Saturday, October 25, 2008

That's all folks




As you may have noticed by the declining frequency of posting on here, this blog has reached it's final day. It's not that I don't love this blog...I really do...but my life has shifted and I'm interested in musing on a different topic. If you would like to follow my take on young entrepreneurship, creativity, achieving an ideal life, DC happenings, and anything else that would inspire a lofty 20 year old female, then please, PLEASE, join me at my new blog http://www.passionfruitissweet.com . It's a more grown up, solo version of me. Thanks so much!!!

~Courtney


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Friday, July 11, 2008

My New Year Independence Day


With the cold weather setting in, the scenery growing bleak, and winter days steadily revoking daylight, it’s no wonder (perhaps under the influence of mild seasonal depression) that nearly every American pledges complete reform of their lives when the New Year rolls around in January. Conversely, when the weather is warm and life seems playful and grand, no one spends an inkling of time optimistically setting goals for their life come summer’s end. As a usual subscriber of the aforementioned philosophy, national holidays such as the Fourth of July usually don’t mean more to me than a day off from school and a free barbeque; however this holiday I spent some time seriously reflecting my own life choices and decided to gain my independence from mistakes in my past.

With the Fourth of July as my New Year, I’m determined to be a better person this go-round, which means seriously curbing some of my worst habits:

1. Poor money management
2. Extreme procrastination (of the self-sabotaging variety)
3. Little-to-no follow through with important contacts/professors
4. Extreme self-indulgence/low self-discipline

As a generally private person, it feels a little weird writing about my flaws for an infinite amount of strangers to read however; I think my tackling of these issues can provide a new framework for the topics I discuss on this blog. In other words, it’s likely you, the readers, might be going through some of the same things so it behooves me to dive a little deeper than the usual musings of hair and fashion. Make no mistake—there will always be insight on hair and fashion on this chunk of the internet, but now I’ve decided to include these topics as well:


~Personal Finance and Economics (stocks, savings plans, additional income ideas)
~Organization Ideas
~Reading Recommendations
~Whatever else suits my fancy

I’ve always been a little leery in discussion heavier topic on this blog because I’m young, thus I never exactly felt “qualified” to discuss things that seemed “bigger” than me. As a young Howard woman however; I am constantly growing and changing and I think it’d be a disservice to my own representation if I limited myself to just the lighthearted stuff.
So in a nutshell, it is my “New Year” resolution to be more as a person…expect see more on this blog.

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Monday, June 9, 2008

You Know We Loved It! Sex and the City: The Movie

It is no question that Sex and the City has become a cultural phenomenon for American women of all backgrounds and ages. The show ran its course during my mother’s tirade to ban everything she deemed “inappropriate” (which was somewhat justified after discovering my older brother’s affinity for late night, cable softcore…) so I never could get my SATC fix without being greeted by Comcast’s handy-dandy parental code block. College, however; was a whole new ballgame in terms of living on my own terms, so it wasn’t long before SATC, pizza for breakfast, and school-night sleepovers quickly crept their way to the top of my priority list. What started as late night hunting for random episodes to watch on Youtube, ended up as full out “Sex and the City Nights” complete with full seasons of SATC on DVD via the local Blockbuster, my closest friends via their respective dormitories, and our own crummy relationship stories to talk about all night via the Howard University dating scene. Needless to say, it didn’t take long before I was caught up on the comedic melodrama that is Carrie Bradshaw, and subsequently took a trip to NYC this past weekend to watch 6 years of HBO genius culminate before me on the big screen.

Sex and the City: The Movie was amazing*.

As Slate.com critic put it best, I had to see the movie “to know how the girls are doing, what's happened to them in the four years since I last joined them at brunch and what in the name of God they're wearing.” I found out all of that and more as “Big” drama ensued, but I’ll refrain from speaking on all of that as not to spoil the contents for anyone who has yet to see the silver screen’s biggest (female) orgasm. Instead, I’ll gush over the only other aspect of the show that placed the brand into epic female notoriety…the clothes!


With the haggard looks of Miranda a thing of the past, Samantha actually implementing the notion of tastefulness, Charlotte stepping out of the “stepford wife” look, and Carrie skyrocketing her Monolo Blanik savvy into the stratosphere…visually a buffet, the movie was a fashion addict’s cardiac arrest and arrival at heaven.

*UPDATE: I really didn't wish to comment on the plot of the movie, because (1) I was more preoccupied with the fashion and (2) I had complicated feelings about the actual message the movie sent out, even thought I ADORED the movie for what it was. Luckily, the folks over at the blog By The Way Betch... summarized how I felt about the movie to a tee. Check it out...



I really love this look. Always whimsical, Carrie takes an upscale approcah to casual chic with a leather, transitional colored brown, envelope clutch. Do you know how long it took me to find a vintage envelope clutch! Uh, I almost died when I saw this on screen...to be Carrie Bradshaw...



This is an amazing dress! This was actually Charlotte's bridesmaid dress, but I'd wear it to any formal event that'd have me...ooh, with red lipstick and a cobalt blue clutch...heaven!



Carrie and these shoes! I can't get enough! I love love love the gladiator heel trend sweeping the fashion scene right now, they make the bridges of your feet look amazing. For true working girls, I saw some similar one's at Nine West, but I still lust after the notion of being able to afford a designer pair one day...

From Sex and The C...


One of my favorite looks for the movie, Carrie pays homage to her signature flower fetish with this gorgeous and cutting edge white dress with my favorite shoes as described above. These scene is particularly cute because it shows the "new breed" of the female foresome in their versions of the "Carrie" outfit, passing the original Carrie on the street, only to fawn over her dress. I love it!

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Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Back Again (for the third time)

Okay…so it’s been over a month since we last posted. And over 3 months since we promised to quit are unannounced “vacations” from this blog. We know and we’re sorry. Between finishing final exams, starting our new jobs, getting acclimated to our new living situation, developing new business ideas, traveling on the weekends, finding new guys to date, paying parking tickets, taking out the garbage and heating up my ramen noodles (and oh, how I love chicken flavored ramen noodles)…things can get pretty hectic. Still, that is no excuse for alienating our readers, as we still need to find time to share all of the relevant (and irrelevant) information that got this blog its buzz in the first place. So we’re really going to try to keep this baby updated from here on out…

To express our profound sincerity, below is a peace offering for all of those who love ‘90s R&B, bamboo earrings, Dark n’ Lovely relaxer kits, Michael Jackson samples and good ol’ black girl vocals. Enjoy…



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Monday, April 14, 2008

Truely Inspired



The media often portrays the black family unit as disenfranchised. However, I am truly inspired by Obama's movement of hope and change. I am excited that Barack and Michelle Obama are breaking these stereotypes.

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Monday, March 31, 2008

Big @ss 'Fro

Since going natural, I have been slowly but surely making my way to "big @ss fro" status. My natural journey wasn't originally based on the desire of having one, but after pouring over endless pictures of women with majestically big, curly 'fros, I was dead set on having one myself.

While out shopping at the mall, I ran into this window display at that Gap:




My heart ached as I stood in the middle of the aisle-way, gazing upon foot after foot of curly afro hair behind the glass. "One day, that will be mine," I mouthed to myself. "One day..."
Well, the day isn't exactly here yet, but let's just say I'm making good on my promise:



Amal, on the other hand, has already reached "big @ss fro" status (damn her, but I'm not hating, lol):

Men (and my Mom) think we're crazy for having such a goal in the first place, but I know many women share our dedication because both Amal and I get stopped on the street about our hair constantly. It's not unusual for me to be scribbling shampoo and hair routine recommendations for a random stranger who had questions about my hair while riding on train. To achieve either my or Amal's hairstyle featured above, the secret is...(drum roll please)... a braid-out! Yes, Amal and I both have different textures and different lengths, but a braid-out gives us each our respective looks without much hassle. The key is to avoid using a blow dryer to stretch your 'fro out (or down), since such heat causes major damage and may inhibit growth towards big@ss'froness. Try our method for yourself instead:

  1. Wash and condition hair
  2. With damp hair, apply favorite moisturizer (mine is Elasta QP's Mango Butter), and plait hair into about 6-8 braids*, making sure to twist (not braid) the last inch or so of hair
  3. Let air-dry overnight (or sit under a hooded dryer if in a hurry)
  4. Wake up, take braids out, and enjoy a day of looser, curlier hair
  5. Before bed the next night, moisturize, plait hair in 5-6 fat braids, and leave the last inch or so completely unbraided
  6. Cover with a silk bonnet or scarf (or sleep on a satin pillowcase) and go to bed.
  7. Wake up the next morning, take braids out, pick and finger comb as desired, and enjoy a loose, crinkly, stretched out, big @ss 'fro!


*Remember to fashion your plaits in the direction you want your hair to go. If you want hair that hangs like Amal's, create a part and braid down. If you want hair that goes all round your head like mine, braid in all directions.

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Not Just For Sandwiches

Ever since I was little, I have hated mayonnaise of every variety. With the bland taste, extra creamy texture, extreme thickness, and egg by-product, mayonnaise was NEVER to see the inside of my hamburger buns. Strangely enough, however, it is because of those characteristics that I bought my first jar yesterday and used it for none other than my hair. Introducing: HAIR MAYONNAISE!!!



So I have to be real here; I have always been just as skeptical about hair mayonnaise as I was with the edible kind, and my hair has gotten along just fine up to this point without me having to use it. The problem surfaced when one day, I stumbled across Tracee Ellis Ross' hair care regimen (I know, angels began singing in my head too) and my product junkie jumped out. Lately I've been plagued by dry hair (my own fault really, I refuse to tie my hair up at night) and I was on my way to CVS to get my staple, Lustrasilk's Shea Butter Cholesterol Conditioner. To my dismay, the downtown CVS didn't have it in stock seeing as the "ethnic hair" section was minuscule. (See what happens when you don't go to CVSs in the 'hood?) They did however, carry Hair Mayonnaise, and instantly I had visions of Joan hair. I quickly grabbed a jar and headed home.

I proceeded to use the product as expected; I washed my hair, loaded the stuff on, brushed my hair with my fake Denman brush, braided it into plaits, piled my hair into a plastic bag, then sat around for about an hour and a half. I brushed and rinsed my hair out in the shower and the results were pretty amazing. My curls fell together so nicely, and each strand was smooth and strong to the touch. It felt so smooth and healthy, I felt too guilty to diffuse it and wear a "wash and go", so I plaited my hair wet, let it air dry overnight, and wore a braid out the next morning.

I still find mayonnaise pretty gross when ingesting it, but for hair? Well...bon appétit!



UPDATE: Upon further research, I've read and heard of people using regular food-grade mayonnaise with their own concocted oil blends for their hair. I am a huge kitchen chemist; chemical engineering is my major and both me and Amal are trying to launch our own hair product company. That said, I cannot see myself slapping Miracle Whip on my locks. I'm not knocking anyone who does, but I don't understand how one would remove the smell from their hair, and the thought of sticking my hand in a big ol' tub of Hellman's best utterly makes me cringe.

But, that just makes me a weirdo with a strong, unexplained aversion to mayo. For the rest of you, if you want to save money or simply just like creating your own stuff, here are some Youtube vids from Canadian Lioness on creating and using homemade hair mayonnaise. If anyone has any experience with this or extra tips, I'd love to hear your comments below.



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