Happy Halloween, everyone!

My days of dressing up just might be over, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be enjoying the candy! I’m gonna wait till tomorrow, and catch the sales at the drugstore!

Halloween has become so much more commercial since I was a little one. Back in the day, your mama might make you a witch costume. That was it. But now there are so many awesome adults and children’s costumes on sale, you can be absolutely anything you want without having to make anything at all!

I absolutely adore the Princess Tiana costume available at the Disney Store, HOW CUTE is that? But for $89.50 in this economy… Disney gets the c’mon, son.

I am sure some enterprising bellas can sew their daughters up a replica. And at least there’s the Princess Tiana veil and shoes that dare I say, are cute enough to wear to other occasions? If your little bella just can’t get enough of The Princess and the Frog, the Carol’s Daughter Magical Beauty Collection will be pre-sold online Monday, 11/2. You’ve still got time to place a pre-order, but they’re going fast!

Are you dressing up this year? Or taking your kids out in costume? However you celebrate, I hope your Halloween is sweet!

Before I dive headfirst into this post, I know I owe SEVERAL readers a heartfelt apology.

If you’ve sent me an e mail within the past oh… six months, asking me advice on how to start a blog or build your blog audience, I’ve been meaning to write back. Really I have. But every day I’m inundated with e mail. Every day I’ve got a monstrous things-to-do list and on top of all of that, I’m a forgetter. Just ask my mom, and she’ll probably go into a long rant about those photos/products/e mails I promised to send her and all kinds of other yadda-yadda-yadda.

Please don’t be mad at me, my brain is like a sieve. It’s a problem.

But anyway, I’ve recieved several e mails recently from aspiring or new bloggers asking the same kinds of questions. So I will attempt to answer some of them here. If you want to be a blogger, these are my top five insights.

1. Blogging may start as a hobby…but it’s a hobby that requires a tremendous amount of work. Are you ready to put in work?

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Little known fact about Afrobella – I grew up reading comic books. Avidly. It started with Archie (which for some insane reason was super popular in my primary school days), and when I was a bit older I graduated to REAL comics. And graphic novels. The kind of subject matter a twelve year old probably shouldn’t have been reading because it’s so dark and gritty and graphic.

I’ve fallen out of the habit, but every time I hear about a comic book being made into a film, my ears perk up. So when I read about a possible feature film starring Frank Miller’s comic book character Martha Washington coming to life, I got excited.

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Sometimes, randomly I’ll wonder what she’s up to. Is she in good health? Is she still lucid? Is she surrounded by people who love her and care for her? I hope and pray she is.

Lena Horne is a living legend who has retreated completely from the spotlight. She turned 92 on June 30, and her last public appearance was in 1999 at an event in her honor in New York. Her final televised singing appearance was in 1998 on the Rosie O’Donnell show.

I wasn’t of the Stormy Weather generation of Lena Horne fans, not old enough to remember her appearances on The Judy Garland Show, or her TV specials. My connection to Lena is directly connected to my childhood.

Her appearances on Sesame Street and the Muppet Show made a huge impact on me at a tender age, when Trinidad and Tobago Television showed endless repeats of Seventies and early Eighties era episodes. Even then, there was something about Lena that just struck a chord with me. Her gentle spirit. The way she carried herself. Her classy demeanor. She reminded me of the women in my family, who held themselves with a certain elegance and dignity even when in less than dignified company.

Lena didn’t teach me the alphabet (I’m pretty sure my mother, my aunty Opal, and my sister Petal were directly responsible for that), but Lena’s funky version sure helped to reinforce the lesson.

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LOL!

This made me cackle out loud. No shade to my be-weaved amigas, I hope everyone finds a laugh in this.

The original song, Too Many Man (We Need Some More Girls In Here was a hit for Boy Better Know, JME and Skepta, a crew out of London producing grime, guttercore, garage music – whatever my UK homies call it. Over there, you’ve got so many musical genres and sub genres, I feel clueless. But I dig it, I do!

Anyways, enter comedian Jason Lewis, a hilarious brother from the UK who made fun of the video by giving it a pro-natural hair spin.

It’s silly parody, but made me giggle on a busy day. Maybe it’ll do the same for you!

Bellas, now that we’ve done the eating healthy portion of our 4th of July weekend, might I propose a toast?

Cheers to fabulous 4th of July cocktails!

But only if you’re over 21, mmmkay?

Part of the fun of having an at-home celebration is whipping up deliciousness in the kitchen and serving your guests something both festive and delicious. So allow me to present to you the Afrobellatini!

This concoction was made by my friend Courtney who has an amazing food blog at CocoCooks. You gotta check her out! Here’s the deetz on the drink:

“Natural, real, rich, complex, and sweet. Raspberry Currant simple syrup, Cognac, Cointreau, served in a chilled martini glass. Garnished with currants. Edible Blue Glitter optional for Independence Day.”

How do you make this summer fruit inspired deliciousness? Here’s the recipe!

– Raspberry Currant Simple Syrup: 1 pint each of raspberries and currants. 1 cup water, 1 Cup sugar. Bring to boil. Let sit for 20 minutes, Strain, set aside.

– Cocktail: 1 part Cognac, 1 part Rasp Currant Simple syrup, 1/4-1/2 part Cointreau, Shake all with ice and serve in a chilled glass. Garnish with edible Blue Glitter for Independance Day and a sprig of currants.

Fabulous, right?

The Afrobellatini is an elegant cocktail, meant to be sipped at a fab garden party. But what if you’re having an affair that’s a bit more um, down n’ dirty BBQ style? Well that might call for a little something we came up with called the Pank Drank.

Myself and my homeboy Francisco Alvarado — ahem, multiple award winning journalist Francisco Alvarado — came up with this when he helped us move from Miami to Chicago.

The recipe is easy! Get a big ol’ glass pitcher, add a liberal and unrestrained amount of Rosangel hibiscus tequila, lots of OJ, a little grenadine and a big splash of Grand Marnier. Over ice? So very nice. This one can sneak up on you, so be forewarned. And PS – the Rosangel website includes several, far fancier recipes. We just wanted to whip up something simple and super easy.

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