Summer do

Hair in a braid out from last summer.  I love my shiny forhead. 

Well ladies, summer is definitely here and the time has come to prepare for the HOT weather.  During the winter I wore my hair in twist outs.  More often than not I wore my hair down with the occasional pulled back/put up style.  However, with the approach of summer I am getting the feeling that it’s time to lay the twist outs to rest and start with the protective styles.  Lately, I’ve also felt that my hair has been a bit drier than I like so I’m feeling like it’s definitely protective styling time.  Unfortunately, protective styles aren’t my strong point.  At first I thought about mini twists (and they’re still a minor possibility), but that has yet to work out for me in the long run. 

Naturally, my next thought was regular sized twists.  I wore my hair in twists a good bit last summer and fall.  However, with my length hair (about SL in a stretched out twist out) twists aren’t the cutest thing around.  So, I get the feeling that it’s time to get creative.  I wore my hair out today in a twist out, but just finished twisting it into about 14 twists.  Fortunately I don’t have to go to work tomorrow so I can rock the twists for the weekend (no big plans this weekend).   But I want something fresh, fun and awesome come Monday.   

So, I’m putting a request out there for ideas for cute protective styles that I can wear to work this summer.  I need something cool (temperature), easy to do, something with low tension on the center of my hair (sensitive spot) and of course cute. 

All ideas and suggestions are welcomed, and let me know how your summer hair routine has (or hasn’t) changed!

Tootles for now!    

Hump day happiness

I'm a little late in the day, but I still have tons to be grateful for, so, here I go.......

1.  I woke up this morning (this means I have a purpose)

2.  My family and friends woke up this morning

3.  Although my songs on cello sucked yesterday my teacher and I played more duets (I love the duets)

4.  First day of class went very well this morning

5.  I had a wonderful time in NOLA!!!

6. An upcoming date

7.  Realizing that I can survive without a phone (going on day 8 of no phone)

8.  Perry has started texting Amy to death instead of me (not happy for Amy, but happy for me)

9.  I finished reading The Shack (by WM Paul Young)

10.  A summer of endless possibilities

That's all I have for now.  Be sure to share the things that you are happy/grateful for in the comments section!

Tootles for now

Hump day happiness

Hey there lovelies~

Here we go.  As always, share your happiness in the comments section!  Have a great hump day. 

1.  My family, friends, and I woke up this morning!!!

2.  The Florence track club children earned 81 ribbons (17 of which were first place ribbons) at the meet on Saturday

3.  I finished the second of two paintings that I started recently (which can be seen on my "overcoming inners struggles" post)

4.  I had a wonderful weekend with the fam

5.  I get to take a mini-vacay this weekend with friends

6.  Marlene's life is slowing down a bit (which means you better come visit soon if you're reading this)

7.  Summer is here

8.  I'm going to have a very productive day today (speaking that into existence)

9.  I gchated with Pookie yesterday and we planned out her bachelorette party ;-)

10.  My research supplies have started coming in (this is very exciting and not dorky!!!)   

Tootles for now...

Overcoming inner struggles

My latest home decorations.  These are the first paintings that I've done and hung in plain view, hooray!  I call these Sunday Morning Part 1 and 2. 

 

 

Hello there lovelies~

I hope that everyone is having a wonderful week and looking forward to "hump day happiness" tomorrow.  Naptural85 has a video on her YouTube channel "DearNaptural85" called overcoming inner struggles.  This video is a reply to a question that she received from a struggling college student.  Paraphrased, the question asks Nap how she learned to love herself.  In her response, Nap goes into how she has overcome inner struggles.  Basically, her inner struggles have came from a lifetime of being "too white" for black people and "too black" for white people.  As soon as she said this I thought, "the story of my life."  

Basically, for most of my life I have "not fit in."  As stated by Nap I have always been "too white" for black people and "too black" for white people.  Well, if you haven't experienced this let me share with you that it stinks.  What do you do when who you are "isn't right?"  I tell you what you do, you stop looking to other people to justify who you are.  You don't depend on others to accept you on their terms.  Instead, you figure out exactly who you are, you be yourself, and let God do the rest.  The best way to find out who you are is to engage in the activities that you enjoy and that bring you pleasure.  Once you find out what truly speaks to you and puts you in a place of comfort you begin to worry less about how the world perceives you. 

To this day I don't feel as though I fit into any particular "box" so to speak, and I love it.  I've found that people who have a problem with me usually do so because they have a problem with themselves.  When we limit ourselves and then see others doing what we want to do, but are too scared to do we become jealous and easily take that out on the other person.  So, Nap suggests in her video that the best way to overcome inner struggles is to set a personal goal.  Set a goal that can be done only by you, and to submerge yourself in that goal.  Although I'm pretty comfortable with myself I thought that this was a great way to strengthen myself (we can never be too strong).  So, my personal goal is to run a marathon this year.  Unfortunately , I have really slacked off on my running over the past year and a half.  So, this is a great way to get back at it, back at something that I love and feel comfortable doing.  I guess running is sort of a haven for me.  In running, I don't need to depend on others; this means that it doesn't matter who does or doesn't like or accept me. 

Anyhoo, I wanted to share this with you all because this video really touched me.  I've had a lot of inner struggles throughout life (and still have some).  I feel like too often we don't talk about what's going on inside which gives a feeling of isolation.  I've never talked much with anyone about the feelings that come along with basically being rejected by my own race.  So, now here I am, ready to get the conversation started. 

Let me know your thoughts on overcoming inner struggles.  Have you had inner struggles?  How have you overcome them?  Do you have any goals set for this year to help you be more in touch with you? 

So, check out the video and let me know your thoughts on the video and your personal experiences....

Tootles for now     

My top 5 picks

A pic of me in one of my new favorite outfits.  My hair is a twist out with one side slightly pulled back.  This skirt and shirt both came from Goodwill (~$10 for both pieces together), the necklace is a purse strap that I converted, and the shoes came from Bakers (I paid real money for them).  Oh how I love thrifting.  If anyone is up for a good thrifting trip let me know, I'm just itching to thrift in Charlotte and/or Atlanta.

Hello there lovelies~

I hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend. I thought that I'd share with you my top 5 hair must haves.  As a recovering product junky (PJ), I also want to know your top 5 (or 6,7,8 etc.) hair essentials just in case I decide there's something new that I need to try ;-)

1.  Shea Butter

2. Cantu Shea Butter Leave-in conditioning cream

3. Water

4. Claw hair clips

5. Bobby pins

So that's it.  And I must say, for a former PJ I'm pretty proud of the shortness of my must haves list and the fact that only 2 of the 5 are truly "products."  I'm growing  :-).  I certainly do have other products that I use and like (my new shampoo bars, conditioner (Aubrey), flaxseed gel), but none of those are things that I use everytime I do my hair.  Also, none of the aforementioned products (shampoo bars, conditioner, gel) are products that I am upset aobut running out of, or that I freak out about if I am about to do my hair and realize that the product is all gone (I have a mini panic session if my Cantu is all gone and I want to do my hair).     

The more time I spend getting to know my hair the better able I am to put products into perspective.  Aside from water, there is no product that I use that can't be replaced if for some reason I could no longer get the product.  Therefore, although I have learned to stick with what works, I don't feel tied to any one product.  So, for now, those are my top picks.  I'll keep usuing these products and tools until they don't work, I can no longer get them, or my PJ "itch" comes back. 

Be sure to leave a comment letting me know your hair must haves!

Tootles for now 



Hump day happiness

Here we go.  As always, share your hump day happiness in the comments section!!

1.  I woke up this morning

2. I get to see my sister this weekend

3.  I get to see my sister's family this weekend

4.  Yoga tonight

5.  I came in 5th for my age group at the 5K on Saturday (there were only 15 of us, but shhhhh)

6.  I have small group tomorrow night

7.  I had a wonderful cello lesson yesterday (my teacher and I played duets :-)

8.  I'm eating more veggies which is getting me closer to becoming a health nut (see 30 before 30 list)

9.  I think I found my eyebrow waxing place in Florence (finding a new eyebrow lady is always a tough search for me)

10.  I love my job

Weekend recap



image source

Hello there lovelies~

I hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend!!! I had an awesome weekend, so I thought I'd give you a quick weekend recap.

On Friday evening I went to NASCAR! There is a large racetrack in Darlington (a small town about 20-30 mins from Florence), and this weekend happened to be race weekend. I'm not much of a NASCAR girl myself, and therefore have never been to a race. So, imagine my surprise when I walked into NASCAR world. For anyone who has not been to a race just think RV world and a whole different culture. I went to the race with a group of people volunteering with the raceway ministries. I have to say, I was a bit hesitant about going at first, but I'm so grateful that I did go. I got the opportunity to meet so many new new people, and had a blast.

On Saturday morning I got up and went to The Veteran's Park in Florence, and prepared for my first race in Florence. The race, Armed Forces Race, was a 5K (3.1 miles). The race began at 9:00am. I arrived at the race at about 8:20. I went and picked up my race t-shirt and number and prepared for the race. This was the first year they put this race on, and for the first race it was very well put together. The race was very organized and the course was very clearly marked with markers and volunteers. The race was pretty simple and low key (not too many frills with this race), and I have to say that I liked that. I finished the race in 28:00 minutes which is about a 9:00 minute/mile pace; this is an okay pace (especially since I haven't been running much), but I'm aiming to decrease to 8:30 minute/mile before the next race (probably June 30).

A picture of my friend Amy (who won second place for our age group) and me obviosly after the race. It was a beautiful day outside. Although I have to say, it did end up being much hotter than I expected. SC hot in May, go figure ;-)

After the race I went to lunch with a friend. We had lunch at a place called Old Europe. Old Europe serves Mediterranean and Italian food. I had a falafel wrap and pasta salad. The food was quite delicious. The pasta salad was amazing. The pasta salad was so good that I even ate the olives that were in it, and I DON'T eat olives.

After lunch I went home cleaned up a bit and took a nap. Later in the evening I met a friend for dinner. We went to Mi Tierra San Jose (I bet you can guess what kind of food they serve). I'm not sure why, but for some reason there are a billion Mexican restaurants in Florence. I had a vegetable taco salad which was pretty good.

On Sunday I went to church. I am still looking for a church home here, but for the past few Sundays I have attended Cornerstone Baptist Church. I really like Cornerstone because the minister is such a good teacher. When I'm in church I feel as though I'm sitting in a classroom learning about the bible, and this is exactly what I want/need in my life right now.

Later on Sunday I got inspired and cleaned up. Well, it was more of rearranging I guess. I unpacked some of my clothes that were still in suitcases and bags (don't judge me, I've only lived here for 5.5 months).

So, there you have it. That was my weekend. My weekend was pretty packed and it was wonderful. I hope you all had a great weekend as well!

Tootles for now

Hump day happiness

Hello lovelies and happy hump day~
As is new tradition, below you'll find a list of 10 things that I'm grateful for/happy about today.  Join in the fun and leave your list of hump day happiness in the comments section!!

1. I woke up this morning, which means I have a purpose

2. I have a job that I love

3.  I have a check to deposit into the bank

4.  I had a kale and banana smoothie yesterday which brings me one step closer to becoming a health nut (see, 30 before 30 list)

5.  I get to order research supplies today

6. My friends and family are all safe

7.  No one got hurt in the fire last night at my sister's neighbor's house

8.  Yoga tonight

9.  Miles is on the couch next to me and is actually NOT licking anything (he's cute at these times)

10.  I had my first cello lesson yesterday

That's all for now,

Have a wonderful hump day!



Shampoo bar #1 review

This is my hair today (May 8).  This is a twist out using water, Cantu Shea Butter Leave-in and raw Shea Butter.  I wet my hair and added the Cantu.  I then detangled with my fingers and a wide toothed comb.  I next applied whipped raw Shea Butter and twisted.  I wore the twists for a day (twisted on Sunday removed on Tuesday) removed and voila!  Excuse my mean mug in this shot, unfortunately this is the best pic I could get today.

Hello there lovelies~

So, my shampoo bars arrived on last week Thursday, and I didn't waste any time trying them out.  I ordered four bars from Chagrin Valley Soap and Salve.  The first bar that I decided to try was the Butter Bar Conditioner shampoo bar.  I quite liked this bar.  It was a bit weird washing my hair with a bar instead of liquid, but this was easy to adjust to.  To wash I soaked my hair in the sink, sectioned my hair into four sections, and applied shampoo to the scalp and then the remainder of the hair.  I finger detangled while the shampoo was on and then rinsed once I finished washing all four sections.  I didn't comb detangle with this shampoo, but I am confident that I could have with ease.  While on the shampoo felt good on my hair.  The shampoo provided slip and moisture.  However, I didn't feel like my hair was as moisturized as I expected it to be after I rinsed the shampoo out.  My hair was a bit more moisturized than with normal shampoo, but not as moisturized as with my conditioner.  However, I did not use conditioner after and did not feel compelled to, so that was good.  I followed my wash with a twist out using only Shea Butter, which I am not a fan about (more on that in another post).  My scalp has still been itching, but the amount of itchiness is considerably less.  On Sunday I wet my hair and re-twisted using Cantu Shea Butter leave-in and raw Shea Butter.  My hair now feels moisturized and awesome.  So, I will give this bar another try using a different shampoo follow up method.  Overall, I quite liked this bar and do intend to at least try it again. 

Pros

-Cheap

-Cleaned my hair

-Provided some moisture (for a shampoo)

-Helped reduce itch 

-Nice for detangling

-Lasts for a long time (I bought a trial size bar and didn't even put a dent in it)

Cons

-Not as moisturizing as I'd like

-Didn't stop the itch

-I have to order it online

So, that's all I have on that.  I'll give another update once I try the bar again.

Tootles for now

Ingredients:  Saponified oils of unrefined cocoa butter, unrefined shea butter, safflower, babassu; coconut, mango butter, castor bean; organic coconut milk; water; rosemary oil extract 

Hump day happiness

Good morning lovelies~

Here we go with round 2 of hump day happiness.  Be sure to share your happiness in the comments section!

1.  I woke up this morning

2. I'm going to the beach today

3.  I'm taking two days off of work this week

4.  My shampoo bars will be here soon

5.  I've started coaching track and field for little people (ages 6-18, whoa)

6.  Miles (even though his licking is driving me up a wall)

7.  Marlene's graduation on Saturday

8.  Having something to do tonight and tomorrow night

9.  Yoga tonight (I have to be sure I'm flexible enough to fit into Shunta's suitcase for London)

10.  Visiting a great new church on Sunday

Happy hump day!

Tootles for now