Page 57 of The Spring in My Heart

We jump back.

“Coming,” she answers and stands up. “Thanks, Oliver. I’m happy you’re here. You totally saved the day today.”

She rushes out, leaving me with a pounding heart and the sense that everything just took a different turn.

THE BOUGIE LIFE IS HERE

By Bougie Girl

You’re used to seeing me as your regular blogger. Bougie Girl is the one that tells you what products to try, where to get the best massage to smooth the stress out of your body, and who to go to for a blowout that will have your hair flowing like a Mariah Carey meme. For years now, I’ve prided myself on finding gems for you, places that will have you feeling like a socialite on a budget.

But all good things must end…or transform into bigger platforms with more and better content!

I’m proud to tell you that I’m moving up—well, down since I’m now living in Maryland. Next week, I am launching my own YouTube channel as well as my own section in Big Apple Magazine.

What does the move mean?

I’ll still be doing the trying, the finding, and the reviews, but now all of it will be on a bigger scale. The Bougie Life is coming to your phone, tablet, computer, or smart TV. It’s a chance for you to get to know more about me. I’ll be doing more videos and featuring the content you’ve been asking me for.

I’ll go live with you to show you my morning and evening routines. I’ll also be following the products you suggest for me and trying them along with you. You can go through my house renovation journey. If I take a weekend trip, I’m taking you with me—because we’re besties, you and me. We’re growing and changing together.

If there’s something we all need to learn, it is not to be afraid to tweak, flip, change something for a new version of it that can be better, more passionate, and more satisfying than the way it is now. Risk is part of the game. When you risk nothing, you gain nothing, and everything is in peril. That which doesn’t grow dies. So, let’s go after the unknown and exciting together.

How do we start this new journey?

In the most personal of ways, of course.

My first video will be in my new studio at home. I can’t wait for you to see it.

The next one will be an afternoon with a stylist, featuring my sister, Lauren, the founder of Autumn Lush. I don’t even have to tell you what it is, but in case you’ve been living off the grid, Autumn Lush is an exclusive, stylish store located in Baltimore. It recently launched its own on-demand styling line, mixing high-end, low-end, and mid-range priced pieces. In my first piece for The Bougie Life, let’s do a day in the life of a stylist and see a concept from beginning to end.

Are you coming along for the ride? You’re as bougie as I am. I know you want to.

Xoxo,

The Bougie One

11

Three Months Later

Lux

I love the new facade of the house. The door was already relocated to the center, and the new entrance system was installed. I take a second to pause, adjust my earbuds, and take a photo. The new windows look wonderful, definitely worth the extra money so nothing can break them from the outside.

I’m recording the first video for the channel in the new space. Only half the area is finished, but that’s all we need to record a video sitting at my desk. The next one will be at Autumn Lush, and I can’t wait for that one either. Lauren has so many fun things to do there.

Nothing can blur the excitement I feel today—not even the conversation I’m having with my mother right now. She’s like background noise or elevator music. It’s happening, but it’s not touching any part of me.

“Thank you for my Manolos. When I got the exclusive newsletter the other day, it was love at first sight,” Marilyn gushes. Her excitement is so palpable I shift my gaze to my phone screen. Her face is glowing in a way I haven’t seen in a long time.

It’s a clean glow that triggers a smile of my own. I know this kind of giddy happiness. Every girl should get a pair of their favorite shoes on her birthday. It brings joy to us like nothing else. “Happy birthday. I hope you wear them often.”

“I will. I’m going shopping for the perfect outfit for them. They don’t do enough pieces in baby blue these days. Magazines are also not giving the classic designers enough promotion. That’s something you can do when your new channel comes out.”

Tension rings like a bell at the base of my spine. I haven’t really talked to her much about the new channel. I haven’t talked to her at all since the New York episode, and I don’t want to make the call longer than it needs to be. I don’t want to have to explain what this means to me. “I’ll think about it, Marilyn. I really have to go now. I need to get some things in place before the crew gets there. We’re recording an episode today.”

“Oh. That’s exciting. I read the announcement Big Apple made. I’m really proud of you, Luciana.”

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