After forcing myself to read 1984 because it is the book of 2017, it was a breath of fresh air to read Isabel Allende‘s Island Beneath the Sea, which is essentially my kind of book. It is one of those historical multi-generational family epics. It tells the story of Zarité (Tété), a mulatto woman born […]
About Hair Routines
A friend recently asked me for hair tips and advice. See, she’s transitioning. From relaxed hair to natural hair. I get these requests often and while I’m glad that yet another Black woman is embracing her God-given natural curls, coils, kinks, and naps, these questions give me pause because invariably the person comes back with […]
Soaking in the sun in Fortaleza
I was sad to leave Natal for Fortaleza. I had had fun. Met decent people. Had good conversation. When I arrived at my hotel in Fortaleza Thursday evening I was even sadder. Instead of the cheerful feminine conceirge men I had in Natal, I was met by an ice-queen of a woman. The whole hotel […]
Atadwe (tiger nuts): The Next Superfood?
It humours me the “newly discovered” diet and nutritional claims made on food products foreign to the American taste. The current farro and quinoa elitism aside, I can’t help but scratch my head at the fancy $20 bottles of African mango (Irvingia gabonesis) pills on the shelves, touted on Dr. Oz as a miracle […]
Viva Le Naps! – Black Women & the Transitioning Experience
Today, an opinion-documentary from the New York Times was featured in my Facebook timeline. It represents the view of Zina Saro-Wiwa, a British-Nigerian film-maker and writer (and daughter of the late Ken Saro-Wiwa). In it she explains how she planned to be an objective observer of the transitioning movement and ended up being a participant […]
Sometimes traveling is a real bear!
My Continental flight was cancelled an hour prior to departure. You know, minutes away from boarding time. Apparently, the plane that was to come get us had mechanical issues and no one saw the need to send a replacement. Sorry, you are just going to have to book on the 5am flight tomorrow. Do the […]
Final Thoughts of Barbados
I truly enjoyed my on the spur of the moment mini-holiday in Barbados. I had the opportunity to be adventurous but not too crazy. I felt safe at all times and met many nice friendly people. Like virtually all countries the island of Barbados is beautiful. Yes, I truly believe that each and every single […]
Initial thoughts in Barbados
I woke up at an ungodly hour to fly out of DC to make my connection flight in Miami to Bridgetown, Barbados. Needless to say, I spent a significant amount of time on the plane catching up on sleep. But I did wake up now and then to take these beautiful shots. It took me […]
Le Sigh! Essence Loving Your Hair SoundOff makes me SMH!
Not too long ago, the media waves were alive with that Sesame Street piece in which a dark skinned muppet with kinky hair sings and dances proclaiming for the world to hear that she loves her hair – her curls, her afro, her cornrows, her twists, her braids, her pigtails undsowieter. I blogged about it […]
Natural Hair Love on Sesame Street
This past weekend I met up with a young relative who is contemplating “going natural“. That is she wants to stop putting chemical relaxers in her hair. Many women of African heritage wear their hair in a chemically altered state. Many don’t even know what their natural texture looks like. I’ve worn my hair in […]
A lover of mangoes. A woman - smart, without pretense, lefthanded, Afropolitan - navigating this thing called life. An unapologetic believer in social justice and karma. Choosing to radiate positive energy and be true to myself. Here, my musings.