Naturally Mermaid

Walking into this motherhood journey like…

Not gonna lie, I am a little nervous about becoming a mom, but I have the best husband ever and a big support system.

Even though my own mom isn’t here to guide me along this path into motherhood, I have the lessons and values that she instilled in me. 🥰

Thanks to the in-laws for throwing this baby shower for us and all the friends and family who showed up.

Outfit deets:
Dress:
Sandals:
Accessories: old and/or inherited

Mermaid vibezzzz

Since dressing up as a 🧜🏾‍♀️ for Halloween, I realized how little I post about mermaids anymore on my feed. Welp, that’s gotta change.

Idk if any of the other Ariels out there have embraced the connotation with our name, but it took years for me to like my name after being traumatized while watching The Little Mermaid with my kindergarten class. All the kids turned and looked at me whenever Ariel’s name was said. As a shy kid who’d never met anyone else with my name, I was mortified!

After wanting to change my name, but not finding anything suitable, I accepted that this was my fate in 4th grade. But I still hated when The Little Mermaid was associated with me.

It probably didn’t help that I looked nothing like that Ariel.

It wasn’t until middle school that I finally embraced the mermaid connection when I found a book in a back-owned bookstore in the West End Mall in Atlanta. It was a children’s book with illustrations of black mermaids.

Literally changed my life.

Up until then, I thought that mermaids could only be white. Never crossed my young mind that I could be a mermaid too. This is why representation matters.

That year, I painted my name on my bedroom wall along with a couple of black mermaids. (swipe for a pic of teen-aged me)

Since then, I’ve loved all associations and meanings of my name. Now, when I’m telling someone my name over the phone, sometimes I say “Ariel like the mermaid, Green like the color”. Gets a chuckle every time.

Have you ever wanted to change your name?

Rare mermaid sighting on land! Has she been captured by a….pirate?! 🏴‍☠️

Obviously I would only be my alter ego for Halloween. And with a little coaxing, got the hubs on board to show out as a pirate. We don’t usually dress up for Halloween but we were invited to a costume party this year and decided to really go for it. Hubs was really in character too - swipe to see a pic. ➡️

Everything I already had in my closet except… the skirt. I bought it on Amazon. Don’t cancel me. It’s something I plan on keeping and rewearing as much as possible. Because wtf would I ever dress up as anything else?

Also kinda bubbled up (mer-slang for excited) about my makeup. All organic or vegan and earth-friendly.

Splash a 💦 in the comments if you agree that I should be a 🧜🏾‍♀️ every Halloween or costume party.

Oh, in case you were wondering, the mermaid spoon is my take on a dinglehopper. We know a fork would tear up these locs, but the spoon can create flawless waves. 🌊