Vol. 5: Mumus, mimosas, and old school music

She found me on Threads. I had posted something about wishing there were more Black women in my pilates classes here in the suburbs (the kind of post you write to put something true out into the world and then mostly forget about).

Except she actually via IG DM’s (this is before we got DMs on Threads), we talked, and it turns out she’s just someone worth knowing. We did go to a pilates class and almost 2 years later, we’re still friends!

Last weekend we went to a Juneteenth celebration together. And the next day she invited me to her house for what she called Mimosas and Mumus — a Sunday birthday brunch where everyone showed up in a mumu.

Her whole group of friends was there, all Black women, and we spent the afternoon listening to old school music, sharing nostalgic stories, trading resources and recommendations the way you only do when you’re around people who actually get it.

I don’t know when the last time was that I sat around a table like that. Where no one is performing, no one is code-switching, no one is making herself smaller so someone else feels more comfortable. We were just us.

I left feeling something I didn’t know I’d been running low on.

This is part of what I want to build inside the Club, a table like that. A place where 100s of women who chose themselves get to be in the same room. I’m already thinking about what that looks like.

(I also rearranged my whole office this week. The space had started to feel off and I finally listened to it. I didn’t buy anything new except a table for my plant and an extension cord. Sometimes the room just needs an edit, not an overhaul.)

This week: call or voice-memo someone you love and tell them one specific, true thing you see in them. Not a check-in, not a happy birthday, one true thing they might not be saying to themselves right now.

Juneteenth has always been about witnessing each other. This is one way to do that this week — one person, one true thing, your voice.

Tomorrow is Juneteenth and this month’s Collection was built with this day at its center (the understanding that home has always been where we got to be fully ourselves before the world required performance). Take some time tomorrow to inhabit that freedom intentionally. In your space, in your self-care rituals, in how slowly you let yourself move through the day.Also, 18 of you are celebrating birthdays this month! Your birthday cards are coming with the July Collection so be on the lookout.

Not a member yet?The original 200 spots for the Club’s July collection are reserved. I ordered extras, but there aren’t many, and the deadline to join for the July Collection is June 22nd. If you’ve been on the edge, this is the week to decide. Join the Club →

The Savoring Room 

I launched The Savoring Room this week, an exclusive section of the Banked & Balanced Substack. Two articles are already there: a deep guide for The Nester (The Nester’s Guide to Making Any Room Feel Like Yours) and one for The Sensualist (The Sensualist’s Guide to Building a Signature Scent Wardrobe).

These are long, slow reads written specifically for each type — the kind of piece you save for a morning when you actually have time to sit with something. If you know your Unbothered Type, you know which one to start with.

Rooted in Joy 🌻💋,

Latesha, Experience Curator
Banked & Balanced Club

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