Bye Bye Google Reader!

As some of you may know, Google Reader will be shutting down on Monday. This means I will be loosing all of you beautiful people as followers! But fret not, you can still follow me on Bloglovin! Bloglovin.com is a site that allows you to simultaneously follow plenty of blogs without having to sign up for blog newsletters. This means your inbox won't get clogged up every time someone makes a post, and you can have room to explore many more blogs!

Go check it out and be sure to follow me on Bloglovin! Here are some of my favorite blogs that I'm currently following on Bloglovin:

Real Girl Glam
Nouveau Cheap
A Beautiful Mess
CurlyNikki
The Dainty Squid
The Nailasaurus







P.S. -I am still in the process of moving the blog to Wordpress.. Things have been really hectic for me these days between getting sick and then having to deal with a death in the family. Things are finally starting to get back to normal for me so you will be seeing changes soon. In the meantime go follow me  on Bloglovin to stay updated!

P.P.S. -I've added a new button to the sidebar to make it easier to follow me!

We're moving!

Over the next few weeks I will move this blog from Blogspot to Wordpress. I just prefer the Wordpress platform so I figured why not? I bet I could probably knock this out in a few days but I have work and I'm going on a cruise next week, (whoo hoo!) so it's gonna take a little while. Expect plenty of pictures from my cruise when I come back!

In the meantime, check out my friend Jodi's new photography blog! It's awesome!!!

jhenryphotos.wordpress.com

What I Did This Weekend...

I graduated!!

Yes it is official y'all. I am a graduate of the Florida State University! Alumni status baby!

The weekend was hectic, overwhelming, but overall very fun. My family came in on Friday, the graduation was Saturday morning, we packed up the rest of my apartment Saturday night, and left on Sunday. The weekend was a blur, but the most important thing is that I was able to enjoy it with my family.

Go Noles!!!

*Photo's courtesy of Jodi-Ann Henry Photography

Series Alert and Movie Talk!

About a month ago I finished The Chemical Garden series by Lauren DeStefano, and I am now depressed. Am I the only one out there who doesn't know what to do with herself when she finishes a series Yes? No?

Well that's how I felt about this series! It's based in the near future where America has become a wasteland after scientists tried to make humans perfect and failed. Now men only live to be 25 and women to be 20 because of a deadly virus. The story follows a 16 year old girl named Rhine who is orphaned along with her twin brother. Something goes terribly wrong and Rhine is separated from her brother and thrown into this cruel world where girls are kidnapped and forced to live with men in polygamous marriages. 

I won't give anymore away, but this book is damn good! 

In other book news, the trailer for Catching Fire has been released and I am so excited!! It doesn't give too much away for those who haven't read the books, and it has just the right amount of doom and gloom for those who have. I think I might read the book again just to brush myself up on the details before the movie is released. Look out for it in November!

BA Star Smoky Eye Shadow Palette Review and Discounts!

I got this BA Star Natural Shadow Palette in the mail a little over a week ago as a sample* and I've finally gathered enough info on it to do a review!

I decided to wear it for my job interview today and was quite surprised by its staying power. My interview was at 11am and it's 10pm, and it's STILL holding strong! Let me tell you, I've been really busy today running errands, working out, and I even took a nap and it's still just as pigmented as it was this morning!

Let's talk about the palette itself. It comes with three neutral shadows and two glitters, one gold and one white. I didn't use the glitters today (I didn't think it was appropriate for an interview), but I'll try them out soon.

Here are swatches of the shadows with and without primer:

without primer 

with primer

As you can see, these shadows are already highly pigmented without the primer, especially the cream color. I would say you can wear it with or without primer for pigmentation, but primer will make it last longer. 

Overall I think this is a great palette for a simple everyday school or work look. Today I went for a softer look and used the bronze color for the base, but if you want to go bolder you can use the cream color as a base and the bronze for the crease. The colors are highly pigmented and have great lasting power with a primer. 

I'm definitely going to consider investing in a few more of these palettes and you should too! BA Star Cosmetics will even help you get started with a 50% off discount code! At $8.75 retail this brings your cost down to a mere $4.37, what a deal! All you have to do is go to the BA Star website and enter the coupon code 'BBSMOKY' at checkout.

BA Star website: http://www.bastar.com/category_s/1887.htm

Discount code: BBSMOKY 

*Sponsored Post

My favorite things...

As you know Pinterest has taken over my life! Here are the most recent things I've come across that I LOVE!

 One day I hope to live in a house as beautiful and poetic as this.

I've been really into scarfs and turbans lately, I'll have to try these! 

Aren't these alice + olivia striped pumps gorgeous?! 

This lasagna soup recipe from a farmgirl's dabbles looks delicious! I'll have to make it in the near future ;)

DIY Pearled Letters

So I've been preparing to move back in with my parents after I graduate in May, *groans*and I've been thinking a lot about how I'm going to redecorate my bedroom. My room hasn't changed since I was 12, (think light blue walls and bedding, boy band posters, and Winnie the Pooh bathroom decor) so it's definitely time for a change!

Thankfully I'll be coming back with a much more mature bedding and bathroom set, but there's still the problem of decor. So in my down time I've been working on a little DIY project I learned from my friend Katherine! Pearled letters!

It's such an easy project but the results are beautiful! So let's get started!

All you need for this project is:

• A wooden letter of your choice
• A glue gun 
• Glue sticks
• Loose crafting pearls or jewels

I bought all of my supplies at my local Michaels, but I'm sure you can find these supplies at any crafting store.

Let your glue gun heat up for about 5 minutes and then place glue on any corner of the letter you'd like to start with. Place the pearl or jewel on the glue immediately after gluing! If you wait too long the glue will harden and the pearls won't stick. Make your way across the letter, gluing small sections.

It took me about 45 min to an hour to complete each letter and I still had plenty of pearls left over for the next letter! Now all I have to do is figure out what color to paint my room. Redecorating is going to be fun!

Senegalese Twists Results!

So I absolutely love how they came out! My stylist at Natural Trendsetters (shoutout to Antoinette!) did a fabulous job! I think next time I'll buy a color that blends better with my hair. For some reason I completely forgot that I have color at the ends of my hair, so now it looks like I have highlights in my twists. Haha!

If you're interested in getting these done and you're living in the South Florida area, definitely check them out! They have 3 locations in South Florida, one in Miami on Florida Memorial's campus, one in Fort Lauderdale off of Pine Island, and another in West Palm Beach. Below is a link to their website that has all of their information including prices!

Natural Trendsetters

March Madness!

Photo Credit: Tumblr

Can you believe it's March already?! I swear the holidays were like last week, and it's already springtime. I, for one am so happy that spring is here and Florida can finally defrost. I don't know what was going on with Mother Nature this year, but winter just did not want to go away!

Anyways, with spring comes new hair for me! I have been especially lazy these past few weeks. No seriously, at one point I didn't wash my hair for almost two weeks. I just kept doing twist outs on my dry hair, and slicked it up into a scarf poof. Yea, it's sad, I know. So to prevent any further damage to my hair (since I don't think this lazy streak is going anywhere, anytime soon) I decided to get senegalese twists!!

For those of you who don't know what senegalese or rope twists are, they are a extended twists done with kanekalon hair. My appointment is tomorrow at Natural Trendsetters in Tamarac, FL. If y'all don't know, that is my go-to spot for all my hair maintenance needs. They do everything! Locs, treatments, cornrows, braids, twists, sew-ins, blowouts, color...just don't ask for a perm and you're good! To my knowledge they are the #1 (if not ONLY) natural hair salon in South Florida.

Photo Credit: Dede Akiti

I bought X-pression kanekalon hair in 1. I wanted to get 1b, but the beauty supply store only carried 1 so hopefully it doesn't look bad. I bought 3 packs, and the hair is extremely long so hopefully its enough! I know it's going to take a long time for my head to get done so I better bring a butt pillow.

Well that's all folks! I need to be getting to bed soon so I can be on time for my appointment in the morning. I'll post pics of how it comes out tomorrow, wish me luck!

Updates!

Hello my lovelies!

So many things are going on around here and I've completely abandoned you guys. I'm so sorry, but the good new is that I'm back!

So what's new with me? Well I've been preparing for my upcoming graduation and my transition to law school. I've been accepted to the University of Miami and I couldn't be more excited! As you could guess, preparing to move back home to South Florida and keeping on top of my schoolwork while trying to maintain a lackluster social life has taken over my life.

However, in the midst of all this flurry of activity, I have some exciting posts waiting for you! A few DIYs, some beauty reviews, and new books! Spring means new beginnings and new posts. Get ready people!

That naughty, naughty scale!

Hola chicaroos!

So I've been noticing that ever since I've come back to college, my waistline has been expanding. Every time I step on the bathroom scale I get depressed, which makes me want to eat a pint of Ben & Jerry's New York Super Fudge Chunk (circular logic, I know! But I'm an emotional eater..)

At some point, this downward spiral is going to have to stop! I told myself I would start working out again 3 weeks ago.......and I've only been once! You'd think that at this point I would have gotten it together, but alas, I have not. And why is that?

I can sit here and say that I'm too busy to workout, that school and my internship are so taxing that all I want to do is sleep when I get home...but that would be a lie..

I can sit here and say that dieting doesn't work for me, but that would be a lie as well..

What I should just finally admit to myself is that I'm weak. Yes I said it! I. AM. WEAK! I just don't have the will power to say no to food! That cookie looks just too good to turn down. That piece of pie smells too scrumptious.

And Pinterest does not help one bit! Them pics get me every single time and I'll find myself whipping up a batch of "Homemade Brown Butter Apple Handpies" at 2 in the morning... Needless to say, this vicious cycle has got to stop! Cause let's face it, my mama will KILL me if I come home looking bigger than when I left.

So how am I going to conquer my weight and late night cravings?? Well for starters, I'm going to give away every bit of fatten food I have. Them Pillsbury chocolate chip cookies I bought today need to go. Those mini cake doughnuts that have been sitting on my kitchen counter need to go too! I am going to do a kitchen overhaul and get rid of it all.

Next, I'm going to change my habits. Instead of stopping at Jimmy John's for lunch (they have the best subs!) I'll bring a sandwich with me to school. I'll snack on fruit instead of cookies and chips. If I start making little changes to my diet, hopefully they'll evolve to bigger changes in my weight (and my pocketbook).

Finally, I'm going to workout at least three times a week. The gym is literally a few steps away from my front door for goodness sakes! There really is no reason why I can't dedicate and hour of my day to get some fitness in.

I know I'm not the only one out there who gets like this sometimes. Sometimes you get so wrapped up in your life that you can lose track of other things.....like your weight. But no more! I'm making a change and now that I've told the world about it, I have no choice but to follow through ^_^

How do you keep the pounds off? A combination of diet and exercise, or maybe something a little more drastic like weight loss supplements? Share in the comments section, I'd love to hear your feedback! 

Summer Reading Update!

So remember that book I was raving about that I was gonna start reading back in July??? Well I finished it! No, I didn't just finish it. It took about 2 weeks, but I was so hooked that I didn't notice.

Let me tell you, it was SO GOOD! If you're into paranormal fiction, I suggest you go grab you a copy of this little baby. I'm giving it my stamp of approval, and guess what.....there's a sequel!! I haven't had time to pick it up, but as soon as a get a second of free time I'm ordering it off of Barnes & Noble.

Happy reading!

Busy, Busy, Busy!!

Hello my sweets!

I am so sorry I've been MIA for the past few months, but I have been sooo busy. School started again, and my internship, not to mention I've been filling out applications for law school! Yea, things have been pretty interesting around these parts..

But I haven't forgotten about you my lovelies! I do plan on starting back up on the blog thing, but I'll have to limit my posts to about one a week.

Also are there any topics you guys would like for me to touch on? I'm taking suggestions and requests for posts!

Summer Reading Update!

So remember that promise I made to read a book a week during the summer? Well my summer seemed to have gotten pretty busy in the matter of a few days so I'm just now starting a book........AND it's not Glimmer like I said it would be.

Alas! These are not excuses! It's just that I found a pdf of this book that looked interesting and it was free, and you know how I feel about free stuff! Anyways, I started reading it on Monday and I love it! It might be one of the longest books I've read in a while so it may take me longer than a week to read, but who cares??

The book is called A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness and it's NOTHING like Twilight, True Blood or any other paranormal book I've read. I won't away too much about the book, but it's about a university professor who comes from a long line of powerful witches, but refuses to use her powers......there's the twist that makes it really interesting! Check it out people, cause I am loving it so far.

Miss Jessie's Curly Meringue Review

This post has been a long time coming, and I am so sorry for that. It's been a crazy week and I'm finally getting back to some normalcy.  I promised you guys a review and don't think I forgot!

So I did the twist out and I have to say that I am quite impressed with the results. One day I will do a tutorial on how I do my twist outs, but today I am just going to do the review for the Miss Jessie's Curly Meringue.

If you read my last post, you would know that I got my Miss Jessie's sample kit in the mail on Saturday. I was so excited to try out Miss Jessie's cause I've heard some great things about it and I must say that the Curly Meringue is amazing! First thing off let's talk about the smell. As I've mentioned before, I'm big on scents and how my products smell and this cream smells great. It's not too heavy, but I wouldn't call it light either. It is, however, very pleasant. The consistency is very nice as well. It's nice and thick but not greasy at all. 

So I washed and deep conditioned my hair and used a small amount of the Curly Meringue on each twist. I liked how it immediately showed definition in my curls as I worked it through my hair. After I two-strand twisted my whole head I tied it up and went to sleep. 

2 days after twisting...

I ended up having to leave the twists in my hair for an extra day so they were really set by the time I was ready to take them out on Monday. As I took them out, I noticed that my curls were really defined and bouncy. There were a few flecks of product in my hair towards the front where I used more of the cream, but other than that my hair felt soft and my curls held for 2 days!

After untwisting...

 I tried to use the Meringue again this past Saturday for a wash and go but I hated it! It just didn't work for my hair at all. At first it felt oily and a little sticky and then as it dried my hair felt crispy and hard. Just not a good look at all. 

Tada!

Overall I like the Curly Meringue for twist outs but that's about it. I don't think I would buy it because the 8 oz is $22 at Target and the 16 oz is $38 online..........I can definitely find some better products to do my twist outs with that are way cheaper. In fact today I picked up Shea Moisture's Curl Enhancing Smoothie and Curl Souffle. I've heard some good things about using them together for twist outs so I'm going to give them a try. What do you guys use on your twist outs?


Well I hope you all had a wonderful Independence Day (kinda late, I know) and I hope you guys enjoyed this post! Love ya!

Free Stuff!!

Who doesn't love free stuff?? No one right? Well Miss Jessie's is currently giving away free samples of their products..yes, I said free! All you have to do is go on their website and pick out any 3 of their products and a few days late you'll be in product heaven.

Here's a picture of my sample pack that came in the mail today:

As you can see it comes with your choice of 3 products (and they are quite big in size), a style guide, a product guide, and a hair type guide. And trust when I say it's free, I mean completely free. You don't even pay for shipping.

If you're like me and you've always wanted to try out Miss Jessie's but were deterred by the high price tag, then this is perfect for you. I think I'm going to try out the Curly Merengue tonight on my twist out. I'll let you guys know how it goes tomorrow!

Here's the link to the website:
Miss Jessie's

 

Guest Blog!

So a good friend of mine started up a blog today and I am so happy for her! It's about fashion, beauty, shoes...basically her obsessions. She's clearly new to the blogging thing so go show her some love!

simplyintriguing.blogspot.com