In My Dreams

All That Surrounds Me

They say the circle of friends you choose to be surrounded by have a great influence in your life. Having friends in your circle who challenge you and always keep it real with you is vital. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably seen this picture before.

Think about the 5 people you spend the most time around and how they affect your life.

One of my girls recently sent me this article from The Root about 10 Friends a Black Woman Needs. Once I read the article, I pegged myself as #6 The “Keep It 300” Friend and my girls agreed. I’ve been told I’m a ballbuster. Sometimes I’m very blunt and other times I try to be really nice stating my opinion. Just know that I’m the girl who will not lie to you and will always give you an honest opinion, EVEN if it’s not the one you want to hear.

Another great article on How Your Circle of Friends Influence Who You Become via Simon Alexander Ong. How great is your circle? Or is it really a square and its time for you to make some changes.

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Ilusions Destroyed

Shourouk Madness

I’m clearly late to the game since Shourouk jewelry has been around for a while, but the first time I saw her pieces it was LOVE AT FIRST SITE. I am a HUGE fan of #allThingsStatementNecklaces. I love all the gemstones and the multi-colors the Persian designer uses.  I’m totally obsessed with the Phenix Rainbow Necklace. Unfortunately, my wallet can’t afford all the Shourouk jewelry I want. But there’s good news. 

SHOUROUK pink earrings // SHOUROUK DS Drop Earrings // SHOUROUK sapphire jewelry // SHOUROUK green tear drop earrings // Swarovski bangle bracelet // Phenix Rainbow Necklace // SHOUROUK orange necklace // SHOUROUK lucite purse

Since Shourouk’s designs are so popular, a lot of Shourouk-inspired jewelry is available. Of course I had to buy some pieces for my store R’Belle Boutique. The pieces below are now available at the boutique.

If you’re interested in any of the pieces or want to see what other Shourouk inspired pieces I have, please visit my boutique.

No Strings Attached

Safe With Me

I’ve been in love with this song “Safe With Me” by British singer, Sam Smith and I just had to share it. He sounds a little like John Legend, but he has his own vibe too. Sam has a couple other songs out like Nirvana (I blast this song and sing it at the top of my lungs) and Latch you can check out if you like this one.

I Love It When You Call My Name

I have a slight obsession with #allThingsMonogrammed these days. I’ve even been eyeing the monogrammed cheese board at C. Wonder. I love cheese, but I don’t need a board to cut it or eat it.

Here’s my faves in the monogram world these days. Once I get a new phone, I might have to scoop the C. Wonder iPhone case. I’ve been talking about getting a mug for months now, just can’t decide which one to order. The one thing I did purchase was the crew neck sweater from Old Navy. It wasn’t available in any of the local stores and I was afraid it was going to sell out so I jumped on that.

C Wonder Gold Belt Buckle // C Wonder iPhone Case // West Elm Metallic Horizon Zipper Cases  //  You Are Beautiful Personalized Mug // C Wonder Monogram Glass Plate // C Wonder Jewelry Box // West Avenue Monogram Necklace  // Monogrammed Oversized Mug // Old Navy Crew Neck Sweater // C Wonder Initial Key Fob // Personalized Yellow & Turquoise Monogram Mug // C Wonder Printed Striped Pouch // Baggu Dipped Tote Striped  

Are you feeling the monogram craze? What’s your favorite items?

You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone

Just Put It In Ya Mouth - Or NOT!

Potatoes - mashed or fried are my weakness. I got a little sad when my running partner shared this photo with me earlier today. I wonder how many burpees you have to do for a small fry? Did I mention: I HATE BURPEES!

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And then I find this pin on Pinterest. Something to think about before you put something in your mouth. Milkshakes are dangerous.

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Love Yourself Like Kanye Loves Himself

The weekends go by way too quickly.

Saturday morning I spent a couple hours with a 3-year old. I STRUGGLED getting her out the car seat. #noshame The first time I tried, I could only undo one latch of the car seat and gave up. The second time, I couldn’t undo anything and gave up. I just walked away like, “This is why I don’t have any children.” Everyone just laughed at me. When the 3-year old’s grandma finally got her out of the car she says “I’m free. I’m free.” LOL #cutestkid

If you follow me on Instagram then you know I ran/walked in the Living Social 5K Dance Party, Saturday night at RFK Stadium in DC. I swear the course seemed LONG as ever.  With the first 5K I ran, you couldn’t see the entire course at one glance, but for this one you could. I think looking at how far we had ran and how much more we had to go made it run seem so daunting. Something I will have to keep in mind if I run another 5K in DC because of a lot of them seem to be held at RFK Stadium. Overall I had a good time. Got to catch up with my girl Alisha (great running partner) and the after party was pretty fun. I wish all 5Ks had an after party with a bar. Makes sense to dance a little bit after you run because your adrenaline is already pumping. 

Pictures that I didn’t post on Instagram

Selfie before the race

Time Well Wasted

Running Wild in the Streets

Having an extra day off on the weekend kinda promotes laziness…at least in my book. Yesterday I told myself I was going to sleep ‘til 10, get up and go to the gym and then come home and wash my hair. That definitely did NOT happen. It wasn’t until 11 a.m. rolled around and I had to force myself out of the bed. I did a little homework, mopped some floors, ran a couple errands and then came back home and got back in the bed. LOL I did make it to my Zumba toning and regular Zumba classes. My instructor was on 1000%, but it feels good to be sore today.

So Saturday this is happening:

I’m super excited because after the run there is going to be a DJ and a cash bar. So you know I will be running straight to the bar. That’s my motivation. LOL #dontjudgeme

After reading We Run DC (via Style & Sucré) and Running is Better Together (via A Lover’s Anthology), I’m marinating on this:

But I have to make a decision and register by November 22. 13 miles is a lot of running considering I barely like running 3 now. LOL But this would be a great challenge. So we’ll see…

In the meantime, I’ll be working on my love affair with running.

Something for the Weekend

The weekend is here. 3-day weekend. YES! I swear this week dragged along.

So this new dark lipstick trend has me intrigued. I’ve been looking for the perfect dark lipstick to try out. After reading 15 Dark Lipsticks, 15 Gorgeous Ways I’m definitely finding my way to a NARS counter soon.

Speaking of makeup, I'm one of those women who sleep in their makeup. I admit, I'm lazy and just don't see the necessity in cleaning my face before bed UNLESS I have a full face (eyeshadow, mascara, etc.). Most days I just wear concealer and foundation that is so light, I forget I have it on. My makeup feels so light; I forget I have it on by the time I return home. I didn't realize how bad not removing my makeup was until I read this article. Turns out your complexion might age two days every time you sleep in your makeup. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.  (via Beautylish)

Sweet Inspiration

This speaks to me. This is me. LOVE IT!

Zuppa Tuscana Soup

Cold weather and having a cold make me crave soup. This week I decided to make Zuppa Tuscana. I never had the soup before at Olive Garden or anywhere else, but after seeing the recipe on Pinterest, I decided to try it. As usual, I added some of my own seasonings and had to use bouillon cubes because I forgot to buy chicken broth, but the soup still came out DELISH!

Recipe below

Work Wid It

I woke up at 6:30 this morning confused about why it was so bright outside. Thank you Daylight Savings Time. It will no longer be super dark when I wake up to work out.

Saturday I started my new fitness plan. The goal is to hit the gym for 30-45 minutes a day, 4 days a week and continue my 2 hours of Zumba and toning 2 days a week. We’ll see how it goes…Pray for me. I’m also doing the Armed and Dangerous Challenge, so hopefully I’ll see some improvements by the end of November.

Sunday I woke up craving Italian food, so I made baked semi-skinny manicotti and Zuppa Tuscana soup. I never had Zuppa Tuscana soup before, but the recipe sounded good, so I had to try it. Delish! I keep looking at the clock now to see if its lunch time yet. Can't wait to eat this soup. Posting the recipe tomorrow.

Hope you had a great weekend and remember:

Armed and Dangerous - Its a Challenge

If I could change one part of my body or have plastic surgery on one thing, it would definitely be my ARMS. I hate them. They’ve been fat for as long as I can remember. I hate the way that I can shake my arm and you can just see the fat jiggling. So nasty. I saw this arm challenge on Facebook last month and decide I would try it. My arms are WEAK so this will truly be a challenge. After working on my arms in the gym last week, they continued to hurt for three days. This is going to be painful, but hopefully I will see some results by the end of the month. Who wants to do the challenge with me? Deets below.

You can also use this link to download the calendar.

Cream Cheese Chicken Chili

Its only been three days, but school is already kicking my butt. Who has time to read 20-30 pages each day? I don’t. I need to figure out a schedule for reading and homework because I want my nights back. Reading about law terms and cases til midnight is not my idea of fun. #thiscantbelife

Anyway, while I was home sick last weekend, I made Cream Cheese Chicken Chili .  I was in the mood for soup, but wanted to try something different. The soup turned out soooooo good, so I wanted to share the recipe.

I found the original recipe on Pinterest from the Spokane Dinner Club, but I ended up altering some of the details like the black beans because I hate black beans. I also decided not to use a package of ranch dressing mix because most packets contain MSG. #cantbehavingthat And I also added jalapeños because I was trying to “sweat” out my cold.

Recipe below:

Slash and Burn

Back to School Again

I officially start school today and I have to admit, I’m a little nervous. I haven’t been to school in a long time. 10 years +. I haven’t done homework or had to talk to a professor or advisor in forever.  

After talking to my advisor last week, he made me feel really comfortable and really good about my decision. I am sticking with the degree I chose way back when: International Business. I’ve always loved different cultures and the desire to travel; one of my best friends said, “This degree is so you.” And it really is.

So Scandalicious

Thursdays is Scandal day. Everyone knows that.  Everyone also knows not to call me between the hours of 10-11 p.m. If you call me, your call will just be ignored. 

If you want to talk to me about Scandal during that time, you can actually Tweet me. That's probably the only form of communication I will respond to. I love being on Twitter during Scandal. The tweets are hilarious.

Anyways, if you watch Scandal, you remember the FLY Burberry Prorsum Trench Coat Kerry Washington was rocking in the Season 3 premiere. Even with the coat being at least 60% off, it’s still way out of my budget. (Not to mention, I’d rather just buy a Burberry bag instead.) #dontjudgeme

Lost In A Dream

Sometimes I love the randomness I find on my Tumblr

Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

I like bacon just as much as everyone else.  Just the smell of it gets me excited; mouth watering. But I thought the phrase “Bacon Makes Everything Better” couldn’t really apply to EVERYTHING. WRONG I WAS!

A couple weeks ago my girl Cherice tagged me in a pic on Instagram about Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies. I had to admit I was a little intrigued and thought, “I could make those.” A week later, one of my boys mentioned bacon chocolate chip cookies again.  I love to bake, so I was down for the challenge.

I decided to whip up a batch of the cookies (hadn’t made homemade cookies in FOREVER). The verdict:  everyone loved them.

Here’s the recipe below:

All I See is Signs

When I got home last night from work, I had two packages waiting for me. One from Kindrunner and another from Influenster. Kindrunner sent me a shirt. Yay! I can finally rep them when I’m running and they also sent some Brooks socks. I’m excited to try out these socks since I love Brooks running shoes. Influenster sent Dr. Scholls’s Active Series Replacement Insoles. Guess this means I need to get back to running, so I can try out my new socks and insoles. I’ll give you my review later.  

My Favorite Mistake

Baby It's Cold Outside

Running in the cold means you have to have the proper running gear. This means I have to go shopping. Yes! I always love reasons to go shopping. My hands are always cold, so running gloves are mandatory. I’m also one of those people that like to look cute while working out; so that means whatever I’m wearing has to match. I need to stock up on running pants and leggings because I currently only have 2 pairs of running pants. I want to try the Nike Pro-Hyperwarm Leggings because they are supposed to keep you warm in the cold and cool in the heat.

Here’s the list of my must-have items.

In 1492, Columbus did what?

In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. What he actually discovered is up for debate, but I’m happy I get a day off from work so “Thanks Christopher.”

Found these cute Someecards online.

This government shutdown is crazy. I thought it would only last a week and a half, tops. Now we are going into the third week? I think; I’ve lost count. I’m just thankful that even though I have government clients, I am still working and getting paid.

Am I the only one who hates the Apple maps? I refuse to use it. The two times I tried to use it, I was confused and upset the map didn’t move with me. I stick to Google maps, especially because it speaks the instructions to you.

You Can't Force Loyalty

Blessed to Have You

Something about this caught my eye

That's What I Read

I thought the 10 Reasons to Celebrate Being Single by Refinery 29 was a cute list. I love my "me time" and "trash TV".

I’m always looking for ways to improve my booty, so I was into Fitsugar's list of 33 Ways to Shape Your Butt. 

Can't believe my love "chicken" is on this list of 9 Healthy Foods that Can Fool You. LOL However, I do like the suggestion to make your own salad dressings. I've been hooked to that this summer.

10 Ways to Max Out Your Workout from Refinery 29. Death to planks and push-ups!

iPhone Apps for Runners from Fitsugar. I like the MapMyRun app if you are looking for new routes to run in the area you live in.

I'm in love with Detox water these days, so I've been adding a lot of mint and cucumbers to my water. Check out the Detox Tips for your water from Fitsugar.

I'm always looking for good music to workout too. Check out the Top 10 Pandora Stations for Workouts from SkinnyMs.

Fat City Fit has some great tips to Eating Out when you're trying to eat right.