Every now and again, I have to give thanks to the world of social media in the retrospect given the opportunity to find “friends” via this platform. I remember during the AOL chat days, I used to clown my cousin KiKi who would think she had real friends in these strangers hidden behind profiles. Like…how do u get so attached to folks u aint even met **eyeroll** (I’m old school). I am still leery of relationships formed via online but I am open to it because there ARE instances where u can virtually connect with strangers and become lasting friends. I get it. I’ve collected (lol) friends and kept in touch with them throughout the years from Twitter, Blogs and definitely IG. I’d like to think during my growth of thyself, I now attract genuine people as my blog grows to have a circle of folks with positive vibes and good intentions. There’s a sisterhood of women I talk to everyday or quite often I’ve yet to meet in person yet we’ve connected from timelines, stories and comments to where I know they not catfishing lol and we have real talk via DM’s that I appreciate. These “strangers” are supportive in cheering me on as I am them and it’s always a surreal moment when u do finally meet up in real life. I will fan out quick.
I found her via IG on the stories of the DC bloggers page and I clicked her profile n instantly followed becuz I like her style. She didn’t really post often but when she popped into the front of my stories I clicked to watch to see if I’d get a glimpse of her more. She is so divine. I slid into her DM’s to greet n about every day I found myself intrigued by her stories and style posts. What really stamped the divine timing of our encounter was the fact that I’m infactuated with Paris so to see her passion of the city, I felt like oh wow…she gets me! Her lifestyle and demeanor IS Pair-Ree n I love it.
What I can admire about my growing sister circle, tribe, friends or hives lol; is how uplifting we are with each other but more importantly I appreciate how they motivate and inspire. I get up for work pretty early (but still lounge for a good 2 hrs before moving OUT the bed) n so I see Jess always being the FIRST on my TL stories and I glimpse at the time n then ask…well dmn…are u really doin these vids so early in the morning? Like how!! I am so not a morning person n the last thing I wanna do is be chatting but I admired her work ethic to show up for us EVERY morning before 0600 to share her outfit of the days as she sips her signature cup of cappuccino n tosses out some French for us “MezzUhMees” haha. Her personality is vibrant and she’s so classy n chic I feel like I gotta fix my posture and not curse around her lol.
So she had a celebration for her Blogversary and I knew I had to be in attendance. I grabbed my ticket and anticipated the day to finally meet one of my idols. She set up a grand experience for the guest list of amis to meet in Baltimore and from there we would be whisked away by a driver to an undisclosed location. After being kidnapped we ended up at vintage store that was closed down for our private event, d’accord cheri. Jess greeted us upon arrival and I became a kid in a candy store-Jo Retro. I literally stepped back in a time machine being surrounded by the nostalgia of back in the day n joie just filled my heart.
We shopped n sipped (I had sparkling cider..and a taste test of wines) while enjoying each other’s company and it was as if we’d known each other for years. I am glad to come across people who are as authentic in person as they come across online. The energy was great. We all had an amazing time n could've easily engaged in each other longer. That's the fun part of meet ups, u get so caught up in the laughter n story swaps; u lose track of time. Just know that they'll be plenty more blogger friend posts on our encounters from here on out.
I am a homebody but ery now n then I step out my shell to enjoy my girls. I got dolled up to hit the town with my Asos coat, Forever 21 off the shoulder number, jeans courtesy of my stepmom n boots from Jeffrey Campbell by way of Nordstrom! ANNNND in case u didn't notice, I took an extra 10 min (lol) to do some lashes (which are actually old from F21). Make sure u follow Jess and her "Tiny Town" ventures via her blog and instagram and all things high end n fab. Her closet is goals but I can appreciate how she does a mix of consignment (she also breaks down the difference in thrifting vs vintage on her blog). Although this was our first meet n greet in the flesh, I'm sure it won't be the last. EEEK!!
Special thanx to Jo Retro for opening n shutting down her place just for us so we could enjoy an intimate setting and shop in private-oooh a gal can get use to this life!! In the words of Jess...Ciao for now!!
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