My Inspiration

Life has a way of really breaking you down before building you back up.  June 2nd I got to experience one of the most exciting times in my life when my long time boyfriend got down on his knee and asked me to marry him.  After that living 5 hours away from him just didn't do it for me.  Obviously it wasn't ideal to start with but now more than ever I realized that it was time to start taking direction and going where I wanted to go.  That was when I told my job that it was time for me to start looking for a new position and moving up, doing something more challenging and somewhere close to where my fiance lived.  I am so blessed to be working for a company that truly believes in me and my talents and helped find my perfect position within just a couple of weeks.  So I set up my interview and found out two days later that I got the job.  Life was simply falling into place and I was feeling so incredibly blessed.

The next day life took a turn for the worse.  I got a call early on June 27 from my mom and through the muffled voice message I knew that our worst fears had become reality.  That was the day that I found out my precious 8 year old cousin Christopher Robert Schraufnagel had lost his battle with cancer.  Words can not describe how broken my heart was and how many thoughts went through my head.  I was angry, sad, and completely at loss.  My heart and my mind could simply not understand how such a courageous and strong CHILD could be taken from this world in the blink of an eye.  I will still never understand why, but I know that Christopher is in a better place in the arms of Jesus.  Christopher was an inspiration to everyone who met him and he brought smiles to a million faces.  He not only touched the lives of those around him, but he changed them.  Seeing Christopher go through his battle with cancer and watching how it affected my family and the people who knew him opened my eyes to life and helped me realize that it is so incredibly short and you are never guaranteed another day.  

So through all the heartache and the loss I have gained new strength, new courage and more than ever MOTIVATION.  I want to dedicate everything I do to bringing awareness to cancer research and saving the lives of children going through struggles like Christopher did.  I have decided to challenge myself to training for a 5K and then a marathon and this challenge is not only to run, but to become exceptional at it.  I am determined to help represent Team Christopher and raise awareness about childhood cancer research and use my health to help fight for a cure.  

Christopher is in my thoughts every single day and I put my best effort into everything I do because of him.  I know I have an angel watching over me and I am so blessed to not only have known such an incredible young man, but also so lucky to call him family.  

Forever & Always 

   

Beau Monde Salon Review

Hello lovely s!  Now I don't know how many of you have already or have just been interested in experiencing a Deva Cut, but I wanted to share with you my experience and results.  

A week ago I was in the Burnsville, MN area for a work meeting and had the rest of the day to myself so I figured... hey, why not get my hair done!  I googled salons online and Beau Monde was one of the first salons to pop up in the area and once I saw they specialized in curly hair I knew I had to go.  They were extremely friendly on the phone and quick to find an opening and squeeze me in that day, not only to get my hair cut, but also for a color.  Needless to say I was already impressed.  Upon arriving at the salon I walked up to what looked like a normal, low key salon located in a strip mall on the outside to what appeared to be a fairytale land on the inside.  I kid you not this place is absolutely GORGEOUS I almost expected fairies to be flying around sprinkling glitter around the building ha ha.  

My appointment was scheduled with Stefany Carrol and I was very well taken care of while I waited.  Stefany was extremely friendly and listened very well to my ideas while giving some of her own.  I felt totally comfortable in her chair as she began the process and she was very attentive to how I was feeling and making sure that I was completely comfortable.

The end result was phenomenal my hair felt completely revived had taken its shape back and the curls were miraculous.  And lucky for me my fiance decided to take me out to dinner ;) 

So if any of you fabulous curlies are in the MN area looking for a nice salon I highly recommend Beau Monde Salon located in Burnsville, MN.  

You can view their website here:  Beau Monde Salon 

DIY Facial

Taking great care of your skin is essential to having that every day glow and also very important to keep it looking young.  There are four components to great skin including a healthy moisture barrier, consistent cell turnover, strong support structure, and balance of surface oil and water.   

Facials are a great way to stimulate cell turnover and rid the skin of any excess dead skin cells, pollution and excess oil.  Although very beneficial facials can be very expensive so I thought I would share my version of a DIY facial. 

What you will need:

*Cleanser

*Exfoliator

*Pot

*Wash Cloth

*Mask

*moisturizer and treatment products for your skin type.

Steps:

I usually cleanse and exfoliate in the shower, you can use any products you have on hand.  Below I will post what I used, but remember everyones skin is different and these are just products that work for me and my skin type.  

Clinique Acne Solutions Cleansing Foam

Kate Summerville Exfolikate

While in the shower I have pot on low heat on the stove with a washcloth and water in it and once I am out of the shower I use that to steam my face and open my pores before putting on my mask.  Be careful that the washcloth is not too hot before placing it on your face.  

After lying with the washcloth on my face for a couple minutes or until it starts to cool I apply my face mask, one of my favorites is to mix 1 tsp of indian healing clay with 1 tsp of raw apple cider vinegar.  

Leave the mask on for 10-20 minutes and then rinse off with a warm washcloth and dry your face.  

Afterwards apply your favorite treatment products and moisturizer.

Then relax and enjoy your healthy and radiant skin :) 

   

Benefits of White Tea

Today I finally stepped up and decided to indulge in Teavana and get my own tea maker along with 2 different types of white tea.  White tea is very beneficial to ones health, in fact studies indicate that white tea contains more polyphenols which are powerful anti-oxidants that fight off and kill cancer-causeing cells.  White tea can also help boost your body's immune system and fight off virus and infection-causing bacteria.  Aside from the obvious benefits white tea can have on your overall health, the high amount of anti-oxidants also helps fight off free radical damage which in turn benefits your skin and we all know how we would love to have flawless skin ;) 

Do you believe teas can make a difference in your overall health, and what are some of your favorite kinds? 

Staying Fit & Healthy

So each week I make it a point to try and get to the gym 4-5 times and do a combination of either classes/cardio and weight training.  Lately I have been putting a lot of focus on legs because lets face it summer is right around the corner, which also means swimsuit season, which means I need to get me a brazilian butt lift ASAP! So here is a leg workout idea and what I did today.

20 Minutes of cardio on the stair master

Weight training for legs:

* Single Leg squats 3X15 each leg

*Step Ups 4X15 each leg

*DB toe touchers 4X10 each leg

*Cable Kickbacks 4X20 each leg

*Leg Press 4X20

Strong is not only healthy, its beautiful 

Another tip and a very beneficial one is consuming a protein smoothie after each workout to help with recovery.  Here is one of my favorite mixtures.

1 Scoop of vanilla BSN Syntha-6 Whey Protein 

1 Banana 

One hand full of spinach

Your favorite juice (bolthouse juices for me) 

Drink up and ENJOY 

Introduction

Hello dolls! Welcome to my new blog where I will be sharing my ideas and opinions on different beauty products and hair care products along with tips on how to live a healthy lifestyle.  Tune in for more <3