NO Fast Food Challenge

After weeks of pondering on whether or not i wanted to start this challenge i finally made the decision to accept. Let me start off with telling you a little bit about this challenge.

To state the obvious you are giving up ALL forms of fast food for a month, yes a whole 30 days.

and yes this does include: Subway. which i am not happy about. Pizza places. Chinese takeout. Milkshakes. STARBUCKS. Panera bread.  salads from fast food places.. you get the point. 

That's it, it is a very basic challenge but believe it or not it is something that a lot of people will struggle with. I however am not someone that eats fast food multiple times a week I do however forget my lunch some days and need to grab something quick, or i pass a Starbucks and of course i have to stop and sometimes i just get a craving for bojangles. I would say i eat fast food anywhere from 3-5 times max a month but i still feel like this will be challenging for me and that i will benefit from this. So yesterday was day one of this challenge and honestly i was craving a oreo cheesecake milkshake from cookout when i left work, haha i can see how this is going to go but of course I did not stop and get one so go me! 


I will be updating you when i get halfway through this challenge and then again when my 30 days are complete to tell you my thoughts and how well i did or did not do with this! If you also decided to challenge yourself please stop by the blog and let me know how you do with it!

xoxo.

My Favorite Place in the World..

As I lay here in bed tonight, i realize that my time here in my favorite place will shortly be coming to an end. The place that feels like vacation to me the most, the place that when I walk in the door all my worries and all my troubles suddenly seem so small. The place that holds the memories that I cherish the most in my life. If you asked most women my age what their favorite place in the world is you would get answers like, the beach, my lake house, the mountains, spas, etc.

While all the places are certainly nice, there is no other place that i would rather be then my grandmas house. Im 22 years old and and I am still a firm believer of the saying "theres no place like grandmas." The best feeling in the world is walking in the door after a long 8 1/2 hour drive thats if traffic is good to me and seeing my grandmas face light up and her smile from ear to ear. That is a feeling that warms your soul. 

The days that have passed since I have arrived, have been filled with love, memories, warm conversations and of course good food. There is not a room in this house that does not hold a memory that touches my heart.

 The kitchen where my grandfather taught me how to play cards during breakfast, he started teaching me at a young age and i became the princess of war games. Or the times my eyes would fill up with tears because it was time for me to put my patch on my eye. (I had a lazy eye as a child, which eventually resulted in eye surgery) my grandpa would pick me up off the floor and wipe my tears away as we picked out a new sticker to put on my eye patch that day. We would take turns picking but somehow it would always end in him picking out the exact one that i wanted that day. 

The living room where my grandma would rock me to sleep on her recliner and stroke my hair when i was sick. The times that my pappy would steal my baby blanket from me when I was sleeping and cover up with it knowing that I would wake up and snuggle up to him to get it back. I could never forget the times that my grandma would get our swimming rafts out, we would blow them up and make a pallet on top of them with our blankets and our pillows and camp out on the living room floor for movie night. My twin brother once looked over to find my grandma asleep, he asked her "Grandma if your sleeping who is watching us." That is the night that she realized that he thought she stayed up all night and never went to sleep so she could watch us. The things kids say right!

The bathroom where my grandma would bath me and sing me inapporiate bathroom songs. "Ms. Lou Lou had a baby his name was tiny Tim, she put him in the bathtub to see if he could swim, he swan to the bottom, he swam to the top. Ms. Lou Lou got excited and grab him by his .. don't ASK me no questions ill tell you no lies, if you ever get hit with a bucket of shit be sure to close your eyes! My grandmother has a strong sense of humor, she is actually one of the funniest people I know.. what can i say, she taught me at a young age. Or all the times I would get a new cabbage patch doll to play with in the tub, I had one with a shower and everything. 

But most importantly, the bedroom where my grandmother would tuck us in every night, the bedroom that she taught us our prayers.. The bedroom that she read us a bedtime story in. The room that she reminded us in every night how much she loved us.

I hold all the memories so closer to my heart, and the older i get the more I cherish these memories and the more I appreciate my most favorite place, because I know that one day there will come a time where my favorite place is broken. Where my favorite place becomes a place where people gather to tell me how sorry they are for my lose, and how much they hurt for me. A place where people will walk in the door and not see the memories that play so frequently in my head as i walk room by room. A place that eventually I will have to say goodbye to…. My favorite place will one day be a place where my heart breaks. But until that day, I walk these rooms and I smile, I laugh and I feel the warmth of the love in my heart. 

xoxo.

Words you Speak..

Bored at work this afternoon, story of my life. I was strolling through my twitter feed and I came across this picture. All at once 56,568 thoughts ran through my mind. Its amazing how powerful and inspirational a picture can be.

My first thought, and not one of my proudest moments was that I wouldn't speak at all. I would go completely mute because there is no way i would want to walk around with my whole entire body looking like that. I promise I am not a horty torty person. Then I got to thinking, that if everyone was born and from the time you started speaking the words you spoke would appear on your skin then we would not know any different as far as looks, we would think that this is normal. 

This picture not only intrigued me, but it made me break down the kind of person that I am. If you know me you know that I have no filter over my mouth and if you don't know me, WARNING: proceed listening with caution. I am extremely guilty of not thinking before I speak, and I more times than I should speak out of anger. Speaking out of anger is my biggest flaw, I always regret what I said, most of the time I say things to hurt the person I am angry with, and after I cool down I can not believe the crap that came out of my mouth.

 If the words I spoke appeared on my skin I would without a doubt be more careful of what I say. I do not want to display the hurtful words I sometimes speak. shame on me, but we are all human. I can just admit it!  I believe that the words you speak show the kind of person that you are. Despite my flaws I am not a spiteful, cruel, or uncaring person. Friends of mine and family would describe me as kind and caring with a slight attitude problem. hey I'm a woman, what can I say? 

The sad thing is the people that would describe me as kind and caring, are the ones that I sometimes take my anger out on. To my advantage they know me inside and out. They know my good sides and my bad sides. However, the women that glances my way in the grocery store, the stranger I pass walking down the hall, or the man that comes to my door to deliver a pizza, does not. You can not judge a person by glancing at them. This is why the words that we speak are so important.

If spoken words appeared on my skin they would see all. They would see the good words that I most often speak, the words I speak out of anger and the cuss words I say when I get frustrated or annoyed. What kind of person do you look like to the people in the world that do not know you? To the ones that do not want to take the time to get to know you? They would read the bad and not care enough to get to know the good. 

I am so happy that found this picture. Today I am challenging myself to truly think about the words that I speak and the affects they have on others. I am challenging myself to allow the words I chose to speak make me a better person. I am also ..... challenging YOU.

xoxo.

32 things that make me HaPpY!

Well my dears, this post was suppose to be a link-up. However, I suck at life and I completely forgot to post it and now of course it is over. I enjoyed writing this so much and enjoyed reading other bloggers responses that I wanted to post mine anyway.  There is a lot of things that make me happy in life and I am so happy that i can actually say that because there are other people that are not so fortunate. I think that people forget about the little things in life and that is NO way to live. i can not imagine all the cartons of ice cream that I would ingest if that was the case, not to mention all the excess weight gain. 

I love my family, friends, pets, and so on and so forth. They take up such a big part of my heart and I could not live without their support and guidance. However this list below I focused on the little things. Hope you enjoy!!

1. First cup of coffee in the mornings. The second, third and fourth are also my favorites.

2. Movies. especially with a good love story line, that makes me grin from ear to ear, and i do this really embarrassing clapping of my hands thing.

3. Fireworks. every color, shape, etc. I think fireworks should go off in the sky every night, not just on certain holidays.

4. Diet Coke

5. When i face one of my fears. story here.

6. Satisfying my sweet tooth. I could not just say chocolate because that leaves out all the other amazing sweets i enjoy.

7. The moment when I wake up in the morning and cory is snuggled up to me peacefully sleeping away.

8. shopping. multiple times a week. who has a problem? not me!

9. Red velvet CobbleStone candles from Kirklands.

10. Quilts.

11. When i complete the perfect sock bun or side braid on my lazy days.

12. Flowers.

13. A clean house. A clean house. A clean house. A clean house. i can not say this enough.

14. Traveling.

15. Being Tan…. not so much the whole tanning process.

16. Waking up in the middle of the right and realizing i still have hours to sleep.

17. Being barefoot. I hate wearing shoes, and i wish it was socially acceptable to never wear them.

18. The whole Christmas holiday, and all the festivities that comes along with it.

19. The feeling of freshly shaved legs on clean sheets. ahhhhhhhmazinggggggggg.

20.  Tim Riggins from friday night lights. also Nate, Chuck, and Dan from Gossip Girl.

21.  when the clock goes from 4:59 to 5:00pm on a Friday !

22.  a good book.

23. sweet written hand notes.

24. the golden girls.

25. Fall time.

26. yoga pants.

27. my grandma's house.

28. organization

29. adding more makeup to my collection.

30. good hair days.

31. comfort food.

32. making good decisions, falling my dreams and what my future brings.

To the Start of Facing My Fears.

Yeah thats right! Today I faced my fears. Well one of my fears. I went to the dentist, and i didn't  cause a scene or cry and I actually went thru with my whole filling procedure. I know what your thinking.. wow its just the dentist, its not like you faced a fear of heights, or a clowns.  I know, I know. But all my life I have had the biggest fear of going to the dentist office for anything more than a cleaning. I blame it on the many bad experiences that I had to go thru as a child. My fear was so bad that I got kicked out of my childhood dentist office and was forced to go somewhere in raleigh where they strap kids down on  a straight jacket board. if that doesn't scare the hell out of a child I don't know what does. But always, I am rambling now, I think you all get how big my fear is. but today, I faced my fear and I could not be more proud of myself. 

I had a funny moment with the whole laughing gas experience, but before I get to that it is crucial that I tell you that my dentist is H-O-T. like sloan mc.steamy h-o-t. I left my dental consult last week knowing that I was going to be on laughing gas for my procedure earlier today to calm my nerves. So, for a week I was praying to God that I didn't take too much laughing gas to the head and tell him how pretty he really is, start drooling, or basically do anything embarrassing…

So the hygienist started the laughing gas and explained to me that I would start feeling a bit loopy, well that was quite an understatement. Within minutes I felt like my whole body was floating, and I started talking some crazy talk to my boyfriend cory. yes cory went with me for moral support. but don't worry I already explained to him that the dentist was attractive and apologized for anything that came out of my mouth, thats okay right? So after what seemed like ten minutes of the crazy talk and having no control over my body I decided to tell the nurse that I didn't think the laughing gas was the best choice for me. Unfortunate for her because I'm sure I would have been quite the entertainment.

Long story short, I made it thru the whole procedure with flying colors and no attraction confession. I would say that this was quite a successful day. now if i could just feel my lips. Cory treated me to a chocolate milkshake, that I barley got any of due to the fact that it kept running out of my mouth but all is good. I can honestly say that I will not be canceling any dentist appointments out of fear anymore, and that I think i found a dentist that I can finally feel at ease with. funny huh?ha


Today taught me that I want to start facing my fears more often. I honestly do not think that I have enough fears or situations that I could put myself in to say that I want to do it everyday. But when the chance arises I want to take it with a smile on my face, knowing how proud I will feel once I accomplish something that I never thought I could. 

Bye Bye Blackheads!

Bad hair days, having nothing to wear, dealing with your shopping addiction, better yet deal with mother nature….us women have enough problems to deal with, blackheads and blemishes should not be one of them.

I had very lucky teenage years. minus the crazy frizzy poodle hair that i have had to deal with my whole life, luckily i have learned to embrace it these days. But I have always been blessed with pretty healthy glowing soft skin. I have never had to deal with any acne or rosacea problems. I can not think of a time in my life that I have had more than more or two at the most pimples on my face. Thank you baby Jesus! But I am human, so I get tiny little baby black heads from time to time. No biggie, thanks to a at home skin mask that I have relied on for years.

I am a true believer that sharing is caring, so I want to share with all of you beauty ladies this amazing mask. Oh and did I mention that this little baby is CHEAP! It was love at first apply.

I purchase my Mint Julep Masque at my local Dollar General, however it is available at most drugstore and I have seen it at Walmart. If you want to purchase online click here. 

Quick & easy directions! thank god because Its nice when it doesn't feel like work!

Step 1: Warm washcloth in hot water, then pat onto face. (steam wash) feels amazing!! hello pores.

Step 2: complete your nightly skin routine, however do not apply any moisturizer.

Step 3: Apply a good amount all over face.

This mask with start out a green color and turn white over time as it dries.

The mask says to apply for 15 mintues then to wash off with wash cloth and warm water, I however sleep in the mask. I feel that it makes my skin extra soft and it seems to work better for me. ohh and it really turns cory on, kidding! He said i looked like a monster but that he loves me anyway. true love ladies, true love. Just keep in mind that everyones skin is different. Play around with the product, find what works best for your skin.

Goodnight.

XOXO 

I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned.

My "Everyday" Makeup Organization

Twice, four times, no wait seven, yes definitely seven….the number of times I have changed my every day makeup organization. I feel like this is something in my life that is never constant. I always think of new ideas, or find a more productive way to store my everyday make. For example, a magnetic makeup frame is on my current DIY project list, and I can not wait to share the process with you readers!

But until I find the next "best thing" I currently use a small counter in my bathroom that is not attached to my sink, so every thing is out of the way for when I am not doing my makeup, but yet still in reach for when I am. 

I am in love with my Muji acrylic drawers. After many months on debating if I wanted to purchase or not, I am so happy that I finally did. I love being able to see all my products thru the case even when the drawers are closed. They are also so easy to wipe off in case of makeup spills.

A few of my "go to" lip products.

By far my HOLY GRAIL makeup palettes, I love how well they fit in the drawer.

More of a misc. drawer, has a benefit blush, Tarte bronzer, Naked basics palette and Urban Decay eyeshadow primer samples.

I keep my product samples in the last drawer.

This is just a simple plastic three drawer case I think that I purchased from Dollar General.


I keep my everyday face products in drawer one. BB Cream, foundation, face primer, and some concealers.

All my face powders go in the second drawer. These are a few of my favorite powders.

Last but not least I have my eye products in the last drawer. Few eyeshadows, mascara, eyeliner, & brow products.

I find that it is beneficial for me to have my everyday makeup products separated from my entire makeup collection ( I have a vanity that I keep my collection in). It cuts the time it takes for me to get ready in half due to me not having to search and dig thru every product that I own.

xoxo.