Fremont Fest in Seattle

This weekend we were feeling somewhat spontaneous and decided to explore the city and check out the Fremont Fest. I had been told it was a hippie explosion of sorts, so I knew there would be a few "peace and love" naked bodies, as well as a celebration for the Summer Solstice. Armed with that information, I went in with an open mind.

The day was bright and sunny and thankfully I added a few shades of color to my skin. I live for tan lines and think it's the true mark of summer. We were able to explore the vendor booths, spotted some dope artwork by Justin Hillgrove that we plan on adding to our apartment, along with seeing a few naked bodies.

Even though I knew folks would be naked, it was still a bit of a shock to see an older guy walking his bike while covered in gold glitter dust. I mean, I giggled like a little kid, but seriously... dude had gold balls! A real life "gold member"...

All in all the weekend was enjoyable. Our 2nd weekend in Seattle can be marked as a success lol.

Started the morning off with Brunch at Skillet Diner then headed to the Fest

Dope artwork from artist Justin Hillgrove plus a cool cuff we found from a local designer

Naked bodies on bikes... very hippie 

more folks letting it all hang out

Russian Tampon Commercial

As a certified scuba diver, and a woman that has a period lol, I've definitely given a few thoughts to diving during my period and the type of tampon I'd need to make sure there were no leaks. Of course it may seem like an extreme situation, but some tampons do leak and the last place you want to experience that is under water... where sharks can smell 1 drop of blood from miles away.

What do you think? A little too extreme? lol...

For the record, I don't use Tampax, but I go hard for Kotex!

How to Detangle Kinky Curly Weave (video)

I've been documenting my experiences rocking a Kinky Curly Fro sew-in for the very first time. I quickly learned that detangling this hair was not for the fain of heart... it was time consuming and required a ton of patience. In hindsight, jumping into a kinky curly sew-in that was more high maintenance than my own hair was probably not the best idea, but you live and learn. I actually enjoyed the fullness and length of the hair (1 bundle in 12" and the other in 14"). Next time I'll probably opt for a 3b/3c hair instead of 4a/4b.

Welcome to Seattle: First Stop Pike Place Market

The eagle has landed!! I arrived in Seattle last week and hit the ground running trying to get acclimated to the city. One of our first stops was Pike Place Market, and let me just say it didn't disappoint! Yes, it's super crowded and full of tourists, but if you can get past that the market is full of fresh seafood, amazing flowers, and other great deals on handmade finds and foods.

The highlight of my Pike Place Market visit was discovering the smoked garlic pepper salmon. Can I just take a moment to appreciate the awesomeness of that food! Ooh wee... and it wasn't cheap. 1lb cost me about $30, but it was worth every cent.

Another thing that impressed me? The endless supply of fresh flowers!!! This really did blow me away and put every Chicago florist to shame. The quality of flowers, vibrancy of the colors, variety, and price were so amazeballs. Seriously... there is never a need to look elsewhere. I was in heaven. Once we move into our new place I could totally see myself making a trip to the market at least twice a month to snag fresh flowers.

Pike Place Market in Seattle

Bonus: Unlike Chicago, Seattle still allows free street parking on Sunday and holidays. If you want to save coins on parking, feel free to hit up Pike Place Market on a Sunday and snag a free spot on the street.

Valley of the Sun

Yesterday we touched down in Arizona and can I just say how nice it is to be back home. The mountains, the blue skies... endless sunshine!!! Yes, I'll take it all. I haven't been back to visit for nearly 3 years and it's been great to see my family and relax before the move to Seattle next week.

Scottsdale is a big suburb (actually all of Phoenix feels like one big suburb), and it's a nice change of pace from Chicago. I'm definitely a city girl, but I have a suburban girl heart. Imagine the house and white picket  fence... but in a picture frame hanging up in my downtown condo lol. That's me in a nutshell.

We received a warm welcome to the valley with temps reaching 110+ degrees. There was even one point when my dash read 118 degrees! After cool, rainy temps in Chicago the past week I'm more than happy to soak up all the warmth I can.

Kinky Curly Weave on Natural Hair (video)

I previously blogged about going to get my sew-in Thursday night, and it's mainly been feelings of love with one 'what the fuck' moment sprinkled in between. When I first looked in the mirror I realized 2 things: 1) This  is the most hair I've ever had in my entire life force existence... and 2) I can't even begin to fathom what detangling this will be like. Never the one to be conquered by anything, let alone a weave, I put my natural hair skills to use and managed to wrangle this mane within the first 48 hours of having it. I share the results of my sew-in, texture shots, and initial thoughts in the video below. Enjoy!