Eating Right For 2012

Happy New Year everyone!

I seriously want to start eating right starting now! It's a brand new year, fresh start, new beginnings. I know you hear this every year and think "that's what everyone says"....But to me, I love to stick to my word. I'm also on a mission to lose a couple pounds so eating right would be very beneficial.

On New Years day, my first meal was the traditional Haitian Squash soup that Haitians eat to celebrate our Independence. New Years is also Haiti's Independence day :)

Today January 2nd, my first meal of the day was a bowl of oatmeal and raisins garnished with strawberries. I had a small cup of orange juice on the side. I am trying to stay far away from eating animal products or dairy. I used soy milk when I cooked the oatmeal. It was delicious! My favorite dish for breakfast :)

I Love My Braids...

15 day old braids...taken this past Monday [12.19.11]

I think I'll definitely get them again :)

My Braids...A Closer Look.

Just giving you guys a better look at my braids...These pictures are not perfect but I think they'll do. I took these pictures today which means my braids are 10 days old.

Excuse the background...
My braids are pretty much "Butt length" lol

My straight ends

The size of my braids and the partings...they are medium/large. These are 10 day old braids.
Another view

Length from the front...
(I'm wearing sunglasses because I have a cold and I look very tired)

Side view

My Winter Protective Style: Box Braids!!

Oh gosh...I haven't had braids for 3 years! I stopped getting them in the first place because my hair started growing past my "braid length limit". Back then, my braid length limit was armpit length. But as soon as my real hair grew to armpit length, I felt like I graduated from braids and had to find new protective styles to wear. I dreaded the idea of mid back/waist length braids for some reason, so I decided to just never get braids again until......the box braids trend started for 2011!

I love Solange for bringing the trend back! It seems like a lot of women wanted to get box braids for so long but they were afraid to because they probably thought box braids were "played out" or something. But as soon as Solange bought the trend out, everybody came out of the wood works getting braids lol...I'm guilty of this too...LOL. One of the first reasons why I got these braids was because they're long! I used to be afraid of waist length braids because I thought they would be too much of a hassle. But after seeing a lot of pictures and videos of girls with long braids and the different styles you could do with them, I thought they were actually kind of.....cool! My braids are 2 inches past my waist, almost hitting my upper thighs. So I know for sure my real hair is protected to the maximum level, which makes me happy :) Another reason for these braids is because of the endless styles I could do with them. I bought so many hair accessories, which I will blog about soon (I promise!). The style I want to do the most with my braids is a high bun! So chic!

I got my hair braided last Sunday (December 4th) in Harlem, NY. Unfortunately, my braiding lady went on vacation to her home in Africa, so she left me in her sister's hands. Long story short, I had 2 women braiding my hair, one on each side pulling in different directions! I started at 11AM and finished at 3PM...4 hours of pain!

The braids were TIGHT! I'm super tender-headed! I always flinched when somebody tried to touch my braids after I first got them done. Also, the weight of the braids made my neck stiff for 3-4 days...I felt like I had an invisible neck brace on. On top of that, I caught a cold...so yea my week was pretty bad. Tight & heavy braids, stiff neck, sore throat, runny nose, all at the same time...imagine that! I had to see my doctor for my cold and for my stiff neck...he prescribed me some medicine and I feel about 90% better now (My nose is still runny). I'm not trying to scare you guys or anything, but I'm just not used to carrying all that weight on my head, plus the cold wasn't making it any easier. Around the 4th day of having the braids, they were loosening up pretty nicely..and now today is day 6 and I feel like my head is as light as a feather!

I used 8 packs of Zury's Kanekelon hair in the color 1b. My braids kind of have a old school flavor with a twist....old school because of the medium-large sized braids, and the twist is because of the long length (almost hitting my thighs). The ends of my braids are straight because I got them dipped in hot water. The hot water actually acts as a locking technique so that your braids wont unravel. I used to be scared that my braids would unravel, but they stay locked up to the point where the braid stops. I paid $80 for these braids and I think I just might get them again next year for the Spring...we'll see. I will be leaving these braids in for 2 months (December 4- February 4). Btw, I am currently almost 11 weeks post relaxer and don't plan on relaxing anytime soon.

I will have a separate post with more pictures of my braids. I wasn't able to take a lot because I'm still kind of recovering from my cold and not really in a picture taking mood...sorry ladies :/

Excuse my face lol..I still wasn't feeling well when this pic was taken.

Julie's Birthday!

Hey guys!

I'm about a week late, but I wanted to share my cousins birthday with you all from last weekend. She's also my stylist (just in case anyone forgot!).

We went out last week to a restaurant called Benihana to celebrate Julie's birthday. It's basically one of those Japanese type of restaurants where they cook the food right in front of you. It was pretty cool. That was my first time at a restaurant like that lol. Afterwards we pretty much hung out at our table at the restaurant and talked until it was closing time. Of course we took a lot of pics too!

Me and Julie (Yes that's her real hair)!

Waiting for the rest of the girls...

The table setting at Benihana was gorgeous!

Ladies night!

Fried shrimp and calamari...yum!

Fried rice that the chef shaped into a heart...aww!

The food was alright..

I had a lot of fun :)

My Make-Up So Far...

Just took a picture of my make-up. I didn't start wearing make-up until earlier this year (March). Before that, make-up was pretty much non-existent to me because my skin was just too oily. I was always afraid that if I put it on, the oils would seep right through and cause a disaster! But as soon as I discovered the powers of M.O.M (Milk of Magnesia), everything seemed to change overnight! Read my blog about my experience with M.O.M. Anyways, this is not much make-up but it's a start! I don't feel the need to have more than 1 or 2 eyeshadow palettes unless you're a make-up artist with clients. I mean the palette I have has 88 colors! There's a lot to choose from....but I guess since I'm a beginner I'll learn why women buy so many palettes...who knows? I might be one of them :/ When I wear make-up, my looks are pretty simple and neutral. I am also on a budget so hopefully I don't go overboard and buy things I don't need.

Taupe Nails

I decided to try a gorgeous taupe color on my nails to start off the Fall season. I went to Target and picked up Sally Hansens "Commander In Chic" nail polish for about $7 bucks. I bought it along with me to the nail salon as usual. I love how the color blends so well with my skin tone. The guy who did my nails complimented me for making a good color choice lol. Enjoy! Oh by the way...these pictures were taken on my brand new camera! There's something wrong with my old one :/