Greetings from sunny Trinidad and Tobago! The temperature here is 30 degrees Celsius. I guess that’s in the 80’s, in Fahrenheit speak.

Our vacation is flitting by in a blur of family, friends, cocktails, and fabulous food. I’m collecting quite a bit of material to write about when I return, but I have hardly had a spare moment to even so much as check my e mail – a rare feat for a hopelessly addicted e mail junkie. The separation anxiety made me admit that I have a problem!

I promised the amazing Annie of Blogdorf Goodman that I’d participate in a Best of 2006 beauty products list, so without further ado I present my picks for 2006. The internet here is S-L-O-W, so forgive me for a lack of links within the body of this post. I’ve reviewed many of these products before, so scroll through my archives for details on some of them. But I promise to embed images and links to all of these products when I get back. After I post this, you’ll find me chillin’ by the pool with a strong rum and coke until I get back to the hustle and bustle of Miami on Monday afternoon. Sigh.

Makeup

Best Lipgloss – L’Oreal HIP in Dreamer. OK, I’ve never been a pink kind of girl. Purple has always been my favorite color, and when I reach for lip color, most often it’s a fab wine or dark berry shade (like HIP’s Enchanting, which is my take-to-work-everyday gloss). The shade of my skin always made it hard for me to find the “perfect” pink – not too bright, not too tame, not too baby, not too hot. But Dreamer made me a believer. It’s a dusky, sparkling rose that quite simply makes my lips look luscious. It’s subtle, but oh so pretty. And I’m sure it would work wonders for a range of skin tones.

Best Mascara – Maybelline Intense XXL is one of those two-part lash enhancing products I tended to shy away from, but when I ran out of the ol’ standby Great Lash I figured I’d give it a shot. It works great for me, giving my clumpy lashes definition and length with the microfiber, and bold thickness with the uber black mascara part. I even impressed my fake-lash sporting mom with this stuff. Love it.

Best Bright Eyeliners – Sephora brand. I plug these whenever I can, but let me just say again how much I like Sephora brand stuff. I just got an awesome powder brush that I’m thoroughly enjoying, and I can’t leave the store without picking up an eyepencil or two. They cost like five bucks, and both the thick and thin pencils deliver powerful, lasting color. My only complaint is, they’re too short! That’s why I keep coming back for more.

Best Blush – Jane Iredale’s Global Beauty in Flushed. I had a fear of blush (and bronzer – fret not, I’m getting over that and will post a bronzer review soon!) until recently. Iman’s tips in The Beauty of Color recommend that dark skinned women make a beeline for a blush with gold sparkle, and Jane Iredale’s Flushed is that shade. It’s sparkly, pretty, and doesn’t make me look like a clown when I wear it. I will definitely repurchase products from this line, and I hope this is the beginning of many more high quality products to come for women like me!

Best Eyeshadow – L’Oreal HIP loose shadow in Valiant. I raved over the HIP line back in September when I was sent a ginormous box of stuff. But after recieving all of the shadows, blushes, and foundations I still actually BOUGHT one of their shadows. Valiant is a soft, gorgeous blue-lilac, and it’s magnificent on brown-skinned bellas. The loose shadow comes with a brush, and looks amazingly intense when wet, or luminous and romantic when applied dry. This shade might not work for everyone, but if you love ocean-inspired, restful colors and have big baby browns, this might be the shadow for you.

Best Concealer- Iman Second-to-None Stick Foundation. Living in a literal melting pot of a city (or an island), I’ve always had issues with liquid stuff. I just can’t stand having my makeup sweat off, and too often I assumed I was looking pretty only to catch sight of myself and realize my face was dripping makeup stalagmites (verify which) and I looked more like a Dick Tracy villain. Iman’s stick foundation came to the rescue. I daub it on like a giant crayon and it masks my hyperpigmentation spots all day long. Over my fave moisturizer and under my fave powder, my face looks close to flawless. And the range of shades is hard to beat!

Best Powder – L’Oreal Bare Naturale. I might as well lead this one off with a giant disclaimer – THIS PRODUCT MAY NOT WORK WONDERS FOR EVERYONE! I personally love it, but I’ve experienced the ravages of excess. It’s painfully evident in some of the photos I’ve taken this year – too much of this mineral powder will make you look like the walking dead. I gave one to Mama Bella for Christmas and she only uses it on half of her face, because it totally accentuates her melasma. But if I use it sparingly over a good moisturizer and a great foundation, Bare Naturale is miraculous. It was my window to the wonderful world of mineral powder. Now that I’m down to my last dregs, I’m excited to see what else is out there but I plan to repurchase this anyway.

Hair Care

Best Shampoo – Suave for Kids. I’ve tried so many different shampoos this year, from Sunsilk to Motions, Garnier to Frederic Fekkai. I always come back to my beloved Suave for Kids. Why? Because it smells divine (love the dragonfruit), it’s gentle, and leaves my naturally curly locks shiny, defined, and happy. I just bought the entire line (shampoo, conditioner, and detangling spray) for the littlest Afrobella in my family, and she loves it! Suave hair products are generally beloved by women of color with thick, unruly hair because they work well and are affordable. The Grape also makes a great conditioner wash for those who follow the “No Poo” regimen.

Best Conditioner – Matrix Biolage Ultra-Hydrating Balm. I was recently gifted with a full-size tube of this stuff, and bellas, I’m in love! This super-thick conditioner leaves my curls well nourished and glossy, and makes for an effortless comb-through. I like it just as much as the Garnier Three Minute Mask, and that’s saying alot.

The Leave-Ins I Believe In – Carol’s Daughter Black Vanilla Leave-In Conditioner, and Hair Milk. How many more times can I rave about this stuff? Until I find other conditioning products that smell as good, and makes my hair feel as soft and look as glossy as CD’s – I’m a believer!

Best Detangler – Kinky Curly Knot Today. My usual hair routine was to comb my hair out in the shower, while it was drenched in conditioner and hot water. Knot Today made it possible for me to comb and fingerstyle my do apres shower, and I love how slick it makes my tresses. My advice to afrobellas looking to buy this stuff, check the website for store locations to avoid customer service issues. I sincerely do love this stuff and I recommend it without reservation!

Best Curl Definer – Garnier Fructis Curl and Shine. When my afro ‘do is looking like a don’t, I turn to Curl and Shine. It helps me transform frizzled hair into defined ringlets, and whenever I use it I find myself tossing my perfect curls around like some kind of deranged shampoo commercial lady. Loves it.

Best Sheen – HPO Butter Drops. My sister Petal recently offered me some ‘cone filled mineral oil stuff to give my do some gloss. I countered with my teeny bottle of HPO Butter Drops, an aromatic blend of oils that are really good for your hair. The extracts of lavender and essential oils are great for hair and body – HPO even recommends it for use on stretch marks for mommies to be!

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A few weeks ago, I was honored to be noted and quoted by none other than Kristen from Beauty Addict. After my rave reviews about Carol’s Daughter Black Vanilla Leave-In Conditioner,she yearned to try it. Apparently, the last time she wrote about Carol’s Daughter, some i’gnant reader decided to tell her that Carol’s Daughter products weren’t made for “people like her.” Exsqueeze me? I know Lisa Price would strongly disagree with that!

I loved Kristen’s sassy response, “…just because my hair doesn’t look the same as Jada Pinkett Smith’s (one of CD’s poster girls) doesn’t mean I can’t use, and love, Carol’s Daughter. So there.”

Her post got me thinking about products that are “made for” a specific ethnicity. It’s a topic I’d touched on before, how clever companies will name their product “African” or “Gro” to better reach a black (and gullible) customer base.

I will admit, I am more likely to be interested in writing about a product – especially a hair product – that’s specifically targeted to me. Natural black hair care needs were overlooked for so long, I’m ecstatic that so many products are on the market today.  When I find a product made for my crazy 4a curls that works, I’ll sing it to the mountaintops. It’s not necessarily a race-specific thing, I love supporting small businesses of any kind.
But I start catching feelings about these FUBU products and I have to vent about it – like why would Miko and Titi Branch charge so much for Miss Jessie’s? Or, why can’t they sell a smaller container for less money? I would never question that of Frederic Fekkai.

I might not have felt as much disappointment as I did after reading some of the crappy customer service issues you bellas experienced with Kinky Curly, if the company wasn’t run by someone like me. (I still stand by their products, I love the Knot Today so much!)

On the other side of the coin, I’ve had people tell me that certain products are not for me. I’ve had friends ask me “why are you using that white people ish?” when they saw me using Pantene, or giving Paul Mitchell a try. That’s when I mentally recite the Desiderata,

“Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.”

I’m perfectly willing to try any kind of beauty product, regardless of who it’s marketed to. Many of the products that are supposedly “made for me” are chemically overloaded crapola. Take for example my chosen brand of creamy crack, Just For Me!

Back in the day, the Just for Me relaxer came with an audio tape with a high-larious Eighties-era rap. (bellas, if ANY of you remember this, write and let me know!) It went something like, “I want hair that’s soft and free, I want hair that’s Just for Me! (just for me…)” oh, so ashamed that I remember that much of that.

That stuff burned the H-E-Double hockey sticks out of my scalp.

Recently some of my friends surprised me with confessions that they use products from the ethnic aisle. My friend Forrest (who is actually from Alabama) admitted his love of Blue Magic,

and my BFF Lauren tried my beloved Carol’s Daughter Hair Milk, and it quenched her Jewfro and made her waves look glossy and gorgeous.

So I say forget labels and names. Step across the ethnic product color line and treat yourself to something new. You might be pleasantly surprised!

In other news, I leave for Trinidad in about an hour. I’ll be out of the country and using sucky dial-up until January 1, but I will post my Afrobella’s Best of 2006 list on the 29th, and hopefully surprise you a few times before I get back to Miami.

Happy Holidays to all my bellas and fellas. I love you guys!

Even though 98% of my holiday shopping is done and I leave for home in two days, I wasn’t feeling particularly Christmassy. Until today.

My iAudio (a gift my husband got me last year. I highly recommend it for any of you who are looking for a digital audio device) was on shuffle, and it played my favorite holiday jam of all time, Christmas in Hollis by Run-DMC!

The video always makes me smile, and the song totally takes me back to being a kid. I hope it does the same for you!
It’s Christmas time in Hollis, Queens

Moms cookin’ chicken and collard greens

Rice and stuffing, macaroni and cheese

And Santa puttin’ gifts under Christmas trees…

Wherever you go, it’s the same thing. Food and family. But I’m sure my holiday traditions are way different from yours.

For Christmas in Trinidad we eat pastelles, ham, macaroni pie and callaloo. We drink sorrel and ginger beer.

I can’t wait for the first taste of my sister Petal’s infamous and deadly ponche de creme! Imagine a drink that combines the richness of eggnog with the potency of Bailey’s, with the slightest hint of citrus to cut the cloying sweetness of condensed milk. Mmmmmm.

I found some amazing Trini recipes on Trini Gourmet, and Can Cook, Must Cook, for you exotic recipe experimenters!

The second song that my iAudio played was Trini to de Bone by David Rudder and Carl Jacobs. David Rudder is like Trinidad’s equivalent to Bob Marley – a diverse and talented musician with powerful lyrics, who always pushes the genre forward. If you’re interested in hearing more of him, check out the video for one of his biggest hits, High Mas, which is basically a prayer for Trinidad delivered in the height of Carnival debauchery. Beautiful, powerful stuff. Carl Jacobs is a calypsonian and pop singer who migrated to Miami and plays before huge crowds every week at Monty’s in Coconut Grove. (He also played the music at our wedding, and was incredible!)

Those songs hit me like a one-two punch to the heart. Finally, I’m ready. All of this music and talk about food has me ready for Christmas day. I’m just so excited to see my family, to play with my niece Dominique (the littlest afrobella in our clan, she’s one and a half and a bundle of joy), to see how much things have changed and not changed at home. Just to get there and be able to say “Ah home!”

What about you, my fellow bellas? What part of the season are you most excited about? And what are your holiday traditions?

Don’t get it twisted, ladies – we already went through the Definition of Natural before.

When I refer to a “truly natural bella,” I’m talking about a woman who has taken natural beauty to the nth degree. Afrobellas and rastabellas who proudly sport their own locks, bellas of all colors who are card-carrying PETA members and won’t support companies that test on animals, and women who were on the “organic” bandwagon before there even was a bandwagon.

Meat-eating, Proctor and Gamble buying family members can often make terrible mistakes in shopping for their more socially conscious siblings. Here are some nifty gifties for the all-natural bellas in your circle.

I’ve had hit-or-miss results with organic beauty products. Expensive Aveda makes my hair feel sticky and look lifeless, Burt’s Bees does nothing for my mass of curls, and Tom’s of Maine deodorants left me with smelly, sweaty pits. But I was recently sent some awesome organics that would make remarkable gifts.

HPO stands for High Performance Organics, and the name is no misnomer. Debra Small is the company’s founder, and she worked for 15 years as a salon owner, hair stylist, and trainer for Paul Mitchell. Her products are designed to gently clean and nurture the hair and skin of women all shades (and textures) of beautiful. So you know I love that concept already!

I’ve been using their Hair and Body Shampoo and Spa Hair Treatment for over a week now, and my hair adores it. The products are made from yummy stuff like avocado, honey, wheat protein, and essential oils.

The scent is mild, and the shampoo (which I’ve been using only as hair shampoo) is supremely gentle on my hair. That’s a good deal for $11. The Spa Hair Treatment ($22) is a thick, creamy concoction that leaves my curls highly moisturized and well defined.HPO Body Lotion smells faintly citrusy and absorbs into my skin with a quickness I’ve never noticed before in body lotions. It’s almost disconcerting, because I’m used to feeling like I’m wearing lotion after I’ve applied it. This stuff sinks right into my skin, leaving only the faint scent and a light feeling of emollience behind.

Every bella should have a bottle of Happy Scalp in their arsenal. It’s a zingy blend of peppermint and spearmint oil that comes in a bottle with a medicine dropper top. Use the dropper to apply it directly to your scalp, massage it in a bit, then shampoo vigorously to help reduce dry scalp flaking. Butter Drops is an appropriately named, super-moisturizing, wonderfully scented hair and skin oil.

I’ve been using it to quench my curls right out of the shower, and the blend of citrus and lavender is heavenly. HPO recommends using it as a hot oil treatment, and I certainly intend to!

The Raw Sugar Scrub is similarly scented, and made my skin feel deliciously soft. Butter Drops, Happy Scalp, and the sugar scrub all cost $11. HPO also makes Twisty Locks, a blend of orange and lavender cream that’s healthy for twists and other natural hair styles.

If the all-natural bella in your life has dreadlocks or sisterlocks, then you may have heard them complain how hard it is to find a cute, stretchy hairtie that effectively restrains their gorgeous hair. Brunsli’s Hair Ties to the rescue!

For those of you who don’t know her, Brunsli is a beautiful, sweet, smart, and friendly fellow blogger who makes absolutely gorgeous hair jewelry that is affordable and elegant. Using materials like amber horn, abalone shell, mother-of-pearl, and wood, Brunsli creates unique hair ornaments that can be worn with locks, or with curly or relaxed hair to make a unique ponytail. Her prices range from $10 to $34, and are available through Ebay auction or Buy-It-Now. For some reason, my favorite hairties are The Bella, and The Bella Silver. I wonder why! E mail brunslihairties@gmail.com for further information.

For wonderful, all-natural decadent body pampering products, look no further than Sepia Skin Care. Their delightfully scented moisturizers come in souffle, lotion, and super thick shea butters. With yummylicious scents like Honey Vanilla, Tangerine Grape, and Strawberry Lemon, your all-natural bella will be delighted with the moisturizing gift. Prices range from $25 to $32.

** edited December 20 – I forgot to mention that Sepia is currently offering 15% off any purchase! Enter the code 311352 at checkout. Visit the Sepia MySpace page to find out more.
Last but not least, a box of Bigelow Eggnogg’n Tea would make an eggcelent stocking stuffer!

This is the most delicious brew I’ve tasted in a while, and it’s on sale at Wild Oats for less than $5. If you love eggnog as much as I do, but don’t want to consume a horrendous number of calories, I highly recommend this combination of black and green tea. Deeelicious!

Happy shopping, bellas!

The second installment of the Afrobella Holiday Shopping Guide is all about bellas who daydream. The kind who seem to float by on a cloud, and doodle in the margins during boring board meetings. When you’re so bogged down by day-to-day stress that you can’t see straight, sometimes it’s the only way to survive the pressure.

Here are gift ideas for girls who just want (or need) to have fun.

Although the bubble bath still holds the title as the ultimate exercise in cleanly decadence, a good, long, hot shower can do wonders for the soul. It’s not just about the scented soap, or the rich, lathering body wash, or the invigorating sugar scrub. The aromatherapy experience is what takes a typical shower from necessity to luxury. Give your escapist bella a VIP Gift Bag from Maryam’s Soap Nook. The creator and owner, Maryam Diaab, has been making beautiful handcrafted soaps for about seven years now. Her knowledge of aromatherapy truly makes her products an indulgence for the senses.

Maryam’s interest in aromatherapy started when she had her beautiful daughter, Sarah. Using a carefully researched combination of lavender, ylang ylang, and chamomile oils to calm her worked like a charm. And Maryam’s products are luxurious to say the least.

The gift bag comes stocked with a large 8 oz. jar of Whipped Shea Monoi Body Butter. I got one in Coconut Cream, and it smells sweet and rich as coconut cream pie. The butter is a thick, creamy product that slides on, sinks in, and makes your skin feel like slick silk. The 8 oz. bottle of Exfoliating Body Wash with Jojoba Beads and Kukui Nut Oil exfoliated my skin, made me smell like an exotic flower (the scent I got was Tahitian Petals), and made me feel smooth all over. The gift bag also includes Japanese Camellia Body Oil, Luxury Body Mist, and two bars of handmade soap that look like miniature works of art. I got Pumpkin Pie, and Exotic Rose with Bergamot. I’ve been showering with the Pumpkin Pie (that sounds kind of weird, no?) and I love it!

The gift bag costs $65 and is well worth the price. I highly recommend her stuff!

We all have to exercise, but some workouts are more fun than others. To escape the drudgery of an aerobic workout and the bleakness of winter, check out the Jamaican dance-u-mentary, It’s All About Dancing.

It’s $14.20 on Amazon.com. Besides offering insight into the fascinating (and sometimes scandalous) underground world of Jamaican dance, the DVD features step by step instructions on the hottest steps, like the Wacky Dip, Willie Bounce, and Weddy Weddy.

Trust me – I hate working out and this video just makes me feel like I’m dancing at a club on the beautiful Jamaican coastline.

Often, escapist bellas love to add a romantic touch to their outfits. I bought a very similar flower necklace from Target for a close family member. Instead of a silver chain, the rose hangs from a beautiful purple silk ribbon. I fell in love with it instantly.

Target has a great selection of sterling silver pendants, and bellas on a budget will be surprised at what they might find for less than $20!

For these kinds of bellas, the ultimate CD stocking stuffer is what else? The Sweet Escape by Gwen Stefani.

I’ve loved Gwen ever since “Just a Girl” and “Trapped in a Box” started getting airplay on 120 Minutes on MTV. (I think 120 Minutes was possibly the only show to play “Trapped in a Box!”)

Gwen is one of my beauty icons, for sure. I know many of her longtime No Doubt fans are hating her current rapstress persona, but I really like some of the tracks on this album! My favorite is “Yummy.” If you need to get away from your day to day grind, I recommend you put it on and get ready to dance.

The beat is irresistable, and I’m sure that Gwen will have you “feelin’ yummy head to toe.” (you see me?)

Just for fun, here’s one of my favorite No Doubt videos, for “Sunday Morning.”

Gwen looks gorgeous in that leopard skirt, and I love that they’re all eating and having a food fight instead of being uber glam in haute couture like some of her recent videos.

Stay tuned for the final installment of the Afrobella Holiday Shopping Guide, tomorrow!

Let me take y’all back a few years, back to 1997. Remember the first time you saw Erykah Badu’s video for “On and On“? I do.

She strutted on the screen in that green headwrap and commanded us to listen. Erykah was – is- such a breath of fresh air in the game. She seemed like an earth angel, with a nasal twang of a voice akin to that of Billie Holiday’s. To this day, Baduizm is a fixture in my CD collection. In “Otherside of The Game” and “Next Lifetime,” she captures this unusual, timeless quality.

She’s positively otherworldly as she strides across the desert in the video for “Didn’t Cha Know”. Her big brown almond eyes and impossibly tall headwrap made her an imposing figure among her scantily clad R&B counterparts from the onset.

Erykah embraces an exotic image, and it totally works for her. Women who may never have worn an afrocentric hairstyle or outfit before have been inspired by Erykah’s fiercely ethnic beauty.

I love it when she’s sassy and funny, like in “Tyrone,” one of my all-time favorite break up songs. This was the jam when it came out, am I right bellas? This song was on the radio every hour on the hour!

She spoke straight to me (and many other bellas I know) with “Bag Lady.” I’m still learning to let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go.

Erykah is often cited as one of the biggest celebrities to influence women to go natural, and you’ll find photos of her in many of the Nappturality member’s photo sites as a hair inspiration.

That’s because her hair journey has mirrored our own. She’s worn it straight like Cher, or in long braids. She’ll rock a ginormous fro, like in this live video for “Black in the Day,” and shaved it all off, like in this live video for “Kiss Me.” She’s beautiful and brave enough to pull off the most extreme hairstyles. Like she says herself, “I’m “Cleva”, and I’m alright with me!”

If you’ve never seen her live, I highly recommend you check her out ASAP. Erykah delivers the goods on stage, and the whole audience is transported into her magical world.

I admire her spirit and self-confidence. Erykah Badu always knew exactly who she was, so she never felt the need to give into the black Hollywood image machine, emerging blonde and long-haired on the other side as so many individualistic afrobellas have done in the past.

She makes fun of the makeover machine in this hilarious, brief interview, where she advises wannabe pop stars to get breast, butt, and calf implants, and to “just be butt nekkid with glitter on ya, and a beeper.” Ha!

I also admire her for speaking out through her music, and improving so many hip hop songs with her hooks and background vocals. She’s the ultimate hook singing video chick in my book. (Kelis is a close second). Listen to her voice blend with Outkast and Cee-Lo’s on “Humble Mumble,” or “Liberation.” Check her out with the slick blowout and soft retro waves in this Sergio Mendes and Will-I-Am’s “That Heat.”

Let Erykah sing the hook, and your song might become a classic. Peep “You Got Me,” originated by Jill Scott but recorded by Erykah. Both are women with incredible voices, but there’s something about the husky restraint in Erykah’s version that has always touched me. Watching them perform together on the Dave Chappelle’s Block Party DVD is spine-tingling. When Erykah collaborates with someone, she works with artists who command equal respect. Love her funky futuristic look in Zap Mama’s “Bandy Bandy.”

Erykah already was a hip hop heroine, but the Brown Sugar soundtrack cemented that for everyone. She eloquently showed us exactly when she fell in love with hip hop, by collaborating through the ages with everyone from Kool Herc and Crazy Legs, MC Lyte and Chuck D, to Lil Flip. She goes mad old school and busts out a rap as MC Apples (a sobriquet she used in high school).

“Love of My Life” is her ode to the genre that has inspired her so much.

That video completely speaks to my own, complex relationship with hip-hop. I’ve loved rap music ever since my brothers got to go see Run-DMC in Trinidad in the early Eighties. “The Show” was one of the first songs I knew all the words to, period. (The other was Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song”). Today I listen to all kinds of rap, from backpacker rhymes by Atmosphere and K-Os to ig’nant, drugged-out, screwed up bangers by Lil Scrappy, Three Six Mafia, and Lil Flip. My girl Lauren (Westsiiiide!) got me into Too Short and E-40, and I live in Miami, so Uncle Luke and Trick Daddy stay in my rotation. Having said all of that, I think… I KNOW that hip-hop can be better.

There’s room for the ghetto fabulosity and mentally sharp lyrics. My hope for hip-hop is that the artists start getting back to intelligent content again. And also, that old school artists will get the respect that they deserve (and I’m not talking about the VH1 Hip Hop Honors, here). I read this depressing New York Times article about older rappers put out to pasture, and I wish that Diddy, Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, and all of the acts that have proven to have longevity and industry respect would come together to create a Hip Hop Foundation for old school artists, akin to the Rhythm and Blues Foundation for musicians who were manipulated out of the fruits of their labors by shoddy contracts.

I think Erykah Badu probably feels like I do about hip hop, that it’s come so far but it has so much further to go. I know that wherever the evolution leads us next, she’ll be there – singing her heart out and as always, marching to the beat of her own funky drummer. She’s a soul sista and a hip hop heroine, and one of my all-time hair and beauty icons.

Congratulations, Erykah! You’re Afrobella of the Week!