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Ariel C. Williams

@ariel_cwilliams

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writer. home cook. workshop instructor. words on @essence & @substack.

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You know how you make a stop to kill time before an appointment? Every time I do that at a retail store, I find the cutest things.

Last week I came across these items that need a little bit of TLC. I won’t be the one to fix them (girl, I’m unequipped in every sense of the word) but the vision is there.

These are my latest pictures of ‘Things I’d Fix If’ versus what I actually got. $4 analog media ftw.

Favorite piece? Favorite movie?

#thrift #thriftwithme #dvd by @ariel_cwilliams

Thank you, Ms. @terribaileychats. Almost a week later and I’m still buzzing from this two-day experience. It was a pleasure and an honor to be one of the “Let Me Tell You About the Skin I’m In” instructors. We NEED more opportunities to connect like this IRL! I miss this kinda thing and am ready to get back to work. 🥹❤️

To collaborators:

I would love to come to your neck of the woods! I am available to teach
workshops, host events, write + edit copy, and consult on special
projects (event + vendor management, ideation, strategy, etc.).

To readers:

Read my words on Substack @ arielcwilliams.substack.com.
Read my latest piece, “‘It’s a Gut Punch to Identity’: The Grief Black Women Carry When Work Disappears” on ESSENCE.com.

Xoxoxo 😘😘😘 by @ariel_cwilliams

So happy to announce our 1st two scholarship winners! @tiffany.donielle and @lapoetachina

There were at least two other women interested in a scholarship. I'm so sorry my age is setting in and I forgot who you are. Please inbox me if we've had that discussion or if you would like a scholarship. If we get another scholarship sponsor I will distribute them on a first come, first serve basis!

By the way, the fee has been cut in half! Sign up today! Link in bio. by @ariel_cwilliams

Ms. @terribaileychats is a special person who does a lot of special and interesting things. She’s gifted in getting people together and helping things come out of them. This workshop, where I, along with some dope women, am teaching is one of them, and I’m EXCITED!

We need your help, though! 🙏🏾

Collectively, we’re in need of 10 registrations so this event can still take place. Like every BLAAC + Terri Bailey event I’ve been to, this will be unforgettable. I’d love to have you in the room. Payment plans are available and reasonable.

This gathering centers women’s stories, creativity, and connection through guided writing, dialogue, and reflection. We’re calling women writers, 16+, of all writing skill levels to join in this Sisterhood of creatives. Come alone, bring your BFF, or register your whole group!

For more information, please contact @terribaileychats at the # on the flyer, by email, or here on IG. We hope to see y’all there. Xoxo 😘

#uf #ufgators🐊 #gainesville #gainesvillefl #writers #gogators #ufcame #artsinmedicine by @ariel_cwilliams

Grief. Job loss. 300K+ unemployed Black women in one year. Matriarchal love. Community.

That’s what I wrote about in this piece for @essence. It’s tender and personal, but I know this isn’t just my story. Many of the girls, including my friends @jheanellwestonberry and @trice_thecareernomad, have similar tales under different circumstances.

Do me a favor. Read this and let me know if you or anyone you know can relate. I’d love to hear back + keep this conversation going.

Xoxoxo 😘 by @ariel_cwilliams

For too many years, I wanted to “get something published” at @essence. That dream finally came true this week! My piece, “Not Asking For Much Is Costing Black Women More Than We Think,” is LIVE!

To everyone in my inbox and texts, thank you for reading and sharing with your friends. It means a lot. Real ones know how deep this dream runs for me.

Take a read if you haven’t, and let me know what you think. Am I writing again?! I think so. 🥹❤️

Link: essence.com/lifestyle/weathering-black-women/

Have you read it? 👀

#essencemagazine #freelancewriter #blackwomen by @ariel_cwilliams

One day Ima have a TV show about everything home, soul, and food. It’s gonna be a vibrant, colloquial experience with open mouthed laughs and knee slaps. Maybe I can use social media to get there. Let’s start with #thrifting.

#Goodwill on 34th had its grand re-opening ceremony today. They’ve got some gooooood stuff! $10 chairs, $80 dressers, an updated book collection—you name it, they have it.

I left all the furniture for y’all. Here are some things that caught my eye. I’ll put more in my Stories.

How do you feel about thrifting?

#thriftfinds #thriftstore #thrifted #resellercommunity | thrifted | thrifting | home decor | home goods | furniture by @ariel_cwilliams

It ain’t Tuesday, but we got tacos 🌮 and guacamole 🥑 on deck. I chopped up some hard taco shells and used em as tortilla chips for the guac and sour cream. Save a trip to the store and #UseWhatYouGotAtHome. by @ariel_cwilliams

When the initial shock of losing my ‘good job’ wore off in Q3 of 2023, a sadness so deep sat down inside of me. What I thought was grief about the job actually proved to be a silent grief I carried for years, suddenly oozing out of me. I missed my grandmamas—all of them— and wished their earthly guidance was present to help me navigate what felt like pure devastation. (The job was just one facet, ok. ‘23 was crazy.)

How could I still be sad about deaths that happened no sooner than a decade ago? Instead of focusing on that answer, I leaned into exercising the qualities I share with the matriarchs of my family like storytelling with food, song, art, plants, and homemaking.

My love for *doing* morphed into love letters to and from these women, giving me space to grieve, heal, and ask relatives questions about them, like who was she as a person? What did she value most? What might she have done with her life if she was born in a different era? Etc.

As I pose questions for them, I ask them of myself while doing.

This practice and a whoooole lot of prayer serve(d) as a saving grace I didn’t know I needed. I still cry from time to time but it’s different now—there’s real joy where unexplored sadness lived. For real joy.

So, yeah, I’m my grandmamas’ wildest dream and I love that for me. Thanks for reading this far. If you’re still here, lmk if you want to join my dinner party invitation list. I got some things to make.

Happy New Year 🎊

Grief | Job Loss | Homemaking | Cooking | Family | Arts & Crafts | Southern Women by @ariel_cwilliams

POV: You successfully wrap a client meeting and treat yourself to a homemade blueberry lemon scone!

My explore page is filled with women finding joy in the kitchen for the new year. You know that’s my vibe! I’ve baked something new almost every week for the past two months. This was my first time making #scones and it won’t be the last.

Wanna be baking friends?! 🫐🍋 Find some joy as well as you can. I’ll be in the kitchen.

#UseWhatYouGotAtHome #blueberryscones #baking #fromscratch #blueberrylemon #foodblogger by @ariel_cwilliams

There’s nothing like a good, hearty summer breakfast!

I scrambled two brown farm-grown eggs 🍳 with cheese 🧀, air fried two strips of bacon 🥓, and drizzled spring leaves 🥗with my homemade honey Dijon mustard vinaigrette. A jug of ice cold water and coffee from the French press made it a hit!

This has been my go-to breakfast lately and I enjoy it more each day. Give it a try and let me know how you *feel* afterwards.

#UseWhatYouGotAtHome
#breakfastideas
#saladforbreakfast
#summerbreakfast by @ariel_cwilliams

Macaroni and cheese. It’s one of my favorite things to make (and eat). This pan got devoured by family and friends last Thursday. I’d love to make a pan for your crew! DM me. 🤝🏾🙂 by @ariel_cwilliams