Episode 7: An Attitude of Gratitude

On being grateful for what you asked for.

✨Quick note✨

Last week, I surpassed 100 subscribers 🥳

Thank you to all of the newcomers, and welcome! As a reminder, each newsletter is structured into five sections, and at any time, you can skip to what you need and leave the rest.

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What I’m Thinking About

How often do you realize that you’re living out what you asked for? In a society that makes us long for more or desire the lifestyle of someone else, sometimes it is easy to lose track of what you want or to realize you’re exactly where you want to be.

I remember in 2017, I was reading the journal I keep when I’m fasting, and I read an entry from 2015 where I wrote how I wanted to work at Apple, run INTech camps, and live in Oakland. Well in 2017, I was living that dream. The difference is that it took me to read that journal to realize I had made it there. This was months after I moved back to Cali to work at Apple.

While that probably wasn’t the last time I “wrote the vision and made it plain”, and didn’t realize what I wrote had come to fruition later down the road, I can tell you that I am hyper-aware of when these things happen to me now.

I remember watching shows based in ATL and LONGING to live here, and now when I watch RHOA or Married to Med, I smile knowing that I live here now. It’s a practice, but remaining grateful and in the moment is worth taking the time in a world that moves way too fast.

Lately, I’ve been super grateful for the simple things like being able to afford my basic needs (food and rent) and extravagant wants (concert tickets), living in the same city as several of my close friends, and living in a home that I love. It literally brings me joy every single day when I think about it.

Take a few seconds/minutes and think about 2-3 things that you’re grateful for. While you’re thinking about this, pay attention to how your body feels. When I do this, I literally feel the joy in my body. It starts as a tingly feeling and I am instantly full of gratitude. If you don’t mind, share it with me either via email or commenting on this post! I love celebrating the good in others.

I believe that another benefit of slowing my life down has allowed me to be hyper-aware and present in each moment so that I can savor it and realize this is exactly what I wanted.

Mindset is truly everything. While I believe that there is a fine line between being positive and being toxically positive, I can truly say that when you think good thoughts, good things happen.

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What I’m Reading

One Summer in Savannah - Terah Shelton Harris

I give this book 5/5 stars!

TW: sexual assault

So my friend Kiera (hey girl! 👋🏽) was PRESSED for me to read this book. It finally became available to me on the Libby app during a time when I was in between books, so I went for it.

This book is about a woman, Sara, who left the town she grew up in shortly after being sexually assaulted. Once her father becomes ill, she and her daughter are forced to come home to be with him and face the people who pushed her out of town in the first place. Sara initially feels like things will be fine since the guy who assaulted her is in prison and his twin brother, Jacob, also left town, until she finds out that Jacob is back and their worlds collide.

The book was so good! Admittedly, the first 2-3 chapters made me wonder “What is happening in this book?” But by chapter 4, I could kind of predict the narrative and understand how the two main characters were going to intertwine. Honestly, the rest was history after that - I couldn’t put the book down. I NEEDED to know how the book would end and if my predictions were correct. Additionally, a small part of the book took place at the Fernbank Science Center in Atlanta! Now I need to swing by there lol.

The author illustrates forgiveness, trust, trauma, and fear so well among the two characters, Jacob and Sara. I’m not even sure if I have the same strength. It was beautiful.

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What I’m Watching

Suits

Why didn’t anyone tell me how great Suits is? I feel so behind, so shoutout to Netflix!

Jessica Pearson is THAT GIRL, Harvey is a prick (a fine one), and LOUIS gets on my LAST NERVE. Also, I had no idea Princess Meghan Markle was in this show. I didn’t know anything about that lady until she became the first Black princess….

Also, if you’re part of the cult following for Suits, and you haven’t watched the spinoff “Pearson”, check it out on Peacock! I actually watched this show first and it led me to Suits for more background info.

The Burial

Okay, getting back into 2023, Jamie Foxx is back and better! Check out his new movie, The Burial, based on the true story of Willie E. Gary, a Florida lawyer who helps Jeremiah O’Keefe save his family business from a corporate behemoth. The film also features actors Dorian Missick, Amanda Warren, Jurnee Smollett, and Mamoudou Athie.

You can watch on Amazon Prime Video.

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What I’m Vibin’ to

Adi Oasis

Have you ever heard a song that was so perfect you couldn’t believe it? That’s how I feel when I listen to MANGO by KAMAUU feat. Adi Oasis. Press play and tell me this song isn’t perfect.

One day, I went down a rabbit hole, as I sometimes always do, and listened to Adi Oasis’ new album, which features two of my faves - KIRBY & Levan Kali. The album has a groovy vibe that’s great to ride out to on a sunny day.

Take a listen and let me know your thoughts!

(OMG I just learned I can embed Spotify links directly into these newsletters so you can preview albums without leaving here. Game. Over.)

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Bonus Track: Loose-Leaf Tea

The moment you’ve all been waiting for - tea tips from KB! (and no, I have not launched my tea brand yet).

This is something I can spend an entire newsletter discussing, but I won’t bore you with all of my knowledge - just a few things to get you started!

Tea Quality

There are levels to drinking tea. I grew up drinking Lipton tea, and no shade, my grandpa loved it; however, that ain’t it, beloved. Lipton is made out of “tea dust” which is the crushed-up remains of tea processing or ground tea leaves of too low of a quality to sell as loose leaf. Other tea brands that are made like this are Bigelow, Tazo, etc.

While there’s nothing wrong with these teas, if you like tea and want it to taste better, loose-leaf tea is what you want because loose-leaf tea has a higher quality and will give you a better taste. You can find loose-leaf tea in a sachet (a tea bag) or literally loose and sold in a tin or another container.

Where to buy loose-leaf tea

My suggestion is to buy loose-leaf tea at a shop that sells it. You may have a store in your area or you can order online from one of my fave Black-owned brands: Just Add Honey and Brooklyn Tea (who both have stores in ATL and Brooklyn obviously). I also like going to the local farmers market to buy basic black, green, or herbal tea because it’s much cheaper. When I say basic, I mean there isn’t a fruity flavor it’s just “green” or “black”.

If you decide to order from one of the above places, you’ll need either a tea strainer or tea filter bags to put your tea into in order to make it at home. You can find them on Amazon or in stores like Homegoods/TJ Max.

A loose-leaf tea strainer and tea filter bags.

If you want to pick up some tea from your local grocer before going too deep, some good brands are Mighty Leaf, Harney & Sons, and sometimes Teavana. Teavana is generally sold as tea dust just like Lipton; however, at stores like Whole Foods, you’ll find it loose leaf in a sachet (RIP to the Teavana stores and screw Starbucks for killing them).

Loose-leaf tea sold in sachets at a high-end grocer or Target.

Mighty Leaf is actually what got me deeper into drinking loose-leaf tea. The coffee shop on campus at NC State sold their Green Tea Tropical and it is SO GOOD! At some point, I realized the reason why it was so good was because it was a loose-leaf tea. The rest was history after that.

How to brew your tea

Okay, this is the most important thing - STOP. LEAVING. YOUR. TEA. BAG. IN. YOUR WATER. STOP IT!

To make the perfect cup of tea you should:

1 - Select the type of tea you want (black, green, white, herbal, etc)

2 - Warm up your water to the temperature that your tea type recommends. Most of us just boil water and keep it moving. Green tea shouldn’t be brewed in boiling water. I’ll save that for another post. Just boil the water for now lol

3 - Dip your tea in the water for the time recommended for your tea type. This is important. Black tea usually steeps for 3-5 mins. Green tea 2-3 mins. Herbal tea 5-10mins. Results may vary.

4- TAKE THAT TEA OUT THE WATER, FRIEND! Lol

5 - Add honey (or sugar) to taste

6 - ENJOY 😁