60 Day-Til-Birthday Challenge

3 Feb

I had an idea. Since 2014 is my year of completion, I figured I would finally finish that 90-day challenge that I started in October. A friend of mine told me that my 27th birthday is in a little less than 60 days (52 days to be exact), so I thought this would be a good time to challenge myself. This time, I’m going to make it a 60-day challenge. If you want to get technical, then it’s really going to be a 63-day challenge. Why 63 days? I have decided to break the challenge down into 21-day segments, so 21×3 is 63. Every 21 days I’m going to add a new set of goals to the challenge.

 For instance, for the first 21 days my challenge will look like this:

  1. Exercise- BGWOT 21 Day fitness challenge (+classes at the gym)
  2. Make a habit- drink 64oz of water a day+take vitamin and cranberry, eat breakfast within an hour of waking up.
  3. Complete something- Headboard, Research,  & Vision Board
  4. Daily devotion

For the second 21 days, I will just add on something new to each category. 

My big days will be February 23rd (day 21), March 16th (day 42), March 26th (my Birthday) and April 6 (day 63). I really want this challenge to be successful, but I know myself and I know my weaknesses. One of my main weaknesses is finishing what I start. So far, though, I’ve been doing pretty well in 2014! Hopefully, by putting myself out there in the blogosphere I’ll be more inclined to stick with the challenge. After all, I only have to make it through 21 days at a time, so that should be easy. I hope. I really, really hope.  

Here’s to Day 1!

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Nails of The Weekend

28 Jan

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I googled “color that means success” and gold came up, so I polished my nails gold for a little motivation. This is Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Gilty Pleasure with China Glaze Luxe and Lush (from their Hunger Games collection) on top. I used Gelous as my base coat and Seche Vita as my top coat.

Nails Of The Day

21 Jan

Only my second manicure of 2014–Sally Hansen Xtremewear in Fuchsia Power with Seche Vita topcoat

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Well Isn’t It Ironic

20 Jan

It’s kind of ironic. Probably a quarter of a million dollars were spent so that I could learn to be a journalist (and to get an awesome college experience that would transcend anything that could be taught in a classroom, but I digress) so that I could write and share my art with the world, but I don’t. I’ve started and restarted this blog a number of times in the last six years, but I always shy away from it in the end. If that’s the case, that I’m always going to shy away, then why do I continue to pay for my domain year after year? To put it simply, “…I’m an artist, and I’m sensitive about my shit.” I quote Erykah Badu often when explaining my lack of blog posting. The process of not posting usually ping-pongs between laziness and sensitivity, but the end result is always a hiatus from my beloved blog. Ironically, though, another consistency with not blogging is always writing. Even though I’m not posting, I am constantly writing. When I say ‘writing’, I don’t mean abstract journal entries meant for my eyes only, I mean blog posts. I’m always writing blog posts and blog ideas, but I’m never uploading them. If I sit and think about it, I could probably create a laundry list of explanations, but I won’t. I haven’t got the will or the time. But what I will say is this: 2014 is going to be different. I know, here she goes with the New Year’s resolutions. You’re right. Here I go. But before you write me off, let me tell you why. Collectively, I felt like my life was on a downward spiral that completely self-combusted right in my face in 2013. After a blow-up like that, one has got to make changes! Furthermore, I can’t imagine things getting any worse. I feel like I really hit rock bottom, so the only way I can go is up. As such, I’ve made a list (ah, my beloved lists) of things that I want to do in 2014. I’m mostly done with the old ways. I’m ushering the new. Even on day 20 of the New Year, I have been struggling internally with my old ways, which is expected, but when I feel myself falling into the same traps my goal is stop in my tracks and make a change. Which brings me to where I am now—writing a blog post instead of pinning my life away on Pinterest. I’m actually going to post this one, too. This post is part of the process of a better me in 2014. Even though I’m 20 days “late”, I’ll share some of the resolutions that I made.

 

  1. Learn to swim well enough so that I can do a cannonball. ( I signed up for lessons last week!)
  2. Complete the tasks that I begin.
  3. Eat in and eat better.
  4. Adhere to some sort of schedule. For organizational purposes.
  5. Resume my 64oz of daily water intake.
  6. Be happy—blog, write, dance, read, learn science, buy nail polish, display fresh flowers and plants. Get back to my “happy roots”
  7. Exercise (for reasons not pertaining to physical health)
  8. No heels over 3.5inches. max.

 

And there ya have it. That’s the Juice.

 

PS. If you didn’t catch the 90’s lyrical references, here ya go.

Fourth of July!

4 Jul

I love holidays. I love holiday celebrations and decorations and everything else that goes with them. So for the Fourth of July, which just happens to have been my favorite holiday since childhood, I’ve decided I want to do it up this year! My first order of business is, of course, my nails. I got some inspiration from Pinterest and went to work!

This manicure was done using gel polish. I just so happen to have the Red Carpet Manicure gel polish system/set/ kit/whatever and I figured now was as good of time as any to whip it out. Though I have the gel red (it came with the kit), I decided to do a “gelly sandwich”  where I use regular polish in between the gel base and top coats.

This is how my version turned out:

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I was being rushed and didn’t have time to draw the heart, but I may do it later!

What do you think??

Budgeting: July

2 Jul

I’ve been doing pretty well in my budgeting endeavors! I only bought a few things over the last few weeks and my purchases were planned and I used a few coupons.  Here’s what I bought:

Aveeno Daily Moisture Body Wash- $6.99 (after $2 coupon)

Crest Vivid White Toothpaste – $4.25 (after $.75 coupon)

Supergoop! Spf 30 Everyday Face and Body Moisturizer- $15

EOS Lemon spf 15 lip balm- $3.29

2 packs Venus Embrace Disposables- $9.87 for both (after buy one get one free coupon) *that’s $4.93 a pack!!*

1 gallon of Aloe Vera Juice- 7.99

Avocado Oil-6.99

Rosemary Oil- 5.99

Grand Total: $47.04 (after coupons, a gift card, and other discounts)

That’s still more than I would have liked to spend (that trip to GNC for those oils put me over the edge :/) but I’m getting better! This month, I plan to spend less than $25. But there are a few things that are going to make that VERY difficult for me.

  1. I have a $4 coupon for the Venus + Olay razor that expires at the end of the month
  2. Ulta is having a huge summer sale
  3. I’m getting dangerously low on my staple conditioners and aloe vera gel

Now, good sense would tell me to start with the things I “need” and work my way up from there, but my good sense often fails me when nail polish and hair crap are involved. Nevertheless, I’ll do my best. Pray for me.

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Doin’ It for Yourself: 6-Step At-Home Summer Facial

27 Jun

Like I’ve said before, I’m a kitchen beautician. I usually don’t pay professionals for services that I can do myself. Don’t get me wrong though, being pampered by a stranger is very therapeutic, but there’s a certain bliss that comes from DIY’n it. I try to do an at-home facial at least twice a month. Here’s how:

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1. Clean your face. Use your favorite cleanser and a deep cleaning brush. Olay has a motorized one for about $30 (you can often find coupons and get it on sale), but you can also use a baby hair brush. Earth Therapeutics sells a facial brush that looks like a baby hair brush for about $3.

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2. Scrub your face. I like to mix my scrub with baking soda, but in the absence of a scrub, you can just use the baking soda mixed with water. You can also make a scrub out of oil and table sugar (my favorite oil is sweet almond, of course). Massage your face with the mixture or scrub for about 30-60 seconds, you don’t want to overdo it.

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3. Apply a mask. Use a mask that’s geared towards your skin type. I LOVE the Bellaboo chocolate mask, but I’ve gotten pretty great results from the Queen Helene Mint Julep masque and the Yes To Cucumbers mask. You can also make your own mask. Find a recipe you like by doing a lil’ google search.

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4. Steam your face. Fill the sink with scalding hot water and add a few drops of essential oil. I like peppermint oil for the summer. It also has antibacterial properties (ahem, acne-prone skin). If you’re lazy, like me, you can just run hot water on a wash cloth and hold it to your face until it cools a few times. If you’re fancy, you can invest in a genuine facial steamer.

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5. Tone your face. Swipe (don’t douse) your face with an alcohol free toner. Thayer’s witch hazel toner with cucumber and aloe is perfect for the summer and doesn’t dry your face out. You can also mix apple cider vinegar with water (1 TBS vinegar to 1 cup of water) and use that as a toner. You can make your own rosewater toner, too.

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6. Moisturize your face. Use your favorite moisturizer and go to town.

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My Face: This Week

26 Jun

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The week after the wedding my skin pretty much went crazy. Usually, when I leave from my grandmother’s house I barely even have to wash my face. She has soft water and usually it works magic on my skin. I love it. I think I’ve found the culprit of this unusual behavior to be the sunscreen I was wearing. I decided I needed to start wearing sunscreen, but my face decided otherwise. So to reverse the effects, I’ve been very deliberate in dealing with my face. As far as regimens go this has been my counterattack:

Morning

  1. Wash with Bellaboo Buff Skin
  2. Aloe Vera gel
  3. Thayer’s Witch Hazel or Clinique Emergency Gel-Lotion
  4. Bellaboo Mosturise Dew

Night

  1. Wash with Bellaboo All That Clean Skin wash + Clarisonic Mia
  2. Aloe Vera gel
  3. Clinique Acne Solutions Moisturizer
  4. Sweet Almond Oil

I think I’m gonna chill on the Emergency Gel-Lotion during the day. The key to this has really seemed to be the night regimen. The aloe vera gel really helped to clear up what I like to call “allergy bumps” which are those little fine bumps that appear when my skin has a bad reaction to something. The Clinique acne moisturizer smells horrible, but for whatever reason, this 2.5% benzoyl peroxide treatment is literally shrinking these bumps overnight. As for the sweet almond oil, I don’t even know what to say about it. It doesn’t make my skin oily, it makes my skin baby effing smooth. It also absorbs easily and

 

I haven’t had any adverse reactions from using it like I’ve had with oils in the past. I can’t say that I’m surprised though, because it’s the first ingredient after water in the Bellaboo moisturizer. So hopefully after a few more days of this I can go back to my basic wash and go skin regimen.

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The Princess and The Flat Iron

12 Jun

I washed my hair last night for the first time in two weeks. It was beyond dirty! But I have to admit that it was a pleasant experience. I was also pretty stoked that my ODing on heat protection wasn’t in vain because my hair reverted right back.

Here’s the technique I used to flat iron my hair:
– Wash
– Clear rinse
– Deep Condition w/moisture and protein
– Leave in/detangle: It’s a 10 is a heat protectant, too
– Air Dry
– Heat protectant spray
– Blow dry
– Heat protectant serum applied to each section
– Flat iron on 410 degrees
– Apply serum for smoothness
– Wrap + Satin Scarf

It seems like I added a lot of product to my hair, but my hair was not weighed down at all, so in the future I will continue to put all that crap on my hair to protect it. I noticed right after I flat ironed my hair that my ends looked thin. So I was sad. I still am, actually. I’m sure the thinness is a result of the detangling battles I’ve had in the past, but it’s only a minor setback (still repeating this to myself) and a reminder not to slack off. I think imma chill on the heat after my cousin’s wedding though.

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Young, Broke, and Fabulous

5 Jun

I just combed through my bank statement from last month and discovered that I spent a whopping $200+ on miscellaneous bullshit. I spent another $75 in Ulta. On what you might ask? I have no effing clue. But I do know one thing, it stops here. I’m putting myself on a strict budget (I thought I had already, but obviously that didn’t work). I have all this stuff on my Summer Want list, but I nibbled away at the dollars I should’ve been using for that. NO MORE, I SAY! From now on, I will not be buying stuff that I don’t need unless:

  1. It’s something I use over and over and is at a rock-bottom, once-a-year price i.e. when I bought 2 razor cartridge refills b/c they were on sale at 60% off + two $2 coupons
  2. To replace a product I currently have but isn’t working
  3. A limited edition nail color

That seems like a lot of exceptions, but I can count the instances on my hand that those issues have been the case (and coincidentally, none of them were the case last month).

 

Also, I will allow myself a slight budget for stuff I don’t need, but I’ll only purchase those items based on priority (how bad/long I’ve wanted it). So. I’ll start with a budget of $150/month to be broken down as such:

 

$40 skin/makeup

$30 hair

$80 clothes (I NEVER buy clothes, so my wardrobe consists of an ass of shit that I only kinda like, but bought for a dirt cheap price)

 

So wish me luck. Join me. Whatever floats your boat.

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