Monthly Favorites for September

Adding a new segment to my blog this month called Monthly favorites. If your a YouTube junkie like me you may already know about this.  It may include special products, favorite cosmetic items or hair products. Let's just say it will be a hodge podge of stuff! LOL

My first favorite from September has to be my neutral eye pallet from BHCosmetics. I heard about the pallets from BHCosmetics from Nitraab on YouTube (she is one of my favorites). And since I was looking for a way to get a bunch of quality eye shadows at a great price I thought I would try these out (getting the entire pallet on sale for $14.00 helped. I love, love love the colors in this pallet. And the pigmentation is awesome. I now have my eye on the smokey eye pallet (that's how impressed I was).

While on vacation I picked up the L'OREAL Paris Colour Riche Lip Balm with SPF15 (#819) in Caramel Comfort. OMG, this lip balm feels like butter when you put it on and the color is just enough to stand out without slapping you in the face. LOL

I have been looking for a new mascara for a while. I am blessed to have really long eye lashes but I've never been able to find one that doesn't cake up or make me lashes look like spikes. That is until I tried the Maybeline line. Specifically the Volume Express One by One (waterproof). I'm debating trying the Falsies because I have heard some great reviews on them. Will keep you posted.

Throughout the summer I purchased quite a few products from Elf. I figured for a couple of dollars it was at least worth a shot! Some of have been hits and misses (a blog post on that to come in the near future) but two of my surprise favorites has been the Elf Mineral Eye Shadow primer and the Elf Studio brushes. Specifically the Elf Powder Brush which has become a favorite. These are two products I would definitely purchase again. I like the Elf primer almost (if not as much) as my primer from Urban Decay! And the Elf one is only $3.00!

My final favorites of the month is for my African American "sista's". I don't know of a sista who hasn't stepped foot in Sally's or one who hasn't heard of the Organic Root Stimulator products. I have three favorites from this line but the two I choose to highlight today were The Olive Oil Edge Control and the Olive Oil Moisturizing Hair Lotion. Since the start of the year I have been trying to grow my hair out which has also caused me to start what is called my "hair journey". Not sure I have figured that out yet, but I am learning what seems to work and what doesn't. And for some reason my hair just takes better to the ORF products. When I use them I have less shedding, which we all know is always a good thing! Nothing worse then a sista trying to grow her hair out and having half of it laying in her hand after she has applied product. I'm sure you will here more about this "journey: in upcoming post.

Well there you have it...my Monthly favorites for the month of September. Let me know if you like this little addition to my blog. Have a blessed day y'all!

Mini Fall Haul

Yesterday Nicki and I hit a few stores just to pick up some "necessities". Of course you never end up just picking up the necessities so we came home with a few other nicknack's! LOL Including this cute Alice and Wonderland set from EOS! The "coffee" tin is for hubby's sugar substitute packs at his "coffee" station!

I had to show the back of the lip gloss eggs! Its a Mickey head! 

Nicki has been raving about Trader Joe's for the longest time and was finally able to drag me along for the ride. I didn't really buy anything but she picked up some stuff including fixings for a deep dish pizza that we will probably cook some time today. We have been watching Steve Harvey's new show and he had the top "pizza" guys from Chicago on his show for a pizza throw down. Every since then Nicki and I have been craving a deep dish pizza! But since we are not in Chicago we thought we would try making our own. I will let you know how it goes,

I did get to try a Luna bar after hearing Organizedjen rave about it on her YouTube channel. Did I mention how addicted to YouTube I am right now? Its replaced TV for me! The bar was pretty good. I could see eating another one. I enjoyed my Trader Joe experience but I'm especially excited about trying out Whole Foods when it opens here next year. 

I was kind of late this year with my fall shopping at the Dollar Tree so most of the good stuff is gone (at least in my Dollar Tree). I will have to scout out a few more before I breakdown and head to Micheal's. But I couldn't resist the owls (another influence of Organizedjen). They now hold residence over my stove. I also picked up a word stone and some leaf candles to add to my mantel. I'm still looking for some candles and a runner for the fireplace but nothing has caught my eye yet. The little  pumpkin guy got added to my kitchen tablescape.

I needed some small plastic bags to help with organizing my kitchen (and for snacks, leftovers etc). While browsing the aisles I noticed the Disney sandwich bags and the Disney sandwich container (which Nicki dared me to get..HAHA), and while at the check out counter we saw the Disney PEZ dispenser. Now how do I turn down Disney? Nicki mocked me until she saw the Hello Kitty one! LOL I think I have finally figured out how I want to rework my blog. I have lots of ideas swimming around in my head (I can just hear Marc saying something like "that could be dangerous"). Now I just need to put it down on paper. As soon as I figure it all out I will share. Hope everyone has a great weekend. Nicki and I are headed to the Farmers Market today (hopefully) and then to a celebration for my oldest daughter Quisha for her 28th birthday. Have a blessed day everyone!

Still At It!

I'm still sorting, purging and reorganizing. Even made a few trips to the local Dollar Tree to pick up some containers. I mean they are only a buck people! A few are now holding court in my kitchen as bins for my potatoes, onions, and garlic. But one of the round baskets is now in our car filled with the reusable grocery bags. 

I just have to remember to take them in the store with me! LOL

I'm cleaning out every cabinet in my kitchen and was shocked to learn how many tea boxes we had piled up. I love tea but this is ridiculous! 

I have them all in one big basket now, but I'm not sure that this is the long term solution for my problem. I have banned my hubby from buying any more tea at the moment though! 

Yesterday I started pulling out the fall decor. I still need to find some fall glasses, and maybe some silverware but I love fall decorating and can't wait to add some more things to my collection ( I like to catch knickknacks on sale and at the end of the season...which won't be long considering stores around here already have Christmas stuff out).

I finally found a spot for my thrift store shelves that I brought at the beginning of the summer. Now I want to change out some of my picture frames and maybe add a knickknack or two. Not sure yet. Will probably be tweaking this area for a while.

Speaking of tweaking. How do you like my mantel. I have a list of "must haves" I want to try and find to add to what I have already done so far. Including some candles, a new wreath and a fall themed runner. Sorry for the quality of some of the photos. I have been so busy that its just easier to snap a quick photo with my phone and keep it moving!

I even made a trip to Bath and Bodyworks this past weekend for their 2 for $20 sale. I love the smell of the pumpkin carving sampler they gave out for free with any home scent purchase. I've already burned one of the Autumn ones and in the kitchen I have been burning a pumpkin spice scent from Wally World. The next area I need to tackle is my diningroom and a couple of spots in my hallway and familyroom. Anyone else as excited about the Holiday season as I am? 

Organized Chaos!

For months I have been trying to figure out how to get some of the clutter off of my counter tops. Not to mention tackle an overly crowded pantry (which I will show in a later blog post). A few yrs ago we brought this shelf to "house" extras. But after a while it became the catch all place and "graveyard" for appliances my hubby thought were neat but which I never (ever) used! As the girls have gotten older they have started cooking more and have added their own small appliances to my already overcrowded counter tops. When Quisha got her own coffee pot a few weeks (not to mention the juicer and blender owned by Nicki the health nut) I knew something had to give. So a few days ago I overhauled the shelf and gave a ton of stuff to goodwill. The shelf is still full but my counter top can breathe a bit more. Most of the appliances on the top shelf belong to the girls so hopefully when the day finally comes and they have their own kitchens I will have a tad bit more room (until Marc finds a new gadget).

I even had room on the bottom shelf to put my new bins from the dollar store. One is for onions, one for potatoes and the smaller one if for garlic. I have a third bin that now houses my plastic bags (and I've promised myself that when the bin is full all other bags must be disposed of). Actually I have a round basket also from the dollar tree filled with reusable cloth bags that I have now put in the car to hopefully be a reminder to use them rather then plastic bags. Of course I failed that test the first day I put the bags in the car. Didn't even think about them until after I left Walmart with plastic bags in hand! Yep, epic fail! LOL

Saturday when we went to Sam's Club to pick up a few things I saw the cutest containers for storing pasta, and cereal. I brought one set home, filled them up and immediately went back and got a second set. I leaning towards getting a third set just because they have worked out so well. Another area in sad need of reorganizing is my pantry. Its so bad I will probably never show you a before.

One of the issues is we buy in bulk, well that and the fact that my hubby likes to buy stuff without looking first to see if the pantry is already overflowing with those same products! I'm just as bad....hence the reason this container now has 7 boxes of spaghetti in it. But seriously, this one container holds seven boxes of spaghetti!!!! Now do you see why I love them?

Oh and each set was only $9.88!

I know I said from now on my Treasured Creations blog would have decorating post, but I'm still working some stuff out in my head. In the meantime my bedroom is slowly coming along as to how I want to set it up, including how my pillows on the bed will look. I have been fussing over these pillows since I got the new bed set last winter but I could never quite figure out how I wanted them on the bed. I think I finally figured it out! LOL

And the lamps I brought over the summer finally have a new home!!! You will never guess what the hold up was. "Light bulbs" of all things. We rarely buy light bulbs now that we use the energy efficient ones (which considering our last power bill I'm not so sure they are that efficient...lol)! Anyway, I'm working on a few projects including the pantry and a revamping of my scraproom which will soon be a craft/office space. And I promise to update with pics (maybe even a video or two) as soon as they are complete! Which knowing me may be a while...what with Fall Harvest, Revival, our 4 year anniversary at WABC...not to mention the holidays. Can you guys believe Thanksgiving Day and Christmas are right around the corner?

Mini Road Trip to Toddy's World!

There is never a dull moment in our house with my hubby for a husband or the diverse life of my children. A few days ago Nicki found out her friend Toddrick Hall would be in Smithfield VA on a promotion tour for his new series "Toddy's World" on YouTube. If you don't know who Toddrick is you can check out his YouTube videos here . He was a finalist on American Idol and is a YouTube sensation.

We left yesterday afternoon and headed to Smithfield! The drive is only about 45 minutes away from where we live.

Of course there was some filming involved!

Of course a gal has to have the right wardrobe for such an occasion as this!

The child can find her way around New York City and Washington DC, but not around a small country town! LOL

Nicki and Toddrick meeting in person. I sure hope he uses the part where he realized it was her in his segment. It was priceless and I'm kicking myself now for not filming it myself (I had the camera in my hand)!

The little shop we met them in was cute as a button! You see coffee shops every where but very few places do you see dedicated to us tea lovers! I wish we had something like that here (of course I would be in big trouble if we did). If your ever in Smithfield VA you have to stop in at the Olde World Tea Company!

Like I said never a dull moment! LOL

I have to give a shout out to the Claudio family who graciously allowed a group of strangers into their home and treated them like family. It was a great experience! If you want to find out more about the day you will have to wait for the next Toddy's World segment to come out (you might even see me...lol). Plus I have it on good authority that you will get to see Nicki featured in one of his upcoming music videos! So stay tuned! 

Mini Home Office

I purchased this Ottoman a few months ago but with all that has been going on I didn't have time to put it to use until now! I found it at a local thrift store and after bargaining with one of the sale people there I got it for a grand total of $10.00!

It actually looks pretty good in front of my chair , along with my $3.00 pillow (also from a local thrift store). I decided to use it as a mini office in my familyroom since it has a storage compartment inside. And surprisingly everything I wanted to fit in it actually does fit...so I'm a very happy camper right now.

I have been watching a bunch of videos from a YouTube gal named organizedlikejen. It was her video that gave me the idea for the mini office and she also has inspired me to start using my planner again! I love my phone but sometimes I like to write stuff down (I'm a list maker) and although the note app on the IPhone is nice, its just not enough for me.

Jennifer also inspired me to start using the rest of my planner for organizing projects around the house, managing my blog, crafting, and other misc. stuff . I will post more info about that later. I got soo excited about this I actually broke down and did my first ever YouTube video! So if you would like more details check out my video here . I'm going to film another video explaining more about my planner and the system I'm going to use in a later video. So stay tuned!

Knock, Knock is anyone home? LOL

As you can see I took a mini vacation from blogging, even took some time off from facebook and twitter and spent a lot more time hanging with the family. Two weeks ago we had our family reunion in Williamsburg (there were about 94 family members in attendance).

We took this time to honor our 91 year old aunt (yes, you heard me...she is 91). We recognized her because she is the only surviving sibling of 6 and I don't know about you but I would rather have my flowers presented to me while I'm here! We showered her with special gifts and presented her a letter of congrats from a local Congressmen. She is still talking about how much she enjoyed herself!

Most of my family attended minus my son, my sister son's and her boyfriends son (go figure, not sure what is up with the young men in our family...lol). Sunday we all went to church for our home churches annual Homecoming celebration.

That Monday we kind of chilled at my moms house and then Nicki, Marc and I departed for Pennsylvania for a few days of rest and relaxation! We actually stayed at the same hotel I stayed at many moons ago when I visited Lancaster for the first time (in case you didn't know I'm a big Amish book reader).

We did some sightseeing in Lancaster, and a bit of shopping.

We spent the last day of our vacation at Chocolate World in Hershey PA (more on my trip later). And of course did a bit more shopping! LOL

I've spent the last few months trying to decide what direction I want to go with my blog and so that is why I took a small break. My life had gotten a bit stressful the last few months, I've had some health issues I have been dealing with and I also thought I was spending way too much time wrapped up in other peoples lives and not my own family (hence the departure from Facebook and Twitter for a bit). I have to admit I also got hooked on Instagram since I got my iPhone and YouTube of all things. Nicki and I have been back and forth on whether I should do a couple of videos. I will keep you posted on that if and when it happens.

I just inserted this picture because that seems to be my life in a nutshell. On this day I was doped up on pain meds because I had an infected cyst that had not burst (granted it decided to burst the day we left for PA) but as the coordinator I had no choice but to do what I had to do which included leaning over and picking up stuff even though it was torture!  I also think my little cousin is pretty cute and that was our "official" bonding moment because it was the closest she had allowed me near her since she was a baby...LOL! And frankly I looked pretty cute myself for a person in severe pain! 

Anyway...... I have decided to return this blog back to my personal blog (which will mostly be ministry or family related stuff, including anything related to Blended Souls) and start posting my thrift finds, decorating/crafting projects ( I really miss scrapping and it was great therapy for me) to my Treasured Creations blog. I also have plans to update my Disney "akatravel" blog at some point. The only category of my life I'm not sure what to do with is my Fashion/Sunday Best segment (HAHA). And this is where Youtube may come in. And I'm still figuring out where Instagram and Twitter and Pinterest fit in to all these changes. I know I have an addiction to all things "social media"......but I have to learn to create some type of balance between all of these "outlets" and my day to day living. The fall seems to be a busy time for us in ministry and Marc just added graduate school to the mix so I imagine its going to get even crazier for me! So stay tuned (if your still hanging with me after such a long hiatus)! If you have any suggestions or even opinions please feel free to comment below! See I already sound like a Youtuber (is that even a word?)