Artistic Expression

Hey there dolls,
         This week my post is dedicated to my starving artists. The Barbies that long for artistic expression, those that paint, draw, write, dance, and sing to live. Those for who music is their heart beat, paint is their blood, and the pen their life line. I mean come on ladies you get what im saying, this post is dedicated to the creative spirit that resides at the core of every Barbie. In the past couple of weeks I've been feeding my own creative spirit, and plan to continue to do so. Just want to share with you guys some of the shows I went to and of course how much I paid (next to nothing)!
            So two huge events these past weeks. First off there was the Drake concert. Where do I even begin with that catastrophe!  When Ms. Erica called to hip me to the goings on of the day,  of course I was ready I jumped up off the breakfast table and ran into the shower. If you've been tuning into the youtube channel (Barbieonabudget), you saw my rant about being ready for adventure especially CHEAP adventures. Nonetheless myself, Ms. Erica, and Ms. Sammie arrived to the concert around 2, we figured we'ld get a head start, a FREE Drake concert, of course we knew the whole of New York was coming. And to our dismay, the whole of New York did come, and ruin the entire show! However,they were not the only ones to blame, the show was poorly organized. But first things first lets discuss the disgusting crowd. There were the few hipster music lovers that admire Drake for his lyricism and skill (i.e. myself and Ms. Erica, we wont include Sammie for 2 reasons, shes not really a hipster and shes not as familiar with Drake as we are, she just likes him and wanted to hear more of his music! Five points to her for explorative spirit!) Then there was the hip hop heads you know, slightly older in there early to mid thirties who grew up in the hip hop generation. But trust me, the true music lovers were few and far between, the crowd was infested with teenie boopers. Long story short, the crowd got rowdy, management didnt provide enough crowd control or enough music to mellow the mood, Drake never performed, I went home vowing to never subject myself to freee hip hop concert again! But no fear, my week was saved by none other than Alvin Ailey.
                   The wonders of Alvin Ailey. I've loved them since I first saw them when I was 13, I was definitely stirred. At that time I was a little aspiring dancer myself, I've since stopped but i still have a dancer's spirit, so when ever I can afford to I check them out, I do. This time they were at BAM tickets were as cheap as $20. However, because Im a student under 25 I got in for $11, and we (Ms. Sammie and I), got orchestra seats which would probably have costed us about $60. My favorite part was the entire performance. HA! However three pieces really stuck out, In/Side which was choreographed to Nina Simone's "Wild is The Wind". I know, you know, that anything presented by Ailey to anything sung by Nina Simone can't help but be a master piece. If you Barbies havnt heard of or listened to Ms. Simone get on it! She's amazing. Uptown, which was a piece focused on the roraring twenties was spectacular with the most vibrant costuming, but what stood out most for me was the section when the dancers danced to the narration of passages written by W.EB Dubois and Zora Neale Huston's. And of course they performed the piece that the Ailey company has become so famous for Revelations. Undoubtedly, my favorite section of that piece is the section choreographed to wade in the water. My spirit wades in that water everytime!  Stay Tune to hear about my venture to get tickets for Shakespeare in the park and my trip to see Ms. Myotis' Bible Camp.
                     Im not gonna go into too much detail cause I want you Barbies to see these things for yourself. Even if your a number pushin' Barbie behind a desk artistic expression is vital to a full life. You just may find that in your numbers as an accountant, or in cells as a biologist, but you should also experience how others find it.  Come on Barbies make me proud and go have your own cheap thrills! (not the ones your thinkin' of lol)  Till next time dolls stay relevant!

Not So Haute Chocolat'

Hey Dolls,
              I've been kind of missing for a few I kno, but I've also been very very busy. Being a budgeting Barbie on the go can be extremely hectic as I'm sure you all already know. Now a days I dont know whats going on with me! I leave my house sometimes at 930 in the morning to handle business with intentions of coming STRAIGHT home to get some rest, before I know it, its after 12 the next morning and im on the A train FINALLY headed home. My phone rings all day with requests to hang out, either that or im remembering something I should have done that completely slipped my mind. Today, however, I am spending the entire day in the house and recapping all of the cheap fabulous things that I have done for my fellow Barbies!
            Just to put the word out, June1st was my birthday Barbies. I spent the entire day carryin on with Ms. Erica. First off lets start with my outfit. I wore a great little romper with black tights that I found at none other than the dreaded Rainbow. But, as we've discussed before Rainbow is a diamond in the rough kind of place for fashion, so dont neglect it! The jumper looked phenomenal and it only cost me $14. Moving on, we got manis and pedis at the local nail salon and were feeling quite lovely. As a treat to myself for my birthday I got a tatoo at the craziest hipster central kind of parlor called New York Adorned. They  have two locations, one in Willamsburg Brooklyn, and the other in the Lower Eastside on 2nd Ave. They are very professional and quite reasonably priced. I know you maybe thinking that you'ld rather get your tatoo from the local maddman i.e. the one in the neighborhood that has more tatoo than sking, who charges little more that ten cents and a metro card swipe so he can get home! But stop and think, is he a reputible tatoo artist, how does he sterilize his instruments, does he even sterilize his instruments? Or is he using the left over syringes he found in the hospital garbage!? Hate to be extreme but when it comes to your safety you must assume the worst and think about who you're entrusting your skin too. Trust me it is in your best interest to reserach a good tatoo parlor, visit a few see which places make you the most comforable then compare prices. You'll feel much more comfortable and come out with a more satisfying piece of body art. One more request Barbies, please avoid the frivilous tatoos i.e. stars, hearts, bunnies, your name, nick name, or WORST OF ALL your boyfriend or Barbie Dreamcatcher's name. (By the way I'm coining a new term Barbie Dreamcatcher otherwise known as a sponsor is a man who makes financial contributions to a Barbie's budget, not to exist as the soul origin of Barbie's money, but only as a kind gentelman who is able and willing to contibute.) Anyway, take my advice dolls, this is going to be on your body for the REST OF YOUR LIFE, so pick something that will still mean the world to you 30 years from now.
                             Continuing with my fabulous birthday goings ons, Ms Erica and myself, accompanied by my aunt and uncle headed to Max Brenner in Union Square for dinner. WHAT A MISTAKE. I felt completely bamboozled. Weeks earlier, we had wondered into to this chocolaterie (french for choclate shop) enticed by the rich deliocious smell of chocolate. We went to the take out window, ordered a DELICIOUS cake with a  molten chocolate center that had to be about 4 inches in diameter. Not only did they heat it up for us, they drenched it with sinfully delicious chocolate syrup. One bite of this cake and our bodies were bursting from the inside out with chocolate eruptions! (Yea! I know what I said, and HELL YEA I know how it sounds, and it exactly what your thinking, is EXACTLY how it felt.) From that moment I vowed I would come back on my birthday and actually enjoy the restaurant and stay a while. So, after my tatoo, we walked over to Max Brenner,the wait for a table was only about ten minutes, not bad compared to other places. However, as soon as we sat down the spiral down hill began. The first problem with this place is that the menu is WAY too extensive. It was like reading a book, it was damn near exhausting. The long rectangular book that layed out the food menu was accompanied by a smaller but still packed book with the desert menu. It took us so long to order. At first we couldnt understand the descriptions, then once we asked our waitress, it took us about another thirty  minutes to decide what we wanted, then another ten minutes to track down our waitress again. Even the simplest deserts were over dressed. Honestly, nothing on the menu was really worth the price as the portions were incredibly tiny and the prices were disproportionately large. Bottom line Barbies, Max Brenner is just not in the budget! However I have found another little place for you guys to check out that is a tad above the budget, but definitely worth the stretch.
                          Billie Black's is FABULOUS in more ways than one! It is located in Harlem precisely on 119th st between Fredrick Douglas and St. Nicholas. The place is pretty small, only seating about fifty, however the decor is charming. It has a rustic old school Harlem brownstone kind of feel with exposed red brick walls. Now I will not lie, the food and drinks are kind of pricey with entrees starting at $15 and cocktails starting at $12, but its worth it. The mac and cheese is delicious, the fried catfish melts in your mouth, and the fried chicken is heavenly. On top of all of the good food emerging from the kitchen on steaming hot plates, Billie Black's is also a local stage for many burgeoning stars. P. Murray last night and had the entire restaurant grooving for a cover charge of only $5. Check him out a pmurraymusic.com. So Billie Black's is not exactly in the budget but definitely Barbie worthy!
                             Thats all for right now dolls, go have your own adventures and let me know how they go!
Love Pretty Pretty Princess Barbie.