Monday Morning Musings | Jay Z "Picasso Baby: A Performance Art Film"

This is a just a little something to start the week.  I love Jay Z's artistic approach in this video and how he talks about how concerts (music) are pretty much performance arts.  Great concept and great video!

Happy Monday!

Cool Technology | Usher vs Usher in New Samsung Video

I tell you Usher is the man and 2013 is definitely his for the taking.  Not only is he getting ready to return to the screen in a biopic on boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard, his latest single, 'Looking 4 Myself' was the inspiration behind Samsung's video short for it's new Samsung Smart TV.  The purpose of the short is to showcase their new motion control technology.  In the short, we see Usher fighting his alter ego and well....I will let you experience the rest for yourself.







I don't know about you but they sure have peeked my interest.

What I'm Listening To | Bruno Mars

I am in love with Bruno Mars, and especially his new single 'Treasure' off his Unorthodox Jukebox cd.  This is the perfect tune to listen too while working out, riding around on a beautiful summer day or just chilling by the pool with friends.  And yes, this is one song that is in heavy rotation on my iPod.

Enjoy!

Hello Gorgeous | A month long conversation on beauty

In addition to being a mother and a blogger, I am also the creator and host of the radio show Cocktails and Conversation which airs LIVE on Saturday's at 8 am EST.  For the month of June we are having an in-depth conversation on beauty and what it means to feel/be beautiful today.  I can tell you first hand that my definition of beauty has changed over the years from being a young girl in my 20's to today.  To me being beautiful has little to do with outward appearances, but more on how I feel on the inside.  Now don't get me wrong, I believe everyone wants to "look" good and I am no exception to the rule, however I do not believe that one has to achieve a certain "look" or "size" in order to be beautiful.

I hope you will join me in this very important topics and share with me your thoughts on beauty.  What does being beautiful mean to you and how has your definition changed over the years?

Oh Fitch Please!?!?!?!

Unless you have been living under a rock, I'm sure by now you're all heard about Abercrombie  & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries made about the company's target market.  Yea, I agree he is a total idiot but I think that Ellen hit this one on the head and it is for this reason alone that I absolutely LOVE her. 

30 Day Challenge | Goodbye my beloved flat iron and hello curls!!!

My hair is naturally curly.  As a child growing up I embraced my curls and was content with my hair and all was right with the world.  Then entered adolescents and I wanted to look like my friends...they had straight hair and I though it was beautiful.  I wanted my hair to look like theirs.  Luckily for me, my mother refused to let me get a relaxer however she was not opposed to me having my hair straightened by my soon to be new best friend, the pressing comb.  The process of washing, blow drying, and pressing my hair soon became the norm.  So after years and years of heat abuse, my hair was severely heat damaged and very unhealthy.  I knew something needed to change but what?  Should I cut off all my hair and just start all over?  I just didn't know what to do.

Jess AKA Mahogany Curls

Then last year, I started adopting a healthier lifestyle which included being active regularly and the hair issue resurfaced once again.  When I work out I sweat on my head and that means by the end of my workout I'm rocking a curly afro (and no, it's not like those cute ones you see in a magazine).  Still not know what to do with this hair of mine I decided to consult with my best friend YouTube to see what I could find on curly hair.

Then I found Mahogany Curls YouTube channel!  When I saw her videos, it was LOVE at first sight.  I enjoyed how she talked about the products that she used and showed me step by step her process.  She was following the Curly Girl: The Handbook (I also bought the book) which was developed my stylist Lorraine Massey.  After watching a few of her videos, I thought I would give it a try.  I quickly bought the products and surprisingly I liked the results!

My first try at going curly using the CG (curly girl method)

I wore my hair curly for quite a while and just recently found myself going back to my old ways of blow drying and flat ironing my hair on a regular basis.

(Hey old habits are hard to break!) 

But that got old quick (the whole flat ironing thing).  So I'm saying good bye to the flat iron and hello to my curls for the next 30 days.  That's right, I am going to try and refrain from applying direct heat to my hair see what effect it has whether positive or negative on my overall hair health.  I thought about trying to do it for an entire year but thinking about NOT doing for something for 365 days seems a bit intimidating and slightly overwhelming but 30 days, well that is something I can do.

30 days with no blow dryer or flat iron, I can do it.   During this journey I will blog about my experiences and all of the products and techniques I've tried.  It should be fun...at least that is what I keep telling myself.

If you have been thinking about embracing your inner curly, wavy or kinky girl, then I encourage you to join along!  And remember it's only 30 days!

So let the curls begin!!!

Product Review | Palmolive Soft Touch

Recently I received some products to test and review as a part of the Influenster program that I participant in.  To my surprise this time I was sent two full sized bottles of Palmolive's new Soft Touch line.  According to the company these mild formula soaps with a touch of Vitamin E, Aloe or Coconut Butter were designed to be soft on the hands while still providing you with powerful grease cutting action so our dishes are sparkling clean.  Well Palmolive was true to their word.  Not only were my dishes clean BUT my hands were not all dried out and rough afterwards.  I received both the Vitamin E and the one with Aloe and although both were absolutely great, my favorite was the one with Vitamin E.

This is one product that will be used in my house daily from this day out.



Disclaimer: I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.  The views and opinions expressed in this post are mine and were not influenced in any way by Influenster or Palmolive.