Consider this your daily reminder, courtesy of an old school Sesame Street clip!

I grew up a Sesame Street junkie, and this song was always one of my favorites. The empowering message resonated with me at an early age — “just look around you, it’s easy to see. There’s NOTHING we women can’t be!”

This year, Sesame Street celebrates 40 years of excellence, and according to that Newsweek article in the previous link, it’s ranked #15 in popularity of the children’s shows on air. That’s terrible news and I blame Elmo. Just kidding (I’m a Grover stan, for the record)!

It’s true, the Sesame Street nowadays isn’t quite the show I grew up on. But it’s still awesome and the messages of inclusion, equality, and respect remain. And for classic Sesame Street fans of my generation, all isn’t lost. You can get
Sesame Street - Old School, Vol. 1 (1969-1974) and Sesame Street: Vol. 2 - Old School (1974-1979). Your kids will LOVE it. And so will you!

Road trippin’ with my two favorite allies
Fully loaded we got snacks and supplies
It’s time to leave this town
It’s time to steal away
Lets go get lost
Anywhere in the USA
Let’s go get lost, let’s go get lost…

Red Hot Chili Peppers

2009 just started, and so much has happened so far. I quit my job, and my husband quit his job. We appeared on the cover of the Miami Herald. I was chosen as blog of the day by the Sun Sentinel, and featured as a VIP beauty blogger in Glamour magazine. In the Spring we’ll be moving to Chicago, and settling into our new place, new jobs, new life.

But before then we’re taking a little break, and getting off the beaten path.

For the next few weeks, Afrobella will be on the road, heading up along the east coast to stay with old friends and meet some new ones.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be any new posts — I’ll do the best that I can to keep the reading coming, and I even have a giveaway in store! But I can’t promise a post every day, because I’m not sure where I’ll be blogging from or what we’ll be up to. I’ll be too busy living my life away from the confines of a computer screen!

I plan to document the experience via Twitter, and keep all you bellas and fellas in the loop with lots of photos and updates from the road.

So whaddya say, want to go on a vicarious road trip with me?

Below, you’ll see a Flash Twitter window, and above that you can check out my pics from the road via Twitpic.

Let’s go get lost, let’s go get lost…

This has been a fabulous week for ya girl Afrobella. First I found out I was featured in an article on Glamour Magazine’s website, titled 10 Hair, Makeup and Skin Glam-up Tricks From VIP Beauty Bloggers. (YAY! I’m a VIP beauty blogger! Oh happy day!)

So today I bought three copies of the April issue of Glamour — the one with Katie Holmes on the cover — the “special super packed 70th anniversary issue,” and my words of wisdom are featured right there on page 83, 5 Genius Tips from Beauty Bloggers.

Thrilled is NOT the word!

If you’re a brand-new reader of Afrobella fresh from the pages of Glamour, there’s more in store. And to long-time Afrobella readers, those beauty tips are nothing new! I extolled the benefit of pre-pooing with coconut oil, I discussed using a wide-toothed comb to detangle hair as versus a brush (hat tip to Curly Girl Lorraine Massey for that knowledge), and the tip on moisturizing your neck came straight from Mama Bella.

Glamour has always been that magazine for me, the one I’ve always picked up first at the hair salon, one of the ones I fantasized about someday writing for. I still do fantasize about that, but for now this feels really incredible.

Thanks to Glamour for the opportunity!

And in other great news, just today I was featured as one of the Sun-Sentinel’s Blogs to Read in South Florida. LOL at their description of the blog as “a bit ad heavy.” A full time blogger’s gotta do what a full time blogger’s gotta do!

All this has resulted in a truly delightful feeling, like my hard work is finally paying off. I just turned 30 on Sunday, I left the safety and security of my job to blaze my own trail… and right now it all really feels right and meant to be and wonderful. 2009’s going great so far.

I have a lot to be thankful for.

Thanks to the respective journalists for reaching out and featuring me, and thank you all for reading and supporting Afrobella as much as you do. I promise to keep up my end, and keep providing you all with beauty tips, honest reviews, great interviews, and fabulous giveaways!

Remember the New Year’s post I wrote, 2009 is mine? I wrote words that were meant to inspire and electrify, but I didn’t explicitly state the kind of changes I had in store.

When I said: “2009 is MINE.

My year to grab life by the reins. My year to be the change I’ve been looking for. My year to stop wishing and hoping and praying for things that are within my grasp. MY. YEAR.”

I meant every word of it.

The time has come. I’m taking what I said to heart, and I have a big announcement to make.

I put in notice at my day job last week. My last day will be in mid-February.

I’m sure I don’t have to tell you all (or go into details about) the whys and wherefores of my decision. Just know that it wasn’t an easy one.

This August would have been five years that I worked as an editor of the calendar section of the Miami New Times. While I was at this job, I’ve enjoyed some wonderful opportunities, interviewed celebrities I admire, and even managed to have two cover stories. They’re framed and hang in a place of pride in my living room.

Because of my job, I learned how to drive, bought a car (that’s since been discontinued by the automaker, but I digress), and became a stronger, more confident person and a better writer. I made amazing friends, had crazy experiences, and discovered new things about myself and the world. There are many aspects of my job that I will sincerely miss.

So why am I leaving all this behind? Why trade a secure thing for an unknown quantity, especially in a season where job numbers are in the toilet and the economy seems way too shaky?

Quite simply — it was my time. And that’s not all.

My husband and I have made the decision to leave Miami. We’ve called the 305 home for ten years now. And we’re ready for new adventures and opportunities in another great American city. Which brings me to announcement number two!

Afrobella’s moving to Chicago!!

If you’ve been reading for a while, you already know I love the city. My in-laws live there, we’ve got wonderful friends who live there, and I honestly see it as a city of opportunity.

With journalism taking the tragic downslide it has taken, I’m considering all kinds of ways to reinvent myself and make use of the valuable skills I gained through working for a newspaper. In Chi-town, there are so many places, people, and organizations I’d love to work with — obviously there’s Oprah (hello!) and EbonyJet.com. Then there’s the Shedd Aquarium or the Field Museum, the Lincoln Park Zoo, or PAWS Chicago, the city’s largest No Kill humane organization.

Right now, Nas’ I Can feels like my theme song. I know I can be what I wanna be. If I work hard at it, I’ll be where I wanna be.

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One of my resolutions for 2009 is to take Afrobella to the next level.

I started hot and heavy in 2006, but I found myself becoming overwhelmed, which resulted in a feeling of inability. I had a vision of a YouTube Channel where I could upload concert videos, beauty tips, and especially, especially awesome interviews with celebrity bellas who inspire me through their style, their music, their hair, and their personalities. Like my Esperanza Spalding interview, but better. Seriously, that one YouTube clip took me forever to complete, and I still see SO much room for improvement. So anyway, I kept getting these opportunities to interview people, and I didn’t know what to do with them, and…you get the picture.

I had a project in mind, but I knew I couldn’t undertake it alone. So I put out a Help Wanted blog post back in November, and that, bellas, is how I discovered Gisele Parson, a video editor and motion graphics designer in NYC who reached out and wanted to bring my vision to life. Check out her demo reel and her portfolio page, and you’ll see why I went with her. Gisele is crazy talented! And I knew with talent like hers, she could help to realize my dreams. I am so happy to be working with Gisele!

I am honored and thrilled to kick off the new year by bringing back the Afrobella of the Month series, by honoring a previously celebrated bella. I’m talking about the lovely and talented Miss Janelle Monae!

To me, Janelle is one of the ultimate symbols of what Afrobella is all about. She loves her all-natural pompadour, she is unafraid to speak her mind or express her personal style, and she most certainly marches to her own funky beat. Fiercely creative, bold, and beautiful. You can either get with Miss Monae, or make way for her. I interviewed her right around my second anniversary, and finally, finally I can share that interview with you all!

We chatted for over 40 minutes, and with Gisele’s editorial eye, we whittled the interview down to three video clips. In part one, we got the hair questions out of the way. Everything Janelle does, she does with purpose — her hair is an important part of who she is.

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Thanks and respect to my BFF Lauren — my college partner in crime, friend for life, and self-described “Jewbella” always sends me great Afrobella articles and suggestions. And she totally knows about my affectionate obsession with Miss Zahara Marley Jolie Pitt. The beautiful little Ethiopian girl that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie adopted has more personality than both her parents put together, if you ask me. And she’s only three years old!

My amiga Laurencita sent me a link to this interview with Angelina Jolie with the Australian Herald Sun, wherein she discusses her new film The Changeling and the usual topics — life, love, and her ever expanding family. This reply caught my eye:

What about teaching your kids about religion and culture?

I want to teach them about all religions, and I’m trying to find a way to do that. And when it comes to the subject of adoption, like when my daughter, who’s African, wants her hair to look straight like mummy’s . . . and I look for a Barbie that’s African, and the African Barbie has straight hair! And you know, why has Disney never made a film with an African-American princess?

I’m gonna need Angelina to get caught up with Afrobella, mkay? I’ve been looking out for Baby Z and little bellas like her for a while now.

Also, someone might want to let Angelina know that Disney’s first African-American princess movie, The Princess and The Frog, will be released in November 2009. And her name has been changed from Maddy to Princess Tiana. So that’s something to look forward to for next year. And in the meantime in-between time, there’s absolutely no reason to get Baby Z a Barbie or Bratz doll that just reinforces the unbeweaveable standard of beauty for little bellas. There are some afrobella-positive dolls, toys, and accessories to be found. You just gotta look!

A first good port of call is the black dolls list, which mostly features fancy collectors type dolls of the sort that terrified me as a child. But there are some cute ones to be found there, like the
Cecile doll. $31.95, and she’s got awesome hair and style for days.

Wouldn’t you know it, someone’s got a doll named Zahara — but it’s of the lifelike and collectible type that just reminds me of that terrifying Twilight Zone episode with Telly Savalas. My name is Talking Tina! Nooo thanks.

Some African American dolls are beautiful, but not so fun to play with. Take the American Girl’s Addy Walker, a beautiful history lesson who comes complete with a book and accessories for $105. Addy is incredible, but if I was a little bella, I wouldn’t know what to do with her.

I was big into stuffed animal collecting and dolls I could hug and love and brush the hair of. And I’ve always loved Cabbage Patch Kids — their African American dolls are adorable. Like this 25th anniversary baby boy. I grew up in the era when Cabbage Patch Kids were new on the scene and a very big deal, so there’s a nostalgia value for me.

I think BlossomBabies just as cute as Cabbage Patch Kids — these cuddly German-made soft toys are made in Germany and are said to be ideal for kids with allergies. I think Lana is the cutest! She’s $64, and because she’s wearing a satin kimono, she’s described as “more of a cuddling, sleepy-time kind of girl.” That sounds like me! Awww. I might have to get Lana for a special little bella in my life.

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