I’ve been a mother for twenty-two years. I’ve been a daughter, for 51 years. Never ever could I have imagined, I would ever spend a Mother’s Day on quarentine! Yet here we are… I called Senorita a few days ago (that’s my mother), just to see what her thoughts were about celebrating Mother’s Day this year. My brother and I usually head over to my parents house, and spend the day relaxing with food, wine, and basketball. Senorita does not like to dine out on Mother’s Day, she hates lines and she hates crowds. She rather enjoys a day at…

     First of all, let me start with this- It’s good to be back on my blog! Stepped away for most of 2019 to focus on my Spiritual Growth. Part of that spiritual journey included making Ocha, which you can learn more about here if you’re not familiar with it https://oshunschild.com/2013/11/08/making-ocha-and-the-initiation-procedure/ Part of this spiritual journey included shaving off my entire head of hair. No worries, it grew right back. Healthy and strong! I spent the year keeping it moisturized with shea butter- all the butters really. Along with various blends of natural oils. Seeing that we’re now in the…

Clip board fold tee's

As soon as you walk into your favorite boutique, you are immediately drawn to the beautiful front table of perfectly folded t-shirts and jeans. The stacks look like perfectly stacked bricks. How exactly did they fold everything with such perfection? Well I’m here to teach you the tricks of the trade! All you need is a clipboard, seriously that’s it. So grab a clipboard and let’s get to folding! SHIRT FOLD You can use this simple fold for all of your shirts. It works for t-shirts, knits, woven blouses, and sweaters, ect. Clipboard folding works for both short sleeve and…

You’ve pulled everything out of your closet, and you made your decisions on what to keep-sell-donate. If you haven’t done that yet, read my previous post here http://reneholiday.com/closet-101-how-to-decide-what-to-keep-donate-sell/for help. Time to organize! Create a closet (no matter the size) that is easy to shop and more importantly stress free. This is the post where we colorize and organize. I by no means have a huge Walk-In closet. It’s just a regular closet. After living in Brooklyn for so many years, I learned how to optimize the space blessed upon me. I’m more than happy to share my organizing tips with…

The dreaded closet clean out. It is never fun, but the end result is SO rewarding! To know exactly what you have, and exactly where everything is, will alleviate so much stress from your life.  How many times have you bought a new shirt or a pair of shoes, only for them to be pushed further into the dark sea of your closet. Worn maybe once or twice… Or even worse, how many times have you found an item, with the tag still attached- NEVER worn? I’m not here to judge, I’m here to help! To help you tackle the…

Spiritual Bath

I have written a few posts regarding my faith and practice of Ifa/Orisha Worship. I’ve never posted Spiritual Baths or Ebo’s (Lord knows I have enough to write a book or two!). Those who practice know that this is an oral based tradition and history. I’ve been the right hand of my Babalow (Ifa Priest- read more here http://thesacredforest.org/ifa) for so many years. He is the Babalow of sacrifice. Which means his wisdom is often sought for readings, ebo’s, and how to just get your shit right! He is a respected elder in the community and our relationship is that of…

orunmila

When I received my hand of Ifa, my Godfather Ifa Tosin gifted me this beautiful prayer. Regardless of your spirituality, religion, or faith, you cannot deny the truth of these words. Over the years I have memorized this prayer. I was praying to my Ifa recently, and that’s when it dawned on me that this prayer is universal. One does not have to be a practitioner of Traditional African Religion to appreciate it’s words and message.  For a general understanding of Ifa and Orunmila click here https://africanspiritualitynow.wordpress.com/2013/05/13/orunmilla-the-deity/   Orunmila I offer you my morning greetings in the name of my odu_______.…

slave woman

If you missed my first post on the history of  the head tie you can read it here http://reneholiday.com/when-head-ties-were-the-law-for-black-women/ . That will catch you up to speed. This post starts after slavery had ended. What the views of the head tie were at that point in history.  When slavery ended, black woman were no longer bound by law to wear head ties. They were seen as reminders of the horrifies of slavery. The head tie was looked down upon. The older Black women continued to wear their head ties. For them, the head tie was a way to still be connected…

I met Rebecca Rabb about a a month ago. We met on Instagram after she had sent me a beautiful picture of her daughter Keani wearing one of several headwraps she had purchased from my online boutique https://www.sunflowershoneypots.com/ . I  saw the  picture of Keani in the headwrap, and immediately wanted to know more about her. I thanked Rebecca for the picture, for supporting my business and asked her a few questions about Keani. Picture this: an 8 year old little girl, rocking an African print headwrap, along with a Sankofa pin- all by her choice. This is just not something…

Black woman wearing a head tie

Another part of American history that’s left out of the classroom and the history books. But yes indeed, there was a time, when head ties were once enforced by law for black women. It was known as Tignon Law (pronounced tiyon), and it was enacted by Esteban Rodriguez Miró in 1786. He was the Governor of  Louisiana at the time. Tignon Law was a way to control the appearance of black women, simple as that. Tignon means head tie. The law was created because white women felt threatened by the beauty of black women. You see, European men were attracted to…