I grew up with Barbies and never questioned why they were all blond haired and blue eyed- I just knew they were pretty. But I still remember my first Spanish Barbie- she had black hair, tanned skin and brown eyes- just like me. I was too little at the time to know anything about race (besides all the colors of the children Jesus loved), but I knew I felt seen.
While everyone else was probably playing house with their dolls, mine were dressed to the nines and wielding the murder weapons from Clue. I grew up in the era of Charlies Angels, Wonder Woman, Scooby Doo and the Bionic Woman. My dolls played out scenarios where they fought crime and solved mysteries. They were smart and could fight- sometimes they’d get in fights with my brother’s GI Joe. I had a Ken doll too; but he was never part of the production until I watched the soaps one summer with my Grandma. After that, Ken got busted with a hussy (one of the Barbie knock off dolls) and the other real Barbies would gang up on him and run him out of town or drag him behind the pink Jeep (I can thank Bonanza for that).
Fast forward 40+ years and I’m still looking for women who look like me (my hair and skin color) because if they look good in their outfit- chances are that color and style will probably look good on me too! I also make a point to genuinely complement women- especially when I know they put a lot of time & effort into their hair, makeup & outfit. A complement from a woman, especially one you admire, is a precious gift.
A couple of years ago, my husband and I were in a little Irish pub in downtown Savanah where the college kids hung out. We were sitting at the bar and had a tall pretty bartender with magenta pink hair and a funky punk/ plaid/ straps and buckles outfit. She knew she looked good and every now and again would shimmy to the music-she knew how to work a crowd. After one too many shimmies right in front of us- I yelled “Hey!” and motioned for her to lean toward me.
She took a breath and steeled her face with a smirk and lifted eyebrows as she braced herself for whatever I was going to say. I did my best to whisper- but since it was a crowded bar- I kinda had to yell for her to hear me. She snapped her head back like she’d been slapped, tilted her head…then her face lit up like a Christmas tree!
I had whisper/yelled that I loved her pink hair and that it looked amazing on her. Tommie & I stayed for another hour before we called it a night. But for that hour, that young lady beamed when she came to check on us…and graciously kept her shimmies on the other end of the bar. Funny how women can connect so quickly- especially when we feel seen. That’s the true beauty of Girl Power.
Barbie #Girldinner by Melanie Knight
#girldinner has taken over social media with ladies posting pics of the random assortment of food items they eat instead of a traditional meal. While this has shocked many people, its par for the course for the rest of us. Sometimes you just want a little bit of everything- even if chocolate chips, guacamole, grapes and Goldfish don’t really go together- they do make a tasty lil’ dinner 😊. In honor of the new Barnie movie, the vibrant pink color really makes this motley crew of #girldinner snacks POP! I was surprised how pretty bowtie pasta is when its PINK. PRO TIP: make enough pink pasta to have it later with some alfredo for another Barbie Inspired dinner.
Ingredients
- 2 tsp pink gel food color (use each tsp separate)
- 2 cups Greek yogurt-plain (or sour cream)
- 1 pkg Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning
- 1 cup cauliflower- cut into bite size pieces
- 1 cup broccoli- cut into bite sized pieces
- 8 cocktail sticks
- 8 cooked bowtie pasta (dyed pink)
- 16 mozzarella pearls
- 8 fresh basil leaves
- 6 mozzarella and salami roll ups
- 8 slices of French baguette bread
- 2 oz cream cheese
- 4 slices of honey ham- cut into 8 hearts
8 Cocktails Sticks:
For the pink pasta- bring water to boil and add 1 tsp pink gel, then cook pasta as directed on package.
Assemble each stick with a mozzarella pearl- bowtie pasta-basil leaf-mozzarella pearl
8 Heart Bread Slices:
Top each bread slice with a layer of cream cheese and a ham heart
For the pink dip- mix the yogurt, 1 tsp of gel and the ranch seasoning.
Place the pink dip in a bowl in the center of you round board. Alternate the broccoli & cauliflower on one side of the board. Place the heart bread and mozzarella roll ups on the other side. Add a couple of pink flowers for color. Enjoy!
#barbie #girldinner #pink #snackingboard #charcuterie #barbietheme #barbiefood
