Friday Fill-Ins

Borrowed photo

1. While the cat's away the dog will play.

2. I think fishnet stockings are ultra fabuloso!

3. Children at times, are often MUCH smarter than adults.

4. I head straight to my room when I get home from work or shopping or what have you.

5. This may seem odd, but even though I hate sports with a passion, I am actually enjoying watching The Giants spank some Ranger ass in the World Series.

6. Its been suggested that I learn how to make mittens, and that seems like a fine idea to me!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to taking Emma to a Halloween festival, followed by a Corset Night out with the girls, tomorrow my plans include going to work and Sunday, I want to get as many pictures as possible of my little EmJay!

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Her Hair Makes My Hair Jealous

The Afro was a very good choice for Emma on Saturday. I was a little worried because it was raining, and I didn't know if her strands would shrink all the way up to her scalp, leaving us with a big matted nest perched on top of her head. What I found was that her hair actually loved the moisture in the air. By the end of the day her twist out looked even more fabulous than when we left the house!


I took some coconut oil in my hands and ran it down the length of each twist before untwisting. I separated each twists a bit for volume, threw a couple of green flower barrettes on the side and she was ready to rock her natural. We were pleasantly surprised when we entered the event. The room was filled with Afros, and it seemed like every sistah that walked threw the door thereafter brought her Afro with her!


I gotta say, the girl is *my* hair inspiration. She reminds me of myself when I was here age. My Afro was just as fabulous. I am looking very forward to getting back there. Seeing all of the other twist outs in the building, and admiring Emma's bounce, I am also looking forward to the days of mother-daughter twist outs!

Emma playing the role of Helper for a second time

When you were younger, did you ever have any mother-daughter hair days?

Natural Hair Meet Up: Bay Area Style!

Showcasing Tams by Baby Squares

Cassidy of Natural Selection recapped the day's events beautifully, complete with beautiful pictures that help tell the story of just how much fun we all had, chatting, eating, shopping and talking about hair. Simply put, we had a blast! I am so happy that Cassidy offers these opportunities, I have once again found myself already ready for the next event... which I've heard is November 21st, so SAVE THE DATE if you're in the Bay and wanna come hang out with us! You definitely will NOT regret doing so.


Being amongst other vendors wow, can't believe I'm actually in that category now! taught me a valuable lesson about presentation. I had not thought at all about how I would display my tams. I just grab my el cheapo wig head on our way out the door and figured I'd employ some creative placement on our table. It wasn't until I saw the set up of the other vendors that I realized my presentation really wasn't much of a presentation. I think I did pretty good for this being my first time out, and for only having 24 hours to prep, BUT, my products definitely had to speak for themselves. I was relieved as a few ladies tried them on and inquired about colors and sizes. And luckily, I didn't return home with the same amount of tams I left with. Just maybe I really do have a chance in hell of being successful. I'll be watching Tea and Honey Bread very closely as Tameka creates an economical display for her upcoming craft show. I clearly still have a lot to learn about showcase... and, um, about not spending all of my profits!

That last bit is kind of hard when you are surrounded by amazing women doing amazing things with natural materials! I can not pass on pretty colors and great scents. Enter Skincare by Feleciai and Fatemeh's Jewelry and Accessories.



I got this luxurious Peppermint Shea Butter Cream. Its so creamy and felt really good on my skin. After bath time, both Emma and I slathered some on and nearly slept through our alarm the next morning. Good stuff! Feleciai generously gave me a bar of her heavenly handmade soup with my shea purchase.

Lest I be found somewhere in a corner sniffing this thing, I am gonna be just as generous and pass this wonderful soap on to a momma friend who is with child and morning sickness. I think this will definitely give her a boost in the aromatherapy department!

I picked up a baaaaaaaadddd pair of crocheted purple hoops from Fatemeh and another pair of crocheted purple earrings for a friend who LOVES purple. I surprised her with them today. She couldn't get the pair she was wearing off fast enough so she could model her new pair. A very happy camper! I'll have to share pictures of these two at a later date!

Although I earned and spent it was well worth it for what I walked away with and the experience in itself. Again, I can not wait for the next event. The only down side to being on duty at the Baby Squares table was not being able to get up and mingle with all of the other ladies who were there. I had to wait for them to come to me.

What suggestions do you have for ways that I can sell AND mingle at the next meet up?

Delightful

Photo Credit

Today was filled with all kinds of awesomeness! As hats were picked up, examined, and then put back down, I thought that I would surely crash and burn. I made a list, checked it twice, crocheted until my hands cramped, and was afraid that I had done so for nothing. To walk away with all that I had brought. I'm glad to report that Baby Squares made friends, networked, put some smiles on some faces, some hats on some heads, and will be collecting custom orders next week! I came home with some great items too, from some great artists. Photos to come...

Confessions of a Connectoholic

Photo Credit

Our new place is great and all, but the lack of wireless accessibility is driving me insane! I've been recently spoiled. Being able to sit up, 'til the wee hours of the morning, typing away the day's frustrations/joyful moments. And now? I'm reduced to a computer center where I have to work across two different computers because one has a timer and Facebook access has been blocked from the other! WiFi is available, but my location within the building makes for a shitty signal. How on earth am I supposed to stay on top of things working under these conditions? Geez.

I've missed spilling my guts on a daily basis. Just basically being able to say what I have to say virtually at the exact moment that it pops into my head. You know, the exact moment when I wanna go to bed and my housemate is blasting her damn radio through the floor, or when we are trying to have a nice dinner or breakfast and this one staff person feels the need to run down every single thing about the organization to us, as if its our first time in the dining area, oh, and how about the moment when said staff person comes back with a second bowl of pasta because she noticed that I had finished mine? She really does mean well, but uh, I seriously think that nobody is home upstairs, if you know what I mean.

Anyhoo... if you're reading now, don't stop here. I've been waiting to unload my chest, so this is like, the third post I've done in an hour, lol. Happy reading.

Time Sure Does Fly When You're Stylin'

It wasn't until I was commenting on Little B's beautiful braids, that I realized that Emma's box braids had been alive for 7 straight weeks! That's probably not a record for us, as we tend to not be weekly hairstyle people, but it caught my attention because Katie of Happy Girl Hair was saying how much she was hoping to get 2 good weeks out of Little B's braids. We've washed, conditioned and moisturize during the 7 weeks, and cornrowed, and ponytailed, and crinkled the box braids. They got a lot of wear and gave a lot of versatility.

Since we'll be heading to the natural hair meet up tomorrow, put on by Cassidy of Natural Selection, it was time to be out with the old and in with the new! We deep conditioned, washed and conditioned last week, leaving clean hair that was ready for a little more TLC. It took us a couple of days to transform old box braids into new chunky twists.


On day 1, we took care of the back. Basically removing each braid, moisturizing and detangling (getting rid of 7 weeks worth of shed hair), adding some Bee Mine Curly Butter and twisting. For school the next day I just gathered the remaining 6 braids in the front into a knot. On day 2 I got the rest of the braids down and detangled and into twists.


Emma was pretty happy with the finished result, especially because tomorrow we will be giving her a chunky twist out for the meet up. Its raining here, so I don't know how much shrinkage she will have at the end of the day, but all will be well.

We have been dressing her twists up with different head bands (which for some reason get left at school!!)


I'm looking forward to the return of her BAA. Stay tuned...

Baby Squares is in the Buildin'!

When I mentioned this weekend's natural hair meet up to Emma, she got SO excited. It was unexpected. I mean, she did work the room all on her own at our first meet up, and made a new friend, and became a little helper during the gathering, but I didn't expect her to be as thrilled as she was about an opportunity to do it all over again. I thought I would be the only thrilled one, but nope, she was all over the good news. Luckily, I was able to get my shift at work covered right in time to get prepared to go out and mingle, network and have some fun!

This time around, Baby Squares will be in the building, with hats! I've had a great week on Facebook, and I hope the activity carries over into tomorrow's event. I'll be setting up shop alongside the fabulous Fatemeh and her jewelry and accessories. Check out the hot earrings that I won from her shop!

Midnight Tam by Baby Squares. Available on Facebook!

We are supposed to be in for some Fall showers, so this little combination might be making an appearance. I'm excited to get back out amongst the ladies, meet some new curlies and share a part of myself with them. I heard there might be a few little naturals in the building too. That is very good news for Emma.

___________________

I also received my winnings from Pretty in Peace too! Have a look at the loot


A couple of pairs for me, and a super cute purple pair for Emma!

These shells are gonna become a part of my everyday earwear. I am head over heels in LOVE with cowrie shells!!!!

And how great are these Gwyn Hoops??! They have such a Bollywood flavor to them that I am gonna feel like I am on vacation each time they are dangling from my ears!

What do you have planned for this weekend?