Last week I got the chance to attend two great events. The 1st one was for the grand opening of Bluemercury, which is a luxury beauty shop-in-store located inside of Houston's Memorial City Mall (in Macy's). This was my first time attending an event like this so I was really pumped up about it. Seeing as how I'm trying to do a tad bit more on the makeup side and explore different brands and colors, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to do so. There were two areas that caught my eye, the Lune + Aster bar and the Clinique Pencil Bar ::

So many gorgeous colors, so little time to choose!! The CEO's were in attendance and made sure they went around the shop to personally speak with everyone to let us know a bit about how it all began. 

Myself & the adorable Brittainy Perry of Styl'd Grace speaking with CEO Barry Beck

The company Bumble & Bumble were in the building, and the company Educator, Erin Armstrong, was showcasing their new line BB Curl which caters to curls...ALL curls! Pretty exciting since I'm a naturalista. She saw my hair and fell in love! Of course she tried a sample of the Primer and the Defining Creme on my puff!

I can honestly say the end result was given 5 thumbs up! This will be a product that I will invest in, in the near future! The Bumble & Bumble website website is hyperlinked above. And yes the line is alcohol, paraben, and sulfate free!! Make sure to go check them out! There were so many other awesome product lines, makeups, and smell good in one space so I made sure to take all the pics I could... and here's a collage to showcase the greatness of Bluemercury! Enjoy!

The 2nd event I attended was a luncheon for Sprout Tv's new original series Floogals (pronounced like Google but with an 's'). We got to sit and have group conversations with Lisa O'Brien, Sprout's Vice President of Original Programming & Development, Cady Meshnick, the Communications Coordinator, and a host of other individuals including fellow bloggers. I cannot even begin to explain how excited I was for this event simply because I'm a mom!

 With the age range being geared towards 2-6 year olds, this show is perfect for my 2 minis because it's about exploring life from their viewpoint...alien like if you will. Children see objects and places in a totally different light then adults, and this show portrays that very well. There are 3 main characters: Flo who is the only girl of the group. She also seems to be the smartest as she is the experimental, inquisitive one. Her character is a huge image for female scientists and I love that. There's Boomer who is the leader of the pack. He's the one that acts as the enthusiast. Then we have Fleeker- the klutz of the group that makes the show humorous.  Sprout sent us home with two sneak peaks of the show, which premiered January 23rd and airs daily at 8pm ET/ 7pm CST. I had my minis and my 'niece' watch it...they were glued to the screen. They absolutely loved it! 

Oh yeah, the location of the luncheon was a restaurant called Benjy's- "a modern American dining experience with warm Texas hospitality". Beautiful decor and even better menu selections!!! I will be dining there again! And as always I took photos for your viewing pleasures...happy looking lol. 

Top row: Sneak peak of an episode of Floogals,my babies and niece enjoying the show
Middle: A main entree of shrimp & grits, dessert from Benjy's
Bottom: Lisa O'Brien speking with us about the background of Sprout and Floogals

Thanks for reading, I hope you guys enjoyed. Be sure to check out all the good stuff mentioned here today! Have a great day and remember 

B.I.F.C:: Home Is Where The Heart Is

I've been so focused on life and brainstorming other blog ideas that I didn't take the time out to make this post...my trip home to Cleveland, Ohio. 

I was blessed to go home twice in the same year-the 1st trip was for my brother's high school graduation. This time was for the holidays, & I decided to surprise my sister and brother. My Daddy, my Aunt, and my stepmom were the only ones who knew I would be there...outside of friends. I wish I could have caught their reaction to seeing me and my babies as they walked through the door. It was one of those heart warmers lol. What I did capture though, is a few moments of the tree decorating process, late as heck, around 12 am; still fun nonetheless. My oldest daughter, my brother, his girlfriend, my Dad playing director lol, and me...taking pics savoring the memories.

My brother Spencer, his girlfriend Keisha, and my baby Samara

House decor...& my Pops

Family time/traditions are always the best! Here are a few more snaps of fam fun for the holidays:

Left to right: my sister Zavy, my Dad, my Bestie Boo James, Great Lakes Christmas Ale, Dad & minis, my best friend Tim, & my big little brother Spencer

Now I couldn't just go home and not hit up a couple of my favorite places!! I was feening for a polish boy in true C-town fashion, a corned beef sandwich, and some wings...I only got to get the 1st two but it's all good! I also stopped by my favorite nostalgic shop called Big Fun (see what I did there lol)  which is located in the heart of the Coventry area. Of course I took LOTS of photos, it's only right since Big Fun takes you back down memory lane to your favorite gadgets, toys, and trinkets, and more! Here are the visuals, enjoy!

First the food::

Slyman's Deli located on 31st & St. Clair Ave; famous corned beef sandwhich

Slyman's Deli...it was my first time going there out of all the years I've been in Cleveland. It ABSOLUTELY lives up to it's hype!! This place has been plastered all over the place in the culinary world. Rachael Ray even featured them on the Food Network series $40 A Day!! I loved everything about Slyman's from the food all the way up to the decor. The deli has a Three Stooges theme.. one of the owners names is Moe so they took that and the rest is history. There's is also a pretty dope wall photo:

This photo literally take the entire wall up...couldn't get it all to fit

If you ever want to try what a real corned beef sandwich tastes like, go there! But make sure you go before 1:30 pm...they close at 2 and the lines are always around the corner!

Next...

B&M Lakeshore Location

What you are witnessing is magic. A closeup of a polish boy. What is a polish boy you ask? It's a polish sausage placed smack dab in the middle of a bun surrounded by coleslaw and french fries....topped with BBQ sauce!!!! Finger lickin' excellence!! Lots of local bbq/wing places in Cleveland have polish boys. This particular spot is B & M's... they are best known for their wings. They have a couple other locations on different sides of town to suit everyone's needs. 

And now the grand finale: 

Playing around in the funhouse mirror

Big Fun Flagship Location: Coventry, Cleveland Heights

If you have random thoughts of "I wonder what happened to this toy/game/old school ______", then Big Fun is where you should be. Walking through here had me saying alot of awws and oh my Gods. They literally have everything you can think of from whatever era you grew up in!! This place is like a Twilight Zone...only...fun...and colorful! They have comic books, baseball/basketball/football collector cards, throw back gaming systems...you name it, I'm sure they have it or can get it. A great site to see. 

This wraps up a piece of my trip back home. The next time I go I'll definitely make the time to go to a few more of my favorite spots.... thanks for reading...and as always...

2015...Thanks for growing me...

Five days into 2016. I woke up one morning and did my daily scroll session. I came across a tweet about Myleik Teele's (creator of CurlBox/mytaughtyou.com) podcast 'What To Leave in 2015'. I totally forgot to listen to it when she originally posted it, so the tweet was a reminder. And I opened it up right on time!! While I listened, something gave me the confirmation to go ahead and gather my own list of things to leave in the year of 2015. I was in my hometown (Cleveland baby, baaaaby) when I started this post-relaxed and chilled. I just went through a brief shift- losses if you will- but moving forward, I see exactly why they had to happen. Actually that shift is a piece of the inspiration for this post! Now that I'm back in H-Town, my mind/spirit is back on track, and I'm preparing for what's up next!

There are ALOT of things that I personally will be leaving behind for good and not just because a new year is coming. 2015 was eye opening, full of love, had some extreme rough patches that I didn't think I would get through, new friendships blossomed, people/places/things came and went, and overall I did some growing- a crap load of growing. So here's a tad bit of what I will be leaving behind::

1. Not handling my funds properly- credit score included

2. Fixing dead relationships (friends, associates, etc) trying to figure out what went wrong

3. Taking on other people's problems/emotions without looking at my own first

4. Accepting EXCUSES & JUSTIFICATIONS from anyone

5. Getting in my own way

6.  Expecting...anything from anybody

7. NOT speaking up when I need something

8. Not giving myself enough credit

9. Not having balance

10. Taking it personal if other people don't see situations the way that I see them


These are the most important things I decided to let go of. My sanity is so much more important than anything else (outside of being a mother). I've decided to get back to SHERECE (yes, that is my government)...there have been way too many times where I put others before myself, and it's mainly because I'm a nice person with a huge heart. While I won't let anything I went through towards the end of 2015 harden my heart (thx Deneka lol), I WILL be alot more aware and alot more cautious; I will listen to my instincts the 1st go 'round. Everything that occurred last year has made me stronger, wiser, and I know I have a helluva lot of character. IDK how, but it's calmed my spirit too...GINORMOUS PLUS.

I hope this encouraged somebody to sit down and make their own lists of what they're gonna let go of and leave behind for a better them!!

Thanks for reading, Happy New Year and remember

Believe in yourself...for that's the place to start

In a society full of "likes" and "followers" there seems to be a very small amount of room for leaders. Author Yales Smith aims to change that with our upcoming mini generation in his book Kid Miracle.

Kid Miracle is aimed towards 3rd-6th graders, but if your child isn't quite up there yet (like mine), you can still read the book to them. This book is absolutely great for teaching our growing babies life lessons such as being accountable for your actions, the value of hard work, the power of prayer, the true meaning of friendship, communication, and most importantly BELIEVING IN YOURSELF.

Not only is it an excellent read for our future, it is a great read for parents as well. It teaches us (myself included of course) to LISTEN to our children when they are trying to tell us about ways in which they may need to feel encouraged/ supported by us. Not just listen, but apply what is being stated to our daily routine, to encourage our children's friendships (the right ones of course), and to support our children.

One of my favorite things that Smith did was incorporate different quotes in between chapters that are dedicated to why it is important to read. This is inspiration and a stepping stone for our young leaders to see that there were others before them who also loved to read.

And at the end of the book, he inserted pages of goals for the kids to write down any goals or dreams that they want to accomplish. 

I more than highly recommend this to all families with little ones involved. If you want to see your youngster do exceedingly well throughout the school year, have them read Kid Miracle. The inspiration and the message is more than enough reason to do so. 

Kid Miracle can be purchased on kidmiracle.com or on Amazon. The kidmiracle.com site also includes tips on parenting and helping your child to be successful every school year. 

Believe in Yourself, encourage your children and remember 

Nzuri Fest Weekend Recap

The last post I made was about a week ago (week ago)...I had to lol. Since then the 2015 7th Annual Nzuri Hair, Health, and Makeup Festival has taken place. Let me tell y'all...this experience was MORE than anything I could ever imagine. From the planning down to the actual event...honneeeyyy it was on!!

Let me just start with the IHearThatGirl crew...

The entire team was AMAZING!! Kimberly "Isis" Thomas set it off while bringing her website ihearthatgirl.com, The Premiere Website for Positive Black Women, to life on her very own stage! DJ L-Boogie kept the weekend hype with her mixture of old school and new school flava, Alton Walker did the damn thing keeping us all entertained-he kept the laughs flowing for sure. Kyla Thompson (blogger & founder of www.pinkproverb.com) added some spice with the Car Confessionals from the Mazda CX-3. LaKeshia Collins, Ronald Cetoute, and Trumane Watkins were ON POINT with making sure the weekend ran as smooth as freshly laid tar!! All in all this crew is definitely one that I admire. Looking forward to next year! Make sure you check out the their sites!!!!











Speaking of Mazda CX-3, this car is super cute!! It's a compact SUV so it's not too big, and not too small.

Perfect for if you, like myself, love the feel of an SUV but don't necessarily want to feel like you're driving an 18 wheeler! Moving on...


This year was jam packed with workshops galore, vendors on vendors-on some more vendors, runway shows, pageants, local talent, giveaways *gasps for air*... Andre Walker (7x Daytime Emmy Award Winner for his FABULOUS hair work on the Oprah Winfrey Show) and Reggie Wells (Emmy Award Winning Makeup Artist for the Oprah Winfrey Show) were in attendance to be guest judges for the hair and makeup competitions that took place!! Andre Walker also did a LIVE hair demo on the I Hear That Girl stage. Need I say more? Luckily for you, I captured some of the highlights of the weekend...enjoy...

Gentlemen of Houston

Deneka Dove, founder of Touch of Pizzazz 

Lovely Shonnell of The Vivid Lyfe

The lovely Kenya Crawford Endsley, founder of Posh Kids Couture

Ms. Full Figured Foxy, Ms, Fab Over 40, & Ms, Top Natural Beauty Winners (and contestants)

Andre Walker & I

Creme of Nature Workshop

Mazda CX-3 Car Confessional w/ Isis & Taneika 

Celeste "Eclectic Vibez" and her beautiful mini queen came to visit 

I Hear That Girl Blogger Boos Panel (featuring yours truly)

Nzuri Product Booth

This year was a success. I've made alot of connections, and gained some lifetime friends. But before I sign off, none of this would even be possible if it were not for Mrs. Leola Anifowoshe,

founder of Nzuri. Thank you so much for this outstanding opportunity. You have poured blessings in more ways than you know.


That's all! If you missed this year, you need a spank on the hand and a shame on you! Hope to see you all again next year, and then some!!


Stay fabulous and remember

Serve Y'all Serve