In Atlanta, Georgia’s popular Ponce City Market is home to a new community destination that goals to bring people along with a curated menu of coffee, light snacks and Black-owned alcohol brands.

Founded by restaurateur Kelsey Maynor, who co-owns Atlanta Breakfast Club and Le Petite Marche, and Shakirah DeMesier, a marketer and actor, Upper Room is a lounge and event space offering a various menu including coffees, teas, matcha, smoothies, freshly squeezed juices and a curated number of Black-owned wines and beers. On the food side, guests can enjoy snacks akin to white truffle parmesan popcorn and cold cuts, in addition to dishes akin to plantain patties, curry chicken salad and Caesar salad.

“We wanted to create a brand that would give exposure to our friends’ brands,” Maynor says . “Beverages and food are a culmination of the flavor profiles we like.”

The new café and bar, open from Wednesday to Sunday, has been created with the local community in mind, following the vision of the 2 founders “a vibrant paradise where people can come together to work, chill out and organize unforgettable events, making a true community bar space,” says Maynor.

In addition to coffee, tea, spirits and lightweight snacks, The Upper Room offers a spread of hands-on activities, providing customers with the chance to attach with friends and meet new people.

“We pride ourselves on bringing people together,” DeMesier says.

The cocktail menu features Black-owned spirits, featuring drinks akin to Dyl (Bayab gin, spiced pear liqueur, lemon juice, butterfly peas and St. Germaine) and Fall of Eden (Uncle Nearest whiskey, Mercier apple butter, cherry liqueur, and bitter). Every Friday, cocktail classes feature a wide range of Black-owned alcohol brands, akin to Reyalibre tequila and Uncle Nearest whiskey. Participants will learn concerning the history of the brand, shaking and mixing techniques, and create original cocktails using these alcohols.

During the autumn season, customers can participate in coffee cup classes where they find out about the various differences in coffee. The Upper Room can also be partnering with Linwood Court Candles at Citizen Supply for a candle-making class where you possibly can enjoy a two-cocktail drink special for $25.

Thanks to its floral and green style, the 16-seat bar with comfortable sofas will change into a house away from home for residents.

“You feel like you are in your favorite corner of the house or in the space where you stay in your grandmother’s living room. It’s a feeling of comfort,” DeMesier says. – You can sit down and stay for a while. It’s a friendly and open place.”

Candiace Dillard Bassett became a mother! Although the former “Real Housewives of Potomac” star’s delivery went well, she says postpartum is a special story.

On October 3, Dillard Bassett and her husband, Chris Bassett, welcomed their first child together, son Jett Maxwell Lee Bassett. However, just just a few days after giving birth, the latest mother recalls feeling paralyzed by pain.

“I started having terrible pain in my lower abdomen,” she said People Magazine. “It was so bad that I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t move, I couldn’t do anything. And it kept getting worse.”

By self-medicating with doses of ibuprofen and Tylenol every 4 hours, Dillard Bassett was in a position to relieve some of the pain, although she admits she still didn’t feel “normal.” Her symptoms eventually worsened and included a fever of as much as 30.0°C. The reality star began experiencing these symptoms while staying at Postpartum retreat in San, a physician-designed care program designed to support families of their postpartum recovery, including hands-on masterclasses on self- and child-care, mental health resources and more.

“I was on fire! And it went on for a week. I just couldn’t get it down,” Bassett explained, adding how the pain affected her breastfeeding. “(Breastfeeding) was really excruciating at first, it hurt a lot. And I know it often hurts at first as you adjust, but I was already dealing with so much pain that it made it that much worse. I wasn’t producing as much milk, I couldn’t pump. I was a mess.”

“I was really depressed because you have to understand: I couldn’t get up – I was literally stuck in bed, writhing in pain,” she continued. “I couldn’t take care of the baby. If I didn’t have a husband, me and my baby would be dead because I couldn’t do anything. I was lying like a literal vegetable, lying like a lump on a log.”

When I finally went to the doctor to handle my symptoms, a computed tomography (CAT) scan revealed a blood clot in my left ovary. Dillard Bassett says that after being prescribed blood thinners to treat blood clots, she began to feel a difference each physically and mentally inside every week.

“My depression is really gone and I’m much better now,” she said. “I can actually take care of Jett; cuddle him, take care of him, breastfeed him and actually be a mother,” she said.

This experience completely modified Dilliard Bassett’s perspective, helping her discover a deeper appreciation for her husband and mother.

“I always knew he was a great dad, but this really confirmed it for me,” she said of her husband, who has three children – Owen (22), Mateo (14) and Naia (10) – from two previous relationships. “Because Chris did almost everything. Most often he got up in the middle of the night. He held Jett and watched him. So I’m grateful I didn’t have to go through it alone.”

“I’m completely obsessed (with motherhood); It’s the whole lot I wanted and much more,” she concluded. “(But) I definitely have a newfound respect for what it takes to not only be a mom, but to be a very good mom; be a gift mom. My mother was really present. I’ve at all times felt it in my life. So I hope to be nearly as good a mom to Jett as she was to me.