My absolute favorite wellness...mind,body, and soul website!!

"MindBodyGreen"





I came across this treasure via Facebook last week. I love this site. It offers everything to do with the body, mind, and soul! Health tips, weight-loss tips, healthy recipes, sex talk, relationship advice/talk, and so much more! This site literally has anything and everything on it. I know you will love it as much as I do...no matter if you are on the low to high of extremes to this wellness lifestyle! Here is the link;



http://www.mindbodygreen.com/


Enjoy!


You can also "LIKE" and follow them on Facebook;



https://www.facebook.com/MindBodyGreen


Remember, to wear a SMILE, LAUGH, and LOVE!
Xo

Damaged, limp, hair loss? This may help you!!

So, if you have read my post before this one...you will know that 2014 will be my LAST year in my 20's. With that said, I am focusing on everything...mind, BODY, and soul. 2013 was such a MESSY year for me to say the least. Health scare, migraines, and just STRESSED about life itself. I know we all go through our own personal struggles. I am a VERY private person, and 85% of the time I can be dying on the inside and will nt let anyone know. I found out, when I do this..I am holding onto a lot of stress. A lot of inner stress. That stress was affecting my body (weight gain, hair began to become limp and I suffered a little bit of hair loss, and grey hairs started sprouting out of nowhere)!! When I started to really evaluate the situation, I knew something had to give, something had to change! I needed to FOCUS on myself...all of me. For many mothers out there, you know how this story goes...you have kids, your life kind of pauses, while all of your attention goes to your kids and your husband. My kids are older now and although I am not done raising them, they are now old enough that I can focus on ALL of me.

Hair to a woman is everything, kind of like putting clothes on in the morning. So when I realized stress was really affecting my hair and the follicles...I needed to step up to the plate. I wasn't happy with the state of my hair and people started to notice the difference in my hair. I had been good with my hair before; not using heat, and wearing it naturally curly. But as life went on, I wasn't treating my body right, let alone my hair. It has become so damaged. I started to research some things that I could start doing for my hair and scalp. I researched and YOU TUBED some videos.

Of the things that I found; the MAIN ones that help with hair growth and a healthy scalp are;

Rosemary
Tea Tree Oil
Peppermint Oil
Cedar Wood Oil

I purchased this EXACT Rosemary Conditioner::

*You can find this on Amazon*


After I washed my hair with my regular shampoo, I used this conditioner and after washing it out, my hair felt so light, clean, and moisturized. I just bought this...so I will need to do a update later to see if it has indeed helped with my hair growth, but only time will tell.


I also bought a similar Tea Tree Oil::

After you wash your hair (shampoo and conditioner) place a dime size of this oil in your palm and run together and gently massage into your scalp. You can repeat the process in the morning as well. I do it twice a day to make sure I lock in that oil in the hair follicles. When you have curly hair, your hair absorbs moisture twice as much as straight hair, which I have been reckless and forgetting about. Although I am mixed...I still have "African American" hair texture. So I need to treat it as such. So far, I have loved this product. Tea Tree Oil can be used on the skin as well. When I was younger, I remember buying this amazing tea tree oil from The Body Shop. It was soo good on my skin and never knew it would be as great on the scalp as well :) You can purcahse Tea Tree Oil from almost anywhere!!


Ladies, I hope this has helped you and don't be embarassed by this funk you're in with your hair. You are MORE than just the hair on your head! Remember that. Its also sometimes hereditary or could just be your age. As you age, your hair follicles shrink and become limp. Also, I know a lot of women who have just given birth go through hair loss. Its a hormonal thing. So if oyu just gave birth and notice some hair loss, then these two products could really help you. LIVE LIFE STRESS FREE and use any of these produts above that I have mentioned and it will help greatly!!


Remember to SMILE. Remember to LOVE yourself.
Xo

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

It's been awhile blog world! But I wanted to WISH everyone who stumbles upon my blog a HAPPY, BLESSED, HEALTHY, LOVING, JOYOUS 2014!!

It has been some time since my last post. I told myself that I would try and keep up with this blog and have a new post up at least 2 times a month. As you know, I am a mommy FIRST...so that has taken front seat to everything and anyone. My babies are growing up so fast. I can't believe that I will be a mommy to a soon to be 9 year old (in April)! Crazy, huh? And...my 29th birthday is rolling close...ahhhhh! 29 will be my last and final year and I break into my 30's, who would've thought! Tis' life. I thought I'd stay in my 20's forever, lol.

With that said, I have a couple more months until I turn 29. I have dedicated 2014 and my final year of my 20's to nuturing and loving the mind, body, and soul. This means; eating healthy (less processed food), no more soda, no more juice...ok ok, maybe juice on a cheat day! For the mind, live STRESS free. This is a BIG one for me to get control over. But I have let my worries and fears become a BIG stress in my life that has affected me. So its time to let the devil go and give my all to Christ. I have been making baby steps. But I really want to inhale and exhale everything God worthy..this will help me live a stress free life. I also want to nuture the soul by starting to practice yoga and meditating. The mind, body, and soul go hand in hand. When one is outta wack...they all tend to be. So treating my body, mind, and soul equally will give me the best results.


I want to shar some passages that keep me going, that keep me motivated, as well as inspired <3 CHEERS to a NEW YEAR. A NEW beginning. A new start. A new chapter...start writing yours today!! Xo

March Favorites

I am back with a few of my favorite things!

I hope you all have been well :) As usual, I have been a BUSY little bee. Parent-Teach conferences, school Talent Show, play-dates...never ending. In other news, I turned 28 on the 9th of March. It was low-key. Took my kids to see the new movie; Oz. If you haven't seen it yet, GO SEE IT. It was GREAT! After the movie, we went to a fave restauraunt of ours in Brooklyn. We had a good time though! Shout out to all the March birthdays, sending love and blessings your way! Now...let's get started, shall we? Let's go...


#1) I am OBSESSED with "Khloe Had a Little Lam Lam" by Nicole O.P.I.
This color is just beautiful. My favorite color is green and its variations. This color is a mix of emerald and seaweed green. That combo might not sound appealing, but believe me it is. I might just be bad at comparisons.

Here are pictures of the bottle and the color on the nails:






#2) Some hoard shoes, purses, nail polish, magazines, I hoard lip sticks. I am NOT a professional MUA, however, I like make up (always have and will). No matter the occasion, you will never spot my lips in the nude! I love colors on the lips..from reds,to deep plums, to coral peach, to lavendar, pinks, and neons. I LOVE color. I am always looking at the lip stick aile when I go to a pharmacy. I came across Maybelline's Color Whisper collection. They are a matte lipstick. They remind me of Baby Lips mixed with a matte color. They aren't as BOOM in your face as the newest colletion from Maybelline.

Some images of the colletion:






#3) I really don't like to put foundation or concealer on my face since I don't have perfect skin. Since the BB cream's have made their American debut, I have been using ONLY a BB cream for my face. Since I have had skin flare ups, I was looking for something with a little more coverage. I ran across L'Oreal Super Blendable Concealer Stick. Since buying it and using it...I fell in love. This product to me IS super blendable. It went on my skin effortless. It was a true match to my skin tone as well. I applied this product FIRST, then wouldapply a little BB cream all over my face and blend everything evenly in. I highly reccomend this product. I also love how it came like a pencil. EASY to use and NOT messy!

Here is the product; I bought the same color on right;





****ALL PRODUCTS THAT ARE MENTIONED ABOVE, REPRESENT MYSELF AND WHAT I LIKE****

*****I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL MAKE-UP ARTIST*****


Until next time, XoXo

HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY (Sunday, March 17th, 2013)

New Year, don't forget about YOU!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone

Hope your start to 2013 has been great to you :) As a woman, we wear so many hats. Its in our nature to want to please everyone all of the time. We want to please our kids, our husbands, in-laws, friends, co-workers and many times...we forget to please ourselves and put ourselves FIRST. How many of you are mothers? I am a mother to two; a boy (almost 8 in April) and a girl (almost 5 in June). They arethe light to my world. They truly are my everything. I became a young mother at a early age, so for almost 8 years out of my life (I will be 28 in March) being a mother and girlfriend/wife is the only thing that I have known for years. When I look back, sometimes I get jealous of friends of mine that waited to have kids and areliving thier life first before they add kids into the mix of things. We all know that once you add kids into any mix, things def change! I wont sugar-coat anything. Those are facts. Now to say that my life isn't as fun as the next girl without kids would be unfair to say. I have acepted my life for what it is at the time, being a mother full-time (no days off) as well as being a full-time girlfriend with no days off, lol. I would not change any of this. This is MY life. But I have learned through this all is that for many years I was neglecting myself. Once you have kids, this is not the end of YOU. Having kids is adding to you not the end-all. Once we get that, life will become that much more fullfilled. Let's not forget about us ladies. Don't give up on hopes and dreams just because your a full-time mother or wife and don't let anyone's judgements about you affect you. Remember, this is your life. Not theirs. If you choose to be a full-time mom or wife, then hey...more power to you! Not everyone is the same. I am thankful everyday that I am with a man where I don't need to work right now. Not saying it isn't a struggle, but I am blessed. Don't look to others to compair yourself too. When you do that, you are loosing. Never compair yourself to anyone else, because at the end of the day...we don't know why women are stay-at-home mothers, we don't know why a woman would rather work, work, work and not be there for her child. We all have different circumstances that we are dealt. Here are a few things that you can do to get back to appreciating and putting YOU first! - Join a gym. Work out 3 times a week if you can. This is YOU time. No kids allowed. Have the hubby/boyfriend/best friend watch the kids for a hour or two while you work out. - If you can't get to a gym, pick a quiet place in your house or apartment and choose a time that fits with your schedule where you can work out. Usually for me, its the morning when my kids are both asleep, or when they are in school. - Find other moms in your neighborhood and set up weekly meetups or monthly meetups. It can be a meetup to a coffee shop or hair salon, a shopping trip to H&M. Its always good to get out for a bit andhave girl talk with someone who isn't the age of 4 or 8. :) - Take a bubble bath. Yes, its so relaxing. Bring in some of your favorite music, light some calming and relaxing candels to set the mood. - Make an appointment at least once a month ot get something done for yourself (hair, nails, waxing, make up) Anything that will make you feel better and put yourself first. - Schedule monthy date-nights for you and your hubby! - Schedule weekly-bi-weekly night out with your closest girlfriends! Dinner and drinks, movies, or wine night at one of your friends house. Just to get out. - Make time to gather yout thoughts. Keep a diary, a journal. Have a quiet place, just you and your thoughts. Write. Very therapeutic. I hope this helps someone out there reading. Just never loose who you are as a person because you put everyone and everything ahead of yourself. That's not fair to you. Like I said, as a woman...we juggle so many different hats on any given day, and in the midst of it all, we end of loosing ourselves. Always remember, YOU are so worth it. being the BEST you is a priceless present that you can give anyone that you love in your life :)

Yummy Salmon that EVERYONE will LOVE...even your kids!!

So in my household, we don't eat pork or beef. Only chicken, turkey, and fish...mainly salmon though! This recipe is SUPER easy and tastes so good that kids will ask for more (even my kids ask for seconds). If you love salmon and are looking for new ways to make it OR you want to try something different out so that you can get your kids to eat salmon, then PLEASE continue reading below :) Okay, so FIRST you need 2-3 salmon fillets. We buy ours pre-packaked from Costco. They come sealed and skin off. I grab 3 out of the bag (I use 2 for dinner that night and use the other for my lunch the next day) so depending on how big or small your family is, you can decide how many pieces of salmon you will use. You need: 1/4 Cup of Dark Brown Sugar 1/4 Cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil 3 Tablespoons of Soy Sauce 2 Tablesppons of Lemon Juice 2 Tablespoons of Water 2 Cloves of Garlic Lay salmon down in a tupperware that has a lid to it and is deep enough to hold slamon and the marinate. Once you have laid salmon fillets down, please pour evenly the marinate all over salmon fillets. Once you have done this, cover up fillets with lid and place in fridge for half-hour, then flip fillets over and wait another 5-10 minutes. Once fillet has soaked up for about 35 minutes. Place fillets in oven on 350 degrees for about half an hour to an hour (always checking, fillet cooks fast). OR place fillet on a small skillet pan on top of the stove on low-medium heat for about 20 minutes or so. Again slamon cooks pretty fast. You can garnish with some finely chooped garlic and it's done :) I usually serve this with brown rice and fresh salad and my home-made vingarette that you can find on this blog! Enjoy!!

It's Been Awhile

I have been M.I.A for awhile now. :( So much has been going on (usual). Kids went back to school. Can't believe my oldest is in 2nd grade now and my youngest is in Pre-K!! Aahhh, they aren't really babies anymore, but they will always be my baaaaabies forever and ever, lol. So yeah, school has been going on, my daughter takes ballet classes every Thursday until mid-December...so with school, homework, cooking, baths, ballet classes, play-dates...I am SUPER busy. What mom isn't though! I wanted to share with you all some pics of what's been happening on my end of the woods! Enjoy, and I will be back with more posts!! Love you all, xx