Tuesday's Naturals #1

TODAY IS OUR VERY FIRST...

Guidelines/rules:

To link up to the Tuesday's Naturals party:

• You MUST be a follower of Catastrophe (preferably through GFC)
• Make sure your link is natural hair related

To be featured on Instagram:

• Must be a natural hair photo or a photo having to do with natural hair in some way
• Label your photo with the hashtag #tuesdaysnaturals or...
• Tag @nikmonet in photo

Make sure to stop by an visit other people's links.  Great way to meet and inspire other naturals!!!

Tuesday's Naturals: Coming Soon!!

CALLING ALL NATURALS!!!

Every Tuesday at Catastrophe will be dedicated to YOU!!  I will be posting a weekly naturals linky party here at Catastrophe!  For those of you who have never participated in a linky party, this is how it works.  A linky party is a place where you come to enter a link that you would like to share.  Everyone's links will show up in the post for other's to check out!  Here you can link up your blog, IG photos (from your new online IG profile), Facebook pages, Twitter pages, YouTube videos, or whatever you like as long as it has to do with natural hair.

WAIT!! There is more! Not only will it be Tuesday's Naturals here at Catastrophe but it will ALSO be Tuesday's Naturals over on my Instagram: NikMonet.  Every Tuesday I will be posting photos of naturals from google searches, blogs, and Instagram  AND  if you would like to be featured, tag your photo with #tuesdaysnaturals or tag me (@nikmonet) in the photo and I will feature as many people as I can!!  This will be an awesome way to get exposure for your personal Instagram :)

So here are the guidelines/rules:

To link up to the Tuesday's Naturals party:

• You MUST be a follower of Catastrophe (preferably through GFC)
• Make sure your link is natural hair related

To be featured on Instagram:

• Must be a natural hair photo or a photo having to do with natural hair in some way
• Label your photo with the hashtag #tuesdaysnaturals or...
• Tag @nikmonet in photo

That's it!!!

I hope for Tuesday's Naturals to be a great networking technique to encourage, help, and inspire new and current naturals!!  

Here is my SUPER BIG request.   TELL EVERYONE ABOUT TUESDAY'S NATURALS!!!! #repost it on IG, link it on your FB pages, blog about it, make a video about it, PASS IT ON!!!  This could be a really great experience if we could get LOTS of naturals involved.  So much knowledge and inspiration could be shared!!

The very first Tuesday's Naturals will start Tuesday, January 8th  Head over here and link up all of your newest natural endeavors and dont forget to tag your IG photos with #tuesdaysnaturals

IM SO EXCITED, GUYS!!!  I cant wait to meet so many of you and check out the hairstyles, tips, and natural yumminess! Let's make this FUN!!!

What FOUR looks like...

...in December

Finding the perfect tree!

"What do you want for Christmas?"

Christmas Eve Beauty

Eating up the snow

Technically a January picture but Happy New Year!!

Center Stage Naturals: Nikki

Derrel Anthony Photography

Please introduce yourself.  Hello My name is Nikki, a lover of Natural Hair. I am originally from Jackson, Mississippi and currently residing in the Atlanta area.   Also, I am a Licensed Massage Therapist here in Atlanta, my biggest hobbies are Photography and DIYs. 

How long have you been natural?  I have been on this glorious natural journey for 3 years and feels like forever.  I transitioned for a year and then BC'd and it has been the best journey I have been on.

What made you decide to go natural?  My first thoughts of going natural were, I was tired of paying so much money for a perm, I hated getting burned out of this world from the perm & it was time to switch up my hair.  Now my first intentions weren't to wear my hair in its natural state.  I would still get blow outs and flat iron my hair.  Wasn't really ready for the "NAPPINESS".   It wasn't until a couple of months before my trip to Jamaica 2010, I was looking for a curly weave for my hair becuase I knew I was going to get in the water. That is when I came across so many different hair forums and natural hair ladies from youtube(at that time didn't know people were using youtube for hair tutorials).  After watching videos, reading forums & researching information, made me curious to know what my natural curls, kinks or coils were and that is when it all began........ 

Derrel Anthony Photography

What were the reactions you had to going natural? Did you receive any positive or negative comments?  The first person I told was my beautician at the time. Her reaction was HILARIOUS!! Her words to be exact, "GIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRLLLLLL, your hair is too THICK to be trying to go natural and who is going to do all of that?'  She had me cracking up over the phone, but she ended up still styling my hair.  Just about everyone was positive about it, I don't really remember the negative feedback because 1)It was so long ago and I barely remember what happened 5 mins ago...lol & 2)Negativity goes in one ear and out the other.  Whatever people said about it or made smart remarks or whatever, it did not change how I felt about myself and did not change my thoughts about what I wanted to do.

Who are your hair inspirations, if any?  My hair Inspirations are Corrine Bailey Rae, Esperanza Spalding & my daughter, Akina.

Do you have a regimen? If so, what is it?  I do have somewhat of a hair regimen....It varies sometimes and depends on how busy I am.  I try my best to wash my hair once a week.  If not, I don't go any longer than 2 weeks.  If I know I have a busy schedule and I have to go 2 weeks, I try to style my hair in twists in keep it in for the first week, moisturizing my twists/braids every 2-3 days and using my essential oils for my scalp, when I feel my scalp to be dry.  

What are your favorite products?  Favorite Products right now are Tresseme Naturals Shampoo & Conditioner, all of Eden Bodyworks Products, Karen's Body Beautiful Sweet Ambrosia & Camille Naturals Twisting Butter...but I am always trying new products and love to see what works and doesn't work for me.

You are the owner of Knotti Nikki. What made you want to blog about natural hair? My main focus of my blog was to track my natural hair journey.  Also, I would get asked how did you get your hair to look like that, or how did you create that style, so I wanted to do KnottiNikki so that they could get the information and be able to recreate the styles and look.  It has blossomed into something more than I expected which I love!!

What is your favorite thing about being a natural hair blogger?  Being able to get information out there to people that aren't sure of how to handle their natural hair.  Also, the wonderful people you meet in the natural hair community!!!!  It is a lot of love and support, and truly love the relationships I have made with others!!!

Where can we find you online?  You can find me online:  Blog | www.knottinikki.com  Twitter/IG | @knottinikki   Youtube | Knottikurls

A big huge thank you to Nikki for sharing her natural journey with us! If you have never been to KnottiNikki, make sure and head on over and check out the knowledge and inspiration being shared!

The Roll, Tuck, and Pin

While playing around in my hair the other day.  I came up with this super simple and classic look and I wanted to share it with all of you. 

This look could be good for everyday or could be styled up and made fancy with simple hair accessories.

Check out the tutorial down below! I hope you enjoy :)

...many more hair tutorials to come!!

Holiday Hairstyle Inspiration

The holidays are here and I know that means we're all going to be getting all dressed up and spiffy ...and it is at that time that we start to wonder, "What am I going to do with my hair?" So I am sharing some of my favorite holiday styles I have found from some lovely naturalistas and I hope this will inspire your holiday flyness ;)

Holiday Bow by the beautiful Cassandre Beccai

From Curlbox's holiday photoshoot, the lovely Ebony Clark

 

Holiday loc love from Essence Magazine's Holiday Hairstyles

  A beautifully elegant bantu knot out by TraNaturally  

Perfectly romantic fluffy curls from Naptural85

How will your hair compliment your look this holiday season?

Mysteries of History: A Christmas Carol

I looove history! Probably shouldn't have changed my major to it unless I was going to teach but after majoring in art, culinary arts (which I finished), and business (the worst!), I figured the only way I was going to finish was to love what I was doing ...and I did!  

Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it. 

Edmund Burke 

So now I'm brining my geek love for the past to all of you!! I introduce to you Mysteries of History, a series on Catastrophe where I share my passion by giving you a history lesson ;)

******

"Marley was dead: to begin with."

Source

I love Dickens. Yes, I am kind of a book geek. I never get much of chance to read the way I would like, but I still love to!  ...back to Dickens. I love A Tale of Two Cities and David Copperfield but most of all I love A Christmas Carol.  Everything about that story puts me in the holiday spirit.  Not only have I read it but I don't think I have missed one version of the story ...from the Patrick Stewart version to the Muppets (my favorite!) to Scrooged with Bill Murray. I love them all! I know the lines... oh don't even get me started.

With Christmas right around the corner, what better way to launch this series than with the history of a Christmas ghost story.


Published in 1843, A Christmas Carol is a novella written by the great Charles Dickens. 

Did you know that Ebenezer Scrooge was very roughly based off Dicken's own father?? Well, Dickens had a rough relationship with his father. Very love/hate. He shows this in Scrooge's character by demonstrating the drastic change between the harsh cold-hearted Scrooge in the beginning of the story in comparison to the kind-hearted, Christmas-loving Scrooge at the stories end. 

Industrial Capitalism... ok, did I just lose you? Wait...wait...I'm going somewhere with this. It's gonna be good. Industrial capitalism is the idea that the only way one state (or person) could do well is that the expense of another. Does this sound familiar?? SCROOGE!  The Victorian ideals were starting to lean more towards the idea of consumerism and people were starting to abandon the idea of goodwill towards men. A Christmas Carol is in essence speaking against this concept. It is bringing back the ideals of Christmas charity and all things merry!! The true Christmas spirit.

Dickens was influenced to write his lovely tale because of the state of the poor in England at the time.  The Industrial Revolution had put many people out of work and in doing so, the government had implemented the Poor Laws, which basically opened the doors for many workhouses with horrible conditions and practically no fair labor laws for everyone including children.  Dickens started out writing this story as a pamphlet against unfair labor laws and it turned into this wonderful story.

Dickens is famous for bringing back the true meaning of Christmas.  He showed that even a home that was poor could be rich in love and that was all that was needed. Christmas isn't about the gifts but about family, values, traditions, and goodwill towards all.

Dickens uses this story to tell a tale of humanity.  To show the goodness that exists in the hearts of men and the love that can live within us.  For this, A Christmas Carol is one of my all time favorite Christmas stories.  

To you and all of yours, Merry Christmas and "God bless us, every one."

Work Cited:
"A Christmas Carol" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 2 November 2012. Web. 7 November 2012.
Austin, Rose. "History of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens." Yahoo! Voices. 8 December 2009. December 2012  http://voices.yahoo.com/history-christmas-carol-charles-dickens-5032900.html
Wertz, Jay. "A Christmas Carol" Great History.com. Pop Culture History. 22 December 2009. December 2012. http://greathistory.com/a-christmas-carol.htm