Sunday, June 18, 2006

Sunday Brunch at B Smith




Let me just tell you, this resturant was first class, B Smith knows her stuff .

I had salmon eggs with potatoes and banana and spice pancakes.

We then took our last strolls down Madison Ave, Fifth Ave and visited the American Girl store. There was also a festival going on near Times Square so we toured the area and of course ate, ate and ate.

I ended the afternoon with a bite of New Yorks famous cheese cake. It was so good and tasty I wish I would have brought a piece home.

Then...off to the airport....I'm still having flashbacks of the wonderful time I had in New York!!!

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Leighann "Laugh Factory Show"

Boy did we have a blast laughing at the comedians! Leighann sho nuff did do her thing and my favorite was the Lifetime joke.

New York is now on my top 5 favorite cities list. My first visit and we could not have done it any better.

After the show, Leighann took us to a local diner, we sat, chatted and ate breakfast until 3:00 AM. Posted by Picasa

Sisterlock Dinner

Dallas, California, Miami, Cleveland, Washington D.C, New York, Philly...The LockItUp Group represented! We met for dinner at Amy's Chicken & Waffles in Harlem.

I must send a personal shout out to Sandy for creating this group, how would we have ever met??

Kim, (top left in red) so nice to meet you, me and my buddies really loved your locks, you are sooooooo pretty!

Lashaune, you are such a cutie, beautiful smile and that hair is taking off. (with me in middle pic) Too bad we did not get to hang out like I really wanted. Maybe one day soon....at a DFW gathering???

Tanya and mom, (middle left) you two are to be admired for taking this journey together. Tanya's mom took the floor telling us about how she decided on Sisterlocks.. I love her spirit!

Consultant Cynthia was present and I don't know how I missed her pic, she was an inpiration to talk to. We discussed hair types and my early beginnings of bunching. Again, I was reminded that pattern four would have been best for my hair type. But in the end, Cynthia encouraged me in knowing that I am now on the right path and it will all work out well!

Paulette inspects Brenda's locs (middle and bottom right). Brenda has a wealth of knowledge in educating anyone on Sisterlocks.

Leighann, thank you so much for coordinating this dinner, you too were wonderful entertainment and fantastic energy! :)

Oh, the pic at the bottom middle is of Brunsli's hair tied with a really cute "mother of pearl" hair tie she picked up at Khumit & Kinks. Hate I missed out on that excursion. Posted by Picasa

Brooklyn Brownstone

I wanted to see a brownstone before leaving New York so my buddy took me to Brooklyn to see her aunt and show me her old neighborhood.


It was so cool and on the way out we stopped and ate a "pattie" from a West Indies store in the neighborhood! Posted by Picasa

Sabbath Worship in Harlem



Many of you know that I am a Seventh-day Adventist Christian, my buddies and I took time to attend service on Sabbath morning at Ephesus. This visit meant a lot to us because of its rich history.

The Gothic-inspired Reformed Low Dutch Church of Harlem (later, Second Reform Church of Harlem) was designed in 1885-87 by architect John Rochester Thomas and built of Ohio sandstone. Careful inspection of the facade's lower level reveals carved corbel details a mysterious man with a mustache between the doors. The truncated chimney-like steeple, a victim of a fire that destroyed the church's original interior, makes the it visible for blocks up and down the Boulevard. Booker T. Washington gave a sermon at Ephesus and the famous Boys Choir of Harlem was founded here in 1968.

One of our personal convictions is that we do not buy or sell on Sabbath so we had a wonderful time at church service and then did some site seeing....

Friday, June 16, 2006

Harlem, Harlem, Harlem - Oh how I love you!

Hands down, Harlem was my most favorite place to visit! Rich in culture, friendly people and great places to eat and shop. We just about killed ourselves eating at Sylvia's, that food was da bomb!

Make-up artist Kurt at the MAC counter in Harlem did us some justice! He is also the personal make-up artist for LaChanze who plays Celie in "The Color Purple."

Owner, Carol's Daughter (bottom left) posed with us after picking up some great hair and skin products to quench the thirst of my dry Dallas locks and skin. I picked up Khoret Amen Leave In Hair conditioner, one of the ladies in the store uses it on her locks from a spray bottle. Not much is needed, I've used it since getting back home and it is so refreshing. Posted by Picasa

A Harlem Sisterlock Consultant

We ventured out and took the subway to Harlem. While strolling down Lenox Avenue, my friend Angela spotted a Sisterlock sign in a Salon window, well I made a quick detour to meet the Consultant.

Her name is Valerie and she had the most beautiful four month old locks I'd ever seen! Her daughter shown on the bottom left is 10 and her 7 month old Sisterlocks were stunning as well. She gave me permission to show pics on my blog.

Anyone in the New York area looking for a Consultant? If so, you would want to contact Valarie at 212.222.5895, she is located at 371 Lenox Avenue, Between 128th and 129th St. The Salon name is Acres of Diamonds Natural Hair Salon.

Shout out to ya Valerie and thanks for taking pics with me! Posted by Picasa

911 Site

My most emotional reminisce..........words cannot express. Posted by Picasa

After the Concert

We hung around taking pictures...some people we knew...some people we did not know. LOL! Brunsli was able to convince the young man in the upper left picture with 15 year old locks to take a picture with us.

Brunsli may be shy but when it comes to hair and pictures she has skills! LOL! Posted by Picasa

Robin Roberts, Shelia E. & Prince

I'm a huge fan of Robin Roberts, the girl was an awesome athlete, is intelligent and so very pretty. You go Robin!

And here he is Mr. Prince himself, the wait was well worth it! Only three songs but it was really nice to see him up close and personal!

Shelia E. thru out a couple of stick and one girl with our group caught one! We completely enjoyed! Posted by Picasa

Thanks - Good Morning America!

First, I have to send out a special thanks to "Samantha" with Good Morning America for giving me VIP access to the concert and allowing us to join in on the fun.

Leighann informed us that Prince would be performing on Friday morning in Bryant Park and I immediately contacted GMA, Samantha called me back to invited us to the concert. I was able to make reservations for the Sisterlockers as well as the GRITS group.

We were up at 5:00 am, Brunsli brought us delicious pastries from her cousins' bakery and we were 35 deep in the VIP line at 5:30 AM. People had actually been camping out since midnight in the general public line so if it were not for Samatha we would have never been as close as we were.

There was a Starbucks right across the street from the park so Karen, Brunsli and I went over and got some wake us up drinks..... after all we were operating on only 2-3 hours of sleep. But, boy was it worth it!

These are pics of our anticipation and waiting for Prince. Posted by Picasa

It's Leighann!

When we returned to the hotel, I received a call from Leighann saying she was in the area and wanted to meet if we were still up. By this time I had gotten myself some comfortable shoes and a second wind.

Karen and I met in the lobby and went looking for Leighann. We were on the cell phone trying to zone in on our meeting destination and as we were talking we walked right up on each other and once we spotted each other we all ran up and embraced as if we were old high school classmates at our 20th year reunion.

It was awesome, Naturally, Leighann was as beautiful in person as she is on her blog and talk about energy, we could have talked to her all night but we knew she had just finished working and needed to get back home. We chatted for a while, said our goodbyes and then off to find supplies to decorate our signs for the Good Morning America Show next next morning. Karen and I were on a mission. Leighann, thanks so much for showing us a fantastic time!!! Posted by Picasa

Thursday, June 15, 2006

The Color Purple

After our sightseeing we returned to the hotel to get ready for our "Color Purple" show. This occasion would be the first time I would meeting Brunsli face to face. She did forewarn me that she was shy and that did not much because I was just so elated that the LockItUp group was bringing us all together for a time that we would never forget.

I arrived a little early and was seating, about five minutes before the show began Brunsli appeared and of course I knew exactly who she was, we hugged each other as if we were long lost cousins. Needless to say, Brunsli was as classy as I expected and she has such a calm/peaceful spirit. She was shocked to learn that my blog perception of her was that she was was a very outgoing person. Regardless, she was a joy to have in my company!

That was only the beginning! At the end of the show we all met in the foyer through the connection of cell phones and it was there that we made our formal introductions. It's amazing how we all held conversations like we had known each other forever. By this time my dogs were barking and I could not wait to get back to the hotel. Brunsli, Karen and I caught a cab so that we could get back, sleep for a couple of hours and get up for the Good Morning America Prince concert.

Did I mention the Color Purple was so awesome I cried throughout the entire show? From the performers to the wardrobe, what a production...Oprah really showed out! Posted by Picasa

New York, New York!

When we boarded the plane early Thursday morning and I learned that John Legend was the young brother I saw seated in first class along with his body guard I knew we off to a great start!

We arrived in New York early Thursday morning and hit the streets sightseeing and eating everything in sight. I was so filled with excitement I could hardly contain myself. I was finally in New York City.

Our hotel was conveniently located right in the heart of Manhattan where all of the Broadway shows took place.

Top left pic is my travel buddy and three other young ladies we met when we landed. We decided to all take the limo and worked out a fantastic deal with the driver instead of taking a cab that would have totally robbed us. Posted by Picasa

I Took A Huge Bite Out of That Apple!

It did not bite me back but whew.....I need major rest!!. Stay tuned for my NYC posts. Had I stayed one more day I would have had to be hospitalized! LOL!! This was one my best trips ever especially traveling with my two good friends, GRITS and my Sisterlock Sisters.

I'll be back soon.....need some zzzzzzzzzzzzz's!

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

New York City ..here we come!



Lights, action, cameras, shopping eating, church service, and meeting so many wonderful people all in the name of Sisterlocks and friendships over the internet!!!

I can't believe it's finally here and we are off to New York to see the Color Purple, Good Morning America featuring Prince and best of all Leighann in action at the World Famous Laugh Factory.

Check back with us as us Sisterlockers get together and take New York by storm!!!

Peace to you and safe travels to all!

LaChanda