et cetera with Bouge & Rouge

Met Gala, Coachella, that random b*tch's outfit over there at the bar... We're all judging the first impression from outfits to the whole vibe.

Most conversations you have out in the wild will eventually center around an art of expression. Whether you're talking about fashion, music, TV show, movie, book, a piece of art and so forth, you're usually hoping to bond with someone over something that speaks to you. Wh...

Oh look who it is... moi! After 2.5 years of a random and unexpected hiatus here, I am making yet (another) comeback. This time, I'm hopeful I'll stick around. 

Before we get into a myriad of much more interesting topics on the docket, I need to reintroduce myself and tell you all where I've been since end of 2022 and why the years have aged me like fine wine (hopefully? lol). 

Welcome back to Et Cetera, the fully deve...

In a mountain range, there are many peaks and valleys. In your life, you are also going to have many peaks and valleys. We are so driven by societal pressure to constantly be at our best that we forget to ask ourselves between the hustling: are we actually happy? Do these goals and paths make us feel fulfilled or purposeful? In this episode, I discuss the truth behind "peaking" in life and how we can easily continue to &q...

Six months later, she lives to tell the tales! In this extended episode, we are going to chat about everything that has happened since 2022 began and the entire backlog of emotional experiences I've been working through. ICYMI, yours truly filmed for a new dating reality show called Five Guys A Week airing Wednesdays on Lifetime at 10/9c starting July 13th. We'll be talking about the premise of the show and why I did it. ...

Your girl is finally (kind of) off vocal rest and back on the podcast! In today's episode, we talk about the one thing that impacted me the most in 2021: the ego. Hear about how this lovely third party caused fights with friends, manifested poorly in the workplace, and revealed deep-rooted issues in relationships. Listen closely for a few little Easter eggs I drop about what is in store for me as well ;) Don't forget to f...

With only one week of summer left, we gather again to reflect on the wild summer post-quarantine (sort of). This summer wasn't as... horny or wild as we all thought. I'm sure for some it probably was, but for most people it was just trying to re-calibrate back into society (as if it wasn't already hard enough before COVID). In this episode, I get a little more serious than the last one as we dive into everything chao...

Your girl is back and doing this a little differently today! You've asked for the tea, so I served you Long Island Iced Tea. In this extended episode, I share with you why I've been MIA for 4 months and all the drastic life changes that happened to me this spring. We chat about the hardships of saying goodbye and fears of the unknown hellos. Afterwards, we go in deep (literally) on all the details on my boy toys and the l...

There are two things that are always & forever: 1) the To All The Boys saga tugging at my heart strings 2) needing help with dating woes. In episode 17, I talk about the different phases you go through in dating. In this episode, we're going to talk about the highly requested topic of my top 5 lessons I learned from dating. Contrary to what you think, it's not going to be the typical BS like "If he wanted to, he ...

Tale as old as time, there's always the story of a beauty and the beast. But in modern times, the love story seems to be between their D and their m-f-ing audacity. The highly requested dating episode is here! Today we'll focus on dating off of apps from the big three red flags to look out for to the kind of guys you want to avoid matching with. Towards the end, I share a private anecdote about my recent hardships in love...

It's crazy just how much we still obsess over our image and reputation when we know what others see online or in passing are not accurate representations of who we are as individuals. As nice as it is to give someone a good impression, since when has the 60 second trailer accurately portrayed what happens in the movie? In this episode, we talk about how worrying about optics is fruitless because people will believe what they w...

Today we talk about conflicts in the workplace, with friends, with family, and when dealing with politics. While I don't go into the topics of this election, I use the conflicts that politics in 2020 have created as an example on how to manage conflicts in interpersonal relationships. As tough as fighting can be, conflicts often bring us growth and progress if dealt with maturely. It enables us to broaden our views and learn. ...

Raise your hand if you've ever been personally victimized by your own art self-sabotaging? In the second episode of season two, we catch up on what's been going on around me the last two weeks and about an exciting new project I am working on. Then, we explore the truth behind the art of self-sabotaging. Whether or not we want to admit it, we often sabotage out of fear of rejection or repeating trauma. However, this preve...

BIENVENUE TO SEASON TWO! Season one was cute and all, but I'm back and doing things a little differently this time. Let's be honest: polish is for my shoes and my 9-to-5 job, NOT for my creative platforms. In this season, you're going meet the real Erica, the one who burps so loud the room shakes, the one who soft smiles for the gram but bares her crooked smile when going off on a disrespectful prick, the one who is ...

Whoops, I'm like 6 weeks late here but we're finally at the season one finale episode! (Don't worry, because I took a long break I will launch season two very soon.) Today's episode is a shorter one. I update you on what's been going on in the last 2 months (apartment hunting, moving, switching work projects, personal and family events) and then dive into the 7 things I learned in this first chapter of my a...

**NOTE: This episode was recorded on SUNDAY, MAY 31, 2020 and my thoughts on the events up until that day. For my current stance, please visit the BLM highlights on my Instagram @bougeandrouge.** Today's episode was the hardest to record. After nearly 5 redos and 15 hours of labor, I'm still not sure I said everything perfectly. I hope that you allow me an hour of your time to hear my perspectives on the changes this year...

In today's short episode, I catch you guys up a little on what I've been doing this quarantine, the skills I'm trying to learn, and what new content I will be creating on my other platforms. After the usual chitchat, I share with you my Ten Commandments to living peacefully starting at 12:00. People who know me in real life often ask me how I stay stable despite the emotional turmoil I've gone through in life, s...

Drink every time I say "you know?" in this podcast... Sorry guys haha! Anyways, Lara Jean isn't the only one with lovers of the past! Quarantine is bringing out some of our subconscious thoughts or thoughts of the past that we may not have allocated the proper time and attention to. With time to ourselves to reflect and introspect, we can truly see that hindsight is 20/20. Everyone's journey to their life partne...

March Madness just took on a whole new meaning in 2020. In this special episode, I open the conversation on current events for the first time on the podcast. We are witnessing history repeat itself in new contexts. From the epicenter of the worst outbreak in the United States (and arguably eventually the western hemisphere), I come to you with a live depiction of life in New York City right now. COVID-19 has not only impacted a lar...