I am exhausted!  With back-to-school, birthdays, and building up to fall (my most favorite time of year), I have been whirling like a dervish.  Would you believe that all of my week-ends in October are already full? October has 5 weeks this year and every Saturday and Sunday for that month is already spoken for. How did this happen? I can my hair getting straight from the stress.  Time to turn to a few odds and ends to help bring things back to neutral.

1. My good friend, Beverly, who always sends me the best links on everything from  African American culture, natural hair and who I need to speak to about getting “Maggie Sinclair” into the hands of every school age child in Manhattan, sent me this link about London based photographer Michelle Marshall.  Marshall has done a photo study on the “beautiful diversity of redheads of color”.  These photos have me swooning, they are absolutely stunning.  Learn more about the variety of MC1R via these captivating portraits.

2. So, I’m reading this Allure magazine at the gym today, the one with Salma Hayek on the cover, and I cam across this in-depth article about George Michael’s “Freedom! 90” video.   Starring the top 5 supermodels of the 90’s — Linda Evangelista,Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford, and Tatjana Patitz —  this arty video showcased these ladies lip-synching to George Michael’s rock and roll anthem about freedom.  I can clearly remember watching this video on rotation on MTV for two reasons. One, I was huge George Michael fan from his Wham! days. Two, this was a George Michael song and a George Michael video, but George Michael wasn’t even in it!  Cutting and avant guard for the time. And speaking of “the time”,  I definitely did a double take when I re-read the headline — The 25th Anniversary of George Michael’s “Freedom” Video. 25th? Seriously?

3. Who can relate to this?

Every. Single. Time

Fear not! There is hope for us all!  Have you heard about Liquid Palaisade by Kiesque? It’s like painters tape for your nails. Of course, you can always go Thrifty Chick and use scotch tape, but let’s be fancy.  I’m definitely going to check this out.

4. I was all up in that Allure magazine while I put in some work on the treadmill today.  You’ll be thanking me for it after you take a look at the Instagram feed of natural hair blogger, ShineStruck. Not only does is this naturalista rocking some serious curls, she offers great product reviews and step by step instructions on how to get her look.  With so many natural bloggers out there, it’s hard to know which ones are worth checking out.  What convinced me was the notation in Allure that accompanied some of ShineStruck’s images: “She responds to nearly every curl question and comment posted on her photos”.  Such a simple action garners so much appreciation and respect.  Looking forward to checking out her YouTube channel as well!

5. I’m giving the 21 Day Fix another go. I’m on day 3 of week 2, what is that Day 10? Is it getting easier? Am I getting better? Maybe I’ve just adjusted to the routine.  Whatever the case, this was me today. . .

(source: pinterest)

Whoever made this must have done it after Leg Fix, I’m convinced.