Food for Thought

TryThis weekend and this week has been a little bittersweet. I found out that my former co-worker passed away. I also found out that one of my present co-workers recently had a death in their family. While talking to this co-worker, he gave me an interesting piece of info. He said we are constantly performing. He said the world is one big stage, and we as people, are the actors. (Interesting concept). He was saying we act everyday, trying to impress others (be it our fam, our friends, a girl/guy, our bosses, etc.). He was saying perhaps the now deceased got tired of performing.
I am pondering the message, and I am wondering how it applies to me. *Just some food for thought

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Candid of the Day

This is a random shot of my co-worker. I like this picture a lot. It says so much about her personality. Sensual, mysterious, and full of wonder. What do you think?

Shout Outs

Shout Out to my home girl and friend in fashion, Shahidah. Today is her birthday but not really. She was born on February 29th so that's not here nor there. Because it's her birthday we did an impromptu photo shoot that involved a window, doors, fire extinguisher and some old papers. Of course I am a novice. I am trying to get better at taking pictures so the more I study the better I will be. Oh yes I forgot to say that she is a make-up artist. That in itself is very cool. I had ideas of doing that as well but time is never on my side. Good luck Shahidah in your endeavors. You can follow her blog also at http://socialbutterflyflying.blogspot.com/

Those damn papers

Cute

Love this

The Mrs. and Mr.

She feeling herself. LOL

Outfit of the Day

Good morning. It's a Monday just an ordinary day at work which means I'm bored. So like most bored people why not use this time to write, find interesting videos and eventually do homework. I have long day ahead of me. I might even take a nap because that's how long I'm talking about. Today's outfit is simple. Jeggings that are too big, a red and white striped shirt that I finally wore after it being in my closet since last year, a cranberry cardigan, and a brown skinny belt. I finished the look with my vintage ox blood boots.

Bantu Knots

Ox blood boots

Hair-do of the day

I guess the Bantu knot outs are really working for me. I am kind of into how BIG my hair becomes and the attention I get from it. Not to mention I am embracing my fierce. It has taken me a while to get it together with my hair so I am happy I can sport it naturally and not always reach for a hat.

Whoopsie-Daisy

Good evening! So, courtesy of Concreteloop, I found out that Musiq Soulchild has joined the list of celebs who have embarrassingly bust their ass on stage. Nevertheless, Musiq Soulchild also did as Aaliyah once said-- dustin himself off and tryin again! The show must go on!

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Oh No, He didn't!!!

I was over at Necole Bitchie and found this picture of my beloved, Chris Brown. My feelings are so hurt right now. What do to you think?

Sight of the Day

While I was on my way to school, I saw this ad:

It reads: He told his last baby momma he'd stay with her too. Be a kid don't have one.

I couldn't help but take out my camera and take a picture of it because it was so strong in tone or at least I read it that way. I read it as girls get caught up in believing what these little boys are saying and not thinking about the consequences of having a child. I guess this is DC's way of creating a scare tactic among teens to not have sex. I thought to myself, "Damn that's deep" but then I came across another issue. While trying to find these ads online to have a better idea of what people thought about them, I came across a comment that made me think. On the TBD website, BJ Christine stated, "Ummm, why are all these kids black? No other race lives in DC or has a problem with teen pregnancy? Nice." The sarcasm hit home for me. African Americans are not the only ones having issues with teen pregnancy but we are the only ones targeted for itin these ads. Is that giving the go-ahead to all the other races that are having this issue? What happened to equality and having an equal representation of the people advertisers are targeting?

Bantu Knot Tutorial

Good afternoon lovelies. It's a wonderful day in DC. The weather is amazing and I'm feeling very happy go lucky if I must say. I had a request from a friend to have a tutorial on Bantu knots. I for one am not a professional at trying out new styles and practice makes perfect. I learned how to do bantu knots from Naptural85 on youtube. When I found that I could learn how to style my hair on youtube, the rest became history. I have been trying bantu knots for what seems like 2 weeks now and I enjoy doing them. They are quick, easy and dry very fast.

The necessities: Spray bottle, Shea Moisture, Coconut Oil

When I do my knots, I usually use dry hair. The drier my hair is the better because I can use my spritz (water & conditioner) to moisten, treat it with Shea Moisture Deep Treatment Masque, and lock in moisture with coconut oil.

To start, I part my hair in four sections. The parts I make are in an "X" form so that there is hair in the front. back and sides rather that making a cross in my scalp that allows for front and back sections on both sides. After I part, I pin up the sections and start to work on one of them. I spritz the section enough to dampen my hair lightly and detangle with a wide toothed comb. After the detangling, I use Shea Moisture products, either the Curling Smoothie or the Shea Butter mixture. To lock in the moisture I used Jasmine Coconut Oil and two-strand twist my hair to do the same to the other sections.

When my hair is fully prepped, I take one section and part it into two. Pin up one of the sections because you will be using the other. Part this section into two as well and start to flat twist from the root of your hair to the ends. The flat twist should resemble a cornrow once you are finished. The flat twist that you created, take the ends and twist them into a ball and use the end of the hair to secure it. Apply some oil sheen, wrap hair up and sleep with a satin bonnet.

In the morning take out the twists. The method I used is to twist hair around your index finger in the opposite way that it was twisted. When you get to the part of your hair that is closer to the scalp finger the strands apart to release the curl. Do this around the whole head and you are finished. Style at your own discretion.

Carly's first bantu knot out

Lunch Goodies

Timothy Bloom

This man here, Honey chile just did a D'Angelo move and went butt-ass naked and made a video. I had to watch the video because I heard that his single "Til the End of Time" was the new it. So I watched it and was intrigued by the nakeness. Call me what you want but that lady he is in the video with is gorgeous and has a cakey aka large ass cakes.



Timothy Bloom - 'Til The End Of Time
Uploaded by UniversalMusicGroup. - Explore more music videos.

She's BAAAAACK!!!!!

[source]

I was extremely excited to see that the woman I began to idolize and admire has come back to the blogsphere. Mop Top Maven aka Nikole Crowe, has been the love of my life since I started reading her blog last year. She was also one of my first followers on twitter which started this whole hair craze. There was so much that she was able to do on one blog that I couldn't dream of doing. Carly and I are STRONG Mop Top followers because what she does on her site is fresh. After learning so much about hair, nails, hair styling and the works, I became a Mop Top Stan. Even to the point that I was selfish when she didn't post for the long awaited month due to her health. I was so overjoyed to see a post by her on Tuesday, I didn't know what to do with myself. I guess this is to say, Mop Top if you ever read this, I wish you a speedy recovery (selfish again?). I missed ya :)

Good morning

Good morning everyone. I hope you all are doing well in this weather. It's a little dreary outside and I'm feeling the want to post something a little different. Yesterday while at work, I had a Professional Development (PD) workshop with my collegues about creativity. Normally, I consider myself a very creative person but at this time, I feel like I lack motivation and often focus. I have a way of looking at myself in a lot of varying ways. I am jack of all trades and a master of none essentially. I haven't exactly found that niche that I need as far as considering myself an artist but I dibble and dabble into a lot of different things.

I have an extreme love for the Arts. I have always been the artist of my home and was encouraged by a teacher in second grade to continue this skill. I had a scholarship to one of the top art afterschool programs in New York. From that exposure, I was able to learn ceramics, jewelry making, and sculpting. I was very cultured if I say so myself. My main bitch was and still is dance. I don't know where I would be without dance. There was so much more I could express with dance. Paper and brushes seemed so concrete and dance was more abstract. I know I sound like a nerd with all these terms but I guess the moral of the story is to figure out what completes you and just do it. There are plenty of times I wish I could get up and perform for people and travel all over the world but that is not my reality at this moment.

The PD however had my mind open to the possibilies. The instructor gave us a few activites to try out and I really enjoyed one in particular. He gave us three pictures that had nothing to do with each other and had us create a creative writing piece incorporating all objects.

Mine went as followed:

     One day as I was driving my vintage Chevy, I came across a funeral. Throughout the sobs, I could see a beautiful array of flowers. So many bright colors. It made me think of Louisiana which was hit like a wooly mammoth with such devastating circumstances. I could only think of life. The joy of being in the present. Making a moment, painting vivid pictures of streams of light that danced in front of my eyes. Thorughout the sorrow, all I could do was smile.
     I kept driving until I reached a cliff. I accelerated and closed my eyes as I shook free from my seatbelt and floated throughout the sky. My wings lifted me higher as I began to fly over my purple mountains majesty. Throughout my travels I could only help but ponder what was beyond the stars and clouds.

Looking at this piece made me think I didn't lose my creativity, it was just hindered some. I need to get back into writing and doing the things I loved. The speaker also said that by doing this piece, it tells a lot about who your are as a person or who you may be at the time. What does this say about me?

Good Read!

Today, I enlightened myself with some reading. I opted for Dante Moore's The Re-Education of the Female. It was a good read-- a page-turner, if I may say so myself! I enjoyed the comedy, the straight-forward, in-your-face, approach. It wasn't what I expected ( I shouldn't have judged the book by its cover), but it was great and ended well.
After reading this book, I can honestly say that I am thinking. I am taking the book in. One thing is certain, if it doesn't enlighten, it damn sure entertains! (I was crackin' myself up. With that said, I encourage others to read Mr. Moore's book. (I won't give a book review... just read the book!)

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Outfits of the Past

Last week was very hectic for me. I am a very strong believer in procrastination and like always it catches up and whips my ass. Last Thursday and Friday were wonderful days and I had to shed some layers and show a little skin. I was so overly excited to bring out my bright colors because this winter has been such a drag. The only seasons that I look forward to are Spring and Summer (sorry Fall and Winter). The ending of the week also happened to be great hair days for me as well. I tried the bantu knot out and finally had sucess at trying to figure out how to wear it and not being ashamed of allowing my hair free. At first I thought I could feel people's eyes watching me and staring at my hair but I got comments from people saying that I should wear my hair like that more often.

Thursday, I decided to wear an outfit that has been sitting in my closet collecting dust because I did not have the right weather to wear with it. I wore a gray/purple/mustard yellow floral skirt, mustard long sleeved top and my gray moccassins to match.

Better hair day

Skirt

Shoes





Friday, was the hottest day of the week and I had to show out. I think I made a very great decision by putting on a dress. I had on a floral dress that I never wore and tricked it out by wearing a tan wool blazer to protect me from the night winds. I wore vintage tan boots that I wore to work but did not keep on because I had to walk all over the world.



I absolutely love my hair like this.



Evening Goodies

Feast your eyes on this hunk of man. I was over at Fashion Bomb and saw this man on one of their posts. I googled him and this image came up. I had to put him up here. This just makes me think about what it would be like to have someone to come home to. (Wipes forehead) LAWD!!!

All the Lights

Kanye West ft. Rihanna - All Of The Lights (Official Music)
Uploaded by ChaOko_01. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

Seriously, I don't know what to think of this video. For one my damn eyes are killing me. So many colors or should I say the "lights". Secondly, I never understood why Rihanna who was caught up in a domestic violence case would want to sing on a song about slapping people up. I guess that was the genius of Kanye trying to poke fun at what goes on in the media.

Stupid Snow

Soooo all that Spring weather we felt last week was just a front! This week, it decides to snow (or shall I say dust). And to think, people actually believed there would be at least 3 inches. Smh. Anyhow, winter, we are through with you! Spring, please come full-force! That is all!

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Spring Already?

Today's weather is magnificent! Feels like Springtime already. I can truly get used to this! If this is a preview of our Spring and Summer, bring it on! To feel comfy today, I brought out my spring colors, lavender and khaki (with lavender nails to match)... Tomorrow's weather supposed to be wondeful to, so I know people will have it up! Enjoy your day wonderful people!

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Cee-lo Green: The Game Killer

 
I FUCKING LOVE CEE-LO. This video takes it up another notch for me.

Morning Goodies

I cannot help but to keep thinking of Chris Brown. It's becoming a little obsessive because he is really bringing it this year. I think I listened to him belt out "Yesterday" about 10 times on my way to work this morning. He is very fascinating, I guess cause he's the whole package. Certain celebrities you don't get to know about but through Mechanical Dummy, I feel that Mr. Brown and I are connected.

Outfit of the Day

A better bantu knot out

Good morning. Today happens to be a very glorious day. So far it started off well. I took out my bantu knots that I learned how to do from a youtube tutorial and they are pretty cute. I look like a little girl. I added a black barrette for a little more sass on the right side of my head. Today's outfit is very plain and simple. Green and black. I have on a green and black striped sweater with army green tight fitting cargo pants. I also have on my "military" boots that I had my pants tucked into earlier but I decided to pull the pants out of the boot. I hope everyone has a great day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cargos and boots

A better view

Love Faces

TREY SONGZ : LOVE FACES (2011)
Uploaded by artemis181. - Explore more music videos.

The newness from Trey Songz

Outfit of the Day

Excuse the boobs. I wore a scarf over them all day

Today was more of a blah day. I tried Bantu knots one more time with a little help from youtube tutorials. I was really excited that I jumped up took a shower and started on what I saw in the video. I took my ass to sleep and woke up later than usual. To prevent me from being late for work,I found the first thing I saw and put it on. I have on a brown dress, black tights and brown shoes (cues Doo-doo brown by Luke) LOL. On top of that I have a damn scarf on my head because I didn't even have enough time to undo my hair. So on top of my scarf is a knitted beret.I will try to take the hair down tomorrow.

The scarf

Meera Conditioning

Jamila Henna, Neem Oil, and Meera

I am a strong advocate for Indian hair products due to the great results of my henna job six weeks ago. Since then I have not been able to stop putting my fingers through my hair. I love how my curls are a lot more defined then they once were. In between the time that I am waiting to do another henna treatment, I do other treatments that work on dandruff or strengthening the bonds of my hair. While in New York, at my Indian store, I decided to pick up a lot of the products and try them all. Meera, is a conditioning powder that had my hair smelling like Beef Ramen Noodles. In order to make my mix I used:

1/2 of the Meera mix

1/4 cup of water

1/4 cup of conditioner ( I used Twisted Sista De-Frizz Conditioner)

1 tablespoon of Neem Oil (controls dandruff)

In an metal bowl I mixed all the contents together and it looked like cake batter.

Hair prior to conditioning

Four sections with treatment in hair

Texture

After that I sectioned my hair into four and applied the mixture evenly throughout each section of my hair. I kept the mixture in my hair for as long as one would for a deep conditioning. I would recommend 30 minutes but I left mine in for about three hours as I did errands throughout my house.

Bantu Knots

When I washed my hair it was very easy to manage as I detangled it. After I detangled, I bantu knotted it and topped it off with a satin bonnet before going to sleep.

Finally, the DMV Natural Meet-up

Saturday, was an extremely exciting time for Carly and I. We woke up early and had a little mishap.LOL but all in all it was a wonderful day. We started our day a little late but what can you expect when you have a toilet in your tub? Needless to say we had an emergency that I can't exactly talk about but it was a lesson LEARNED.

We had took the train to Branch Avenue and were waiting on the bus to get us to the harbor. Before exiting the station, we could see there two men at the exit of the train station. As Carly filled her Smartrip we could hear this man's conversation to someone else on the phone. Profanities filled the air. "You'se a bitch ass nigga. I been waiting here since 10am" (mind you it was like 12:30pm). What made it so bad is that he had a damn tantrum. It sounded as if he had tourette syndrome. He was screaming at the top his lungs into a damn phone. I was very alarmed and grabbed Carly so we could stand outside in the cold ass wind to wait for the bus. We walked to the bus stop and could see the man moving in and out the gate where people usually hop to get on the train. He slammed the shit out of the gate going in and out and had some words for the Metro workers in the booth. "You'se a faggot ass nigga. Come out here then. Shut the fuck up BITCH." In my head I was thinking "Damn, this nigga going in!!!", so Carly and I ran back to the station to see what the fuss was. When we got to where we had a better view, a Metro employee (male) came out the booth with a fire extinguisher. After him came another Metro employee (female) who acted as a diversion. While the abuser was talking to the woman, the other Metro employee hit him with the DAMN FIRE EXTINGUISHER and ruffed him up against the farecard machine.In between their little scuffle, the abuser was able to pick up a large plastic yellow cone and throw it at the male employee. My little heart was racing at that time and I could see out the corner of my eye the bus was coming so I grabbed Carly and we ran. YES, call me what you want, I fled that damn scene. I didn't want anything to happen out of my damn control.LOL.

Look at her hair. Its gorgeous. Bantu knot out

So finally, we are on the bus toward the National Harbor. We soon get off the bus and try to find the Cadillac Ranch. As we walk in we are greeted by the hostess and we tell her that we are looking for the Naturals meet-up. She points to a long ass table in the back of the restaurant filled with women of all shapes, and sizes with natural hair. Since we were late we had to sit at a separate table from the group. At our table were four other ladies from the area.We talked about products and why we decided to go natural. We talked about regimes, styling tips, and our quest to have healthy hair in the new year. Carly and I were very excited, wrote down a lot of notes and stared at the many textures and styles that filled the establishment. After many of the women ate, we went upstairs to have a product swap and draw raffle tickets. Two of the ladies that sat with us had won items ranging from a soy candle to hair products. Though we did not bring anything to swap with, we were able to take some items that others did not want. The items ranged from henna to Knot Today products. Overall it was a great time, we met a lot of women we could identify with and to top it off we had Georgetown Cupcakes. To end our day we went to Ketchup restaurant to have lunch.

Big Chop (BC)

Carly and I

Group Pic

Loved her two-strand twists. They were so neat. Her homegirl had a lovely afro

Chunky twist out

Carly and her cupcake

I love her texture.

Twist out