Sidebar...it's getting about that time for the short shorts and tiny bikinis. Well I've never had the luxury of being one of those who gets to wear stuff like that but I am still motivated to get my hinny in the gym. There's only one problem. What am I going to do with my hair?? This is a problem a lot of black women face. After hours of slaving over your hair, are you really willing to sweat it out in the gym? I think not!!! However, in this day and age, the health risk is too high for us not to get in the gym. If we don't take care of health, which of course includes eating right and working out, we are at greater risk for diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. Like a lot of African American families, these diseases run in my family and because of that I have to be extra careful. If you face the same problem as me, here are a couple of suggestions that I am trying to combat this hair/health problem. Even if you are not trying to lose weight, these are good tips for living healthy in general. 1) I am watching what I eat. It starts there. I have been told millions of times that the weight loss battle begins with what you put in your mouth. Recently, I went to the grocery store and stocked up on fruits and veggies to take with me to school. I also purchased those Campbells "soup on hand". They are only 70-100 calories depending on which one you buy. If you are always on the run like me, these are great to have around. 2) Im watching my sugar intake. I'm not saying cut out sweets totally, especially if you have a sweet tooth like me, but just watch how much you consume. Remember, everything in moderation. 3) Plan out your workout days. I've found this helps when you have a hectic schedule and when you want your hair to look good while at work or school. I pick 2-3 days out of the week that I am going to work out, that way I can plan around it and know when I'm going to re-twist or do my hair. This definitely helps with the whole hair/health problem. What kinds of things do you suggest for maintaining/losing weight? Have you had the same problem concerning your hair??-azureDizzle

Sidebar...so I have to take a moment to rave about Bklyn Queens Vintage, based in Brooklyn, New York. The owner/buyer is Keira Chapman. She and I went to High School together and I have always looked up to her. She has always been uber chic, hip, and fashionable. She honestly makes me want to move to New York City and live the ultimate Sex and the City life. lol. But anyway, I'm absolutely loving the vintage items that Bklyn Queens has. I'm literally obsessed. If you like hip, funky, fashionable vintage clothing, definitely hit up Bklyn Queens. http://stores.ebay.com/bklynqueens It's an ebay store and you bid on the item you want. Sometimes you have to fight with people for items (which happened to me once...oh and I won. Ha) but it's totally worth it. Also, if you have Facebook (which I'm sure most of you do), Bklyn Queens previews their new items on facebook. Here is a pic of an awesome blazer that I snagged from Bklyn Queens. Seriously, check it out. You won't regret it. I promise-azureDizzle


Blazer: Bklyn Queens
Shirt: Old Navy
Shorts: Tory Burch
Heels: Cole Haan
Necklace: Forever21

Sidebar...I have to give a quick shout out to my wonder full sands!! 5 years ago today, March 29, 2006, my sands and I crossed the burning sands into Deltaland. And we have been kicking butts and taking names ever since. I'm very proud to say that all of us have been successful in everything we have done. We have a lawyer, Army officer, College Administrator, future lawyer, HR administrator, PR manager, Future sports agent/lawyer and Ortho Tech. We have continued to do big things. I love these girls to death. We have had our moments, our ups and our downs but at the end of the day, they are my sisters and that will never change. Oooo-oooop sands. love yall- azureDizzle

Sidebar...so I went to the Eric Roberson concert that was held here in Houston on saturday and as you know my great affinity for ERRO will never let me miss a show. And I'm glad that I didn't miss this show because I discovered an amazing artist named Avery Sunshine at the show. She "opened" for ERRO and I must say that I love her already. She hails from Philly and she has the most beautiful voice. I know some of you may have already heard of her but it's ok that I'm late. Better late than never right? I downloaded her album and yes, I actually paid for it via ITunes. It was instant love. The album instantly touched my soul. My favorite song is called "Pinin'". It makes me think of "homeboy" back home. Check out the album. I'm sure you will love it as much as I do.

Here are a couple pics from the Eric Roberson concert. Check out the guitar player...he was my eye candy for the night. lol-azureDizzle

Avery Sunshine on the keys...she is bomb.com

Eric Roberson





Guitar Player=Eye candy

Sidebar...last night the much anticipated documentary, reported by Soledad O'Brian, entitled "Unwelcome: Muslims in America" debuted. Soledad did an amazing job on the documentary. It exposes what Muslims are going through in a small town in Tennessee. They are trying to build an Islamic center because their current place of worship is too small to accommodate them and the documentary shows the opposition that they are facing within the community. I thought the documentary was extremely enlightening and also extremely sad. It brought to light how many people are opposed to Islam and are scared that those who practice will take over America. I found the people opposed to the Islamic center sickeningly ignorant. They are scared of something that they know nothing about. The community members who opposed the building of the center knew nothing about the Islamic faith and based their believes of of September 11th. I don't understand how the acts of a few can correlate to the believes of all Muslims. I would think that those same fears would be lessened through education about the religion but clearly not everyone thinks like I do. In my opinion, education is the best way to combat fear and ignorance. But I know this would only fall on deaf ears.

Another thing that saddened my about documentary is that an African-American man was heading the opposition and actually filed suit to stop the construction of the Islamic center. This surprised and disgusted me because I just could not believe that an African-American MAN could be so ignorant and blind. How can we as a people actually discriminate against a group of people when we were and still are discriminated against for the color of our skin? How can an African-American forget about all the struggles our people had/have to go through because we are black and yet discriminate against someone else because of their religion? Is not discrimination due to race the same as discrimination due to religion? At the end of the day, it is still discrimination. And now that we have a Black president, you're still acting like that? The black man on the doc really disgusted me and saddened me. The documentary really brought to light how far we have NOT come as a country. Most of us are still as ignorant and blind that we were before September 11th and even the Civil Rights Movement for that matter. Nothing has changed. If you watched the documentary, let me know how you feel about it.-azureDizzle

Sidebar...here are the people who inspire me through their hair...they are my "Hair-spirations". Corrine Bailey Rae and Marsha Ambrosius. When I am down and out about my hair and at the brink of no return, I look to my "hair-spriations". They give me hope. I think their hair looks AMAZING!!! I'm looking toward december when I think my hair is going to look like Corrines' and Marshas'. Keep your fingers crossed!!!!-azureDizzle

Who are your "Hair-spirations"??

Sidebar...so as you know, i've been on my natural-hair-don't-care flow for a while now. So I wanted to update you on new tricks and hair styles that I have tried.








Dry Twist out- These are my results from my first dry twist out. I've been hooked ever since. I love how my dry twist outs turn out. I used Paul Mitchell the Conditioner (which is a leave-in conditioner) to set my twists and I wet the ends with LottaBody. I wet just the ends because it makes them curl up and the twist stay in and because I don't want to have to sit under the dryer. With this method I can put on my satin bonnet and just go to bed. It's so easy and it looks amazing come morning. In these pics I used clips for the front of my hair because my ends don't curl like the rest of my hair. My hair is made up of different textures (like a lot of us naturals) so you have to find what works for you. I started using sponge rollers on the front to curl the ends and it works perfectly.



Roller Set- Love, love, love this look. I used Med/Large rollers and Paul Mitchell Styling Foam to set my hair. The key to roller sets is that you MUST SIT UNDER THE DRYER AND LET YOUR HAIR DRY COMPLETELY before taking out your rollers. If not, your curls will not be defined and you will end up with a half curly, frizzy mess. I have a soft bonnet hair dryer that I use and it takes me a couple hours for my hair to completely dry. I know we are trying to keep as much heat off our hair as possible, but a couple hours of dryer heat a week will not hurt. When I took my rollers out I flat ironed just the roots to make my hair lay flat (again this little gesture will not kill your hair). This style lasted about 5 days.





Dry Bantu Knot out- My bantu knot out turned out pretty well however the knots were too tight and made my head hurt (I'm heavy handed lol) and it was uncomfortable to sleep in. I used the Paul Mitchell the Conditioner again to set my twist and then i knotted them. As you can see, I had to bobby pin the knots so that they would stay. Over all I liked the finished look but not the process. I probably would not try this look again. But let me know how it works for you or any other tips you have for this look. I am willing to try again.



Dry twist out/middle part- I usually ALWAYS part my hair on the side but I wanted to try a middle part. I really liked the results. I see a lot of people around and at school with middle parts and they look good on them. I tend to not do them because I think it makes me look like Side-show Bob from the Simpsons. lol. I used Paul Mitchell the Conditioner to set the twists and LottaBody for the ends. I also flat twisted the top/middle twists.

I hope these pics give you some new I style ideas. I'll make sure I keep you updated about new products and styles that I try. Also if YOU have any tips and tricks that work for you, please comment!!-azureDizzle

Sidebar...so here is an update on the new Adele and Marsha Ambrosius albums that I gushed about before. Basically...both are amazing albums and definitely worth having in your collection. I absolutely LOVE Adeles' album "21". It is amazing. I can play it from beginning to end and then on repeat. Then repeat again. Yes. It's that serious. I really like Marshas' album also. She has some really nice cuts on the album. The feel is more baby-making...so if you're trying to seduce someone, definitely put this on.

Sidebar Grade:

Adele "21"- A
Marsha Ambrosius "Late nights and Early mornings"- B

Sidebar...is it still taboo to have babies out of wedlock? It seems now a days that having babies is a normal regular occurrence for people my age. Babies are popping up all over the place. What is it? Has pop-culture corrupted us into thinking that it's ok to have babies, babies and more babies without being married? It seems to me that the media has almost glamorized being a single mom. TV reality shows such as "Teen Mom" and "16 and Pregnant" have sort of made having babies out of wedlock cool, or the norm. Celebs have also glamorized being pregnant and not married. Natalie Portman, for example, is now pregnant by her choreographer boyfriend and is winning all types of Oscars and Golden Globes. And believe me, she is not the only one. What sort of image is this setting for our young girls? From these television shows and celebs, I could see young girls thinking that having babies out of wedlock is cool or that it will be fun and exciting to have a baby. That being a single mom is easy. Does anyone else see a problem with this? I'm 25 and I still don't think having a baby will be easy, even when I am actually ready. What do you think?-azureDizzle

Hello All!!! I havn't wrote about music in a long while. To be honest with you, it's because I havn't heard an album as of late that has really captured me. But you will be excited to know that I have some new prospects. Last week Adele released her new album entitled "21". I absolutely love, love, love Adele. She as an amazing voice and a great sound. If you are not hip, please check her out. I turned a skeptic on to her just a few weeks ago and he is hooked. I can listen to her first album "19" from beginning to end and then repeat. I cannot say this more a lot of artists out there today. If you need a preview, check out her new single "Rolling in the Deep".

Just today, former member of the duo Floetry, Marsha Ambrosius, released her debut album "Late nights, Early Mornings". I am uber excited about this album too I heard her single "Hope She Cheats On You (with a Basketball Player) back in September of 2010 and since then, I have been not-so-patiently waiting on this album. I love her voice and the neo-soul/ r-n-b feel of her music. I have heard only good things about her album and I can't wait to hear it. I'm hoping both of these albums will become my theme albums for 2011. Keep your fingers crossed.-azureDizzle

Hello all!!! So as you may know, it is award season. A couple weeks ago there was the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards and of course I must give you my best and worst dressed of the award shows. I loved the fashion do's and please never do again's that I saw at the award shows. Here are a couple of my faves. Stay tuned for the recap on the Grammys and Academy Awards coming soon

Best Dressed @ The Golden Globes and SAG Awards

Lea Michelle, Kyra Sedgwick, January Jones and Mila Kunis.

These ladies looked amazing. I am a classic type girl and I love the classy, simple dresses that these girls chose. I picked the dress worn by January Jones because I loved the color and the cut of the dress. I thought she looked amazing.




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Worst Dressed @ the Golden Globes and SAG Awards.

Sandra Bullock, Michelle Williams, Christina Hendricks

Over all, I just feel like these were bad choices. Usually I love these girls and their style but I don't know what happened this time. I really hope they fired their stylists. Sandra looks real matronly. Just an awful choice. Maybe it looked better on the manikin Christina Hendricks dress wasn't a right choice for her body. And Michelle? I don't know were she thought she was going. Please ladies, never ever wear something like this again.

Hey all!! I hope you've been doing well. Lately I've been testing out a few new products on my hair. Some were good...others were #EPIC fails. Here are a couple new things that I have tried.

Carol's Daughter Hair Milk Lite- I heard about this product from a couple of my friends who said they loved it. So I decided to try it. I strongly disliked this product. I don't know if it is because of my hair texture that it didn't do what I wanted but it made my hair really greasy. Even after I sat under the dryer for forever, my hair still felt wet. When I took the twists out, my hair felt like there was massive product on it. The hair milk just didn't work for me. But if you use this product regularly, what do you like about it?? What does it do for your hair??

Lottabody- I loved this product. One of my hair dressers uses this when she does roller-sets and she had told me about it years ago. I used this product to retwist my hair a couple weeks ago and it turned out great. I loved the definition of my curls when I took my twists out. I sectioned my hair, sprayed it with water and then sprayed it with lottabody (use half lottabody and half water). This is a product that I will def keep in my arsenal. You can find it at Sally's for 6 bucks for the medium bottle. This is one of my cheap but awesome products. Love, love, love it.

Flexi Rods- I usually use perm rods to roll the front of my hair. I saw on Curly Nikki that she uses flexi rods to do her Twist n Curl. So i tried this. The flexi rods took longer to dry and I eventually reverted back to my perm rods. So i think Im going to stick with those. But I do want to do a Flexi-rod set eventually. Flexi rods run around 9 dollars a pack. Which I think is pretty expensive for rollers, especially if you have a lot of hair. But once I get my money up Im going to try them out.

Deep condition- Usually I condition my hair in the shower. But I wanted to try a deep condition. So I put the conditioner on after my shower and sat under the dryer. I wanted to see if it made a difference in the feel of my hair. My hair is soft but it was soft before. lol, So I may try an actual deep conditioner and see how it works. I think I'm going to test out Paul Mitchell Super Charged conditioner. I'll let you know how it works.

I have been watching a lot of video tutorials lately and here are some styles that I want to try.

Flexi Rod Set
Bantu Knot out
Flat-Twist out.
Dry twist out.


This week Im going to try a dry twist out/re-twist and a roller set with big rollers. Im going to take a couple pics of my hair to show you. Oh and I still need to show you pics from my birthday extravaganza weekend. So stay tuned.

Let me know what new products that you have tried and either liked or disliked. Im curious to hear what new products and styles that you have discovered. Holla!!-azureDizzle

How many of us are on a tight budget?? How many of us also like to keep it fly and fashionable, especially when it comes to your hair?? Well I know I do. Lately I have found a lot of awesome deals on hair products. Remember that when it comes to your hair, you don't have to spend a lot of money to get quality products. The other day I found a Giovanni Direct Tea Tree Treat Shampoo and conditioner set at TJ Maxx for $12.99. Just the shampoo alone at Whole Foods is around $8. It also came with a Moisture Protective spray which is awesome. The tea tree shampoo and conditioner made my scalp tingly and gave my hair a refreshed clean feeling. Another sweet find is the Eco Styler Olive Oil Gel. Its around $5 and it comes in a HUGE jar. You only need to use a little bit for your twists so it will last forever. I use this product in the front of my hair when I do my twist outs. I put the gel on, twist my hair and roll the ends on perm rods. The only draw back I have for this product is that if you use too much, you will have gel flakes when you take it out. I love that it makes my curls really defined, which I need in the front of my hair. I continue to use Paul Mitchell sculpting foam in the back of my hair. If you have different textures of hair on different parts, it's ok to use different products to get the desired look/style you want. What budget friendly products or stores do you like???-azureDizzle

Happy New Year!!! I hope you had a safe and wonderful new year. How many of you have made resolutions for the new year?? And how many of you have already broken them?? Well this year we at Sidebar are committed to making resolutions we can actually keep. No longer are the "lose 20 pounds" resolutions or the "no eating sweets" resolutions. This year we are committed to making resolutions that help us develop as people. So with that the theme for 2011 is "the Roll of the Dice". Meaning we are taking more chances in 2011. We are going to step outside of our comfort zone more and take chances that we would normally not make, whether it be in our relationships or our career choices. Lets keep this theme in mind in our daily lives and see where it takes us in 2011. Don't be scary, take chances and just roll the dice...see where it leads you!!! Good luck!!-azureDizzle

So you know that moment after college when you get your job and finally get your grown person apartment?? Do you remember how great that felt? But then after a while you realize that you don't have any grown person things to put in it?? I have been struggling with this concept because I feel that the apartment you had in college should be totally different from the apartment you have after college. Like the after college apartment is a testimony to your grown person status. But I have come to realize that it is also a mentality. In college, your apartment was filled with just enough to get by. You may have had one pot, one pan, a couple plates and bowls, you know, just enough utensils to get you through. But now this is no longer acceptable. As a grown person you need to have everything you could possibly want or need. Your GROWN. If need be, you should be able to cook up a 5 course meal and have enough pots and pans to cook everything. And sadly, most of us don't. We, myself included, only have enough to get by. So in 2011 I am changing this. I am a grown, semi-independant, law student and I need to get into that mind set. And I am going to begin with my apartment. I'm going to decorate and supply my apartment with all the furnishings and what-nots that grown people need. This may sound weird but I think it will make a huge difference on how I feel. What staples do you have in your apartment that makes it the ultimate "grown folks" apartment??-azureDizzle