Category Archives: Bobby Pin Styling

Natural Hair Week In Review

Since my last post, I’ve run my first marathon, teamed up with my longtime friend/boss Yoga instructor for weekly inspiration and I’ve committed to making one meatless dish a week. Whew…..

 

My first marathon held in Lafayette, La back in March

 Recipe

Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Avocado-Lime Sauce

foodlove.com

Ingredients

Ingredients

Crispy Black Bean Tacos:

Avocado Lime Sauce:

  • 2 avocados
  • 1/2 bunch of cilantro
  • 3 limes, juiced
  • 1 jalapeno, seeded if desired
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon taco seasoning
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 tablespoons water

Instructions:

For the tacos:

    1. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
    2. Add two tortillas to the skillet and allow them to heat in the oil for about 10 seconds.
    3. Cover one side of each tortilla with 1/4 cup of beans, and top beans with 1 tablespoon Mexican Cheese Blend.
    4. Using a spatula, carefully fold the tortilla in half, on top of itself and press down with the spatula to shape the taco.
    5. Cook 3-4 minutes, then using a spatula flip the tacos and cook an additional 3-4 minutes, until lightly browned.
    6. Continue the process until all the tacos are done, adding additional oil as the pan dries out.
    7. Serve immediately.

For the sauce:

1. Add all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth.

Yoga Inspiration

“You have to love yourself because no amount of love from others is sufficient to fill the yearning that your soul requires from you.”-Dodinsky

 

New Natural Hair Videos

My Natural Sistas shows us how to create a classy updo/

Juicesandberries uses avocado, an egg, honey, Jamaican Black Castor oil, Olive and Lavender oil to give her hair a shiny healthy finish.

Simple Updo And Grilled Happiness

If only politics were this simple.

Honestly Erica turns her curly fro gone wrong into a simple, chic updo.

I returned home to celebrate my high school homecoming with classmates whom I had not seen in over 20 years. Besides catching up on old times, the best part of our tailgating party was sinking my teeth into a grilled veggie burger!

 

Lunch With Wine and Wisdom

I laughed so much and so hard that I couldn’t finish the Watermelon and Grilled Shrimp salad that I ordered at Applebee’s.  My cheeks hurt.  Thank God that I ended up going to lunch with them.

When the announcement came over the walkie talkie “The new girl from the agency is going to lunch with the residents,” I creeped around the corner, waiting for my coworker to give me the word. I did not want to go. Who would want to go to lunch with a bus load full of senior citizens? I wanted to stay at the senior living facility. Complete my assignment. And go home.

I’m glad they chose me.

Sitting across the table watching men and women in their 90’s and 100’s pour and sip on red wine was like watching an Oscar worthy B movie. It was beyond my expectations!  I absorbed their stories of 70-plus year marriages, counts of drinking Scotch on a daily basis, world travels, loved ones who had passed on, and Cocktail Nights back at the facility. Their witty jokes and plans of escaping to Florida masked their stroke stricken arms, blindness, memory loss, pains and ailments.

I went home on a stomach full of Strawberry Lemonade and with an tugging urge to make some immediate modifications in my life….the first would be to live life to the fullest everyday.

MoKnowsHair shows us how to create and modify a trendy Halo Braid using MetaGrip Premium Bob Pins.  She says “That’s the beauty of styles like this…they can be easily modified.” I hope you enjoy her video and Happy Pinning!

 

Natural Hair Week In Review: Baked Salmon and DIY Recipes, Summer Styles and Cocktails

On the night that I heard about Alton Sterling’s death, I cooked for my family like I hadn’t done in months….Steak, gravy with mushrooms, sweet potatoes, cabbage and rice.  I aimed to fill their bellies with warmth and love.

Natural Hair Vlogger, Honestly Chic shares her quick, go-to healthy recipe that she cooks at least once a week.  “I eat Salmon weekly because it has omega fatty acids which are great for the body and hair.”

Baked Salmon with Roasted Asparagus and Wild Rice Recipe

Servings 2-4pple

2lbs of Salmon or Wild Sockeye Salmon

1 Bunch of Asparagus

1 Box of Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice

¼ of Sliced Red Onion

1 Tablespoon of Capers

Old Bay Seasoning

EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

Rosemary seasoning

Wild Rice

2 Cooking glass dishes

1 Pot

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  • Slice red onions into 2in slices.
  • Place salmon in glass dish. Place red onions in salmon and in the dish.
  • Follow the same steps with capers. Place capers in the salmon and in the dish.
  • Season salmon with old bay season.
  • Pour ¼ cup of water in dish and place salmon in the oven for 25 minutes without a cover.
  • Cut the ends of asparagus in a diagonal manner.
  • Place asparagus in a glass dish and lightly drizzle with Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Lightly season asparagus with salt, pepper and rosemary.
  • Place asparagus in the oven for 20min.
  • Follow the instructions on the Uncle Bens rice box. Place 2 ¼ cups of water in a pot, 1 tablespoon of butter and rice in the pot. Cook rice on medium heat until water is absorbed.
  • Immediately remove the salmon from the oven after twenty-five minutes, place the salmon on a plate and serve with the asparagus and rice.

 

Melissa Denise shares her DIY  hot oil treatment recipe and the benefits of adding  h.o.t. to our hair regimen.

 

“Big Sis likes Big Hair.” DiscoveringNatural gives her take on how to create quick summer styles for kids.

 

Summer cocktails aren’t just for a Friday night out with the girls.  Mo Knows Hair shows us how to treat our hair to a budget-friendly cocktail.

 

Summertime and weddings go hand in hand.  BlakIzBeautyful demonstrates how to transform a twist-out into a cascading style that can be worn at a summer wedding or any formal event.

Natural Hair Week In Review

Creative expressions flared across our Natural Hair community this week as vloggers used their talents to create, teach and inspire!  Here’s a gallery of their artwork. Enjoy!

 

After three years, BlakIzBeautyful returns to one of her go-to styles for a flawless look.

 

Classy. Creative. Royal expressions from JourneyTo WaistLength.

 

Nappy Fu modifies the Hair Puff to help save edges.

Get Ready With #fusionofcultures

We had finally made it out of the rain and into the doctor’s office.  I checked in, sat down and waited for their names to be called. Then I closed my eyes for the first time in 24 hours.

The nurse emerged from the back to call both of my sons to have their Sports Physicals done. The fact that my guys were now old enough to go without me was beautiful.  The fact that it was quiet and I could catch a nap was even more beautiful!

Shortly after I closed my eyes, the lobby became flooded with car seats, crawling babies and wobbling toddlers. Wonder Pets were now singing their “Teamwork” song on Nick Jr. and the parents who sat down a few chairs away from me were now chasing their toddler and snapping pictures of him as he tested his newly acquired walking skills.

Before I could close my eyes again, I heard a little spectator, who had been watching the Wobbly Toddler Chase, ask his mom, “Mom, why can’t she walk like that?” comparing his crawling baby sister to the little boy who led the chase. “She will when she’s ready.”

FusionofCultures shares some great tips on how to get ready for an Autumn day. She creates a royal half-up, half-down style and seals her look with polished, dark lips.  I hope you enjoy the music and her creativity. Happy twisting!

Fresh Looks for the New Season

I work in a hospital on the weekends.  During the week I travel extensively throughout my county delivering high energy, researched-based lessons to students at all grade levels……I’m a Substitute Teacher.

Within a 24 hour period, I can go from serving patients who are in dire pain to bearing the complaints of cold, horrible cafeteria food from students who get their lunch out of vending machines.
The hospital room and the classroom is where I renew my hope and strength.  Patients and students both remind me that I can choose to start fresh everyday!
MsVaughnTV creates four fresh, prep-free looks for the new season. We hope her video helps you save time on your natural hair journey!

Bun Happiness #naturallygg

I usually wake up with a to-do list on my mind.  However, this morning when I woke up, I bypassed the thoughts of facing morning traffic, picking the kids up from school and the things that I did not accomplish on yesterday.

Instead, I praised Yahweh for being the awesome God that He is…the creator of the mountains, the oceans, the dirt, the stars!  I am connected to such a grand Magnificent network, so how hard would it be to set small daily goals to help me combat my fear of failure?

I’ve been goal driven for most of my life but because I have fallen short many times in the past few years, I made a habit of starting projects without planning or setting goals.  I am now learning how to give my fears, dreams, my plans, and goals over to God and trust that He will give me the desires of my heart….believe, plan, work.

I set a goal this morning to get 600 steps on my Fitbit before leaving for work…achieved!

At work, I set another goal after listening to students share their college and career goals. They shared how they want to become computer engineers, nurses, architects, and members of the marines.

They inspired me to look for beauty in something, no matter how old, new, small or grand it may be. So for 21 days, I am going to search for something or someone beautiful and share it with you.

Naturally GG shows us how to gently refresh old, twisted out hair into a beautiful style  She uses her hair tools to create three polished buns with smooth edges. I hope her video helps……Happy bunning!

Visuals Saved My Morning

braid

My daughter’s hair style that she spent nearly an hour on the night before didn’t turn out right so ten minutes before it was time to head out the door for school, she asked me to do a Goddess braid.

After three failed attempts, she stood in front of the mirror with the most disappointing look and said to me, “Ma, you have it on Three Sisters & A Bobby Pin, you know how to do it…. you just forgot.”

Baby girl was right! I did forget. I had to visualize the technique over a few sips of coffee before I was finally able to brush, part and pin. Where would we be without Natural Hair visuals?!!

She wants to try the style above saved from Pinterest so here’s to more practice and more visuals!