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Jessica Mejia

I am a writer with experience in creating creative, high-quality articles and galleries on a range of topics, including food, beauty, travel, celebrities, viral/trending news, health, and evergreen subjects. Previous work experience includes serving as a digital content producer for ABC Columbia News, overseeing marketing and social media for a local historical museum, and interning at national digital magazines such as Woman's Day and Country Living.

Patron Spotlight: Alice in Wonderland Artist DeLoss McGraw | Richland Library

Every day, old and new patrons alike find their way into Richland Library. They come in for our resources and programs: to use the computers, partake in Storytime, utilize our study rooms, or skim through the popular titles we hold on our shelves. Not surprisingly, we have many patrons that come in multiple times throughout the day to use these resources. One of these regular patrons, DeLoss McGraw, I was amazed to learn, is revered as “one of America’s most poignant visual artists” by his artis...

The Art of Mandala Meditation with Mary How | Richland Library

Meditation is a widely popular practice for people searching for inner peace and healing in their lives. Before I included it into my everyday routine, the word meditating itself conjured an image of a person laying quietly on a spread out yoga mat surrounded by floating clouds of incense. I currently impose that same relaxing position, but without the incense. Rather, I've taken to deep breathing (two seconds of inhaling and exhaling) to catapult me into a blissful state of being. To change thi

For the Love of Gardening | Richland Library

No one knows this better than Lori Robbins-Murphy. When she's not sharing personalized book recommendations with patrons at Richland Library Blythewood or giving gardening advice to her lucky co-workers, the librarian assistant spends her free time taking care of her bountiful garden. I sat down with Lori to get a better understanding of how her near-to-her-heart hobby came to fruition.

What drew you to gardening?

My dad was a gardener and it was just a way to be with him. It’s always fun gett

A Filmmaker's Journey | Richland Library

“You have to find something that you love enough to be able to take risks.” – George Lucas, Film Director.

What started as a means to follow a "realistic career," mainly because of parental concerns, transformed into a calling for DeBria Robinson. In high school, she realized her long-life dream of becoming an actress wasn't in the cards. Instead, her journalism teacher persuaded her to follow filmmaking after noticing the student's innate talent. After a short stint at the Art Institute of Cha

"Power Pose" Your Way to Confidence | Richland Library

"Don't fake it till you make it. Fake it till you become it." - Amy Cuddy

Have you ever been excited to give a presentation, only to be plagued by the menacing shadow of self-doubt? Has stage-fright squandered your performance more times than you can count? If any of those sound familiar, then social psychologist Amy Cuddy is here to tell you there’s a creative solution to this common phenomenon. In her audiobook Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges, the former Harvar
Country Living •

These DIY Christmas Card Ideas Are Quick and Crafty

Looking to get a little extra crafty with your gift-giving this holiday season? Up the ante of any present with these creative Christmas card ideas! No matter if the card contains heartfelt sentiments or a much coveted gift card (or both!), they’ll be all the more delighted by the contents if they come in a handmade Christmas card. Which is precisely why we’ve rounded up the sweetest, prettiest, and most creative cards for the 2021 holiday season. Added bonus: Each design comes with easy-to-foll

My Top 4 Detangling Tools for Knotty Curls – Bringing Up Curls

Finger-combing may seem like the easiest, most gentle way to detangle your hair, but I’ve discovered after many tries that it’s not enough to get through my stubborn knots. For one, the finger-combing technique takes longer than the traditional method of using a wide-tooth comb. Second, human fingers are not thin or precise enough to weed through the jumbled pieces of tiny knots formed after a long week of top buns.

I don’t remember the struggle of detangling my hair when I was a child, but may

Ouidad vs. DevaCurl Salons: My First Curly Hair Salon Experience – Bringing Up Curls

About two years ago, I became obsessed with the idea of silvery, cascading curls. In hindsight, I was looking for more than just a change in hair color; I was looking for confidence. At the time, gray highlights were the answer to my insecurities of looking younger than my age.

That need for an external change led me to Ouidad’s flagship hair salon in New York City. At the time, I was interning for Hearst Magazines and attempting to figure out my place in the writing world. My birthday was arou
Country Living •

These Fall Cookies Are So Good You May Need to Make a Double Batch

Autumn is baking season, when it's finally cool enough to crank up the oven and fill the house with the smell of warm spices and baked goods. Whether you're planning a fall dinner party a Halloween party , or just making treats for the kids, these yummy cookies are just the thing. Not only will little ones enjoy these fall cookies, but they'll also have fun lending a hand—or just licking the spoon.

As if pumpkin cheesecake isn't decadent enough, these cookies also feature a sweet, spiced streus
Country Living •

Switch Up Your Seasonal Cocktail Game With These Fall Sangria Recipes

Thanks to these fall sangrias, you can upgrade your favorite vino with the best seasonal flavors, like apple, cinnamon, citrus, and cranberry. Get your Halloween party started with a pitcher or mix some up to add to the Thanksgiving menu. These are also great recipes for any casual backyard gathering.

Mulled wine simmering in a slow cooker is already a classic fall drink. Mulled sangria, with its boozy fruit, is just that much better. Campari, that even-more-bitter cousin of Aperol, is what mak

NEW! Living Proof Launched Its First Curl Collection! – Bringing Up Curls

Living Proof has finally jumped on the curly hair train and launched its new Curl Collection. The range of products includes a shampoo, conditioner, curl enhancer, curl definer, defining gel, curl elongator, and moisturizing shine oil. It’s obvious with this line-up that they tried to cater to every type of curl except for those that love a co-wash because it “was not the most effective for the majority of curl types based on product usage, curl habits, and needs,” according to their website. I

5 Easy Ways to Transform Thinning Hair into Healthier, Fuller Locks – Bringing Up Curls

This first tip is probably the least time-taxing, and yet the hardest to fit into most people’s schedules. These are my tried and true methods for relaxation:
• Meditation: Just a simple 5-minute session can do wonders for the mind and soul. I lay on my yoga mat and listen to a guided or binaural sounds meditation while taking in a few deep breaths. Even though I can get away with doing it every other day, I still make the effort to meditate even when I don’t really “need” it.
• Ashwagandha: The

My First Time Styling with OUAI Hair Care Products: Do They REALLY Work On 3B/3C Curls? – Bringing Up Curls

One day a few months ago, I was in the middle of my sipping-tea-while-scrolling-Instagram ritual when I saw a post by OUAI–pronounced way–calling for product testers to review their new curly hair product in development. I instantly dropped everything and shot the required pic of my curls along with my curl pattern (3b-3c). In short, I wasn’t chosen, but they kept my information, and a few months later…asked me to review some of their established hair-care products to see how suitable they were

Scalp Need a Detox? I Tried These Popular Hair Exfoliators for a Clean Scalp. – Bringing Up Curls

Healthy hair starts with a healthy scalp. So why not treat it with importance and give it a deep cleaning once in a while? I learned too late (better late than never) that the scalp can be the deciding factor between robust, healthy hair growth and limited hair growth. Lately, I’ve been watching a ton of Youtube videos (hours worth) on this topic and realized I haven’t taken scalp hair as seriously as I should have in the past. For one, I thought that because I didn’t have an oily scalp or exces

I Tried Tracee Ellis Ross’ New Curly Hair Line “Pattern” and Fell in Love! – Bringing Up Curls

Pattern Beauty is one of those rare brands that consistently leaves my hair feeling shiny and thick. The new hair-care brand is the brainchild of Tracee Ellis Ross, the award-winning actress who stars in Black-ish and is the daughter of the legendary singer Diana Ross.

Honestly… I’m not at all surprised about Ross’s hair-care launch. After all, she’s been working on Pattern for over a decade and consistently posting her curls on Instagram. Her love of everything hair-care can be traced back to

What’s REALLY In Your Favorite Curl Products… – Bringing Up Curls

It wasn’t until a couple of years into my hair care journey that I started to wonder about the ingredients in the bottles underneath my sink. I was so used to seeing shampoos and conditioners with “coconut oil,” “avocado,” and “shea butter,” emblazoned in bright letters across their bottles that I never stopped to think how much of those emphasized ingredients were truly in them.

Was it all a gimmick? Or was the amount of coconut oil truly enough to satisfy my thirsty tresses? Maybe the reason

Love Beauty and Planet: My Favorite Drugstore Brand for Eco-Friendly​ Curls! – Bringing Up Curls

Love Beauty and Planet are one of those brands that have always been on my radar (yes to post-consumer recycled bottles!) but I’ve never bothered to try them until recently. Their cute, simple design drew me in, but their effectiveness is what made me keep some of them as a permanent staple.

This was the first product of theirs that I tried and fell in love with. It was surprisingly easy to detangle my most stubborn knots with this conditioner. For this reason, and it’s deep conditioning abilit

How Olaplex No.3 Hair Perfector Revived My Damaged Curls – Bringing Up Curls

As an adult, I have found many great curly hair products that I could’ve used as a young girl to transform my lack-luster hair into healthy ringlets. Maybe then, I would have learned at an earlier age to love my hair a little more…oh, the benefits of 20/20 hindsight.

Olaplex’s No. 3 Hair Perfector is one of those products that I discovered later in life, and that helped my damaged hair recover. My hair always feels less brittle and stronger after a session of Olaplex. Nothing brings my curls ba
Country Living •

31 Farmhouse Christmas Decorating Ideas for the Merriest Country Home

Christmas is a magical time in big cities, but let's face it: There's something a little dreamier about a Christmas spent in the country, more specifically in a picturesque farmhouse. Maybe it's the never-ending lineup of Hallmark movies in constant rotation this time of year that has made the warm and cozy farmhouse a holiday necessity. You know the ones, movies set in quaint country snow-covered Christmas towns where an unlikely romance occurs between two seemingly hesitant main characters? Of

5 Reasons To Go Curly This Summer – Bringing Up Curls

As a curly girl whose hair takes forever to grow, I can’t afford to let go of all the progress I’ve made so far (it’s taken me months to grow just a couple of inches). So instead of going for the seasonal summer cut, I reminded myself of the reasons why having long, curly hair during the summer works in my favor. These are just a few of the reasons why I believe curly is the way to go all summer long:

1. More time, less worry: One of the pros of leaving your hair curly is having to worry about
Country Living •

30 Best Scalloped Potatoes Recipes to Try This Fall

It doesn't matter if you call them scalloped potatoes or potatoes au gratin—our list of the best scalloped potatoes recipes will make all your carb-filled and cheese-loaded dreams true. Growing up, you probably enjoyed one of these comforting potato recipes as a side dish for your Thanksgiving feast or Christmas dinner. Some versions take a decent amount of time to prepare, so it's understandable why they were saved for a special occasion. But many of these recipes are baked under an hour, so yo
Country Living •

Twice-Baked Potato Recipes That Make Any Meal Doubly Delicious

Looking for the perfect side for your Thanksgiving dinner this year? We suggest you stick with a classic. These twice-baked potatoes are as flavorful as they are nostalgia-inducing—and with the addition of a few colorful toppings, they're pretty beautiful to boot. Here, we've rounded up all the best ideas so that you can serve up everyone's favorite down-home dish as a mouthwatering side , a no-brainer appetizer , or a main meal. Believe it or not, the twice-baked potato recipes we've selected h
Country Living •

Turn Dollar Store Tea Lights Into the Cutest Snowman Ornaments

We've been busy finding you the best DIY ornaments to make this Christmas, and we think we just came across the most darling one of them all: tea light snowmen.

Blogger Debbie Chapman of One Little Project created the too-cute craft after trying to figure out another use for the faux-flame candles taking up space on her mantel. Noticing that the "flame" resembled a snowman's carrot nose, she rounded up a few craft supplies, and—in a matter of minutes—the precious, pint-sized Frostys were born.
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