Will You Be There?

It's almost October and that means it's time for the annual Philadelphia Locks Conference. This is the ultimate occasion for Philly area ladies with locks to get together. The Conference is again being held at the Palmer Charter School, 910 N. 6th Street (just south of Girard Ave). You can get more information about the conference, vendors and schedule here. Although the Conference is 2 days, we'll be getting together on Saturday, October 4. The Conference opens at noon; while many of us may not arrive until about 2pm, feel free to go any time that's convenient for you.

After all the shopping and classes, we'll start gathering together at about 6:30 at the main entrance to the Locks Conference and then leave for dinner. We have reservations at GiGi's Restaurant, located at 319 Market St. Here's a link to their menu. We had dinner at this restaurant last year, however, they've made several changes to their tapas (appetizers) selections, and they also have regular dinner entrees.

Last year, we had almost 25 ladies join us. If you don't want to be left out of the fun, please email me as soon as possible so I can make sure to save room for you.

See you there!

Time to Get Together Again

CALLING ALL SISTERLOCK SISTAS!


IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN
TO MEET, GREAT AND EAT

Let’s celebrate ODUNDE FESTIVAL! together

WHEN: Sunday, June 8th, 2008
WHERE: South Street between 21st and 23rd Streets

MEET UP : 1pm 21ST AND SOUTH
DINNER:5pm Miss Tootsie’s Restaurant and Lounge
1312 South St.
215-731-9045

Please rsvp with:

Leslie~ leslietarr@yahoo.com
or Brenda ~ brenda.Johnson@ed.gov

You can also rsvp via this blog, but please be sure to leave an email address so I can get back in touch with you.

Click Here for more info about Odunde

SOuthern(Girl) Hospitality

I knew I was likely to be in the Orlando area during the week before Easter, so when I saw a notice in Lockitup that the Sisterlocked ladies in Central Florida were planning a gathering for March 22, I emailed SOuthernGirl and asked her if I could attend.






As it turned out, she had completely overlooked that fact that the date she suggested was the Saturday before Easter. So, unfortunately, the other ladies could't join us as they had plans. But, since I had already committed to being there, she was gracious enough to meet me anyway. Truly southern hospitality! She is such a sweet young lady and the two of us spent about three hours just talking away about everything under the sun and hair. She's got big plans and I have no doubt she's together enough to make them come true. And I met her mom, another charming woman.


When I told my mom and sister that I had dinner plans for Saturday evening (and my DH wasn't there!) they were surprised since they were unaware I had any friends in the area. I said I'm meeting them for the first time. Of course, they looked at me as if I'd grown another head. I then had to explain how I came to "know" these ladies - very strange to explain it to a non-locked person without sounding crazy. I know people form e-relationships centered on common careers, sports and recreational activities, yet that seems pretty normal. I don't know of any other types of hair groups.


Since my mom and sister live in St. Cloud, I find that I'm down there up to four times a year. My next two visits will likely be towards the end of August and Thanksgiving. I've already told her I want to meet the other ladies in the orlando area when I return.


I know this is my first post in quite some time, but I can't promise that I'll do better. I'm just not naturally inclined to put my thoughts down. But as soon as we make plans for another gathering here in Philly, you can bet I'll blog about that. Something should be coming up soon.....

Party Like a Lock Star!

This year was bigger and better!

And it doesn't even include the ladies who met up with us at the conference, but were unable to go to dinner! We had ladies from Philly, Boston, NY, NJ, Delaware, MD/DC and Atlanta. If some of the ladies in the collage below (top row, right corner) look very familiar, they should be - While QuietSpirit and I live here, we had three other bloggers come for the fun. Cluizel, Sunsail and Naturally Sophia were able to join us.


I also had my first blogger-sighting! A lady came up to me and said, I know you, but I don't know you - know you. She confessed that she reads many of our blogs, but was too shy to actually leave any comments or to send me an email to let me know she'd like to join us. But she decided that she'd go to the conference and hope to see us. Well, after fussing at her for taking the chance of possibly not getting in on the fun, we hijacked her to the restaurant as if we'd known her for years! Needless to say, when she called her husband to let him know why she was going to be a little late getting home, he told her to be careful - you don't really know these people. We also picked up another lady at the conference after telling her what our plans were. I felt like the Pied Piper.

This year's location for the conference was much better, in my opinion. It was bright and air conditioned, which was very welcomed since the temperature was in the 80's. It was also much roomier and folks weren't squeezing by each other to get to the various booths and tables. Some thought there were fewer vendors, but that could be because there was much more room to spread out. Since the location is a school, each demonstration or class had its own classroom and the presenters weren't interrupted by folks passing through on their way to another part of the conference. They also had use of the courtyard outside the school so folks could step out and get some fresh air. That's where they put the food vendors, who had a separate covered area with tables. There was music and dancing and one station was actually retwisting and styling clients' locks. Also, Sister Nandi was there with her Wrap-a-Loc tools. I was glad to have a chance to actually see them and how they work, but I'm not sure yet whether I'll get them. Maybe next year.

The restaurant turned out to be very nice. We were worried that with such a large group, it'd take all night to get our orders, but that wasn't the case. Plates were coming out left and right within minutes of ordering. They had "large plates," which were regular sized entree portions, but they also had "small plates," so I finally had the opportunity to have "tapas." In addition to the Talapia Ceviche and Crying Bacalao which I officially ordered, I also had some Oxymoron and Chicken Mofongo - all were very tasty. For the price though, the portions could have been a little bigger. I saw quite a few forks digging in to plates across the table and some waited until another had ordered something before ordering it too. And while I not a big drinker, I had the Ice Pearl, which was a blend of champagne and pear nectar. For me, dessert was Lavender Cheesecake. I guess I should have thought like Brunsli and taken some pictures - the presentations were beautiful and they must have ten different platters for each of the unique dish concoctions.

Our friends from Boston told us about their efforts to have a conference up there, so we're definitely going to try to support them. Road trip!

Hopefully, these fun pictures will inspire you all to try to get here for the next conference. Although, I don't know what restaurant is going to be able to accommodate us if we get any bigger....

And The Winner Is....

None of the above!

Actually, Azure was the winner but unfortunately, by the time I called back, they’d already confirmed another large party for the same time and they’re a relatively small establishment. All is not lost though. Since Azure was the clear favorite, I tried my best to find something comparable, and not too far away, that could accommodate a large party (22!) and not restrict us to limited menu choices. Obviously, I didn’t have time to consult with everyone, so I’m hoping that everyone will find this alternative acceptable.




The restaurant is GiGi’s – located at 319 Market Street (btw 3rd and 4th). Click here for a link to the menu.

Since this restaurant is in the Center City/Old City area, on-street parking (free or metered) will be a challenge. However, there are a number of nearby lots available.

The location of the Locks Conference is 910 North 6th Street at the Walter D. Palmer Leadership Learning Partnership Charter School. Again, click here for the link to it.

I’ll be arriving at the conference on Saturday, October 6 at around 2pm. At about 6:15pm, please meet me at the entrance and we’ll caravan to the restaurant. The restaurant reservation is for 7pm.


See you all on Saturday!

Time to Vote

We’ve almost finalized plans for the annual Philadelphia Locks Conference and you can check here to take a look at the many activities scheduled.

Also, this is your opportunity to vote for the restaurant that we’ll attend after the conference. I’ve included their websites so you can take a look at the menus before making a selection. The final decision will be made by a majority vote. Voting will be open effective with this message until Sunday, September 30. You can vote by sending me an email through this blog or by sending me an email through one of the discussion boards.

The choices are:

AZURE RESTAURANT

BAR FERDINAND RESTAURANT

Note: prices aren’t listed on this menu, but most dishes range between $4 and $8 and since this is a Spanish tapas bar (appetizers), most people order 2 or 3 selections.

LAS CAZUELAS RESTAURANT

Once the votes are tallied, I'll post the selected restaurant to the discussion boards, my blog and by personal email to all who sent me one.

The tentative plan is to meet at the conference on Saturday, October 6 at around 2pm (but feel free to come earlier or later as your schedule dictates). The location of the Locks Conference is 910 North 6th Street at the Walter D. Palmer Leadership Learning Partnership Charter School. At about 6:15pm, we’ll start rounding up everyone and caravan to the restaurant (which won’t be too far from the conference for everyone’s convenience). The restaurant reservation will be for 7pm.

Please don’t miss your opportunity to attend the ultimate locks event of the year in the Philly area! I’m hoping to see everyone who came last year and some new faces too!

See you all soon!

The Locks Conference is Coming!

Don't we look like a happy bunch? Want to be happy too? Here's how:

This picture was taken at the restaurant we all went to after spending all afternoon at the locks conference in 2006. The annual Philadelphia Locks Conference is coming up the weekend of October 6 and 7, 2007 and we're having a gathering this year also. We're still in the planning stage, but we'll be attending the conference on Saturday, October 6 in the afternoon and then head off to dinner. A group of us are exploring dinner options and as soon as we have more definite information, we'll share with all who are interested. I posted a message to Lockitup, LadyLocs and SisterlockLookForLess for everyone to send me an email so that I can personally keep you up to date on the plans, in addition to posting to the message boards. If you're interested in attending but haven't let me know yet, you still have plenty of time. We're hoping to have an even bigger turnout than last year and we'd really love to see you there. Let me know soon!