Nearing the end of 2010...a recap.

2010 is about to come to a close.

Can you believe it?

It seems like I was just in my friend Sasha's living room, playing Rockband with my soon to be boyfriend, and bringing in the new year. Now it is almost Christmas and we will be bringing in 2011 soon after that.

Back when I was in college and using Xanga as a blog editor, I use to do a recap of the year highlighting the highs and lows of the year. I usually touch of the subjects of fashion, food, entertainment, what have you. It use to give my friends a laugh, but also touching, so Imma attempt to make this as informative and entertaining as possible.

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2010 gave us...

Justin Bieber: and his 360 bangs gave the music industry a surprise. He took over the hearts of preteen girls and Youtube.

Nikki Minaj and her many hair styles, hair colors, multiple personalities...etc...

the return of The Dougie...as many songs as they brought out "teaching you how"...I hope everyone learned.

Drake's OFFICIAL cd...

Man vs Food's Adam Richman coming to Richmond, Va's Caliente restaurant and dominating the Stupid Wings Challenge. ::applause::

3D movies...which all gave me a headache and made me nauseous

James Cameron's Avatar being the most successfully grossed film to date.

Diddy's Dirty Money's cd Last Train to Paris. Wait. The cd is just coming out tomorrow. Welp the group came out this year at least.

The return of Woody, Buzz, The Potato Heads, and Andy in Toy Story 3.

The first anniversary of Michael Jackson's death. RIP.

Cardigans...in any color.

James Bond's car is now a song. You know...Aston..Martin...Music...

The death of Four Lokos. SMH. Im pretty sure some of yall out there has a stash or 2...or 3...

Google's Android dominating over all of the cellular OSs...yea...take that Apple.

Playstation Move and Xbox's Kinect...

The Redskins not being the worst team in the NFL...

The Cowboys worst season in years...

Twitter becoming hotter than Facebook...

"It's Katt Stacks BITCH..."

The Angus Mushroom Swiss snack wrap at McDonalds. Yumm.

Lower prices on newly released Blurays. This leads me to believe that DVDs will die by the end of 2011.

Me turning 25 and getting closer to 30 everyday...

The re-re-releasing of the Jordan XIII's "The Flints"...missed out in '05, but not again.

Passing of Teddy Pendergass. RIP.

The worst winter ever in VA, D.C., and MD.

Remake of TRON...

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There are 2weeks left in the year, so there could be more interesting things that 2010 can still bring. If so, I will update this post. Until next time, here is one of my favorite Christmas songs.

Peace & Love (and Happy Holidays),

Nique

New York...New York

This past weekend took a fabulous journey to New York City. I went there in March of 2005 and it was nice, but I really did not enjoy myself as much because it was cold and snowy. Also, I couldn't do much being only 19 years old. This time I went with some fantastic people and was old enough to experience more.

Still full of vibrant colors and liveliness, Times Square has to be one of the most fast paced places of business. Everywhere you turn there is a clothing store, a restaurant, a side shop, or someone in the streets hustlin'. It is definitely one area where you can never...or should never...say that you are bored. One thing I like about it is that all of the stores go to the extreme and are larger more exclusive versions of what you would see in malls. The Forever XXI has 5 floors and makes what we have look terrible. All of the stores are like that. If you want a good shopping experience...that is one place to start.

And the food...

OMG...sooo many places to eat. The only thing that is saving people that live in Manhattan from getting plump is that they walk alot. Within one block I counted 20 restaurants and thats not to mention food trucks and stands. I was in heaven of course, but I did good. I only went to one restaurant (Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.) and a deli that had .99 slices of pizza.

Can't wait to go again!

Maestro...music please...

Sleepy ZZZZZZZZZ

Just got off work at 10.

I have to be back up for work at 7.

Sleep is needed.

I will post more tomorrow. Here is some music to tie you over until then.

Yeaa old school...

Peace & Love,

Nique

A new year is almost here

November 1st 2010.

Wow.

Can you all believe that there is only one more month left in the year? It seems just like yesterday that I was just toasting to 2010. This year has definitely been a great one with a few minor bumps in the road along the way. Wouldn't be life if you didnt have to endure some kind of trial right?

This year I came to the 1/4 of a century mark of my life. 25. Ive seen a lot, done a lot, but not everything that I wanted to do, but I will continue to improve.

I came to a conclusion about a few things.

1. No matter where you are in life, you can always improve to make yourself better. Eat right, exercising, and surrounding yourself with positive and ambitious people are all ingredients that can be used to improve yourself.

2. There are always people in the would that do not want to see you succeed. You can have all of the education, money, and success in the world and there will still be people trying to take you off track. Might be a stranger or it could be someone close to you. Either way, do not be a victim.

3. Relationships come and go. Lovers, friends, business...etc. It is a part of life. Just have to make sure that you keep only those relationships that are uplifting and not hindering. With that said, if you have friends that are always negative and are doing nothing positive for them selves or their lives, let them go.

4. Twitter and Skype are the new hotness.

5. Facebook is dead to me. After having one since 2004, I have realized that there is nothing more that I can do to it and that people are on it just to be nosy in other people's lives. I rather just meet up with people to have a drink or throw a dinner party.

6. I can deal with those that share different views than my own. What I can not tolerate is an individual whom is not willing to hear another person's views and attempt to see their point of view. We all do not and can not think alike, but we all can be respectful to others opinions.

7. There is nothing else in the world that I would rather do other than cook and write. From here on out, I am going to do everything I can to get my catering business in full swing and do more writing.

8. Virginia is dead as well. There isnt much room for advancement here as far as jobs, so maybe will make a move in the next few years.

So now that it is November everyone gotta get ready for all holidays. Soon I will be able to break out my Motown Christmas music. Yeaaaaa buddy!

I leave you with Steely Dan. Learn about them. Epic.

Peace & Love,

Nique

BOO!

Halloween 20k Ten.

Went into work today and Josh was dressed as a clown. Im talking full outfit, rainbow curly Afro, nose, and face paint. Imagine someone cooking food and looking like a Caucasian Homie the Clown crossed with Heath Ledger's Joker make up. It was too amusing. The Bistro was kind of dull, so we decide to make us some fog with dry ice. Here are some videos.

He thought it was funny to put some in the sinks in the dish room as well lol. Scared the begeebus outta some of my coworkers.

I bought some candy just in case we were to get any trick or treaters. If not...more BlowPops for me!

Peace & Love,

Nique

Dun dun dunnnnn

Just wanted to say that the Cowboys are 1-5 and GO REDSKINS!

That's all.

LOL.

Peace & Love,

Nique

Music and its turn for the worse

I just finished tearing up some salmon & cream cheese rolls with extra wasabi.

While I was chewing, I started contemplating on what tonight's post should be about. I posed the question to the Twitter audience and didnt get any responses because everyone is watching either the game or Football Wives<----will be writing another blog on this soon----->, but I digress. I start thinking and listening to music. Pandora to be specific. I clicked through to my Babyface station which plays a lot of the older hits that I use to jam to as a kid/teen. Man I miss those days. Back then music use to have meaning.

Then it hits me...

I will write about music. Today's music mostly and how it SUCKS. Yes, I said SUCKS.

Sucking to the point where I will sit in a car and listen to nothing but the wind blowing through the windows.

Mostly all of the music of the past 5 or 6 years has gone in the very same direction as the shit that is flushed down your toilet. It is utterly disgusting. Record companies are letting any and everyone make music. It is even more annoying that most of it sounds the same. Now I am an avid listener of old school R&B and classic rock. Those are my favs and anyone that knows me well knows that I will put in The Stylistics or Steely Dan over anything else. My friends and some of my family members to not understand it, but that is how it has been since I was maybe 10. My ears have been trained to weed stuff that doesnt make sense or that just sounds uber ignorant. The radio stations play the same stuff over...and over...and over again and so does all of the music video channel. It really pisses me off sometimes, but instead of complaining, I just choose not to listen to it. Anytime Waka Flaka (whom can barely speak a well rounded, educated, complete sentence) gets serious air play on tv and radio, you know that music has gone to shit.

Stay with me a little longer because I am about to take you back...

Now as I said before, Im an old school music junkie. 40s on up to the 90s and present day, I know artist, record company, song title, producer, etc. If you think I am lying, try and challenge me. That's just what I have always been around growing up. Im only 25, but I have been around older adults in there 50s and have been singing the same songs as they were, word for word, and had them surprised. So now that is what I listen to the most. Music from back in the day meant something. It was either a love, heartbreak, world struggle, or something going on in that artist's life that drove them to writing those lyrics. You can almost close your eyes and paint a vivid picture while you are listening.

For example, The Brother's Johnson's Strawberry Letter 23. If you have ever heard that song, you probably do not know what in the hell these men are talking about and probably think they were high as gas when they wrote it. Be that as it may, the song was smooth, colorful, and had some sick sick guitar and bass licks. Beautiful peace of musicianship. You can sit back with a glass of brandy and just listen to what they are saying.

Instead today we have all of the artists writing about nonsense. I still do not know what the hell "Toot It and Boot It" means.

What I do not understand is why stuff like that is selling so well. Scratch that I do understand. The generation that is growing up today wasnt around when Michael Jackson, Boys II Men, SWV, Babyface...to name a few...were making GOOD music. All they have now is all of these dance move instructional songs...Stanky Leg...Duggie...Whip Your Hair...WTF? Why? How can you honestly explain that song to someone. You cant make a baby off of the Duggie. Well maybe some of yall can, but you get what I am saying. Our parents are able to tell us what they were doing at the very second that they were listening to some song back in the day. You can't do that these days. I just think that it is sad that the young generation will not share any of the same musical memories as we did when we were growing up.

With that said, no matter how many times I complain about record companies making bullshit and calling it music, the cycle will continue. Our kids will be thinking the same things when they grow up except that what is now will be their old school and their kids will be listening to something far more worse.

For now I will just continue to listen to REAL music.

I leave you with a song by Chuckii Booker entitled Games. Soulful.

Dj...break me off something proper.

Peace & Love,

Nique

New Movie Hot Spot: CineBistro

Sooo on our mall adventure today, we decided to go to Stony Point Fashion Park. In my opinion the mall has gone downhill since its EST. date in 2003. You can honestly count the number of people in the mall at all times (you will count only 10 no lie). Anywho, if you have been to the mall you might have eaten at a restaurant called Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro which kinda was a semi clone of the Cheesecake Factory that is in Short Pump Towne Center . Well if you remember it...forget it because it is now gone. The restaurant went out of business a little while ago and is now replaced with this.

CineBistro is a restaurant/movie theater concept that brings an upscale dining experience and a cinema together.Tickets are the same price as regular theaters ($7.50 for matinee and $10.00 for regular showing). The menu items are top knotch, but the prices are reasonable. We were able to get a tour of the theater. There are assigned seating, so when you reserve your tickets you have guaranteed seating unlike in the other theaters. Each theater has large leather seats, a table space, and holders for drinks. When you walk in the theater, a server takes your order from start to finish: drinks, apps, entrees, and dessert and then immediately closes out your tab and prints your check. They only have 6 movies showing at a time, but the movies are all new. The best part about the theater is that there is an age restriction. That's right...21 and up which means no kids or teens. You know you disike going to the movies with a date and there is either a crying baby in the theater or obnoxious teenagers throwing popcorn. Age restriction leaves more room for an intimate time with your date.

Be sure to take a ride and over to try this place out. I know I will be checking it out soon.

Peace & Love,

Nique

Hair

Natural.

After 10 years of using the "creamy crack", I decided last year that I would go natural. Now I dont have a bad grade of hair to begin with. There is some Portuguese-Irish and Native American in my blood, so even though I am African American, my hair came out soft and naturally curly. When I was about 13, I got tired of my thick and tight curls and decided that I wanted to be like all of the other African American girls and be able to wear my hair flat and in wraps. I started getting relaxers like every 6 months and it did well. I was able to go from Curly Sue to a Wrap Do whenever I wanted. As the years passed, I

learned more about how to manage my hair without chemicals and realized that I can have the same look without getting a relaxer.

Its been a year and 6 months since my last relaxer. M

y hair has been growing faster and is more healthier. I do not use any chemicals in my hair. Just rosemary & green tea shampoo and conditioner and coco

nut oil. It has been a smooth transition from chemi to natural. I didnt have to cut my hair as much when the relaxer was growing out which was great. T

he only downfall to my hair now is that it takes me 2 hours to flat iron it. This is more due to the length that it is because my curls are soft and very easy to comb through.

I appreciate my naturally curly hair now. If I could go back to when I was 13, I would have just been more patient and learned how to manage my hair without chemicals. Now that I know, I can still have cute hair styles :).

Peace & Love,

Nique

A blog for every occasion

Greetings people!

I made this blog in conjunction with my culinary blog (http://delectabledelights804.blogspot.com/). With this blog I will do more than talk about food. Thinking back to the days of Xanga in college at VCU, I use to blog about music, politics, fashion, and anything else that my young adult brain would think of. Now, I have grown a lot mentally and physically and I see the world from a different perspective. After getting a degree in journalism, I have much to write about. Even though I am not being paid to use my skills, I always think that I should feed my audience with words...and food.

You all will get a taste of how I view the world by reading what I write.

It shall be fun and informative.

I promise.

Peace and Love,

Nique