Monday, January 30, 2012

A Ladi's Tresses: Protective Styling













As you know from my 2012 goals post, I want to grow my hair and retain length this year. One of the things that I'm doing to meet this goal is to incorporate more protective styles into my hair regimen. My main focus is on protecting the ends of my hair to prevent split ends, but this is not my only requirement for a protective style.  I need a style that is easy to do, doesn't require a lot of time or maintenance, and is a style that I can still feel pretty while rocking it.

Here is my first attempt at a protective style:


























This style is simple, quick (2min or less each morning), and would look good either dressed up or with a casual look.  With my next style, I will put my creativity to the test to come with something cute...or at least scour the internet for a style that I can re-create ;) I'll be sure to share!

Friday, January 27, 2012

Ch-ch-ch-Changes At JC Penney

JC Penney is one of my go-to places for affordable fashion.  They have a lot of great staples mixed with on trend pieces, nice jewelry, cute shoes (especially from Call it Spring), and some even have a Sephora inside! Imagine my surprise when I visited the Yahoo homepage and this ad popped up:




What's happening February 1st? I had to find out.  I did a little digging and came across a press release announcing MAJOR transformations for the brand.  In a presentation given January 25th, the company's CEO outlined some of the new changes. Here are some of the highlights:

  • New pricing strategy: Everyday prices, Month-Long Values, and Best (lowest) Prices that occur on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of very month.
  • New brand shops, and transforming existing brands that customers' love.
  • Store re-design.
  • A new company logo.
In addition,  Ellen Degeneres will be a new JC Penney brand partner! Here's a video of Ellen's announcement on her show.


Are you excited about the new JC Penney?

Thursday, January 26, 2012

A Ladi's Tresses: A Simple Flat Twist Out Tutorial












Hey hey! Today I just wanted to do a short tutorial for one of my go-to styles: the flat twist out.

When I have tons of energy and some extra time on my hands, I make smaller twists and more rollers, but when I want something quick and cute, I use these steps below:


Monday, January 23, 2012

The Blueprint: Brandy





















The Blueprint is a series highlighting celebrities who epitomize the word style.  Each look is a lesson in fabulous...watch and learn! 


Singer/actress Brandy Norwood is staging a major comeback with a guest spot on the much anticipated new season of Bet's The Game, duet with fellow R&B singer Monica, and a new album on the way.  She has been spotted all over the media while promoting The Game, and in my opinion she has been bringing the heat when it comes to her fashion.  With several  form-fitting mini dresses, an adorable short set, and killer stilettos, she looks absolutely stunning.






Thursday, January 19, 2012

A Ladi's Tresses: Lazy Day 3 Twist Out














Some styles are a result of creativity, while others come from pure laziness. This one is definitely the latter! One weekend, I  had washed, deep conditioned, and styled my hair in a wet twist out (using 5 large flat twists).  Day 1 my hair looked great, so I re-twisted it before bed and was able to maintain the look for day 2. But then I got tired and didn't feel like spending 20 to 30 minutes twisting my hair for the 3rd night in a row...I came up with the idea of just putting perm rods on the end of my hair just to curl it under and hoped that the rest of my hair would maintain the texture from the twist out.  I crossed my fingers, said a little prayer, put on my satin bonnet, and went to bed with my hair like this:

Monday, January 16, 2012

Act Like A Ladi...Dress Like A Diva: Blue Sleek


Act Like A Ladi...Dress Like A Diva is a series showcasing my outfit of the day (OOTD).

Today was a major milestone for me in my natural hair journey...My hair is finally long enough that I can slick it all back into a low bun! 

In the past when I pulled my hair away from my face, I wore huge earrings to jazz up my look.  Today, I wanted to do something different and used a scarf to add some flair.  



Sweater: JC Penney  / Jeggings: Old Navy / Heels: BCBGeneration (purchased from Belk's) / Scarf: Forever 21 / Jewelry: Body Shop  (earrings)




Thursday, January 12, 2012

Act Like A Ladi...Dress Like A Diva: Cream of the Crop


Act Like A Ladi...Dress Like A Diva is a series showcasing my outfit of the day (OOTD).

This look features my favorite sweater of all time.  I bought it online a few years ago from Ann Taylor Loft and I fell in love as soon as I put it on for the first time.  I love the details down the front, it really draws the eye in and I think it's pretty flattering.  Because the sweater is the star of the show, I paired it with all black everything else.  



Sweater: Anne Taylor Loft / Black Jeggings: Old Navy / Boots: Aldo (purchased online) / Jewelry: Charlotte Russe  (earrings)

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

A Ladi's Tresses: "Twist-Out, Pin Up" Style Tutorial














  • Start with wet or dry hair, and part hair from ear to ear to divide into 2 sections (one in front, one in back)
  • Take back section of hair and create individual twists (I usually do about 9 twists in the back, 3 rows of 3)
  • Take front section of hair and part into 3 sections of equal size. Part from your forehead straight back to the first ear-to-ear part you did. 
  • Take the front right (or whichever side you like to wear your hair) section and make 3 small flat twists going back towards the middle of your head. 
  • Take the front left section and make 3 small horizontal flat twists going down to the side of your face. 
  • Take the middle section and make 3 small flat twists going to the left and laying over the twists you made with the left section of hair (It should look like two layers of twists).
  • Roll the ends of each twist using your roller of choice ( I use small perm rods).
  • When you are ready to style, remove all the rollers and untwist your whole head. 
You can stop here and rock a twist-out. At this point, my hair looks like this:

To create the pin-up, keep reading:

Friday, January 6, 2012

New Series: The Blueprint





















The Blueprint is a series highlighting celebrities who epitomize the word style.  Each look is a lesson in fabulous...watch and learn! 


Every day I come across pics of celebrities and either admire or cringe at their fashion choices.  I created this series The Blueprint to highlight the positive and get ideas to incorporate into my own wardrobe. There is no better person to start off with than the First Lady of Style herself, First Lady Michelle Obama.  Her looks are always perfectly tailored with feminine silhouettes, and smart use of color.  I love this cobalt blue dress she wore to the White House Hanukkah celebration:

Source: Essence.com

Monday, January 2, 2012

2012 Goals


It's 2012, and from the looks of things on Facebook and the blogosphere, this is going to be a year of change for so many people. I've seen countless posts and status updates sharing lists of New Year's Resolutions.  Like many people, I have things in my life that I want to work on, but instead of coming up with resolutions, I like the develop goals with a timeline and action plan to help me to achieve them.  Here is my list of health and beauty goals for 2012, along with ideas for behaviors that I can do to reach my goals:

Limit restaurant meals to 4x/month or less
  • Plan a week’s worth of meals ahead 
  • Have a cooking day (probably Sunday) where I prep foods for the week and cook enough meat for a couple of days worth of meals
·         Develop healthier eating habits
  • Drink water 90% of the time instead of sodas and sugary juices 
  • Swap my fave junk food (potato chips, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, brownies) for lower-calorie indulgences that I enjoy (homemade smoothies, yogurt, parfait, fruit) 
  • Keep food diary via My Fitness Pal app
·         Work out 3x/wk
  • Use breaks at work to power walk 
  • Do something active w/ fiancĂ© a few weekends out of the month 
  • Develop hobby that is not sedentary (or involve shopping) 
  • Workout first thing when I get home in the afternoon so I don’t have a chance to sit down and get comfortable 
  • Track workouts using My Fitness Pal app on iPhone 
  • Follow a different work out program each month to help w/ variety (Jillian Michael’s 30 day shred, Wii my fitness pal workout, couch to 5k, biggest loser bootcamp dvd plan).
·         Develop my health/wellness “glam squad” (family dr, dentist, poss dermatologist & masseuse)

·         Retain hair growth (4+ inches)

  • Moisturize, seal & set my hair every night (if wearing hair loose) 
  • Protective style at least 2 week of every month (mini twists, bun, or wig/clip-ins) 
  • Deep condition weekly 
  • Try henna to increase strength 
  • Straighten no more than 4 times in 2012 
  • Do scalp massage
Limit use of pain medicine to 4x/mo

  • Natural methods for headaches, cramps, etc. 
  • Try to get adequate sleep 
  • Avoid activities that I know will cause headaches (ex. waiting too long to eat, using the computer for too long, reading in the dark)


In addition to these goals, I have other things that  I want to do to improve my quality of life.  I want to be a better person, a happier person, and live a life that is more in line with my values.  These aren't specific goals, but thoughts and actions that I will commit to doing to become the person I want to be.  
  • Replace negative thoughts with positive one
  • Stop Stressing the small things
  • Leave work stress/thoughts at work.
  • Consider motivations behind what others say/do instead of taking things personal
  • Read 10+ books a year
  • Give away 50 items that I no longer use, want, or need. 
  • Read something life changing every day (quote, tips to improve life in some way, article, book chapter, etc) 
  • Find my “passion”/”purpose” 
  • Travel to a new city or state 
  • Treat others as I want to be treated
  • Limit gossip websites, reality shows, anything that promotes negativity.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Act Like A Ladi...Dress Like A Diva: NYE!



I hope everyone had an amazing New Year's Eve and is ready for the amazing things that 2012 has in store! For my first post of 2012, I want to share pics of the winning NYE outfit: 





 Jacket: NY&Company / Dress: Kmart/ Shoes: Nine West / Tights: J C Penney / Jewelry:  J C Penney  (necklace, ring & bracelets)

My fiance and I went to a party at a hotel.  With VIP tickets, we were able to check out 5 different ball rooms with a different musical vibe and check out a live cover band.  I felt like a million bucks...until I sweated out my hair and had to take a give my feet a break from the heels LOL.  Overall I had a great time and definitely brought the new year in RIGHT!