What I Wore: Mix Master, Hearts & Stripes

Jacket: Gap | Dress: Old Navy | Tights: Target | Shoes: Nine West 

I love playing with patterns. A little levity in my wardrobe has gone a long way in lifting my spirits. I found the most whimsical little motor scooters and knew immediately they had to be earrings. They're my new favorites now I just have to find a way to keep them from getting tangled in my hair...

Scooter Earrings: Handmade by Me

What I Wore Today

What I Wore Today: Purple, Pleats, & Polka Dots

What I Wore Today: Sun Day

I only made it as far as Starbucks that day but I did it in style ♥

Operation Sanity: Fall 2012

REMEMBER:

1. Mommy is still rooting for you!
2. Go the library if the house becomes too distracting
3. When utilizing your home office, begin your day with a clear, direct, and regimented schedule of tasks that you planned the night before. Turn off the internet connection and get to work!
4. It’s OK to continue sewing, so-called “pleasure reading,” and indulging in an occasional(KEYWORD!!!!) guilty pleasure that is a total waste of time. Mine is watching Basketball Wives {hangs head in shame} or reading Yoga Journal and Lucky. Grad students who act like they are so academically devout aren’t better than me. In fact, they’re probably miserable or lying.
5. As Mini-Me says, “You’re my Mommy not a machine.” Take care of yourself! Lean on your sisters, friends, and mentors. Ask for help! Remember that you ALWAYS  feel BETTER after you run and do yoga and LOUSY after you eat M&Ms. As I take care of myself, I promise to be mindful of burnout. Before I reach that point, I will set any offenders on fire and refuel myself with the energy of the blaze.

Although I started reluctantly, I know this is going to be a great semester!

1950s Inspired, Please Hold the Nostalgia!

My personal aesthetic is inspired by 1950s sophistication and beauty of women's attire:

full skirts, cardis, gloves, and pumps (although the Afro is a decade too early). I have conflicted feelings about "vintage," because Georgia in the 1950s was hardly a time to be blindly romanticizing fashion. However, I'll spare y'all for now and save the social implications for another post...

I always find the most amazing inspiration at: 

http://16stonevintage.com/,  

http://vintageblackglamour.tumblr.com/, 

http://ofanotherfashion.tumblr.com/, and 

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/vanvechten/

The Outfit Details:

Dress: Handmade (by Me) 

(using a Simplicity pattern that is unfortunately discontinued 

and Brother & Sister brand fabric I purchased at Hobby Lobby  )

Cardigan: The Limited

Sweater Clip: Vintage (via Etsy)

Gloves: David's Bridal

Hair Accessory: Old Navy

Shoes: BCBGeneration

I'm a BGLH Natural Hair Style Icon!

What an honor; Thanks BGLH!

http://blackgirllonghair.com/2012/04/elizabeth-natural-hair-style-icon-2/

The Sloppy Seconds, Thirds, & Fourths...

At some point in my hair journey {since I chopped it off and started over in December 2010} I've used each of these product lines by Bumble and Bumble, Frederic Fekkai, and Hair Rules. I was pleased with results of each of them but they were too pricey for the amount of hair on my head multiplied how much I had to use. So I decided to stick with Kinky-Curly. I love the stuff :)

But I ended up with random half-used bottles of expensive elixirs that I didn't want to waste. I always thought that the manufacturer's recommendation to use all of the products of the same group together was baloney. So I decided I would mix up the remaining products to wash, condition, and style my hair. Needless to say, it was a disaster! My hair was matted, knotty, and dry. So tonight I will be taking a few hours to gingerly detangle the mess that I made.

I learned a valuable lesson: Being thrifty does not pay when it comes to my hair.

Fashion Imitates Art: Jackson Pollock's Action Painting

My very own digital action painting that I creating at http://jacksonpollock.org/

Tights & Top: Target | Cardigan & Skirt: Gap | Cape: BX | Gloves: Vintage | Shoes: Aerosoles

Sharing from Vogue.com: Julia Sarr-Jamois’s Statement Hair

A personal style article about Ms. Sarr-Jamois from Vogue. 

 

Photo: Vanessa Jackman/vanessajackman.blogspot.com

Sharing from Vogue.com

THE ART NERD WILL HAVE A DAY OUT! A Crown of Glory Affair (via Tubman African American Museum Website)

Wear your fancy hairdos, head wraps, and yes hats too.What adorns a lady’s head is her Crown and Glory!

Come for an afternoon of celebrating our inner and outer beauty. You will be treated to an afternoon of pampering, yummy delights, and feel like the queen and princess you are.

This event features Equal Rites the highly acclaimed exhibition by  internationally renowned Atlanta artist Michael D. Harris. The exhibit exemplifies the historic essence and beauty of Hair, Skin, and the Spirit.

Special guests include Chi Ezekwueche (head wraps), Dr. Anissa Jones (skin care and massage therapy), Yolanda “Y-O” Latimore (locks and twisting), Gloria Marable (Shh! It’s A Wig), Mae Parks (braiding), and Pat Person (accessories).

A Crown of Glory Affair
Saturday, December 17th
12:00 Noon–2:00 P.M.
Tickets: $10.00 (BUY ONLINE)

TUBMAN AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM
340 Walnut Street
Macon, Georgia 31201
Tel: (478) 743-8544

Salon de la Afro.Art.Nerd

BOWS versus 'FROS

The larger & longer my hair has gotten the less confident I've become with wearing hair accessories. I wrote a post last week admiring Elle Varner's look at Black Girls Rock! I took a few notes and some observations so that I can make some use of my huge collection of hair flair.

1. Common Sense. There isn't a clip or comb in this world that accommodate my mane so I must stick to headbands or decor attached to bobby pins (my head will be throbbing in 15 minutes).
2. Balance. As much as I love earrings and necklaces, I cannot wear all three at the same time.
3. Simplicity. Keep the hairstyle as simple as possible to promote an air of sophistication to a flamboyant accessory. And if I choose to wear an out of this world afro, I'll probably let my hair do the talking without accessories. 
4. Selectivity. Choose accessories adventurously but wisely (if Mini-me goes crazy over it, I didn't choose the right accessory).

Hair Accessories by Forever 21

Just for Laughs...

Salon de la Afro.Art.Nerd

I enjoyed my standing appointment at Salon de la Afro.Art.Nerd this week--no waiting, no gossip, and no overcharging because my hair is "too thick."  When I made my morning debut, Mini-me says, "Mommy, you have a Jheri-Curl." My response: "As long as my hair doesn't saturate the back of my sweater, we're cool." Crisis averted.

STAY IN YOUR LANE!

After last weekend's hair debacle left me with a head of hair that feels and looks like steel wool, I decided to stay in my lane. Every so often, I get a wild hair and decide to try something new and 90% of the time it fails horribly as far as beauty products are concerned. No more experiments for me. I have a routine that works and I'm going to stick with it.

Salon de la Afro.Art.Nerd

RESPECT THE WISDOM OF THE ‘FRO

I’m supposed to be taking a year off of grad school to rest & rejuvenate. I’m scratching my head, because I don’t think it’s happening. It’s so not happening!

•I promised myself I’d go to a Yoga retreat this year in Atlanta -- it’s come and gone.

•The spa trip I’ve been planning for months…

•The weekend at Lake Oconee…

•The hiking in North Georgia…

•The membership to Yoga Moga…

•And meditation classes…

•The pink Schwinn cruiser…

Who inspired this sudden epiphany? Two women with the most magical afros that I’ve ever seen (besides my Mum's) – Tracee Ellis Ross and Michaela Angela Davis.

My long lost girlfriend, Tracee Ellis Ross revealed in an interview that after Girlfriends she was able “to do all the other things that fill (her) well” (Jet 10.10/17.2011, 21). I read that sentence at least five times because I didn't get it – really.  As a military wife, my husband’s core values became my own: Service before self makes self care almost impossible.

[On a side note, I love how Ross incorporates the realities of military life in her projects. I will always remember Joan kidnapping Aaron to flee to Mexico to escape his deployment. Helen’s phone call with her son in Afghanistan last week was such a sweet moment and I’m eager to see if Dr. Carla Reed can intervene in any of Helen’s residual trauma.]

And then came the Tweet from @MADvison (22 October 2011):  

“Self Care is not self indulgent, Self Destruction is. This has been my recent deep consideration. Care for self with stillness, wholesome food, prayer, excellent medical, emotional, physical attention, are soul/love based. Learning addictions, obsessions, resistance are so ego/fear rooted. How do you self care & self indulge?” 

I sat holding my Blackberry thinking too hard about a question that I already had the answer to…

TO BE CONTINUED