Naturally Awesome!

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Tennessee Natural Hair and Wellness Expo. It was nothing short of exciting and amazing to see so many people come out to support the event. The vendors and workshops were great! Though I was only there a few hours, I met quite a few wonderful people that I can't wait to stay in touch with. I thought I would be able to cover the entire event in just one post but I'm going to have to break this down into a few parts. Bear with me as I get it all together. And special thanks to Alycia of All Day Natural and Elle of Beale Street Chic for asking me to cover the event. If you haven't checked out their blogs, GO NOW!!!

The first table I spotted was shared by Leah of Etniq Cosmetics and Nakia of Nakia Amour. These ladies are seriously holding it down in Little Rock. They are keeping all the ladies in their area rocking fab hair & flawless makeup. Surprise, surprise...the products are ALL NATURAL!

Leah's line of makeup includes all a girl could want! She carries an array of foundations, shadows, glosses, and blushes with colors for ladies of all complexions. As we chatted, she revealed her curiosity about makeup started because of her time as a dancer & having to wear it for performances. Couple that curiosity with her education in chemical engineering & training as an esthetician and VOILA! I absolutely love her story & gracious personality!

Nakia is the creator of a natural hair care products. Her line includes a pre-conditioning oil, leave-in conditioner, moisturizer and gel. She even has a black soap shampoo that also doubles as a facial wash! I loved that her product line is free of all the icky stuff like silicones and synthetics. A walking billboard for her own product line, her hair was gorgeous & healthy!

Make sure that you venture over to the ladies' websites and check out their products!

Don't we kinda look like long lost sisters!?!?

Stay tuned for part 2 of the happenings from the TN Natural Hair and Wellness Expo...

Teaser...

No time for a real post but I've got some great things in the works...

• I'm blogging & live tweeting from the TN Natural Hair Care & Wellness Expo tomorrow! Stay tuned for a detailed post on the festivities.
• I made it to the 2nd round of interviews for a new position! (Because of this, I have to complete a project by Monday. Eeek! I haven't finished but I have a solid start to it. I'm going to give it my all in some major power sessions this weekend.)
• I'll be featured on fellow curly girl's blog!
• I'm putting together the framework of my own Mastermind group which will start at the end of this month!

Now do you see why I haven't been updating this week? Catch you later!

Dabbling in a bit of everything!

I've been trying my hand at some DIY projects that I've spotted online. So far, all have been a success. One was so much of a success that I've been spending my free time making them for others. That being, none other than...zipper headbands! Random, I know! I'm not really sure where I saw them originally but I couldn't resist taking a stab at it. This now officially makes me a dorky, headband-wearing, crazy cat lady! I'm not too proud of the title but I look pretty good wearing it (the headband & title). And for shits & giggles, I decided to post photographic proof in the form of the ever popular car photoshoot. Luckily, I snapped this earlier in the day before my hair grew to epic proportions & started swallowing the headband whole. I thought you'd also appreciate that I was abiding by the law & wearing my seatbelt! Click it or Ticket, people! Not sure if you can tell but I'm wearing my newest Mac Plushglass in Oversexed...LOVE THIS COLOR!

I'm sure you want me to offer something of substance but I'm all whooped so I have nothing to really offer. EXCEPT for a great article that my co-worker/friend & reader of my blog posted to Facebook. Maybe it's just the current mood that I'm in but I wanted to scream "Hallelujah!" & high five anyone walking past my desk as I was reading the article! I confess that I have a difficult time conveying my feelings. I use way too many words & fly off into random stories that pop to mind as I relive the emotions. This particular article got about 97% of how I'd describe myself without confusing you with my high definition styled stories. Hopefully, you'll find a part of the article that resonates with you!

the initiated woman

Congratulations! If you stand on your tip toes, you can see the weekend!
Make the most of the rest of your week!

Your friendly neighborhood h4xx0r!!

Before you get alarmed & think I'm pushing illegal substances, "h4xx0r" is just a way of saying hacker! And by hacker, I really am friendly & just doing a few D.I.Y projects. If you know me then you know there are few accessories that I've come face-to-face with that I didn't like. Bad for me because I've run out of places to store my collection. I thought a no-buy would buy me time to solving this problem. NOPE! It's just turned me into a D.I.Y fool! In just a few projects I've saved myself about...brace yourself...$400!!! What can I say, I have expensive taste!

After church, I jumped in the Blue Bullet and headed over to Joann Fabrics to see what I could get into for the afternoon. So here's what I've been up to:

Hack #1 - Rope necklace

I first saw this D.I.Y done by Maegan of ...love Maegan a few months ago. At the time, I was too lazy to look for the supplies so, essentially, it was just another bookmark saved for no reason. I rediscovered her blog last month & decided I was going to go through with it this time. One minute, two curtain ties, one spool of ribbon & $8, I had a new necklace! It was so easy & cheap that I can see this being my staple necklace for the fall. (Sales alert: The curtain ties run $4.99 but are 40% off right now making them $2.99!)

Hack #2 - Feather Headband

This was an impromptu purchase while I was at the fabric store. It was inspired by a picture of Laura Izibor that I saw online earlier. (SN: F*ck Yeah Curls Curls Curls is an awesome site for curly inspiration. If you aren't a curly, this site will push you over the edge!) Headbands like this can range from a few dollars at Forever 21 to $$$ for designer ones. I was able to make this one for $5!! Not too shabby & it will surely distract from any bad hair day!

Hack #3 - Makeup Organizer

Over the past year or so, I've gotten into makeup. It's never been anything major just a few lipglosses, eyeshadow pans, and mascaras. Some kind of way, my small collection has expanded to a couple of highly disorganized makeup bags. I just couldn't take it any more so I made the step to fix that. I stole an idea from Sephora to organize my brushes, lip & eye liners and random other tools. The jars & sand cost me just $5. Yay for me!

What about the way you love me?

This past Friday, I got to see one of my favorite singers in the ENTIRE WORLD! No, I seriously ♥ him like no other! (Well...maybe a few others but that's neither here nor there.) By him, I elude to the one & only Reverend Al Green! He was a part a concert series here that we have called Live at the Garden. When I bough the tickets, I had no idea what a great show that was in store. The event was sold out & the most diverse audience that I'd ever seen. Because it's outside & you have to get there early to jockey for prime position on the lawn, I forgot to get pictures. Here are just a few that I snapped on my BlackBerry while baking to a crisp in this crazy summer heat!

Our concert "neighbors" were some guys that drove from Nashville & they brought ribs!

Discreet photo FAIL!

If you know me, you know I'm anemic & keep a mean sock game for my cold footsies! LOL

Summer concert survival kit!

I've been on a bangles kick lately...these are my favs all stacked together!

Sweaty, tired, frizzy-haired & ready for Al to hit the stage!

Happy Hump Day!!

P.S. If you're an Al Green fan, then you recognize this post title as lyrics from his song Simply Beautiful! ;D

Hey Good Lookin'...

To risk sounding conceited, I have to brag about how awesome my hair has been lately! I've been experimenting with a few different (and some old) products and techniques to see how I can change things up a bit. I've been very satisfied with the results. I've also started using more of the hair clips I have in my massive stash. I even added a couple of new additions...more on that later in this post! So here are a few shots of the moptop:

I'm pouting because it's super humid & I'm sweating like a race horse!

Here's a close-up of the cute flower clip that I recently bought from Alex of The "Good" Hair Blog. Check her out! She is so unbelievable cute & her curls is ADORABLE! She's got me back to my mixology roots. I'll definitely be stalking her Etsy store everyday & you should, too!

I had to throw in this picture that I snapped before church because this is my FIRST SUCCESSFUL braid-out since I have been curly! Every attempt ended in a tangled & dry mess. Today's results yielded very defined, luscious & springy curls! YAY ME!! My victory was short-lived because I was only out and about for church and breakfast with friends. Afterwards, I headed straight in to wash & deep condition. I'm hoping to mimic the same results for tomorrow as I could sure use more great hair days like this!

Bonus shot of how I keep my hair products & accessories organized

The world's most random side note: The good life is having smoked Gouda with crackers & apple juice...like I'm doing right now! *WIN*

To me, With Love!

Ever wake up, peel yourself from the bed, head to the bathroom, glance in the mirror and think "Damn, I'm a hardcore cutie!" I don't have those mornings very often but I did this morning! It could have been the true full-night of sleep that I got that made me delirious but I was really feeling myself this morning. Even in my scarf, I had a little Halle Berry going on! To commemorate this glorious moment, here's just a few things that I love about me:

1. I smile so much that my cheeks hurt some days! I have no earthly idea why I smile so hard but I do. I have tons of pictures growing up that are nothing but teeth and gums! It drove my mom crazy when school picture proofs came back but I thought I was fine as wine. Now that I have braces, my extreme smiling skills are a million times more noticeable but I'm still okay with it.
2. I absolutely love my eyes! There is nothing super spectacular about them other than they're brown. I have friends with far more exotic colored eyes but I like mine better. They really have depth which isn't something you see everyday. It took someone to point this out me and now I'm totally obsessed. It's like looking into an endless series of open doors!
3. My hair in completely unruly! Two years ago, I made the unpopular (amongst my friends & family) decision to grow out my relaxer & go natural. For a year, I wrestled with this unknown texture and finally I've found my mojo. I've been wearing it "out" since last June and know this was the way I was meant to be. I've endured my fair share of stares and snide remarks but I'm unfazed, at this point. There are days that it does what it wants and I'm just along for the ride. No matter what crazy contortion my curls are in, I LOVE IT!
4. I LOVE MUSIC! I have one of the most eclectic thirsts for music and it's all because of where I live. At four years old, I was going down on Beale Street with my grandparents to listen to live music. I can't imagine a Saturday morning without the sounds of BB King, Johnny Taylor or Al Green. Now, I must have music playing at all times. I'm nerdy in that I like to research newer songs to find out where the sample was taken from. No musician or genre is off limits for at least one listen. I've rarely met a beat that I couldn't dance to!
5. I'm a nerd (as previously stated)! No one ever wants to admit this because society puts beauty before brains. I'm 100% okay with admitting that I like to read. Plus, I'm single-handedly keeping Google in business. I hate not knowing things so I have apps like dictionary.com and thesaurus.com on my BlackBerry. Don't judge me! At the end of the day, a pretty face is nice but don't you want someone who knows the meaning to all the big words that you know? *smirk*
6. I abuse the use of exclamation points! It's because I'm a great storyteller and no story has ever been done justice with just the use of boring, old periods. A Facebook friend brought this to my attention and I couldn't help but snicker. Sometimes, I just can't help it!!