The September installment of watch, read, listen, do is here and our list is dominated with some pretty amazingly influential, creative and of course über stylish women! From everyone’s favorite Cover Girl, Queen Latifah’s return to daytime television to FOX’s funny lady, Mindy Kaling and Facebook COO and TIME Magazine cover girl, Sheryl Sandberg, we’ve got you covered. Read on to check out our top picks of what’s en vogue this month!
Watch:
- The multi-talented Queen Latifah is returning to television this fall with a brand new talk show called, what else – The Queen Latifah Show. We’ve seen a lot of heavy promotion about the show so expectations are high especially since this Latifah’s second go around with daytime TV. Remember her short lived show in the 90s? Either way, we’ll be watching although, the fiercely private Latifah has said in many interviews that she will not be talking about her private life on the show. Hmmm… wonder how inviting that will make her show to viewers? Find out when the show premiers on September 16th. Check local listings. Side Note: Queen Latifah is also attached to a new show concept called TWENTIES which is being touted s the Black girl’s take on HBO “Girls”. It’s currently being heavily promoted on Social Media in order to get picked up and developed for wide distribution.
- We’re super-excited about the season two premiere of FOX’s “The Mindy Project” for two reasons. Reason one: friend of un’ruly and actress, Xosha Roquemore (“Precious”) will be returning as a season regular after debuting on Mindy last season in a multi-episode story arc. So exciting!! Reason two: we can’t wait to pick up where things left off with Mindy and her pastor boyfriend. Will their relationship go the distance or will Mindy and Dr. Castellano’s (played by the handsome Chris Messina) awkward, will they or wont they situation blossom into something real? Either way, be sure to tune in on September 17th to find out. Check local listings for times.
NOTE: Be sure to tune into the 65th Annual Primetime Emmy’s on September 22nd to see if our favorite gladiator in a skirt suit Kerry Washington takes home the Best Actress prize for her critically acclaimed role as Olivia Pope in ABC’s “Scandal”.
Read:
- If running Facebook – the world’s most popular Social Network, and gracing the cover of TIME Magazine wasn’t enough, Sheryl Sandberg can now add accomplished author to her already-impressive resumé with her book, “Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead” (Knopf, 2013). We love the book, because it’s sort of like an extension of the amazing TED Talk Sheryl gave back in 2010 where she suggested that women unintentionally hold themselves back in their careers. The book is essentially, an inspiring call to action and a blueprint for individual growth and we think that never goes out of style. “Lean In” is available in bookstores nationwide.
- We love a good Toni Morrsion book and her national best-seller “Home” (Vintage, 2013) is no exception. As the New York Times puts it, the novel tells the story of Frank Money, a 24-year-old Korean War veteran, as he embarks on a reluctant journey home. But where — and what — is home? Part of Morrison’s longstanding greatness resides in her ability to animate specific stories about the black experience and simultaneously speak to all experience. Definitely a must-read.
Listen:
- While scrolling through Instagram of all places, we discovered the amazingly talented singer, Valerie June and it was love a first listen! We love everything about her from her amazing head of hair to her unique sound which she calls ‘organic moonshine roots music’. As admitted fans of Country/Bluegrass, her new album “Pushing Against a Stone” really takes it there and explores blending different genres of music including Afro Beat – created by Afro Beat pioneer and Nigerian musician, Fela Kuti. Our favorite track on the album has to be “Workin’ Woman’s Blues” which we pretty much keep on repeat all day long. Discover more of Valerie’s sound on iTunes.
- You either love her, or love to hate her! Either way, the most polarzing Braxton sister, Tamar Braxton has FINALLY released her debut studio album, entitled “Love and War”. Remember a few months ago when the title track shot to number one within a week? Well we guess hard work (and nagging your über producer husband) does in fact pay off. The album is available on iTunes.
Do:
- Try curlBOX! Back in the 1950s it was “Avon calling”; today its beauty at your fingertips (or at the click of a mouse). We recently discovered curlBOX which describes itself as “an exclusive, affordable and effortless way to experience new hair products for natural hair”. The online subscription service features hand-selected hair products delivered to your doorstep every month for about $20 a month. It’s especially a great option for ladies that are newly transitioned or in the process of transitioning, to find out which hair products are best for them. Try it out by visiting Curlbox.com
- Learn a new language! We love learning new things and a new language is definitely tops the list, so we recently discovered this amazing online language learning site called Duolingo which lets you learn a language or brush up on your skills entirely for free. Here’s how it works: somebody who needs a webpage translated uploads it to Duolingo. That document then gets presented to Duolingo students who can translate it in order to practice the language they are learning. When the document is fully translated, Duolingo returns it to the original content owner who, depending on the type of document they uploaded, pays for the translation. Be sure to check it out! It’s pretty neat.