i cheated

i am a loyal person, a very loyal person. but this weekend i did the unthinkable and i have been living with guilt since....ok....here it goes....i cheated on my hair lady.....whew, that was difficult!

ok, all dramatics aside, i really do feel guilty. i have been faithfully going to ms. sherliene every two weeks for over a year. i trusted her to provide me with great hair and in return she trusted me to be a steadfast customer. despite all this trust and loyalty; however, i strayed.

her salon does not run on appointments, which is a fact i love. however, since the salon does not run on appointments, ms. sherliene frequently closes whenever she pleases. and that's what happened this weekend. i woke up early to get my touch up and she was closed. i was so upset and so desperate that i drove to the first salon i saw and got my hair done by a stylist named victor. and i loved it! i got a shea butter relaxer with accompanying treatments as well as a blowout for $50! you can't beat that. and on top of that it looked way better and youthful! victor found a way to effectively utilize both my new highlights and new bangs....i left the salon feeling like a star!

before entering the salon i had never heard of shea butter relaxers. since i have damaged hair with plenty of breakage victor explained to me that shea butter relaxers are milder and gentler than the regular lye relaxers. we all know the moisturizing benefits of shea butter so combining the gentle of shea butter with the harsh effects of a chemical relaxer definitely helps your hair out.

in two weeks when i get my wash and style i will let you know which stylist wins!

untitled

it's summer at my job and you know what that means right? Staff is dropping like flies.....

so far, 2 of my co-workers have left, with another leaving in early september. this year i promised that this year it would be my year to leave, but honestly it's not looking like that. i have had some interviews that haven't turned into much...i actually have another one this wednesday so we'll see what will happen. but i'm kinda bummed....this is suppose to be my year to shine and the only shine going on around me is the shine from my oily skin....but i'm still truckin', hustlin,' and grindin.' i will keep you all posted on what happens!

but anyhoo, i just wanted to update on what was going on.....but something that is lifting my spirits is this cute and modern trench i found at bebe.com....i'm waiting to buy this (waiting on the price to go down just a little bit or payday...whatev comes first).



this trench is only $119 and i found it at bebe.com!

Cruise Wear II

so i'm officially over cruise shopping. i've decided to just wear my swimsuit for all 3 days! :)

defintely, in the days to come there will be plenty of pix so stay tuned.

but until then, here are some pix from my last vacay to destin, fla.

enjoy!

Cruise Wear 2008

So in my previous post I stated that I am going on my first cruise to the Bahamas this week. While I am uber excited, I am also confused as to what to wear! My everyday warbdrobe greatly lacks summer essentials such as halters, shorts skirts, and breezy dresses so I'm basically starting from scratch! And with the trip being on Friday can you believe that I have next to nothing purchased?! So I have been scouring the 'net to get ideas for what I want, here's what I've found thus far.

So, for dinners we need 2 casual outfits and 1 formal outfit:





I'm thinking of doing an all white outfit for the first casual night (yes, yes, reminiscent of the celebrity white parties); and these white trousers from Express (Editor pant)seem so appropriate. Also, this tank from Bebe makes this outfit simple but sexy....the perfect shoes would be some gold accented sandals like these from Old Navy!



For the second casual night I was thinking of this super sexy dress from New York and Company



For a formal outfit I thought of this Catherine Maladrino dress that I posted sometime last year



....yeah, I'm dreaming!

But as an alternative, I found this Floral One Shoulder Dress from Express



Or this other Dress from Express



Whew! Just writing about all the outfits I have to get for this trip is stressing me out; and I don't even have any casual/ downtime outfits or swimsuits.I'm gonna go shopping and I will conclude this post on tomorrow!

Happy Memorial Day!

Guess Who's Back (Part II)

I have absoultely no excuse as to why I have been gone for almost 6 months...simply unacceptable! But obviously, so much has happened in my life, so let's get to it:

Work

Currently, I am seeking a new job. Well, even before I was MIA I wanted a new job, but now my search is active. Problem is: I don't know what the Hell I want to do. Lately, I have been looking into event planning/ public relations type gigs, but I'm not even sure if that's something I am interested in....it simply seems glamourous to me. Ironically, what pushed me into making my job search active was a conference I attended for my current job! Last month, I went to Little Rock for a conference for admissions counselors and everyone there seemed so passionate about their jobs and their calling...well, everyone except me! Coming back from that conference has made my job that more annoying and frustrating because I feel nothing for this line of work. Life should be lived passionately and I deserve that!

But anyway, I'm not here to cry a river about my lack of options, let me share with you all the things I have been interested in lately.

Rachel Bilson

I never watched the O.C. (ok, I've seen a few episodes, but only because my sister made me), so I've never known that Rachel Bilson is practically a style genius! Ummmmm, when did she become so fly?!












It's going to take me awhile to get to her style level, but I think I'm going to start with this chic cropped leather jacket.



Next up is hair! I have been trying to find a easy, breezy, colorful summer hair look and for some reason Rihanna's hair is on my mind (not the super cute pixie)!





Hmmmmmm, I think that would be super cute on me!

Another thing I am obsessing over is my weight!



I've been wanting to finally lose weight and get into a healthy weight range for awhile now; and as motivation I planned a cruise with a friend. So, I am so proud to say that I have lost 19 pounds! I fell short of my goal of being bikini fabulous (well, I could wear a bikini, but I don't want to scare any of the other beachgoers!), but I will be leaving on Thursday for my cruise feeling a little more fabulous! Now, my next task is finding great cruise-wear.....I guess I will save that for next time!

Guess Who's Back

So, I've been gone for a while.....a long while!I have been sooooo incredible busy. Here's what I've been up to:

Emotional Breakdowns

Can you believe I was in my office on a Friday night (8pm to be exact)crying?

Crazy Travel Schedule

I have been on the road since the day after Labor Day :(

Planning a Program

I'm so glad that my event is over, but it took everything I had to not slap Director into a seizure.

So, I have missed so much in beauty and blogging that I don't even know where to start, so please excuse me if this is a crazy jumbled mess!

My travels recently took me to Portland and Seattle. Whenever I go to a new city I try to go to stores that I have back at home, but while I was in Portland the MAC counter at Nordstrom/ Lloyd Center just called my name, and of course I responded.....silly, with the smashing new holiday collection I would be a fool not to :)





So I picked up the lip palette in Tan lips; and, let me just say WOWZER. I love it! My lips look perfect and even toned yet hold a nude look!

I also picked up some Moisturecover concealer....you can never have too much. I know MAC has had this concealer since the conception of MAC, but this is my first time using it and I'm amazed. My eyes look so bright, my zits stay covered, and I even use it on my lips to get my tone even.



Now, while I was visiting my sister I hit up the Arbor Place Mall in Douglasville, GA. Once again, I hate going to stores that I have back at home, but I was looking for a much belated birthday gift for a friend and had to run into Belk. While I was there the Lancome counter was calling. I finally purchased the Baume Baiser Hydrating Lip Pillow



I love it! It's a joy to just pulled this odd looking lip balm out of my handbag and put it on my lips. It actually feels like a pillow caressing your lips!

While at Lancome I also purchased the Definicils Mascara and Cils Booster. I know each and every day I announce my love and profound loyalty to a new mascara, but seriously, this mascara is my new best friend! My lashes have never looked longer.





My birthday also occurred during this madness and a friend of mine bought me Gwen Stefani's new fragrance L



I hate celebrity fragrances, but I love Gwen Stefani!

Well, that is all for right now. I really need to get in the swing of this blogging thing again.

Stay Fab

Pictures: MAC (maccosmetics.com); Lancome (lancome-usa.com); L (sephora.com)

The Budget Fashionista

You all already know that I am underpaid, overworked; so when Kathryn Finney at
thebudgetfashionista.com sent me her book of the same title I was all over it!




Let me just start out saying that Kathryn's website is filled with money saving options for the Fashionista on a budget....so imagine, her book!


So, I'm trying to find some common ground between being overly cheap and being frivolous with my shopping. The Budget Fashionista is teaching me how to do so! In the book, Katy gives plenty of awesome advice from budgeting (my weakness) to managing your closet (another weakness :))

Katy even lists websites that have great savings. I live for online shopping so getting to this chapter was a treat!

She also gives great beauty alternatives to help readers save (i.e. instead of the overpriced M.A.C makeup brushes, try the Sonia Kashuk brushes at Target).

Overall, Katy's book is AWESOME!!! With The Budget Fashionista I am learning how to balance my love of fashion and beauty with my underpaid and overworked status. Katy is definitely concerned with the plight of the fabulous chick who struggles between great fashion and paying the rent!



_______________________________________
Thank you so much to The Budget Fashionista ,Kathryn Finney, for allowing me to review her book. Hopefully, in the near future, I will also have a published book under my fashionable belt!