Hair Tutorial: Fish Tail Braid with a Twist

                      

My August Favorites - 2012

                        

My must haves for this month have been at number one my Michael Kors watch and Red Envelope Necklace Garrett bought me for our 7 year and my birthday. I wear them every single day and I love that they are my new signature peaces. I will miss my guardian angel but I have it in a very special place were I can still see it so its all fine. The next thing is my tea obsession has entered another level of weird. Not only do I have to have a cup as soon as I wake up and for lunch and sometimes at night but now I have to drink it out of a cute cup. My absolute favorite way to drink tea is in my brand spankin' new red birdie tea cup. What makes it even better...it was only $4.99!!!! 

The next thing that I am truly obsessing about is smoothies. I make them every morning and it puts me in the right place and mind set for the day. I have the recipe below if you are interested it is a simple yet delightful concoction that makes me so happy and concerned at how excited this simple shake makes me. Any ways I guess we should move on before this gets any weirder. 

So next, I will jump to my favorite clothing options. Button ups...oh button ups, kinda simple but a closet staple. But, not when you make it sheer and with a fun print like polka dots. This is a great transitional piece from summer into fall. Were I live it is going to be a fall piece that transitions into winter. I do wish I could layer and have to wear gloves and scarves out of necessity instead of pure desire. Any ways sheer button ups are great if you are ready for Fall now and need to keep cool. So my next fashion favorite is leopard flats! they are from Target at they were only $14. I bought them for myself on my birthday and I am in love! 

My 3 beauty fav's include the Conair bun filler, Garnier Moroccan oil, and double sided cotton rounds. The bun filler, I like to use it as a sock bun. Mostly this summer has been straight buns. Lets face it summer is not the time for having your hair down and getting all sweaty...that just not cute. So I feel like I have had a very laid back summer with just throwing my hair in a bun and the Conair bun filler makes it fabulous and chic. All with out trying hard at all. So the next product would be the Garnier Moroccan Oil. Lets back up a bit to when I bought it. I went to the drugstore to find a shine serum and it caught my eye and it was so much cheaper than the other Moroccan oils. So I grabbed it up and I cannot put it down. I smooth a dime size amount over the bottom of my hair after I shampoo my hair. The shine is amazing and has no oiliness factor. Now the last product is the cotton rounds. I actually bought it because it was on sale. I didnt really look at them much, I just sort of grabbed and ran. So when I first put them out on my vanity, I got very excited because one side is as smooth as a baby's bottom and the other side had soft ridges. So now in the morning I use the soft side with my toner and the ridge side at night with my toner to make sure I get all of the makeup off. I have noticed a huge difference in my skin with that one step. 

So I hope you go out and try some of these products and trends. I am going to miss August so much. It was amazing. I had Garrett and my 7 year anniversary, my 22 birthday and out engagement party, also we got to officially move into our new place. I am very sad to see it go but I am so excited for September and to see the rest of this year. I cannot WAIT till December 22!! I am ready to be Mrs. Garrett Sanders. But, I really don't want to miss out on Fall, it is however my favorite time of year.

Hurricane Survival Kit

August Monthly Favorites 2012

My Morning Shake (Strawberry and Banana)

I just started making shakes every morning when I wakeup, even before tea. I have noticed a huge change in my day. I am less irritable and tired. I feel more hydrated and more motivated to eat better threw out the day. I have always heard that you need to start your day off right if you want to eat right the rest of the day. But, breakfast is not the hard part for me, I use to eat Kashi Cereal or Carnation Breakfas. However, I have always still craved fast foods and other junk food. But for the first time in my life this entire week I didn't crave fast food! I had my shake in the morning and tea an hour after that. For lunch I had Garrett's chili which the recipe is down below or just click on this link >>> . I have just felt so much better and so much more happy with that one thing in my day. So before this, I always thought "starting your day off healthy leads to better food choices threw out the day" was a load of crap. But now...not so much. I just realized you have to find your healthy breakfast that is your trigger to enjoy being healthy threw out the day. So bellow is my recipe, nothing fancy just what I do. I hope you enjoy!!! 

What I used:

Magic Bullet

4 Medium Strawberries

Half of a frozen Banana

1 tbs. Peanut Butter

1/2 a scoop of Whey Protein Powder

Enough Coconut Milk to Cover

Step 1: Prep your Magic Bullet

Step 2: Add 4 medium strawberries

Step 3: Add 1/2 Frozen Banana

Step 4: Add 1/2 scoop of whey protein

Step 5:

Add 1 tbs. Peanut Butter

Step 6: Add Coconut Milk 

Step 7: Blend for a minute

Your shake should look like this

Yummmmm

Step 8: Enjoy!!!

Fast and Easy Bun Tutorial - Perfect for Back to School

Back to School Outfits for EVERY Occasion Video

Back to School Outfits for Every Occasion!!!

Hey guys, so school is back in full swing and what better way to start your semester off then with a fabulous outfit. I have picked 4 outfits for 4 different occasions. I hope these will help you draw inspiration for the rest of this semester! 

Outfit # 1 (First Day of School)

TJ Maxx Blouse

TJ Maxx Skinny Jeans

Target Leopard Flats

Forever 21 Bib Neckless

Outfit # 2 (Have a Presentation??)

Stylemint Abbot Kenny T

Forever 21 Blazer

Lauren Conrad Coral Pants

Aldo Pumps

Forever 21 Chain Neckless

Outfit # 3 (Woke up late and still want to look Fab)

JC Penny Jean Jacket

JC Penny Maxi Dress

Forever 21 Neckless

JustFab Shoes (Glady's)

Outfit # 4 (Lazy Day)

JC Penny Turquoise Plaid Shirt

Style Mint Abbot Kenny T

TJ Maxx Skinny Jeans

Ralph Laren Shoes

 Signature Pieces:

Confession from JustFab

Nail Polish - Essie Limo-scene

Michael Kors Watch (Camelle)

Forever 21 Crystal Bracelet

Rings made by Myself

Garrett's Healthy Chili Recipe

This chili is to die for! Today for lunch we put it over vegetable panini, it was so delicious! Tomorrow, for dinner, we are going to eat it over brown rice. This is great for me because I get bored with leftovers very, very easily and I waist a lot of food that way. So Garrett and I decided to make food that we can serve differently every night. Usually I make some form of pasta like Kraft Mac n' cheese and chow on that for a few days or even just TV dinners. Garrett on the other hand makes a weeks worth of baked chicken and eats that for every meal. This is very pricy for both of us because we both make too much and waist a lot of it. So duh why not make something we both can eat that is equally healthy and delicious at the same time. So that is what we are doing and this is the first of the recipes we will be doing and showing you on my blog. Garrett is such an amazing cook and I went to culinary school but he still has me beat. So I hope we can help you in some way by showing you some healthy and delicious meals that keep our pockets and our tummy's full.

You will Need:

1 x Large Pot

1 tbs. Olive Oil

2 lbs. Ground Turkey

1/4 cup red or white wine

1tbs. Cayenne Pepper

1/4th tsp. Ground Nutmeg 

3 tbs. Onion Powder

1tbs. Finley Ground Black Pepper

1 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

2 tbs. Dried Parsley (1/4 cup fresh parsley)

2 12 oz. cans Cento Italian Style Peeled Whole Tomatoes

1 can Pinto Beans

1 can Black Beans

1/2 can Tomato Paste

1 can Chick Peas (Garbonzo Beans)

1 can Mild Rotel

3 Bay Leaves

1tbs. Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle Seasoning Mix

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Step 1:

Heat your pot to Medium Heat

Step 2:

Poor Olive Oil into hot pat (it has to be hot in order for the meat not to stick)

Step 3:

Drop Ground Turkey into Pan

Step 4:

Add all spices except Mrs. Dash

Step 5:

Stir until Browned

Step 6: 

Add wine to deglaze the pan and reduce to about half

Step 7:

Open all of your canned goods

Step 8:

Drain Pinto, Black, and Garbonzo Beans (Chickpeas) . DO NOT RINSE WITH WATER!

Step 9:

Add all canned goods to the pot and stir

Step 10: 

Stir and Add your bay leaves.

Remember you put three in and three need to come out.

Quick Tip:

For safety, press the lids to your cans into the the can like so, to prevent injury.

Step 10:

After simmering for 30 min. 

Add Mrs. Dash and Salt and Pepper to taste.

Step 11:

Simmer for another 30 min and poor yourself 

a glass of wine and spend some time with your  

doggies and man of course :-)

There are something you can add to the chili to change things up, 1) You can poor it over some pasta or brown rice, or even add things to it like cheese and sour cream. This will depend on what you allow yourself in your daily diet. For example, If you stay away from carbs for the most part I would suggest cooking it down to a thicker consistency and make lettuce wraps. If you are a vegetarian I would skip steps 3 and 5 and add spices after you add your canned  goods. This is why Garrett and I love this recipe so much because it is so versatile. 

 I hope you enjoy this recipe and go make it for your man or woman or hell do it together like we did because it is a crowd pleaser. Trust me if a health nut like Garrett and a picky eater like myself love it, you will to.