Bananas & Honey Deep Conditioning Mix

I made a deep conditioning treatment today using banana conditioner [not real bananas] and honey. Before doing this, I untwisted my hair, and shampooed my hair with a Carol's Daughter shampoo.

Freshly cleaned hair.

I put on a shower cap and hopped on the elliptical.

Here's my hair, after rinsing out the conditioner.

Here, I decided to do a few chunky twists while air drying. I used Shea Moisture Enhancing Smoothie, and Castor oil.

moreless

Crab Rangoon

I order these crispy cream cheese and crab filling appetizers every time I go to my favorite Chinese restaurants. I love these little stuffed fried won tons, especially when they are just coming out of the fryer. These are also great for parties as well as budget friendly. Enjoy!Ingredients:12 ounces of cream cheese (at room temperature)50 won ton wrappers1 cup imitation crab meat (or canned)2 green onions (minced)¼ teaspoon garlic powder½ teaspoon soy sauce1 egg (beaten)oil (for frying)Step 1: In a bowl cream the cream cheese, soy sauce, green onions and garlic powder. Stir in the crab meat (if using imitation crab it should be chopped into pieces).Step 2: In a separate bowl beat 1 egg. Lay out a wanton wrapper so it forms a diamond shape and place 1 teaspoon of filling just below the center of each wrapper.Step 3: Brush the opposite corners of the wanton wrapper with the egg mixture. Fold over the edges of the wrapper to form a triangle and seal tightly.Step 4: Deep fry in batches at 375 degrees for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.

recipe source: blog chef & big, bold, beautiful food

moreless

Photo Gazing......Natural Hair

source: fuckyeahcurlscurlscurls

moreless

Benefits of Honey

source: Black Voices

moreless

WISHLIST: D&G SUNGLASSES

I stumbled upon these sunglasses recently. I'm all for natural shapes for men so it surprised me how much I loved these once I tried them on. Apart from my matte black wayfarers from Sunglass Hut I don't really wear black. If you're not careful in choosing the right size for your face you can look as if you're pulling inspiration from the Terminator. Proportion is key. Ask a sales assistant from Sunglass Hut about styles for your face shape until you find the perfect pair.As for me, these D&G sunnies (DG8076) which only go for R1750 will in all likelihood find their way into my shirt pocket before long.

moreless

DIY SHOES WITH T&F SLACK

Tim and Fiona Slack aim to take classic styles to the future. They have worked hard at putting love into their shoes and their marriage since the 1970s , back then they were called Walker shoes but today they trade under the name T&F Slack. Bringing forward the Gibson and 5 eye-lit Derby shoe shapes into 2011 and beyond, but adding bursts of colour in odd but pleasing combinations.I love the look of a perforated shoe. These come with an underlying colour of your choosing, but how, I hear you ask? In addition to their own available styles you also get the opportunity to play designer with their easy-to-use system available in Liberty, Selfridges and their Notting Hill store in London.IMAGES FROM COOLHUNTER

moreless

THE DESIGN INDABA 2011 - ADRIAAN KUITERS AND THE SUMMIT

The first time I met Cindy Poole of The Summit was a year ago. I was encouraged to visit her stall by Robyn Cooke who said this girl was incredible. The only difference between then and now is Poole dons a shorter 'do. The enthusiasm and energy is still very much the same, gasping and giving me another item to hold before she's finished telling me about the one before. There are few designers I have  encountered with half the excitement. It's inspiring.Now being proud and raving about your product is one thing but having it backed up with superior quality and design is another. Cindy's gentleman is a throwback to an old age, he carries a newspaper around, smokes cigars. But he is also modern with a certain sense of whimsy.I was particularly a fan of the leather and sterling silver collar clips she added to her collection, these are great because you can also add them to your jacket lapel at different angles. This "Ridgeback to back link" sells for R620 and is part of the first range of jewelry for the Summit.She joined Adriaan Kuiters (available at Spence) at this years Design Indaba with her range of leather goods. I thoroughly enjoyed these two together, what a great match.IMAGES COURTESY OF SDR PHOTO

moreless

CLICK HERE

moreless

Movie of the Week

[The Bad Seed (1956)]

[The Defiant Ones (1958)]

moreless

Back To My Twist.......

And what a relief it is!I love wearing my hair loose in all sorts of different styles, but twists are just more convenient for me right now with my busy lifestyle.

Rewinding to Friday, I ended up doing another puff, what a surprise, right? Well, the funny thing is, I actually tried and attempted to do other creative styles, however I found out that I can not flat twist, or pull off the perfect twistout without it looking lopsided. Oh, and I’m still the worst braider you will ever meet…..so I always ended up throwing my hair into a puff.

Now for the good news, I discovered that I made APL!!! Still don’t want to straighten till my 2 year mark though, so we shall see when that time comes……next goal, BSL by December 2011!

For other news, twisting with Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie has completely transformed my twists in a positive way. To maintain them I’ve been using Shea Moisture Hold and Shine Moisture Mist, which keeps my hair soft and moisturized all day. Also, I bought a new gel……Eco Styler Moroccan Argan Oil Styling Gel. I only use gel to seal/curl the ends of my twists. Ladies, don’t sleep on this one. I actually prefer this one over the olive oil gel, it has a softer hold, and a nice shine. What about you, have you tried this stuff, do you like it? I want to know.

That's it for now, HAPPY TUESDAY

moreless

Photo Gazing......Natural Hair

Source: Natural hair rules

moreless

STIAAN LOUW '6' AT JOHANNESBURG FASHION WEEK 2011

Stiaan Louw's show, although highly anticipated, came out of nowhere and knocked me over. I have heard about this collection for a long time. I've discussed many of it's details in depth with the designer. But I didn't prepare myself to be so bowled over by a collection such as this. There will be readers who will frown at this statement but they must understand the difference between wearable fashion and art. I watched one particular show that had seemingly no original thought in it's design or execution. In fact it was wrongly arrogant without any backing. We arrived at the Johannesburg Art Gallery and were soon after ushered to our seats. Word of the event being over capacity made sure we stayed put. Within the hour we saw this as a blessing because even the front row had to make space for extra's. At the following show we found out a certain famous local actress was content to sit at the feet of a magazine stylist. Some poured over stairs and corners and many were turned away altogether asked to watch from monitors outside.What I deeply appreciated about this show was the lack of two things: Stiaan's name anywhere and the presence of theatrics. His models walked without emotion. They were cold and detached. It was like witnessing these men in some parallel universe walking around their tribes, mud caked on their feet and forearms. I allowed my imagination to wander. I tried to picture where Stiaan was sending these men off to. The Roman influence of some of the garments told me they were off to war. There were dots of Greek influence and of Samurai. In fact so many countries were included but never in an obvious way. You almost have to look the pieces individually to see this.This collection also includes a surprising addition. Colour! All natural tones but then added with antique jewelry by Ida Elsje  and neon accessories from Missibaba that enhanced the darker tones beautifully. The sandals are an updated version of the kind I wore as a 90's kid. A play on a Grecian or Roman sandal perhaps but completely wearable for any modern man.In fact this collection sees mostly wearable styles, and dare I say he included commercial pieces like the stitched T-shirts and a drop-crotch ensemble which looks like it belongs to a casual New Yorker. Yes, he darkened a few models skin, yes he lightened others. It didn't even matter when images were projected onto the walls with a white model painted black. His clothing speaks for itself and the model is merely a canvas. There is no hidden meaning. These models are the children of a wold that Stiaan has created, and believes in. A white man in african attire? Gasp. The world has moved on and this collection celebrates that evolution.

UPDATE:

I found this video of the above-mentioned show on youtube courtesy of teeteeiswithme for your viewing pleasure!

Pictures property of Simon Deiner / SDR and Manofthecloth.

moreless

AFI JOHANNESBURG FASHION WEEK 2011 - DAY 3

The night that I had been waiting for all along had arrived. We climbed into the van on Friday and drove off into the city to get to the Bus Factory. We were told we would see three shows at this venue and the last two, Stiaan Louw and Thula Sindi at the Johannesburg Art Gallery. Excited but sad that I would be taking an early morning flight back to Cape Town I tweeted like a trooper and took as many photos as my abused camera would allow. As I mentioned, while there weren't masses of fashion forward boys I did spot one or two at a time that I had to photograph, naturally by the time I got to said boys they were gone.While no venue was bad at fashion week it was the Jhb Art Gallery that facilitated mingling the best. We were all in an open courtyard and this somehow made people a lot more relaxed. It could have been the open bar but who knows.Let it just be known that AFI did a spectacular job at orchestrating all of these shows. Even if there was a doozy with David Tlale's fashionably late show the whole Johannesburg fashion week was a great success. I absolutely cannot wait for next year.

moreless