I dub today MARIUS MONDAY!

For all my frequent readers, you probably noticed a slight makeover on my page, if you are new I am most certain you are utterly and complely amazed and how MARVELOUS Marius Massie of Custom Initiative has been to me. 

First of all he masterfully created my banner.. *go Marius go Marius*
Second his pricing is super reasonable, Im a newby, and this is a hobby... need I say more.
Finally.. this dude is so funny and personable, he's just like a brother!  Well maybe for you single ladies.. who knows!! 0_0 Surely I jest.. hahaha!!

Marius Massie

Getting back to the story...
He was so FANTASTIC and fun and wonderful.. I decided to temporarily change my Music Monday focus to MARIUS Monday!!

Please, please PLEASE go check him out here or here and feel free to email him at marius@custom-initiative.com.  You can find him on facebook as he is a multi-faceted gentlemen. 

Marius you rock, and I LOVE my page!  I am thrilled to work with you again in the future!

Great Face FRIDAY - It's all so NEW!

It's Friay, it's Friday, IT'S FRIDAY!! (insert happy dance here)  I am thrilled and in the best mood for many reasons. 
First of all, I get to sleep in tomorrow, so today officially marks the last day of 5:30am alarm clocks for this week.  Second, also tomorrow, is the MN Fashion Blogger Meet-Up at Cheeky Monkey Deli and I happen to be going with the freshest..... Kasidy from The Fresh Factor, you can view her blog here she is super MARVELOUS!  The most important thing is I BOUGHT ALL NEW MAKEUP....(swoon).

I took a few pics as I was throwing out my used makeup, this is VERY interesting...haha.  I recently did a post on steps to a great face which you can check out here.  I showed all of my makeup on that post, which I did preface on the disclaimer, I actually use my makeup and use it til its gone! For instance...

Covergirl Ultimate Finish Liquid Powder in Buff Beige

Covergirl Ultimate Finish Liquid Powder in Buff Beige

Its SO PRETTY... the new one of course.. (wink wink)

Covergirl Simply Powder Foundation in Buff Beige

Covergirl Simply Powder Foundation in Buff Beige

I especially love this powder by Physician's formula, except it always breaks apart near the end of its life cycle, unlike the Cover girl powders, which would be the only downfall.

Summer Eclipse Bronzing & Shimmery Face Powder

New Mascara has to be my ULTIMATE FAVORITE NEW MAKEUP ITEM to buy!!! (yes I really am that excited, haha)

My eyes are one of my favorite things ever as it pertains to my physical attributes, and I am a firm believer in finding your best two.. which I discuss more on a previous post you can read here, so needless to say I was super happy about his one!
My daughter Mayowa wanted to get in on this one... haha.. she's so cute..

Mayowa helping mommy :)  We were aiming for a shot like the pic below... haha!

Revlon Luscious Grow Mascara- notice the clumpy old brush on the left.. makes a world of difference!

 Of course all of this loveliness adds up to this GREAT FACE!

Wardrobe Wednesday - Five after Two!

Hello readers and readettes! 
I had an exciting weekend with a few of my favorite gals, one in particular my sister Stephanie of Graded on a Curve. (she's hott right?!)  We host a monthly get together, Five after Two, with our fashion friends and basically any woman in 'want' of a boost of confidence, fashion tips, or just a fun girls night!  It is sourced out of our local church Passion Church in Maple Grove, MN where there are many groups just like ours that have different interests, ours being Fashion, Faith & Etiquette.  You can see those here.

This month we met up at Nordstrom Rack (LOVE) and we distributed and discussed the following Fashion, Faith & Etiquette tips and had a blast........

We had a fashion challenge, where the attendees chose a picture and shopped for 30 minutes to complete the inspired look.  They recieved a Caribou gift card for their accomplishments!  Unfortunately in all the excitement I didn't get any pics of the inspired outfits they found but I did get, well tried to get pics of the winners.. lol!
Here are some pics and my MARVELOUS FIND!

First my inspiration....

I chose a bold and boxy blazer, skinny jeans instead of leggings and I did a bootie by via spiga.. my 'winter version' of the outfit to the left.

Second, Stephanie's inspiration...

 Stephanie, right, added a hat, kept the yellow and did a darker denim...greatness.  She is here with one of the winners of the fashion challenge.

Here goes the fun... prepare yourself!

The other winner is looking at her phone trying to dodge pictures... you ladies, haha..
There is actually three people in this pic too by the way! SMH!

still hiding... at least one is smiling

pop ya collar... haha.. silly silly!

someone did some damage, in a good way!

Until next time!

Something to look forward to on an up and coming Wardrobe Wednesday..... my $20 fantasticness! GREEN HOUNDSTOOTH... I couldn't be happier!

Who or where do you find the most style inspiration?  How do you make the look your own?  Do you get together with anyone, or any group of fashion friends to empower and share your success?

Toddler Tuesday - New Adventure!

She is the cutie that is to the immediate right of the African American dance teacher (the teachers right hand side).

I recently took Mayowa out of daycare due to distance and cost, and that was SO HARD. I boo-hooed for a while, and was comforted by the time I was able to spend with my beautiful child. 

I definitely paid attention to her abilities in rhythm and performing in front of people, as her father and I are lead people for our worship team, she rocks out with us at rehearsals.. lol. 

My husband and I decided to put her in to dance.   We chose Dominion Dance Company in Robbinsdale, MN a suburb just NW of Minneapolis.   At the start of class she was sitting and going along with it all... then the clingly cuddler that is my daughter took over!  She was nervous and whiny... I thought OH MY, did I push her into something she is not ready for, is she too scared, I just spent hundreds of dollars on a leotard, shoes, registration, costume fees....... (yeah I know I am that mom!)

The reality is she is three and its her first week, she raved about class afterwards, and talked about going back so I think we (mostly me) will turn out fine!

This pic below is the last few minutes of class after I had to leave the scene in order to make her go with the teacher. :)

Her she has her infamous blanky and her street shoes they so kindly obliged, in letter her wear.

Music Monday - Your My Boy Blu!

Blu, born as Johnson Barnes is this generation's version of Common just a west coast version; in my opinion.  Some others would compare him to Lupe, but almost all posts are deeming Blu as superceding any competition. 

He has an original sound and creative flow.  I LOVE his presense on each track.  The hooks are MARVELOUS and my favorite part.   For the most part he is a clean rapper, his lyrics aren't about hoes money and cars.. which is refreshing, however he does use a few choice 'adult' words.  Still better than A LOT of rappers/ hip hop emcees currently selling out crowds.
He has had many mixtapes and albums come out.  The most well known of the bunch is 'Below the Heavens'.  You can read more on the Hip Hop DX article from 2008, where he was named Rookie of the Year, back in 2007. 

 

For more up to date info check out his myspace and twitter.  For now hit the play buttons below for my two favorite songs of his.