Napkins
Paper Cups
Paper Plates
Shower and Party Invitations
Celebrate in Color Review
Napkins
Paper Cups
Paper Plates
Shower and Party Invitations
Not-So-Skinny Chick in Skinny Jeans
And, what? Who says non-skinny girls can't wear skinny jeans? I say anyone can wear them if you get a style that fits and flatters. In fact, I've been wearing all flavors of The Rockstar Jeans from Old Navy, which are described by O.N. as "super-skinny". Here are the royal blue ones I wore for casual Friday at work.
Jeans (Old Navy)
Top (Merona/Target)
Geometric graphic scarf (eBay)
Mixed Chicks: A Non-Mixed Chick's Review
For the record, you don't have to be a "mixed chick" to use any of these. My hair is everything between 3a to 4a, depending on what part of my head you're looking at. What I like to say is that some people have combination skin, but I have combination hair. I had noticed Mixed Chicks products in Target before, and as an African-American woman I'm always intrigued by new lines targeting women-of-color. But I had never stopped to take a closer look until now. So the three items I picked up were the sulfate-free shampoo, the deep conditioner and the leave-in conditioner. (Can you tell I'm really into conditioning?)
Normally, I'm really iffy about shampoos. In fact, I only use "real" shampoo about once a month. Outside of that I use the co-poo method, in which you use conditioner to wash your hair. But, knowing that sulfates are the major problem with most shampoos, I was drawn to the sulfate-free shampoo by Mixed Chicks. My experience was that this works pretty well! I stepped into the shower with the bottle and lathered up. Afterwards, my hair felt fine. Maybe even a leetle moisturized, with some slip. That's important to me because I don't want my hair to ever be a knotted, tangled mess. Ever.
Next up was the deep conditioner. You know that when you "deep condition", it's going to take a little longer than just throwing in a regular conditioner. But when I applied the Mixed Chicks deep conditioner, it almost immediately detangled and softened my hair. I don't know if it "penetrated and reconstructed damaged areas" but my hair liked it and that was good enough for me. By the time I jumped back into the shower to wash it out I could tell that my hair had been well-conditioned.
Once the conditioner was rinsed out, I followed up with the leave-in conditioner. The best part about this product is that it does a great job of preparing your wet hair to be combed and/or styled. This is primarily why I use leave-in conditioners in the first place, so it was fine. Lots of you will like this product more than I did, since I felt it could have been a tiny bit more moisturizing. That said, the level of moisturizing I like for my hair would probably be too heavy for a lot of Mixed Chicks' target audience.
All in all, I got lots of volume with a good bit of frizz control. I seldom curl my hair to go to work, but these products inspired me and I think my hair is looking shinier than usual.
Mad Men or Office Rockabilly?
You make the call. We had dress-up day yesterday at the job so I decided to wear one of the vintage dresses I've collected over the years. You know, trying to take a page from the Mad Men playbook. But with my rock-mama, punky accessories, my outfit ended up looking like some "office rockabilly"(if that's a thing?). All I needed was a silk flower in my hair and some horn-rimmed glasses on the bridge of my nose. But I didn't have either of those so here's what happened.
Blazer (Old Navy)
Shoes (Fluevog)
Jewelry (Etsy)
Handbag (LM Designs)
I'm always getting asked about this handbag. I bought it from someone on Livejournal who really needed the money to pay some medical bills, but the tag inside says it's made by LM Designs. I don't know if the company has gone out of business or is still around in some capacity. But I can't seem to find a stitch of information about it online. No pun intended.
Beauty and the Sunscreen
So what should you look for when you're ready to buy a sunscreen? First of all, not all sunscreens are created equal. In fact, some barely live up to the name. But here's one thing all the experts agree on - an effective sunscreen must protect against both UVA and UVB rays. That's because while UVB rays get most of the blame for sunburn, both kinds of rays contribute to skin cancer.
I won't lie. As an African-American, I've had to go through a few tubes of sunscreen before I found ones that didn't mess with my sensitive skin or make me look like the white shadow. Much could be written about the challenge of finding an effective sunscreen for darker skin. But find one you must. Despite what you might have heard, people of all races can indeed develop skin cancer. VERY dark skin can have a natural SPF of about 13. (Don't be fooled, most of us do not have SPF 13 skin.) But dermatologists say you need an SPF of at least 15 to be protected. They recommend wearing sunscreen daily. But if you're going to spend any significant time outdoors, it's important to not only slather on sunscreen before you leave the house, but also to reapply it after a couple of hours.
My personal experience is that anyone with sensitive skin should avoid most sunscreens with the ingredients avobenzone or oxybenzone. I wore a sunscreen with these ingredients during a trip to the zoo on Father's Day and got an itch on my legs that is just now starting to fade. If you're a Sensitive Sally like me, don't do it. Unfortunately the chemicals avobenzone and oxybenzone are in most of the broad-spectrum sunscreens found in your neighborhood drugstores and grocery stores. If you're trying to avoid them, that leaves you with natural/mineral sunscreens. Natural suncreen contains zinc oxide or titanium dioxide (or both), which used to leave a slight white cast to the skin. But nowadays many companies have discovered ways to get those particles very small - not nano sized, but- small enough to wipe-out or dramatically cut down on the ghastly tinge. For now I like and use:
Jason Mineral Based Sun Block SPF 30+
COOLA Face SPF 30 Matte - Cucumber
BurnOut Eco-Sensitive Zinc Oxide Sunscreen SPF 32
Loving Naturals Clear Vegan SPF 30+ Sunscreen Non-Nano Zinc Oxide UVA/UVB 4.3 oz.
Aubrey Organics SPF 15 Saving Face
You can find more options on the EWG list and on similar sites on the internet.
But now it's your turn. Please sound off. Did I leave anything out? What is YOUR experience with sun exposure and sunscreen? Or lack of?? Do tell!
Blue Toes
To the reader who asked "What's your favorite pedicure color for spring and summer?" My answer: Turquoise! Oh, I'm always changing up and I'm sure it'll be something different down the road. But right now I'm loving my throwback "For Audrey" by China Glaze.
Review: Wedding Cake Vodka?
When I sipped it, my first thought was, "Yes. No doubt about it. It definitely tastes like a wedding." It was sweet, light, and fluffy, with a hint of vanilla and buttercream. I recommend it. It would be great with any of the less-sweet fruit juices, or with ingredients like blue curacao or grenadine. Once you have this as your base, odds are you'll be able to create something really yummy for your guests. I know, because I had a great time testing it out for you.
I'm told Wedding Cake will also be available in wedding favor sizes in the near future.
If you're interested in more information, visit Pearl Wedding Cake.
The Bonus of Doing It Yourself
Pinning and Pining
Yes, I've joined the rest of the world in pinning my favorite images on Pinterest. If you're over there, please stop by my little lemonade stand. I'm just getting started, but I'm planning on stirring up my own brand of visual ruckus alongside the mason jars and DIY goodness already found on that site. ;)
Adele on the Cover of Vogue
British singer Adele has always been known for her outspokeness and flawless style. Now, she is gracing the cover of the March 2012 edition of Vogue. I love what I've seen so far. What do you think?
Vintage Inspiration: Diahann Carroll
As the saying goes, trends may come and go but elegance never goes out of style. Take a look at these pictures of actress/singer Diahann Carroll in the fifties.
Birthday Tea Party, Anyone?
I love showing off creations by my talented readers. Take a look at the 100% edible (but-almost-too-pretty-to-eat!) pastries Utica Gray made for her daughter's 6th birthday tea party. 
This takes talent, folks. Have something you want to show off? Let us know!
Father-Daughter Surprise Dance Medley
Here's a great example of what you can do when you put your mind to it. Today's Youtube find has apparently been making the rounds for almost two months (even though we just spotted it this week on Yahoo). It's a great father-daughter dance number - with a twist! Take a look:
Awww, sure do miss my dad.
Halloween: The Saga
The office costume party sort of sneaked up on me this year. But I'm not going to run out to the mall in a panic. Nope, that was the old me. I'm thinking that with my quirky background, surely I already own more Halloween-y things than the average chick. So I'm going to "shop my closet" for the perfect pirate get-up. And if I need anything else, I'll make it with my own widdle hands. I've spent the last couple of days doing research on (OK, googling) female pirates and the one with the best swag in my opinion is whatever character Penelope Cruz played in that movie. 
I'd like my attire to be something like that, but a little more fancy. I've already started decorating a crushed velvet hat I bought a few years back and I've added a felt flower blossom to a plain eye-patch. I have a tiered lolita skirt, striped bloomers and some big lace-y shirts (one of them will surely work, right?). I think if I pile on enough seaworthy jewelry and accessories after that, I'll be all set.
Top left picture from Hostess with the Mostess
Just When You Think No One is Watching
WEEKS ago, the lovely Sabrina over at Pinkytopia gave me The Versatile Blogger Award for my work on Beautiful Brown Babies. I'm just getting around to blogging about it, and now that I'm finally back on the blogging bandwagon, I honestly think it means more to me at this time than it did when I first received it. I'm SO happy to be versatile. Many many thanks, Sabrina!!! I will be following the rules that accompany the award, which means sharing 7 things about myself. So here goes:
* I only eat the red skittles
* I love the beach
* Fall is my favorite season
* I like (slightly) burned popcorn
* I can’t draw to save my life
* I'm from the Deep South
* Music gets me through the work day
Thanks, again!
Happy Anniversary to the First Couple
Happy Anniversary to the President and the First Lady. Today marks 19 years of marriage for Michelle and Barack Obama. May they enjoy many more. Do you consider the Obamas an inspiration in your life?
Sayonara, August!
What a weird and wacky month. Exhaustion, earthquakes, hurricanes, and power outages. If I haven't been blogging as much as usual, it's because we've sort of been through the wringer. On top of that, my little one started Kindergarten on Monday and turned five on Tuesday. (Happy Birthday, Pumpkin!) His party is planned for Sunday, but everyone around us is so fatigued (is that a word?) it's hard to tell if anyone is going to show. We're going to make the best of it anyway, though. And do you know why? It's because in spite of all the weather/seismic/electrical activity, we're still here. Plugging away, barreling through, grinding it out, making headway. I don't know where we're going, but dammit we're getting there. As for you, August 2011. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.
A New Favorite
August is no time to get caught with dry skin, amirite? The higher temperatures mean we have to bare more, so we have to stay moisturized. Plus, it's just good grooming. I don't think I'm the only woman who has a choice of creams, lotions, salves, oils, and butters to slather on when she gets out of the shower. But recently my collection had been seriously lacking and I know from experience that having products you're excited about makes you more likely to actually use them. So I decided to buy one of the items I'd bookmarked on Etsy. It was the Whipped Satin Luxury Cream by PinkDandy. I had contacted the seller ahead of time to make sure the fragrance I wanted - OK Sugar - was available. She was friendly and very open to customizing my order in just about any way possible, which means a lot to a very picky person like me.
My order arrived a few days later, well-packaged and with a generous sample of a second body cream labelled "birthday cake". I dove right in to the full-size body cream and - what a treat! It was very thick, but also light and creamy. The scent was divine. It reminded me of Jones Cream Soda, but with the tiniest twist of lemon. Very crisp and summer-y. I will definitely be using this cream for the rest of the season and beyond. And as for the sample, it is entirely too yummy. Since the Birthday Cake scent layers well (see what I did there?) with the OK Sugar fragrance, I keep the sample on my desk at work for little touch ups throughout the day. Here's a picture of my little haul today at the office.
Mom Jeans?
We've been talking a lot about children's clothing recently. But what about clothes for mommies? Do any of the mothers out there get concerned about falling off the fashion chart? I will step up to say that I do. When I hear someone joking about "mom jeans" I usually laugh right along because I assume that I don't wear them. But over the weekend, it hit me: "What if I do wear them and I don't know?" After all, I have no idea what they would look like and I'm years behind in finding out, so there was at least a slim chance that I might be sporting these obviously offensive garments without my knowledge. And that would be horrible. So like any modern mom, I hit up Google images to make 100% sure I owned nothing resembling such rags. What I found was a hilarious Saturday Night Live video from a couple of years ago which featured a "new" product called Mom Jeans. Please enjoy.
Mom Jeans - watch more funny videos
Angel Secret Review
So, I was looking for a season-less blazer. If this year's Spring cleaning taught me anything it's that there is almost no point to having so many clothes that can only be worn for a few months out of the year. I was looking for something out of the ordinary and slightly punk-y when I spotted this plaid power-shoulder blazer at a store called Angel Secret
Don't worry - I had no intention of wearing it the same way as the model. That would be a bit much, even for me. No, I saw myself toning it down with a plain white shirt underneath, a well-worn denim skirt, and my strappy Aldo wedge thingees. I saw that the seller Angel Secret
I could definitely see myself buying again from Angel Secret
...and I'll have a review of it very soon. As you can probably tell I'm a hard core fan of blazers because they help me to get out of the door in a hurry. There are lots of mornings when I'll just throw on a pair of jeans, a random top and a blazer. Regardless of the season, the blazer pulls it all together. Do you have your own secrets for looking "pulled together" in a hurry? If so, please share! Also, where do you get your blazers? I'm always on the lookout.
