Sweet Spots: Churrascaria Tribeca (NYC)

This place may not be for half-empty pockets, but after that nice lil' paycheck and surviving a hectic work-week this restaurant is a great place to treat yourself. Two close friends and I went as a party of three and the bill was around $300 -- Expensive? yes. Worth the price? ABSOLUTELY. 

Those who know me well identify me as the ultimate frugal fanny; so the fact that I even promote going here speaks volumes on how much I enjoyed the experience. Churrascaria TriBeCa is the finest all-you-can-eat Brazilian steakhouse in the heart of New York City (they even have vegetarian options, pretty amazing). This restaurant is unbelievably attractive with its dim-lit decor and luxurious, but not over-the-top atmosphere. Waiters make their rounds of all the dining tables with different selections and delicious preparations of pork, beef, chicken, etc... If you want it, eat it! And if you're still busy devouring the last piece of food on your plate, you have the option to let the waiter pass. The serving system was really unique here -- I appreciated the attention to detail, and of course the constant flow of new food being delivered to the table was nice too.

We. Ate. EVERYTHING... Literally. And our stomachs were still full the next day. Churrascaria TriBeCa is a great place for a romantic date or a lovely night out (every once in a while) with family/friends. Highly recommended! Just make sure you save up first. $$$

P.S. -- Live Samba music as you dine on Fridays & Saturdays.

Location + Directions: http://goo.gl/maps/iuc38

Eat and Enjoy.

❤ Asia Preciosa

Dominican Salons - Affordable, Effective Hairdressing

Agnes is definitely the expert when it comes to all things hair-related. But i figured I'd try my hand at a post for those of us with mixed manes -- our hair is harder to manage than most people think, and we often overload with unnecessary products to calm down the crazy curls or frivolous frizz. Remember, these things cause more harm than good.

Coming from African-American and Hispanic heritage, I definitely have some horror stories when it comes to my hair. It wasn't until I went completely natural and ditched the chemicals that my tresses are the strongest they've ever been. The most recent phenomenon for up-keep with women of color has been the all-underrated Dominican Hair Salon. My Dominican cherry was popped a few years ago (don't judge me!) and I've been recommending these places to my friends ever since.

So what's the appeal? GREAT QUALITY FOR A LOW PRICE. I love my black folks (throws up solidarity fist) but seriously, the amount you'd spend to get your hair done at the salon in the hood still doubles, sometimes TRIPLES the amount you'd spend hitting up the Dominican salon down the street and around the corner. Most people don't realize that hispano-caribbean countries (i.e. Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic) are some of the most ethnically diverse places in this world -- which means the spectrum of hair is quite broad. These Dominican hair stylists have mastered straight, wavy, curly, and even kinky hair to the point where you'll never need a relaxer again.

Hair color, wash & sets, weave, cuts, repairs/treatments -- they do it all, and you'll never pay over $100 for even the most expensive thing on the menu. My typical regimen when i go (usually once a month) is a Wash & Set with a Deep Conditioning Treatment ($33 total). The trick to their magic is drying your hair under high heat in a roller-set before blow drying and flat ironing, which means your locks are already tamed and predominately straight before styling even begins. When I tell you that I thought I saw Jesus the first time my hair was done? I'm not exaggerating. My roots stayed in tact and my hair was silky smooth for weeks. All the hair products stored in my room went right to the trash -- I didn't need them anymore, and you won't either. :)

Search for Dominican Salons in your area!


❤ Asia Preciosa

Sugar High: New Music

Shanell

Nobody's Bitch

Flo Rida

Good Feeling EP

Trey Songz

Chapter V

Mikkey Halsted

Castro

Dave East

No Regrets

Machine Gun Kelly

EST 4 Life

Drake

Never Enough

Riff Raff

Birth Of An Icon

French Montana

Cocaine Everything

Rick Ross

3 Kings

Rich Kidd Shiiiiiit

City On My Back Vol. 6

Young Money

The Summer Tape

8Ball

Lifes Quest (Chopped & Screwed)

Yella Boy

#MostWanted (Part 1)

Ya Boy

Trappy Birthday

GLC

The Anti Simp

Jeremih

Late Nights With Jeremih

Hit-Boy

HITstory

Tabi Bonney

Lovejoy Park

Sir Michael Rocks

Lap Of Lux

Mia Rey

Perfect Timing

Tone Trump

The New Fresh Prince

Elle Varner

Perfectly Imperfect

2 Chainz

Based On a T.R.U. Story (Deluxe Version)

Twisted braid out with Carol's Daughter Mimosa Hair Honey

So as mentioned before; YA GIRL WENT OUT A GOT HERSELF A CAROL'S DAUGHTER PRODUCT!

Sure I didn't need to be all shouty with my shouty caps but....I am pretty excited to use a Carol's Daughter product!

Here's what I did:
(My results and review are coming shortly!)

What I used:

 

• To start, I saturated my hair with water

• I then added my She Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie and a little bit of the Mimosa Hair Honey and detangled

  

 

•  Once detangled, I braided about three quarters of my hair length then re-wet, added some more hair honey, detangled, and separated the hair in two sections (I hope this makes sense)
   

•  I use that last bit of the hair honey to seal my ends in
• I twisted the hair until I reached the end then twirled the ends to help them coil

• To keep my hair stretched, I pull the hair into a low ponytail for the night

 

AND voilà!

 

Of course I'll keep you all posted on my results and how I feel about the product!

 

❤ hair, kisses, bubblegum



Revlon Just Bitten Balm Stain: review

Alright,
I'll admit, I bought something else. I JUST CAN'T STOP! I went into my local Ulta with the purpose of buying something for my hair (the Carol's Daughter product), and came out with this:

 

 

I am so serious! I feel like I go in a trance when I walk into shops! smh.

 

Well either way, I am really loving these! The stain seriously lasts.

 



 

I would do lip swatches but the stain is so strong that once I put the first one on, I can't get it off to get a picture of the others! I'll just gather pictures each day I use them and post those if anyone really cares to see on the lip swatches.

 

I am enjoying these mostly because they are so low fuss! When I am running around the office or eating, I don't have to worry about re-applying like I do with lipstick or lip gloss. The balm has a minty kind of tingly feeling on the lips that I love.

 

The only cons I will note are that 1) they tend to be sheer so I have to apply a couple layers to get the coverage I would like. The upside is that there is a LOT of product so apart from the slight inconvenience, you really don't have to worry and 2) for some reason the orange/coral color (Rendezvous) tend to sit in the lips and thus, will expose any and every crack in the lips!

 

Other than those, I think they are worth the buy. I wish I found these earlier because they would have been perfect for the summer (which is drawing to an end).

 

Either way, I am loving them. I like smitten the most when I want to look classier. It has a very deceiving color and looks different every time you look at it.

 

That's all I've got!  

 

❤ hair, kisses, bubblegum

 



August Monthly Roundup!

Ok,
I went into my ten thousand products (it feels like it) and finished up some products. Here's what I thought of them:

 

 

First up is the Acai berry avocado conditioner by Organix:

 

Pros:



• Great smell

Cons:

• not too much slip (i.e. not too good for detangling purposes)

Because I use my conditioners for detangling, this would not work for me. There are so many more moisturizing products out there and this is...so~so.
_____________________________________________________________________

Second is wave nouveau by SoftSheen-Carson:

Pros:

• gives shine?, lighter smell

Cons:

• Jerry curl look (need I say more?)

To be honest, I only had a drop or so if this left so I cannot really speak to it's abilities but when I would use it on my hair while transitioning, my hair sure looked like I stepped out a "Soul glo" video! Thumbs down!
_____________________________________________________________________

Third is Care Free Curl also by SoftSheen-Carson:

Pros:

• .............I can't even find SOMETHING

Cons:

• Chemically smell
• SUCKS all the damn moisture out of my hair!
• Gives the exact opposite of slip

This product made me want to run into the shower to wash my darn hair! There is a reason why I stopped using it in the first place!...I have no idea why I even bought that to begin with! Oh yeah I do...I thought it would make my hair curly. SMH!
_____________________________________________________________________

Last up is the Revitalizing Creme by Mane 'n Tale:

I won't even touch this one yet because I have an unopened one to use!
I know that I was ADDICTED to this stuff in the past! It was great for my bantu knot outs and twists in the past but when I used it this time, it just was not as...good. I am hoping that I can use it several different ways and show you how it goes this time so look out for that!
_____________________________________________________________________

 

 
❤ hair, kisses, bubblegum

New goals and such

Ok so life caught up with me, I have bills bills bills! 
Because of this, I have to become very resourceful. 

I cut my perm off December 29th, 2009 and unleashed the product junkie in me! Since that faithful day, I have tried just about every new thing in the natural hair community. I have tangle teeze'd, baking soda rinsed, avocado conditioned, henna'd and just about everything else that you can imagine! I am surprised I still have any hair on my head!

Recently, as I wrote down my list of expenses, I realized that all these new hair products were putting a dent into my pocket so I am starting this "Monthly Roundup" segment.

My goals:

• not buy any products until I have emptied my current arsenal of products
• replace only Eco Styler Gel (unless I find another way to define my curls during this process)
• give away or sell products I just do not like. Case and point: cantu shea butter. It smells so rancid that it makes me want to kick a baby and I just don't like that. 
• find alternate uses for some of my products (body butters? I hate lotion-ing so that may be a no-go)  
• consolidate all my hair products. They should ALL fit in one space!     

Hopefully this lessens the burden on my poor pockets! Do it with me if you have the same problem! Post a response and tell me what you've emptied this month. 

Currently I have this:

     

 

And this.....

 

Oh...there's more wedged in there....

 

Can't forget this....

 

I use my Gel quite a bit (so I am not too worried about that)

This doesn't even include the products in my shower....

Wish me luck!

❤ hair, kisses, bubblegum

*edit: I bought the Carols Daughter mimosa jont....more on that later....I HAVE A PROBLEM OK?!

Napturality...a freedom?

I was recently in a conversation with someone who was thinking about transitioning into the natural life. Her main point was that so many of her natural friends mentioned how "freeing" the experience was.

I guess the confusion in my face at this comment caused her to withdraw and ask me if I found the experience to be particularly "freeing".

What I told her was that I went natural before it was thought of as a "social movement". My motivation was primarily driven by my fear for perms. I was so afraid that I could only muster up the courage to get a perm about once every four months (and that was if people started really getting on my nerves about the state of my hair: i.e. mom). Going natural was less of a choice for me and more of a....better option.

I will not negate however, the fear I felt about what my hair would look like.


The truth is, the freedom I felt came about two years post big chop. Once I stopped obsessing about my hair being curly, or long, or smooth, or shiny, or this, or that....I felt free within. See the issue is that I came into this journey with no expectations apart from what I saw on youtube and through my friends. Everyone I looked up to as a baby naturalista had long hair and had "figured it out".

I guess my point is, freedom should not be the sole motivation to become natural. If that's the case, you will find quickly that the rain and humidity will do far worse things to your hair than it did when you had a perm and without that love for your hair, you will DIE when I tell you the amount of time I can spend detangling, washing, and styling my hair.

I tell everyone, my hair is my baby. I do it all for love.

The "freedom"....well I guess that's a happy coincidence.

What do you think? What was your motivation to become natural (if you are), are you thinking about it? Let's share.

❤ hair, kisses, bubblegum

I guess we should start.

The Two Of Us -- The authorettes of The Black Bubblegum first met as high school students in Prince George's County, MD in 2003, and have been best friends since then. Having parallel values, goals, and aspirations -- this pair was undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with. One, a graduate of University of Maryland Baltimore County; and the other, a graduate of St. John's University in New York, NY -- both young women have pursued prosperous careers while staying in touch with the things that they love.

Ms. Ghana, right -- I am a 23 year old (when did this happen?) academic. I can get overly focused (sometimes even obsessed) with trying to accomplish my never ending goals and when this happens, I really need a release. My ways of calming myself (and slowing this impending breakdown of mind and spirit) is by focusing on my hair, health & lifestyle, fitness, and losing myself in music. 

My contribution to this blog will be exactly that (with some others sprinkled in). A lot of blogs have become very artificial but I really hope that this becomes a bit of an online documentation of the experiences that myself and my counterpart come across as ethnic, educated women in today's age.

I should give a little bit of a disclaimer about myself; I have a Master's degree in Applied Sociology and as such, I have focused A LOT on gender and ethnic relations. My hope is for this blog to be that healthy mix between ratchet-ness (yes I said it! I am human!) and deep insightful thought. 

Ms. Preciosa, left -- Another 23 year old academic; college grad with a BA+MA in Spanish & International Business. Why would I devote time to a blog, you ask? Because my degrees don't define me. I'm more of the marketing type anyway, lol -- "the gift of gab" has always been my forte. Most of my professional work has been in promotional writing/advertising for the entertainment industry; anything involving the right side of the brain motivates and inspires me...

I consider myself a class individual; musically talented and artistically inclined; old-school mentality; a nerd and a goofball with a sense of humor that's through the roof on its way to the moon. My contribution to this blog will involve all of these things with a nice dash of urban lifestyle. Like my counterpart you just met stated above: We are ethnic, educated women in today's age. Ya'll better recognize!

My disclaimer? I am quite the conspiracy theorist, philosopher, motivational speaker, and supporter of some [actually, most] things ratchet. Prepare yourselves for a plethora of stimulating thoughts and intellectual conversation.

With that being said, let's get this show on the road!

❤ hair, kisses, bubblegum