WILW - Church Style

Thanks Jamie!

So for whatever reason, I have been really wanting to go visit a Catholic Church for a while. I have a pretty strong prayer and meditation practice, but for whatever reason, have really been thinking about Catholic Church. I talked to a couple of women in my life that I really look up to (both of them Catholic) & they recommended a church in Greenville, St Anthony's of Padua. 

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What better time to visit a church than during Easter!!! It was so awesome!! Turns out, this is the first African American Catholic Church in Greenville. The priest, Father Pat, is a wonderful man. He has taken a vow of pverty and has done extensive work with the homeless. In the last year, he has raised $4.2 million dollars for their catholic school. What makes this so important is that in the area of the Greenville the school is located has a graduation rate (elementary) in the 30 percentile. But St Anthony's school's graduation rate is in the 90 percentile! What a wonderful opportunity for children in an area where school doesn't seem as important!! 

Also, the had a gospel choir that was amazing. The church just felt so alive and I really actually felt like I was home even though 1) I'm not catholic and 2) I've never been there. I DEFINITELY want to go back (maybe this weekend). 

As we left, there was a little booklet that we grabbed that has a daily prayer for 30 days after Easter. I have been reading it daily and it's been really interesting. It tells of stories of the disciples and Mary Magdalene, etc. In the reading today, it was talking about the invisible disciple and that the invisible disciple's greatest asset was how much he loved Jesus. Then it said that we don't have to have faith, but if we just love God as much as we can, the faith will come. That really made an impression on me! And of course, it said it more eloquently than I'm saying it. 

Anyways, that's what I'm loving today!!! 

What about you?? 

WILW - Photo Edition

Yay for what I'm loving Wednesday!!!

Thanks Jamie

I sometimes think it's funny to look back on photos I've taken during the week. It's amazing the things that peak my interest, most of which are food. So I've decided today's WILW will be dedicated to my photos for this week. Enjoy. 

my new paleo focus has me eating odd snacks - I like almond butter better than sunflower butter I found, BUT it was $6 so I'm eating the whole jar - I can promise that

My mini meatloafs and mashed sweet potatoes - but the pic turned out too warm - bleh

 I was trying to be artistic but this just looks kind of gross - it was actually really really really good

So I've been telling my hubby I wanted Iris's and look at what popped up in my yard - thank you previous house owner!

I love them

I ate this last week - pre Paleo. But I am going to continue to eat things like these because I can - just not as frequently maybe - maybe... 

Ellen's is sooo good - support your local!

Super excited about my new Toms even though I got a size too big

BBQ place in Columbia that is straight up nasty 

Yeah - I did take a pic of this 

Charleston Pralines - this was delicious but hurt my teeth

Should I be disturbed that almost all of these are food? Obvs, we found my fav thing to photograph. 

Hope you like them!

WILW - makeup & skin care

Yay Jamie!

I've had to buy some make up lately, so I thought now might be a good time to talk about some of my favs! 

Skincare - Let me start by saying that I never had any issues with acne or skin problems as a child/teenager. It wasn't until I started in the workforce that my face began to break out. I don't know if this is a culprit of stress, hormones from Birth Control, or even an increase in working out (especially with makeup). I started using ProActiv which did a really good job of clearing up my skin. So why did I want to change? Because it used to bleach my wash cloths and I thought, what is it doing to my skin? Also, Proactiv has a policy that you have to be a part of their club & they would send you the refills automatically. I didn't like that. You can return it but I don't want another errand so I started to search out an alternative. At one point, I tried Arbonne which broke my skin out so badly that I was actually embarrassed to go anywhere. It was really really bad. So FINALLY, after some seeking, I found a couple of products that I absolutely adore. 

1. Clinique Acne Solutions 

Clinique Website

I use the foam wash, the toner and the lotion. Because the acne lotion can dry your skin out, I also use 

2. Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel

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I use this in the mornings and I straight up love it. 

3. 7 Day Scrub Cream Rinse-Off Formula

order here

I use this in the morning too. It seems to really help my breakouts if I keep my skin clear and do a daily scrub.

 I have to use all of the above, but when I am consistent and do this - my skin stays clear

A few other favs in my make up bag - 

4. MAC Concealor

order here

I straight up love this concealor. I have never been able to find anything to replace this. It's the perfect coverage, perfect consistency, everything. Love it. 

5. MAC Lipglass in PRRRR

aqui

Best lipgloss ever. It stays on well, it's a little thicker and stickier, which I like because, again, it stays on longer. 

So - those are the things I can't live without in my makeup bag!

Namaste, y'all! 

WILW

As always, thank you Jamie!

Today, i'm loving my husband most. He's been struggling because first, he cut his finger with a chain saw and then 2 days later, he got kidney stones! The stone is so big that he can't pass it on his own, so right now, I'm sitting in the hospital waiting room while they remove it surgically!

poor buddy

Hope y'all have a great day!

Namaste!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Thanks Jamie

1. The Fog 

I know that sounds weird but I just think it looks so neat when it's foggy 

2. The weather

	Today	Tonight	Tomorrow
Partly Cloudy	Mostly Sunny	Mostly Clear	Mostly Sunny
56°F	82°	59°	84°
Feels Like: 56° Get FREE weather on your desktop	High	Low	High
Past 24-hr: Precip: 0 in Snow: 0 in	Chance of Rain: 10%	Chance of Rain: 10%	Chance of Rain: 0%
Wind: Calm	Wind: W at 5 mph	Wind: W at 3 mph	Wind: WSW at 9 mph
Through 3pm: Low clouds, fog and poor visibility conditions will improve by noon. Rapidly decreasing clouds with temperatures warming into the low to middle 80s. Winds light and variable.	Areas of patchy fog early. Partly cloudy. High 82F. Winds light and variable.	Generally clear. Low 59F. Winds light and variable.	Sunny, along with a few afternoon clouds. A stray afternoon thunderstorm is possible. High 84F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.

Now, I am not saying I want it to get outrageously hot this summer, but for now, the sunny, warm days are so nice and making me yearn for the lake!

3. My Home Made Pizza

It was really good and I got the dough from the Publix bakery. Next time, I want to make it myself, but since my husband's been sick, I haven't had much time.

Pinterest Finds - 

Esther.com - cute little website

Young Southern Prep

someone's facebook page???

someone's tumblr

Namaste Y'all 

WILW - Nieces and Nephews Edition

Thanks Jamie!!

We always eat dinner at my in laws on Sunday nights, but this time, we went to my brother and sister in laws. The fun thing was that all the babies were there, and of course, I took some pics. One thing I will say is that taking pics of babies is hard when you have an iPhone. They come out a little blurry, so maybe next time, I'll bring my camera. 

I LLLLOOOOOVVVVVEEEEEE

Nathan

I love his little striped outfit

His eyes are blurry - whoops - but so cute

Jaden

I need more pics of him - he's so cute! 

Baby Kate

I mean, how cute is she? 

Trying out her walking legs - she's very close

What are you loving today? 

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Thanks Jamie

Here are some Pinterest finds I'm loving - 

I want to do this in my foyer

cute blog

it looks like a cute blog too

I love stripes

it's about time for my garden

so hilarious

I want this in my house somewhere

Happy Wednesday!! 

Follow me on Pinterest

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Time for -

Jamie is the bomb!

Sweet Home Alabama

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I am so in love with this show. First off, out of 3 seasons, 2 of them have been Clemson University graduates so obviously, they have good taste in people. But more importantly, they are similar to the Bachelor but with a better premise. They split the contestants into "city folk" vs "country folk". They send them to a house in Mobile, AL and they compete for the love of a good ole' southern lady/gentleman. 

1. The people they choose for "southerners" are typically from Alabama, Arkansas, and Texas. Me being from South Carolina, that is not really what I call southern but more country. They need more GA/NC/SC folks! 

2. The southerners are kind of mean. They automatically start being rude to the northerners! What's up with that?? And they are rope cattle, hunt and compete in the rodeo. One episode, Paige took them all skeet shooting. I am born and raised in Greenville, SC and let me tell you - I have never held a gun, I have never been hunting and I surely haven't gone skeet shooting. And actually, there aren't a whole lot of cattle ranches around here, we're more cotton and tobacco so I'm still a little lost of their southern idea. 

3. I always end up liking the northerners more. Right now, my favorites are Sean (who started off kind of rude) and the guy from New Jersey - I can't remember his name. 

Even though it sounds like I'm complaining, I straight up love this show. It is my favorite. 

90210 

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How good is this season? From Annie's prostitution ring to Silver dating the adopted father of Adrianna's baby, this show is getting good and creative. I love a crazy story line and they are giving it to me. Plus I love the way all of the girls dress. 

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Ink Masters

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I don't know why I love this show so much. My husband and I found it this weekend and I was hooked. It's like Top Chef but for tattoo artists. They have a "challenge" that usually involves something related to art in some way but not tattooing. Then they have an "elimination tattoo" where people come in and get a tattoo and the judges eliminate people based on the tattoo. 

My question is, who are these volunteers? I guess they want a free tattoo, but I mean, really? I'm not sure I'd put permanent ink on my body from someone competing in a game show. On the flip side, these might be some of the best people in the nation? Who knows... I know that I would just wait until the 3rd or 4th season. Lastly, I just can't understand why people put a tattoo on their neck. I get really stressed out about stuff like that. Like, oh what if he wants to change careers, he just will never be able to work in a corporate environment. My husband reminds me that they probably don't want to anyway. These are just the thoughts that go through my head. 

What are you loving?