Girls Trip - Grand Cayman

*I created this post and thought the pictures pretty much summed up the story of our trip.  And then I remembered there was a sober, pregnant beauty with us who could probably recall some details my tequila induced haze might have left out.  So here is our Grand Cayman trip, as bohoJulia recalls it.
~bohoS

I decided to jump on board the second annual girls trip this year, because being around a bunch of super hot, in-shape girls in bikini's is what every 6.5 month pregnant girl should do, absolute genius.

Fortunately for me, as insecure as I found myself that first day pulling out my bikini (it matched DACIA, kill me), it quickly changed to embracing every inch of that baby bump and my varicose veins because these girls made me feel so special and hot and proud to be big and preggers, even when I ordered almost $200 worth of fried foods by the beach.  So what, I'm eating for two, and damn those crab fritters were good!

This year the girls chose Grand Cayman for their beautiful white sand beaches and crystal clear warm blue water.  It was heavenly!  What I wasn't expecting was the food to be so absolutely AMAZING.  We had the best dinners every night, simply grilled fish, prawns stuffed with crab meat, seafood pastas that would knock your socks off, and of course great vino.

We took a catamaran to see the very popular sting rays and were scared out of our minds. I'm not kidding.  It's really difficult to switch your brain over when you have heard your ENTIRE life to shuffle your feet to avoid them, and now all of a sudden we are supposed to be cool with 4ft & 5ft WILD sting rays?  I don't think so.  Hello?! Steve Erwin ring a bell??  We were jumping on whatever poor stranger was standing next to us and screaming like little girls.  Thank goodness we were in the water because it wasn't until about the 10th person I jumped on that I remembered I was packing an extra 20 pounds!

The best was seeing the girls completely let loose and get back to the roots of our friendships, which happens to be getting wasted together and acting absolutely crazy!  Of course I wasn't getting wasted, I was just making sure I recorded every embarrassing moment possible to share with them the next morning.  A little payback for any embarrassing moment I had to endure at dinner after their 5th bottle of vino and loud mouths.  Oh I love these girls.  I laughed so hard so many times and when I wasn't taking care of them they were always taking care of me.

Next year, I seriously doubt anyone will be pregnant, so let me apologize now to my Instagram followers, as you will not get video gold like this again. Ahhh good times.

love, Boolie

Proud Mary keep on burning

This is my mom Mary.  She is amazing.

People ask her what she drinks in the morning to stay so energized all day. She claims it's some magical 'green smoothie', but we all know it's just Big Mar.  She has an energy and charisma, an excitement for life that you can't pull out of any type of smoothie. Sorry, Juicers.

This lady is just special. She birthed 4 children without any drugs, stayed at home to raise them, and then decided to go back to school for her nursing degree.  As an EMS, she saw a Life Flight helicopter land in the middle of a scene and decided she wanted to be a Life Flight nurse.  And you know what? She did it. She worked in a few emergency rooms to build her resume, adding letters behind her RN title making her an even bigger (more certified) bad a$$ than she already was at the time.  Finally, she got her opportunity to fly on Life Flight, and she crushed it.  She flew for almost 10 years.  She continues to work hard as a nurse, and plays harder than all of us combined. 

She is a hippie at heart and will cover you with essential oils before she gives you modern medicine (unless of course your arm is falling off).  Our sons ask for oils for everything, and if they spend the weekend with Grandma they are coming back smelling like patchouli.

She would take a bullet for any of us, but would prefer to just fight ya with her bare fists. She's a scrappy one that isn't scared to stand up for what is right, and has zero problem letting you know.  She has given all of us the confidence and strength to use our voice. She has given us the best example of how hard work really pays off. And she taught us that no matter what you are doing, ANYTHING can be fun...even a new pen!  She is the best grandma, our best friend, and the best mama. I'm so thankful. 

I love you mama, and I'm so proud of your headstand, and I just wanted to shout it out to everyone.  That's all.

love, Julia 

*And of course  >>-------->

~ 7 Days of bohoBlack ~

Love,

bohoBlack

Wardrobe Mistress // The Story Behind The Costuming

Lian Pham, better known as the Wardrobe Mistress, is an extremely gifted human being. In addition to being an entrepreneurial powerhouse -she ran successful promotions company for 13 years before opening Prohibition with business partner Anh Mai in 2012- she is a woman full of passion and divine creativity. As the fledgling burlesque show at Prohibition began to take shape, Lian took on the critical role as The Moonlight Dolls' in-house costumer. 

In preparation for this post, I asked her to send me three things that inspire her most when it comes to her costuming. She is a woman of few words and so I did not want to press her. What I received back was a very inspiring story that only she can tell:

So every 2nd generation Vietnamese grows up hearing stories of how their parents fled their country for freedom, to the land of opportunity. I always grew up hearing my parents story, dad was a lawyer and mom was an accountant, both had college educations but lost everything when they fled to America. They had to start all over. My dad's first job was given to him by a lady who asked him if he could turn her black leather skirt to hot pink (this was the 80's). He took the job, scraped the leather and dyed it hot pink! She was very happy and gave him their first TV. Ever since then, I've always looked at material not for what it is but what it can be...and that has stuck with me. My parents are my true inspiration. 

That was the beginning of their new career. They got sponsored by a group from Little Rock, AR. That's where I was born and also where they opened their first shop. I grew up around it [tailoring]. I helped my mom take orders and sew buttons, I did very basic stuff on the machine. It was definitely not something I wanted to do, it just sort of fell into my lap. 

After opening Prohibition, we chose burlesque as a choice of entertainment since it fit the era.  After buying some of our first costumes, I was inspired to make the costumes myself and that's how the whole costuming part started.

I think every artist looks at different pictures for inspiration. I would say vintage photos of burlesque performers are where I find mine. 

At the end of the day it goes back to my parents. They have taught me that I can do anything, and anything is possible. A lot of people have parents that support them with words; I don't think my parents have ever actually told me they supported me. It has always been done through actions. They have always helped me in some sort of physical way, ever since I was a child. Even to this day helping me with costumes, buying me books .....They really believe in me and in return, gave me confidence which really made me believe anything is possible.

Fabric shopping in NYC...

The process...

Finished product! Worn by beautiful JoJo Bella!

Magical dress for Magical Abby Cadabra! 

Kitty Kitty Bang Bang looks like a phoenix in this creation! 

Lian chose the appliques and silk in NYC and with it created this pink and burgundy ensemble for Ms. Roxie.

Lian's father's thoughtful gift to his daughter.

Lian's Beautiful Family

We stopped in all of the fabric shopping to enjoy lobster at the Chelsea Market in NYC! 

You can follow Lian on Instagram: @shopwardrobemistress. For costuming, email info@themoonlightdolls.com

In Family We Trust,

GRACE

The Trick of Life

I found this article in a Cup of Jo blog post and was so touched and inspired by it I wanted to share.  It’s written by a man who was struggling to finish a novel and started  having horrible panic attacks. ("Seven years into writing a novel, I started to lose my mind," he wrote.) To make himself feel better—and get out of his own mind—he did something counter intuitive: He started praying for other people.

Here's an excerpt...

*****

Sitting on the bench by the river that day, I remembered having read in Reader’s Digest—a periodical my family has undue reverence for—that when you are feeling bad, one way to make yourself feel better is to pray for others.  I began to pray for the people who were passing by. I prayed for the nanny pushing a stroller.  I prayed for the young woman jogging by in spandex.  I prayed for the little boy pedaling his bicycle.  I prayed that each of them got the same things that I wanted for myself: that they have good health, peace of mind, financial security.  By focusing on others and their needs, my own problems seemed less unique and, somehow, less pressing.

...I called my parents a few weeks ago on the second anniversary of my brother’s death.  My father began telling me that he felt abandoned by my brother, that my brother’s dying feels like him leaving us.  As he spoke, I started thinking: I love you.  I love you.  My usual response at this point would have been to tell my father that he needed to focus on the future, that what was past was past. Instead I told my father that he was wonderful, that he should think of how brave he had been to take care of his poor sick son for all those years, that his devotion had been heroic.  However odd my reasons may seem, I am glad that I said this.

*****

I love people watching and am going to try and pray more for the people I see each day, and now that sweet Aretha song is stuck in my head!  I say a little prayer for you.   

Love,
bohoSarah

*I didn't have any images of people praying but I did have a picture of superheros.  And these little superhero's are answered prayers for a few of my favorite mommas.