Holidays, Uncategorized

MLK/Snow day(s)

by SymoneFLeave a Comment on MLK/Snow day(s)

Happy Martin Luther King Day!

You really feel like a foreigner when certain holidays come around. I’m aware of Martin Luther King day (it’s not celebrated in Barbados) but since I’ve been living here I haven’t really had the chance to really get a grasp of how it’s celebrated. Shame on me for not taking the time to understand it but at the same time, I feel like I’ll know when it’s time for me to really know and understand these things. This is where I’m coming from – I moved to another country after spending my whole life in another, and I feel weird jumping into another culture while I’m not able to fully celebrate the special days of my own. I’m not being petty and saying if I can’t celebrate my culture here I won’t celebrate yours, I’m saying I’d feel like a sell-out. I’m not in a part of the US that has an established Caribbean community, I feel so far removed that if not for the presence of the local news on social media I wouldn’t have a clue (besides my parents) of what’s going on there. I make it a point to know what’s going on in my country, sometimes I even know stuff before they (my family) do because of the time difference. If something happened at 2am (that’s 10pm my time) and it’s posted to Facebook or Twitter I know before they even wake up what’s going on and I’m following the story.

I still feel weird about Thanksgiving, it’s such a huge holiday here and I just feel lost celebrating it, especially when my country’s independence day is November 30th and I want to do something special for that because it’s what I know. I guess here is where you have people from different cultures celebrating the holiday but with their national dishes etc which is fine but it’s not something I grew up doing and even though it’s a great holiday, I’m yet to experience it in all it’s glory to fully grasp it. I’m sorry but that menu is not for me… I know the story so please don’t feel the need to educate me. There are people out there soooo eager to learn and understand different cultures (believe it or not, I’m one) but I like to observe and understand before I jump in clueless as to what I’m celebrating or whatever.

With that said, so far today, I’ve only seen people posting quotes from MLK but what else is done? Are there parades going on somewhere? Memorial services? If so, it’s definitely not in my town (hence why I’m still a little clueless, you can’t observe if there isn’t anything to observe). I’m pretty sure we’ll be here for years to come so if they aren’t doing anything really, how am I to really understand what’s going on? Turning on the t.v. isn’t much for me to participate in, I do that every day.

But today, I’m not heading out. I have a 3 day old headache that got worst today, I’m a bit congested and somewhat snowed in. We’re expecting snow every day until Wednesday (it started Saturday) and I won’t be driving in it so I hope my husband is up for driving Ms. Daisy :P.

This is the scene outside of my apartment yesterday and it’s snowing again right now. I’m out of water for my water cooler and I’d love some cupcakes to get me out of this funk. Hopefully we’ll be up for the challenge later.


“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

xx

Beauty, Fashion, Uncategorized

For Gurls only ;)

by SymoneF4 Comments on For Gurls only ;)

Hi! Today I’m doing something I’ve never done before. I was going to do a video because I thought it would save time but the fact that I couldn’t find my camera which was next to me halfway through this post cost me time and I figured I could as well type away. So this will be a picture filled post! *Yay* I hope you enjoy it! I purposely did not choose a specific category for my blog because I wanted to be able to share everything! I’ve spoken about clothes before but never really posted pics or anything and I’m going to give this a try. Anyway! On to the post!!!

I think I’ve mentioned before that I follow a fashion blogger called Dulce Candy. I follow her on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and I subscribed to the blog. I LOVE HER! I know she’s gotten so far at her age because she keeps it real (really Symone? Sorry but I couldn’t think of another way to put it but it’s pretty much sums up what I think.) Ok, here goes another shot – she’s easy to relate to and she has the girlfriend factor (you feel like she’s talking to you personally in her videos). I have to say it’s because of her that I’ve opened up my sense of style and started using/liking make-up. In her last drugstore haul video, she had so many things that I wanted to try so I decided to go and see what I could get. I had such a blast and  because she somewhat did a review on the products I wasn’t buying blind.  First you’ll find below the video then I’ll add pics and tell you what I got ok? Let’s go!

The Goodies (minus the MAC stuff)

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter. (left to right: L->R) Crème Brulee (095), Sugar Plum (085), Sugar Frosting (005), Pink Truffle (001).To me, these are lip balms with a tint. I really don’t remember what Dulce said about them but I love them! Perfect to keep in your handbag for daily use and the variety of colours allows you to change it up often. I only bought 4 but there are about 8 or more colours.

More lip stuff: (L ->R) Sally Hansen Vita A Lip Line Smoother, Maybelline Super Stay 14hr Lipstick, Sally Hansen Lip Inflation Colorfull. I wanted to try some different stuff so I just added these for my lips. I prefer to add colour to my lips than make up my whole face or even do eyes. So much easier!

Nail Polish (L ->R): Sally Hansen Gem Crush “Razzle Dazzler (06)”, Sally Hansen Smooth and Perfect Color Care “Dune (03)”, Wet n Wild Megalast “Wet Cement (201C)”, Nutra Nail Gel Perfect UV-Free Gel Color “Champagne (12755)”. I’m always doing my nails and looking for something different but not flashy. I saw the Gel Perfect Nail colour on Dulce’s haul and decided to give it a try as well since my nails are very brittle right now.

Eyeshadow (L ->R): L’oréal Infallible “Amber Rush (892)” and “Bronzed Taupe (890)”, Maybelline Color Tattoo by Eyestudio “Pomergranate Punk (30)”. The two eyeshadows by L’oréal are quite interesting. If you haven’t noticed by now, I LOVE neutral/natural colours when it comes to make-up – the “barely there” look. Those eyeshadows have a little disc on the inside that compresses the powder which makes it not so loose and also great for travelling. The Maybelline color is more creamy in texture.

Blush: Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush “Coffee Cake (60)”. I am NOT  a blush person, but after Dulce showed this one and how it’s not very pigmented I decided to give it a shot.

Eyeshadow Brush & Eye liner (L ->R): RiteAid Renewal Eyeshadow Brush, Physicians Formula Shimmering Strips “Nude Eyes (7568)” and “Brown Eyes (7374)”. I’m always buying loose brushes because I’m still practicing. My mum got me the MAC brush kit for Christmas and I used it for my make-up on NYE but I like to keep using the cheap brushes for practice as I am NOT a pro. The eyeliners are also a pick by Dulce, and besides lipglosses/lipsticks I love eyeliners, so I decided to give these a try as well.

MAC products: SuperSlick Liquid Eye Liner “Smoky Heir” and Lipglass “Hot Spell (A81)”. I stopped by MAC when I was leaving the mall because I received a flyer on their latest collection “Naturally”. The lipglass is from that collection and I want to go back for a lipstick that was also there. It just screamed my name! The eyeliner… Believe it or not, my mother  has me into this coloured eyeliner. We both bought the blue one while I was home but they were out of the purple so I just got it. I ‘ll have to go back and get hers or else I’m in big trouble lol.

Since I was sharing so much today I figured why not share what I’m wearing as well :). I love these pants! I decided to wear them today to boost my spirits as I knew I’d be out and about and they’re actually brighter than they seem in the picture. (Sorry about my background – I hate cleaning that room!). I washed my hair and didn’t get to flat-iron it as I ran out the house early but at least I have quite a few hats lol!

Thanks for reading today! If there’s anything else you’d like to see or read about feel free to let me know in the comments!

xx

Uncategorized

Back to Reality

by SymoneFLeave a Comment on Back to Reality

I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday season… because I did!

Before I jump into this post, I’d like to take the time to say thank you to all of you for your loyalty to my blog as well as your comments. I look forward to another year of sharing and interacting with you!

It’s bittersweet to be back though. It’s one thing to be back from a vacation but another to be back from Christmas vacation – a new year has started. The special family gatherings and parties are over and it’s back to reality – reality with the hope of changes to come. Good changes. I have plans for 2012 but I can only hope that they are also what God has in store for me :). I think that once I acknowledge this from early, I can have a better attitude toward setbacks or failed plans.

I have this idea that I’ll set goals for each month and maybe that may be slightly better than trying to plan what will happen within the next 3 months or so. For example, I plan to have this apartment thoroughly cleaned by the end of January. It needs plenty love as I’d abandoned it prior to our vacation so I will definitely focus on that. Then my birthday is in February and even though it’s a major one I’m leaving the “planning” up to my husband (>_< hahaha).

This year there are many things on our list and some may require more than a month’s worth of planning and worrying but part of my motto for this year is to not stress what I cannot control – and not stressing is part of a lifestyle change – that makes this even more interesting/challenging for the new year but I’m more than looking forward to it.

We can only plan so far and hope for the best. So whatever you have in mind for this year, or even for this week, don’t get too caught up in it that you don’t live in the moment and even forget to give thanks for how far you’ve come. Continue to ask for guidance in where you want to go. We all stumble along the way of our goals and dreams but keeping them in mind and not losing sight is what is important.

Happy New Year again!

xx