Avenu-a

January 8, 2013 · 2:01 am

2012 in Review

We’re a good week into the new year and I’ve had a whole week to reflect on this past one. 2012 was a pretty awesome year. I must admit. I will also admit that there were some very sucky and low points, but holistically, it was a very memorable year for me. Here are some of the best and worst moments.

I brought in the year in the best city to bring in any year. New York City!
I got a job. In 2011, I landed a role at a PR agency I interned at while in school. Toward the end of the year, I was informed that the agency would be closing thus, leaving me without a job. Long story short, I got another one. At a pretty cool digital marketing agency. With people who I thought were pretty cool (more about that later).
I ended a 3-year sob-story of a “romance.” This was definitely a combination of both a high and low point of the year. Low point, it was certainly a sob story. I spent the early part of the year crying like I’d lost my best friend (I mean, I did, kinda). High point: I hopped off the emotional roller coaster of a “relationship” (or lack thereof) without relapse (this is important).
I met this guy. He’s great. And now he’s more than just this guy. More like, boyfriend, best friend, housemate? Anyway, you get the drift. We’ve very literally been inseparable since the early part of the year and I don’t see that changing for a very long time.
I went to Vegas for the first time. Said guy and I took a weekend trip in May to Sin City. It was my first time. And I went out like a whimp. We didn’t party, we didn’t gamble. But we ate and we drank and we were merry. We enjoyed each other’s company. It was a great trip.
I lost aforementioned job. I’ll be the mature one and not go into detail. Because as we learned as kindergartners, if you don’t have anything nice to say… you know the rest.
I was faced with a lifetime low after losing said job. While I was truly blessed financially, emotionally, I was bruised, scarred, torn. I’m sure in the future, I’ll learn to appreciate the experience. Only because you can’t sincerely appreciate the high points if you have never experienced the lows.
I went to New York…again. Twice in one year. Makes for a great year.
Low point. Two girls that went to high school with me and transplanted to Dallas as well, were hit by a car. They were best friends. One passed, the other lived. It still hurts my heart.
I got a new car. Her name is Molly. She’s a Beamer. Her insides are red. And I love her.
I GOT ANOTHER JOB. Praises to the most high. This time, bigger and better than before.
I spent my first Christmas away from home. In Dallas. With my guy and his family. While I was sad, just a little bit, I don’t regret a second. And, we had a white Christmas!
I hosted an awesome NYE party. Details to come!
2012 marked a year that I had been out of college. The “real world” never tasted so sweet…. and sour… at once.

Welp, that’s my 2012 in a bulleted list. I’m hoping 2013 will be the best year yet. I will most certainly keep you posted on that. How was your 2012? What are you looking forward to in this new year?

xoxo,

Aquia

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Tagged as 2012, 2013, new year

January 5, 2013 · 1:11 am

Kinky Twistmas Update

I’m awful late, I know. Your Christmas tree is packed away and you’re judging your neighbors for failing to take down their Christmas lights in the socially acceptable time frame. But here I am giving you all an update (that I promised) on a Christmas event which took place before Christmas. Nonetheless, here you are.

As my last post (I’m so trifling) explains, I attended a natural hair event hosted by Bella Kinks last month and was slightly nervous about the various “contests” I found out about last minute. Here’s the rundown.

The event was hosted in Arlington, TX (a city in the Dallas metro-plex for all of you non-DFWers) at Brickhouse Lounge. My friend Kellee and I arrived fashionably late (did I mention I HATE being late?), but we got there. We received a Kinky Curly swag bag filled with a bunch of samples ~~that probably would be useful for a good fourth of my hair~~ which was nice! We ordered a few drinks, listened to a little spoken word and chatted among ourselves whilst waiting to be excused to get in the food line. After eating, we heard from Ms. Aevin Dugas (the world record holder for largest afro). She gave her natural hair journey story and did a brief Q&A. And I have to say, she has a lot of hair. Obviously.

After we heard from Aevin, Kellee and I went to the back of the room to check out some of the vendors (which I slapped my hand for not remembering any). Mid-sentence, a young woman approached me, grabbed my arm and pulled me to the front of the building while briefly explaining that I was in the running for “Flyest Natural.” Talk about being put on the spot. I was in the running along with two other ladies and a gentleman (that doesn’t even seem fair at an event full of women). They voted based on applause and once they had narrowed it down to myself and another young lady, they made everyone vote by show of hands. Can I just say that standing in front of 100 natural-haired women whilst they judge you to your face wasn’t the most relaxing experience I’ve ever had? I’m sure I had ‘awkward’ written all over my face. The embarrassment subsided when I won. Yay? I’m not sure what to do with that title, but…uh, I’ll take it. They gifted me with a gift basket from a natural skincare line (the name escapes me and I’m not at home to check).

I had plans for the evening so I had to run… thus, we missed the grand prize giveaway of two hair steamers. We both gave our tickets away. I hope the person I gifted mine to won. Anyway, that was that. I was deemed ‘Flyest Natural.’ If only I had a plaque or a trophy of sorts to properly display this achievement, but I digress.

;

The pictures are horrible. Please withhold judgement. I’d like to say this wasn’t my best day/look, but if they like it, I love it.

xoxo,

Aquia

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Filed under Fashion & Beauty, Hair, Lifestyle

Tagged as Bella kinks, Dallas, Kinky Twistmas, Natural Hair

December 20, 2012 · 4:59 pm

Relax. Instagram Could Care Less about YOU

This post comes in lieu of the recent backlash from misinformed users in regard to Instagram’s change in Terms of Service.

If you took a virtual stroll through the Internet at some point yesterday, chances are you saw, skimmed, read or heard the chatter referencing Instagram’s new Terms of Service. There were obnoxious headlines, angry tweets and totally uninformed folks on every e-corner. This, as a result, had entirely too many extra-regular individuals suddenly thinking their basic point-and-shoot, Earlybird-filtered photos were worth something.

NEWSFLASH: Instagram could care less about your photos. I promise. Even if they did want to sell your photos for profit (which, by the way, THEY DON’T), what on earth makes YOU think YOUR photos are ad-worthy? Better yet, worth any monetary value at all? I get it. The filters, the little blur effect and your newfound, Instagram-induced photogenic “eye” may have led you to believe that you’re talented. However, Instagram has surpassed 80 million users. Yes. You’re ONE. In 80 MILLION. Embrace it.

If you were on the “I’m deleting my Instagram” bandwagon, I certainly hope you’ve deleted your Facebook, your Twitter… and, let’s face it, your Internet identity as well. You do realize that Facebook, Twitter, Google and every other search engine in the history of search engines has access to your likeness, right? Ever seen a sponsored story on Facebook or Twitter? Ever been on a website and see an ad pop up that happens to be very much related to the web content you explored yesterday? Did you think it was by pure happenstance? Absolutely not. If you need a lesson on behavioral online targeting, click here. Of course doing so without your knowledge, may be a breach in security, hence the new and improved TOS.

Like every great technological advancement of our day, Instagram wants to be a revenue generator, while providing a FREE service to all of the morons who tried to jump ship. How do apps/social network sites do that? They sell advertising space. They sell access to information so advertisers can target their ads. Did you think Zuckerberg spent a [whole] billion dollars to let you upload photos of your favorite nightclub and fancy dinner without intentions of a return on investment? The man is no dummy. He’s also not out to get you. I assure you, he is not trying to jeopardize the integrity of the users who contribute to his empire. I’ll say it again, the man is no dummy.

So, if you’re done trying to find something controversial to be a part of, or taking news headlines for face value without entirely reading, you can get back to your regularly-scheduled #ootd posts.

P.S. Not to worry. An update from the Kinky Twistmas Holiday Bash is coming. Very soon. Instagram rant happened to take priority.

xoxo,

Aquia

Kinky Twistmas Holiday Bash

It’s true, I’ve abandoned my blog. But it wasn’t intentional, I promise. I’ve just had a lot going on. That said, I hope to be back to our regular scheduled program very soon.

In other news, I will be attending my first natural hair event here in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area today! Without reading or hearing about details, I was prepared to go mix and mingle, win door prizes and eat…aka NOT have to put too much emphasis on other things…like, maybe my natural hair. Shame on me. I tried to take the easy way out, and this morning, I got a rude awakening. Literally. My friend, Kellee, with whom I’m attending the event, texted me a few screenshots detailing the contest (yes, contest) that will be taking place. Apparently there is a best hairstyle contest and, a flyest natural contest and the description went on to encourage everyone to bring their “A” game. Great. As of 9 o’clock this morning, I didn’t have one of those, and now that I’m sitting here praying this twistout dries in time, I still don’t have one. Lol We’ll see how all of this pans out. This is just so much pressure that I didn’t sign up for when registering for this event. I will definitely post photos and details soon after! Oh, and THE Ms. Aevin Dugas (yeah, the world’s largest afro) will apparently be in the building. I thought that was neat.

I will have a detailed report/review soon. I’m super excited!

xoxo,

Aquia

I’m Featured on Black Girl Long Hair!

It’s true. Check out the full feature here.

Diary of a [Recovering] Shopaholic

Ever make an online purchase and have every desire to share with the world how great of a decision it was? No? Just me? Oh, okay. Well, yesterday I had one of those moments. I’m a late bloomer to ShoeDazzle but hey, you know what they say… better late than never. This is my second purchase from the site and I was honestly surprised that I made that many. I love their point system and the fact that they’re constantly sending me $15 off coupons via email (although opening these emails is probably the equivalent to hoarding cocaine in rehab). Anyway, I received yet another of the aforementioned coupons and decided to “browse” their site. To my demise, I found a pair that I feel in love with. And (it gets worse), after my $15 coupon was applied they were a whole $24. Just my luck. Now, I HAD to buy them.

Well, say hello to Kolfinna. The reason I relapsed and, the reason for my current state of excitement. I must also mention that she’s Kim Kardashian’s November pick (go ahead and judge me).

I imagine Kolfinna and I getting along very well in the very near future. What do you think?

xoxo,

Aquia

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Filed under Fashion, Shopping

Tagged as KimKardashian, Kolfinna, Online Shopping, ShoeDazzle, shoes, Shopaholic, shopping

November 7, 2012 · 6:49 pm

Flexi-Rod Set on Natural Hair

I’ve been meaning/wanting to do a flexi-rod set on my hair for some time now, but I admit I got a little discouraged when thinking about the amount of hair I have on my head (per the usual). After getting a $75 (say whaaaa?) quote from my beautician, however, I knew this would be an at-home DIY project. I have to admit, I was pretty bummed when I went into my local BSS to find only one pack of flexi-rods left. What the heck was I going to do with that? I did, however, buy them anyway at a whopping $3.99. I headed to Sally’s because it was down the street and I needed more flexi-rods. It wasn’t long after walking in and seeing the $8.99 price tag, did I walk out empty handed.

Seriously?! $8.99. For a pack of 8 flexi-rods? That wouldn’t even cover a fourth of my head. Do better, Sally! It’s times like these when you lean on your good friends. And in my case, I just so happened to be on the phone with one of my best friends who just so happened to be passing a BSS. She stopped in and picked up a whole six packs for me! At…you guessed it…$3.99/pack.

Long story short, I spent all day last Friday tackling this hair of mine. Okay, I lied. Surprisingly, it didn’t take all day. Maybe like an hour at best (drying is different story, different book). I washed my hair with my favorite-shampoo-of-all time-that-I-don’t-know-why-I ever-stopped-using-ever, Creme of Nature with Argan Oil, Moisture and Shine Shampoo. And, just like I remember, my hair felt like butter.

I set my hair using Lottabody’s Carrot & Keratin Setting Lotion and started from the outside, working my way to the center. As I said, this didn’t take long. The drying, however, took all day. Granted, I did let them air dry a good portion of the day and sat under the dryer out of desperation for about an hour and a half before getting ready to go out.

Once they were finally dry, I carefully took out each rod, trying at all costs to avoid frizziness.

Excuse the face. Thanks.

I soaked my hands in coconut oil and proceeded to separate each curl too many times to count. And, walah!

I will say that at first, these babies were tight…as heck… but I knew that with time, I’d be able to separate them some more and it would get fuller.

See extra tightness.

I will definitely be playing with flexi-rods more often. The style lasts a while if you place a bonnet over them before bed or use the pineapple method. And we all know that any style that allows me to not have to do my hair is a win in my book. It’s day 6 and they’re kind of frizzy now, but I plan on attempting to re-twist them and see how that works.

Last weekend was my alumni’s homecoming. So below are photos from last weekend’s homecoming festivities which also happen to capture my second and third day hair. Enjoy!