On my recent visit to France, I was excited to find out that Josephine Baker’s former residence was 45 minutes away from the private chateau that we had rented 6 hours south of Paris, in France’s Dordogne Valley region. In my eyes, Baker was the ULTIMATE ex-pat. At the height of her success in 1930’s interwar France, the 24-year-old icon was a millionaire…
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Portugal's Pretty Pink Palace is Algarve's Hidden Gem
The Pousada of Faro is famous for its neo-Baroque and neo-Rococo features, including the its ornate plaster ceilings, two tea pavilions and wonderful French-inspired gardens adorned with statues. Waking up at the picturesque Estoi Palace felt like I had been swept away to a mini Versailles. I loved the romantic-style architecture…
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“Feed me tacos and tell me I’m pretty” - White sangria and shrimp tacos at Aqua Restaurant in Duck, NC (one of several small towns that make up the Outer Banks).
OBX: Change In Latitude Will Change Your Attitude
Historic lighthouses, towering sand dunes, shipwreck diving sites and wild horses that have inhabited the area for over 400 years; the Outer Banks has become one of my favorite East Coast beach vacations. The year-round surfer’s haven offered the perfect backdrop for my family’s vacation………
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La Heroica: Colombia's Vibrant Seaside City
Located in the northern part of South America, the flight time to Rafael Núñez International Airport from New York City was just under 5 hours. I loved that our hotel was inside the ancient-walled city, a section of Cartagena overflowing with palm-filled plazas, brightly painted colonial buildings and fabulous floral archways. Everything within Cartagena’s Old Town is within walking distance…
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Words Don't Flow As Easily As Whiskey
During the 3 hour tour, I learned that in the mid-1800’s, over the hills above Lynchburg, there was a Tennessee farm owned by a preacher who had a small whiskey distillery as side hustle. Nathan Green aka “Uncle Nearest” was the enslaved black man who distilled the whiskey using a special charcoal filtering technique used to clean water in West Africa. Still used today, his method of filtering whiskey through sugar maple tree charcoal became known as the famous ‘Lincoln method’…..
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Blooming In The Seam Of A Desert Horizon
Tapping into the real Morocco is a journey that lies far from the elaborate touristy suites and buzzing restaurants of the north. Found deep in the southernmost region, where the ungenerous stone begins to surrender to the saffron gold dust of the Sahara….
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Passport To Freedom
While creating community has always been Tanesha’s gift, being able to incorporate her global life experience into The Black Freedom Colony has expanded her skills. “I am learning that community building takes the proper application and balance of education, clarity, love, patience, grace, hard lessons and boundaries”……
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Tiffany Blue: Who Said Red Is The Color Of Love?
While I’ve always dreamed of having Breakfast at Tiffany’s, the experience took what I had envisioned to the next level in a setting that was as inviting as the food was inspiring. Making it that much easier for this Pink Girl to easily transition into a blue babe for the afternoon; as Tiffany’s signature robin’s-egg blue was everywhere…
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Photo Credit: Summer Jones
She Designed The Life She Loved: Asheville Edition
As I stepped into the marbled entry hall of the 250-room home (including 35 bedrooms and 43 bathrooms) nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, I was mesmerized by the octagonal sunken Winter Garden that is surrounded by stone archways….
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Author, Kayla M. Hebbon surrounded by attendees at the Black History Month Leadership Tea Event
Brewing Great Thoughts With Great Minds Is My Cup Of Tea
Having experienced afternoon tea in France, South Africa, England, Morocco, Japan and the Caribbean; I’ve grown to appreciate the significant role that tea plays in different cultures as well as my own. Converting a floor in her brownstone into a tea salon during the Harlem renaissance, Madam C.J. Walker’s daughter (Lelia
Walker) was known for her extravagant tea parties with iconic guests like Langston Hughes, James Baldwin….
Kanika Nikki Utley in Hawaii
Take Flight & Soar: Lean On Your Power
Kanika Nikki Utley has served as a Producer on a host of acclaimed news and reality television programs. Her new book, Stay Bold, gives you the push to move forward by shifting how you react to fear so that you no longer allow it to hold you back. Staying bold means staying committed and always looking up, because fear can grab a hold of us when we look down and that’s how we fall. After reading about her very transparent journey, I reached out to Kanika to share a few BOLD empowerment tips here on the PGRW platform….
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Travel Bug to Wanderlust: Times Have Changed
Reading the New York Times travel section played an instrumental role in getting me started on my path to becoming a “savvy” traveler. It doesn’t mean I didn’t notice the lack of diversity in between the lines of its lavish descriptions, but this is another example of the importance of using the resources you have as stepping stones rather than letting what you don’t have be the obstacles that stop you when it comes to manifesting your dreams into a reality….
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Coral Brunching In DC Can Be As Flattering As Candlelight
Featured on “The Pink List” found here on PinkGirlsRunTheWorld.com, The Pembroke offered us the perfect pink location for our 5th PGRW “Pretty in Pink” Brunch meetup last Saturday in Washington DC….
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NOLA's Top Banana: Brennan's Is In The Pink
Taking in the Creole influenced delicacies of the region has become a priority when I travel to New Orleans. This famous treat that is NOLA in dessert form — bananas, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, rum, banana liqueur and vanilla ice cream. While the liquor burns off quickly, the dish flares up creating a show that draws you into the enticing dessert that pays homage to the sweet legacy of New Orleans’ once-booming banana trade….
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Walking through a vineyard with a friend
Connecting Peaks & Valleys In Oregon
I still haven’t made it to Seattle, but it turns out Oregon has made it to the top of my list as one of my favorite go-to spots for a girls’getaway! We quickly discovered that the walkable “city of roses” has some of the best places to play, eat, sip and shop. A mecca of urban gorgeousness and “droolworthy” cuisine, the Portland food scene is definitely winning……
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U-shaped bar with red velvet chairs
The Chandelier Looming Over Motor City
Looming over the curved marble bar top, we were drawn to the Candy Bar’s stunning vintage Murano glass chandelier as soon as we pulled back the beaded trim velvet curtain. Composed of 670 individual glass pieces, the 880 lbs. statement piece was purchased in Paris…
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Long-tail boat navigating the waterways of Bangkok
Hover As A Cloud In Bangkok
Dusk had crept up on us after a day of exploring the largest city in “the land of smiles” via candy pink tuk-tuks and cruising its famous canals. After a few days of exploring the gilded temples and palaces of the swarming metropolis, we were determined to spend our last evening in Bangkok checking out the city’s flickering lights from a glass bridge with the most stunning rooftop view from the 63rd floor….
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Any Home Is A Castle When Your Soul Is Royalty
Boldt Castle’s grand spires rise up like a cathedral and soar above the tranquil waters of the St. Lawrence River. As I walked into the foyer of this restored, but not fully renovated 120 room castle, my eyes were immediately drawn upwards towards the ornately adorned stained glass dome! I felt as though I was stepping back in time as I glided down the grand staircase towards the marble floor….
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Pardon My French: Girls Trip Inspires Mom & Daughter To Build Global Brand
During our trip to France we visited two Champagne Houses as well as the Musee du Parfum. After witnessing these well-known, multi-generational brands we started thinking about our interests, what the market is missing as well as our legacy….
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Me posing in my Jill Kelly Swimwear right before my mom spotted a Manta Ray that led to me making a quick exit out of the water. Modeled on traditional fishing structures, the overwater bungalow was invented in French Polynesia in the 1960’s on the island of Moorea.
Hip Hip Hooray The Tahitian Way
As one of the most powerful forms of storytelling around the globe, dance is so much more than entertainment. It makes you think in a way that provokes something in you. Full of passion and vitality; Tahitian dance is the most authentic reflection of Polynesian culture which has traditionally connected all aspects of Polynesian life (including celebration, prayer and storytelling). ….
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