What IS short hair exactly?

A helpful, yet dangerous weapon

Errr...so I haven't posted in a month O_o. FINALS DID IT! I would have posted this today, however I was doing all the errands I wanted to do for the past month. I hope you understand!

So, my birthday passed earlier this month and I did the one thing that I really wanted to do on my birthday-straighten my natural hair. All Saturday afternoon, I did everything in my power to safely heat style all this hair I have

After it was all said and done,  I was happy about the length, but I absolutely HATED how my ends looked. To me, they looked so ratty and chewed up and it wasn't healthy. After much analysis and celebrating a new year, I decided that i can cut it off. I sort of talked myself through the process that I had reached my ultimate hair goal of armpit length hair and that hair is indeed hair, it will grow back and as long as I kept to my regimen, it will look better than it did before. So Sunday night, I did the brave girl thing and cut about 2 or so inches off.

Now fast forward to Tuesday afternoon. I washed it so that my curls could come back. No heat damage was apparent, but what did hit me was that my hair felt so...short! I went into a rant on twitter and had the following conversation with a friend of mine. It went a little something like this:

Black Friday gives me HIVES!

Recently, I've been trying to do my best with trying to get my grades up as much as possible, therefore I have 1) not found the time to write and 2) didn't have inspiration on things to write about (although i do have plenty of pieces for what may turn out to be the last addition to Closet Overhaul '11). However, I do want to get into this "Black Friday" madness because all the videos coming out on YouTube give me hives with how crazy people can get.

I hope the savings over at Urban outfitters were STEEP because that is too much pushing and shoving to get a few dollars off of a dress...or a bag...or a top. No shade to Urban Outfitters, I quite like that store!

(._.)

Yes, I understand that these irons were selling for $2. Is it worth getting into a panic for something I could find for a few dollars more on Amazon from the comfort of my own couch however? No, I don't think so either.

If these videos are what Black Friday is all about, then i'm perfectly fine with just staying home and eating more turkey and things of that nature.

If anyone reading this has ever experienced the Black Friday madness, I have one question for you: Was it worth it?

Another bored Saturday=Make up of the weekend!

Here we go again, another Saturday afternoon goes by where I don't feel like doing homework. As the day goes by, the only bit of activity I do all day is to stay in bed all day watching youtube clips, checking email and logging onto Twitter. By the time 3 PM came along, I decided to finally get out of bed and play with colors. Today, I felt like I wanted some smoke on my eyes and this was the result-for better or for worse. I think my application has really improved (I hope! Constructive criticism is always welcome.)

More pictures and a product list once you get into the cut

YOUUUU SNEAKY MOM!

A Saturday random for you all-Jimmy Kimmel issued a challenge to parents to tell their kids that they ate their kid's halloween candy. Of course, all kinds of tantrums and tears ensued, but these two are my favorite.

This video made me like kids again. Their reaction is PRICELESS!

Have a good weekend!

Well, this just changed the #naturalhair game for ME

GAME CHANGER!

Eight years ago as the Great Hair Disaster of 2003 (I will detail this great battle in which many hair strands were lost in another post) was at it's peak, I did a lot of research. Questions that I remember googling:

• How long will it take for my hair to grow back?
• How can I make my hair grow back fast?
• Why did my hair break off?
• What relaxer should I use for my hair not to break off?

I bet you're looking at these questions and laughing-I am too, I was 13 at the time! When I finally got the facts straight, I learned that hair grease was bad for the hair, and in my mind, this changed EVERYTHING! No more itchy scalp, no more random snowstorms on my shoulders, no more dry, crispy hair. All of this is how "grease" felt after my last relaxer and now that I was going natural and learned that grease is bad, this absolutely changed the game for me!

Through those eight years, I've been tweaking and trying different things to get growth. I started to feel that my products worked for me...maybe a few months ago and I felt relieved that after all these years, I finally found a hair routine/regimen that worked for me.

Now, lets fast forward to about....2 weeks ago. I know many of you saw Nikki's post from NYC about how she uses Dax pomade to get her signature braidouts. I looked at these pictures and I thought for a bit-what if hair grease could help with my ends. I went into my pantry cave of products and found a jar of grease alllll the way in the back and looked at how much was left and felt relieved that there was some product in the jar. After I wash, conditioner and put leave in conditioner into my hair and then put the infamous grease on my strands (not my scalp! That would have been bad!). I did that all on Saturday night, I write this post on a Wednesday afternoon and I only had to moisturize (ick moist sounds like such a dirty, creepy word D: ) this morning.

So I write this to show that 1) regimes are forever changing, 2) Don't discount ANY product, you never know how it's going to work until you try it and 3) the natural hair is forever changing, make up the rules for the game!

So is there any discovery that you made that you felt changed the natural hair journey? 

Costco does make-up brushes!?

Before, I start this story, let me describe my mom's relationship with Costco. My mother's go-to store, like a lot of people in this country is Costco. I would say that 95% of the time, if it's not available at Costco, unless she really wants something, she won't get it. Although it's just me and her in the house, This house is practically furnished by anything you could find at Costco.

So on Wednesday, she brought home this big purple box. At first, I thought she had a bit of a splurge (I understood of course, who doesn't deserve a splurge once in a while as long as you can afford it. We don't want to be buying MAC Lightscapade when you haven't paid the light bill!) and from what I saw, I thought it was a brand new cutlery set. Then I look a little closer and I see this

What I saw from far away

At first, my face went like this---> O_o. Don't get me wrong, I am very appreciative that my mom saw these brushes and thought that I would like them-hell, I have been talking about getting new brushes for months! I was starting to go on like I was Bubba talking about shrimp! You know, "there's all kinds of brushes-foundation brushes, crease brushes, kabuki brushes, powder brushes, liner brushes"...you get the idea lol! On the other hand, I had my mind set that my long-term brushes were going to be from MAC because all my eye brushes are MAC and they are still in pristine condition six some even seven years later. I am willing to give everything a chance because you never know what your new favorite product will look like.

EDIT: 11/13-The brushes are still there, I just wanted to make a few notes before you read on:
1) These are NOT the Borghese brushes that were released a while back.
2)The brushes retail for $24.99. I just remembered that I forgot to put the price in as a part of my review.

So, here's what's in the box. There's lots of pictures to show what I'm going on about, so jump on in!

A letter to my skin condition

Dear eczema,

I don't use the word hate, but I know this for sure, I don't like you. I don't want anything to do with you as a matter of fact. You make things very awkward, and the worst part is-I didn't even do anything to you!

Do you remember that time in the 8th grade when we first met? I remember it so well-a friend of mine complimented my eye make up. As I tried to process this for five seconds, I realized that you're so visible that you made one of my eyelids a different color. The only way I could save myself from embarrassment was to thank her for the compliment as I slumped into my seat in the lunchroom. After that, I did everything possible to get rid of you and it worked...for a while because you were gone and I thought I never had to worry about you again.

Well, I got out of the shower today and I see that after a seven year hiatus, you have reappeared on the eyelid where we first met. My eyelid isn't enough for you for some reason because now, I see that you have found the area behind my ears and perhaps my scalp because I see more snow on my shoulders than a blizzard in the Colorado Rockies (my homemade still-being-tested peppermint oil hair spray is after you. AFTER YOU I SAY!). This will not do. THIS WILL NOT DO AT ALL! I can't wear make-up for a while [I'm expecting my little black box from MAC by Wednesday, can't try it out until it goes away >:( ] and it's making me more self-conscious than I already am. THANKS FOR THAT!

I guess what I'm trying to say is-you suck. Once I get rid of you, I hope you we never cross paths again.

Yours (with a Q-Tip of anti-fungal cream in hand),
Jess x

--Do you have a skin condition that sucks? Go ahead, write a letter to it, tell it about itself!

Modcloth shoppping: It's time to step out of the comfort zone

YAY SHOPPING BAG!

Last month when I did a post about interesting finds, it was more about trinkets and shoes that I found on Etsy because I was curious about what was for sale. I had heard about it, but I never seriously browsed the site, so I took it as a personal challenge to find items that I liked because they so different from what I've seen everyday at the Targets and Kohls' of this world.

So this month, I'm going to take a similar challenge, but on Modcloth. If you haven't heard of Modcloth, it's described as an indie/vintage online clothing store. This will NOT be a wishlist, this is a challenge. I would love for you to join in to this challenge :-D

Now, here's why this is a challenge for me-Indie/vintage is so new to me. When I think "indie", my mind automatically goes to Urban outfitters and American Apparel [some may argue that this is not "indie", but "hipster". oh semantics, same thing in my mind] and I would describe my up-and-coming style as very casual and I love things that are versatile and could change for any occasion, so wading into this different kind of style was very...interesting

Come check out what I found! I would love to know what you think and partake if you are so inclined ;-)

I don't like this conditioner anymore...now what?

Meh.

So after a few uses, I decided that I'm not a fan of the Queen Helene conditioner that I talked about many moons ago. For me, it didn't give me the slip that I really wanted and I kind of fell out of love with the smell of the conditioner. Oh well, that happens.

Usually, it would be another product for the product junk basket. As it would sit there and collect dust, many may look at what at one time held so much hope and promise and be a bit sad. Well don't be sad anymore, here are some things you can do with that abandoned conditioner!

Am I really about to pay $19 for MASCARA?!

This collection isn't mine. I kind of wish it were *_*

The title is a question I asked myself on Friday as I was getting my new foundation [HUGE shout out to MUFE 178!!!! I no longer look orange when I put on foundation! :-D]

Since my current bottle of mascara is getting ready to hit it's throw-out date (which is about 3-6 months after I first opened it, I had to ask-why am I about to pay $19 + 6% sales tax for something I have to put a date on and throw away in the next few months. I consider my make-up to be an investment, so spending more than 20 dollars on mascara...I'm not so sure if I can keep doing that!

So then, I started thinking-what worth the huge price tag and what can be purchased at CVS/Target/Walmart (since I am starting to venture into drugstore brands) and I broke it down like this...

A youth-friendly #naturalhair meet-up in DC? Let's make it happen!

<3

So I was surfing around on Twitter (this is my twitter page) and I was looking around on the #naturalhair hashtag looking around for random tips when I saw this tweet from Alexandra (her twitter) from The Good Hair Blog discussing a natural hair:

"Would any #naturalhair ladies be willing to host a panel for young black girls interested in transitiong to natural?"

I saw this and definitely wanted to get involved because this area has such a vibrant natural hair scene and I think it would be cool for a huge meet-up to get together for support, stories and lunch. Imagine-a bunch of big-haired ladies down at a chill spot like Busboys and Poets or something chatting about re-defining the standard of beauty in America...DOPE!

I just wanted to get the idea out there and see if anyone was interested and to ask if anyone ever attended a meetup like this. What was your experience like and did you like it? I want to know more :-D

Making budget-friendly pasta

PASTA! :D

If you look carefully enough, some of you may recognize that this looks a lot like the Pesto Cavatappi from Noodles and Company. My nearest Noodles and Co. is a bit out of the way, so I did some experimenting and found an easy way to copy their pesto cavatappi without mushrooms (I DESPISE MUSHROOMS!) So, if you are a beginner in the kitchen or are wanting a good meal for around $10, come on in, I'll show you the ingredients and take you on a crash course on how it's made. 

Note: I'm not really a huge fan on measuring, so if you're really particular on measurements...let loose because cooking is not an exact science and you can get different flavors from food buy not being so exact :)

3 minutes worth of scary flashbacks

Who else had flashbacks after watching this video? Or am I the only one? I haven't had a relaxer in my hair in almost nine years, but hearing the screams made me feel the burns all over again D:

YAY FOR CLEARANCE SHOES!

Macy's has (in my opinion), some of the best shoe clearance sales ever. Actually, lots of department stores and places like TJ Maxx have pretty good shoe clearance sales.

Like these for example. These shoes would have cost about $70+tax had I bought them full price during the season. These were reduced to $25, and I wear an 8.5 US which is a pretty common size. 

This shows once again that one should never overlook the clearance rack because you never know what you can find. I feel like the clearance rack has gotten a stigma for carrying throwaway items that no one wants and in this economy, this is no longer the case.

 What deals have you found and were shocked that the item in question wasn't sold out?

Eyes of Friday Night

So on Friday, I didn't go out because 1) I had forgotten my phone at home therefore I had to go back home and 2) I have too many papers and readings to catch up on. The way that I like to take my mind off school is by practicing how to put on eyeshadow. Weird? Perhaps it is a bit weird, but I've gotten better at my technique!

I have a question for make-up lovers out there: What lip color would you pair this with?

So here's what I came up with. Products are behind the cut.

100 years of East London Style

Seeing as the world of fashion and style are in the midst of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in New York, this week, I found cool video depicting 100 years of  East London style in 100 seconds to get ready for London Fashion Week which starts on Thursday. A few things I found interesting:

• How a lot of our modern day styles are a bit of a mix of past trends
• How absolutely gash 90's style was! D:
• The evolution of menswear fashion. I feel like the 50's was such an epic era for menswear!

September 2011 wish list

I missed several months of wish listing...I miss this series because it sort of encourages me to go shopping and this time, I want to challenge myself to find unique items that wouldn't be found commercially. This month, I made a challenge to find unique odds and ends from Etsy and I didn't just pluck them off the first page of results, I did some proper digging for these items!

1) This bracelet

This is available on etsy at this shop run by CorsoStudio. Perfect for True Blood fans!

2) Duct tape wallet

Have you ever seen a wallet this cool and it was made out of duct tape? No? Me neither! If you're interested, you can find this and many more designs at this shop run by KittysCraft0402.

3) Shoes remixed

Take a regular old pair of shoes and remix them. I thought these were pretty cool although they're not in my size. Shoes with edge are always pretty cool. I found these at GlamorousHeelsToEnvy's store.

4) State Jewelry

One thing that has been on trend recently is "represent your state" jewelry. There are so many cool and unique ways to show off where you live and I just thought this necklace of Maryland was pretty cool. This picture is from IntegrativeCreations' store.

5) Cool Medical ID bracelets

As someone who has asthma and food allergies, I love this bracelet because it doesn't look like your mother's or even your grandmother's medical ID bracelet. It serves its purpose by alerting someone of an allergy while looking good-can your medical bracelet do that?

Misadventures of An Awkward Black Girl

I honestly feel like this is me once I graduate except that I highly doubt that I'll be in her situation by the end...
If you haven't been watching this series, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!?! You can watch the entire series here. The 'F' Word series is pretty good too, so check that out too!

Have a good weekend!

Stop it, you're BLUSHing: Part II

The reason why i was not in a hurry to upload part II...I need more practice!

Remember how I told you that my new blush obsession would come in two parts? Well, I've actually been working on this one for a while-it's just that every time I work on it, I apply the blush in a way that I look like a clown, then I get frustrated with trying to perfect the color, then i end up washing the brush in frustration. I don't know why I'm frustrated at the brush when it's me applying the color!


Part II is my other new favorite blush, NARS Taj Mahal. Like the last blush I bought recently, I bought it off a friend, but you can buy it off of NARS official website because Sephora never carries this blush (sidenote for the easily offended-the names of some blushes are sexual in nature, tread lightly) . It is described as "burnt orange with golden shimmer" and I feel like this is a blush perfect for summer (ironic because I'm writing this on Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer in the US). I've seen that this blush is a popular choice among darker women like myself and I see why, when applied correctly, it blends with the skin perfectly. Read more to see up close pictures of said blush and a shot with this blush applied correctly.

Shopping for Jeans without feeling defeated #3

Hello again!

Continuing the series...its almost done, I promise!

School has started up again, so expect semi-regular postings from now until...December? Yes, from now until December!

So, we've already covered color and length and the reason why I listed these first was because you can eliminate a pair of jeans that you don't want immediately. Now the next three tips are going to take a bit of trial and error-as you try on a few pairs at first, you begin to notice a pattern of what works and what doesn't work. Once this pattern is established, shopping becomes easier and you may be able to find your most loved pair on your first try-and who wouldn't want that, am I right!?

If you missed it:
Part 1
Part 2

Shopping for jeans without feeling defeated #2

So if you have just found this website, hello! This series is based off the frustrations that I vented off from this post about how jean shopping sucks. Well, one Monday afternoon while I was jean shopping,  I made up several rules to eliminate many of the hassles that come with shopping for jeans. Why waste hours trying on jeans that may not fit when you could better utilize that time doing other things?

So that's what these posts are about. If you haven't had the chance to read part 1, read it here. Or just read the post below this one :-D

Shopping for jeans without feeling defeated #1

I don't have time for all of this! 

Jeans shopping is a miserable, mundane, demoralizing process that could eat up your entire day if you're not careful (I wish I were exaggerating!). First, I would find a pair of jeans, and look at the size. If it's the size I wanted, cool, I would head straight for the fitting room. The fitting room is where all the over-analyzing starts: you suddenly start thinking to yourself that you're either:

• Too small
• Too tall
• Your legs are too long
• You're legs are too short
• You're too thin
• You're too big 
• This is not a body criticism, this just proves how much longer you can go on.

So, what if size didn't matter? Yes, I know, saying "size doesn't matter" doesn't help our body issues. That saying is so tired that I can't stand to hear it-in fact I'm mad at myself for even typing that phrase. However, there are some women that unconsciously tie self-esteem to a number on a tag on a piece of clothing. Doing this means that your self-esteem may change even when you're comparing two pairs of jeans from the same company.

So how to get rid of this frustration? Yesterday, I had an epiphany. In 20 minutes of jean shopping, I made up four five three several important points to remember when you are jeans shopping so that you won't waste your energy trying on jeans that frankly, you wouldn't want to try on in the first place!  Once again, I have too much to say, so I have to break up the posts...again. I need to discover the art of brevity -.-

Dear internet, please make this video viral!

11 year old Aliyah Kolf singing Jennifer Hudson's "And I'm Telling You". She's adorable and OMG I LOVE HER HAIR!

I have nothing else intelligent to say. Have a good weekend, and for those on the East Coast, please stay safe, we got a long weekend ahead! D:

Experimenting with: Queen Helen Moisture Rich Conditioner

So a while back, during my once-in-a-blue-moon trip to Whole Foods (a.k.a Whole Paycheck in this post), I went around searching for a new conditioner because the one I had been using previously had started to make my hair itch. Originally, I was on the lookout for Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle conditioner that everyone has been raving about, but once again, that price tag sent me into shock and I had to look for another alternative and because I didn't have any conditioner left at home, I had to find something.

Then, in typical "me" fashion, I looked over at this new conditioner from Queen Helene and thought that I should give it a shot because it didn't cost an entire paycheck and hopefully, I would pick up on a great product that I discovered by accident.

So is this12 oz conditioner worth your $7.99+tax? Read more behind the jump and find out!

Stop it, you're BLUSHing: Part I

So recently, I have really gotten into blushes after wondering whether or not they would work and if it was a necessary part of one's make up routine. I've talked the talk about wanting a blush color, but I never bit the bought one or even so much as experiment with a blush color. A few weeks ago, I received a blush from a sale and a swap-one from NARS and one from MAC. I thought about writing about both in one post, but it became too much, so I'll just break it down so that it wont a huge entry so you won't be deterred by the wall of words.

First, we are going to start off with MAC Fever

That nick was thanks to me being clumsy...whoops!

Now, don't let the photographing fool you, this blush is described as an "intense reddish-burgundy" by MAC and this has a matte finish and I feel that this could work across the skin color continuum and even more so for people with red or pink undertones. Read more for before and after shots of said blush

Hair stuff I love right now

The black hole of products/my bathroom cabinet

So instead of doing a "wish list" post like I forgot to do this month, I'm going search through the abyss that is my sink cabinet to find hair stuff that I really like. What I have listed below the jump is what works for me right now, and depending on my mood, this list may change tomorrow, next month...heck, anytime! These products all have one thing in common-they give you a good bang for your dollar, so if you're someone who is looking to stretch their dollar on hair products, perhaps this may serve as inspiration or it can give a product junkie a few ideas.

Friday Link-Up

Hello everybody and HAPPY FRIDAY! If you need new ways to procrastinate the day away, here are some cool things I found this week:

Newspaper nails!


My new favorite recipe: Chicken Picatta (I do this differently, but this is just another way to do it) Great for an easy dinner!




Can your small child make cheesecake? This one can!



What time should I fall asleep?

DC Restaurant Week 2011

Food promos? Reduced price lunches and dinners? I can get down with this!

Picture credit: Bistro Bistro DC

This week is Washington DC's restaurant week. I [hope] this will be my first time doing restaurant week because there are so many cool, up-and-coming restaurants around here and people keep sleeping on this area thinking that we don't do good food around here (which is totally untrue). If you're in the area and you want to do DC Restaurant Week, it's $20.11 for a 3 course fixed-price lunch and $35.1l for a 3 course fixed price dinner. Of course, beverages, tax and tip aren't included, so keep that in mind and tip correctly!

I'm so ready to do restaurant week, but I don't know where to begin! Have fun with your restaurant week and be adventurous because you never know what you may discover! :-D

I HAVE NOT LEFT, I SWEAR!

Hi. I owe anyone who reads this an explanation.

Summer school has kicked my butt mercilessly. Four days a week from 8 AM to about 4 PM, I've always been somewhere. After that, I've been studying nonstop for this class. I'll be done by Friday thankfully which means I'm going to officially be a senior in college. Oh wow, I'm scared.

Then there was a job interview that I had to go to. Hopefully, within the next 10 days, I'll know if I'm going to be employed or not. I'm sweating over this, not gonna lie because while I felt like I did well during this interview, there's always a chance that the interview won't amount to anything.

Anywho, that's my life August. I can't say that I'll post everyday, but I promise I won't just go out like I did. Okay, back to studying for this practical now...stupid procrastination.

Dopeness: The 90's Are All That

July 26, 2011 at Midnight EST. What happened? Only the greatest thing to happen to 90's kids came on across television screens everywhere. This is not a hyperbole. For people all across this country ages 18-24, we all relived a small part of the 90's once more.

Nickelodeon after years of campaigns and "OMG WHY DON'T YOU PLAY [insert show here] ANYMORE?" Tonight they played Kenan and Kel, Clarissa Explains it All, All That and Doug-only some of the beloved shows which are so loved that it's enough to make grown men and women burst in tears from happiness. They're bringing it all back-All That, Clarissa Explains It All, Legends of the Hidden Temple, Guts...any 90's show that was on Nickelodeon, they're replaying it! People on Facebook and Twitter were sooooo geeked for this, you can check the hashtag #90sareallthat and people are still geeking out over it!

Who says you can be too young to be nostalgic? I'm SOOO excited for GUTS, Rugrats, All That and Hey Arnold! and I can't wait for more!

EDIT: Apparently, the more people that watch, the more shows that will come on AND the more channels that will do such a thing. SO WATCH!

...that's not what I was aiming for, but I'll take it!

So on Saturday, I had finished twisting my hair, but I thought about the dreaded shrinkage that I would get about two days later. So I had decided to band my hair overnight using every sort of hair  I could find in this house and hope that it would stretch out my twists. To me, it sounded perfect in theory-stretch out their hair overnight, get stretched out hair! So I woke up and I took out the bands and got this:

Definitely not stretched out as I wanted. Instead, I have crimped two-strand twists. Looking back now, I should have stretched their before I did my twists like I usually do, but I'm now unexpectedly surprised at this sudden setback O_o

Hair of the Day (7/22)

I thought I was going to do a braid-out, but then I just opted for chunky flat twists because I need my hair protected and I am not going outside in this heat! (except for sushi...I'll always make an exception for sushi!)

Hair of the Day (7/21)

I had just stepped back inside the house from the 100+ degree heat  and was exhausted from the heat, but can I say that my twist out here was looking FLAWLESS?! I COULD CRY YA'LL!! :') This has never happened before! Okay, I just wanted to let my excitement out lol.

Have a good weekend!

Slytherin and Ravenclaw inspired makeup

Photo credit: http://www.collider.com

I know this is almost a week late for Harry Potter , but I had some fun creating different eyeshadow looks based off some of the Houses from Hogwarts. Now, seeing as I didn't have any sort of red or yellow in my case, I couldn't do Gryffindor or Hufflepuff so I just made the best out of it and did Slytherin and Ravenclaw (book colors of course!).

It's me! :-D

My hair doesn't like me today

Today was one of those days where I just didn't like my hair. 

Okay, okay, hate is too strong of an emotion. Let's change that to "I was really fed up with my hair today".

I think it's more of a funk. I have usually have my hair in one style, and that's the problem-I need inspiration. I've tried YouTube, blogs, forums and all that, but YOU GUYS ARE SOOOO INTIMIDATING! LOL. I have seen some fierce, flawless and faboulous styles from ladies on the internet and it makes me wonder-how did you guys get these ideas?

Am I the only one who feels this way? Is this normal?

Elevation Burger vs. Five Guys

vs.

So here's the deal, Elevation Burger is the new burger place near my house which is located one block away from Five Guys. Many of you may know Five Guys for that one burger place As someone who can never say no to a good hamburger, I wanted to see which burger joint is supreme. A breakdown and some foodie-like talk after the jump.

EDIT: I thought I finished the post already and published it a bit earlier than I wanted to. Oops! O_o

A DC adventure

As I have mentioned before, I live in the Washington D.C area. When some people think of DC, there are those who bemoan this city as a place where "nothing gets done", or even a place that's out of touch with  "regular Americans". As quick as people are to say those things about the business that goes on in this city, they also forget that people live and play in this city. Not everything is connected with politics here and that's why I've made the "this city is more than just politics" tag-to give a glimpse of how people work and play in these parts. We're not all political insiders looking to get ahead, some of us are just living in the same area.

My first installment-a trip to Georgetown Cupcake, the same place where they film TLC's "DC Cupcake". I've done enough talking, I'll let the pictures take it from here.

General rule about working escalators-Walk left, stand right. This separates locals from the tourists!

Lining up for cupcakes because it's serious business!!

People behind us

SO. MANY.CHOICES!

Assortment of Cupcakes

Vanilla Birthday Cake

A calm street every once in a while...

On our way home (walking left, standing right-just like we're supposed to!

I hope to do this more often! Any tips and suggestions are welcome!

Eating better one step at a time...

As a college student, I've always known that I haven't been eating right. It's so easy to go pick up a bag of potato chips or something off the dollar menu when you have to study for that next big test or write your term paper. Thankfully, there are ways that I have learned to eat better foods while I'm at school. I stress that this is only a beginning and I believe my eating habits will change over time. Some ways in which I have started to improve my diet include the following:

1) Fruit cups

Whether it be fresh or packaged, 1 fruit cup guarantees you a serving a fruit a day. Make sure its not riddled with sugar and you easily have a natural energy source and a source of essential fruits and vitamins. I usually get a bulk pack from Costco or Sam's Club and it lasts me a few weeks.

2) Cereal in a bag

Cereal has one mineral in it that many adults don't get-fiber. Fiber helps with digestion and has been linked  to reducing many chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. All you need to do is put some cereal in a bag and it makes a good snack. Just make sure it's not one of those cereals that are made from sugar-as delicious as they are, they're not that great for you either!

3) Choose your drinks carefully

As some of you know, sodas are readily available at the fountains and sports drinks that promise a boost of vitamins are also very popular. Instead, pick a few fruit juices that are low in sugar and then increase how much water you're drinking. I say pick a few fruit juices because you can't eliminate all sugars, but keep in mind that it shouldn't be the only thing you drink. Bottom line-water and some fruit juices and you're on your way.

Food Post: Bananas Foster

FLAMBE!

I first found out about Bananas Foster through my friend's friend (quite a connection there!) who made this desert before we started our Spring semester. Once I heard the "bananas" bit, I was instantly turned off to it because I have never liked the taste of bananas and I can never eat bananas without taking allergy medicine first. Once he was done making this concoction, I took a bite and I it was AMAZING!

On Friday, my friend and I recreated this dish and it was just as amazing as I remember it! Below the jump is the original recipe from Brennan's Restaurant in New Orleans, the original creators of this desert. I hope you enjoy it! 

A few things before you indulge-1) This is very much an adult desert because it has rum and banana liqueur and 2) This recipe involves fire (as the picture shows), so PLEASE be careful and exercise care and all the fire safety tips you've ever learnt!

July 2011 Wish list

It's the beginning of July which means its time for another wish list. Last month, I was able to try most of the products or purchase on my list and for this month, I hope that I can do the same again!

1) Sedu Pro Ionic Ceramic Tourmaline Flat Iron ($129.99, http://www.folica.com)

Yes, I know this is a product I can't exactly try, but this is on my long term wish list as in I will get this someday when I have some sort of sizeable, steady income. The only thing about this is that I have to buy it trough Folica who I have dealt with in the past and let me tell you, their customer service wasn't the greatest (I (I hope this isn't the case today, I last dealt with them back in 2008 for a Solia flat iron).

2) Jane Carter Solution Wrap and Roll (about $9.00, Target)

This would be great for wrapping hair when I am ready to rollerset it for my length check. This would also be an attempt to straighten out my natural hair without damaging it...again.

3) MAKE UP FOREVER HD blush in Innuendo ($25, Sephora.com or Sephora stores)

I've tried this before, it's a good product!

4) A quality blush brush.

I don't care about the brand (I'm not that brand loyal to be honest) I just want a good blush brush that will last.

Well, that's my list for the month of July. Happy Fourth of July to all the fellow Americans out there! :-D

Cutting off damaged hair

I should cut some of this off, shouldn't I?

So here is my story on why this strand is lifeless 3/4 of the way down my twist.

Once upon a time, I discovered Dominican Salons. Dominican salons became the place when I can transform my curls into long, flowing, pin-straight hair; a dream of mine since childhood. I loved the way it flowed, the way it shined and the way it hit my back and the hair flip. The fact that I was able to flip my hair made me giddy inside. All of these short time joys however would come back to haunt me as I saw my hair thin out. 

I know what some of you are asking-one time at a salon made your hair thin out? It very well could, but for me, I made multiple trips to have my hair straightened out. Over time, I saw parts of my hair break off, unable to curl whenever I got it wet and unable to twist. Now that I think back, all of those should have been warning signs, but I ignored the damage I did to my hair.

Over a year later, I have cut off most of the damage that I did. Other than that obvious spot, There are a few spots where it's wavy instead of curly, but I decided that I could work with it.

Are you scared of cutting damaged hair off? Are there spots that you promise to cut off once it "grows out"? I want to hear your story.