Removing Marley Twists

Happy Monday! Start your week off with a smile and stay positive. You can make it!

Today I wanted to share my Marley Twist takedown process. What you need: scissors, your braids/twists, and an hour or less!

It’s a super easy process, check it out below:

1) Cut your twists about halfway down making sure to not cut too high in order to avoid cutting your real hair

2) Take out twists by pulling two strands apart which in turn untwists them. They unravel naturally!

3) You then are back to your natural hair!

Stay tuned, I will soon be posting a braid/twist install process with more pictures and maybe even a video. 🙂

Have a great week!

Floral Maxi Dress and Marley Twists

Hey hey! Today I wanted to showcase a new dress and a new hairstyle. As I mentioned in my last post here, I love dresses!

Maxi dresses, like the floral one I am wearing above, are so stylish along with being super comfortable. You can wear maxi dresses and flats for a casual, errand day or pair it with heels for a chic, brunch outfit.

I decided to pair mine with flats for a more casual look. This floral maxi was a great deal at Nordstrom Rack for only $12!

I love shopping at the Rack because the deals are so great and it helps that I get an employee discount too. My flats are from Nordstrom, my only issue with them are that they get dirty so quick because they are white. During the summer time, I definitely plan on wearing this dress with cute sandals.

On this past Monday, I decided to do my hair. I love red hair on me. I’ve even considered dying my natural hair red because I love it so much, but that will happen later in life.

I’ve done red braids before, but this was my first time doing red twists. Besides how they look, the main difference between braids and twists are how many pieces of hair you use. To form a braid, you use three strands of hair and to form a twist you use two strands of hair.

Once I get a video camera, I will showcase how I do my protective styles (braids and twists). Be warned, it is time-consuming. These twists took me 8 hours to do, but once you get the hang of it its fun and definitely worth while.

My twists allow me to give my natural hair a break and it’s a cute, new hairstyle. What’s your go to dress style? What hairstyle are you currently rocking? Let me know in the comments below!

And I will leave you with this quote my boyfriend and I came up with today as inspiration to help you get through your week:

Flowers bloom even in darkness. So even if you feel like there is no light in your life right now, you can still bloom in your dark place. You are a flower 💐

Hair Spotlight: Marley Twists

Happy Friday!

Today I wanted to showcase my most recent hairstyle, Marley Twists!

I’ve been getting my hair braided/twisted by other people for the past few years and I realized that I save money by doing my own hair and it’s also a cool skill to have. After numerous youtube videos and attempts, I’ve begun to master doing protective styles on my own hair.

This is actually my first time twisting my hair, the other times before this I did box braids. The purpose of the twists is to be a protective style for my natural hair, meaning it gives my real hair a break. My hands aren’t constantly in my hair and my hair grows while it’s in the twists.

It took me almost 7 hours to do this marley twist style so if you are planning on learning how to do your own hair, make sure you set aside one of your days off to do it and have a few movies or tv shows to binge while doing it.

I would eventually love to do a video showcasing me doing my own hair. Stay tuned for that!

What protective styles do you like? Let me know in the comments below. Have a great weekend!

Secret Swing at Elysian Park

Happy Monday beautiful people. I hope your September is off to a great start!

Today I want to take you to a land far far away…well not really far away but moreso up in the air. I recently visited a hiking trail in Elysian Park in LA to try to find a secret swing and to my surprise I found it!

It’s called the Secret Swing because it is up a secluded hill and not many people know about it unless you did some research like I did. I really wanted to visit the swing because the view is amazing.

To visit the swing I wore a simple black maxi dress paired with floral vans. Shawn and I rode a Lyft to the bottom of the hiking trail and from there its just about a 5-7 min hike up to the swing.

I wouldn’t reccomend swinging too hard on the swing because it is very high up and there is no fence to protect you from falling. Gently sitting on it like I did will still make for a great shot.

If you are in LA and want to do an easy hike I definitely reccomend visitng Elysian Park and the Secret Swing.

Do you like the view? Would yoy be scared to sit on the swing? What do you think of my outfit? Let me know in the comments below and have a great week!

Teal Takeover

I’m excited for today’s post because I get to talk about my favorite color, teal!

In case you have no idea what teal is, it’s a gorgeous shade of blue-green.

I love teal because it looks great on literally everything. Teal clothes, jewelry, shoes, even hair, are all gorgeous.

My OOTD is a lovely, teal and floral crop top paired with teal cropped trousers and white flats. I love the sleeves of this top because it resembles the ones seen on a kimono.

This top was an affordable $17 from Nordstrom! My trousers were $20 from ASOS and have a side zipper which I love much more than the traditional front zipper and button combo.

My flats are also from Nordstrom and cost around $25. I love the bow detail on them!

Teal is just one of those colors I feel looks great on me! It’s the perfect shade to match my complexion and hair.

What’s your favorite color and how do you think it looks on you? Let me know in the comments below and have a lovely week!

The Mondrian Wall

Los Angeles is full of art! Every few blocks there’s either a wall painting, a stylish modern building, or an awesome tourist spot where you can take gorgeous photos.

Recently, I found a photo spot called the “Mondrian Wall” here in LA.The wall is on the side of an art store called, Artist & Craftsman Supply LA.

It’s super colorful and makes for a perfect photo op.

At the wall, I wore a black, ruched, bodycon dress. I decided to go with a black dress to make the colors behind me on the wall pop.

I paired my black dress with yellow Vans and Quay, cateye shades. This is a look that definitely can be dress up for a nighttime dinner or kept casual like how I wore it.

I challenge you this week to find a new photo spot in your city. You may have to walk a few blocks or drive a different route, but it will be worth it!

Visiting La Brea Tar Pits!

Hey everybody!

These past few days in LA have been scorching hot, only 90 degrees and above!

When it’s hot and sunny, it’s great weather to explore . Recently, I visited La Brea Tar Pits. The Tar Pits are a fossil excavation site along with a museum.

You learn about California’s history, prehistoric creatures, fossils, and nature. It’s interactive, family freindly, and definitely worth going to if any of the topics I mentioned previously interests you.

Pictured above is a mural showcasing the numerous animals, now extinct unfortunately, that surived and thrived before us.

My boyfriend Shawn and I, also went to a 3D movie that was playing at the museum called “Titans of the Ice Age.” I learned a lot of new fun facts; it was definitely informative and exciting.

We also walked around outside of the museum to visit the various tar pits where excavations are taking place to this day. Excavations occur when scientist and paleontologist go down into the tar pits and dig up the fossils of dinosaurs, mammals, birds, and sometimes even humans.

Path near one of the excavation sites

For this bright, sunny day I wore yellow pants that fit similarly to joggers.

I paired my yellow pants with a black, wrap top and checkered slip-on Vans. It made for a sporty chic look.

The lush flowers and trees around the museum made for a perfect backdrop.

What do you think of this look? And please visit the La Brea Tar Pits if you are in the LA area, you won’t regret it.

Have a great week lovelies!

First time doing my own box braids!

Happy Friday!

Hope that you had a great week and are ready for your weekend! For the past few months I’ve been thinking about braiding my own hair, but never took any steps towards actually doing it.

Earlier this week I decided to turn my words into actions. I brought 6 packs of Kanekalon jumbo braid hair, a hand mirror, and I was ready to go.

It took 6.5 hours, but was so worth it and I know that I will get faster and better with practice. How does it look?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and enjoy your weekend lovelies!

My 2017 Hairstyles

2017 was definitely the year of change in numerous aspects of my life. One aspect in particular was my hair!

I tried sooo many unique and fun hairstyles this year. Below is a timeline of all of my 2017 hairstyles.

February – Bantu Knots

This look made me feel powerful, bold, and more in tune with my african american culture.

March – 2 braids

I tried out a simple look that required little upkeep.

May – Shoulder length bob with bangs

My first wig ever!! I wanted a look I never had before and so I went for it and loved it. Everybody thought I straightened my real hair which meant the wig looked super realistic.

June – Side frohawk

Using bobby pins on my natural hair I pinned part of my hair down and let the other side go free!

July – 4 cornrows

I loved this look because it gave me a 90s Alicia Keys vibe.

September – Lemonade braids
Beyonce inspired braids slicked to one side. This look too a while to do but was definitely stunning.

October – Braided buns

This was the month I moved to LA so I wantrd something modern, trendy, and fun so I went with this Minnie Mouse-esque looked.

November – Flat twist out

For my birthday, I wore my natural hair and rocked my twist outs, which surprisingly turned out a lot better than I thought.

January 2018
….who knows what look will be next

I hope you all have a Happy New Year celebration. 2018 will be great!

It’s Finally Fall!…Kind Of

It’s the 6th day of fall, but it certainly doesn’t feel like it.

In Baltimore, the weather has been teetering between 70 and 80 degrees!

Since the weather isn’t chilly just yet I am still embracing the beautiful weather and wearing my spring/summer clothes.

I paired a blue bodycon dress with an african-print skirt. I tucked my dress into my skirt to make it look like a shirt and it turned out great!

I adore this skirt because of the numerous colors on it. I can pair almost anything with it because of the varying shades of blue, white, green, purple and gold in it.

To complete this look, I wore my navy blue sandals and, of course,  my signature pearl bracelets.

I got a lot of compliments on this look and people were surprised when I told them my shirt was actually a dress tucked in. I love using my clothing in different ways.

A great fashion tip is investing in staple article of clothing that is versatile. For example, my blue bodycon dress that can be worn as a shirt tucked in, a skirt folded over, and as a dress.

The more ways you can reuse your clothing, the more outfits you can make and the more money you will save on buying clothes!

Have a good weekend lovelies ❤