Nachos ⏤ Vol 47
You need a very large silk headscarf for today's lunch. You don't want to mess up that press-n-curl.
Hey friend!
Happy July. We can officially say the year is halfway over. I always get this wrong every year, thinking the mark of June means we are halfway through the year, but it’s July.
Did you set any goals or milestones for 2022? In Volume 35, I mentioned I decided against setting goals this year. Instead, I wanted to focus on being an awesome mom, reading good books, staying in therapy, and having lunch with you.
I am proud to say, I have stuck to it all.
I did think reading and therapy were going to slip a little bit because of my new full-time job, aka MOMing, but I’ve made the time because it is important to me.
For those folks in therapy, stick with it.
Even when you think life is going well, you never know what will get thrown at you. I was smooth sailing for a moment; then BAAM! Some old trauma hit me like a ton of bricks on what was supposed to be a day to celebrate my new title called Mom.
But thankfully, I had been [and still am] doing the work that my therapist taught me, which made things a little easier to handle.
If you are looking for a great summer read, Seven Days in June is by far my favorite book I’ve read in 2022. And I’ve got 15 under my belt thus far. I have no target goal on how many I want to read; it takes the fun out of reading. But this is the most I have read in a long time. I am thoroughly enjoying it.
Before we get into today’s topics, have you noticed Monday Lunch's new look and feel? I’ve changed the color scheme from pink to orange and changed the font. I initially chose pink because of my sorority colors, but the color pink doesn’t represent me at all.
My favorite color is Black, but I didn’t want that to be the primary color representing Monday Lunch. So I took to the psychology of colors to find something that represents what Monday Lunch is all about and when I read about orange, it clicked. Dats it!
Orange represents enthusiasm and emotion. It exudes warmth and joy and is considered a fun color that provides emotional strength. It is optimistic and uplifting, adding spontaneity and positivity to life, encouraging social communication and creativity.
Orange is also the color of youth. Monday Lunch takes you down the nostalgic path of your younger years.
Fitting right? Let’s dig into some nachos and get into today’s topics.
Topics:
Emails
Hairstyles of the 90s
Emails
A lot of Monday Lunchers know me know me. And they know I’ve had some type of blog since 2018. I’ve made many transitions since I first started securing a corner of the internet, but I think I have finally found a place I can call home; your inbox.
I love reading blogs. I find it fascinating how people wander through life and view things.
But let’s be honest, trying to keep up with visiting someone’s website is not an easy feat. Before I slid into your inbox twice a month, I felt like I was screaming from the mountain tops, “VISIT MY BLOG” every other day just to get a handful of views.
Now that I have an email blog, I’m retiring the word newsletter, I find it much easier to stay connected with my friends. You have to take no extra step to read the latest volume from me; it’s always in your email. And if you miss a lunch, guess what? It will always be in your email, lol.
Because I love showing up in your inbox, I wanted to share some of my favorite email blogs that I read. If you are looking for more fun in your inbox, check out these Black female creators.
Kinnovation - The Haus of Career, Beauty and Lifestyle by Kennesha
I thoroughly enjoy reading the lifestyle tales of my friend and sorority sister. If you are into reading about brunch dates, career moves, and fashion trends, please check out Kinnovation. Her recent trip to Oakland had her mingling with Black Panther party members. Listen, this is my kind of party. ✊🏾
Shades of Pinck by Megan
My glamorous content creator friend leaves no stone unturned when she hits your inbox. All things classy, luxurious, and fun. This blog has everything from cocktail recipes, summer reading lists, a gazillion ways to host friends and family, motherhood moments, travel recommendations, and so much more.
DvnOasis by Amber Janae
While I don’t personally know Amber, we are active Twitter friends. I decided to subscribe to her blog because we share similar lifestyle interests and are both new moms. Plus, her tweets were intriguing. The aesthetics of her blog is simply divine; it’s the simple elegance that hooked me when I first visited her website. Now she shows up in my inbox a few times a month, and I always enjoy reading about whatever she has going on.
Your Favorite Auntie by Marjon Carlos
I just hit subscribe on this one two days ago, but I’ve read a few of her previous posts, and let’s just say I’m going to like this one. Marjon is a journalist who has worked with some of our favorite babes, Cardi B, Mary J. Blige, and Tracee Ellis Ross, to name a few. When you subscribe, you can expect to read about pop culture, relationships, politics, race, career, sex, dating, and the best expensive candles to buy.
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We spend so much time on social media watching people we don’t know anything about, so why not spend some time reading great stories about folks you don’t (or maybe do) know nothing about. You can’t read captions for the rest of your life friend. You are already in your inbox at least 2-3 times a day. Subscribe to another creator. But listen, don’t let it interfere with lunch with me because I KNOW when you don’t show up for lunch. The data tells me. 🙃
Hairstyles of the 90s
The year is 1997. I had been going to the beauty salon with my mom my whole life; I’m 12. My mom finally let me pick out my own hairstyle. I was fascinated with the hair magazines and square images on the walls of Black women with what seemed like hair art. I just knew one day when I got older that I would be able to say, “Give me style #4,” and I would roll out the chair looking fresh.
So when we got to the hair salon, I told Ms. Connie, one of my mom’s besties and hairstylist; they are still friends to this day, what I wanted. I wanted scrunchies at the top that flowed into a hump with a french roll in the back and a deep swoop in the front.
For those that don’t know what scrunchies are, it’s basically raised finger waves. Instead of them laying flat on your head they are lifted with the end of a rat tail comb after they are set under the drier. I don’t know if this was a Baltimore thing or if scrunchies traveled across the country.
When I told Ms. Connie what I wanted, she looked at me like, “baby, you trying to do too much.”
While I was free to pick my hairstyle, I didn’t know that most of the styles I wanted required that thick brown gel, and my mom did not want that product in my hair. So that immediately eliminated the swoop and scrunchies.
I had the hump and french roll left.
I was born with a head full of thick hair. To get a perfect hump, you had to add hair to the top of your head so it would stay in perfect shape. Another thing I was not allowed to get was extra hair added unless it was braids.
Now I am down to the french roll.
Ms. Connie tried her best. But she kept saying, “Baby, you have too much hair, and it’s not staying up. Most folks who get a french roll don’t have as much thick hair as you do.”
I am completely crushed. I told everyone on the block what my hairstyle would be for the weekend, and now I am going to show up looking “regular.”
I left the hair salon with a bun and a loose curl side bang. 😑
When I saw my childhood best friend Kristy, she immediately said, “I thought you were getting your hair done today.” I did, is what I told her. After she joned me for a bit, my mom took this picture of us.
Hair has always been a staple in the Black community. From the beginning of time, we have always been original and unique with how we wear our hair. Trips to the hair salon back then were just as important as attending church on Sundays. Every Saturday, you could find any Black hair salon in America filled with women waiting to get their hairstyle for the week.
Finger waves
Finger waves are a staple in the community. Regardless of how much hair you have, you always have enough for finger waves.
French Roll
The french roll had every Black [mama] woman in America sleeping in an upright position. You had to have a bomb ass large silk headscarf to keep this intact all night.
This hairstyle has not yet gone out of style here in the south. I’ve seen a finger wave into a french roll a few times out here.
Freeze Curls aka Roller Set
I hated sitting under the dryer for hours to achieve this look.
It would sometimes require up to two hours under that hot ass dryer to get the curls exactly right. They had to dry to the point where they had almost a crunch. If you’ve had these before, you know exactly what I am talking about.
Waterfalls
In Baltimore, we called this hairstyle waterfalls. It’s when the hairdresser puts so much sprits on your hair, takes that hot ass flat iron sitting on its personal stove, and sizzles your hair into these individual pieces, mimicking a waterfall.
If you didn’t go to a salon with one of these growing up, then you didn’t have the Black hair salon experience.
What is your favorite hairstyle of the 90s?
If you are getting one of these styles, have your rat tail comb ready, the one with the metal tail, to scratch your scalp because all that mousse and gel will have you patting and scratching all week. But you will be cute tho.
Did I jog some memories today during lunch? I hope they were some good ones.
Enjoy the rest of your Monday, friend. I will see you in two weeks. I think it’s time I share another dating story with you. Catch up on the ones you missed here.
xo, Jemia
P.S. I am going on my first girls’ trip on Thursday since I’ve had JJ. I’m so sad to leave him for almost five days, but mama needs a break. It’s almost my year to host our annual seven girlfriends trip, so I am excited to surprise them with a good time in Nashville.