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

My Home-Made Salad Dressing

I'm baaack! It's been almost a month I think since my last post? This summer has been fun. I keep busy every day by taking my 2 babies out and about...museums, parks, beaches, or we just chill here at my place ;) Can't believe that summer is almost over, eeeeeek! :( My son isn't looking forward to it. He's going into the 2nd grade, so I told him that he really needs to buckle down this year and FOCUS. I don't know how many readers out there have children school aged in the NYC public schools, but this aint a JOKE! Kinda feel bad for him, lol. I don't remember all this craziness when I was his age in school :/ I could go ON and on, but this isn't what this post is for. This post is all about this home-made salad dressing that I make. I don't even buy salad dressing anymore (only if I know that someone is coming over, I will buy one or two). BOTH of my kids LOVE this dressing, they ask for seconds of salad every-time. What parent wouldn't love for their kids to ask for seconds of veggies? :) Okay, so here is what you need. This is SUPER easy and simple. You need: 1. Vinegar 2. Olive Oil (or another oil that you like to use, I prefer OO because its healthier. Other suggestions could be coconut oil, and canola oil) 3. Onion (I use red, but either could work just as well) 4. 1 Clove of Garlic (or buy chopped garlic that they sell in some whole food stores) 4. A small round Tupperware with lid 5. Dicing knife (Any knife will work just fine though. But a dicing one will get garlic and onion thinly sliced to how you want) 6. Spoon So after you gather all those things, start dicing HALF of a onion into fine, thin pieces. Continue to do the same thing to the garlic. The more garlic that you dice up, the more zing the dressing will have. I LOVE zing, so I use a lot of garlic. Okay...so now you should have onion and garlic chopped. Grab that small Tupperware and place chopped onion and garlic in the tub ;) Now...take about 1 1/2 cup of vinegar and pour into the Tupperware. Covering onions and garlic. You can add less or more vinegar depending on how many people will be served. I always eye the amount that I make. Next, add in 1 teaspoon/1 tablespoon of olive oil. Okay, so now all the ingredients are in there =) Take your spoon and stir everything around for about 20 seconds...and you're DONE! So easy, super simple. Depending on how much you make, you can cover this up and save it for tomorrow nights dinner. Here at my place, we have salad almost EVERY night, so I will make enough to save for tomorrow. Let me know if you TRY this at home and how it turns out! Like I said, my hubby and kids love this!! **The picture below is a friend of mine who tried the recipe and posted it and tagged me on FB. So this is thanks to her ;)**

Vinegared Cucumber Dish

I found some FREE time =) Whoot whoot. This is going to be VERY quick because the state of my apartment is offically a disaster zone! 0_o I blame this on my kids, lol. Anyways, whenever I am hungry and I want something light to eat, I ALWAYS find myself making this quick and easy dish. Quick and easy is like 5 minutes MAX. With summer here, my kids out of school (they love this too) I like to make this as a treat OR a veggie side for dinner. Let's get to it... It's vinegared cucumbers!!

ALL you need are the following; 1. 1 or 2 large cucumbers 2. Vinegar 3. Ground Pepper 4. Ground Garlic 5. Ground Onion 5. Tupperware that is LARGE enough to hold cucumbers and vinegar (pref with a lid). 6. Peeler (peel off skin of cucumber) 7. Knife (Veggie cutting knife, if you have) **5 and 6 are OPTIONAL** (You don't need to add chopped onion, I prefer the EXTRA zing. You also don't need to peel off skin of cucumber, BUT I choose to). Okay, FIRST thing first...have all items close by. Wash off cucumber(s) in luke-hot water for 10 seconds. Grab your peeler, and peel of entire skin of cucumber. Rinse again... Grab veggie cutting knife and thinly cut cucumber from front to back. Chop off the front end and back ends though. With Tupperware, add cucumbers and 1 1/2 cup of vinegar. Add in 1 teaspoon-1 tablespoon of ground pepper (this depends on your liking). Add in 1 teaspoon-1 tablespoon of ground garlic. Add in 1 teaspoon of ground onion (optional). Grab a spoon, and mix the cucumbers, vinegar, pepper, garlic, and onion so that the cucumbers get soaked with all ingredients. Cover up this dish and let sit in refrigerator for 20 minutes-half hour. ENJOY (Sometimes I eat just as is when I'm done with all steps. The more you let sit in the refrigerator , the more taste the cucumbers will have).

Summery and Anytime Nails!

Heyyy =) Can you believe it already June?!? Eeeeeeeeek! I am hardly swim wear ready yet, but its a work in progress. I haven't posted in a couple weeks because I have been hitting the gym hard! You guys don't even know! I have never been more determined in my life to get my hot body back where it once was PRE-kids. I think I will do a mini-post about that in a week, basically to update you on my gym routine, and eating habits! =) Yay!! I wanted to sneak some time in (my hubby took our 3 year old daughter out for some QT together, cutest thing evvvver, so I am home with my 7 year old and he doesn't bother) to do a quick and I mean QUICK post about my 3 colors that I have been rocking on my nails! 2 of them are brand spanking new and one is a older one that I fell back in love with all over again!! Let's get down to business, shall we?!? First up, I purchased "Innocent" and "Unicorn" by Sinful Colors Innocent is this pretty pretty lime green color. Unicorn is a pastel yellow, both are perfect for this summer trend forecast (neon's and pastels) Here is INNOCENT: (Sorry the lighting was off on the last picture) This is UNICORN: As you can see, both Innocent and Unicorn are perfect colors to wear on your nails this summer! This brand of nail polish is CHEAP too! I paid $1.99 each at Walgreen's. You can find Sinful Colors at most major pharmacies =) Last but not least...one of my absolute oldies in my collection, but favorite! I will wear this color year round...it's Revlon's Grey Suede such a PRETTY light grey color. I applied 2 coats of this and made my nails looks as if it were a gel finish! Extra plus! I forget how much I paid for this, but it wasn't more than $7. I purchased this at Target. Here is the look: Well, that's it for now. Told you it was a super quick one!! Maybe I gave someone out there some ideas for some pretty nail colors for summertime and anytime ;) PLEASE check back in a week or so with a detailed post about my go at this weight loss thing! Ughhh ;) Thanks dolls xoxo

Drug-Store HAUL and Review

SO, the other day I headed out to get a few items that I needed, but its so me to always grab an extra item or two =) I grabbed some hair products, skin product, and some make up items. Since I have tried out most of the products that I have purchased already, I decided I should do a mini haul/review! First up, let me start with the hair care products! I have been looking for the right shampoo and conditioner for my hair that doesn't contain all the harsh chemicals that most hair products out there contain. Many of you don't realize that the products you are using, really damage your hair. It's so important to take good care of your hair, which means not buying products that contain sulfate, salt, dyes, and perabens. I came across; RENPURE ORINGIALS Brazilian Keratin Straightening Shampoo and Conditioner.

These products do NOT contain perabens, dyes, salt, and sulfate. I was unsure about this product, but once I washed and conditioned my hair, my hair has never felt so soft. I also used this on my 3 year old daughter's hair. She has hair very similar to mine. Her hair was left soft as well. I give this product a 7.5 out of 10. Each product costs about $5.99. I purchsed mine at Rite Aide. I would purchase this product again! Next, (another hair care product) my mother gave me a sample of Moroccan Oil from her hair stylist. It was a small bottle and I have lots of hair, so needless to say, it did not last long. Moroccan Oil hands down is the best oil for your hair. It leaves your hair feeling so soft, adds moisture with out the greasy look, and gives your hair a nice healthy shine to it. Since I got a FREE sample and ran out, I have been looking around for some or something very similar to Moroccan Oil. However, at the drug store that I was at, they didn't have any, but I did come across; Organix Hydrating Macadamia Oil

I used this product (a pea size) in my hair after I washed my hair with the Renpure Brazilian Keratin Shampoo and Conditioner This was amazing. Smells so wonderful and works just as great as Moroccan Oil. Moroccan Oil however to me, smells better. But I think the results were just the same. This is great for using after a wash and conditioner to your hair. Put a pea size in your palm after you have air dried or towel dried your hair, and you can wrap your hair when going to bed with this product on and believe me, your hair will feel so soft the next morning! I purchased this product from Rite Aide for $7.99 Only complaint I have, is its a little over-priced for such a small 3.3 fl oz. Onto skin care! Recently my skin has been so dry. Hate every second of it, especially when I apply make up and my skin looks dry!! Worst thing ever. I have been looking for the perfect moisturizer for my face that is lightweight and lasts all day long. Browsing through the aisle, nothing was popping out to me, until I saw GARNIER Nutritioniste Moisture Rescue Lightweight UV-Lotion

At first, I wasn't thrilled about this product. It has a great smell to it, very lightweight like it claims, but when I first applied a pea size to my skin, it kind of felt sticky on my skin. After about 20 minutes of it being on my face, my skin has never felt smoother. I have to try this out more to see if I really see a difference in the 24/hour moisture protection, so come back for a final review on this product! So far so good though =) I purchased this from Rite Aide for $8.49. A little on the pricey side, but I was willing to spend that much on a good moisturizer. There is also lots of product for your bucks ;) My last and final purchase was on make up! I have been hearing about Revlon's Lip Butters for some time now, and really wanted to give them a try. I ended up purchasing two colors; Sugar Plum and Gum Drop. Sugar Plum is a rosy, pinkish reddish color. And Gum Drop is a lavender, glittery color. The lip butters are supposed to be a moisture rich lip color for your lips. However, I wasn't really thrilled about this product. The colors are nice, but I needed to add Maybeline's Baby Lips FIRST before I added Revlon's Lip Butter. So if you are looking for a nice color then by all means go buy this product. But for me, I wasn't exactly happy about paying for a product that says "lip butter" to find out its not exactly how its described. Maybeline's Baby Lips did this all for me. Gave me color and moisturizer all at the same time! I would give this product a 6 out of 10. Would I buy again? Maybe...as long as I knew I had Baby Lips by Maybeline on deck ;)

Okay, that's all for now ladies! I hope that this helped someone out. Any questions or comments please leave down below! Yours Truly, Court xoxo