Say What Nah?

In the spirit of restructuring a few things, I've decided to make it a priority to keep y'all updated on the happenings in the land of the Herb'n Mixtress. With that said, I have some exciting news!!!

I've been asked to be a writer for a new up and coming local magazine!!!  The other day, while checking my Mixtress Mail, seriously... that's my inbox's nickname, I opened an email that had me beaming from ear to ear for two days straight!  In it, the writer introduced herself to me, told me about her new magazine coming to New Orleans, and asked me if i'd be interested in being a Contributor and get paid for doing it!!! Say what nah?!?! Me?!?!  I swear y'all. I was so excited, I coulda did a couple of cart wheels in my living room.  Okay well maybe a few of those forward tuck and roll things, but y'all catch my drift.  Anywho, I looked over the press kit, and liked what I saw, so guess what... I'M IN!!!  More deets are on the horizon, so stay tuned :)

Next up...  Body Oils are on thee way! (In my Martin voice).  The Mixtress has been busy mixing up her latest sexy and sensuous creations, Bangin' Body Oils!!!  Ooh la laaaa.... you say? Well you should because these oils are amazing!!! Soft and silky, sultry and sexy, have been just a few of the feedback descriptors used by our testers.  My oils blends vary based on each design objective, that include energy, relax, pray, release, and the like.  This line may or may not have southern derived names, I really haven't decided yet.  Hmmm... this actually sounds like a set up for a give-away ~ y'all better pay attention!  Look for the Oils to hit the shop around mid-June.

Last, but not even a lil bit least, and this is not a definite, but HDH may be participating in the Fierce, Fly, Fabulous In The City event, on July 2 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.  This Natural Hair Expo, will be held during the Essence Music Fest Weekend, complete with classes, sample giveaways, and of course-- vendors, like moi!  Now, the reason I say that this is a maybe, is because as some of you know, being the Herb'n Mixtress is not the only hat I wear.  In my other life, as a Police Officer, this is one of our busier weekends, and even though, i'm not scheduled to work, I may still be called in.  So, y'all say a little prayer that we are able to participate.  And, in the mean time and tween time, i'll be in prep mode, for the just in case.  One thing is for sure, I'll let y'all know as soon as I know.  Don't worry about it though, God is able!!!

Make Scrub Not War!

Worth It Wednesday!!!

So as you can see, the HDH Blog has gone through some significant changes, including the name, with more fun and surprises in store. With so many changes, and my newfound commitment to be a better blog mommy, I decided to start a "Worth It Wednesday", basically posting about something that I've done, seen, heard, read, etc. during the week that was just oh so "WORTH IT!" to mention here! So without further adieu.... My Worth It moment of the week was when I joined (or should I say, rejoined) Curves! And I feel so good about going back!!! Yes, I've wanted to lose weight for quite some time, but, as of late these scary chest pains, uncontrollable high blood pressure, and the reality that heart disease runs rampant in my family, has put things into perspective for me. I may be super woman, but, I'm not invincible! I HAVE TO be here for my three little sprouts! And I HAVE TO, NEED TO, AND WANT TO, DO THIS FOR ME!!! I decided to return to Curves because of the amazing success I had there initially, before Hurricane Katrina, shut my gym down.

Aside from getting back on track with this new again workout regimen, I'm also eating much healthier, shout out to the Holiday Inn for allowing me to eat oatmeal and fresh fruit every morning while i'm on duty (in my other life) for free! Finally for reinforcement, I subscribed and refer to the fantabulously awesome blog, A Black Girl' Guide To Weight Loss that is power packed with real life tips, advice, and delicious recipes, shared by Erika Nicole Kendall. She's someone whose been where I am, and even though she's lost a jaw dropping amount of weight and inches, still admits this will always be her struggle. So yeah, paying this $38.05 a month for a new gym membership, and having the gall to begin again is oh soooo WORTH IT!!!

Festivals, Craftshows, and Other Stuff

Herb'n Development Handmades recently participated in a couple of New Orleans most fantabulous of festivals, and I figured, why not share my experiences with you. We participated in the Freret Street Festival on April 2, 2011 and the Earth Day Fest on April 17 along the beautiful Bayou St. John. The weather was gorgeous for both events, and me and my Herb'n Village had soooo much fun, meeting so many great people, and the bonus was interacting with other local soapers, that was a real treat! I met a movie producer, radio personailty, and even one of the New Orleans Saintsations: Deri'Andra who is also an aspiring singer, and a total sweetheart! Kaja Papaya loved her to pieces!

Left to Right: Kaja Papaya, Deri'Andra, KokoPuff, The Herb'n Mixtress

All in all, the events were very successful! All of my customers received my products very well, and a few even offered up suggestions for new products. I also received quite a few custom orders.

Some things that worked for me were: having a sufficient amount of help (two words: bathroom breaks!!!), a newsletter signup sheet, photos of my work displayed, this came in handy for when people asked about other products. One piece of advice I will give, and stand firmly behind is this: technology is your friend! I brought along my iPad with my oh so handy credit card reader that I use in conjuction with the Squareup app, and let me tell you what a difference it made! I would have missed out on an estimated 35-40% of my total sales had I not had it. I won't go into a whole long spiel on Square (I'll save that for another post) but I will say, if they asked me right now, I'd do a commercial singing their praises, PRO BONO!

Any who,

Here are more pics from the festivals: