Coffee with the daughter of Fidel Castro

Alina Fernandez is her name. I felt so honored when my adviser nominated me to be the one to introduce Ms. Fernandez in a round table discussion before a lecture that she gave to my university. I'm apart of the Distinguished Speakers Forum at my university, so we were responsible for Fernandez's arrival at our school. The round table discussion went very well, as it was filled with people of all different backgrounds and political views; however, it was the hour before her lecture that I enjoyed the most. After the round table discussion, I was put in charge of making sure that Fernandez was comfortable and that any request was filled. It was just the two of us. What do you say to the daughter of one of the most powerful men in the world? "Would you like me to buy you a coffee?" She had just told me that she was cold from the blasting A/C so I offered to walk over to our library to grab her a hot drink. "Yes, coffee. Great! I'll go with you." I was fully prepared to run out like an intern a grab her specially ordered coffee, so I was surprised when she offered to come with me and only ordered a regular coffee with no frills. "I would like some coffee for my sugar" she told me. I guess we both have a sweet tooth! After I payed for her coffee, we sat outside of the venue and talked about everything! She told me about her daughter, life when she was younger, living in Spain, and how she use to enjoy dancing, just like me! When I told her that I did a semester of Irish Dance, she looked at me in amusement. I guess I don't look like the typical Irish dancer. She was so nice to even give me a few dance websites to look at for inspiration on modern dance. After that, we started talking about the importance of staying in shape, and how she was upset that she won't be able to go to the gym because of her travel; however, we were unfortunately interrupted by the paparazzi. Due to class, I had to miss her lecture; however, I thoroughly enjoyed my hour conversation with her. She is such a great and strong woman, and a very amazing influence. Before I left, I made sure to get a picture with her. I will remember this honor forever!

Music Mondays-Fleet Foxes

One of my favorite bands, and favorite songs! Alex and I were suppose to go see them in Brooklyn this past weekend; however it unfortunately didn't work out. We are not giving up though! We hope to either see Fleet Foxes or visit NYC sometime in the future. Until then, I will just share the love on my blog. Enjoy! ;)

Etsy Shop-Schizo

Hello, everyone! I am back again with another one of my Etsy Shop Favorites of the Week!Enjoy!I love the vibe that I get from this shop! Each piece is so electric and fun, yet practical! Schizo seems to be "Urban Inspired" and I feel like I would instantly gain some coolness if I owned one of her cool hoodies. Besides, look at how cool Katia, the owner is! Her tattoos are amazing!Make sure to check out her shop!

Wednesday Inspiration-Russh Photo Shoot

Hello everyone! I hope that everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday full of inspiration! Well, I am here to add to that inspiration. As you may be able to to tell, I have been obsessing over the Russh Magazine photo shoots!  The name of this photoshoot is called, Nowhere Else. I love the masculinity yet softness of this photoshoot. It's almost as if this delicate woman slipped into her beau's favorite clothes and dominated the town!
Want more of the Photo shoot? Click here!

Meet the First Participants of The Small World Project!

Hello everyone! I hope that you are having a great start to your week! As you hopefully already know, I have started a blogging project called, The Small World Project. It will start next month, in October. Well with out further adieu, here are this month's participants!Melissa from simply, melissa ashleyCheck out her blog!
Katia of Kitty SnooksCheck out her blog!
Sasha of Uniquely_BeautifulCheck out her blog!
Katie of Breathe&HushCheck out her blog!
I am so excited to start off this project with these lovely ladies! To learn more about this project, read this post! We will start at the top of the month, so stay tune!

Music Mondays- Phantogram

Phantogram is an American electronic rock duo from Saratoga Springs,New York, consisting of guitarist Josh Carter and keyboardist Sarah Barthel. Barthel and Carter were friends since junior high school, but Phantogram did not officially form until 2007. That summer, Barthel returned home dissatisfied with pursuing a visual arts degree and Carter returned home after a brief stint in New York City with Grand Habit, an experimental band formed with his older brother, John. The two friends reunited and then worked on finishing some beat ideas Carter made earlier. They then finally formed the band.

The duo was originally called Charlie Everywhere when performing around the Saratoga Springs area on the local label Sub-Bombin Records. The band was soon dubbed the label's, "first big success" by the Albany Times Union after their energetic live performances and recorded tracks had the band searching for a larger record label to release their first EP.

The band signed with the BBE record label on January 26, 2009. Upon signing with BBE, the band changed their name to Phantogram to avoid any potential trademark issues.Their self-titled debut EP was released on May 12, 2009.

TAOBC Presents...The Small Word Project

As some of you know, over the summer, I gave up Facebook because I was tired of internet interaction instead of face to face time with the people that I care about. I feel that social media websites can sometimes take the "personal" out of personal relationships. Therefore, to take a small step into a more personal mode of communication, I have proposed The Small World Project, a personal monthly snail-mail relationship between bloggers.

Four (4) Bloggers, and myself, will sign up by email on a rotation to send creative snail mails to each of the other bloggers, once per week. This group snail mail swap will continue for the entire month and then trade off with four new bloggers!
Each month's project will have different requirements; however the continuous thing between each project is that the letter must be handwritten, NOT TYPED. Also the letter may not be on a regular piece of white paper alone. The letter can be in the form of a card, on a magazine collage or a self-made painting, etc. The letter can be on white paper, as long as it is adorned in some way. Also, each project must include something personal from the writer. This could be a favorite recipe, a quote from a song, a picture, a postcard, etc. This Small World Project will begin the beginning of October. The questions for this upcoming month's Project are:

*Only rule for The Small World Project: You must own a blog. This will act as an easy screening process in keeping everybody safe ;)


I am very passionate about this project because I think that it will be so cool to know that someone across the continent will have personal information about me. Plus, I can't wait to receive my first letter so that I can get to know someone else! There are so many people on this earth, yet somehow, many people are still lonely. I know that this project won't solve that issue for everyone; however, it's a small step in making our world smaller.

Upcoming DIY T-Shirts

Hello everyone! I hope that you've been having a great week! I've had the busiest week so far this semester at university; however, I still somehow found time to do two DIY T-Shirts! I will post the instructions and finally products on a later date, but I am most excited about my cardigan, which was crafted out of an old $3 shirt and some paint. It has definitely become my favorite new accessory!

Etsy Shop-Soul Mantras and Other Stories

Hello, everyone! I am back again with another one of my Etsy Shop Favorites of the Week!Enjoy!Soul Mantras and Other Stories has become my new obsession! I am in love with every solitary piece! This shop specializes in locket necklaces that share the stories of your soul. Mantras that she writes on her necklaces include sayings such as "I Am Enough" and "Open Up and Live."What caught my attention about this Shop is how personal each piece is. My favorite is the Poem Note Necklace (pictured directly above) because I have never seen anything like it and it just brings so much joy to my heart, since I was not expecting it to contain an inspiring poem when opened. I plan to buy this the next time that I have money!
Make sure to check out her shop!

DIY...The Blue Heart Tee

Wednesday Inspiration-Advanced Style

This lady is who I aspire to be when I grow old ;)
Want more? Go to the blog!