Tag Archives: out and about

Out & About: Hampton Roads International Natural Hair Meetup Day

2013 Hampton Roads INHMD 009On May 18, naturalistas in over 60 cities including Tokyo and the Netherlands gathered to celebrate natural hair for the International Natural Hair Meetup Day.  Founded by Adeea Rogers, The Trendy Socialite, the purpose of this event is to set aside a day to gather together the Natural Hair Community to learn and embrace our hair, and each other.  I was blessed to be able to co-host this year’s event with Michelle of Desired Beauty Supplies.

The event was held at Baxter’s Sports Lounge in downtown Norfolk, in their chic 2013 Hampton Roads INHMD 015VIP Lounge.  The event sold out a week before, so the room was packed with ladies ready to have fun, and be educated about natural hair.  Each attendee received a swag bag filled with at least one full-sized product along with tons of sample size products from event sponsors.  The event was presented by Natural Girls Rock, and other event sponsors included Lustrasilk CurlMax, EDEN BodyWorks, Karen’s Body Beautiful, Koils by Nature, SheaMoisture, Blue Magic, Isabelle’s Own, Curls, African Pride, Curls Unleashed, and the list goes on.  For our Hampton Roads event, we also had NeNe’s Secret, Design  Essentials, and PuraBody Naturals as sponsors.  Visit http://www.inhmd.com for a complete list of sponsors and links to their websites!

2013 Hampton Roads INHMD 005The event kicked off with a Q&A session with local naturals Ashley of Curly Cubaminican, Sherry of Curly Brown Girl, Deanna of Naturally Creole, Samara of Styled Chic, Shawna of Shawna Locs & Braids, and hair stylist/hair artist Hadney Alexander.  They answered questions about fashion and makeup trends, hair care and loc care.  Then Wendy (Above & Beyond Salon in Hampton), Prenik (Fruit of the Spirit Salon in Virginia Beach) and the rest of the Design Essentials team took over and did an amazing education session about what products to use to achieve the desired style you want.

The night ended with several giveaways, and shopping with the vendors. The official event photos are coming soon, but to get a sneak peak of all the fun, check out the pictures I took during the event  by clicking here!

About these ads

Out & About in Durham: Beyu Caffe

While taking a mini-break from the NuSol Natural Hair Expo, we decided to find a spot in downtown Durham, NC to grab a bite to eat. As we walked down the street discussing what we had a taste for, a passerby suggested we try Beyu Caffe – she had just finished dining there and she was very convincing that the food was delicious.

20130424-192948.jpgAs we stepped in, the first thing we saw was the dessert display case, and we knew we were in for a treat. We found a nice table and had a seat. It’s always a good sign when a restaurant is turning over tables, everyone is smiling as their food arrives, and everyone is smiling as they are leaving as well. According to their website http://www.beyucaffe.com, “Beyu Caffe (pronounced be-you) is an American coffeehouse, bistro and bar located in the heart of downtown Durham’s 5-Points area. We provide atmosphere, entertainment, great food, a full bar, and of course the coffeehouse experience with excellent coffee and teas. Our mission is simple: to provide an experience where you can simply “be-you.”

20130424-193030.jpgAs we drooled over the menu, it was hard to decide on exactly what to have – we wanted it all! Our waitress suggested the Cajun Drunken Shrimp for me, described as their “signature Cajun dish. Jumbo shrimp sauteed and bathed in a rich beer broth, finished with butter and rosemary, and topped with saffron rice” and only $10.50. Fellow blogger Ashley of Curly Cubaminican chose the same dish. What I liked about the dish was that it didn’t scream BEER like I was worried it would. The shrimp were tender, and even though there were only four, they were very large. The saffron rice was very flavorful, and I was satisfied – not stuffed – just as the waitress promised.

20130424-193103.jpgFor my cousin, the waitress suggested the Chicken McLovin sandwich, which consisted of grilled chicken breast topped with bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado, mozarella cheese, and herbed mayo served on a ciabatta roll with a side of french fries for $8.95. Now, I was too busy enjoying my own food to ask her how her food was, but being that she finished it all I can only assume it was good :)

20130424-193131.jpgWe also decided to enjoy a cocktail, and while our waitress made a few suggestions, we all went with the Absolut Strawberry Lemonade. I was expecting something very sweet like most non-alcoholic strawberry lemonade drinks are. However, because this was made with freshly squeezed lemon juice, it actually had a tart kick to it that made the vodka stand out. I know everyone doesn’t like ‘fruity’ drinks, but don’t necessarily want a drink that’s super strong either, so if you are one of those people, this is a great drink for you. Besides the fresh sliced strawberries, there really wasn’t much else strawberry about it so that’s probably the only bad thing I have to say.

20130424-193208.jpgAs we were finishing up our meal and drinks, and chatting about our expo experience, we noticed the place had gotten packed and our waitress was busy. A nice gentleman came over to our table to fill up our water glasses, and he just so happened to mention that he was the owner, Dorian “DJ” Bolden. It’s always a pleasant surprise to not only have the owner on the premises and talking to guests, but actually serving the guests. In true blogger fashion, I asked to take a picture and he kindly obliged! I really enjoyed the Beyu Caffe, and I think you will too if you are ever in the Durham area and need a bite to eat.

North Carolina, Here I Come!

6539_511410738897380_1134880377_nWhen this post hits the website, I’ll be en route to Raleigh, NC with fellow blogger Ashley of Curly Cubaminican!  We are so excited about our weekend with all the naturalistas of North Carolina.  To kick the weekend off, I’ll be hosting my second Glam Night Out event tonight at the Aloft Chapel Hill hotel. I have some fun and interactive things plans for the ladies that I hope they enjoy.  Chassity Bynum of Its More Than Just Lipstick will be doing a live makeup demo, and Chic2ndSkin will be showcasing her jewelry made with the natural girl in mind.  You might even meet some of your favorite bloggers based in the Carolinas, like Adeea of The Trendy Socialite, Ashley of FabEllis, and Cristi of AllThatsGold! By now, ticket sales have ended so if you missed out this time, don’t let that happen again :)

601769318f245918a6a0e805e3f2223cOn Saturday, come out to the Nusol Natural Hair & Beauty Expo at the Durham Convention Center!  We will be there mixing, mingle, shopping and networking all day!  This event looks amazing, with Leela James speaking and performing live, as well as tons of seminars, vendors, fashion segments, musical performances, poetry performances, giveaways and more.  Sponsors include Whole Foods and SheaMoisture! Tickets are still on sale online, and can be purchased at the door as well.  If you see me, come take a pic with your girl!  For more information or to purchase tickets, visit http://brookshirebranding.wix.com/nusol2013

Be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter @NaturallyGlamTV and Instagram @NaturallyGlam for updates and pictures throughout the weekend!

 

Countdown to Curls Gone Wild in Richmond, VA

Can you believe it? We are TWO weeks away from the Richmond, Virginia Return of the Curls ‘Curls Gone Wild’ Natural Hair Expo and Hair Show. The two-day show will be held at the Richmond International Raceway on Laburnum Avenue.  If you are interested in showcasing your business at this event , please email info@returnofthecurls.com.  April 26 is the last day to participate as a vendor so don’t delay!

Return of the Curls is proud to be partnering with Kidz Can Come to provide a safe, adult-supervised daycare at the Richmond event for attendees to bring their child(ren). The daycare will be available Saturday and Sunday. Attendees of Curls Gone Wild will be offered an affordable, safe, supervised Kids Corner where their child(ren) can watch a movie, color, play games and participate in scheduled activities while they enjoy the event.  For more details, please email info@returnofthecurls.com.

Join @ReturnoftheCurl and @frizzfreeCURLS for a Hair Tweetchat! Ask questions on hair hygiene, products, styling, and more. Join in on the Twitter fun on April 25 at 7pm est! Use #ROTC13 as the hashtag to follow the conversation, and make sure to follow both accounts. Win prizes and giveaways during the tweetchat as well!  CURLS will be giving away 10 kits of Crème Brule and Passion Fruit Curl Control Paste during the Tweetchat so be sure to participate. I will be chatting away so come join me @NaturallyGlamTV!

20130320-185939.jpgKaren of Karen’s Body Beautiful will be back again this year as a speaker and sponsor!  Karen’s Body Beautiful is one of my favorite product lines, so I’m excited to be able to pick up a few of my ‘holy grail’ products at the show.  Karen is such a kind person, and very knowledgeable about product ingredients and what our hair needs.  You don’t want to miss her segment!

For more information or to sign up for the Return of the Curls email subscription so you can stay in the know for all things ROTC, visit http://www.returnofthecurls.com!

Out & About: N’Theory Artist Showcase

Here’s something you may not know about me. Besides my day job, this website, and event planning, I’m also a singer/songwriter. I was writing and recording songs for my debut album (something I was just doing for myself really) a couple years ago when I was fortunate enough to be connected with a local band here in Hampton Roads called N’Theory who was looking for another female vocalist, and so I decided to join them. Itwas a great experience, and i learned so much about performing with a live band, and it really helping improve my vocal skills. Towards the end of 2011, the band decided to take a break from performing, and during that time Naturally Glam was born and so professional singing fell to the wayside.

So needless to say I was excited to hear that N’Theory had decided to start performing again, and I had the opportunity to check out their ‘relaunch’ show this Saturday, February 9, over in Hampton. For just $10, Hubby and I got to get a little dinner and good music, and support this amazing band. The venue was filled just to capacity so the vibe was perfect and the crowd was really engaged. They performed lots of covers by artists like India Arie, Chrisette Michele, and Ledisi, and some original music as well. I can’t lie – I wanted to jump up and grab a mic! I look forward to more music from this group of talented musicians and vocalists. If you’d like to learn more about N’Theory or check out their shows in the future, visit their site http://www.reverbnation.com/ntheory and like their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/NTheoryBand. Tell them Jonna Sharrell sent you:)

20130211-095716.jpg

20130211-100032.jpg