Quarantine Purchases!

I have been living in leggings, yoga pants, and crew neck sweatshirts! I haven't really had a desire to buy any real clothing but I have picked up a few things I wanted to share with you!


SKIMS STRETCH RIB SCOOP BRALETTE

Kim Kardashian started her own shapewear company. What interested me was her bra's, bralettes, and loungewear. So I started with getting her bralette! These days who wants to put on an actual bra? NOT ME, I honestly never want to do that! I must say its very very comfortable the stretch is perfect and it gives you a good amount of support with it still being lightweight! I forget I even have it on! I have been really loving this and will probably get another one! 

Check it out HERE

THE ORDINARY FACE SERUM

The first couple weeks I was home my skin was acting up bad! I was telling a friend about it and she told me that she has been using this for months and it really helped her skin out so I thought I would I would give it a shot! I have really liked this so far. It's a high-strength vitamin and mineral blemish formula. I haven't seen too many major breakouts since starting this and its making my skin look really nice. This line is very inexpensive and they do a really great job explaining what each product does for your skin! 

Check it out HERE

Planting 

I don't have a green thumb at alllll, but last year I had some flowers my mom planted me in pots on my deck and I did OK, I decided to do some of my own and I loved how they came out... so I hope I can keep these alive.. any advice is welcome!! 

Booty by Brabants Mermaid Leggings 

I have had my eye on these leggings since they came out and Derrick was nice enough to buy them for me! They are very flattering! I do love the design on these! 

  I am a huge fan of her OG leggings because they have a lot of stretch! These are stretchy too but I feel they are a little tighter because the fabric is a lot thicker! 

Color Street Nail Polish Strips 

When salons closed I knew I was in deep shit! I typically do dip! Every 3 weeks on the DOT! I am a nail picker so my nails are junk! I needed something to fill the void but I don't like to paint my nails.. So a good friend of mine purchased this and said it was working for her and it was lasting a couple of weeks on her nails! I gave it a shot! I like how you don't have to paint, its not messy and you don't  have to wait for your nails to dry! BUT I did add a quick dry top coat! The first couple of these were tough but then I got the hang of it! I am very pleased with the outcome and purchased more! They have a ton of different colors to choose from and patterns! Even GLITTER! I am on day 8 and they are still looking great! 

DAY 8

Glass Tabletop Tiki Torch

I got this to put on my deck outside I used it recently and loved it! Found it at Target! It kept the bugs away and just looked really nice! I purchased more and I got the fluid that keeps the bugs away! Should help when we sit outside to eat dinner or just hang out at night! I also found some really cute ones on Amazon! 

BUY HERE TARGET

BUY HERE AMAZON

NuSkin Insta Glow

NuSkin Insta Glow 🌞

One of my friends on Facebook, Renee Perkins sells Nuskin products and I saw her post about this self tanner and just had to try it! I am a sucker for a nice tan! I have tried alot of self tanners in my day and I have to say I do really like this one! It doesn't give you an overwhelming amount of color it gives you a nice natural tan. I tested it on my legs first and liked what I saw so I did my whole body and it looks great! It didn't streak at all and my hands didn't turn brown after application, it washed off just fine without leaving leftover tanner on my hands. It does smell like self tanner but the odor is very low. You get instant color but over time it does get darker, then after your shower it evens out. This CAN be used on your face but mine has been whacky lately so I decided not to try that at this time, but I plan to.. I think I may mix it in with my moisturizer! What a good time to test it out too while being in quarantine! 

Left is before application. Right is right after application 

Here is the before application. Then after a shower 

I was glad I bought this product when I did. Your probably thinking what's the point of doing that right now when your stuck inside! well...I wanted to test this out before we went back into the real world for one, and two who doesn't get instantly happy with a nice tan?? Right now it was just what I needed and made me more excited for summer! Renee does an excellent job posting on the products she sells including this one I tagged her in this post so you will be able to navigate your way to her to BUY THIS! 

Drinking, Eating, and Redecorating!

I've just been thinking of things to do and cook during this time! Hope you are all doing well and enjoy reading what I've been up to! Drinking, eating, and redecorating!

Kettle One with Sprite 0

My friend Ashley told me about this vodka and I am so glad she did. Its extremely refreshing!  We went through one of these very quickly. We mixed with sprite 0. You should do a splash of tropical OJ too if your feeling up for that! 

Ghetto Sangria 

We have been drinking this alot! It's good and we feel like we are on vacation! Which I could use right about now!!

🍷 Fill glass with ice 

🍷 Red Blend Wine (leave a little room at the top)

🍷 Splash of 0 sugar lemonade I use Minute Maid Pink

🍷 Splash of seltzer water (I used raspberry lemon) but you can use plain 

🍷 Squeeze a lemon slice and drop it in the glass 

Chicken Noodle Casserole 

Made a bunch and it was good! You make a nice white sauce so there is no need for canned soup! You can add any veggies you want. I did peas & mushrooms

6 oz egg noodles (half the bag)

1 tbsp butter

1 medium onion 

1 tbsp flour

1 3/4 cups of fat free chicken broth

1 cup of milk

1 cup frozen peas

10oz sliced mushrooms

1 cup of white cheddar cheese

shredded chicken (I used rotisseries)

2 tbsp bread crumbs 

2 tbsp parm cheese 

preheat oven to 375 spray 9x12 casserole dish 

Cook noodles. Set aside. Melt butter in a deep skillet and add onions and cook until soft. Add flour and a pinch of salt stir. Slowly wisk in broth until combined, increase heat and whisk add milk and bring to boil. Add peas salt pepper to taste and simmer until the sauce thickens. Add chicken stir. Remove from heat and add 1 cup of cheddar cheese and mix until it melts. Add noodles mix it up and pour into casserole dish. Sprinkle the bread crumbs and parm cheese all over the top Bake for 25 min. 

My Go-To Lunch 

I've literally been eating this everyday. Looks like shit but it tastes so good. I make some tuna with mayo, (you can do chicken salad or plain chicken cut up) cut up bread and butter pickles S&P mix it all up. Lay down some salad in a bowl, and I top it with Mitchell's salsa it's the best hands down! Great with tortilla chips and on salad! Then I drizzle some Ken's Italian dressing over the top! I think that day I added some leftover quinoa 

Target Finds 

I was bored and decided I needed to redecorate my living room! I needed some not so fake looks greens to complete what I was envisioning I found them at Target! 

Find them here.

Eucalyptus Stem

Pink Thistle Stem

Personalized Tea Light Candle Holder 

I got this as an engagement gift from my friend Sam, its so cute and a such a great idea if you know someone that got engaged or married!

Find it here

Tea Light Holder

White Pillow Covers

I have these pillow covers in 3 different colors now. They have them in 11 colors! I love them. I think they add a little something to the couch! I bought them in white to go with the new decor! 

BUY IT HERE

What are you doing to keep yourself busy these days?

Crazy times!

How is everyone doing during this crazy time? I hope you are all safe and staying home as much as you can! I am..the only place I will go is the grocery store when needed and now that is leaving me feeling anxious when I do go. I used to not mind going to the store but now watching everyone walk around with gloves and masks is very unsettling to me.  I am careful of course but I have bought enough food to last so I am not going a lot. CRAZY to think this is the new normal right now!!

 I am still working and remotely. So my days consist of sitting in my kitchen with my laptop and monitor. Thankfully I have some funny coworkers to video chat with! Derrick set up his stuff upstairs so we have some separate work spaces. I try to take my hour break to step away. When the weather is nice I will go outside or I will go for a drive to clear my head a bit. 

I am A SOLID 7 right now lol

This week I really started to feel not normal and stir crazy! I’m not complaining because we are safer at home but it’s totally been an adjustment for me because I am not a home body. I enjoy going out for dinner and drinks and popping into TJ Maxx!!! Man I miss that place! I miss seeing my friends and hanging out having fun! Derricks fun but I miss my people! 😂

I did recently purchase an adult coloring book! I’ve been loving that a lot!

 LINK TO PURCHASE IS HERE

I am getting really sick of TV even though I've watched some series and movies but there's only so much you can watch. The other night I was thinking of other things I can do to keep myself busy....

Here's what I came up with 

💡Keep checking in with family and friends

💡Catch up with someone I haven't spoken to in a while - so if you get a random text from me you know why!! 😂

💡Compliment more people and make them feel good

💡Be better about cleaning

💡Read a few books - to love and to let go I’m almost done with and it’s really good! I think I am going to buy the Jessica Simpson book next! 

💡Less news, more music - we turned on YouTube Saturday night and listened to music from early 2000s! We had a lot of fun doing that and told each other funny stories from our past all night  

💡Teach myself something new (not sure what yet)

💡Try to come up with new things to cook that are healthy - I tried a family recipe I got from my Jamaican side! It was good! 

💡Support local businesses as best I can - I recently left my flower face on my doorstep and Flouish Events and Design came and filled it! I’ve done it 2x so far! 

💡Do at home workouts daily 

💡Get rid of some clothes- if you need anything let me know!! 

💡Remain positive- hard when things keep getting worse and worse!

💡Redecorate my place with stuff I already have! (Which is a lot) 

💡Start thinking about what I want to do for a wedding LOL 

I would love to hear from you about what your doing! Any suggestions for me?

My coloring piece! 

Flowers from Flourish 

Whipped Coffee! So good!

Recipe Here

Plans for Social Distancing!

I haven’t done a blog post in a while!! Life has been so busy and I was honestly having a hard time thinking of new material!! My goal is to be more creative and think of things to write! Now is the perfect time since things are not so normal right now! WTF IS GOING ON?!  I can’t even put my head around this whole COVID -19 stuff! Social media is not helping with the stress & anxiety! I never in a million years thought something like this would happen! We are living in a scary time right now! I also do not know how parents are doing it!! HUGE props to you guys! I cannot imagine how your are adjusting with kids at home, working from home, not working at all, cleaning, cooking , I mean ALL OF IT!  It’s only Derrick and I and I am so overwhelmed with the amount of grocery shopping we’ve been doing! That’s nothing compared to what the parents are doing!

YES, I admit I was that crazy person to get anxious and head to the grocery store for food and cleaning supplies! I had a couple moments! BUT I PROMISE I DID NOT HOARD!  Reading all the posts on pages I follow, scrolling through social media my brain just went into panic mode! I couldn’t help it! I’m much better now & adjusting to the new normal as best I can!

Had to cancel a trip- but that’s okay! I would rather not travel right now- we will all be able to travel again soon enough is what I keep telling myself! It will make traveling that much more fun! 

I really enjoy cooking but we did eat out on the weekends and I am missing that right now! I enjoy having friends over and I am missing that as well! Social distancing sucks but we have to do it! I’m hoping we save some money! Then blow it all when things are back to normal again 😂 

I don't want to become lazy so I am trying to think of things I can do on the weekends and after I work to do to keep myself going! I am fortunate to have a job where I am still allowed to work and remotely! 

Some of the meals I’ve decided to cook 

- homemade meatballs and sauce

- tacos for dayssss beef turkey chicken (switch off days) 

- pork chops with mini potatoes and veggie

- roasted veggies (Brussels, broccoli, onions, beets, asparagus) with a meat like chicken or steak 

- salsa chicken in the crockpot ( boneless chicken, salsa, black beans, corn) cook on low 8 hours shred chicken! So easy! You can have it with veggies, rice, over salad! 

- got a couple frozen pizzas! 

- chicken and veggie soup! 

- shrimp rice and veggies 

What are you cooking??  Give me new ideas! 

I also plan on supporting a couple local places by doing curbside pick up! We have a few favorites that we need to support in a time like this. 

I still plan on working out as much as I can! I feel it’s important even if it’s just a walk outside. 

I plan on reading some books! I have a couple I bought a while ago that I promised myself I would start and finish! 

I plan on touching base with friends and family throughout this whole process. Facetiming, group chats, sending funny pictures, etc. 

I plan on organizing our second bedroom. The past year we've been here we have just thrown stuff in that room and it's become worse and worse over time LOL 

I plan on buying flowers for the house because I read somewhere that having flowers in the house puts you in a better mood! 

The best thing we can do for ourselves right now is to be positive and not panic, rumors of shelters in place who knows if it will happen but if it does at least we know what we would have to do because many of us are doing it now! I hope this virus goes away quickly and nobody I know gets it! 

My Winter Go To's!

I haven't posted in a while!! Check out some of my winter favorite's right now!  have been wearing this winter!! I feel like this winter has been NEVER ENDING!! I am so ready for warmer weather or maybe even a vacation!!  

Black Suede Boots

These are more for fashion not warmth but they are super cute and I love the length of the boot they match a lot, has a little bit of a heel so I can dress these up pretty easy! 

Sorel Boots 

THESE ARE FOR WARMTH AND WINTER! Best investment I've ever made. SOREL boots are well made and they keep your feet warm in dry for the bad winter days!! There are a TON of different styles! They are waterproof as well! They look great with leggings and jeans! Well worth the money!

Cowl Neck Tunic Sweaters

I have been super into cowl neck sweaters super warm and comfy! I found this at Walmart for 11 bucks! I had to! I have a few more that are my go to's as well.. they are super easy to wear and I typically get longer ones so I can wear them with leggings! I have also picked up a few cowl neck sweatshirts I will post about. 

Furry Pullover

 I got mine from Jenny Boston! It's SO warm I sweat wearing it on a COLD COLD day! This looks perfect with leggings and awesome to lounge around it or run some errands in. 

Hydro Biotic Sleeping Mask 

I have been using this a couple nights a week for some extra hydration for my skin this winter since my skin has been a little on the dry side! I have a few items from Dr. Brandt and I do love the brand. It works for my skin! 

Faux Fur Trim Cable Slippers

I got these in my Fab Fit Fun box and ever since I got them I haven't been able to take them off! They are so warm and comfy and they don't make my feet sweat too bad! I like that they are slip on too! I bring them with me to friends houses too! 

Sam Edleman Teddy Coat 

This has been keeping me warm this winter! I wanted to make sure I got a teddy that wasn't so cheap looking so I found this one and it's awesome. The length was exactly what I was looking for too! 

  To Love and Let Go

This book was recommended to me by my friend Kim a while back- I put it on my Christmas list and Derrick got it for me. It's a memoir of love, loss, and gratitude. Kim and I both have lost special people in our lives so she knew this read was a good one for me. I highly recommend even if you haven't lost anyone. It will break you down & lift you up!

Trader Joe's

I have been obsessed with Trader Joe's for a couple of years now... I wish I went more but its a bit of a drive and finding the time to do that is hard. I always like to have a few things from them in my freezer for a quick side, or quick app when I have friends over to heat up! The prices are amazing and their food tastes great! ALSO WINE IS CHEAP!! I get get my Kim Crawford for $11.99 which is a GREAT price! But here are a few of my favorites I picked up from the store recently!  What are your favorite Trader Joe Items??

Cauliflower Pancakes- These are SO GOOD! I like them a tad better than the regular potato ones. They are a bit thicker and have chive in them which make them have some good flavor. I usually dip mine in sour cream and applesauce! They make a great appetizer or even side with dinner! 

Riced- Cauliflower "stuffing" I tried this and it wasn't bad! Has a stuffing taste! I don't think I would buy this again but I am glad I tried it.

 Thai Vegetable Gyoza- These are fantastic! I love to steam them or pan fry them!

Cranberry Chevre-Goat cheese hand-rolled in candied cranberries!! Its amazing on a rice cracker or regular! 

Tea Tree Tingle Shampoo and Conditioner- I read this was good on someones blog so I had to try it for myself! ITS SO REFRESHING IN THE MORNING AND ONLY 3.99 EACH!

Kale, Cashew & Basil Pesto- If you like pesto get this! It's so good and tasted homemade! Typically I make mine myself but this is the best store bought ever! Don't let the cashew freak you out! You cannot even taste it! You can put this on top of chicken, shrimp or make it with pasta! 

Tarte de Champignons- SOUNDS FANCY I KNOW, its basically a mushroom pizza and the dough is flaky and light and so good! I usually make this with a side salad with dinner!

Vegetable Fried Rice- Hands down the best fried rice! I like to get the Veggie so I can add my own meat to it! I've added ground chicken, had chicken on the side, I have also added shrimp and it was very good!

 Reduced Guilt Chunky Guacamole-  This stuff is addicting and we can eat a whole container in one sitting! It's made with Greek yogurt but you really cant tell the difference! Best with tortilla chips or even tacos! 

Everything But the Bagel Seasoning- This stuff is great! Lately we have been doing avocado toast with egg and sprinkle this on top! I need to figure out other ways to use this! But I bet I can make a dip of some sort! 

Spanakopita- You can really get these anywhere but I do love these ones because they dont go cheap with the filling! These are great to have in the freezer for sure! Quick heat up and you have a nice little snack if your friends come over or you go somewhere! 

Food!

Ground Chicken Stir Fry

You can really use any veggies you want in this dish! 

1lbs ground chicken

2 Peppers (your choice in colors)

1 can of water chestnuts

Frozen Broccoli (Steam fresh bags)

8oz pkg of mushrooms

Chop your peppers and mushrooms. Cook your broccoli - I used steam fresh because its quicker! 

In a bowl mix together 

1 cup low sodium chicken broth or stock

1/4 cup hoisin sauce 

1 teaspoon powdered ginger 

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons of corn starch 

Cook ground chicken with a little olive oil and sesame oil in the pan. Set aside 

In a wok or big pan add alittle olive oil and minced garlic- cook your peppers and mushrooms to your liking! I like mine with still a little crunch! Add water chestnuts and broccoli, add cooked ground chicken  mix all together. Add Sauce and cook until all blended and heated through!

Serve alone, or with Rice! So good!

Semi Homemade Pizza! 

The Trader Joes pizza crust is SO GOOD and SO easy for pizzas! 

I highly recommend buying these 

Trade Joes Pizza Crust-  SEE HERE

Grilled Chicken 

Shredded cheese

Red onion 

Arugula 

Balsamic Glaze 

Shrimp Brown Rice and Veggie Nests 

Sautee Shrimp in whatever seasoning you like! I did some Teriyaki sauce and minced garlic! 

Make your favorite rice or starch or none! 

Veggie Bird Nest from Trader Joe's 

Made a great meal! 

Korean Beef

This meal is so good, this is made in the crockpot so its super simple!

RECIPE HERE!!