Ro Made It!

With the holidays coming up on us so fast, it’s only right that we talk party etiquette. I can only speak about Black party etiquette, so that’s what I will discuss here. I'm sure some of these rule can be applied across different cultures/ethnicities.




If you are invited to a party, gathering, dinner, or the like, there are some things that you just don’t do. If we invited you, we must like you at least a little bit. That can end quickly. Here are some general rules of Black house gatherings that expand beyond the holidays. You’re welcome.

Don’t assume all Black events start late. Yes…a lot of them do, but you don’t want to be the late one. If I tell you it starts at 3, I’ve most likely accounted for the lateness of my family members. We move on without them. Don’t be tardy for the party. Don’t show up empty handed. Even if you are told not to worry about bringing anything, bring something. Even if it’s a bottle of sparkling cider. There will be massive side eye if you show up empty…

Hey friends!


My family tries to keep the tradition of having family dinner alive. We try. One of my sisters is currently following a vegan diet. My family does not understand the concept of not using animal products. Like at all. I can hear my mom OR my oldest sister saying now, “Well, I didn’t put any meat in it, I just used a little bacon grease. The grease ain’t meat!” I’m not playing y’all.

So if you follow any sort of lifestyle or diet, you’d better ask before you put it in your mouth if it has any kind of animal fat or broth in it if you’re around my family. Chances are, it does.
My mom wanted to cook us dinner to show us that she loves us. She made a spread of oxtails, meatloaf, buttered rice, cabbage, cornbread, green beans, and fried chicken. My sister couldn’t eat anything. Lucky for her, I already knew this would be an issue. I had a plan. I found the prettiest little eggplants and went on a mission to find a recipe.The first one I saw looked like a winner and it was!
I fou…

I like Halloween. But I don't like scary things. That's weird, I know. I can do suspense, but I don't like anything that will make me look under my bed before I climb in it, or make me hide all of my daughter's dolls. I can't do movies with dolls at all.

So, why on earth would I agree to watch a scary movie with some of my friends? It's because they are my friends that happen to like scary movies and I'm an awesome supportive friend...even if it's going to scare the sleep right out of me. Friends do crazy stuff like that.

I agreed to bring dessert. In the 11th hour, the day had gotten away from me and I didn't think I would be able to make anything. I went to bed a bit disappointed in myself because I really had something cool in mind. At some point in my sleep, after I had sweet dreams of LaKeith Stanfield asking me to marry him, my mind gave me a vision of an alternate version of what I wanted. I baked a chocolate Bundt cake, covered it in ganache…

Hey friends!

It is seeming like Summer will never end here in Sunny South Carolina! We are having record breaking temperatures and it is October!

Fall is my absolute favorite season, but it may be Winter before we see any temperature changes! The things I love about fall are soups, leaves changing colors, and boots and scarves! I'm still wearing flip flops!

Over the weekend, I had a really strong craving for banana pudding. I went to the store (without checking my cabinets) and grabbed what I thought I needed to make Jocelyn's Banana Pudding. When Sunday night rolled around and I got up the energy to make it, I discovered that the sweetened condensed milk in my cabinet had been expired for over a year! This is one of the ways I disappoint myself often. I need to schedule twice a year cabinet clean out!



All hope was not lost. I had a can of Dulce de Leche...actually 3 cans. Don't ask me why, I have never used it before! I had already began mixing the milk and pudding so the…

Hey friends!

I was blessed this year to be able to go to Mexico (before my passport expires)!

So, I had never stayed at an all inclusive resort. I have been to a few places, but our norm has been to rent a place. Someone usually ends up cooking and doing things not conducive to RELAXING. We took a girl's trip to an all adult, all inclusive resort. Let me tell you! I ate all of the food and I drank all of the drinks! It was such a beautiful and relaxing time! Can you imagine just sitting out by the pool all day and being waited on hand and foot? We did it! And I want to do it again! I will do it again!

I didn't know how bad I needed to unwind until I got the opportunity to do so! Remember to take care of yourselves friends!

We stayed at Secrets Puerto Los Cabos Golf & Spa Resort. The only downside to this trip was that we could not swim (and I use that term loosely) at the beach due to erosion. There was a lifeguard on duty to make sure no one went out too far, but really t…