(because traditional blogging gives me a bit of anxiety)







































 

i cannot begin to tell you just how full i've been these last few months.

i've always had dreams of being three things: a published author of black ass books with black ass character doing dope ass shit and falling in love with another black ass, dope ass human being; the owner, vintner, and curator of a vineyard that oozes black everything and fuses the transcendence of black culture with the intricacy of winemaking and consumption…

and a screenwriter/director. we're not even a full 60 days into 2020, and i was able to move one of those goals from my dream journal to my accomplishment journal. less than a month ago, i published ready. set. love and the outpouring of support hasn't begun to dry up yet.

with over 30k+ pages read, and weeks on the top 100 amazon kindle charts, i thought it the best time to unveil something else that i've had in the works. years ago, i visited california and toured wine country. it was beautiful.

and the first time my hood ass every saw rows and rows of grapes…

and cute little eateries…

and just people having a great time and bonding over bottles of what i called 'jesus juice' when i was little. the dream was born there as i stood in the middle of a catawba grapevine and a chambourcin grapevine, staring at a peach tree. since then, i've talked my circle's head off about how i want a vineyard, and i want to be involved in every part of the winemaking process when i retire.

i've researched non-stop and have a cute little custom notebook where i keep all my vineyard notes. i imagined the fictitious company, vines & vinyl, that my character owns and operates in ready. set. love from my very real dream.

i wanted to create a real feel for it, and did months of research trying to find the best possible way to make it happen. reading all the reviews and comments and seeing so many people wish they had a place like vines & vinyl lit a fire under me, and i just had to give them a piece. so, i enrolled in winemaking classes and booked time at a local vineyard in my hometown to actually make my first blend. it has been a tiresome process, and i have a renewed respect for the bootleggers and speakeasy owners back in the prohibition days because let me tell you, a sister is the fuck tired. if y'all knew what it took to get just the liquor license alone where i live, y'all probably would have said, nah, imma head out.

 







































 

i almost did a few times because...

whoo, chile.

the price tag is hefty, and the amount of digging into my background had me feeling a bit victimized, but i handle it

 







































 

and now i'm almost at the finish line! but, in the mean time, i to give you all a piece of vines & vinyl, so i teamed up wit another vineyard, that custom made some wine for me. i was going wanted to wait for the big city bliss series to be completed but i was so happy that i did it and so pleased with the finished product (as you can see