Season's Greetings

Hello Everyone!

This is the Christmas card I'm using this year. 

I love sending cards during the holidays. I remember when I was a little girl my mama and I always had a Christmas card list. We would write in Christmas cards and mail them or hand the cards in person to others. This is still a tradition that we do every holiday season.

This is another card that came in a set. This card is good to use during the holidays and special occasions.

 As much as I love receiving Christmas/Birthday cards, I love sending them. You never know a Christmas card may brighten someone's day. A small kind gesture can really make all the difference.

I typically use this card to include in my hand crafted items for customers, but I also use them for other occasions that show my gratitude.

In addition to sending Christmas cards, I also like to bake Christmas goodies and place the baked items in Christmas themed tins. I'm unsure if I'll be baking any Christmas treats this year since I'm currently trying get rid of this pesky cold!

I usually send out cards the first week of December since the post office is busy this time of year. It's not a good idea to wait until the last minute to mail your cards if you want them to be delivered in a timely manner.

 Whether it's Christmas cards or Chrsitmas baking etc. It's always better to give rather than to receive.
Do you send Christmas Cards in the mail?


December 2018 Posts

Reflections 2018/Almost 33 Years Old

Bath & Body Works Candle Day 2018

Christmas Tree Decorations 2018

Decorate with Me: Christmas Edition 2018

Pilar in the Pantry: Homemade Chicken Alfredo Penne Bake   

Christmas Party Makeup

Christmas Party Makeup

Hello Everyone!

So I'm finally posting a makeup look for December! I went to a Christmas party and I wanted to share my makeup look, and quick review of the Morphe Fall into Frost Palette.

I love wearing a red lip during the holidays. I think red lips always look so classy and festive. For this look I'm using Milani's Devotion and a deep red lip liner by Tigi Cosmetics 

I really wanted to focus more on blush for this look. I used a reddish brown blush to give my cheeks a pop of color.

I went with another classic color got Christmas, gold. I used a brown shade for my transitional shade and I added gold all on the lid. I used black lightly for the outer v, and the crease. I didn't want to turn this into a gold Smokey so I used a light had with the black eyeshadow.  I added a layer of metallic gold eyeliner In the crease. To finish this look, I added mascara and black eyeliner to the waterline .

I recently purchased Morphe's Fall into Frost Palette to primarily create my eye makeup. Quick review... I'm so glad that I added this to my eyeshadow collection. The colors are so pigmented, bendable, and long lasting. This is a great palette to use during the Fall and Winter, but the shimmer shadows also can be used during throughout the year. The bottom row has so many beauty transitional shades. I'm fairly new to using Morphe products, but so far I'm loving this eyeshadow palette!

December 2018 Posts

Reflections 2018/Almost 33 Years Old 

Bath & Body Works Candle Day 2018

Christmas Tree Decorations 2018

Decorate with Me: Christmas Edition 2018  

Pilar in the Pantry: Homemade Chicken Alfredo Penne Bake 

Pilar in the Pantry: Homemade Chicken Alfredo Penne Bake

Hello Everyone!

I think most of us can agree the holiday season is a very busy time of year. Between family, work, and general daily life activities that can leave limited time to cook. Today I wanted to share a simple meal that is quick, easy, and inexpensive. As much as I love Chicken Alfredo Penne Bake, this is my first time actually making this dish. I figured why go to Olive Garden, or Pizza Hut etc. when I can make this dish at home?

Ingredients

* You can use various brands of ingredients, these are just the brands that I used in this recipe.   

- Ragu Cheese Creations Classic Alfredo

- Muller's Penne Noodles 16 oz Box

- Green Giant Steamed Broccoli Florets 

- Tyson Boneless Skinless Chicken Trimmed and Ready Chicken Breasts (3 come to a pack)

- Great Value Low Moisture Part Skin Shredded Mozzarella 8oz

- Kraft Shredded Parmesan Cheese (optional)

- McCormick Parsley Flakes (optional)

Directions

Boil lightly salted noodles according to package. I used the whole 16 ounce box. As the noodles boiled, I cut the boneless skinless chicken breasts into shredded chunks.  I baked the chicken in the oven. As for my broccoli florets, I steamed them in a closed  pot on the stove,  and then sauteed the broccoli florets in a little butter. Make sure your broccoli is tender!

Add noodles, broccoli, cooked chicken, and Alfredo sauce. Mix all ingredients together. Not shown, but I also added a little parmesan cheese. Depending on your preference, you may also want to add more Alfredo sauce to the mixture.

Lightly spray your baking dish and add mixture into the baking dish

Add a layer of shredded mozzarella. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes on 350° and let cool

The finished product

I personally like to add parsley flakes to some of meals. I think it looks nice. I didn't follow a recipe, I added what typically goes into Chicken Alfredo and went from there.This meal was a hit! I received many positive reviews about this dish! Like I mentioned earlier, this was my first time making Chicken Alfredo Penne Bake, but it won't be the last!

  

December 2018 Posts

Reflections 2018/Almost 33 Years Old

Bath & Body Works Candle Day 2018

Christmas Tree Decorations 2018

Decorate with Me! Christmas Edition 2018

Decorate with Me! Christmas Edition 2018

Hello Everyone!

Today's post is a mixture of my Christmas DIY projects and regular Christmas Decor. If you missed my Christmas Tree Decoractions 2018 post, you can view that HERE. I really love Christmas not because it's my birthday, it's just a beautiful festive time of year. If you believe in Jesus Christ, it's also a time to remember the reason for the season.

DIY Mirrored Glitter Tray and DIY Glitter Frame

I would be lying if I said I found all my glitter projects fun lol. Don't get me wrong adding glitter makes for beautiful projects, but it gets everywhere! I love the finished look for the tray. I plan on using this tray throughout the Winter in addition to Christmas decor. I also decorated the frame of the wall decor with glitter.

The living room is coming along nicely. I'm still in the process of seasonal decorating. I'm unsure if I'm going to add more pillows. I've been looking for silver snowflake pillows, but I haven't had much luck finding them.

DIY Mirrored Christmas Present Boxes and Counter Decor

Those jingle bells ornaments are diy projects. I removed the string and added a gem to the ribbon on top.

I love my mirrored Christmas Present Boxes! I had so much making these and they go well with my Christmas Decor.

 I wanted to incorporate more teal to my silver decor on the counter, so I added this snowflake that contains hints of teal. I added the little teal gem in the center.

DIY Ornament Magnets

These were originally ornaments, but you know how I love diy projects! I added gems to center of each ornament magnet and I added a magnet on the back each of the white snowflakes 

Mirrored Wall Decor and Snowflake Candle Holder

How pretty is this mirrored wall decor? The candle holder is a gift from my mama last year. I love using this candle holder. It's so pretty!

Wall Decor with Pearl and Silver Candle Holders

Positive vibes with believe. This decor is under the tv in the living room.

Candle Holders with Lights

I put this on the side of the of the tv. I actually have two of these candle holders and I placed lights inside.

Sparkle Letter Decor

At this point of the point you probably aren't surprised I made another glitter diy project. I'm not sure of how this incorporates with Christmas, but I'll probably use it in my room for shelf decor.

Happy Holidays!

December 2018 Posts

Reflections 2018/Almost 33 Years Old

Bath & Body Works Candle Day 2018

Christmas Tree Decorations 2018

Christmas Tree Decorations 2018

Hello Everyone!

I'm excited about today's post because it's all about my Christmas Tree Decorations! I received so many emails and dm's requesting a post about my Christmas Tree decorations and Christmas Decorations!

As you can see I basically have the same theme as last year. Blue, Teal, and Silver are my primary colors. I also have acrylic and white ornaments.

This tree is my mom's tree as much as it is my tree and she wanted to start a tradition of ornaments representing people/things. This year she picked up this beautiful Church ornament that lights up to represent my granddaddy. He died in 2005 at the age of 86 years old. He loved going to Church and he also loved Christmas.

I saw these cute mirrored present ornaments and they look so cute on the tree. Hopefully I can find a few more of these!

This year I decided to do a few DIY ornaments. I've used so much glitter this holiday season for DIY's. Here are the ornaments that I decorated for this Christmas

I was contemplating leaving the ornaments silver, but the glitter looks better on them. 

More glitter and acrylic gems I added to the ornaments

Blue and Silver glitter

Christmas Tree 2018

December 2018 Posts

Reflections 2018/Almost 33 Years Old

Bath & Body Works Candle Day 2018

Bath & Body Works Candle Day 2018

Hello Everyone!

For everyone that loves candles, typically knows Bath & Body Works has their annual Candle Day Sale the first Saturday in December. Just like last year, the candles were on sale for $8.95. You read that right...$8.95 for the 3 wick candles. The night before candle day I was like a child too excited to go to bed waiting for Christmas except in this case it was candles lol!

Candle Day took place on Saturday December 1st this year. Apparently I wasn't the only one frustrated with the time mix up. A lot stores opened at 7am. When all I called all 3 stores to see the opening times, the store I chose opened an hour earlier at 7am instead of 8am. I wasn't too upset since I got to the mall around 7:15 and my mom and I got a pretty good parking space!

This was my first in store candle day in years. Like when I went back then, my mama came with me. I've mentioned this before she loves candles too! We were on a mission and by 7:45 we were done! I love mother daughter shopping trips! We had so much fun! What better way to start off my birthday month than with a candle haul? Special thanks to my mom for helping me carry those bags out of the store!

I was on the go since 6:30 am on Saturday, and I almost finished decorating the Christmas Tree. I was so tired by the end of the day. My candle day haul didn't get posted until Sunday on my Instagram page. I should have have the Christmas Tree Decorations Post up soon!

Finishing the haul picture

I didn't do too much damage, and with the candles only being $8.95 I saved money. I did mulitple transactions and I had coupons for $15.00 off of $40.00, so I saved even more money. As you can see Frosted Cranberry was my most hauled candle with Winter Candy Apple coming in a strong second. This is the first year I'm trying Cinnamon Caramel Swirl and Fresh Balsam. Cinnamon Caramel Swirl reminds me of cinnamon rolls or Apple cinnamon oatmeal.  Since I'm allergic to live Christmas trees, Fresh Balsam is a good substitute for me. It smells like a Christmas Tree.

Happy Holidays!

December 2018 Post

Reflections 2018/Almost 33 Years Old

November 2018 Posts

My Life in October in 2018

Come Along with Me! Christmas Previews 2018

Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash Pink Grapefruit Facial Cleanser and Foaming Scrub

Aromatherapy Love: Rose and Vanilla Collection

Zoya Jubilee Holiday 2018 Collection 

Tips for Hosting Thanksgiving

Thankful

Thanksgiving Makeup

Come Along with Me: Christmas at Bath & Body Works

Pre Black Friday Haul

Chique Pro and Rose Gold Brushes

My Life in November 2018

Reflections 2018/Almost 33 Years Old

Hello Everyone!

It's that time of year again when I reflect on the year. I know December just started, but there are so many things I want to reflect on today. 2018 was truly a year that I trusted God's process. This is not an overly religous post, but my relationship with God is very important to me.

As I get older, I like to think that I'm growing wiser. The almost 33 year old self doesn't view things the way I did 10 or even 5 years ago. I felt that this year I was being tested. I can think back on numerous occasions that I've grown frustrated when things happened beyond my own understanding. I've learned that things that don't always make sense usually have a purpose later.

Some journeys are meant to be walked alone. I don't always think that's a bad thing though. Sometimes you have to step back and do things that are best for you. No announcements, no social media posts about your plans, just do what you need to do. This year I've walked on a few paths alone, and that's ok. I saw clearer and gathered my thoughts. The world is surrounded with distractions, I try not to let things take my focus.

Since high school I've dealt with depression, so that's been half of my life. As I got older during college I've experienced anxiety as well. I mentioned over the Summer I decided to go back into counseling and get back on medication. Almost 6 months later I have noticed postive changes in how I feel. I'm not going to pretend that it's easy for me dealing with my mental health issues because it's not. I'm honest with myself, depression and anxiety are issues I have to work at everyday. I share my story in hope that I am helping someone who is reading.

2018 provided me with opportunities to collaborate with some amazing brands. Some were repeat brands and then there were new brands I've worked with for reviews. Every brand that I've collaborated with over the years and this year, I'm truly grateful.

As an influencer I'm climbing the ladder to get to the top. I don't compare my social media handles to others. I've said this once and I'll say it again, there's room for everyone to be successful.

Success takes hard work, dedication, and once again focus. This year was a special year for me because I celebrated my 5th year of blogging. I'm proud of my blog and all that I have accomplished so far.

I know that's it's very early in the month, but I'm keeping optimistic that December will end 2018 on a positive note. My year wasn't terrible. It's all about you look at life. My birthday is on Christmas and God willing, I will be blessed to see another year.

To all my fellow December babies, I hope you have a wonderful birthday, and wishing everyone a Happy Holiday season!


November 2018 Posts

My Life in October in 2018

Come Along with Me! Christmas Previews 2018

Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash Pink Grapefruit Facial Cleanser and Foaming Scrub

Aromatherapy Love: Rose and Vanilla Collection

Zoya Jubilee Holiday 2018 Collection 

Tips for Hosting Thanksgiving

Thankful

Thanksgiving Makeup

Come Along with Me: Christmas at Bath & Body Works

Pre Black Friday Haul

Chique Pro and Rose Gold Brushes

My Life in November 2018