Product Review: Bio Oil

Today's product review is on Bio-Oil.  I first heard about this from my friend,Tish who swears by it! Bio-Oil is a specialist skincare product that is supposed to help improve the appearance of scars, stretch marks and uneven skin tone. It contains PurCellin Oil™ which is supposed to also make it highly effective for numerous other skin concerns, including aging skin and dehydrated skin. 

When I purchased the product I listened to other reviews I read online and tried to use it on my face.  Although it claims to be non-oily, I thought it was too oily for my face.  Products that are too oily clog my pores and cause my skin to immediately break out but some people have no issues using it on their faces.  However, it does seem to work really well for scars. 

Two weekends ago, my cousins "devil dog" (as I call him) bit me on my leg!! Can you believe it? Here is how it looked the first day.  Luckily he didn't break much skin.

By day two or three, it bruised all around the bite and looked like this (it looked worst in person) :

At first I used cocoa butter but then decided to try the Bio-Oil on it and I'm happy to say it has been working really well.  After only a few days (less than a week) of using it, the scar is almost gone! Now Im not quite sure how much of the scar would have naturally gone away on its own and how much the Bio-Oil truly helped but check it out:

I've also heard its really great to use while pregnant! So if you are looking for a product like this, give it a try.  Also, if you go on thier website, you can get a $2 off coupon (http://www.bio-oil.com/).  I got it from CVS and the regular price was around $13.

Supporting Each Other

One thing I feel very strong about is supporting people doing great things! As an entreprenuer myself, I know how hard it can be and I think its important for us to support one another.  And the plus of it is people are bound to return the favor! So be sure to check out the online shops of some of our past "Stepping Out on Faith" featured entreprenuers, Natt Taylor & Crystal Morrison!

www.shopdestini.com 

www.shopchosengirl.com
(Sale & Free Shipping until Oct 3) 

 Also, be sure to check out some of the blogs I love! Keep up the great work ladies!

Terri - founder of site

www.glamourmission.blogspot.com/

(Great makeup tips and fashion finds!)



Tanya - founder of site

www.majormusthaves.com/

(Great for style tips and inspiration!)



Nikole - founder of site

www.moptopmaven.blogspot.com

(Great hair, skin, and makeup tips!)

Love is in the air!

This past weekend was my besties wedding and it was one of the most beautiful weddings I've ever been to! They are both such wonderful people..beautiful inside and out! We had a blast! Sorry I cant share any of the pics but she was an absolutely beautiful bride...a pure vision of loveliness! :)

Love is such a beautiful thing and its truly a blessing to unite with the one person God made just for you!  I'm so very happy for them and I wish a blessed marriage!

Here is a pic of me and my hubby from wedding and a pic of me and a few of my friends !

Have a great Monday everyone! :)

Happy Friday!!

Hey Yall! How crazy is it that time flies sooo quickly! Ive been sooo busy its crazy hence my minimum posts lately! But I'm looking forward to a wonderful weekend celebrating a beautiful couple!!! Love is such a beautiful thing!

Have a blessed weekend everyone! :)

Princess & the Frog Party

This past weekend was the Princess and the Frog Party I decorated for 4 year old Cadence and it turned out great! As you remember, awhile ago I posted a message looking for people in the Philadelphia area who needed help decorating an event.  Well in addition to posting it here, I also (aganist the wishes of a few of my friends lol) decided to post it on Craigslist too.  From that posting,  I was contacted by a lovely lady looking to have a Princess and the Frog themed party for her soon-to-be 4 year old daughter and 7 of her lil friends.  Turns out we go to the same church and we are sorors (shout out to all my Deltas)!  How ironic is that?

I had a great time planning this party and the mother was great to work with! Lil Cadence has food allergies so her mother cooked all the delicious food for the party and we gave them cute little names.  Check out some of the pics!

Welcome Sign I made for the party

I spray painted this frame lavendar to go with theme

Check out the centerpiece for table.  I thought the frogs were too cute! They were silver, I spray painted them green! Remember spray paint is your friend! lol

Full table set up

Table setting...check out the butterflies I attached to each cup!

Food table

Balloons

Wooden letters I spray painted and covered in glitter. Of course, the birthday girl gets to keep this for her room! :)

Birthday sign

Cupcake stand with Princess Tiana topper

Cant have a Princess and the Frog Party without Beignets!

Swamp Dip & Mardi Gras Salad :)

Frog Legs (Chicken Strips)

Lavendar Lemonade

Mama Odie's Water Potion

Favor Bags

Chair covers with glitter ribbon around each

A special message from Prince Naveen

Aaaah the cute lil birthday girl, Cadence

My next kid birthday party is in October with a bumble bee theme! Stay tuned! :)

How Did I Get Sick :(

Why is that you always get sick at the most inopportune times!?? On top of all the things I had going on this week, I somehow managed to pick up a "bug".  Im hoping it doesnt stick around.  No matter what, Im going to push through to get things together for my Princess Party tommorow.

On a brighter note, Nicole of Girl Photography featured a few of the headshots she did for me on her blog today! Here are some of them.

Check out the feature here.

Hope yall have a good weekend! Stay tuned on Monday for how the party turns out! :)

Getting ready for Party

This week has been soo busy for me, just seems like there is never enough time to get everything done.  Between work, working on bags, and getting ready for the Princess & the Frog party Im doing this weekend, not a mention a few other things.... time has flown by this week for me. 

I'm almost set for the princess party on Saturday but still have a few more things I need to do.  Stay tuned for the pics after I set up! I hope the lil birthday girl loves everything! :)

Happy Monday!

Hey guys,
Hope everyone had a great weekend! I had a very busy weekend to say the least! Actually, Ive been pretty busy in general lately .... hence the reason for the few postings last week.  But stay tuned, I plan to do some updates this week!

Have a blessed day yall! ;)

Planning My Birthday Party

Last year when I turned the big 3-0, I didn't do anything major mainly because I had just gotten married the month before and I felt like that was like my 30th birthday party! lol  So this year, I've decided to do a little something for my 31st birthday.  Im going to do a girls only shin dig with a really girly theme...kind of a throwback to our younger days of being a kid and having slumber parties!  Here is a sneak peak of the invite and theme: 

Stay tuned for how my "31 & Loving It" Birthday Celebration comes together! :)

Labor Day Weekend

The weather was absolutely beautiful here in the Philly area this past Labor Day weekend! Who could ask for anything more?  On Saturday, I ventured to the city (NY) and did a little fabric shopping.  Of course I always start out going through the flower district where they sell wholesale and retail...the flowers are so beautiful even the artificial ones! This day, they happened to be shooting a movie on 28th so I couldn't go to all the stores I like to visit.  But check out some of the lovely flowers in a few of the other shops I made it to:

Next I made my way to all my favorite fabric stores and I even ran up on a few stores I somehow have never been too! Go figure! lol  Luckily, on this fabric, I actually found some fabric I liked so this was definitely better than my last trip when I found nothing.

On Sunday, I had a great photo shoot with my fav photog, Nicole of Girl Photography.  The weather was perfect and the scenery was great at the cutest little spot she found in Chestnut Hill (Philly).  Here is a little sneak peak of one of the shots I love:

Thanks again Nicole! ;)

Hope everyone had a great extended weekend too! Back to the real world now.... ;)

Hicks Edges Review

As you know, I venture off and do a few product reviews here and there and today's product is Hicks Edges.  One of my besties, Karee, told me about this awhile ago but I didn't get a chance to try it.  Well I finally broke down this weekend and bought a jar of this $17 "magic pomade" that everyone keeps raving about.

Basically, its claim to fame is that it lays unruly edges down really well without a flaky or hard feeling like gel and also promotes hair growth. 

I must say it works pretty well.  It didn't complete knock my socks off, but it does do what it says.  I recently got a new 'do' and my edges frizzed up so I used Hicks to lay them down.  It held pretty good for the entire day and definitely did not flake up or get hard.  Another good thing is that it should last for quite awhile considering you only need a very small amount of it for your edges.  This is especially a good product for natural girls (no relaxers).  And I hear a lot of people also use it quite often on kids hair as well.  So if you aren't already hip to this product and want to give it a shot, let me know how it works for you!

P.S. I found this works really well for laying your eyebrows down too! Just don't use too much! You only need a teeny tiny bit of it unless you want your eyebrows to look super slick and unnaturally too shiny! lol

UPDATE:  This product is best used on clean hair. Also, it didnt keep my edges completely straight the whole day but it's still pretty good.

September already?

Am I the only one who can't believe it's already September!?  Time really flies! And the older I get, the quicker it seems to go by which is all the more reason we should definitely savor each moment of each day the Lord blesses us with.  Next month will be my 1 year wedding anniversary!  This past year has been amazing and I can't wait to celebrate it with my wonderful hubby! :)

Have a great extended weekend yall! :)

Decorating with Paper Lanterns

A huge trend  in decorating now is hanging paper lanterns! The best part of this look is that they are pretty inexpensive.  The only thing is that you usually need to buy a good number of them to really make an impact. They come in various sizes, colors, prints, and shapes and its even cooler to mix and match them.  They can work for pretty much any event from classy & formal to casual and fun.  You can find paper lanterns ranging from about $2.00 to $20.00. 

Here are a few of the most popular styles of paper lanterns:

Round lantern

Oval Lantern

Printed Lanterns

Beehive Lantern

Pagoda Lantern

Football Lanterns

Eyelet Lanterns

Safari Lanterns

Here are a few pics of how lanterns are used for decorations:

Lanterns hanging from tent.  Pic from LunaBazaar.com

Lanterns and parasols hanging from ceiling.  Pic from LunaBazaar.com

Beautiful! Pic from LunaBazaar.com

Looking to purchase paper lanterns?  Here are some great sites to check out:

www.LunaBazaar.com
www.worldmarket.com

www.AsianIdeas.com

www.PaperLanternStore.com
www.save-on-crafts.com

Real Wedding: Nerissa & Mike

Today's real wedding feature is on Nerissa & Mike Jones.  The two lovebirds initially met in 2004 through a mutual friend in Washington D.C.  That next year, they were both asked to be in the wedding of the couple that introduced them and how ironic, out of all the bridesmaids and groomsmen, they were paired together!

Nerissa & Mike dated for 4 years before getting engaged.  Last year on her birthday, he surprised her and popped the question in front of a restaurant full of people.  After she said yes, the entire restaurant stood up and cheered!

The lovely couple wed on August 7, 2010, in Lanham, MD in front of 275 people.  The reception was held at The Four Points by Sheraton in New Carrollton, MD.

The couple joins our DIY club because they made their own programs. Their colors were black and white with a splash of red so they decided to use red ribbon to bind their programs together.

For their wedding favors, she wanted their guests to walk away with a gift that they could actually use and also a gift that would remind them of their special day so they decided to go with a Going Green Theme.  They purchased black recyclable tote bags and had their wedding logo put on front of the bag with the slogan
'Going Green With The Jones'.  They also had a "Dove Ceremony" following their wedding ceremony.

When asked how she knew he was "the one", Nerissa said "After our first date, I can honestly say I felt like he was the one I knew I would spend the rest of my life with...sometimes you just know."

Check out some of the great pics from their special day!