Product Review: Tangle Teezer

If some of you are looking at this title with your jaw-dropped, understand that I too fall in with the band wagons at times. I just felt like I had to try this item for myself due to the large amount of rave reviews, along with the handful of not so great reviews. I only review products when I have used them on at least 3 occasions. I also like to put some reviews out there for comparisons on 4b hair, however I'm not really a product junkie, so I rarely feel the urge to try a new product. *I bought the TT several months ago, in March or April. Here's my review...

Source

Cost: $9.99 from Sally's

Aesthetics: The product came in a plastic cube-like container. It comes in hot pink and black, I bought the hot pink TT. It's made out of plastic, is comfortable to hold on to, and has flexible bristles. I also like that you can easily tell how much hair I was removing with the hot pink color against my dark brown hair.
 
My Application: I used this product on four occasions. I used it to help detangle my hair on wet hair, and I also used it for a dry detangle.
 
PROS: The dry detangle gave me the PERFECT blow out look. My hair was well-detangled, and cute as it was just detangled. The wet detangle did appear to give my hair a better detangle.
 
CONS: This thing ripped my hair out! On the dry detangle, some hair strands were removed from the root, and some also came out in small pieces. When I write REMOVED I mean it - they weren't shed hairs. On the wet detangle, I found that it created a lot more tension at my roots. I experienced more hair loss using the TT when compared with my Denman. The noise that it made when combing through my hair was not enjoyable either.

Bottom Line: While the TT was wonderful for giving my hair a perfectly blown out look, it wreaked havoc on my strands. If you don't care about breakage - I'd say go for it, your hair will definitely be cute! If retention and overall health is a goal of yours, I say pass, but you'll probably try it for yourself. I gave my TT to a friend. I may buy another one, just because I do put aesthetics over health at times. *Shrug*

Quinoa Cake with a Tzatziki Sauce

These quinoa cakes were a nice, quick meal, and they were delicious. Surprisingly, I didn't get the recipe from my Quinoa 365 book. I got it from my new favorite food blog.

Quinoa Cake with Tzatziki Sauce
Source: The Healthy Foodie
Makes 6 patties

QUINOA CAKE
Ingredients

• 2½ cups cooked quinoa
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup (or 4) egg whites
• 2 green onions, finely chopped
• 45g extra sharp cheddar cheese
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper

Directions

1. Combine the quinoa, eggs, egg whites, green onion, cheese, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Add the bread crumbs, stir, and let sit for a few minutes so the crumbs can absorb some of the moisture. Form into six patties.
2. Heat a little bit of olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the patties, if they’ll fit with some room between each and cook until the bottoms are deeply browned, about 7 to 10 minutes.
3. Carefully flip the patties with a spatula and cook the second sides for 7 minutes, or until golden.
4. Transfer to serving plate, top with a pinch of watercress leaves and a poached egg. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
5. The quinoa mixture keeps nicely in the refrigerator for a few days; you can cook patties to order, if you prefer.

TZATZIKI SAUCE

Ingredients

• ½ large English cucumber
• 1 tsp salt
• ¾ cups 0% fat plain Greek yogurt
• ¼ tsp freshly-squeezed lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ⅛ tsp black pepper, freshly-grated
• 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley leaves
• 2 tbsp finely chopped mint leaves

Directions

1. Peel the cucumber and remove the seeds by halving it lengthwise and running a spoon down the middle to scoop out the seeds. Slice in half lengthwise again, then dice into ¼ inch cubes.
2. Place the chopped cucumber in a fine sieve and sprinkle with salt. Top with paper towels and add some weight, such as a large can, or small saucepan over top. Place in the refrigerator to drain while you prepare the rest of the ingredients, preferably longer if you can, about 30 minutes.
3. Combine yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, black pepper, parsley, and mint in a bowl. Stir to combine.
4. Remove cucumbers from the fridge and wipe off as much remaining moisture as you can, using additional paper towels.
5. Add the chopped cucumber to the yogurt mixture and stir to combine.
6. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour before serving to allow the flavors to fully develop.

I served this cake over some bread, and for the other days - I just ate it with the sauce on top - it was yummy!

Gone

Top - F21 (2005?); Pants - Motherhood Maternity; Shoes - Steve Madden

Date: Sunday, June 26, 2011

I'm happy to say that my move went very well. I hired Go Go Philly Movers, and they were quick, friendly and VERY economical! My brother snapped these photos of me on our way to PYT for a nice dinner after a long move. He forgot to tell me I had one twist just sticking out, moving with the wind, and that my bulky key were in my pocket - hence I felt the need to put my hand in my pocket - awkward. He also forgot to tell me I look tired as dirt, but I guess that's what one day of moving will do.

Chillin like a villain

Top - Banana; Short - Anthro; Shoes - Steve Madden; Headband - Anthro

Date: Saturday, June 25, 2011

I am the queen of using corny phrases. I see absolutely nothing wrong with them - in fact, I love them! I used phrases like, "chillin like a villain" and "see  you later alligator" all the time...then I started losing friends, so I only say these phrases around close friends - just kidding (halfway). Anyway, I spent this weekend surrounded by boxes because this was my "moving weekend." Sadly, my lease is up, and I need more space for my little baby when she arrives. I truly am going to miss living in my box studio apartment.

If you didn't know - I'm delivering in Nothern Virginia where my parents live, and tele-working from there starting next week up until my due date (July 29). I'll be back in Philly after my maternity leave. While I chilled, I watched the entire Season 1 of Drop Dead Diva - it's my new favorite TV series. Seriously - I love the series - I think it's part witty, part funny, part love story and part entertaining. Everything that I need in a quality show!

PS - this headband is the same one for my 2YO Anniversary Giveaway, just in another print. How awful that is it that I got one for myself also because I love it so much? SMH.
PSS - I love how while I don't have cable, Twitter lets me know all the foolishness that goes on in modern day events #betawards, which it seems were mediocre, per usual.

Smile, Sofull Sista is 2YO - GIVEAWAY

There are a lot of summer birthdays close to me - my blog, my baby (literally) and mine! Most of you weren't here in the beginning, or for the first year. I looked back on my very first post and reflected on what was going on in my life at the time: I was moving to a new apartment, I made a new commitment to my health and I was just 1 year out of college! Now, just two years later, I'm going to be a mom (SHOCKING), I've followed through on my commitment to health, and my career is moving along quite well also.

I did some style/re-vamping to the blog in honor of the anniversary last week, and I hope you all like it. I revised the banner, I added some social media buttons, and set my blog up to EASILY be followed on bloglovin, and RSS. Additionally, I have a new email address: sofullsista@gmail.com. Finally, I created a facebook fan page, AND I'm tweeting more than my blog post titles (@mowitafro)!

Thank you to those who have joined me on my journey. I truly appreciate the comments, views and shout-outs. This blog is an extension of me, and I love being able to share. So, in honor of my 2-year anniversary, I'm going to have a giveaway - my very first one! Here are the rules:

1. Must be a follower/subscribe to Sofull Sista
2. Must be at least 18 years old
3. Must reside in the US (sorry - I wanted this to be international, but I just can't swing it right now!)

THE GIVEAWAYS
I had to think long and hard about them, and in the end, I decided to give away something that reflects the spirit of Sofull Sista. So, I'm giving away one cookbook focused on healthy meals, one dessert cookbook, and a silk headband from my FAVORITE STORE.

Giveaway #1: Quinoa 365
While quinoa is considered a "full protein" and is very well known amongst vegetarians, it's really a great grain for everyone. This book incorporates quinoa into your everyday life for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike! This was an easy choice considering my love for good, healthy food, and there are recipes for EVERYONE!

Giveaway #2: Milk and Cookies
Seriously guys, I don't have a TON of dessert posts, but I always talk about my sweet tooth. It is my vice (and the reason why I'll never have sleek abs, and I'm ok with that) ;-).

Giveaway #3: Silk Turban-Headband
I wanted to have something hair-related. Since I'm not a product junkie, I thought this headband would be great for all of my followers! Yes ladies, it is 100% Silk, and it has an elastic band in the back!

To enter:
Comment below, and put what you would like to win (you can rank them 1-3: 1 being most desired, 3 being least desired). Extra entries are allowed if you like me on facebook, and/or follow me on twitter. That means you can comment to enter up to three times. However, you can only win once.

All giveaways are sponsored by me, Monique. The contest will be open through July 4, 2011 until 11:59 PM EST. Winners will be chosen using a random number generator. Winners will be selected and announced some time during the week of July 5. Thank you again and good luck!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

Queue song, "If loving you is wrong, I don't want to be right..." Is this dessert healthy? No, however I am one who believes that it is totally ok to indulge yourself in something totally "wrong" on occasion (once or twice a month). I do typically eat dessert 3-4 times a week, but I save the heavy weights like this for very special occasions. What was the occasion? I wanted to indulge my sweet fix. Yep, I use the term "special occasion" very lightly when it comes to dessert!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars
Made about 20 bars
Source: The Healthy Foodie

CRUST

Ingredients

• 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs SS: I used a little over 1 graham cracker pie crust - just dump it in a bowl, and you have crumbs
• 5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 2/3 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Butter a 9″square baking pan. Line pan with parchment paper, leaving enough to extend over the sides. Butter the parchment paper.
2. Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter until crumbs are moistened. Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Press crust mixture into bottom of pan and 1” up sides. Bake for 6 minutes. Set pan on wire rack to cool.

COOKIE DOUGH

Ingredients

• 5 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips SS: I found this to be A LOT of chocolate chips for me, next time, I'd use half of this amount

Directions

1. Using an electric mixer, mix butter, brown sugar, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract at medium speed until smooth.
2. Decrease mixer speed to low and add flour. Mix just until incorporated.
3. Stir in chocolate chips.
4. Roll cookie dough into 21 little balls. Set aside.

FILLING

Ingredients

• 16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups Dulce de Leche (not to be mixed in) SS: I used a caramel sauce

Directions

1. Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar just until smooth. Add egg and vanilla extract, beating just until blended.
2. Spread Dulce de Leche onto baked crust then pour batter right on top.
3. Place your cookie dough balls over the top of the filling.
4. Bake about 30 minutes, or until set. Place on wire rack to cool. SS: While mine baked, some of the caramel sauce spilled on top - I didn't mind, but it's not as pretty.

The original recipe had an additional caramel and chocolate drizzle on top. That part of the dessert turned out to be an epic fail for me (who knew you couldn't melt chocolate in the microwave - it burned). However, I found that the dessert had enough deliciousness without the additional drizzle.

Uncomfortable

Top - Urban; Skirt - H&M (maternity); Shoes - Anthro; Earrings - Anthro

Date: Sunday, June 19, 2011

Things are finally starting to get a little real now that I've creeped into the middle of Month 8. I'll actually be 35 weeks on Friday - 5 more to go til DDay, 1 more week until full-term. I stopped working out last week, and it seems like everything is moving at the speed of light now. I'm having these minor sporadic contractions (Braxton Hicks), which is normal as long as they're not frequent or super painful. They're very mild - but they cause me to feel like doing nothing. They make me feel extremely uncomfortable. Add to that the fact that it's 80 degrees, and I'm done. Adding to that, I wonder if I'm carrying a newborn or a toddler, because this girls' movements pack a real punch. Supposedly, this is all normal (says my doctor...and everyone else). I've come to the conclusion that only during pregnancy is being steadily uncomfortable normal. Trust me - I'm sparing you the details, I didn't even want to get into my boob situation...just uncomfortable.

What I Wore Book Giveaway

Hello Lovelies,

One of my favorite bloggers, is having a book giveaway. While I'm shamelessly entering myself into the giveaway, I'm dually sharing the news with all of you to encourage you to do the same! Or you can just get the book yourself, whichever you prefer.

Source

Honestly, I've already pre-ordered a copy, but Jessica is also throwing in a personalized illustration in the giveaway - score! Can you just imagine how cute I'll be as one of her illustrations? Please don't take that as a blatant and vain comment, I really think all her illustrations are adorably cute in general.

Anywho, click here to see the original giveaway post. Click here to pre-order the book (publishes on July 5, 2011).

Fake me out

Dress (worn as top) - Fcuk; Shorts - Arden B; Shoes - Urban; Lips - MAC (Dark Side); Bracelets - Anthro & Gift

Date: Friday, June 17, 2011

I have to make a confession. While I look totally calm and cool in this photo shoot, I was super geeked about this outift. I've explained before that I was upset that I wouldn't get the chance to do any real color blocking this summer. Why? Well - none of my bright-colored clothes fit, and we don't talk about maternity clothes here - it's just not allowed. Obviously I'm not going to buy these adorable orange shorts either in my current state. You can only imagine my excitement when I pulled out these shorts, slipped them on, and found that they fit comfortably under my big 'ol belly! CLEARLY I had to pair this with this dress that I've worn a million times before . I was super excited about all of it. Somehow I maintained a totally calm and cool photo shoot - FAKE ME OUT!

SN: In case you're wondering - I don't have my twists in anymore...so basically I've put locs on hold. I'll explain why later. I know, I changed my mind AGAIN in a two month period, but that just shows the kind of relationship we have. We = me and my hair.

Happy Father's Day Dad

Considering that I did a huge Mother's Day post, I'd be remiss if I did not shout out my dad on Father's Day (granted I am a day late). This year, my dad spent Father's Day with his older sister, who just received her Bachelor's degree. Though I missed him this Father's Day, he's been a pretty awesome dad, and I must say that I love the guy. I give him a hard time at times, but what daughter doesn't? To you dad - thanks for being the awesome dad/mentor/provider that you've been. I love you!
 
Below is a picture from one of the proudest moments in his life - his graduation from Harvard Business School (and yes guys - that's me, Little Mo).

To all the other dads who fit the mold - I hope you had a Happy Father's Day too. Keep doing what you're doing!

Smile

Three things from my week that made me smile...

1. Poppin - New office supply shop that has items COLOR-CODED! Is green your favorite color? Check out poppin for a totally green office packed with pens, rulers, tape dispensers, and more. The screen shot below is just a teaser...trust me!

2. Two new cookbooks I can't wait to dig into. Quinoa 365: The Everyday Superfood by Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming and Market Vegetarian by Ross Dobson.

3. A new design book that is giving me LIFE - beautiful pictures, and inspiration for a wide variety of designs and styles. DECORATE by Holly Becker and Joanna Copestick.

Sweet Potato Quesadilla

I really do love sweet potatoes, I subsitute them with yams any time the store doesn't have them. I made this quesadilla recipe years ago, and I can't remember the exact source. I didn't make it up, but I also went by memory, and I have to admit - I was satisfied again! This is a great filling meal, and with yams having so many great nutrients (Vitamins B, C, Folic Acid and Potassium) - it's hard not to love em.

Sweet Potato Quesadillas
Serves 4-6

Ingredients
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 onion, finely chopped
1 red pepper, finely chopped
1/4 cup blue cheese
4 oz. Monterey cheese
8 tortillas
1 tablespoon EVOO, plus more
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Pour water into a big pot, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the sweet potatoes - let cook until softened.
2. In the meantime, chop up your onion and red pepper. Heat up EVOO in saute pan on medium heat, add the onion and red pepper. Saute until the onion becomes translucent, set aside.
3. Sweet potatoes are soft when you can easily stick a fork in one cube. Once sweet potatoes are softened, drain them in a colander. Add sweet potato to a bowl and mash. Add in the onion, red pepper, blue cheese, and salt and pepper to and mix with a spoon.
4. Spoon about 1/4 of the mixture onto one the tortillas, sprinkle with Monterey cheese, top with another tortilla. Bake tortillas in oven for about 10 minutes at 350 F, or grill them in a pan with EVOO, about 4 minutes per side.

The first time I made these, I baked them in the oven. This time, I grilled them in a pan. The oven version is a little more healthy, but both ways are delicious. The blue cheese adds a surprising zing to the taste, and this ends up being a fairly heart healthy, and tasty meal! As far as portions go - I eat half of one quesadilla and am VERY full, however I'm sure some people may want an entire quesadilla. If you're like me - this meal can stretch pretty well.

How do they do it?

Top - Anthro; Shorts - J. Crew; Hat - Anthro; Shoes - All Black via Anthro *SN - I got the hat for $12 - score!

Date: Sunday, June 12, 2011

I would say that I'm still fairly new at this whole "personal style blogging thing." Sometimes, I ask myself how other women and men keep up the inspiration and fabulousness 24/7-365.

The weather in Philadelphia has been two things recently: HOT AND HUMID! Those two words can be summarized in one word: DISGUSTING! Do you see what I'm wearing? As close to nothing as humanly possible. I'll admit that I really didn't want to wear the hat, but I felt the outfit needed some spice, so I decided to suffer just a little bit for the sake of style. That statement brings me to my post title - How do they do it?

Now, I don't know if it's just me. But it seems like a lot of personal style bloggers don't react to extreme temperatures. I mean seriously - how DO you accessorize when it's 101 degrees out? Am I adding a scarf? Nope. Chunky necklace? Nope again. How do you wear heels in a winter blizzard?  I thought about that when I took pictures Sunday. I thought, "this is uninspired and just practical, but sometimes it's like that." Honestly, you're lucky you got an outfit pic at all because I really just wanted to lay naked in my apartment. I don't know how they do it, but they are really pushing themselves! Unfortunately, here at Sofull Sista, you're getting straight up practical. Sometimes, I really do just wear a t-shirt and shorts.

Sundance

Dress - Nordstrom (2007); Shoes - Steve Madden (c 2006); Necklace - Borrowed from mom; Belt - Banana

Date: Saturday, June 11, 2011

When I was a little girl, one of my aunt's friends illustrated and authored a book titled, Sundance. She gave it to me as a gift. I remember the book had lots of color, beautiful images and a pretty decent storyline too. This dress reminds me of Sundance, with all of the lively colors, and I feel like I should be dancing in it! I started to do a little dance during the photo shoot. I was free and feeling it in the first picture, then I realized people were laughing at me in the last picture. So I was awkward.

What NOT to say to an expecting woman

I've accumulated several handfuls of funny stories since I've been expecting. Instead of writing about it in an outfit post - I decided to create a quick video to highlight some things that people have said to me. This is really random, it's meant to be light-hearted and funny. Enjoy!

Wonder how my style's progressed? I updated my Pregnant Style File page with my Month 7 looks - check it out!

Smile

Three things from my week that made me smile...

1. Strictly Stiching - Etsy site. Remember I told you about my friend who's AMAZING, and she made a blanket for my little Naja? Well - you should check out her Etsy site, she has a variety of crocheted blankets...who doesn't love handmade stuff?

2. X-Men: First Class. WHOA BABY! I've hinted before that I'm a nerd, well, clearly that's where the love of sci-fi makes total sense. This X-Men movie was SO GOOD! I kept saying, "Magneto is so bad ass!"

3. PYT in Northern Liberties, Philadelphia. Yep - they truly deserve a spotlight, they're known for their burgers - AND they have good vegetarian and vegan ones! Pictured below: Calibunga Burger  with fries- Full flavored white bean, basil, garlic, tomato & breadcrumb patty, topped with fresh avocado, lettuce & caramelized onion "special sauce" with fries.

Polenta Baked with Corn, Tomato & Basil

Polenta is summer food - period. This version of baked polenta calls for seasonal tomatoes, fresh corn right off the cob, and basil. I made this dish for my family the week of my baby shower. My brother loved the dish so much, he still talks about it! The great thing about this dish, is that it can be modified to not take up your entire evening with cooking. You'll see below I went for store-bought polenta, and tomato sauce - it was still delicious!

Polenta Baked with Corn, Tomato & Basil
Serves 6-8
Source: Dana Treat - Treat Yourself

Ingredients

Polenta SS: I bought two rolled packs of it from Whole Foods, you can check out Dana's recipe for it here
1½-2 cups of your favorite tomato sauce SS: I used 1 jar of the Tomato-Basil Whole Foods Brand of sauce
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
3 ears of corn, kernels shaved off the cob SS: I swear this was the secret weapon to this recipe - use fresh kernels, don't use a short cut here, it really made the flavor vibrant and subtly sweet
Salt
¾ pound tomatoes, cored and seeded SS: I used regular tomatoes on the vine
1 tbsp. olive oil
Pepper
1 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 or 2 jalapeño chiles, seeded and finely chopped
¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat the butter in a large skillet and add the corn.  Sauté over medium heat just until the corn is tender, about 5 minutes for very fresh corn.  Season with a sprinkling of salt.  While the corn is cooking, cut the tomatoes into large pieces.  Marinate the tomatoes in the olive oil with a ¼ teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of pepper.  Cool the corn and toss with the tomatoes, half the basil, and the chiles.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.  Pour the tomato sauce into the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking pan.  Arrange the polenta triangles upright in tows across the width of the dish, overlapping the triangles slightly; use all of the polenta.  Spoon the vegetables into the spaces between the polenta triangles, separating the rows as you go.  Sprinkle with the cheese.  Cover and bake for 25 minutes, then uncover and bake for 10 more minutes, until the gratin is bubbly.  Sprinkle on the remaining basil and serve.

The Evolution of Style

Dress - Anthro (2008); Tank - Urban; Sandals - Sam Edelman via Nordstrom (2008)

Date: Monday, June 6, 2011

This is one of the few dresses that I spent about $50-$70 for, and I still love it to this day. I love the colors, the subtle butterfly print, the comfortability, just everything is LOVE! Back then, I was less frugal with my spending. Now, I rarely spend more than $50 on one item (outside of a good pair of shoes). It's great that I still have this dress, and that I actually WEAR IT three years later...RARE!

I can honestly say that I don't have a lot of clothing items from 2008 left in my closet. Why? Because I was still figuring out what my style was in 2008. In 2008, I bought some things that were cute, but they weren't "me" - or they didn't flatter my shape as I now know certain cuts can. It really wasn't until LATE 2009, and 2010 that I figured out what my look was. For the past year, I have had some consistency in terms of what was "Monique" what was not "Monique", and what was just AWESOME!

This is the cool thing about style is that it really can evolve and change, mine certainly has.

Two act scene change

Dress - Anthro; Necklace - Anthro; Shoes - Target; Hat - J. Crew

Date: Sunday, June 5, 2011

Let me tell you about my Sunday, and let's pretend my day was a play.

ACT I
On Sunday I was scheduled to attend an afternoon tea for the mentoring group that I chair for my sorority. I got up, went to church and put on this lovely silk dress. I realize, silk does not like me. I had a "Silk -friend or foe?" post almost a year ago. Well today silk was my foe! I returned from church, snapped some photos and used the ladies room. When I looked back in the mirror SOMETHING got on the dress. I don't know what, but it was SOMETHING, it was big, apparent and baaaaad. I quickly started telling myself off, saying things like, "OMG Monique, this is just your life! How typical. What are you going to do now?"

We were asked to wear a hat to the tea. Thus, this being the only tea-appropriate hat, I had to find a way to make the hat work, which means I had to find SOMETHING with the color yellow in it. Well, I'm 8 months pregnant, and nothing fits - I mean NOTHING, getting dressed is getting a little rough. Thus, I decided to just try to make the dress work in another way. This is what I came up with...

ACT II

Dress (worn as top)- Anthro; Skirt - Anthro; Shoes - Anthro; Hat - J. Crew

Yep, I just wore this skirt last weekend! I clearly like act one's outfit better. It's almost as if my boobs grew between act one and two also, or they were just more emphasized with the whole "dress as top look." The dress was pulling more than I like, but I just went with it - ugh! Additionally, the skirt would not sit in one place since this blouse was silk (compared to when I wore it with a cotton shirt). Oh well, everyone else said I looked nice, but I think they were just saying that to make me feel better. That's the end to my story.

CURTAIN


ENCORE
Did I mention that I BORROWED the dress from my cousin? Uh...yeh, I did. However, later in the day, I couldn't see a thing on the dress but wrinkles - let's hope I didn't ruin it for life.

Jazzy Lady

Top - Anthro; Pants - J. Crew; Sandals - Steve Madden; Hat - Urban; Bracelet - Anthro; Necklace - ??? (c. 2000)

Date: Friday, June 3, 2011

This darn hat makes me feel so cool! I know that a piece of clothing shouldn't really control how you feel, but I definitely felt jazzy in this after work outfit switch.

On Friday, I met up with a high school friend. We went out to PYT in Northern Liberties and had a good time catching up. She also brought Baby Naja a gift - a handmade blanket from her Etsy shop! All in all, I felt jazzy, we ate great food, and baby Naja got another AWESOME gift. What a great way to end the work week.

Smile

This is going to be a special "Smile" post because I have more than three things to smile about. I received this 1970's dresser set from a sorority sister's biological sister - Cost: $0.

L to R: TOP - Hutch, Night Stand, Chest; BOTTOM - Dresser, Handle Close-up *The hutch is supposed to go on top of the dresser

The furniture is in WONDERFUL shape! I think it was originally purchased at Ethan Allen back in the 1970's. I want to repurpose everything because I really don't like the pale yellow color. Right now, I plan on turning the hutch into a bookshelf for Naja. I should be able to make it sturdy by adding a wood board to the bottom for some additional support. I plan on using the dresser and chest for my bedroom furniture. Finally, I'll use the nightstand as a stand in my "family room area." Considering that - I think you'll see three totally different looks at the end of this repurposing project.

I really need some help with what color to paint the dresser and chest for my room. Originally I was going for cool tones in my room, but I scored a BEAUTIFUL coral duvet at a sample sale. It has a variety of coral colors - I'm not sure if I should dye it...This totally changes my room colors/themes.

If you have any ideas for inspiration let me know. I'm going to do some brainstorming myself and I'll get back to you soon! This is going to be my "maternity project". The goal is to repurpose everything before Naja arrives. Here's to hoping!

Sun-kissed

Top - H&M; Belt - Banana (c. 2004); Skirt - Anthro; Sandals - Urban

Date: Monday, May 30, 2011

Whoever says brown people don't tan is right - we get more brown! HAHA! On Sunday, I did some sight-seeing in DC with friends, and I left DC being kissed by the sun. The glow is solely due to the sun.

I loved playing outside as a young girl, I was a bit of a tomboy. Thus, I remember being much darker as a young child compared to now. Whenever summer rolls around, I always try to get outside because I don't like being cooped up inside. The result is always a lovely dark-brown glow. This is very much so the beginning!

BTW - I'm moving in to Month 8 tomorrow, so this will be my last Month 7 outfit post. Time flies!