Jun30

Highlights from Nassau/Atlantis

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Happy Friday y’all! I’ve been a super slacker with blogging lately, but I hope everyone is having an amazeballs summer so far! I just got back about a week ago from the Bahamas. It was such an awesome vacay and much needed after the year I’ve had. I went with my college friend Sara and her daughter, who’s now my new BFF. We stayed at Atlantis, which is a massive resort. It’s such a beautiful property. And when I say it’s massive, it really is! We were there for 5 days and never saw everything! 

Just wanted to share with you guys some highlights from my trip. First of all, like I said, Atlantis is such a beautiful place to stay and explore. There’s aquariums, beautiful beaches, and the architecture itself is simply amazing. I can see why kids love it there because there’s also a water park, lazy river, and so many other things to do. 

One day we also took a taxi to go into Nassau. We did a little shopping at the straw market, which was very interesting. As you know if you’ve visited the islands, haggling over prices is quite common and fun to me! 


The water and sand in the Bahamas is breathtakingly beautiful. I had an ocean view room and loved sitting on the balcony listening to the waves. 

And I can’t tell you how good the drinks were everywhere we went 😁

If you haven’t been to the Bahamas yet, go! But unless you’re taking a family, I’d stay somewhere other than Atlantis. There was a Riu property right next door, so if I go back to Nassau, I’ll be staying there next. 

What trips do you guys have planned for the summer? Up next for me is taking my mom to the beach…somewhere. We’ll be going in September. Whatever you guys have planned, I hope you have an awesome summer! 

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Jun6

Give your old furniture new life with a little paint

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Ok, first of all, this is not a tutorial because I didn’t do the work 😁 but I had to share a project that I had done last week! I have some old, like first apartment old, furniture in my guest bedroom. I hated the color of the wood, and it was cheap and old, so I wanted to do something with it, without having to purchase new furniture. I love chalk painted, distressed furnishings, so I knew that’s the look I was going for. I knew I didn’t want to do the work because I’d always rather pay someone instead! I found someone who could do it at a reasonable price, and here’s the outcome! 

The first project was a dresser. It turned out amazeballs! 

After I saw how great it looked, I wanted an old table I had by the bed done. I’m so glad I did! This table actually came from Family Dollar or Dollar General, so I mean what I say when I say it was cheap! 

This is what the pieces looked like before. As you can see, they look cheap and old! 

I’m thrilled with my furniture now! I can’t wait to get something else done! Have you guys painted furniture before? It’s such a great alternative to purchasing new furniture! 

May25

LA Girl metallic lippie: must try!

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Hey y’all! Hope everyone is having an amazeballs week. I’m happy that my week is better than last, and back to normal. Anywho, I was in Ulta over the weekend because I needed new sponges, but of course I had to look around! A friend and I had been talking about metallic lippies. I wasn’t sure how I felt about them, and I definitely didn’t want to spend much, so I was thrilled when I spotted the LA Girl display. I can’t remember all of the colors, but I remember they were mostly golds and bronzes. This is the one I went with. It’s called galvanize. 

It’s a beautiful bronze and I absolutely love it! It looks great with my skin tone, and y’all, this thing stayed on my lips all day! I took it off to brush my teeth at lunch, but if I hadn’t, it would have lasted. 

I’ll definitely go back for more. They’re only $5, you can’t beat it. Have you guys tried these, or any other LA Girl products? I think I’m a new fan. I can’t wait to go back to see what else they have! 

May17

Protect your purse handles with a scarf

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Hey y’all! This year I’ve been super slack with blogging, but life happens, and I’ve been a little distracted. Anywho, I was looking for a way to protect my purse handles on my LV Speedy 30 bag because the leather can get so dirty and you have to be super careful with them. So careful that it’s annoying and I rarely carry it. But, I found a way to protect them, and add a cute, stylish look to your bag! I can’t take credit for this idea because I actually saw it by noticing someone else’s bag in a pic posted on Facebook. Then I went searching on eBay to find a cute scarf, and purse handle scarves actually exist! I paid $10 and got two pieces, one for each handle. 

I only wish I had known this sooner because I could have saved mine from getting a little discolored. There’s also this YouTube video that shows you how to tie them on. I’m going to keep playing around with mine so that the scarf won’t be so long, but I love the look, and now I won’t be so worried about ruining my bag now! 

Have you guys found other creative ways to protect your LV bag handles? 

Apr21

What I’ve learned about grief

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Losing my dad the day after Christmas in the wee hours of the morning has so far been the hardest thing I’ve ever been through in all 38 years of life. Death is inevitable, but when it comes, it is a feeling that is indescribable. While it’s true that time heals all wombs, because I am handling it better than I imagined I would now that a few months have passed, it is also true that I’ll never be the same, and I’ll never get over the loss. The grief process is different for everyone, and I see it within my family. My mom lost not only our dad, but her very best friend, so I can only imagine how she feels. All she can tell me is that it hurts on the inside and there’s nothing anyone can do.

 I figured I’d share what I’ve learned, and how I’m managing to get through; and hopefully it helps someone who needs it.

1. It’s ok to cry. 

You may be saying duh, but it’s hard to explain to others who have never experienced a loss of a loved one. Some days are better than others. Some days you may not cry at all. You may not have even cried at the funeral. There is no normal, but when the emotions wash over you, let it out and cry. It’s ok. Crying is definitely therapeutic. Funny but not funny, I had to buy a new concealer that was tear proof because I’m telling you, you just never know when you’ll have a moment and I got tired of having a runny streak of concealer under my eyes from crying! 

2. Let those who love and care be there for you. 

At first it may be hard, at least it was for me, but if someone offers to get you out of bed, come sit with you, whatever it is, let them. At the time, you may not feel like it, but chances are you’ll feel so much better afterwards. 

3. Talk to God. 

Some days my prayers are more like talks. I get out how I’m feeling. How much I miss my dad, and a lot of times asking Him to give my dad a big hug and kiss for me! I haven’t questioned why it happened, but I ask Him to help us all through this. And I feel better afterwards, or at least I feel reassurance. I know my dad is in heaven, no longer in pain, cancer free, and watching over all of us. He’s now my VIP angel! I find myself talking to my dad too, and sometimes asking him to go give Jesus a nudge about my prayer requests! 

4. Reflect on the good times. 

What helps me is thinking about the fun I had with my parents over the years. I don’t want to remember him as I last saw him, slipping out of this life and taking his last breath. Instead, I often look at pictures and think of funny moments. We loved to laugh, and there’s so many memories that I’m thankful I have of the good times with my dad. 

5. Make your loved one proud by living your best life. 

Several people have told me that my dad is proud of me, and it always makes me smile every time. I hope it’s true. I hope when my dad watches over me, he’s happy with how I’m continuing to honor him, keep his memory alive, and keeping on keeping on! 

My dad was loved, and is loved! I’m so very thankful to have such a great dad. As he told me every day, I love you dad, to the moon and back 😘

I truly hope this helps someone. Grief is hard, it’s different for everyone, but trust me, you can get through it. You’ve got this 😊

Apr8

Nude nails

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Happy Saturday y’all! We’ve finally been able to enjoy warm spring weather over the last couple of weeks, yay! A change of seasons is another excuse for me to shop for new nail polish! Ulta had a buy 2 get 1 free sale on OPI yesterday, so I figured it was a sign to buy some new colors. I love the Kerry Washington collection, so I got one of those and 2 other colors. This is pale to the chief. 

It’s a really pretty nude. As if I needed another nude polish, since I already have a gazillion, I couldn’t resist. And you can never go wrong with OPI polishes. I typically only buy them on sale or clearance because I’m cheap and they’re $10 each! But the quality is supurb! 

What are some of your fav OPI colors? 

Mar22

Tarte shape tape concealer review

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Concealer, you name them, I feel like I’ve tried them! The only reason I even feel the need to wear makeup is because of these dag blasted dark undereye circles. I’ve had them all my life, so I am them, they are me; so I do what I do best, cover them up! For the longest, I’ve been using different MAC concealers, but I wanted to try something different. With the loss of my dad, I’ve been super duper emotional, never know when tears will fall, so I needed something that didn’t run or smear! I went into Ulta one day and the salesperson recommended Tarte shape tape after I explained that I needed something that lasted through tears. 

  

Girls, this stuff is the truth! It’s super long lasting and tear resistant! It conceals better than anything I’ve tried so far. I didn’t know when I purchased it but it also can be used for contouring. That’s a little above my skills, so I’ll just stick with it for covering up my circles. It was well worth the $24 I spent. 

I would show you a before pic, but I don’t want to scare you 😜

Have you guys tried this product before? What did you think? Also, what’s your concealer recommendation in case I try something else in the future? 

Mar16

Rose hip seed oil: get you some!

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Y’all I may have found the fountain of youth…ok I’m exaggerating but this stuff is just amazeballs! One night I was bored looking around on Facebook and noticed a friend of a friend who had commented on something had mentioned that she had been using rose hip seed oil on her face, she had beautiful skin, so I was curious! I happened to be in Marshall’s Friday and as always, checking out the beauty items. Then I noticed they had the oil there, and for only 7.99! I couldn’t wait to get home to scrub my face and try it! I’ve been using it for about a week now, and omg my skin looks amazeballs! Not that I’ve ever had trouble skin, but I’ve just noticed a difference. I love anything that makes me glow! 

 I use it twice a day. It gives my skin such an awesome glow! If I could find this stuff in a ginormous bottle, I’d buy it and use it all over my body! I apply it after washing my face and then add my moisturizer as usual. This stuff has my skin looking so good, if I didn’t have these raccoon circles under my eyes, I’d go without foundation! 

Friends, especially my fellow brown girls, start a skin care routine and moisturize daily! Yes, black does sometimes crack if not taken care of! 

Have you guys used this stuff before? Or, what’s your fav product right now?

Mar10

Best legs in the biz

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I work out. I do lots of squats, and other leg exercises in an attempt to get the legs of my dreams! Especially because I love, love, love to wear short shorts in the summer! I have several celeb leg crushes that I think of when I imagine what the perfect set of gams would look like for my body. Ultimately Tina Turner is the golden standard of leg goals! Those legs are insured for millions, so that says a lot! And even in her 70’s, she’s definitely still got it! But, there are some other women with amazeballs legs that just be may be able to give Ms. Tina a run for her money. Here are my top 6 picks for the best legs in the biz! 

In order: Tina Turner, Tamia, Ciara, Beyoncé, J Lo, and Jessica Simpson. Yesterday I caught a little heat when I said that Jess may just edge out Ms. Tina for best legs. No one will ever top Tina, but c’mon, she does have some hefty competition these days! And nobody rocks daisy dukes quite like Jess. 

I don’t know about y’all, but if I woke up and my legs looked like any of these ladies, I wouldn’t be mad at all. Until then, I’ll keep up the leg days at the gym and one day I’ll achieve my leg goals! On another note, to get more squats in during the day, I started doing a set of 20 each time I go to the restroom. I also do calf raises when I’m standing in my cube at work. Hey, a little extra can’t hurt! 

Who would make your top list for best legs??

Feb28

Be good to your feet!

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Looks like we’re in for an early spring. Before you reach for the cute sandals, make sure your feet are ready! Ready meaning free of foot crust, cracked heels, and other foot unattractiveness. Not everyone can afford regular pedis, but between pedis, you can keep foot crust at bay! A little while ago I wrote about an amazeballs foot cream called Amlactin. Well, I can’t find it anymore so I had to find a replacement. 


This one is equally as amazeballs, maybe even slightly better. And less expensive. I paid at least $10 for Amlactin and O’Keeffe’s is only around $6. A little goes a long way, so this tube will definitely last for awhile and you only need to use it once a day. I use it at night before bed. I’m a once a month pedi girl, and this really does extend the life of my smooth feet! You guys must try this stuff!