*Gasp* A Book Post!

I used to have 2 blogs. I decided to consolidate them and just use one because I had a hard enough time keeping one blog updated & posting to it regularly...Lord knows I was totally unsuccessful with trying to maintain two.  My second blog was totally devoted to books and the musicals I went to see. Although I haven't been to a lot of musicals lately, I'm an avid reader, therefore books are still being read.

So I figured I'd dedicate a few posts to my reading and try to include a book/arts post at least once a month. We'll see how that goes, but here's one for July. LOL.

This post: Favorite books by my most read authors.  I can't really say favorite authors because that's like trying to pick your favorite aunt or uncle.  Each is great and caters to a subject matter that I enjoy reading about. 

Oh wait! Before I get to that, I have to say that I'm totally about to become a sheep.  There are people who are posting the books they have read by authors on FB and tagging the authors in the pics.  I must admit that when the trend first began, I didn't like it. But...I've become a sheep and shall totally be posting pics of the print books that I own that are written by my FB authors-friends.  I can't take a pic of the listings on my Kindle, and even if I could, that would be over the top.

So, back to the list. In no particular order:..except for #1. It truly is one of my favorite stories...I've bought it 3x and it is why I don't let folks borrow my books anymore.

1.) Kindred by Octavia Butler
2.) The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright (read in 3rd grade..still remember it)
3.) Joy by Victoria Christopher Murray
4.) The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
5.) Trouble Don't Last Always by Francis Ray
6.) Here and Now by Kimberla Lawson Roby
7.) Joplin's Ghost by Tananarive Due
8.) God Don't Like Ugly by Mary Monroe
9.) A Mighty Love by Anita Doreen Diggs
10.) Shades of Jade by Gloria Mallette
11.)Bliss by Gabrielle Pina
12.) The Warmest December by Bernice McFadden
13.) The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
14.) The Warded Man by Peter Brett
15.) The Ties That Bind by Brenda Jackson
16.) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K Rowling
17.) Petals on the Wind by V.C. Andrews
18.) Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon
19.) Afterburn by Zane
20.) Loose Lips by Teresa McClain-Watson
21.) Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
22.) A Long Way From Home by Connie Briscoe
23.)  And Then You Die by Iris Johnansen

I'm going to stop here  because I'm trying to go off the top of my head and am running out of titles. I only want to include what I can immediately remember without referring to my bookshelf or library archive account. Now, while this is a listing of some favorites, if any of these novels are parts of a series...I've read the whole series...You should too.

Go read a book! :)

TTFN!!

Mini-Vacation Haul

OK, those who know me know that one of the things I love to do when I make my NC visits to my family is go shopping. That is my down time. I can go through the stores and just...enjoy what they have to offer. The stores I go to there are not any different than the stores I have available to me at home. Truth be told, there's only one store I go to that is not available where I live. But when I am out of town, away from work and commitments at home (except for the Buffinator), I have the time to drive around and do a little shopping without feeling like I have to rush this place or that to do one thing or another...I'm sure many of you understand.

So, where did I do most of my shopping on this trip? Home Goods.  Now, there is a HG in my city...in fact, there are two. However they are too far away and they really suck for the things I would be looking for when I make the trips there.  When I'm home, I mostly do what would be my HG shopping at Marshall's and sometimes Ross. But mostly Marshall's. Ross is my dress heaven. The other two places I went to were Trader Joe's and an accessory store called Versona.  There's a TJ in my city too...but its out there with HG...and I'm not driving that far in all that traffic for a trip to the grocery store.

Any of you who have shopped at HG, Marshall's TJ Maxx or Ross know that this line of stores is the place to go for very reasonably priced, damn near cheap, decor, kitchen appliances/tools and specialty spices.  Seriously...my spice cabinet runneth over from the many trips I make to Marshall's alone. As often as I say "I'm not going to get another spice blend until I have made a dent in what I have at home," I walk out of the store with another spice, or marinade, or salad dressing, or oil blend....its really a bad habit.

So, here's my swag from my trip to Charlotte:

This is from my trip to Home Goods. This isn't all I bought, but its what I've been looking out for that I haven't found at my local Marshall's. Only one thing was over $10, I think. Even the pastas were $4 & $5 each. LOVELY!


Seriously...$8. I've been looking for one for a while. Now I have it to make my guac and grind whole spices.



I've been looking for one of these for a while. Rachael Ray uses them a lot to transfer food from the cutting board to the pan. $3 later, no more sneak treats for Buffy!



I don't know why this flipped back to the side, but I'm done w/picture editing...I have a candle problem. This smells heavenly. Bought two.

And this one



Yeah, so much for no more spices and stuff...
The preserves were bought just because of the "Habanero." It better be spicy!
Will post how I use it when I use it.
The dressing to the right is a vidalia onion & tomato dressing....HEAVENLY!!!! Good Lord its slamming!



More coffee. I love coconut and I love chocolate. This was in the aisle that taunts you and you are making your way in line to the register...gets me every time. But the one in the grocery store I can always ignore.

I had to get this. I love the different size & style pastas you can find at these stores and this is that egg pasta that they use on Food Network all the time and I always say "I have never seen that kind of egg noodle."
Seen and bought!



More pasta. Roasted red pepper fettuccine



More neat shaped pasta.

Super soft, cushy throw...$12.99

Flax seed gel is on the way!

And then we have the Trader Joe's run. I FINALLY bought the shampoo and conditioner that people have been raving about and I bought their one with rosemary also..just because I love rosemary. No captions needed, but dang folks, if they are as good for me as they have been for others, when I go back to Charlotte for the holidays, I'm loading up something serious! $3 a pop is an awesome deal.



 So that's it. I haven't taken pics of the jewelry I bought from Versona. Some of them are gifts, so posting spoils the surprise. So we're going to wait on that. 

TTFN!

Bath and Body Works Semi-Annual Sale

Oh my goodness! I told myself that I would not go overboard for this semi-annual sale because I still have PLENTY of products from the last one. I probably have enough from the last sale to make it through 2014 if I don't gift any of it. But, of course, being the person that I am, I couldn't let the sale go by and not buy anything.

Not buying anything turned into buying a lot of things! First of all, the lesson I learned this year: SHOP ONLINE!!!!! I don't know why I didn't know this already. I mean, I lived and read off of Amazon.com my entire college career and a few years after that because that was really the only way I could afford to buy books. But I have never done the BBW SA Sale online before this year.  What made me decide to do it? The sale started a day early online! So I told myself I would get in, get out and no one (like my pocketbook) would get hurt. I lied. LOL. My favorite fragrance was available online, but was not in the store at all and it was discontinued about 3 years ago. So I bought a lot of that.  Then one of my favorite hand soap scents was brought back online and in the store. So I bought a lot of that. Then I found another discontinued fragrance that I'd totally forgotten about and it was heaven way back when. So I bought a lot of that.

I take it you see the pattern folks.

Add to that the wallflower scents (because all that Cinnamon and Clove Bud I bought last year was a bust! I'll only buy the oil for the diffuser from here on out because the wallflowers do not give off enough of a scent to make a difference to the aromatic ambiance of my house) and you get another SA sale with a lot of products. I'm not complaining though. LOL. I'll stay away from the one in December...

Yeah right.

So, here's a listing of what I got. I'll keep the quantities to myself.

Body Lotions
Brown Sugar and Fig (discontinued, online only)
Juniper Breeze (discontinued, online only)
Cool Citrus Basil (discontinued, online only)
Aruba Coconut
Rio Rumberry
Mali Mango
True Blue Spa monoi oil lotion


Shower Gels
Brown Sugar and Fig (discontinued, online only)
Juniper Breeze (discontinued, online only)
Cool Citrus Basil (discontinued, online only)
Mali Mango
True Blue Spa Shea butter shower cream

Hand Soaps (foams and gels)
Fresh Lime Basil
Apple Lavender
Eucalyptus Mint
Aqua Blossom
Strawberry Basil
Wildberry Dahlia
Mango Mai Tai
Paradise Coconut

Wallflowers
Caribbean Escape
Market Peach
Cool Citrus Basil (discontinued, online only)
Clean Mist
Fresh Linen
Brilliant Citrus
Pineapple Orchid
Pink Sangria

If you notice the trend, you can tell that I love the basil scents. What can I say, basil & rosemary are my two most favorite herbs..I go overboard.

Of course, you don't have to go this far overboard on the sale, but if I had some restraint, I seriously could go a solid 2 years, at least, without buying shower gel or lotion. The only thing I would have to purchase on the next sale would be the hand soaps because I wash my hands a LOT.

But like I said...that would be if I had some restraint.

I will say this, Bath and Body Works shipping is the BOMB! I mean, super awesome. Two of my orders were received before the first projected delivery date. Like, one was ordered on a Tuesday and received by the following Monday. Another was ordered on a Wednesday and received by that Friday!!!! I mean, that rocks! Not many companies of that size will get you your product within 7 days of your original order if you only do standard shipping.  Even Amazon has slacked up on its delivery speed and ships closer and closer to the last date in the given shipment window.  So, I may be doing the majority of my BBW shopping online from now on.

TTFN!

Wash & Go Experience

I decided to try this whole wash and go thing.  I will admit, I was exceptionally timid about doing it for a few reasons.

1) The amount of gel/product that would be required for this big head of mine
2.) What my wash and go would start to look like after a few days
3.) I didn't know if I had a curl pattern, and if I did, how the different textures on my head would look once defined...if they could be defined.

I know, it sounds kind of ridiculous that I have been natural for 9 months and have been perm free for 2 years and I didn't know if I had a curl pattern. Well...I didn't. There isn't much more I can say about that. I've stuck with twist outs and braid outs since my BC and I did roller sets galore while transitioning.  Well, in participating in the W&G experience, I have learned that I do have a curl pattern...but it isn't the same all over. LOL. The majority of my tresses are super tight coils, but I have a small area in the front of my head and in the very back, smack dab in the middle where this loosely coiled thing is happening. I call it the Michael Jackson Tribute. LOL.

The first time I did a W&G, I did a half and half on my head as far as the products went.  I knew that my Eco Styler EO formula would work. I mean, there isn't anything that I have needed either of my Eco Styler gels to do hair-wise that they haven't done and done well. But if you remember from my Miss. Jessie's post, I said that I hadn't used the curly meringue enough to give it a true review.  So for my first W&G I used the Miss. Jessie's meringue on the right side of my head, and the eco styler on the left.  The results were okay but the Miss Jessie's would not be suitable for anything beyond 2-day hair. The first day, it was ok but on day 2 it was edging toward frizz city.



Here is the side with Miss Jessis's, totally dry




Here is the side with Eco Styler, totally dry

 As you can see from the pics, even on day one, the Miss. Jessie's side had a good amount of frizz and the Eco Styler side looked nice and neat, even after being pulled back on the side a few different ways, so day 2 was a definite no-no. I washed the mane and started over (I couldn't co-wash due to the ingredients in Miss Jessie's products). This time withh 100 % eco styler gel.

The results?

Much better!


Here's the back on a day one.



Here's the front on a day 2 You can kind of see the wavitude of the hair right above my eye (thanks Grandma!)

 

This is a new day week. I think this is from the 3rd week of W&G's, when I realized that I didn't have to do the part on the side of my hair that I've become so accustomed to doing over the past...oh let's just say since middle school, LOL. Here you can really see the small patch of wavy hair on my left, versus the tiny, tight coils on my right. And there's a bigger patch with even looser waves in the back of my head. You know...the kitchen.

These last two pics are of day 5 and day 6 hair. Both days I wore a puff. I was amazed I could get that much wear out of one W&G! I can certainly understand why some people love to do them.

Now, I didn't do my follow-up day hair like I have seen others do on YouTube.  Most of the videos I have seen have shown ladies lightly wetting their hair and picking it out with either their fingers or a comb/pick. I tried that and didn't like the look at all. I felt like I had helmet head. I also didn't do the multiple pineapples thing because that would have put too many parts in my hair and my hair has a hard time hiding the lines of a part. So, what I did was wet my hair every day with my spray bottle of water until it was wet enough to shake. Not as wet or as shakable on day 1, but wet enough so that my coils would loosen up a bit, reseparate & then as it dried, it would coil back to its tightness.  

I heard a few ladies stated that they didn't particularly care for their day one hair, too. That they liked the fuller, somewhat 'fro'd out look.  That didn't appeal to me. While I love my 'fro, I have become very acquainted with it while working on aging braid and twist outs. I was not looking for a 'fro from a W&G. I liked the defined, coiled look of day 1, so every day after that was an experiment on how to get my hair looking very close to day 1. Not day 2, but more like...day one and 1 or 2 hours. LOL.

Now having said all that, and having done W&G's for about 3.5 weeks, I have come to the conclusion that I will not be doing them often at all!!! While the look is beautiful, the work of the wash and detangle after the fact leaves a lot to be desired. I feel like I had a lot of breakage or had to do a lot of snipping thanks to single-strand knots that developed into fairy knots. Maybe there wasn't a lot of breakage, but there seemed to be a lot more hair in the sink post detangle...that is not the business. I also had a harder time finger detangling. Most of the time I partially finger detangle, then finish up with a comb. Why? Because I am VERY heavy handed and even more impatient and I am more careful when using a comb and taking my time, then when putting my fingers in my hair and getting frustrated because fingers 1 & 2 glide thru some strands while fingers 3 & 4 get stuck in different levels of kinks...all in the same pass.  Until my patience improves, the wide tooth comb shall be my buddy!

I think that's all I have to say about my wash & go experience. It was a great season of learning and I really liked the effects, but I will probably refrain from do doing them for more than one month out of the year.

TTFN!

My Transition Lessons: You don’t need to spend a lot on products

One of the constant things heard from people who were transitioning, or even fully natural, both on FB & on YouTube was that they were “going broke” while going natural.  They were buying products for natural hair and in the midst of that, learning how expensive natural hair products can be.  I will admit, there are some products for natural hair that are quite pricey and can put a major dent in your wallet, but you don’t have to buy them.

I started my journey using the products I had already in my hair closet. I didn’t buy a new product until about 9 or 10 months into my transitioning journey.  Here’s the major obstacle to overcome when thinking about buying hair products:

a.       Products do not grow your hair.

There is no magic product you can buy that will make your hair grow any faster than its going to grow

b.      Products can affect your journey.

There are products that you can use that can help you retain length and prevent breakage. Ultimately, though, how your handle your hair will determine how well your hair responds to transitioning and detangling while transitioning.

c.       Just because it says its for natural hair doesn’t mean its for YOUR natural hair.

Don’t succumb to buying expensive products just because they say they are for natural hair.  That is not a guarantee that it will work for your hair or that your hair will like the product at all (see my post on the Miss Jessie’s line).

So my biggest piece of advice based on my own journey is to begin where you are.  Start with products you already own.  See how they work, THEN branch out, if needed, based on how your hair responds.

My Transition Lessons: My Journey is MINE & No One Else’s

A while back I said to myself that I would do a little series about what I learned while I was transitioning to natural hair. I didn't follow through on it at the time because I was super busy. However, in a few months it will be my 1 year nappiversary so I figured that I needed to stop procrastinating and do the doggone thing. So here it begins.

A surprising thing I encountered while transitioning was how much people were willing to give their opinion of what I should and shouldn’t do based on their journey.  I’m not talking about offering advice or insight into what I would encounter while transitioning, or how to deal with this or that obstacle.  I mean straight up, flat out telling me I should do this or shouldn’t do that.

The main thing people were against was my decision to transition over a long period of time. There were folks who all but berated me for opting to “deal with the pain of transitioning” instead of going with a TWA & doing my big chop immediately.  Even after me stating that I didn’t want a TWA, the response was “its just hair! It’ll grow.” Well, if it was “just hair” why are you so invested in trying to sway me from my course of action??? LOL.

So what I had to do was tell people that MY decision of how I was going to transition was just that…MY decision. And if MY decision was to transition for 1 month, 5 months or 24 months, it was MY decision to make.  And if they didn’t agree with MY decision, that was their choice, and the easiest way to get beyond it was to get over MY decision.

I say all that to say that when you choose to do anything, how you do it is totally up to you. As a friend of my mom says, as long as it’s not immoral, unethical or illegal…have at it.

Your life, your journey, your choice.

Swiiing and a Miss...Jessie's (Product Review)

The verdict is in and Miss Jessie is not for me! Thank goodness I got 2 of the 3 products I have on sale.

Let me start w/the "no one paid me for this" and "this is my own opinion" statements.

Now, with that out of the way, I can't say that I hate the products...but I don't like them. The smells are very loud.  Too loud not to be delicious. The only one I don't mind the smell of is the curly buttercreme and that is because it reminds me of vapo rub and icy hot and I love how those smell. But I wouldn't put them in my hair!  Since I started with the Curly Buttercreme, let me continue.  This is the only one of the 3 that I bought that does not leave my hair feeling super dry once it has dried with my hair, but it also provides little to no hold.  I mean, this is what my hair looked like with the Curly Buttercreme:



I have gotten that same look with just using PINK Oil Moisturizer in my hair! And that is no where near the same price point as Miss. Jessie's anything! I did like how my hair felt moisturized after using it, but like I said, for the price of Miss Jessie's, I expected more.

Then there's the curly pudding. First and foremost, I do not like the smell. And try as I might to use less and less of it to try and reduce the odor, that sucka is potent! And its potency extended beyond the initial application. I mean, when I turn my head, I could smell it. When I would spritz and re-twist at night, I could smell it. When I would wake up and untwist in the morning, I could smell it.  It was in my bonnets, my pillow cases, my pillows....UH! It was just too much. Then, the first time I used it, I used it alone and it left my hair dry and brittle. I was not a happy camper! I immediately washed it out and went back to my Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie. That wasn't the last time I used it. I've used it a few times since then and have come to the happy medium of using an oil or other moisturizer in my hair first, then adding the curly pudding.  Having said all that, I will say that my twist out results with the product were stellar and the pudding didn't cause any build up in my hair.  But again, for something that cost as much as Miss Jessie's, I expected more. I don't have any pics of twist outs with the curly pudding because I can't tell the difference between Miss. Jessie's twist outs and the other products...again, for the cost, shouldn't I be able to?!

On to the Curly Meringue....What and why?! I used it for a flexi rod set because I had it, and there were a few people who used it for theirs and said they got really good results. Again, I didn't like the smell, but I could not smell it as much as with the curly pudding the following day.  It also gave me horrible build up. It was a glaze on my hair. I rinse a good bit of it out in the shower, and when I went for my trim, my stylist still said "what is this in your hair?" when the water hit it while she was washing me. But I will stop at just that initial review because I'm thinking as I type this that I may need to hold off on reviewing it further simply because I used it in conjuction with my EcoStyler olive oil gel and got the most ridiculous, crunchy hair ever...I mean, potato chip crunch. I know the EcoStyler didn't cause the build up because I've never had build up in my hair like that. Not even when I was new to the game. But I'm going to hold off on fully talking about the curly meringue until I use it by itself. But here's a pic of the crunchy flexi rod curls.

Seriously...get a Pringle...crunch it...that's what my hair sounded like, but it felt more like a Lay's.

For the two products I have used quite a bit, I will say that I could have saved my money.  I could have gotten the same results for my hair at a much more economical price point. The lesson I've learned from this: I don't need to spend $22+ on 8oz of hair care product. But trust and believe I'm going to use what I have bought!

Anyway, TTFN.