Well no not really a sorority, but I will say that I'm part of a new sisterhood and trust me when I say....We LIT!  Honey Jazz Squa...

Honey Jazz Squad 2018

Honey Jam, that new sisterhood I've joined, is hosted by Ebonnie Rowe. Honey Jam is basically Ebonnie's baby. She's hosted it in Canada for years and brought it to Barbados' shores cause she has seen the plethora of female talent our little island has to offer and doesn't want it to be exploited. She's all about female education and empowerment in the music industry, whether it be local or abroad. Ebonnie basically chooses some of Barbados' most talented female artists and gives them an outlet to show what they've got.

Honey Jam Coordinator Ebonnie Rowe(centre) and my Gemini twin Ava (she's amazing TRUST)

There are workshops in performance, song writing and industry basics which are facilitated to hone these female powerhouses. At the end of it all, there's a huge talent showcase and the girls ALWAYS show up and show out! You gotta put everything you've learnt on display and its usually done with pride.

The Honey Jazz stage 2018

Trust and believe when I say that Ebonnie has had a fine crop of ladies pass across the stage, with all attendees of the shows saying these ladies are stars in their own right.

I feel truly lucky to have been a part of the journey even though it took quite a nudge to audition (Thanks friends!). But it really has been a  worthwhile experience for me. Not only has it been filled with lessons, but I've met amazingly beautiful people that inspire me.

Song writing workshop 2017 with Tika Simone, Simon Pipe, Lennox and Leigh Phillips and of course the Honey Jam Beauts in the back

In preparation for the Honey Jazz show, the girls received performance coaching with Shakura S'Aida who spoke on connectivity and grounding yourself onstage and gave us details to making sure we had a genuine engagement with our audience regardless of the song.

When we met Shakura for the first time at the Canadian High Commission reception

Shakura S'Aida and the girls

From the coaching I noticed my confidence, persona on stage and vocal ability has also grown leaps and bounds. I've been exploring genres trying to figure out which ones I love and feel connected with most when I perform. For my Honey Jam 2017 performance, I covered Love Galore by SZA because I loved the vibe plus the message. It was way too relate-able at that time. I was most surprised when Ebonnie invited me back for Honey Jazz 2018, considering I had never performed jazz in my life. In the end, I loved every moment of it.  I chose to perform Straighten Up and Fly Right By Natalie Cole and My Baby Just Cares For Me by Nina Simone. Practicing the performance and watching the band prepare opened up my eyes to the complexity of the genre and I've gained new found appreciation.

Honey Jazz 2018

Honey Jam 2017

This post is basically to highlight my Honey Jam and Honey Jazz journey so far and hopefully encourage more to take part. Honey Jam is like a family and not so much a competition like many think. We encourage and support each other, motivate each other and even pray together, in our pre-show huddles. As talented as each of us are, we understand the power of our uniqueness so there's noooo room for jealously.  Overall I'm definitely thankful to Ebonnie Rowe for the experience and my personal team for making me take the push. Hopefully I could encourage any young ladies who feel as passionate about music to take part too.

Honey Jam 2017 Huddle

We even did Jam sessions at The Old Jamm Inn with NJ30 The Band

Had to add in my Honey Jam Darlings from 2017

Twenty Seventeen was the year that Barbados hosted Carifesta. Carifesta or the Caribbean Festival of Arts, is a multicultural event establis...

Twenty Seventeen was the year that Barbados hosted Carifesta. Carifesta or the Caribbean Festival of Arts, is a multicultural event established in 1972 and hosted every couple years in the territories of the Caricom region. The festival gives creatives and artists across the region the platform to showcase their skills and craft in music, dance, theatre, film, painting, sculpture, photography, literature and fashion.

The events included film screenings, dance showcases, concerts, symposia and gallery displays. I tried to take a little bit of each but there was so much scheduled there was a lot I missed. The Carifesta event I was most excited for though, was the Grand Market.

My wallet wasn't as excited as I was, I definitely had to put myself under some budgetary constraints. It was a good thing it was free because I went back probably 3 or 4 times.....yea I know I'm a mess but there was so much to see and take in and the different cultures were astonishing. The first time I went, I browsed, made note of what I was interested in and also how much stuff cost. The next couple times I purchased here and there, networking with some of the vendors and even scoring discounts!

One of my FAVORITEEE fashion purchases was from Daphnee of Bijou Lakay from Haiti.

Earrings-Bijou Lakay

Image from http://www.bijoulakayhaiti.com

Photography by Brendon Carrington

I've been on a journey to obtain and maintain clean clear skin. I do enjoy the art of makeup and the work that goes into creating the m...

The scrub helped the acne clear up but now to fix the dark spots

Excuse the rusty hair and dark under eyes....that was after a pretty long but fun night!

1. First off, I make sure I remove all my makeup with some vitamin E oil and a makeup wipe. ( I know it can be pretty difficult after a night of partying...BUT IT MUST BE DONE!)
2. Next up, I cleanse with my Simple facial wash and my facial brush, sometimes once, sometimes twice if my makeup was pretty heavy.
3. Then I moisturize right after with my Bio Balance.
4. I don't use my scrub daily anymore, just every couple days to remove dead skin cells and even the plane. 
5. I've started back drinking a lot more water and my meals have been pretty healthy as well. What you put in, most certainly shows on your skin. 

How late in the year is too late to say Happy New Year? I just saw myself in my head busting in the room with confetti, whistles and exube...

How late in the year is too late to say Happy New Year?

I just saw myself in my head busting in the room with confetti, whistles and exuberance...shouting out the New Year greeting to the top of my lungs. After long awkward pause, everyone looks at me, wide eyed, dumbfounded and unimpressed like...."It's almost Christmas fam....sih-down!!!"  LOL

But anywhoosiesss. Life's been life man. What can I say. The transition from 2016 to 2017 was everything but smooth. I wouldn't say like some, that my 2016 was the worst yet and roughest thing ever, but it definitely was a learning experience, like it should be.

I even missed my one year blog-iversary which was on the 1st of January. ("I know it's a damn shame but YAYYY VIOLET EMPORIUM the blog"). I know I'm sort of a negligent parent, but hopefully with time, I'll be able to put all the love, care and attention into it that it truly deserves. I even assigned myself an accountability partner to help me get back on track and stick to my word. (I'll address the newly adopted concept of accountability at a later date)

So just a quick pop in to say hello, and share some love. I know this post seems hella random but yeaaa to working on consistency and accountability in 2017!!

Don't be shy...say Hi and lemme know you're still tuned in.

Loads of Love
-V

The closest thing to a new year "selfie" I could find.

So graduation time is here again and it basically brought back memories of when I became a graduate of the University of the West Indies. A...

I will never say that university is one of the easiest things you will experience but given the chance it can be one that you will grow to love and definitely will remember, the good and the bad. I, for sure, had my fair share of stress the whole four years I was there, from the sleepless nights, to the buckets full of tears, to the loads of assignments that felt impossible, burdened by the overriding thought of giving up and dropping out.  But I also remember all the friends I grew to love who shared in the stresses with me, the days of just liming away on the “front line” on the guild lawn just so I can relax, the countless beers limes and fetes I attended and maybe just maybe consumed a lil too much alcohol (sorry mum) and generally all the extracurricular activities that allowed me to meet new people, laugh endlessly and grow an appreciation for being there. So generally just be open to the new opportunity and accept everything coming your way, no regrets allowed.

I can truly say this is one of the easiest and most exciting ways of meeting new people and experiencing cultures very much different to your own. Just ignore the urge to be shy and reach out to a stranger and you never know, you may make a friend for life. If anything, the people you reach out to have a lot more to worry about than you do, considering they are miles away from their home and everything they know. So why not try to make the experience a little less overwhelming for them. Go to the events, the beer limes, the fetes, the culture nights and introduce yourself. It all starts with a simple hello.

SOOO for the past few weeks people have been like "V what you taking to lose weight so fast?" I mean 23 pounds in 8 weeks?? Whatev...

SOOO for the past few weeks people have been like "V what you taking to lose weight so fast?" I mean 23 pounds in 8 weeks?? Whatever it is, must be amazing right?? I really should share the secret. Well even though the changes my body made, really were amazing, sorry guys....There is no mystery pill responsible for this change. This is all due to pure hard work, sweat and dieting with The Fitness By Doddy program I decided to join with my friend Kris. My weight loss journey started way before the program, but the program basically accelerated fat loss and increased muscle gain. So outside of the program, I lost a total of 38 pounds for the year.

I just started out my blogging career and I've already been missing in action for about two months or so. Please don't judge me.......

So whats new with me you ask? Nothing really. I finished up a contract I was working on, so I'm currently unemployed and job hunting. I joined a new workout regime that even though it's kicking my butt I'm glad I did and overall I'm spending a lot more time with myself and my thoughts figuring out what's gonna make me happy for the next few years.