Dollar Tree| Mini Haul

Hey Hey!!!!

It's been a long time since I've posted because...Life. I'll let you all in on some of that BUT, wanted to pop back in and share some items that I purchased at Dollar Tree. 

Now, I've mentioned before that I'm a bargain shopper and I love going in DT to see what new items I can scoo below normal price. I understand that everything in DT isn't cost effective or the best in quality as well. 

So.... LEMME SHOW YOU WHAT I GOT!

Pro Tools Jade Roller| I've wanted to invest in a facial roller for a while however, just didn't want to spend the money because... I'm cheap (lol). Welp! Got this one for $1.00 so if it breaks...I won't feel bad. 






PLEASE NOTE: Next all other items were purchased for the kid

Stickers| Now that the little one is getting older, she is getting into collectibles. She loves anything that is considered "girlie" for her room decor - From unicorns to flowers. I purchased these 3D stickers for her to decorate whatever she wants (hopefully not the walls).








Stress Squishies| Another gift for the little one that she uses in her play kitchen or just to squish around when she is sitting still. They're super cute and I go and grab them sometimes.

Coloring Posters| I used to love these as a child and considering the little one is really into unicorns and My Little Pony, I knew she'd be excited getting these.

What items have caught your eye in your local Dollar Tree?

Pick 6| Fall 2017

Better late than never right? Winter is basically over (not that mother nature got word of it) and I'm ready for Spring to ... spring. But before we move on, let's dive into some of the items from Fall that left a good impression on me.

Hair| Cantu for kids leave in condition
Button's hair loves moisture, as most of our tresses do. I've decided to revisit a product that I hadn't used since my college years. Her hair of course love water but with this product, her curls P-O-P.






Fashion| Denim Tops
I spent Fall dressing what I considered to be comfy cute. Thanks to my denim tops, I've been able to easily throw together an outfit and still be comfortable as I transition from day to night. I love Ava & Viv's denim tunics and button downs as they are long, loose and easy to iron. I wear them with dress slacks, leggings or skinny jeans.

Beauty & Skin| Kemi Organics Oyl
I was introduced to Kemi Oyl via an event's swag bag few years back and honestly forgot about it. I rediscovered it right before the start of Fall and started incorporating it in my hair and body oil mix. This oil blend mixed with what I normally use leaves my hair soft before I even add a cream conditioner. Not to mention, the fragrance is wonderful.




Accessories| Hematite Ring
I've been researching energy crystals/stones, their properties and benefits for a while and this Fall, added a hematite ring to my arsenal. Hematite is a stone that has been known to convert negative vibes/energy into positive vibes as well has help calm people during stressful moments. 
I have relied on this ring almost as much as my worry stone during times of anxiety and keep it close by for meditation. It now isn't so much an accessories but a necessity.





Random| Sweet Potatoes
I know I'm not to the only one that associates sweet potato with Fall. In all actuality, I eat them year round but this Fall I cranked it up and enjoyed many meat free meals that consisted of a sweet potato mash, spinach and basmati rice. They played savory role in my meals seasoning them with salt, pepper and garlic.




Share with me! What have been your recent faves? 

Motivational Monday| Chapter 3

Baby girl Button is entering into year 3 of life. It has been such a journey since her birth: transitioning from ICN, to TCN, eye surgery, FINALLY being to come home and physical therapy.  She has overcome odds. 

I often look at old photos and reflect on times that now, seem so far away.

Button is an active 2yr old that can remember a time and song, knows most of her alphabets, colors, shapes and is full of so much energy... like seriously: she doesn't know the meaning of the word "walk" because she runs everywhere (lol!).

My mission is to help her continue to thrive but I would like to help other families that may experience the what we went through.

Along with our great personal support system, March of Dimes gave us a sense of stability considering the circumstances as they helped us gain access to information, financial assistance, supplies needs for Button and more. 

Want to help and/or join my team?

♡CLICK HERE♡

Dollar Tree Mini Haul

Hey hey! Wanted to come and share of my recent Dollar Tree purchases: 

Eucalyptus Candle| This cute candle is more fragrant that I anticipated. I was very pleased with the scent and the fact that it has a wooden wick as I have been drawn to these type of candles lately.

Hello Kitty tooth brushes (3 pack), Flossers| Button is at tooth brushing age but chews on the brush more than actually brushing. It helps that I found this 3 pack to keep more in stock. The flossers are for the adult in the house. Now, I know they aren't the ideal tool to use but they come in handy when traveling or immediately after dinner.

Face Scrubbers| There are some other brushes that I purchase from DT for cleansing but my sister actually alerted me that these silicone scrubbers were in store. I keep this in my travel bag to help with exfoliating and I like that it gives a soft exfoliation that massages the skin.

Palmer's Lip Balm| I have loves the smell of Palmer products for so long and figured "WHY NOT?" when I saw this item. I keep one just about everywhere for easy access.

Sesame Street Items| My mother started buying these books but I was never able to find them. Well, they've finally reached our neighborhood and I had to buy a couple for the babies in my life. There are a lot of different books that are categorized for different age groups. The teething rattle is BPA free and is a cute addition for a gift bag
.


HAVE YOU SEEN ANY OF THESE ITEMS AT YOUR DT? WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE DT PURCHASE?

Motivation Monday| Social Media

We know social media drives a lot of lives; whether it be yours or people you know. Lot of us take time out of our day to stroll down timelines on Facebook, view the visual art that is Instagram, catch up on what is happening now on Twitter, watch reality on Snapchat or whatever other sites you have access to. 

In a small attempt to keep a positive flow of energy going, I use some of these outlets to post quotes from empowering, motivation and memorable people. 

I'm not a big fan of constantly posting on social media however, thanks to Snapchat and [the shady but cool feature that is] Insta-Snap (or whatever it is called) I post there:

Insta handle - creatively_coiled

What are your favorite types of post on social media?

Ancestry| Tracking Our Lineage

A few years ago, my sister and I talked about tracking our family tree and lineage. While the thought was awesome, it was difficult knowing where to start. With the bit of research we were able to do then, we found a few names and following names, tracked our lineage back to Nigeria. But other than that, we found limited information on our family (ie: names, US location, etc.)

2017 lit a fire under my sister again to start researching; looking at county census and speaking with our parents and grandmother to obtain and confirm information. My sister really hit gold with finding family signatures and tracking children she was able to trace our family back to the early 1800's... Which is more than what we recovered previously.

While confirming names with relatives, we also decided to take an ancestry.com DNA analysis: This requires a saliva sample that is sent off for analysis to identify the region(s) your ancestry is strongest in. 

Well, we received the results in April and discovered that we [of course] are of African decent (87%):

• 45% - Ivory Coast/Ghana
• 21% - Cameroon/Congo
• 8% - Nigeria

We also discovered that of the information reported so far, our family has not ventured too far from the East Coast of the US (NC, VA, DC, MD, VA, NY). This helped us confirm some family members by location to confirm that what my sister previously uncovered were the right records. 

So we know that our lineage is strong in West Africa which means that we were on the right track a few years ago when looking but gives much more than what we were able to find. 

Things to know about DNA analysis: 

• The results may vary from test to test - We used Ancestry DNA however, if we were to take another from a different service it is possible that the result will be different
• Siblings can carry different numbers - Siblings carry a difference percentage of DNA from both parents so your siblings results will of course be different from yours. We only sent in one sample may do it again to compare the results.

Are you tracking your family tree or thought about it? Have you submitted a DNA analysis to any sites? 

Let me know!

Flashback Friday| March For Babies walk 2016

Happy Friday!

Thank you again to everyone that donated, shared the links via social media and those that even took the time to look up March of Dimes and their cause. 

I have been a supporter of March of Dimes since my undergrad years and I plan to continue to support this organization as it helped my family out when we weren't sure of the next steps we needed to take and how to cope with the what was going one while our little one was in NICU. 

Last year we had a blast at the walk; congregating with our team, sharing stories and evening meeting up with one of our little ones nurses who came out to support the cause: 

Tomorrow we are in for year 2 and I'm excited!

Want to know more about March of Dimes and how you can support?

                        ♡♡♡CLICK HERE♡♡♡

Flashback Friday| Then & Now

Happy Friday!

Sharing photos from Easter past and present of my little lady. 

PROGRESS IS EVERYTHING!!

2016 to 2017

Little-miss-ma'am is a busy body and will probably be walking alongside us in the March for Babies walk next Saturday.

Want to know more about her story and how you can help families and premature little ones?

♡CLICK HERE♡

#WalkForButton 

Humble Beginnings...

I can look back and smile at the progress that Button has made.

I shared last year the story of our little lady coming into this world at 24 weeks and 6 days and how it was a trying time for my husband and I.

Those days seem so long ago as Button is almost 2! I sometimes look back at trinkets and pictures from her younger months and sit in disbelief because she is doing so well physically and mentally (Praise him!).

With help from the man upstairs as well as the hospital staff at Duke ICN, TCN and March of Dimes we can look back on her humble beginning and smile.



Want to know more about premature birth and how you can help support babies and families?

♡♡♡♡CLICK HERE♡♡♡♡

Pick 6| Fall 2017

Clearly Fall has come and gone and I failed to share my...

Hair| Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie
To keep my hair mosturized with a light hold, I use this product. It seems to be made for a more looser curl pattern but does the job keeping my hair boosted with H2O as it helps pull moisture out of the air for your curls.












Fashion|tights/leggings
I have never been a big fan of tights but I cameacross some cute ones in Rose's (think of a cheaper version of Ross). I even found a pair of leggings that have a fleece lining to keep you warm. And all were under $10.00.












Beauty|L.A. Girl cosmetics setting spray
I have posted this before however, I'm still enjoying L.A. Girl's setting spray. It is light weight and doesn't leave my skin looking too oily after applying. 





















Skin| Shea Moisture African Black Soap
My skin is finicky so I have to switch up cleansing products as the cooler seasons come; Neutrogena products seem to dry my skin out more in the cooler months so I have started switching to black soap. I always have coupons for Shea Moisture products so I'm able to grab a few bars every now and then. 

Accessories| L.A. Colors Color Balm lipbalm
This is a product found in Dollar Tree. It is [in my opinion] L.A. Color's version of Baby Lips by Maybelline. Note: for best results, use after applying a true lip moisturizer to keep sheer

















Random|Keurig
I'm late on the train for Keurigs but I'm loving it.

I purchase a lot of K cups from discount stores like Ollies, Ross and Dollar Tree and have some that are gifted to me. Big thank you to the person who gifted me this guy. I also use the warm water to prep oatmeal and food for the little one.

Farewell 2016| Memorable Moments

We are a little over 1 week into the new year and while 2016 held held a lot of broadcasted highs and lows, I would like to share some memorable moments from my life.

MOVING!
After 10 years in our previous location, we finally moved. It was stressfull purging and sorting but it helped us prioritize what to keep as well as bringing up the conversation to minimize as much as possible moving forward. Still getting adjusted to the new place but I knkw it has great benefits for the little one.

Button Turns 1!
I'm happy to say that we have made through 1 year of parenting (with the helpful advice from friends and assistance from our parents). Looking back on her rushed beginnings I am still in amazement at how far she has come.

Becoming an auntie!
What could be more exciting than having a little one of your own? Having your little one have a cousin close in age. I am so excited to see how these two interact and just watch them grow.

What were your memorable moments of 2016?

Pick 6 - Summer '16

Fall is in full swing and I have yet to share my favorite items from Summer '16. 

Let's jump in!

Hair| Mango Butter 
In my opinion, this butter is pricey however, the smell and the fact that I can mix small amounts of it with my whipped shea butter mix to stretch it makes is worth it. It is also a very sleek butter.




Fashion| Sinful Colors  "Poisonberry"
I love love L♡VE this polish. I rarely polish my finger nails but this summer I used this color when I was feeling fancy. Sinful Colors is such a reasonably priced polish that [in my opinion] has great coverage; two coats and im good to go.





Beauty| Nicka K - True Matte "Millbrook"
I have never been big on lip colors because I feel like I could never find a color that looked decent on me. A co-worker introduced me to this beauty store brand. The color lasts for most of the day. My only con is that it leaves your lips feeling tacky after it dries... but just put gloss on top and you're good.





Skin| Charcoal mask
A Dollar Tree find from a few months ago; when I have those pamper moments to myself at night, I steal away in the bathroom to do my nails and put on this mask. It's creamy, doesn't dry too tight and doesn't leave your skin feeling dry when you remove it.





Accessories| Frames
I'm still obsessed with frames and keep a lookout for different types. I refuse to spend more that 10 bucks on them so my favorite places to go are beauty supply stores (I can usually buy 2 for 10). 









Random| Glad Angel Whispers air freshener
I originally lucked up on this fragrance at Dollar Tree and when I realized how awesome is smelled, went back and purchased ALL that were left. I later found out that this is in fact a popular smell and DT was not able to stock it again (whomp whomp). I do find this at other stores so all is not lost. Angel Whispers is a soft clean smell and can be placed in any room in the house. I love to have it in the little ones room and at work.