Hey Bellas!

In years past, I’ve done big holiday gift guides, and let me tell you, they are kind of exhausting to research and write. So I figured this year I’d do something a little different and have a series of gift suggestions from the kind of companies and entrepreneurs a bella like me is down with.

I figured there was no better way to kick off the series than with the multitalented force of nature known as B. Smith.

In case you didn’t know, she’s a former fashion model turned television host, author, entrepreneur, entertainer, restaurateur who has collaborated with Pillsbury to make delicious white and whole wheat frozen dinner rolls that I am totally obsessed with and buy practically on a weekly basis (check your grocery’s freezer section for her smiling face). And now she’s also designer of all kinds of awesome home items you can buy at Bed Bath and Beyond! My question is, is there anything she can’t do?

B. Smith’s Bed Bath and Beyond line features serveware, home furnishings, and bedding, which I swear is my undoing. I am obsessed with bedding. I can spend happy and mindless hours online, fantasy shopping for duvet covers. (OMG, I love the DwellStudio for Target collection. This peaceful blue is just my style).

Back to B. Smith — her bedding looks luxe and comfortable and like the kind of thing a husband and wife can compromise on. Not too masculine, but funky and fun enough to please a bella like me. Love her lush chocolate brown Gambela duvet cover. I think I need the Gambela quilt in my life. I love the bold, bright squares juxtaposed against that warm chocolate brown. $99.99, but wouldn’t ya know it, the queen size I need is out of stock.

Her candles would make lovely home accents and great gifts for say, your secret Santa at work. That musk-scented embossed Lodge candle looks like a far pricier candle, and it’s $12.99. The pear guava scent sounds divine, and the hammer copper rings on the pillar candles is a very pretty accent.

As an aspiring home entertainer whose idea of “home entertaining” involves a bag of Stacy’s Pita Chips and a tub o’ hummus, B. Smith’s book, Entertaining and Cooking for Friends might be a good place to start. Her ideas seem pretty easy to try — I’m totally going to make her garlic, cheese, and tomato bread bites the next time we have company. For healthy dinner suggestions, she’s got the Journey for Control section of her website with offerings like steak tostadas and diabetes friendly barbecue chicken.

At Bed Bath and Beyond, B. Smith sells serveware, and I absolutely LOVE her three piece oven-to-table covered casserole dish. White porcelain, so it’s very clean looking and modern, and it comes with a wooden serving spoon! $39.99, but unfortunately out of stock right now.

For a more affordable and available gifting option, check out the serving trio with wooden tray - three elegant porcelain bowls on a wooden tray that are just begging to be filled with colorful dipping sauces. $19.99! Not too shabby.

Are you a B. Smith fan? Have you ever purchased her products or been to her restaurant? Tell me!

Sad news this morning — the queen of American folk music, former Afrobella of the Week, Odetta, has passed away at the age of 77.

The New York Times obituary was truly touching, and Time Magazine has written a beautiful obit, which reads in part:

“Her death on Dec. 2 in New York City at 77 from heart failure, coupled with that of South African singer Miriam Makeba three weeks ago, writes finis and fulfillment to 50 years of pursuing self-determination through song, of spreading the word through music. For a handful of black singers, their discography is an aural history, centuries deep, of abduction, enslavement, social and sexual abuse by the whites in power and of the determination first to outlive the ignominy branded on the race, then to overcome it. In her commanding presence, charismatic delivery and determination to sing black truth to white power, Odetta was the female Paul Robeson.”

She really was - Odetta used her talent to tell painful stories, and she used that powerful voice to reveal the legacy of slavery in many of her earliest performances.

Listen to that. She was a force of nature.

At the Newport Music Festival, she shared her guitar playing skills with impressed audiences of folk music fans.

Her song, Hit Or Miss, is one of my favorites. As she said in the lyrics, “can’t you see? I gotta be me - hit or miss.”

Odetta was always proudly herself, and her voice will last forever. Even in her later years, Odetta continued to perform to tremendous acclaim. This video of her singing “You Don’t Know My Mind” is one of her best.

Time Magazine goes on to reveal that Odetta did not get her final wish in life, to sing at Obama’s inauguration in January.

“As she sank toward death in New York City, Odetta had an Obama poster taped on the wall across from her bed. Hospitalized with kidney failure on Monday, she kept willing herself to live because, her manager Doug Yeager wrote on a fansite just before her death, “Odetta believes she is going to sing at Obama’s inauguration and I believe that is the reason she is still alive.””

I am glad at the very least that Odetta got to see history made in November, when Barack Obama was elected president. For a woman who was so involved in the civil rights era, it must have felt like the fulfillment of a dream.

If you want to celebrate the spirit of Odetta, and enjoy the fullness of her voice, check out her remarkable Christmas album, Gonna Let it Shine. If you’re new to her music, you can’t go wrong with The Essential Odetta.

My heart goes out to Odetta’s family, and her fans around the world. Her talent and influence were immeasurable. To say that she will be missed is an understatement. Rest in Peace.

Bellas, I am honored beyond words to be chosen as one of the judges in the Indie Business of the Year Awards. The contest, hosted by the Indie Beauty Network, celebrates the finest independent business owners.

My love and admiration for indie beauty companies is well known to anyone who reads this blog, and the Indie Beauty Network is home to some of the best companies in the field of soaps, cosmetics, fragrances, candles and aromatherapy products. The network includes over 500 companies in 7 countries. So I need your help!

Click here to browse the categories, meet prior winners, and cast your vote in the Indie Business of the Year awards .

Nominations close December 18, and then my hard work begins to judge the best of the best! And you know I’ll keep you all posted on the freshest, most wonderful indie beauty products out there. Winners will be announced early in 2009.

And congratulations to all of the independent business owners out there. Times are hard, but you’re doing noble work, and making a way for yourself in the world. Afrobella salutes all of you!

If you’re an independent business owner, leave a comment and introduce yourself! Tell Afrobella about your special holiday offers!

I know I’ve got more than a few Afrobella readers across the pond, and I host these giveaways and special offers and they hardly ever apply to you. Well, I just want to say thank you for still reading and commenting. And here’s a special discount offer for you, thanks to my friends at Glam!

Glam UK and the Gap are offering a special 30% off voucher for all UK customers, just in time for your holiday shopping.

Click here to download the voucher, and treat yourself to one of their adorable sweater dresses. Happy Hols to you all, and if you know of any other sweet UK bargains, let me know so I can spread the word!

I was not one of the thousands to venture out to the malls and big box stores for Black Friday. More power to those of you that did — I need my personal space when I shop. The sight of crowds stampeding through a store in some kind of deranged Supermarket Sweep mission terrifies me under the best of circumstances.

And this year, tragically we saw the effects of consumerism at its absolute worst when Jdimytai Damour was killed by a stampede of shoppers at Walmart. That’s a shop-by-any-means-necessary mentality I can’t comprehend. Even though it’s 5 a.m. and you’ve been waiting in line in the cold - don’t you realize someone’s body is lying at your feet as you race over them for the last flatscreen television? What a sad, sad story. My heart goes out to his family.

Many of the folks who head out shopping on Black Friday see the thrill of the chase as fun, a chance to get together with friends or family to hit the mall, to treat themselves to that big ticket item they’ve wanted all year. In an economic crunch like this, consumers have been chomping at the bit for heavy discounts. From my friends who braved the Black Friday crowds here in Miami, I hear there were deals aplenty for the purchasing. But the crush of people can make the experience frightening and unbearable. For convenient shopping, I far prefer the opportunities presented today.

They call today “Cyber Monday,” but wouldn’t you know it — Cyber Monday is nothing but a marketing ploy. In fact, it’s not even the biggest online shopping day of the year!

What Cyber Monday is, is a day for retailers to extend their Thanksgiving holiday sales, and a chance for you to luck out with deep discounts and offers of free shipping. Now, if you’re a shopaholic you should be on your best behavior — as my friend the Frugalista indicates — it’s all too easy to click and purchase and not realize how deep of a hole you’re digging for yourself. But if you’re looking for deals, CyberMonday.com should be your first port of call.

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