If you visited Newsweek.com’s Human Condition blog today, you may have been greeted by this beautiful photo of two bright eyed, big haired girls. Those adorable little afrobellas are my nieces. Dominique and Isabella! And the article was my response to the latest rebuttal by Allison Samuels.

Hey response to the bloggers, if you will, was titled We Are All Team Zahara, and reignited ire throughout the blogosphere.

One of my favorite bloggers, Latoya Peterson tackled the Baby Z hair police head on in Jezebel. (LOVING all Latoya’s work over there, BTW).

Post Bourgie cosigned Latoya’s take, and Ta-Nehisi Coates took on the topic for The Atlantic.

Then Newsweek invited some bloggers to respond on their site.

Tami of What Tami Said wrote Natural Hair Is Not Unhealthy.

Author Roslyn Holcolmb who blogs at Stormcrow wrote Hair Don’ts Hold Us Back.

Nichelle of 55 Secret Street wrote Its Time To Fully Embrace Natural Hair.

And now you can click here to read my final thoughts about Zahara’s hair. If you could leave a comment on Newsweek’s site, it’d mean so much to me!

I hope that puts an end to these shenanigans, at least until the next trip to a toy store, where this little girl will emerge held by her mother, and surrounded by bodyguards, gawking onlookers, and photographers by the dozen.

If you’ve got a little girl in your life dealing with similar hair issues as Zahara Jolie Pitt and even Chris Rock’s little girls — struggling with loving their hair in its unfettered state and appreciating their natural beauty — you might want to get them an inspiring book for Christmas. Of course there’s I Love My Hair by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley, the sometimes controversial Nappy Hair by Carolivia Herron, and Happy to Be Nappy by bell hooks. Now you can add I Love My Cotton Candy Hair by Nicole L. Updegraff to the list. The book takes into account the diverse background of a modern interracial family, the hair issues of biracial kids, and ultimately it’s “a story about loving yourself just the way you are.” A message any kid (and most adults) should be able to get behind.

This coming weekend in Chicago, the weather may be chilly but I’ve got a hot party for you to come to!

Bellas, if you’re in Chitown – please come out to the Drugstore Diva Blogger Mixer on Saturday October 10. From 7 to 9:30 p.m., I’ll be sipping cocktails and boogying down alongside my bellas in the blogosphere Lianne the Makeup Girl and Erin Scandalous!

It’s an after party for the prestigious Makeup Show Artists’ Summit. Come on out to the J Bar at the James Hotel Saturday night to hang out with some of your fave beauty bloggers and some of the hottest makeup artists in the biz. — and PLEASE come on up to me and say hello! I’d love to meet you!!

After my exciting evening at the tents and tour of the city via pedicab, I was exhausted. But I had to get my butt in gear for the next day. I had a trek out to Brooklyn in store!

I ended Day 2 with a delicious Indian dinner in the Village with my best friend Jenny. Day 3, we got out early and had breakfast at the Waverly Restaurant, as classic a New York diner as you could want. Bagel all the way? Yes please.

After that I strolled along Sixth Avenue and stumbled across a sneaker store on 6th and Washington — the sign looks like this and I got a sick pair of silver high top Adidas for $35! And I NEEDED them because my feet were absolutely killing me pounding the pavement all over NYC. And I was in flats! Even flats can hurt, especially if they’re trying to be cute flats. Those sneaks were just what the podiatrist would have ordered.

After that I took the subway to Brooklyn — for the first time, by myself. Dun dun dunnnn! But it was generally an uneventful journey, and a friendly Brooklyn native set me straight on my path once I got off the train. On my way to Redress NYC!

I think every full figured fashionista owes herself at least one visit out to this crazy, wonderful, only in NYC boutique. Redress makes for a welcoming, kitschy, edgy, unconventional, great shopping experience. Customers are encouraged to share dressing rooms (which are named after full figured celebs like Mama Cass and Nell Carter). Clothes are arranged by type and size, and I found some excellent items on the dress rack in my size, and much, much larger. There are pants and jackets and shoes and skirts and on this special trunk show day, original garments and inspired remixes by designers from around the country. The crowd was extremely diverse in terms of sizes, ethnicity, sexual orientation, hair color… it was funky and fun and I was loving it! I must’ve tried on twelve dresses and four jackets before I settled on three must-have items — a chic long sleeved black minidress from Silhouettes that will last and look cute into the winter months, a cute peasant style embroidered blouse by Abby Z that is SO up my bohemian alley and I know I’ll wear season after season, and this adorable hooded pinstriped denim dress by Size Queen Clothing. So funky, so cute, so comfortable! LOVE it!

Then there was a fashion show by the designers, which can only be described as very bold.

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Confession time: every year I have a moment where I feel internal crisis.

I can’t help it – I’m a worrier, not a warrior.

Every year there comes a time (maybe more than one time), when I wonder:

Am I doing the best that I can?
Is my blog still as interesting to other people as it is to me?
Have I fallen off? How can I get back up?
When am I gonna get my life together and write this frickin book already?

Black Weblog Awards Winner - Best Culture Blog

And then the Black Weblog Awards comes around and reassures me – you’re doing alright, Patrice. Maybe better than you thought (but you really need to work on that frickin book)!

This year I was so honored to be nominated, but I honestly didn’t expect to win. So I want to extend my sincere love and gratitude to all of you who took the time out to vote for me. Best Culture Blog THREE years in a row? I must be doing something right.

And I promise you this – Afrobella will only get better!

Some of my friends in the blogosphere won as well, so congratulations and respect to My Brown Baby, Naked With Socks On, Kid Fury, Gangstarr Girl, Mane and Chic, The Fashion Bomb, Black Snob, and Luvvie of Awesomely Luvvie! E hugs all around!

“Your little girl is an angel most of the time… until you sit her down between your knees to comb her hair. Then it’s tears and squeals and tantrum time.

I first learned about this story via The Root, in Teresa Wiltz’s essay Beauty, The Brush, and Black Girl Pain. I can barely stand to watch this now-infamous YouTube video, that raises more questions than it answers.”

I know this is a topic close to Afrobella readers’ hearts, so I wanted to crosspost a part of what I wrote over at AOL Black Voices. It’s a long post, be forewarned… but I hope it helps more people there than it would here. I imagine many Afrobella readers know the importance of reinforcing their child’s positive self image, regardless of the texture of their hair. On BV, I’ve gotten so many e mails from readers who have put a relaxer in their child’s hair at age 3, 4, 5… it’s heartbreaking.

Please feel free to comment and share your knowledge. Spread the natural hair love, bellas!

Summertime is in full swing and it’s all about wearing your cutest sandals and letting your fingers and toes do the talking! I love the season, and it’s the perfect time to take risks with your safe, typical mani/pedi. Of course being a bella on a budget, you might be giving yourself a lot of at-home touch-ups. Here’s the hottest trends I’ve seen, and the polishes you need to pull them off!

#1 — Multicolored Nails.

So fun, so cute, so perfect for summer! The multicolored nail trend is very youthful and perfect for those who love to be trendsetters.

Super fly ATL blogger Necole Bitchie’s making it a phenomenon in hot, bright pink and black. How does my Twitter homegirl do it? — with a different color on the ring left hand, and on the pointer finger of the right hand. I had to ask what colors she’s rocking and Necole admitted that she gets her nails done at the salon, but she believes the color is called “Electrick Pink.” The closest match I could find for that name was by my beloved and super-cheap Milani. Check out the reviews on Makeup Alley! Bright neon pink is guaranteed to turn heads. Get yours at CVS.

Necole’s been rocking the pink and black, but recently she switched it up and went zebra on one nail.

I’ve been seeing some great variations of the multicolored nail trend — Erika at Makeup Bag did some lovely red and blue “patriotic nails” over the holiday weekend. So cute! You can alternate two different colors, or you could go all the way with “Skittles nails” as my homegirl Brittany from Clumps of Mascara calls it. You can stay in the same color family or go for the jewel toned brights like Brittany did. Fun, fun, fun!

#2 — Pale and classy

As a little one, I always wondered why my Aunty Gemma always wore the same shimmery white nailpolish all the time. Now that I’m older, I totally get it! Pale nails can be tame enough to wear to work, but they look oh so beautiful on brown skin. Pale toenails with a pair of gold or silver sandals = so sexy.

OPI Bubble Bath is just such a shade — pale, pale pink that brushes on so perfectly the first application around, you’ll swear you had a professional manicure done. Subtle, classy, clean, sexy. Love it! And if you purchase OPI’s Bubble Bath in July or August, you’ll be supporting Look Good…Feel Better, a national public service program that helps women cope with appearance-related changes from cancer treatment. During July and August, OPI will contribute a portion of the proceeds of every bottle of Bubble Bath Nail Lacquer sold, with a minimum contribution of $25,000, to Look Good…Feel Better. Sweet deal, right?

#3 — Glitz and Glamour

I know most of my bellas on a budget hit the drugstore for their nailpolish fix…but every now and then it can be worth it, splurging on a fancy polish that makes you feel like a superstar from the minute you slick it on. I’m talking about putting some essie Limted Edition Love, Beverly Hills xx Nail Colour with 24K Pure Gold in the mix. $16.99 is nothing to sneeze at when it comes to nailpolish. Achoo!

Lancome Le Vernis in Exotique Kiss is a limited edition coral pink with an iridescent gold shimmer that looks so stunningly gorgeous in the sun. $18 a bottle, but you’ll want to wear it again and again to get your money’s worth.

And the bangin’ bronzy gold I’m sporting in this pic is MAC’s Style Warrior in Mercenary. They describe the $11 polish as “frosted blackened bronze,” but I describe it as PURE FIRE. Stunning in the light. Photo doesn’t do it justice.

and trend #4 — DIY Nail Art

I am so not skilled with nailpolish — when I do my nails I do them sloppy and wait till the next shower to peel away the spillage around my fingernails. But more and more of my amigas are trying sweet DIY nail art, and I’m almost inspired to try it myself! The PBG at 52 Flavors frequently wears fabulously bright nail colors with cool diagonals and funky patterns. Homegirl’s got skills! And thanks to nail art pens like those by Sally Hansen, it’s easier than ever to jazz up your hands with some unexpected patterns. Love it!

However you rock your mani/pedi, work it to the fullest! How are you wearing your nails this season, bellas?