popular bloggers have set. We all obviously have a vision, but want the audience as well. With so many bloggers out there doing similar things it can be difficult to find a balance between being 100% original and also trying to do something that obviously works. For me it would be easy to pull together a DIY post every week and not talk about myself. That’s just my personality, but I realized that I need to make myself more open, if this blog is going to be something people really can relate to.

Ace: Regardless of where we are right now or where we used to be, it seems like we all face (or have faced) the same blogger challenges: finding our voices, remaining consistent and opening up to the world. This is only the second networking event I’ve attended since I moved here (unacceptable I know)–but I’m always surprised to hear how my fellow young creatives/professionals are going through similar struggles, despite how different our paths may seem.

Another takeaway? I need to learn how to code…

What’s next

Ace: I’m going to (try) to not be so hard on myself. I almost didn’t go to Melanin and Mimosas. After hiding in my room with Xfinity Watchathon Week, and being a little bummed about not getting to do hoodrat things with my friends—I just wanted to finish my weekend in bed. So I started to talk myself out of going. My list of excuses was super short:

1. I don’t have anything to wear.
2. My eyebrows look like hell.
3. I can’t afford myself.

But I’m so glad I did! I got some fresh air and got introduced to new fabulous, friendly faces. Didn’t even have to hide in the bathroom to do my Wonder Woman pose for 3 minutes. Now I’m even more excited to plan a Palmetto Peaches event to connect us with more Atlanta bloggers! I’m also looking forward to working on the challenges we discussed at brunch. I have the same 24 hours in a day as these ladies (and Mama Oprah…and Queen Bey), even when those hours seems like the worst ones ever in the history of Everdom. Reading more blogs similar to my style of writing is at the top of my list. I’ve always used writing as a way to vent or to help plan out some of my ideas. There is nothing I currently do on a normal basis that makes me want to sit down, recap and/or explain, so I stick to what I know–my life. Even if my posts cover issues I’m still trying to figure out; I value putting myself out there to get advice/tips from others while possibly realizing how crazy I sound on “paper”.

Donni: I’ve decided that I want to become a better photographer. One thing we discussed during brunch is having the ability to make sure that not only the content of our blogs is high quality, but that the visual component matches. Luckily, I’ve been coding websites since I was 13 so that part of our visual brand is taken care of. (Basically, when I wasn’t at dance class I spent my time updating my personal website and writing fanfiction.) However, I want to make sure we have professional(ish) photography. Having a love for capturing images and know how important lighting is, doesn’t make me a great photographer. Over the past two weeks, I’ve purchased a tripod and upgraded from my sad 12MP point and shoot Samsung camera to what I’m calling my beginner’s DSLR. Before, I go out and make an investment in the $800 Nikon that I truly want, I’ve decided that I’m going to take some time teach myself some photography basics: exposure, ISO, aperture, shutter speed. Armed with this knowledge, I know I can start visually expressing myself better on the blog.

Also, I’ve made it my mission to find ways to collaborate and connect with other bloggers. The ladies we met (listed below) yesterday are doing some amazing things and chatting with them only fueled my creativity.

• Janelle:  Artistically Engineered
• Jennifer: Understated Culture
• Joanna: Oyin Styled Me
• Kiah:  Write On Kiah
• Nnika:  Nnika Lee and
• Sheriden: The Indie Byline

For more  Melanin & Mimosas pics, visit The Indie Byline!

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