Month: May 2016

Holy Mint!

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This weekend was a good one for me! I hope you had a good one too and if you didn’t…. go find a shoulder to cry on. I started off with an awards ceremony for the kid on Friday. She was awarded for her reading skills, which tells me next time she tells me she can’t read a simple word on her homework she’s trying to play me. We partied, we hung with friends, and hung out with family. So it was kind of a ‘dress up’ weekend for me and, as I said a few weeks ago, I’ve decided to add a lot more color to my summer wardrobe this year. So I recently went minty and relapsed into some black also.

Like many of my thick thigh counterparts, I suffer from the terrible condition referred to as “chub rub”. You know, when your thighs rub together when you walk and you feel like you’re about to start a forest fire between your thighs? Yeah. I suffer from that, so I for a long time I’ve been avoiding wearing skirts, dresses, and shorts whenever possible. Well thank goodness for the ‘interenets’ because I’ve been able to find tricks that’ll allow me to avoid chub rub (I’ll discuss that on another day). So the other day I spun around in my skirt freely without setting off a fire and dammit, I felt good!

I wore a crop holier than art though top over my reasonably priced mint camisole. The skirt was super comfortable and lightweight. It made me feel like a cute big ass kid so I appropriately paired it with my tie up flats. I’m all for budget friendly clothing when it comes to my daily wear. Want to recreate the look, visit: http://bit.ly/1WRMPA6

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You know I have a hard time remaining serious.

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Camisole: http://bit.ly/1r0QjTb Top (similar): http://bit.ly/1Ub9rFV Skirt (similar): http://bit.ly/1XckDsw  Shoes: Torrid: http://bit.ly/1TIclSQ similiar: http://bit.ly/1ZaVrzM Necklace: (similar) http://bit.ly/1XPqUbY Bracelet: (similar) http://bit.ly/1P58a1g Clutch: Bea’s Corner Designs: http://etsy.me/1XcsxCb

Recipe Alert: Haitian Pikliz (Picklese)

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As a chubby little Haitian girl, I was taught the proper way to eat diri ak pwa (Haitian rice and beans), with banan (plantains), and griot (fried pork shoulder chunks) is with pikliz on top. In the Haitian community, not having pikliz on top is damn near a crime and I shield myself from being stoned before I say, I am a repeat offender of leaving the Pikliz out a few times. Thank goodness I have my AMERICAN husband and INDIAN friend to remind me of the importance of pikliz from time to time. If not, the Haitian community would probably revoke my Haitian card.

Pikliz is a spicy cabbage, carrot, and habanero pepper mixture that you can put it on top of any meal that you’d like to add spice or a “kick” to. Or you can do what my husband does and add it into your ground meat when making meatloaf or burger and cook it in there. Hell, put it in your cereal for all I care! Wait! I really wouldn’t advise that, but I’m just saying… With pikliz you can savor the heat from thinly sliced scotch bonnet peppers mixed in with crunchy thinly sliced cabbage and carrots and a few other veggies and spices. While most may prefer hot sauce, Haitians prefer pikliz

I remember watching my mom make it as a kid but could care less about making it myself. As an adult and due to high demand I’ve had to learn how to make it. Why not tell the rest of you how I make it right? Please keep in mind, or not, that I’ve never watched any Haitians that I know measure a damn thing when creating our traditional dishes. We tend to make things by eyeing, and tasting so everything will not be exact but I’m sure you’ll be able to figure it out your ratios, but I have listed some measurements.

Ingredients

3 Cups of shredded Cabbage

1 green pepper (finely sliced)

1 Red pepper (finely sliced)

3 Carrots finely sliced (I used a spiralizer)

2 bulks of scallions (diced)

1 red onion (finely sliced)

1 yellow onion (finely sliced)

8 cloves of garlic (finely diced)

15 peppercorns

10-12 Scotch bonnet peppers (finely sliced)

3-4 Cups of white vinegar

1 lime

Take your ingredients and mix them all together in a large bowl. Everything needs to be finely diced to get the flavors to release. After mixing everything, I pour them into mason jars. You should allow it to sit in the refrigerate for at least 5 days before enjoying.

Disclaimer: I am not responsible for you cutting your yourself with the knife.

Don’t say I never tried to help spice up you life (see what I just did there?)!

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A Naturals #WashDay

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Let’s talk hair.

 

If you’re anything like me, you dread wash days. If you’re really anything like me then you have a little girl with hair so thick  you’d rather paint a wall, sit and watch it dry then paint it again and then sit and watch it dry again. While I dread wash days, I must say that I enjoy the results.

In the last few years, I’ve received lot of questions on what products I use in our hair. I will start by saying I’m not a product junkie. If you are, more power to you. Personally, I feel like when I’m using too many different products at once I’m making it more difficult on myself to discover what actually works for me. So every few months, I’ll experiment with a new product.

So recently I’ve been using Team Naturals hair care products. To be honest I don’t remember how I heard about them. I will say that one day I received an email from them about some special they were running. Initially I asked myself, “What the f*ck is this nonsense?” It was in that moment that I realized I had a, “Bianca Moment” and signed up for some ‘random’ email list I came across (I tend to do that from time to time and really should stop but I probably won’t). Well that “Bianca Moment” turned out to work in my benefit. Their products are life! Seriously, they are! Their products are the kind where that saying, ” A little goes a long way” actually applies in this instance.

Like many naturals, I’ve used Shea Moisture products, which work great. To be honest though, between the kid and I, we can go through a bottle of shampoo and conditioner in a month. I’ve had a bottle of Team Naturals shampoo and conditioner for about 2 months and still won’t have to order more until July or August. You definitely get a bang for your buck.

 

My kid wears ponytails A LOT so I tend to use moisturizers and gel in her hair. Using Team Naturals shampoo provides her hair and scalp with that “squeaky clean” feeling just after the first wash. After the wash I section her hair in fourths and apply the leave-in conditioner. Remember I said, a little goes a long way. The kid has REALLY thick, kinky curly hair and when it dries, it can become difficult to manage so I do blow dry it.

Leaving application
The process

The best part about the leave-in conditioner also provide heat protection for her hair when I blowing it out. Out of all of the hair products I’ve used Team Naturals products rank the highest on my list. I find that it keeps our hair healthy and moisturized, which is what we care about about when it comes to caring for our hair. Check out the the finish product below.

*this post is NOT sponsored by Team Naturals or any other affiliates.*

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My Monday Thoughts

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So it’s Monday and I was sitting with my coffee this morning and writing down my random thoughts.  Then I decided to start my series of “Monday Thoughts” because I always have these random thoughts on my mind. If any of them offend you…. Oh well. They are my thoughts:

 

  1. Chivalry is not dead… well depending on who you ask.
  2. I can’t understand all of this political correctness. Why do ‘plus size’ women not want to be referred to as ‘plus size’ anymore? Should we just be referred to as fat women? You know, kind of like we used to be? I find it amusing how up in arms some plus size women get about being referred to as a ‘plus size’ woman.
  3. Kids are great but they can suck all of the life out of you sometimes!
  4. The fact that we are all so different and differ in our beliefs, is what makes this world a much more interesting place
  5. Please stop putting pics of your unappetizing meals on social media. You know that shit doesn’t look good and I’m pretty sure you second guessed yourself before posting that picture. Spare the rest of us please.
  6. If you are offended by #5 then yes, I’m talking about you. Cut the shit!
  7. If you ever want to get under my skin, referring to my weight or size won’t get you anywhere. Although, it may earn you a golf clap. I’ve heard it all before. Entertain me with something new.
  8. Referring back to #7, you’ll probably never achieve any success in your attempts to get under my skin
  9. If you don’t have an email address, then that leads me to believe you don’t care about life
  10. The amount of energy you spend complaining about life, would be better spent making changes to improve your life
  11. I don’t believe in “not having time”. I believe in someone choosing to not make the time to do things.
  12. Sometimes, some people really just suck
  13. “When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.” Maya Angelou
  14. You can see the world a lot better with the lights on.
  15. If you didn’t understand #14, you may proceed to slap yourself then go learn what a metaphor is.
  16. When life hands you lemons, make lemonade or you can just try to be like Beyonce.
  17. Stop stressing over things that are out of control
  18. Ignorance is a bad habit you should learn to kick
  19. Girls like Star Wars too!
  20. I’m a fairly positive person but sometimes I need to take time out to myself and balance out all of these damn energies.
  21. I’m a social introvert
  22. You may not get #21. Don’t worry. I don’t get it either. I’m wired differently.
  23. Every restaurant should offer a dessert option that has peanut butter in it (ok so maybe that’s just a personal preference)
  24. If you ever allow your child to disrespect me, the adult, I will put them in their place first and tell you about it after.
  25. Going back to #21, I am a kind social butterfly.