All Things Me

Surprise!

2012-08-08T18:09:00.000-05:00

Hey ladies!

If you don't follow me on Instagram, this will be news to you. Last week I straightened my hair for the first time since being natural (1 year 7 months). This was really an impulse decision. I was sitting at work and got the idea to finally straighten my hair. Up until this point, I was too scared of heat damage. So I had to do it while I had the nerve.

Here are the products that I used to deep condition. I was so anxious that I forgot to use a leave in conditioner after washing. In the pink bottle is the IC Fantasia Heat Protector Straightening Spray.

After washing I allowed my hair to air dry for about 20 minutes and then blow dried using the tension method. If this wasn't so spur of the moment, I would have deep conditioned the day before and braided to stretch without the blow dryer.

It started out pretty good! I loved it!

Lol... I guess the face means I'm feeling this hair!

Now this was my expression by the time I was done. You see the poof at the bottom, right? All of this hard work for nothing!

The next day after flat twisting for a couple of hours. I LOVED this! I went to Applebee's and my hair was almost a cotton ball by the time I left. Of course I didn't get a picture.

So needless to say, my hair didn't stand a chance against this southern humidity! After the flat twist out, I bunned it for a couple of days and then washed it!

NO HEAT DAMAGE! *sigh of relief*

Bloggers Like Me

2012-07-22T20:16:00.000-05:00

Hey, ladies!

Most of you have probably already heard about Bloggers Like Me. It's a Facebook group created by Leslie of Fashion Du Jour.

"Created by Fashion Du Jour, this is a community of bloggers dedicated to the positive exchange of ideas, tips and advice about FASHION, BEAUTY, RELATIONSHIPS and FAITH through blogging, meet ups and social networking."

Taken from the BLM Facebook Page

When you join the group you're able to share your blog, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, or any other social network id. It also gives you a chance to come across many other great blogs. Check out it!

Red Lips - MAC Ruby Woo

2012-07-22T20:03:00.000-05:00

w/o flash

w/flash

I love this lipstick! It's a matte, so it can be a little drying. You definitely need a moisturizer under it.

Mini Getaway

2012-07-22T19:25:00.000-05:00

Hey ladies!

Last weekend my two best friends and I had a mini getaway. We had plans for Six Flags, but decided to postpone that. Instead we had a sleepover (Yes, we still have those... lol!), did a little shopping, and went to Dave and Buster's.

Our sleepover was Friday night. I always enjoy spending good quality time with these two. It's never a dull moment! We have plenty of laughs and make crazy memories every time we're together!

We planned to head to Atlanta that Saturday morning. Who were we fooling? We didn't leave until noon. Put us together and you have all kinds of slow! Trying to get a few quick pictures is usually the issue!

Our first stop was Atlantic station. While looking for parking I spotted Target and y'all know I couldn't just drive by! A little browsing, a quick mirror picture, and a cute scarf on clearance for $5 then we headed to Atlantic Station.

It was so hot and my purse was so heavy that I might have been too irritated for any pictures in Atlantic Station. We made a stop at the MAC counter in Dillard's and guess what I finally got!!! No... guess!! Ruby Woo! I've been wanting it for a while, so I finally gave in to temptation.

We also stopped by Lenox Square before we headed to Dave and Buster's. I went in Forever 21 and bought nothing. It's definitely a store that I would prefer to shop online. It was a little too overwhelming for me.

This was my first time at Dave and Buster's and I really enjoyed myself! I LOVE to have fun so I definitely have to go back soon. I was being a follower and tried a peach long island iced tea... no thanks. It was a little too sweet for me. But who was going to waste a drink?

This was the first game that we played and after that we were too busy enjoying ourselves to take any more pictures.

Overall, it was a good couple of days and nice little break from normalcy.

What have you ladies been up to lately?

Insta-hair

2012-07-01T23:01:00.000-05:00

Hey, ladies!

I haven't posted anything on my hair lately, so I thought I'd share a few pictures from Instagram. I've gotten pretty lazy with it over the last few months. I've gone from washing once a week to every 2-3 weeks. Since it's getting longer, the amount of time it takes to detangle, wash, and style is too long to do it every week. Mo' hair, mo' problems! Lol!

My detangling time was getting horrible! Honestly, there were a couple of times that I wanted to cry or scream! Yes, it was that bad. But I'm mostly to blame for that. For one, my ends needed trimming very badly (quite a few single strand knots on my ends = many tangled messes) and I was holding on to length. I finally did a trim a couple of weeks ago. Second, a couple of times I hopped in the shower with a tangled puff. In my best southern accent... LAWD!!! Those were the couple of times that I wanted to cry!

So I trimmed and have vowed to NEVER again wash before detangling. And until further notice I will only wash my hair in twists. Now that I'm done with that rant, here are the pictures.

1. 6/2/12 This was my best braid out yet. I LOVED this!!!

2. 6/15/15 A shrunken twist out

3. 6/16/12 This is a second day twist out, which aren't usually my favorite (I prefer BIG hair), but I was really happy with this.

4. 5/28/12 My puff is getting big y'all!

5. 6/29/12 Another FABULOUS braid out.

6. 5/30/12 A blow out using the tension method. I was very surprised to see my length. This was my first blow out in about a year.

Now after watching this long Bet Awards, I have to go do something to my hair for tomorrow... maybe... if I can peel myself off of the couch! Talk to you ladies later!

Who Loves Target?

2012-06-28T20:37:00.001-05:00

It's official. Over the last few months Target has become ~~one of~~ my FAVORITE store. But when I got excited about the information that I'm about to share, I knew I had a problem! Lol! So I'm literally in the middle of catching up on the dozens of blogs that I follow (I stopped to do this post) and I just came across this information on Fashion Without Guilt.

I HAVE TARGET'S MARKDOWN SCHEDULE!!!

Yes!!! And after that is an even better tip. I'll save the best for last.

Monday // Kids’ Clothing, Stationery (office supplies, gift wrap), Electronics

Tuesday // Women’s Clothing and Domestics

Wednesday // Men’s Clothing, Toys, Health and Beauty

Thursday // Lingerie, Shoes, Housewares.

Friday // Cosmetics

Now, here is the best part (in my opinion). If the price ends in 8, it will be marked down again. If the price ends in 4, it's the lowest price. Good info, right? I know!

Since shoes were marked down today, I foresee a trip to Target in the very near future! Hope this excites someone else as much as it did me!

*I found this information on Fashion Without Guilt

Later y'all!

Plain Jane

2012-06-28T17:49:00.000-05:00

Hey ladies! Long time no see, right? I know! I've been feeling guilty for not checking in. Which is why I'm sharing this "Plain Jane" outfit. Yes, I know it's nothing special. Honestly, jeans and a top are my normal wear. I only really dress up every now and then.

I took pictures the other day, but they just weren't blog worthy. They were more boring than these! Lol! While it's on my mind... HI, NEW FOLLOWERS!!! Thanks for joining me here! It's nice to know that people care what I'm blogging about and I'm not here rambling to myself! :) I hope you continue to enjoy All Things Me!

The shoes are the only exciting things here... and I love them! I got them from a store called Shoe Show. I'm not sure if they have those everywhere, so here's an almost identical pair from Kohl's. --> Candie's Loafers I'm actually mad that I didn't find these first!

Talk to you ladies later!

Wedding Wear

2012-06-18T17:53:00.000-05:00

Hey ladies! Here's what I wore to attend one of my co-worker's wedding this weekend. You've seen the top before here and the pants are from my new found love... Target! (I've even considered getting a part time job there to get the discount!) Lol! But yeah... here's a close up of the print.

Now to be honest, when I see something that I like, I go to the price tag first. What can I say? I'm really frugal. But when I saw this print the price didn't really matter (they were only $20). I LOVE these pants and they are so comfortable!

Of course I was in a hurry to leave, so the above two pictures are all that I could get before leaving. The other two were taken later that night.

Top - Candie's via Kohl's // Pants - Target (not sold online, but can view and find in store here) // Shoes - Carlos Santana via Ross

Necklace - thrifted // Watch - Merona for Target

Funny story: I had a first. My first public fall! Yes!!! Walking into the church before the wedding. Thank God there were only a few people to witness - my beau, two friends, and the two men standing at the doors of the church. I was going up the steps into the church and I guess the last step was a little higher than I thought. I screamed before I hit the ground. The first thing that touched down was my right knee. You don't even want to see it. It's bad! Once I fell... the first thing I did? Made sure there wasn't a hole in my pants! Who wants to walk around all day at a wedding and reception with a hole in their pants? And I thought I was cute! Honey, forget a scraped knee! I'll see about that later! Lol! Y'all I really hit it hard! It's still pretty painful now. The knee is the worst place! I can't bend it at all without it being painful. But whatever! I'm really just glad my pants survived the fall to see another day!

Oh and what's surprising to me is that I thought it was funny instead of being embarrassed. Have you ever fell in public? Were you embarrassed?

Misbehaved - NOTW

2012-06-13T18:22:00.000-05:00

This was my first time using the Salon Effects and I love them!

A White Morning

2012-06-09T17:26:00.000-05:00

Hey ladies!

When I was doing my Influester follow-up post yesterday, I realized that I never posted these pictures. I have no clue how I forgot. I had to be to work at 7 this morning, so I had to drag myself out of bed to take these pictures in time. I had everything placed out the night before so I wouldn't be late. I was so proud of myself! Please excuse my facial expressions... lol. It was too early! I've never been a morning person! I wish I could have gotten better pictures, but I didn't have time to keep snapping. Oh well!

Top - Ross // Jeans - American Eagle // Shoes - JS Waleo

So yeah... I definitely need to practice taking these pictures. It feels so awkward standing in an empty room in front of a tripod.

Talk to you ladies later!

Influenster Spring Beauty VoxBox Follow-up

2012-06-08T22:09:00.000-05:00

Hey ladies!

I finally made it back to give my opinions on the products from my first VoxBox. I really enjoyed my first box and hope that I'm selected to participate again in the future. If you like trying new products, you should definitely give Influenster a try. That wasn't a plug... lol. Just my honest opinion!

The Sheer Cover concealer works pretty good. I haven't actually worn it out, but I did wear it around the house for a few hours. (Used it for a makeup look for the blog. Couldn't figure out my lighting to get good pictures. UGH! You care? Moving right along.) I use MAC Studio Finish Concealer and the Sheer Cover seems to be comparable. One thing that I really like is that isn't as thick as the Studio Finish.

*Price: Sold in one-month supply kit of 6 products + 3 bonus for $29.95.

Would I buy? Yes, if it was sold separately.

I mentioned in the first post that I'm very picky about my lip balm. I stopped using the ChapStick brand a few years ago and now I remember why. It feels moisturizing when it's first applied, but within a few minutes I can't tell that I just applied it. The first time that I used this, I was pleasantly surprised. I LOVED the smell and it felt extremely moisturizing! However, that didn't last long. That's my main problem with it. It might work for someone who doesn't have dry lips or who doesn't use lip balm often.

Price: $1.89 - $2.39

Would I buy? No

This will be quick. Didn't like it. It reminded me of a strawberry NutriGrain bar (which I love), but something about it just didn't tastse right. I'm picky about the texture of my food, so that could be it.

*Price: $0.99 - $1.29

Would I buy? No

Love this body wash. It does exactly what it says... it moisturizes. In fact, it's so moisturizing that the first time I used it, I thought I still had soap on my skin after rinsing. Instead of my skin feeling "squeaky clean" it felt clean and moisturized.

*Price: $6.99 - $8.99 for full-size bottle

Would I buy? Yes, and I plan to.

These nail strips were probably my favorite product in the box. I was hesitant to try them (I thought I would mess them up), but when I did I loved them! I already had another design, so I used those. After the first one, they were fairly easy to apply. I don't think I did a good job of smoothing down my ends and that caused a little peeling within the first hour. I used a clear top coat to stop the peeling. I only had them on for about 1 week.

*Price: $9.99

Would I buy? Yes, if they're on sale!

I've always loved sweet pea, so of course I had no issue with this.

*Price: $14.99

Would I buy? Yes

I had such high hopes for these! I love the Dr. Scholl's for Her High Heel insoles, but these don't compare... at all. I wore them here and I also wore them with the JS Waleo. The first pair of shoes are very uncomfortable without inserts. With the inserts, it was just a little less uncomfortable. Good thing I only wore them for a couple of hours. With the JS shoes, the shoes were actually more comfortable without the inserts. Have any of you ever used these? Maybe I'm doing something wrong?! *Shrugs*

**Price: $5.47

Would I buy? No. But if you're interested, definitely try the High Heel insoles. They are the best!

*Prices taken from description card in VoxBox

**Price taken from Walmart and Target online

Let me know if you have any questions on any of the products! Have you used any of these products?

Talk to you ladies later!

I've Been Featured!

2012-06-08T11:11:00.001-05:00

Hey ladies!

Hope y'all have enjoyed your week... TGIF! So, I decided to step outside of my comfort zone and submit my natural hair story to Love, Destinee for my first feature. I was so proud of myself... Lol. Of course, I had to share it with y'all! Here's the link.

Love, Destinee: Curly Girl; Quala

Be sure to browse around her blog. She's one of my favorite bloggers! Talk to y'all later!

Sheer Happiness

2012-06-01T20:06:00.002-05:00

Hey ladies!

One of my favorite trends right now is sheer tops. Here are a few that I've gotten over the last few months.

Maurices

Ross

Kohl's // my favorite // Seen here

The lace and the color sold me instantly!

Thrift store

It's Fashion // I initially thought these were a skirt, but they're pants. I LOVE how comfortable they are.

Is anyone else loving the sheer trend as much as I am?

Date Night OOTD

2012-05-25T18:35:00.001-05:00

Hey ladies!

This will be really quick! My beau and I went out to my favorite Mexican restaurant last Saturday for a quick bite to eat.

Shirt - Old Navy // Jeans - Levi's // Shoes - Charles Albert

Talk to you ladies later!

Accessorized on a Dime

2012-05-24T12:00:00.000-05:00

I've been wanting a gold chain necklace for a while now. I'm still looking since this one isn't as long as I'd wanted. I found this in a thrift store for only $3.99! Of course I couldn't leave it there!

We know Michael Kors watches are all the rave right now, right? I love the look of a gold MK watch with bangles and bracelets. However, I don't love the look enough to spend the money! This watch? $12.99 from my favorite place.... Target!

I found these at Walmart for no more than $1.50 per pair. Guess what... They were buttons! Yep! I clipped off the backs and attached earring backs? (or whatever they're called) using a hot glue gun. The black and gold pair is my favorite!

I love a good deal! Talk to you ladies later!

Girls Night Out

2012-05-23T21:02:00.000-05:00

Hey ladies!

Last Friday, two of my best friends and I went to Applebees's for drinks and a very late birthday celebration! I always have a good time with these girls. I wish we could do this more often! Here are a few outfit pics.

*I was rushing and didn't feel in my brows. o_0 I was hesitant to post these pics. Lol!

Top & Jean Vest - Old // Pants & Shoes - Target // Fedora - Forever 21

We wouldn't be us without a little craziness!

Later ladies!

Beautiful Textures Tangle Taming Moisturizing Shampoo

2012-05-21T19:04:00.000-05:00

Hey ladies!

So there was a lot of hype around the Beautiful Textures line when it was released a couple of months ago. I read a lot of reviews and praises! If you remember from this post, I sang my own praises about their Moisture Butter Whipped Curl Creme. Since I liked it so much, I contemplated trying the shampoo.

For the first 14 months of being natural, I only used the Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus shampoo, so that was all I knew. (I'm far from a product junkie. I find what works for me and stick with it). But any who... I heard someone on YouTube mention that the SM shampoo made their hair feel very stripped. Again... it was all I knew... so I didn't think much of it.

Later on, I read a review saying how moisturizing the Beautiful Textures shampoo is, so I decided to try it out. The verdict? I.LOVE.IT. With this shampoo my hair is clean without that squeaky stripped feeling that I got from the SM shampoo. A bonus? It's a little less expensive! I'm all about saving when I can!

As for the ingredients, it's definitely not all natural. Good thing that doesn't matter to me! If you care to know what ingredients are in the shampoo... take a gander!

The shampoo retails for about $7. It can be found at Walmart, Sally's, or your local beauty supply store. Let me know if you decide to try it or you have already!

Influenster Spring Beauty VoxBox

2012-05-21T18:24:00.000-05:00

Hey, ladies! I've received my first Influenster VoxBox!

I signed up for Influenster thinking that I wouldn't be chosen (at least not any time soon) due to the "small scale" of my blog. So I was really excited when I received the email notifying me that I was selected to receive the Spring Beauty VoxBox. It made me feel official! Lol!

The back of the card lists each item in the box and a description. I've only tried two of the items, so this post is really just to show the products in the Spring Beauty VoxBox. I'll do a separate post (within the next couple of weeks) once I've had a chance to try out everything.

Sheer Cover Duo Concealer - I haven't heard of this brand, so I don't have much to say until I try it.

I'm reluctant to try this. I'm very particular about my lip balm! Lol! We'll see how it goes!

o_O The way it looks on the packaging has me thinking it will be awful. I hope I'm wrong!

I use the Aveeno Daiy Moisturizing Lotion on my face, so I have high expectations of this.

I'm excited to try out the Salon effect strips! *Confession: I bought some a couple of months ago and they're still just sitting in the bag.

Sweet Pea from Bath & Body Works - It was one of my favorites a few years ago.

I LOVE Dr. Scholl's! So this should be easy, right?

Talk to you ladies later!

Are you an Influenster?

Dutch Twist & Bun

2012-05-16T13:00:00.000-05:00

I loved this style! I was really excited about it, because it was my first bun and my first Dutch twist. Of course I found this style on YouTube. I'll leave the video below.

Nails of the Week - Wet n' Wild

2012-05-15T21:33:00.000-05:00

I haven't done my nails in a while. Mainly because I need a new top coat. I use the Seche Vite and I loved it... at first. But now it's thickened and it goes on in globs! But I can never remember to pick up a new one. But anywho... I got both of these Wet n' Wild polishes from Walgreens for only $0.99 each. I was surprised that I got this coverage with only two coats.

What's with the one long nail, you ask? My pinky nails are the only two that grow, so I never want to cut them. I know it looks crazy, but whatever!

Talk to y'all later!

Look for Less: Jessica Simpson vs. Qupid

2012-05-11T21:36:00.000-05:00

Hey ladies! I was catching up on my blogs the other day when I saw this post on The Daybook. I fell in love with Sydney's shoes! Now rewind... Remember the post I did on the Jessica Simpson shoes a while back? Here it is ----> Cocoa, Carrack, Cathi, & Cecity. The shoes that Syndey wore reminded me of Cocoa.

Cocoa by Jessica Simpson $98

Katrina-11 by Qupid

I know they're not exactly the same, but for over 50% less, I can deal with that!

I did a Google search and found Katrina-11 on a few different sites. I found the best deal and ordered them from Room of Fashion. I've never heard of the site, so let's hope that goes well! My total was less than $40 and that even included shipping! I hope the shipping doesn't take forever!

Happy Savings ladies!!!

First Try... Pink Frustrations - OOTD

2012-05-10T22:17:00.000-05:00

Hey ladies! This is my first post using the new camera. Why didn't anyone tell me that this wouldn't be as easy as I expected? I assumed since I had a new camera I could take a few pictures and be done. WRONG. Here's how it went.

After work I went to Walmart and bought the cheapest tripod that they had. WRONG AGAIN. I got home and realized that I picked up a monopod. Ugh! The other options at Walmart were $30+, so I decided to go to Target to get one. Once I was done the sun had gone down. Getting good pictures in a park full of trees with no sun? It might not be that hard for some, but when you haven't gotten used to camera settings... it's hard. I didn't have the energy to keep playing with different settings. It was also awkward being out there by myself with my tripod. Every time I saw someone coming, I would wait to take the next picture. I took a few shots and gave up.

It's not the best quality, but I like the look of the picture. I also need to find other locations. I quickly realized that when the ground is wet, it's not the best situation for heels.

Still not the best, but it's one of the "better" pictures.

Since I didn't get many decent shots at the park, I tried out the new setup at home.

This is my favorite


I don't know what was going on with my scarf.

Top - Old Navy // Jeans - Levi's // Shoes - Jessica Simpson Waleo // Scarf -Walmart

Being in front of the camera also wasn't as easy as I expected. The crazy thing about that is that I LOVE taking pictures. But it feels different trying to get the "blogger look"... y'all know that "this-is-my-serious/model-face-and-I'm-not-supposed-to-smile blogger look." Let's hope practice makes perfect!

Anyone have any helpful "photography" tips?

Go Get It

2012-05-10T20:21:00.000-05:00

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this song!!! It's a very encouraging and uplifting song!

Go get your blessings!

Cinco de Mayo - OOTD & HOTD

2012-05-09T13:00:00.000-05:00

Hey ladies! I'm back... for the 4th day in a row! I am ON! Lol!

My little sister went to her junior high dance on Cinco de Mayo. You couldn't tell her she wasn't cute! She is definitely my sister! Lol! Love ya, Michelle!

I though I was cute too, so of course I had to get in a few shots!

My mom & I

I found this shirt in Kohl's and fell in love with it. I wanted it in mint green, but they didn't have my size. I'm still debating whether or not I want to order it online.

Shirt - Candies via Kohl's // Jeans - Mossimo via Target // Shoes - Carlos Santana via Ross

Another one of my best friends, Tanisha, and the mother of my beautiful, silly ~~and grown~~ goddaughter. She invited me to a Mexican restaurant for drinks in celebration of Cinco de Mayo. The service was very lack luster... to say the least. I had only one drink because the waiter didn't come back to our table until we were ready for our tickets! o_0

Now can I just tell y'all one thing? I LOVED my hair!

I knew I didn't want to just wear a fro and I was tired of the "fro hawk." So I turned to iknowlee from YouTube... AGAIN! You should definitely check her out and subscribe if you aren't already! Here's the video...

Did you celebrate Cinco de Mayo?

Finally!!!

2012-05-08T14:01:00.001-05:00

Hey ladies! I have some good news!!! Here's the story....

I went to Walmart yesterday to pick up some pictures that I ordered online. I go to the site to store area and they have cameras sitting out on a table. To make a long story short, they had cameras for 60% off... Yes! 60%! I looked at a few and left. Of course I went home to research and read some reviews. Less than an hour later, I was back home with this!

I can finally stop complaining about the quality of my pictures! It's The Sony DSC-WX50 and I love it so far! I plan to do a review once I've used it for a while. Just a quick update. I'll talk you ladies later!!