Love, Peace and Soul Black History Month Party via @HellaBlackHellaSeattle

The dope ladies of Hella Black Hella Seattle will be hosting a Black History month party on Saturday, February 4th -- right when we need more events to come together and partake in self-care and shenanigans, balancing out all the fuckshit Cheeto Satan is doing. The party will be held at LoveCityLove in Capitol Hill (14th and Pike) from 8p-Midnight. The cover is $2 and will feature moonshine by Dame The Bartender. If moonshine ain't for you, it's BYOB -- but drink responsibly. This event is FOR US BY US and we want to keep the foolishness to a minimum.

Click here for more info.

Valentine's Men's Hair Tailor @ValentinesSeattle

So, the world is officially going to shit faster than I can keep up, but while you're actively fighting against the injustices Cheeto Satan is implementing, self-care is a must! They say when you look good, it helps you to feel good and nobody is keeping men's vibes in order better than Thaddeus Valentine.

Valentine, owner of Valentine's Men's Hair Tailor, transforms hairlines, beards and lives in his North Seattle shop -- located in Greenwood on 80th Ave and Greenwood Ave North. I can honestly say I would've never ventured far enough North to discover this place... and it would've been my loss.

Valentine was one of the featured vendors at the Daybreak Pop-up Market I attended earlier this month and let me just start by saying I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY by the amount of time, technique and attention to detail he took doing my boyfriend's beard and hair cut. Y'all... it was seriously like watching an artist at work. I couldn't contain my excitement. Zero chill. All the way turnt up. I was so freaking happy.

The only downside to Valentine's that I could find is the price point. Looking at Valentine's pricing definitely made my jaw drop. Like, his prices are so damn high that my jaw not only dropped, but remained there for at least a solid 2 minutes. A traditional haircut with one of his stylists costs $80. That includes a shampoo, condition, and cut. A haircut with Valentine costs $160 and adds in a scalp massage. I'd liken it to seeing the master stylist/owner of a salon, which is understandably more expensive. Also keep in mind that Valentine has over 20 years of experience and is operating as a high-end "Men's Hair Tailor" and not your run of the mill barber shop. Still, this price point is high af and something I can easily see being a blocker to making Valentine's your go-to spot for regular hair cuts and beard maintenance, depending on budget.

Since my boyfriend was able to get his haircut and beard trim complimentary at the event (this is a huge value), he's going to use the next few weeks to see how the cut and beard grows out and how easily he can keep it up at home before needing to get it redone.

Beard service offered at Valentine's include Beard Maintenance ($25), Beard Shaping ($45), Beard Grooming ($65) and Beard Tailoring ($90). The website only breaks down what is included in the "Beard Maintenance" package, so you'd have to stop by the shop or give them a call to get the details on the other services.

Keeping it 100, I think a regular haircut with Valentine will be on the expensive side for my boyfriend, so it might be more of a special occasion situation, but I could see him regularly going for beard maintenance and learning how to maintain it in-between appointments. That's another highlight of Valentine's -- he's focused on educating his return clients on how to maintain their haircuts and beard shape-ups at home. We all know that 5 o'clock shadow gives no fucks about how high end of a fade you just got... it'll be growing out with a quickness.

Overall, I am happy I got to witness the technical magic of Valentine up close and personal. I can vouch for the quality of his work and the time he takes, and even with the high prices, I think it's a valuable splurge for the man who either has the coins or a special occasion. When my boyfriend first saw himself he goes, "My face has never looked this good..." and that's truly a testament to the magic Valentine is doing.

Valetine at work

A photo posted by Ishea (@sixtwentyseven) on Jan 8, 2017 at 8:52pm PST

The first time he saw his haircut! He goes "Damn..." Watching his face light up was epic.

A video posted by Ishea (@sixtwentyseven) on Jan 8, 2017 at 9:05pm PST

Bae admiring the "after" product of his haircut and beard trim with Valentine

A photo posted by Ishea (@sixtwentyseven) on Jan 8, 2017 at 9:16pm PST

For more information check out his Website or Yelp Page for more reviews and pictures.

Night Shift Seattle 1/27 @ The Crocodile

One of my favorite Seattle dance parties is Night Shift SEA. They typically feature a rotating line-up of dope DJs and during their summer events (Day Shift) always have a bomb photo background. Good music and perfect selfies? What more could you ask for!

Well, this summer they moved their location from the easy-to-get-to Cap Hill, to the less poppin' Ciudad in Georgetown. While I'm not privy to what caused the change in scenery, it was a huge deterrence to going to their events. I know everyone isn't as OCD about location as I am, but Seattle traffic is gnarly, the public transit is still growing, and the further South you move your events, the less likely they are to have people attend. Again, this perspective is based on having most of my friends live close to Downtown (Belltown/Queen Anne/Cap Hill) or further North in Ballard or Fremont. Basically the opposite of out South lol.

When I saw the email go out saying Night Shift was launching again in Belltown it made me smile. They'll be at The Crocodile, which is a music venue I like in an accessible location, cheap Uber range, and surrounded by late night eateries (Rocco's for the win).



If you've never been to a Night Shift event, they feature a rotating line-up of DJs that range in sound from trap to house, but mainly having that hipster/hip-hop/alternative rap vibe that dominates the radio. The crowd is a mix of mostly 20- and early 30-somethings, artsy "cool kids" who usually post dope pics on Instagram and are mainstream, but in a rebel type of way. I've found the environment to be mainly inclusive, but there's definitely a strong "vibe" to the folks who regularly attend.

Advance tickets are currently $10 (not sure of the door price), but I'd suggest snagging a ticket if you wanna go. Their events tend to be very popular and with the move back to Belltown it's safe to assume they may sell out.

What: Night Shift
When: Friday, January 27th
Time: 9p - 2a
Where: The Crocodile / 2200 2nd Ave (Belltown)
Tickets: $10 Advance

Room 1 DJs (Showroom): Tony Snark, Emecks, HANSM JUSTIN, Stas THEE Boss, Young Strong.
Room 2 DJs (Back Bar): T.Wan B2B Hojo, Epaulets, DJ SJ, Max Taylor, Ratha

Pink Carpet Project III A Planned Parenthood Benefit (via @BadwillMarket)

My earliest memories related to sexual health and education came from Planned Parenthood in Chicago. I remember continuing on as an adult and visiting Planned Parenthood locations in South Carolina, Arizona, and Seattle. I actually still visit Planned Parenthood for all of my women's health needs -- Birth Control, Annual Exams, STD Testing... the center does everything. They're so much more than abortions (which is a valid and valuable service people need access too), but to think that's all they do is ridiculous and ignorant. The last time I was at the First Hill center in Seattle, I remember looking around the waiting room -- 4 men and 3 women, diverse backgrounds... all coming to the center to receive the services they need.

The fact that politicians are working so vehemently to defund the organization is sickening and mind-boggling. At the same time it's disappointing and not surprising that people would take a great thing that has REAL value and does amazing work for men and women each day, and try to shit on it with their out of touch views on women's reproductive rights and overall sexual health and access for men and women. This is some fucked up shit going on and we must band together and do the work to block the normalization of Trump, Pence and all these ignorant ass people.

One way to help is by supporting the #PinkCarpetProject event being hosted by Badwill Market at Rhino Room on Friday, January 20th from 7p to 10p. Sponsored by Seattle Magazine and The Stranger, the 21+ event will feature music, food, cocktails, art, and more!

"Burlesque performance by  the inimitable J Von Stratton, inspirational words from our keynote, Amelia Bonow from #ShoutYourAbortion, music by DJ Lady Coco, delicious appetizers from Madres Kitchen, cocktails by The Rhino Room, and booth installations of art, fashion, conversation curated by BadWill Market, featuring various woman owned businesses and artists. There will also be a silent auction where participating vendors will create and donate a one of a kind piece towards the cause."

Tickets are $25 and 100% of the proceeds (tickets sales + silent auction, plus a percentage of the bar sales) will be donated to Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest.

For more information and tickets visit the event page.

Baked Kale Chips #627Eats

Despite how many times I've made this recipe, it never fails that I forget the oven temp and bake time. It's actually comedic at this point, but maybe I can blame aging. Nevertheless, I always refer back to my Allrecipes account, which makes my life in the kitchen a million times easier when I'm using a recipe. Yes, I work for the brand. Yes, these opinions are authentically mine... and keeping it 100, it's the largest digital food brand in the world, so there's no need to fake the funk or draw in folks with inauthentic reviews.

My go-to Baked Kale Chips recipe has been made over 3k times, with over 1700 reviews! As the saying goes, there's no need to re-invent the wheel, so sometimes it's nice to hop on the site and find a recipe that's already been proven successful.

I've never tasted store bought kale chips, so I can't speak to how these would compare to what you can buy already made... but for me these are super easy to make and satisfy my craving for something crunchy (like a bag of chips).

Click Here for Recipe 

Recipe Tips:

1. I never have parchment paper in my house, but googled an alternative using foil rubbed down with butter. This is the way I do it each time and tend to go light on the butter... just enough to coat the foil.

2. If you don't have a salad spinner to dry your kale, do your best to make sure it's dry before throwing it in the oven. Having your kale as dry as possible to start is the key to getting crispy, not soggy kale chips.

3. If I use butter with salt, I go lighter on the sea salt and black pepper I top my kale with.

4. Don't drown your kale in olive oil -- this is another way you can end up with soggy kale chips. I think a light drizzle is just enough.



If you're on Allrecipes, feel free to add me as a friend! We've made the site more social and I'd love to stalk your recipes, reviews and food pics. Accounts are free to create.


Images via Allrecipes.com

Core Workshop w/ @KaisaFit #JustMove

Kaisa Keranen (known simply as @KaisaFit online) is a Seattle-based fitness pro spreading the benefits of daily movement to her 300k+ followers. What first attracted me to Kaisa was how much power, energy and creativity she displayed in her Instagram fitness posts.

After meeting her in person, and having the pleasure of taking one of her FitBit Seattle classes as Zum Fitness, I was enamored with just how beautiful of a spirit she has in real life!

Kaisa not only has an enviable physique which promotes strong being beautiful, but when she jumps it's like she's weightless! The height she gets and her ability to seemingly have non-stop energy is really a source of motivation when you're taking her class.

There are so many "fitness chicks" on IG, many of whom seem to have gotten some surgery and are just half assing their way through workouts... or just pushing flat tummy tea lol... it's refreshing to have examples like Kaisa who are truly living a healthy lifestyle, encouraging people to achieve their fitness goals in a practical way (Daily Movement), and who promote body positivity. Kaisa is basically my Fitness Bae and someone you should know, especially if you're in Seattle.

This Saturday she'll be partnering with her mother Monique to teach a Core Workshop at Zum Fitness! This women's only workshop will be broken into 2 parts -- the first an hour long workout with Kaisa, followed by an hour-long discussion with her mother.

"One thing my mom and I often discuss is the concept of our core and what it means to be truly strong and grounded in who we are as human beings. We all know what our physical (external) core is but our internal core, the element that truly makes us who we are, is often neglected. Over the years my mom has taught me the importance of getting in touch with what lies underneath my skin and what it takes to be truly strong, bold and fearless in who I am as woman. Working on my internal core is a daily process but one that is often made easier with the support of my mother. She is truly the reason I am who I am today and I couldn't be more excited to have her come and share with you all."

This event has a suggested donation of $20. For tickets and more information click here.

A photo posted by Kaisa Keranen (@kaisafit) on Jan 5, 2017 at 9:58am PST

Images via FitBit Local and Shape