Natural Hair at AfroPunk!

Hey Lovers!

Hope you all had an amazing weekend, and I hope that some of you were able to make it out to Brooklyn for the annual AfroPunk Festival. This was actually my very first time attending the festival.  My little cousin attended last year, and after seeing her photos I made it my mission to be there this year.  She suggested that we arrive at noon because we hadn’t made a donation (which guarantees entry). However, I was out late Saturday night so by the time I woke up and made something to eat it was already noon, so I didn’t actually get to Brooklyn until about 4pm.  The lines were long but they moved very quickly so that was a relief.  

The first thing that struck me about the festival was the abundance of natural haired beauties in attendance. There was no shortage of eclectic, stylish natural haired sisters in every hue, size and shape imaginable.  After all, the event is called “Afro Punk” so it only makes sense, right?  I wanted to wear my natural hair to the event but after unraveling the third cornrow, the remaining six just seemed daunting especially given the time constraints, so I opted for the next best thing… my kinky curly unit which I made using hair from EHM Hair Company.

I pretty much spent the majority of my time dancing to Jasmine Solano’s incredible set on Electric Punanny! Everybody knows that reggae music is my first love, so when I walked into the park and heard reggae music blaring it was almost like an electric force sucking me in it’s direction.  

In between dancing, I would spot a beauty and ask for a photo.  Everyone obliged, which made it that much easier to ask the next.  Here are some of my favorites of the evening…

How fierce is she? That hair, that lippy, that necklace!

These ladies are clearly not afraid of experimenting with colors!

Statuesque beauties.

Sun-kissed, bold beauty.

Beautiful family!

Until next time,
xx

 

 

 

And So We Meet Again…

Hey Lovers!

I apologize for my 3 week hiatus.  Let’s just say that life has been incredibly FULL lately.  I’m trying to be better at managing my time and commitments, but like everything else it’s a process.  I’ll do better, promise.

So this post falls in the “everything in between” category but like most of my other posts, there’ll always be an element of fashion, so indulge in the parts that you care about.  This particular post is one near and dear to my big incredibly filled heart, because it involves my absolute favorite cousin in the whole entire world, Jermaine. Let me start by saying that I love ALL my cousins, but my connection to this one is unlike any other. Perhaps, because I was there when he came home from the hospital.  At 9 years old, I think a part of me really believed he was my child.  My aunt of course didn’t mind as all that meant is that she always had a babysitter who was ready, willing, and able!  Our time together was short lived because I migrated to the states when he was just a toddler, but the memories built were timeless!

Then                                                                Now

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of giving my fave a tour of the city that I’ve called home for some twenty years. I’ve often dreamt of this day… showing him the same good time that he has always shown me when I return home (that being Jamaica).  As it was a beautiful day, we started by first visiting Central Park.  We then made our way to Times Square, where we indulged in everything touristy!

Time Square

After Times Square, we headed towards the East Village where we grabbed a quick bite to eat from one of my favorite eateries.

Roasted half chicken with fried and pita bread and a side of fresh veggies.

With a full stomach, and what everyone admitted was the onset of the “itis,” we set out towards Union Square.  There’s always something to see in Union Square, right?  I for the most part, just people watched.  The boys (Jermaine and my brother Alex), did a bit of exploring.

I couldn’t have been happier to share the day with this guy, who is one of the humblest, sweetest and most dedicated young men I know! Yesterday was a genuinely good day.

Top: Primark                    Skirt: New Look                   Bag: Coccinelle

 

Until next time…

xx

Skater Girl in a 90’s Party!

Hey Lovers!

Sorry for the delayed post.  This weekend taught me that I am no longer a spring chicken, because after partying both Saturday and Sunday with very little sleep in between I was totally knackered!

On Saturday I was invited to a 90’s reggae party.  I don’t know about you but as I recall, EVERYTHING about the 90’s was better! Life was so much easier then. I loved the music and so I was thrilled to attend not only a 90’s party, but a 90’s reggae party – ABSOLUTE HEAVEN!

I opted to wear a little skater dress I was gifted on my last trip to London.  I can’t believe it’s been sitting in my closet since November of last year.  It’s so adorable to me, don’t you agree?

I’ve been kissed so many times by the sun, my foundation no longer matches. Time to make the switch!

As you can see below, I paired which chunky heeled sandals that I purchased from Office almost 2 years ago.  I love the way these shoes elongate my legs, and [bonus] they’re so comfortable!  I can literally dance for hours unaffected.

I wore my favorite red lippy riri-woo and rocked a red clutch to tie the whole look together.

Until next time…

Xo

 

 

 

Sunday Brunch With The Kid Brother!

Happy Sunday Lovers!

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend! Mine was amazing for so many reasons. For starters, my girlfriend Stacy had a her baby’s dedication on Saturday and all my girls came out to support. I’ve known these women for upwards of 15 years, and while we do our best to get together as a group – it’s not often that we all get the chance to be in the same room at the same time. However, everyone showed up for baby Bella, and that just made my day!

Today, my brother Kevin and I had an impromptu brunch date. We decided on Agave in the West village. I always have a good time at Agave. How could I not when there is bottomless mimosas and margaritas involved?

As usual the food was on point, I went with my usual, the Sunrise Fiesta Burrito. Believe me when I tell you, it NEVER disappoints!

My brother went with the Silver Dollar pancakes. If nothing else, it sure is pretty!

Silver Dollar Blueberry Pancakes.

All in all, I had an excellent time. Good food, good company, good convo – another great weekend in the books.

Hope you all have a great week!

Xo,
Cin

A Perfect Day…

Hey Lovers!

Hope you all had an AMAZING July 4th weekend! Mine was incredible! If you’re in the NYC area, then you know July 4th was pretty much a wash – literally, as it rained all day. I didn’t feel like doing much of anything due to the weather, but at the very last minute my brother and I decided we had much to be thankful for (see previous post), and so we decided to throw some chicken on the grill, sort of like a celebratory jerk! LOL

On Sunday my best friend and I (along with other family members and friends) had plans for the beach and so we were both up at the crack of dawn. I made BBQ chicken, and she made fried chicken – don’t judge us! We had planned to head out at 9am as we wanted to beat the rush and be able to get a good spot on the beach. Of course you know that didn’t happen. Despite being up early, we didn’t leave home until almost mid-day.

The water was freezing cold when I first attempted to get my feet wet… enough to send me running back to dry land!

I figured I would spend the majority of the day laying around as the prospect of actually taking a swim seemed rather bleak. That was until I got smacked flat on my behind by an incredibly aggressive and obnoxious wave! I was soaked from head to toe, but ironically after being submerged I didn’t feel as cold so I spent the remainder of the day being a water bunny… best decision ever!  We had such an amazing time!

Next up, Dorney Park!  I can’t wait!

Pardon me, while I scratch my proverbial balls!

Hey Lovers!

Hope you all had an awesome Saturday! Mine started entirely too early, and for reasons I wish weren’t true. Now I don’t know about you ladies (or men even), but I’ve personally always had a mistrust of mechanics.  I don’t know where it all started, I just know that I’ve never trusted them. I always felt the need to take a guy along with me if I needed to get a quote or have work done on my car because I felt like the male presence would deter any attempts to take advantage of this damsel (try not to choke on your laughter)!

Long story short… against my better judgment I loaned my car to my baby brother who had a fender bender.  He got rear ended which resulted in a broken tail light and some damage to the left fender and back bumper.  I took the car to a mechanic who was recommended by my dad and was quoted $1,000 for something that easily would have been $700-$800 elsewhere.  However, because I was familiar with his work, and he was highly recommended by the padre, I went along with it.

A few days later I went to pick up my car, only to find that the front fog light was broken and the panel immediately below that was missing from my front bumper. I immediately brought this to the attention of my mechanic who claimed that’s the way I dropped off my car! Say what? I told him absolutely not, but he convinced me that the impact of the accident could have resulted in the broken fog light and missing panel.  I had no reason not to believe him because he seemed like a nice enough guy, plus this man knows my father. Surely he wouldn’t try to pull one over on me knowing my dad, right? WRONG!

I got home and his theory just didn’t make sense to me.  For one, if in fact it happened when my brother got rear ended, would someone not have noticed the missing panel laying in the road? Would he as a mechanic seeing that I had this damage in the front not bring it to my attention when I dropped the car off so as not to be held liable, or to see if I wanted to have that damage repaired as well?  It made absolutely no sense, and as Judge Judy likes to say, when things don’t add up, it’s because it’s not true!

Something told me to go examine his work a bit closer and so I went to double check and make sure that he had installed OEM lights on my car. As I approached the car it was clear the lights were different, as the original light on the right was a rich amber, and the one he replaced on the left was much lighter and looked almost yellow.  When I picked the car up earlier that day, I was so distracted by the damage in the front that I hadn’t even noticed this!  I wanted to inspect a bit further and so I popped my truck and started to release the pin which secured the light only to have it break apart in my hand.  When I inspected it, it was clear that he had recycled the same broken pin from the accident and attempted to glue it together, and upon further inspection I noticed he had used an aftermarket light (and not OEM like he promised).  I was FURIOUS!

I immediately phoned him and called him out on his deception.  He claimed to have believed it to be OEM when he ordered online. I call bull—-! You’re a mechanic, this is your business… either you purchased it from BMW or you didn’t!  I told him I was disgusted by his actions and now that he had shown me that he was a liar, I didn’t believe that I brought him my car with a broken fog light and missing panel.  He tried to squirm his way out of it but I held firm. He claimed not to be responsible for the damage in the front of my car  but he apologized for the “misunderstanding” and resolved to order the correct lights as well as the missing panel and fog light for the front.

Today, after a week of waiting for parts to come in, I went to have everything installed (at 8:30am no less). Despite it being way to early to be up on a Saturday, I’m happy because my baby is whole again!  I’d be lying if I told you it wasn’t awkward. It WAS!  You could cut the tension with a knife because I was so disgusted by his actions and I sensed that he was embarrassed by the whole ordeal.

I wish I had two… if I did, I’d be scratching them right now! Don’t try to pull one over on me boo!

Until next time luvs…

 

 

 

 

Just Peachy!

Hey Lovers!

Hope you’re doing lovely today!  My day was insanely busy… errands from sun up to sun down.  I also used the time to go see my doctor for a wellness check.  I’ve been curious about my LDL levels (bad cholestorol) for quite some time because I keep hearing horror stories about people who appear to be fit and healthy, but are very unhealthy internally.  I feared that might be my predicament because I have very poor eating habits.  Nonetheless, I had the tests done and I’m happy to report that my levels are within the normal range…yippeee!!

I was so happy that once I got home I elected to do an impromptu photo shoot.  Since I knew I was going to be running errands all day, I elected to wear these dingy flats (I know, NOT sexy)!

However, if you know me then you know I am NOT a fan of flats… I just think they make my size 10s look like size 15s, and nobody has time for that!  That said, I quickly switched out my comfy flats for my incredibly uncomfortable but hella cute BCBG heeled sandals, and then this happened…

As to my very peachy outfit, I purchased my pants from River Island last fall.  The tank I purchased from Zara for an amazing steal! I wish I had the foresight to take pictures of the back, which is made up of a bright orange sheer material.  It’s just too cute for words.  Bear with me loves as this is my very first blog post.  I’ll get the hang of it soon (I promise).

Thanks to my annoying little brother Alex (there’s your shout-out) for being so willing to snap away!

Until next time lovers…