I heart Nail Art!

Anyone who knows me, knows that i love expressing myself in any way thats not permanent. So, no, i'm not the type that can do tattoos or locs (even though i have tried) because its too permanent and i like to change it up a bit. I use my nails and my hair as an outlet. My hair changes atleast once every 6 months to a year, although now i am trying to stay natural and grow it out for a while, though i will be coloring it soon.....maybe. Lol! Anyhoo, topic of discussion is nail art, so let me get right to it.

I love anything fun and different. I will pretty much wear any color or design on my nail as long as its my nail. I dont like the fake stuff! Well, Sally Hansen came out with this stick on polish stuff that i absolutely adore. It is so easy to apply and stays on for up to two weeks.

Recently, i heard about this technique called "Newspaper Nail Art." I know i'm probably way behind and everyone and their mother knows about it but me, but i think it is so cute and i can't wait to get home and try it. To pull it off, all you need is:

* newspaper
* base clear coat polish
* a light grey color polish (or whatever color you prefer)
* rubbing alcohol
* top clear coat polish

Instructions are easy. Simply apply a base clear coat polish to protect your nails. Once dry, apply the color of your choice, preferably gray or a light color and wait until nails are complety dry. Take a cap of some sort (large enough to dip your nail in) and fill it up with rubbing alcohol. It will serve as an adhesive of the inked words from the newspaper. Dip your nail in the alcohol for a few seconds and then place the piece of newspaper on top of your nail, gently pressing down on your nail. After a moment or so, remove the paper from the nail and Wah-lah!!! The letters are now on your nails. Cover with a top clear coat. To remove any ink from around your nail, just take a qtip with alcohol and rub gently.

This is what it will look like....i hope.

Try it if you're bold! ;-)

SincerelyNiah.

Hair Envy of the Day!

Check out Ms. Ilovemaicurls! She got the dopest hair in the DMV....except for my baby girl of course! ;-).

Not only does she rock fly hair, homegirl is innovative too.

^^^^^^^^^^^^ That shirt in that pic....she made it from a skirt she got at the thrift store....yeah....ROTATE IT!!!! LOL!

Oh, and did i mention she makes her own earrings too?!?! PLAY WIT IT!

Check her out at:
http://ilovemaicurls.tumblr.com/

Hair Envy of The Day!

I recently became a follower of this beautiful young lady because of her addiction to Etsy as well as mine. Funny thing is, i saw her a long long long time ago while surfing Essences' online magazine looking at their Wedding column. One wedding that caught my eye was the wedding of Cyn and Les. The photographs were absolutely amazing but even better, so was her dress, his tux, their location and the many fun items they purchased to decorate their wedding on a budget from Etsy.
Maybe a year later, i ran across her website, www.addicted2etsy.com and fell in love with her natural hair. As i went through her blog, what do i see?!?! Her wedding pictures....the same ones i saw on essence.com and coul never forget about. What do you know....it was the same girl! Her fro is breath taking! It looks healthy, full of body and sheen. And i just adore the way she styles her hair whether it be in a hat, a curly bang, flat twisted or an all out fro. AND her style of dress is too cute. Homegirl can put a fly outfit together and make it look effortless! She inspires me with my hair as well as shopping on a budget. Support her blog as she continues to give divine ideas of outfits, shops to shop from on etsy and inadvertingly, hair styles to rock! :-)

Check her out at:
http://www.addicted2etsy.com
http://twitter.com/#!/addicted2etsy

Stay Fabulous!!!

SincerelyNiah :-)

Zara is having a sale...TRUE STORY!

Yes, i said it! One of my favorite stores ever is having a sale and there is nothing that i love more than finding a good sale with great quality and timeless pieces. The next wish would to be able to purchase things online. Zara needs to catch up real soon. It sucks to find what you really like, only to find out that the store nearest you doesn't carry that item. :-(. Oh well, either way, you're winning because almost everything at Zara is worth buying....especially if you can get it on sale. Happy shopping!!! :-)

SincerelyNiah

Addicted to everything Etsy!

There are a few websites i find my self venturing off to on a daily basis like, www.curlynikki.com, www.flygirlblog.com, www.thickandgrowchic.com, www.thegrio.com, www.essence.com, www.addicted2etsy.com and last but definitely not least, www.Etsy.com.

Literally, i have a morning routine when i get to work; log in to my computer, check my emails while eating my breakfast, work on tasks that need to be done that morning and then venture off to one of these sites. The most recent that i find myself on more than anything is Etsy.com. I mean, you can literally find any and everything on this site. i think the reason i love it the most is the vintage items from handbags, to clothes to jewelry. I mean, my wish list and favorites are growing. The hard part is, if you see something, you have to act fast or someone else will snatch it up. That is a good and bad thing. Good because the seller is definitely benefiting but bad because it does not help my issue of being complusive! So far, i have only purchased one thing through Etsy that i had made, but other than that, i've been a good girl.

Looking at Cynthia's website, addicted2etsy.com, you can literally plan your entire wedding purchasing items from etsy.

Not only did i love her wedding idea's but i also love her style of fashion and of course, her natural hair and how she styles it with different outfits.

Oh and did i mention, she was featured in "Real Simple Weddings" and Essence?!?!

After going on Etsy, i vowed to never pay full price for ANYTHING [unless absolutely necessary]! Even when i go to the mall, i'm looking for bargains. I go straight to the sale rack. That was never me before. I hated shopping so much so that if i see something i'm looking for, i just get it and go. Crazy, i know. Now i have a whole new perspective. Thanks etsy and people who love it like me who share great ideas and their current craves. :-)

A Must-have

I know we just got into the summer good, but i wish i had known about this during the winter. I will be looking for this this upcoming Winter!!!

http://knottyloop.com/index.htm

Nappturality done right!

As some of you may already know from reading my blogs or knowing me personally, i have recently shaved my hair off in efforts to go back to the way i came into this world. All of a sudden, it seems to be the buzz nowadays with African-American woman. I initially had my big chop back on 02/07/2007, but impatience only allowed me to stay napptural for almost 2 years. I was so anxious to run my fingers through my hair again, so i did the inevitable...permed it! Bad choice, but i dont regret it. I had fun with my hair, doing all the things i had never done...getting bangs, doing blunt shoulder length cuts, short sharp rihanna cuts, sow in weaves...i mean, i did pretty much everything to it but color it. Now i am back to being my napptural self again where i belong (for now) and love. One of my favorite R&B singers felt the same way.

“I was tired of black sista’s feeling subject to having their hair pressed and straightened, and damaged, with relaxers, and heat. I wanted to make short and nappy hair fashionable, and let the industry know that there is nothing wrong with the texture that we have been born with. So I plan to grow it out to the big beautiful nappy hair that I have.”
-Chrisette Michele

I'll be honest, my first reaction to this bold move caught me off guard. Its very rare you see anyone in the industry do something like this, and with meaning. Yeah, you have the Rihanna's and Cassie's shaving half of their heads off to be a part of "the now", and to be what is considered hip to set a trend, but to do something with meaning that is so much deeper than the surface, i can appreciate that.

I was my first inspiration to shave my hair off the first time, but of course, my fellow pisces and other favorite R&B singer Erykah Badu did the darn thing too, but way before shaving your head as a woman was cool. But that is what i love about her. She has that "I dont care what people think about me" attitude. And when i tell you homegirl rocked the heck out of that cut, it is not a game. Her beauty magnified.

Most people ask me, why did you just shave it all off instead of getting braids first to allow the new growth to grow out first? Well, i'll tell you why. I believe, to fully appreciate what you are doing, its a must to start from scratch and to not half step it. I must say, it's a bold move to shave your hair off, but when you do it, it is by far the most liberating experience for a woman. To walk around with your head held high knowing that you are beautiful in your natural state and don't have to conform to what society and mainstream considers acceptable, is a huge statement to make without saying a word. Its so powerful.

So although some trends are cute for the moment, like shaving your hair off on the side like La La Vasquez who is said to have mocked Cassie and Cassie who is said to have mocked Rihanna and Rihanna who is believed to have mocked...., well, you get the idea, be original.

Do what feels right for you but don't cheat yourself.

More of my favorite bald beautiful bold bombshells below!!!! :-)

And of course (saving the best for last)....ME!!!

Sincerelyniah xoxoxo!!!

A Pair for a Pair

Support a great cause and still be cute with a fresh pair of TOMS.

One for One

TOMS Shoes was founded on a simple premise: With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. One for One. Using the purchasing power of individuals to benefit the greater good is what we're all about. The TOMS mission transforms our customers into benefactors, which allows us to grow a truly sustainable business rather than depending on fundraising for support.

Giving Is Catching On...

The TOMS mission of giving shoes has attracted other brands, resulting in unique and successful collaborations. Ralph Lauren sold co-branded Polo Rugby TOMS, giving a matched pair with every pair sold. Element Skateboards has issued limited edition TOMS + Element shoes as well as a One for One skateboard. With every skateboard purchased, one will be given to a child at the Indigo Skate Camp in Durban, South Africa. It is TOMS’ hope that as our One for One movement continues to grow, more and more companies will look to incorporate giving into what they do.

The TOMS Story
In 2006, American traveler Blake Mycoskie befriended children in Argentina and found they had no shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created TOMS Shoes, a company that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need. One for One. Blake returned to Argentina with a group of family, friends and staff later that year with 10,000 pairs of shoes made possible by TOMS customers.

As of September 2010, TOMS has given over one million pairs of new shoes to children in need through Giving Partners around the world.

http://www.toms.com/our-movement/movement-one-for-one

Vintage at its best

Spring is FINALLY here (well, still feels like winter), but technically it is Spring. It's my favorite time of year. The sun is out, the flowers are blooming, the birds are singing and it all makes me want to shop!!!

I'm not your typical shopping girl that runs to the mall and gets excited about running from store to store. Nope...not me at all. I'm a pisces, which consists of me being creative, so i like to mix it up a bit and make it WERRRKKK!!! LOL! When it's time to shop, i go straight for vintage.

Normally, i keep it local and try to find vintage shops in the DC, MD, VA area, but not this year. I plan to venture out. I hear Philly is the next best thing to sliced bread when it comes to vintage shops, so i think i'm going to give it a go.

I look back on all the fantastic outfits my mother wore back in the day and i think to myself, "Sheesh, i wish my mother kept all of her clothes from when she was younger." From high waisted fitted jeans and high waisted pencil skirts, to the gorgeous hats with the short mesh veils in the front. i just LOVE IT!!! It's all so funny to me because my daughter begs me now to keep all of my clothes so that she can wear them when she gets older. I take that as a compliment, so i must oblige!!!

I must say, one of my favorite things to shop for when it comes to vintage is the accessories. More along the lines of handbags, the oversized clutches, sunglasses and the jewelry. I guess this is why i favor star actress Tracee Ellis Ross from the hit tv show 'Girlfriends' and also the daughter of Diana Ross.

Tracee Ross' style is so beautiful to me. In my opinion, she defines elegance, classic, chic, edgy and vintage. No matter what she wears, honey is fierce!!! From baggy pants and a blazer, to a dress that can make the red carpet blush, honey is always on point with elegance!

This is a woman who embraces her curves, her nappturality, simplicity, her sense of being bold.....in short, she exudes confidence and to me, that is what every woman should do. I don't care if you are full figured, hour glass shaped or skinny as a twig, be fearless honey!!! WERKKK!!!

On a vintage note, its all about doing and wearing what feels good to you. If you wear it with confidence, than that is what shows. Vintage isnt for everyone for sure, but i dare you to give it a twirl.

sincerelyniah...xoxoxo!