Liebster Award…My Nominees Are…

First I want to thank beautywiththeblogger for nominating me for a Liebster 🙂  Go follow her blog! RULES:

1. Post 11 random facts about yourself.
2. Answer the 11 questions that the person who nominated you will post.
3. Choose 11 new blogs with under 200 followers for their Liebster Award, notify them that they have been nominated, and think of 11 questions for them to answer!

11 Random Facts About Me:

1. I’m organized when it comes to everything except for my digital life (emails, memory sticks, cloud storage…it’s a mess–I’m working on it though)
2. If you’ve given me a card at any point in my 34 years of existence for my Birthday I still have it..I save ALL my cards.
3. I love dark chocolate, wine, almonds and avocados.
4. I’m a tea and coffee drinker…love the smell of fresh brewing coffee.
5. My sister and I have the same birthday- 4/11 (no we aren’t twins).
6. Not a morning person and very much a night owl—I like quiet mornings, however, that’s a little hard in a household of 5 plus 2 dogs.
7. Good listener when others need to talk and I’ll even help you find solutions to your issue.
8. I’m pretty easy going, but it’s a pet peeve of mine when people waste my time.
9. Still learning a lot things when it comes to my spiritual journey–but hey aren’t we all?!
10. I’ve discovered how much I love audio books on my daily commutes–thanks to Audible.
11. I speak to my mom every single day.

 

Questions from BeautyWithTheBlogger

1) What has been your Summer go to fotd?

LOL..this could either mean Face Of The Day or Food Of The Day–I’ll answer both.  Natural, moisturized with a light colored lipstick and maybe a little mascara, for “food” fruits (berries or mangoes)

2)Do you wear your hair more up or down this season?

It’s down during the day and by evening when it’s gym time it goes up.

3) Who is your favorite blogger?

I have so many that it’s hard to pick, my top 3 are Design Sponge, Designing An MBA and I Spy DIY

4) Are you Happy you followed my blog? Lol

Yes!  You are so cute!

5) Do you enjoy blogging more than any other social network or not really ?

I have my days.  I use to try and post something everyday and then I decided to scale back and post quality content over quantity.

6) What is your favorite song?

Once again I have one too many.  New school Nico & Vinz–Am I Wrong, Old School Sade–Smooth Operator

7) What is something you always wanted to do but never did?

Visit Africa–I still have time to do this though.

8) DID YOU SEE PRETTY LITTLE LIARS TONIGHT

I didn’t actually, but my husband has been telling me that it’s a pretty good show.

9) What’s your day to day skincare routine?

I use to be a product junkie (maybe I still am), but I discovered Om Botanical products at a Health Foods fair and it’s been one of the best products I’ve used to date. It’s all in one cleanser, toner and exfoliator are great I do a facial steam and mask once a week.

10) What do you like to do most in the summer ?

Beach and pool–although I haven’t gotten a chance to do either one since summer started 😦

11) Are you having a good day? I hope so

Every day God wakes me up and allows me to experience is a good one I’ve come to realize.  I have my health, family and friends–everything else is meaningless without those 3 components.  Life isn’t always going to be easy, but I’ve learn to find happiness in something each day- my 100 Days of Happy on Day 31 so far.

I NOMINATE THE FOLLOWING BLOGS:

Milk Baby Love

Beauty on a Beer Budget

Anna Amelie

Picky Little Peach

The Wandering Sheppard

Single Mama, One Income

Say No To Food Waste

Style Observatory

The Future Dub Project

Jewels & Jules

The Foolish C.E.O.

I’m LOVING the names of these blogs I nominated!

 

11 Questions to Answer

1. What’s your main reason for blogging?

2. iPhone or Samsung or Neither

3. What’s your ultimate favorite vacation spot?

4. What book do you recommend I read next?

5. What’s your favorite summer cocktail (it can be virgin or not..your choice)?

6. What food do you like to eat while sipping on your favorite cocktail?

7. What’s your favorite accessory or jewelry piece to wear?

8. What’s your favorite holiday?

9.  Morning riser or Night Owl?

10. Social Butterfly or “Please Don’t Talk to Me”

11.  What’s your pet peeve?

 

My Wine List From The Decatur Wine Festival 2013

Last weekend I was in great company and got a chance to attend the Decatur Wine Festival.  I’ve missed every year since I’ve been living in Atlanta, and this year I decided I was NOT going to let it pass me by again.  I’m glad it didn’t because I was in absolute wine heaven, with well over 60 tables of different wines from vineyards around the globe.  I even got a chance to try some new types of wine that I’ve never had before.  Here’s my personal wine list:

Chocolate Shop Strawberry: Delicious red wine with a chocolate flavor

Slices Rose Sangria: I’m always skeptical about sangria in a bottle, but this one is really good!

Birthday Cake Cellars Cheesecake: Cheesecake in a bottle–so yummy! You will not even need dessert after having this one

Ice Cream Cellars French Vanilla: My first time trying this and it was DELISH! Picture the flavor of french vanilla in your wine.

Barefoot Tropical Fusion: This was so good I had seconds! Would taste great as a mimosa or as a sangria too.

Washington Hills LH Riesling: Reisling is by far my favorite white wine and this one is definitely a winner in my book

Charles and Charles Chardonnay: I don’t drink chardonnay very often, but when I do this one will be my choice

Moscato d’Asti DOCG: Lovely flavor Moscato-probably one of the best ones I’ve tasted

Guido Mazzarello Moscato: Great moscato wine, might be a little difficult to find though

Schlink Haus Auslese: If you like Moscato then you’ll love this Auslese, sweet and fruity.

Rojo Mojo: Very smooth and dry wine

Ecologica Reserve Malbec-Organic: This was my first time having Malbec and I was quite impressed with this flavor and it’s organic

IL Conte Stella Rossa Sweet Red: Great fruity and sweet red, but not too overbearingly sweet

Mad Housewife Sweet Red: This was my first time trying Mad Housewife and this red wine was yummy and not too overly sweet

Pretty Vegetarian Lunches

How would you describe a vegetarian?  Nowadays there are so many altered definitions, I guess my official description of the type of eater I am would be called pescatarian.  As I’m typing this I’m getting a squiggle red line under the word pescatarian–I guess because it’s some name someone made up!  As a vegetarian and even a pescatarian food creativity is a must, unless you want to have boring salads everyday.  I’ve never meal planned in my life until I made the decision to give up meat.  Not meal planning can actually run you a pretty penny at the grocery store too.  While dinners and breakfast maybe a little easier to prepare, lunches pose a challenge.  It’s the fear of having the same “boring” lunch everyday.   If you are determined to have lunch that not only looks good, but tastes good as well, you may want to check out some of these cool recipes.

From the Fig Tree Blog Curried Quinoa Mango Salad

Not only is quinoa easy to cook, but it’s one of those foods that is so versatile.  In our house we eat quinoa in lieu of rice and add so many different flavors to it.  The kids absolutely love it!

From Sel et Sucre Spinach and Three Cheese Empanadas

These are so tasty and easy to make, especially if you cheat like I did and buy the frozen Goya empanada shells.  This like many of my lunches are usually leftover dinners from the night before.

From Allyson Kramer’s Blog Fig and Kale Salad

This salad is anything but boring.  The combination of the sweetness from the figs give the kale a nice natural taste.  This is one of those recipes that can be prepped the morning of to bring to work with you.

From Brown Eyed Baker Butternut Squash Soup

Fall is almost here and that means let’s get ready for soup!  This recipe is very easy to make and doesn’t take a lot of time.  It’s very creamy and goes well with french bread.

Hopefully, you’ve gotten some ideas on good lunches.  Don’t be afraid to try new things.  I’d love to hear about your favorite lunch recipes, so feel free to comment!

Get Into the Holiday Spirit

Caramel Apple Spice

The one thing I love about the Holiday Season is the holiday beverages at Starbucks.  My all time favorite is the Egg Nog Latte, however, another sweet one has captured my heart this season, which is the Caramel Apple Spice. I’m officially addicted. It almost tastes like a yummy apple pie. Another one, that I love is the Crème Brulee, it’s to die for! So go grab a holiday beverage it’s only here for a season 🙂

Happy Anniversary to ME!

My 2nd year anniversary is coming up and I’m overly excited! This September will mark two years of being a vegetarian. However, surprisingly I actual don’t miss eating meat. In honor of this, I’ve decided to share one of my vegetarian recipes.

Stir Fried Tofu with Vegetables

1 block of Firm Tofu (drained in a Ziploc & refrigerated overnight)
1 cup of corn meal (flour or cornstarch will do also)
Vegetable oil
Fresh string beans
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Sea salt
Black pepper
Teriyaki sauce

1. Cut up drain tofu into cubes and coat with powder seasonings (garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt, onion powder, black pepper)
2. Rinse and cut off ends of string beans and set aside.
3. Coat a large skillet with vegetable oil and heat.
4. Coat tofu in cornmeal or flour or cornstarch and drop cubes into the hot oiled skillet.
5. Cook tofu and turn until lightly brown.
6. Place lightly brown tofu on a paper toweled plate to drain excess oil.
7. Pour any excess oil into glass jar once cooled. The skillet should be left lightly oiled.
8. Saute string beans in lightly oiled skillet until tender but not overcooked. Add cooked tofu to string beans and pour Teriyaki sauce over tofu and string beans.
9. Serve over steamed white or brown rice.

Haiti Still Needs Your Help

HELP |  GIVING |  CARING

Several weeks have passed since the earthquake in Haiti.  I remember my mother called me to ask if I heard the news that day.  I had just came home from work and was outside walking my dog and rushed back inside to turn onto CNN. Words cannot describe the sadness and disbelief that ran through my head.  Watching the rubble, shattered buildings, and people in the streets was enough to bring tears to my eyes.  I could only ask myself “why?”

For the past few weeks I’ve been trying to figure out a way to do my part to help the people of Haiti.  Being from the Caribbean myself, I felt a strong sense of responsibility.  I donated to Yele and even bought supplies and gave to a church which sent supplies to the country.  I still felt that it wasn’t enough.  That’s when I decided to use my talent to help even more.  For the month of February, The Pink Locket, will be donating 50% of all its sales to Yele’s Haiti Earthquake Fund.  Any item purchased during this month on The Pink Locket’s Etsy Shop site, 50% of the sales from jewelry will be donated.  Help The Pink Locket reach it’s goal of $200 in donation.

Trip to New Orleans

With all the sad news about MJ, one of my childhood icons, I totally bypassed the opportunity share the greatness of my trip to New Orleans.  Of course, when I got there my friends and I were bummed about the passing of the great Michael Jackson.

With all of that we decided to hit Bourbon Street and get feel for this culture rich city.  Besides for the drunken people roaming the middle of the French Quarters and running into some random bartender who swore up and down she knew me since high school—it was a great venture.  I tried beijnets for the first time at Cafe au Monde and they were soooooo delicious.

The French Quarters were filled with so many cute clothing and jewelry boutiques.  As we strolled along the quarters it actually reminded me a lot of Paris.  Lunch at Muriels was unexplainable—rich and succulent food to die for.  My Seafood Gratin was more than just “yummo,” as a friend of mine would say.  Lets not even talk about the crawfish—talk about the real Nawlins experience.

We even got a chance to see the other side of Louisiana by taking a trip across the longest bridge ever—the Causeway.  It was the most beautiful ride across a bridge, seemed so serene and peaceful.

The trip seemed so short, so my friends and I agreed that the next trip may need to be extended 2 extra days 🙂

~Kamilah C.

The Pink Locket

The Pink Locket Etsy

Inspiration Comes From…

It’s hard to say exactly where my inspiration comes from since it varies from day to day.  Sometimes it may be how I’m feeling at that particular point or it can be something that I saw or a certain song that I listened to.  Things that I find very inspiring and that have helped me to create certain jewelry pieces have been the ocean, beach and tropics.  It may be that I haven’t had a vacation in a long while, so many pieces that I’ve created are either tropic inspired or relates to a sandy beach somehow.  What helps drive different inspiration for me is constantly seeking new things and never settling for  just what’s in front of me.  Exposure to different people, music, culture and art forms can always help inspire one.  It’s a way of constantly reinventing yourself and going beyond your limits.

Etsy Store of the Week: J & J Wild Desserts

This week’s Etsy Store of the Week is J&J Wild Desserts.  This online cookie bakery is operated by two kidpreneurs.  Originally from Brooklyn, NY this dynamic twin duo creates the most delicious cookies on the face of the earth.  Check them out on Etsy http://www.jandjwilddesserts.etsy.com.

By: Kamilah C.

The Pink Locket

The Pink Locket on Etsy