Let the Festivities Begin...

 Headed to a Halloween party this past weekend.

 So what plans do you all have for All Hallows Eve?

New Favorite Thing...

So I want to do a quick post on my latest "favorite thing".  It is probably nothing new to most of you, but I can't help that I'm almost never the first to arrive at the party. haha  Anyway, I am crazy excited about Ulta's Red Carpet Manicure Kit!  As I've mentioned in other posts, I use to wear acrylic nails.  I stopped wearing them ages ago because I just never felt like had the time to go get them done and then keep up a regular schedule to get them filled in.  I guess that's just what mommy-hood does to you.  When I do have free time, the last thing I want to do is sit in a nail shop.  *hands back my girly-girl card*  Now pedicures are another story.  I can get my toes "did" and maintain them myself for a while, but nails--(fake) nails are a commitment.  So I broke up with them.

I started exploring other ways to keep my nails looking nice.  Of course, I could just polish them, though I don't know about you, but regular nail polish only lasts like 2 days (if that) on my natural nails.  I tried the nail polish "stickers" by Sally Hansen and KISS.  The SH brand would actually chip by day 2 or 3.  The KISS were heavier and I got them to last a week, but the colors/prints were a bit "out there".

So I'd been hearing about the (fairly) new rage, gel manicures from people I know getting them done at salons.  It peaked my interest, but again, I'm not a regular-go-to-any-salon kind of girl.  After some research, I found out about Ulta's Red Carpet Manicure kits.  Well I finally got around to buying it, and all I can say is....WOW.  I'm sold!  I love it!!

I've done 2 "manicures" myself, and all I can say is that I would not care if this polish only lasted 3 days.  The no drying time alone is totally worth it to me.  Before you get alarmed, the polish lasts longer than 3 days.  I've gotten over a week worth of wear.  Keep in mind, there are little tricks and tips to doing these gel manicures just right to maximize the "wear time" on them.  Just do a search on YouTube, there is plenty of information and tutorials there.  It only takes me like 30 minutes to do, if that, and let me repeat:  NO DRYING TIME.


The kit comes with all of the supplies you need as well as an LED nail light.  Oh, and it costs 80 bucks.  I'd happened to have a 20% off coupon code when I bought it, so I got it for a bit less.  I used that savings to buy another polish color to come along with it.  They have lots of colors!  The kit comes with a red color (shown in the pics) called "Red Carpet Ready".

The photo above is from Saturday night, day 3 of the nails!

Overall, I definitely think this kit was worth the money.  I am one happy girl!  You can get the kit HERE.

Link Up

This past Saturday, I got the chance to connect with an old (new) friend.  I say "old (new)" because she is someone I stumbled upon during the Myspace years.  I use to devour pictures of her and her friends' eclectic, earthy and fabulous Brooklyn style.  This was before I transitioned to natural hair, and all of them had natural hair which was additional inspiration for me to take the plunge.  Anyway, over the years, we've been social media friends and finally met up this weekend.  She happened to be here in Atlanta and wanted to film me for a video project she is working on for a website she will be launching soon!  I will be sure to let you guys know when that happens.  It is always great to meet another kindred spirit!

Introducing Michi!  If you want to be inspired by cool fashion and a warm spirit, follow this girl!

We met up at one of my favorite coffee shops that I frequent weekly.  So the night began with coffee and ended with cocktails and laughter.  I took her to one of my favorite rooftop lounges found at the restaurant, Cafe Circa.  

 
Can you believe the picture below of our drinks were actually shots?  Yes, the bartender decided to make us shots the size of real drinks.  We had to call it a night after that. haha

Looking forward to sharing with you all the finished product!

Crotch Fruit Fridays

My two crazy kids.

They like to lounge on my bed, especially when it is not made and is extra messy, or has laundered clothes all over it.  I guess rolling around in clothes while watching cartoons are their own little slice of heaven.

In other news, we found a new babysitter for our date nights.  Our usual sitter (hub's cousin) moved back to the Bahamas, so the future was not looking bright for us.  Just in time, a friend recommended a sitter she knew who just recently moved to our area.  She's a full time nanny, who picks up extra babysitting cash on the weekends.  We have a date night scheduled for tomorrow.  It is much needed!

Hope you all have a super-duper weekend!  I have some product reviews to be posted soon too.  So, be on the lookout!

Let's be Teal

Me and the hubs had a quick spur of the moment "date night" last week.  When he informed me of the plans, I decided to throw this little get up on.

I ended up throwing my trusty denim jacket on before leaving the house...

 

And just in case you were curious about the hair...

I can't wait to switch this hair back to curly.  Straight is easier, but the curls are more fun!  Me and the fam actually have a shoot for a print ad this weekend, so I have to wait until after that before switching.  And no, I see nothing wrong with pimping my boys' good looks for a little pocket change.  I'll be sure to do a post on this at some point.

Also, please ignore the baby gates and toys that may be seen on our deck.  That's just how we roll over here. :)

Happy Hump Day!

Ruffle top - Target

Bandage dress worn as skirt - Arden B.

Boots - Sam Edelman
Belt - F21

Weekend Mentions

This past Saturday, me and the fam decided to head out to the Dekalb International Food & Music Festival.  The weather was perfect!  It really was a diverse affair, all types of food from Jamaican to Ethiopian to Puerto Rican to Chinese...and of course, Bahamian.  We got our Bahamian food itch satisfied, and all was well with the world.

So what kind of fun did all of you get into this past weekend?

This post is part of :

A different kind of animal print

So, you guys have already gotten a glimpse of this outfit from my last post.  It's what I wore to the pumpkin patch with the fam.  I try to not make my style posts too contrived, i.e. all dressed up and no where to go.  I prefer posting looks that I am actually wearing somewhere, and if not, I will more than likely state it, though that will be far and few between.  I figure if you want to see pictures of someone playing dress-up, you can check out Vogue, Elle, or the more fantasy-esque kind of blogs, etc. I'm representing real-mom-wife-of-two-kids-life here. lol

Denim jacket: Old Navy | Dress: Marshalls (great alternative HERE) | Tights: Target | Boots: DSW(old)

I love this little "dress" I picked up at Marshalls a few months back.  I actually snapped it up at a Marshalls in Biloxi, MS when I was there.  I put the word dress in quotes, because I think it's actually bordering tunic length thanks to my amazon-ness (I'm 5'9).  This is where tights save the day.  Have a dress that's borderline too short?---Throw some tights on that b***! 

Anyway, I fell in love with the horse print.  It kinda reminds me of the throwback circa' 2001 Chloe collection that featured a horse print.  Even Carrie in Sex and The City wore one of the dresses on the show--just in case you needed confirmation of its coolness.  I still check eBay from time-to-time to see if anyone has any of the horse print Chloe pieces for sale...but to no avail.  I guess people are still loving those wears. Ah well.

So what do you all think of the "new" animal prints?  I've seen birds, kittens, foxes, etc.  I have to say, I'm loving it.

Pumpkin Patch 2012

So this past weekend, we made our yearly jaunt to the pumpkin patch (last years post here).  Max had been begging us for weeks now.  There are several pumpkin patches on the outskirts of Atlanta, but we usually go to Yule Forest.  They offer most of the usuals, i.e. hayride, petting zoo, pumpkins (of course).  They also have bounce houses and things of that nature for the smaller kids.  I can't wait until our boys get a bit bigger so that we can go to another pumpkin patch in the area that has a huge 4 acre corn maze!  In due time...

So what did you guys do over the weekend?

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Hopped on the bandwagon...

...and got a pair of these:

No, these are not the brand that you may think.  I would never drop that kind of cash on something so trendy.  So instead, I picked up the $40 eBay special.  I really do like them!  They almost make me want the real thing....................nahhhh.  I do like that these shoes give a little "lift"with the built-in wedge heel.  These are like sneakers for grown-ups!

Several versions of these shoes are available:  Here, here and here!  I feel like I will live in these during the fall/winter.  If they fall apart, I'll just go ahead and get one of the more expensive alternatives.  I'll keep you guys posted.

And to be honest, I just threw this outfit together just to take pictures of the shoes--I have nowhere to be today.  Life of a stay-at-home-mom...