Sunday lessons on self worth, privilege and honesty

Posted on June 24, 2013 by maijdinh

Gabrielle Union on Oprah’s Next Chapter

I spent my Sunday night watching Oprah’s Next Chapter with Viola Davis, Phylicia Rashad, Alfre Woodard and Gabrielle Union and the documentary Dark Girls on OWN. Both programs explored the experience of being an outsider whether it was as a black actress in Hollywood or a “dark girl” dealing with skin-tone based prejudice from her own community. In both scenarios, I realized minority women were pitted against each other to fight for scraps of watered-down white privilege. Continue reading →

Mai at the Belmont Stakes #Maxxstyle

I’ve always loved a good deal and now that I am gainfully unemployed, I’m even more mindful about saving & spending. I submitted this photo taken by my friend Catherine Yan to T.J. Maxx’s #Maxxstyle contest. Fingers crossed that a win a gift card! See more photos on Tumblr.
with love, mai

Mister Rogers remixed ‘Sing Together’ lyrics offer gentle wisdom

Posted on June 6, 2013 by maijdinh

One of Mister Rogers’ nuggets of wisdom went viral after the Boston Marathon bombings, and since then I’ve noticed a resurgence of his work. I grew up on PBS programming and joke that Sesame Street taught me English since Vietnamese was my first language. I watched Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood when there wasn’t anything else on TV, but now as an adult I can fully appreciate the soft-spoken man’s gentle wisdom. Continue reading →