My weekends have been poppin' this summer, and even though I sometimes long for a Saturday morning of sleeping in and eating cereal while watching TeleToon Retro, I really can't complain. This past weekend, I celebrated the weddings of some great friends, and hit up the Three Naturals Curly Cookout! If you recall from my last post, my hair and I were on the outs for a while. I'm happy to report that we've steadily gotten stronger and more in love, and I think we're back on track. No professional help was needed this time around - I just needed to devote some time and TLC to her!
To prep for the weddings I had to attend, I cowashed (with Eden BodyWorks Jojoba Monoi conditioner) on Thursday night, and set about 15 Bantu knots (with Shea Radiance's Maximum Curl Defining Cream). My hair takes more than a day a fully dry now, and that time increases with a style like Bantu knots - but thanks to Toronto's heat wave, my hair was 90% dry overnight! I uncoiled the Bantu knots in the morning and hit my roots with the cool air setting on my blow dryer. Once my hair was 100% dry, I unraveled the style and picked the curls out a bit.
I wasn't a fan of how my hair looked in the back, and with the heat, I figured an updo would be preferable. I slicked the back and sides of my hair up with water and Shea Radiance cream, pulled out some bobby pins, and pinned my hair into a bouffant style - let some of the curls fall to the side, and BOOM! I was ready for wedding #1!
After eating and dancing my life away at the Jamaican bashment wedding of the summer, Saturday saw me getting prepped for my old University of Western Ontario homie's nuptials. I ran with the updo look again, but this time I picked my curls out a bit more and created a bit of a hair explosion on the top of my head (that's the best way to describe the look). After a continuation of the weekend's wardrobe malfunction trend (bra issues and shoe straps breaking right before we left), I grabbed my favourite bright blue Henkaa dress, wrapped it into a quick one-shoulder style, and headed out the door. Funny how a few years ago, I automatically assumed that I had to straighten my hair for formal events! I've been loving the natural fancy styles I've been coming up with - it's all about options!
By the time Sunday rolled around, I wondered how much energy I had left. My feet were danced out. My belly was full of jerk chicken, rice and peas, calalloo soup, basmati rice, butter chicken, naan and more. But there was still one more event of the weekend that I could NOT miss - the Three Naturals Curly Cookout at Harlem Underground!
My homegirl Gillian and I made the trek from uptown to Queen Street West in some torrential rains, but we were determined. We were on our way to meet some awesome new folks and eat some delicious food! If you've never been, Harlem is one of Toronto's best soul food joints. I hear they have the best chicken and waffles in Toronto, so if you're a fan, hit them up!
The meetup was wonderful! After writing for Three Naturals for some time now, it was great to finally meet Noni, Juli-Anne, and Winnie - the ladies behind the natural hair care blog. Even better, we got to meet a ton of ladies who were natural, transitioning, or contemplating the jump into natural hair land. We talked, laughed, shared stories and advice all while munching on the type of food that makes you yearn for a nap afterwards. Shout out to all the lovelies that were in attendance - I loved hanging with y'all!
How was your weekend? What did you think of my wedding styles? Were you at the Curly Cookout? If so, make sure you say hey in the comments section!