LOVE This!

Ok so for those of you who dont know.... one of the top celebs on my wishlist who I would LOVE to see rocking one of my bags is Rihanna! She is such a fashionista with amazing style.  And I'm all for anyone who loves rocking the boat and standing out. Check out this AMAZING jacket she wore while performing on MTV's new show Seven. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! :)

I cant wait til the day Im uploading of pic of her wearing one of my bags!! Claiming it! Remember, there is power in the tongue! :)

My Stepping Out on Faith Journey - Step 1

Me @ 5 years old

As I told you guys last week, Im going to start journaling my journey as I step out on faith to pursue my passion!  Remember, I'm a work in progress ....and this is just my experience.... so here goes! :)

God gives us all gifts and although some people have yet to figure out what their gift is.... we ALL have one or two or three! Once we have discovered what our gifts and passions are its up to us to figure out what to do with them.  I have always been big on having faith.  But as the bible tells us, faith without works is dead! (James 2:20) That basically means we can have all the faith in the world...but faith alone wont cut it...we are going to have to put some action behind it. 

Growing up, although I always knew I loved doing creative things, I always thought my career path would involve me working for a company and moving up the corporate ladder.  Funny enough, it never even crossed my mind that I could actually work for myself one day doing something I love!  But time goes on and before you know it, Ive graduated from college, started my career, and am genuinely excited about working in corporate America.  Then years go by and I realize more and more each day I have no passion for what I'm doing.  I used to drive to work with tears streaming down my face some days because I felt so strongly that my time there was up.  But then I felt conflicted because although I discovered what truly makes me happy, I felt I was being ungrateful for the job I had.  By most peoples standards, my job was great....flexible schedule, company car, great benefits, etc.  And in this day and time when people are struggling to find work, how dare I complain simply because I cant do what I'm passionate about.  This is what life is about, right...doing things and working in jobs you have no zest or passion for?  WRONG!

I think Step 1 in stepping out for me (before taking any action) was first realizing and truly believing in my heart that did NOT have to be my reality! And it doesn't have to be yours either!


Stay tuned......

Cute Favor Idea - Fancy Fortune Cookies

This morning I woke up to a Groupon from a company called Fancy Fortune Cookies.  These are the cutest little things ever! They come in different flavors/colors and would be great for a favor at a baby shower or even a wedding esp if it coincided with a theme! And you can even customize your own fortune messages in a variety of different languages.  They run about $0.65 to $1.15 each.  Check them out:

www.fancyfortunecookies.com

My Party

So my 31& Loving It pink party turned out great! I am so thankful so many of my friends and family came out to help me celebrate...we had a good time!  I cant wait to show you all the pictures!  My fav photog and friend, Nicole, took some pics for me so as soon as I get them I'll post some!

Have a great Monday yall! :)

Sending Post Wedding Thank You Cards - DONT FORGET

You've spent months planning your big day.....lots of time making things or having things made for the event and now the day has finally come and gone.  You opened all your gifts, spent or saved all your cash and giftcards and now its time to thank everyone.  Sadly, some people never end up sending out thank you cards which I think is pretty bad.  I mean all these people have taken time out of their lives, booked flights, paid for hotel rooms, and gave you a gift and you cant even send a thank you card?

Don't get me wrong, I totally understand how it is after the wedding is over.  You are happy and relieved that all the planning and getting things together is done and you may not "feel" like doing them right away which is fine. But please make sure you dont forget to send thank you cards. Some people actually write them out before the wedding.  Of course they don't write out the entire card but they address the envelopes and stuff. If you have time to do that, thats great!

Wedding etiquette states you should send them anywhere from 3 to 6 months after your wedding date.  Different people say different time frames.  How long you choose to wait to send them is up to you, just dont wait too long.  And trust me, people really appreciate getting them and they also remember when they don't get them!

My 31& Loving It Pink Party

So this Saturday is my 31& Loving It Pink party and Im so excited! :)  Its an all girls shin dig for my birthday and everyone is supp to wear something pink (my fav color).  I've been getting things together for it for the past two weeks so stay tuned to see how everything turns out! :)

"Believe in yourself FEARLESSLY!"

While chatting with my bestie (Jackie) about stepping out on faith, she gave me a great idea to journal my "journey" in stepping out. I love the idea! So going forward, I'll be sharing my a little of my personal experiences, emotions, ups and downs in stepping out on faith to pursue my passion!! Stay tuned for that! :)

This past Saturday was my 31st birthday! My hubby made this birthday very special and I had a great weekend!  I thank God for allowing me to see another year which lets me know my purpose has not been fully served on this earth yet. Isn't that amazing? Every day we are blessed to wake up, we are given another opportunity to live to our fullest potential.  In church today, my pastor talked about giving your best no matter what you are doing and how we should really do everything as if we are doing it for the Lord.  If you think about it like that, it's kind of hard not to give your best in everything you do!
 
On Sunday, I watched the 2010 Black Girls Rock awards show on BET! I loved every bit of it! I think its awesome that DJ Beverly Bond saw the need for a youth empowerment and mentoring organization for young women of color. The awards show recognized a number of black women who have made outstanding contributions in their careers and stand as positive role models in the community.  It was an extremely empowering show to watch and a great reminder that any of us can truly have whatever our hearts desire is....no matter how BIG our dreams are!! Faith, hard work, drive and determination are all you need.  One thing Raven Symone said that stood out to me was that she has heard more people tell her NO than YES and look how extremely successful she is at only 24 years old!! Just goes to show us just because 10 or 100 people have said NO doesn't mean that YES isn't coming!

Lastly, Nia Long who hosted the show shared this statement in the beginning of the show which stuck with me:  "Believe in yourself fearlessly!"  I love that ...because that's exactly what we have to do!! If you don't believe in yourself, who will?