Winter Essentials

Hello lovelies,

I had been planning on doing this post last month during Blogmas, but it just didn't feel right cause it wasn't that cold. Honestly, I feel like November was colder than December here in Kentucky! 

However, that has definitely changed, the new year brought with it bone chilling winds and freezing temperatures! Last week my moms car wouldn't even run, my uncle had to take her to work because everything had froze up in the car!

Now I love Winter, but even I gotta admit that these temperatures are a little too much. Today I thought that I would share with you a few of my essential items for the winter months!

So here's my must haves for winter!

OGX Extra Strength Moroccan Argan Penetrating Oil $7.99

I've been using this oil for about two years and I can honestly stay that it's one of my top 3 products. Recently I've been blow drying my hair more than usual so my hair has been getting dry, last week I popped this on and now my hair is feeling soft again. I go in phases with this oil, sometimes I use it all the time and sometimes I go months without using it, but I always go back to it and I would highly recommend it!

Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream $5.29

This is my favorite lotion in the world! I have eczema on my hands, I deal with it year-round, but it gets worse during the winter. I started using this lotion a few years ago and I love it! It also works great on chapped lips!

My advice is that you shop around for this, the price at Ulta is $5.29, but I can buy it at my local Walmart for $2.98, so just be careful about where you buy it from. Sometimes if I feel like I need something more I'll add some hydro-cortisone cream to it and it keeps my hands from getting worse.

EOS Lip Balm $3.49

I don't notice a huge difference with this lip balm, but I do like it and I usually alternate between this and the Nivea Milk & Honey.

Fingerless Gloves $12.00

I couldn't live without my gloves during the winter, my hands are always cold, so I always have a pair of gloves in my bag or in my coat pocket. I really love fingerless gloves because they protect my hands from the cold wind, but I can still do everyday tasks without having to take them off.

Infinity Scarfs $36.00

I LOVE my infinity scarfs, they're so cozy and warm! This year I've completely fallen in love with scarfs, I used to hate them, but now I love them!

So, there's my Winter Essentials! What are your winter essentials? Do you have any recommendations? If so, leave them below in the comments, I would love to hear from you!

XoXo,

Lori

Blogmas Day 10: 10 Holiday Party Dresses

Hello lovelies,
With the Holiday season in full swing I've come to realize that I really don't own any dresses that could be considered Holiday dresses. In my closet I only have four dresses, two summer dresses, one formal dress, and one that could be worn pretty much anywhere.

So after realizing that I decided it's time to invest in some more dresses and so I've been searching the internet and I've come up with 10 Holiday Party Dresses that I would love to buy!

I've ordered these by price, lowest to highest! While I do love the last dress in this post I definitely won't be buying it because I don't have $500.00 to spend on something I would rarely ever wear, but if you have the money, I say go for it!

So, here's my picks for this Holiday season!

Forever 21 Sequined Textured Knit Dress $24.90

Charlotte Russe Lace-Back Halter Shift Dress $26.99

Charlotte Russe Cold Shoulder Bodycon Sequin Dress $36.99

Charlotte Russe Sequin & Lace Strapless Skater Dress $39.99

Fashion to Figure Plus Size Glenda Gliter Deep V Dress $44.50
This is my fave! I love the color, the ruching under the bust, and the length!

Dolman Metallic Ombre Dress $109.00
This is my second favorite, again I love the color, the length, and I think the ombre looks amazing!

Ann Taylor Boucle Sweater Dress $109.99

Dress the Population 'Kim' Sequin Body-Con Dress $180.00

Adrianna Papell Sequin Cutaway Sheath Dress $238.00

Topshop Online Exclusive Chain Embellished Shift Dress $500.00

That's it for today, I hope you enjoyed this post. Don't forget tomorrow I will be posting my Under $100 Holiday Gift Guide tomorrow and my Over $100 Holiday Gift Guide on Friday!

Will you being going out this holiday season? What dress do you prefer?

XoXo,

Lori

BLOGMAS Announcement

Hello lovlies, I hope you're having a great week, today I wanted to announce that I will be participating in Blogmas this year!

 I've never done this before, so I'm nervous about making sure I get everything up on time, but I'm up for the challenge! I've been wanting to do a blog challenge like this for a while and we all know how much I love Christmas, so this is perfect for me!

In case you're new to the blogging world Blogmas involves blogging everyday from the 1st-24th of December. This month I'll be bringing you a variety of Christmas posts as well as some of my normal posts.

If you have any requests leave them below, and if you would like to guest post please let me know, I would love to have you on my blog this Holiday season!

Are you taking part in Blogmas? If yes, leave you blog link below so I can follow along!

XoXo,

Lori

Sweater Weather

 Hello there lovelies, since the past two weeks have been kinda hectic with the new year and all, I decided to make today's post an easy read.
     One of the main reason I love winter so much is because I can wear sweaters, and darker colors, without being judged for it.

Sweater Weather by loriboyd featuring cross jewelry

        So what do you think of my little creation? Do you like it? If you could change anything about it what would it be? Let me know what you think in the comments below, well that's all for today, I'll be back tomorrow with a review!
                                                                         Stay Creative,
                                                                                          Lori Ann

Beauty New Years Resolutions Tag

   Todays post is this tag I found online and thought I'd use it, I think it's very fitting for this time of year, plus I've been trying to do a TAG once a month.


1. What is a technique you've improved on during the past year?
  - Using eyeliner pencils, and I also learned how to tightline my upper waterline.


2. What was your overall most used makeup product last year? 
 -  My Wet N' Wild Palette in C246 Greed.


3. What brand would you like to try in this year?
 - I would really like to buy some new makeup brushes, and I've been looking in to the Real Techniques brush sets. I've seen so many good reviews and tutorials using them, so I think I'm going to buy some soon.

4. Are there any products you'd like to use up this year?
- My lip balms, I have four on my nightstand and two or three in my handbag. I also need to use up my lotions, I have four sitting on my nightstand at the moment.

5. Favorite Winter makeup and outfit?
 - For makeup its the same year round, eyeliner, mascara, and a neutral color on my eyes. My daily winter outfit consists of dark colored jeans, boots, a black or white tank top, and a cardigan.

6. What is one bad makeup habit that you want to break this year?
 - I really need to wash my makeup brushed more often.

7. Favorite clothing to keep warm in the winter.
 - Boots and lots of layers, usually a tank, cardigan, and coat.

8.  A fellow blogger you've been loving?
 - I absolutely love Tiffany over at Makeup by TiffanyD , I've been following her for about five years.

9. What activity are you going to start this year?
 - More exercise, I started exercising more towards the end of 2013, but I need to step it up if I'm going to meet my weight loss goal by the end of the year.

10. Describe the year 2013 in 3 words.
 - Crazy, eye-opening, life-changing. (Does that count as 3?)


   So like always you are all welcome to join in on this TAG, leave your links below so I can see your answers. I also would like to TAG Lauren over at A Touch of Southern Grace .
                                                                  Stay Creative,
                                                                                   Lori Ann

Shows I'm Looking Forward To Watching This Winter

    Last fall I gave you an idea of what I would be watching as all the new and old shows premiered, so I thought I would do that again for all the Winter premieres.
    So here are the six shows I'm looking forward to watching this Winter.....


1.  Pretty Little Liars
   -Returns ABC Family Tuesday, January 7, 2014

2.   Switched at Birth
   - Returns to ABC Family Monday January 13, 2014

3.   Twisted
    - Season premiere right after Pretty Little Liars

4.   The Fosters
   - Season premiere right after Switched at Birth

5.     Downton Abbey
    - Returns to PBS on January 6, 2014

6.     Suburgatory
     - Returns to ABC on January 15


     That's it for today, I'll post again tomorrow, so be sure to check back in then.
                                               Stay Creative,
                                                                 Lori Ann
     

Christmas Music Playlist

    It's December, and normally I wouldn't post on a  Sunday, but I don't really care, I wanted to do this post, and this is the only time I have for it in my schedule.
     I would be lying if I said I just started playing Christmas music, because the truth is I've probably been listening to it since September. Yep, that's right September, I'm just a little bit obsessed with the Christmas season.

   I apologize for any mistakes I made, I used a new picture editing program, so it was a little hard getting used to. I just realized that this is actually the first time I've done something like this, I've never made a photo like this, so it's pretty cool.
    So that's all for today, let me know if you have any favorites on this playlist. And if you want to leave some recommendations in the comments, I would love to check them out.
                                                                Stay Creative,
                                                                                       Lori Ann

My 13 New Years Resolutions

    Happy New Year!!!! So it's officially 2013, which means it's time to once again make a list of things I want to accomplish and break most of them by the end of the year. Today's post will be short and sweet I won't waste your time with long explanations, you'll end up with an explanation on most of them eventually. So let's get started.....

1. Lose 25-45 pounds.
2. Take the SAT and ACT at least once.
3. Get a job.
4. Open a savings account and save at a minimum half of each paycheck.
5. Finish 25 classes.
6. Start touring and visiting colleges.
7. Narrow down my list of potential colleges.
8. Read more, specifically from my list of books to read before going to college.
9. Start reading my E-mails and not just putting them in folders to read later. (Note: I have 4 E-mail addresses, and your e-mails are never put in folders, they always have been and will be read and replied to ASAP).
10. Blog at least 120 times in 2013.
11. Be more positive and less sarcastic to those around me.
12. Learn how to deal with stress and not allow annoying people to get to me so easily
13. Accomplish the things that mean the most to me this year and stop putting other people before my own needs and wants.

I decided to do 13 resolutions because it's 2013.

I'm sure you noticed that a lot of these are centered around my education and college. I'm actually planning a blog post soon where I talk about that, I'm just trying to decide exactly what I want to say in it. 

So that's all for today, i hope your New Year is off to a lovely start, stay safe, and be sure to bundle up if it's cold where you live. Stay Creative my lovelies, I'll post again very very soon.
                                                                                                 xoxo,
                                                                                                     Lori Ann
      Also contact me:  
                                  E-mail:      loriboyd15@gmail.com
                                   Twitter:   @LoriAnnBoyd

I also wanted to share with you a quote I found today.

       "Make new mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't Freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.

     Whatever it is you're scared of doing, do it. Make your mistakes, next year and forever."

-Neil Gailman


P.S. I decided to move my weekly series 5 Words to Friday's, because I feel like it's more convenient because it means Weight Loss series on Monday's, 5 Words on Friday's, and then I can post during the week without being restricted. I hope you don't mind, I just didn't realize how inconvenient it was till I got ready to do this post and realized two of my series ran 2 days in a row.

P.P.S. I just realized this blog post  isn't exactly short and sweet like I thought it would be. Oh well, Happy New Year!!!! I hope you have a great year in 2013.

Fall/Winter Favorites

    So Fall is approaching very fast, the weather is starting to cool down, and the leaves are changing and falling. I know some people love Summer, and absolutely dread Fall and Winter, but I'm the complete opposite.
     Actually, pretty much everyone where I live loves the Summer. I get much more social come Fall, mostly due to the fact that I can't stay outside during the Summer for more than an hour.
   Today I decided I wanted to do a post about my favorite things about Fall, and why I love Fall so much......

1. Hot Chocolate-  I love hot chocolate, which is why I'm always excited when the weather starts to change. Since, during the Summer I can't drink it I always start watching the trees at the end of summer, so I know how much longer till colder weather sets in.
2. Boots- Oh boots, there's a million things I could say about how much I absolutely adore boots. I dream all year about finally getting to wear my boots. I swear last Winter that's all I lived in, the only time I wore anything else was when I went to the gym. Unfortunately, Summer weather started here in March, so I didn't get to wear them as much as I would have preferred.
3. Decorations- Decorations are clearly a big part of Fall and Winter. I just think it's amazing the effort that some people exert to please themselves, just knowing that they've given a little piece of happiness to someone who has seen what they've done. The only time during Summer that there are any decorations is the Fourth of July, but the Fall and Winter, people really step up their game. I really appreciate that some people still care, whether they only do it for the children, themselves, or their community, someone appreciates it, I know I do.
4. Family Bonding- I don't know about you, but I have a rather big family. Usually Christmas is the only time I get to see them. So when that first leaf fall's from the trees I get excited knowing that it won't be long till I get to see everyone. Also Halloween and Thanksgiving, even though my family is usually apart we still spend time together. But my favorite time for family bonding isn't an actual holiday, it's when my uncle who's in the army get's his vacation, and they come visit. I always make sure to take lots of pics, I'm anxious waiting for them to tell us when they'll be coming
5. Weather-  Ah the weather, the biggest pleasure of them all. With Fall comes lower temperatures, which I really appreciate. Our Summer here in Kentucky mainly consisted of a maximum of four rain showers, that's it. It has been awful, I don't think until this month it had gotten below 90. I know this may sound weird but I love the sound of rain, I love thunderstorms. Also, snow, I'm really excited to see snow again, it only snowed here once last year and it didn't last very long at all. So to say I'm excited is an understatement.
6. Sweaters- In years past I hadn't really been that big a fan of sweaters, but last year we moved into a house without heat. Since then we've moved and have heat once again, but while there I grew to love the feel of sweaters. I guess it being due to my love of layers. So I'm really excited about the chill being back in the air. I'm actually wearing a sweater right now as I write this, now I want some hot chocolate and my night will be complete.
7. Sweets- Of course, the sweets, they're going to ruin my weight loss success from this year, ugh. I always look forward to the colder months to start baking. Mainly because most of the things we bake in the winter don't taste right during the summer months. My mom and I always make, homemade peanut butter balls, Reese's bars, and chocolate covered pretzels, also pumpkin cream cheese rolls. Yummy, now you can see why I said it's going to kill my weight loss success. 
8. No bugs- I love winter a lot because I can actually go outside and not get eaten alive by bugs. Also I'm not afraid to go in the yard cause I know the snakes are gone, and most spiders too. Yeah I hate spiders and snakes, ugh, I don't even like to think about it.
9. Hair- In the winter it's easier to style my hair. I have naturally straight hair, and it's hard for me to do anything with it. During the summer it's just so hot that the humidity takes it's toll on my hair within minutes of going outside. So winter is my time for my hair and makeup to shine.
10. Blankets- I love to stay cuddled up in a blanket year round, but it's hard to do in the winter unless I'm downstairs in front of the air vent. In the winter I can stay in my room cuddled up in bed, with a book, and hot chocolate.

    Okay so those are my Fall/Winter Favorites. I'll be posting a Fall/Winter Favorites series over the next few weeks, I'll post this one then I'll do a Fall/Winter Beauty Favorites and a Fall/Winter Fashion Favorites, they'll most likely be posted a week apart with a post in between them.
    Well that's all for today, I'm gonna go write the other two posts. So are there any topics, you'd like me to cover? Do you prefer Fall and Winter over Summer? Also, do you have any hot chocolate recipes you'd like to share?
                                                                              Stay Creative,
                                                                                          Lori Ann
Also contact me:  
                             E-mail:      loriboyd15@gmail.com
                             Twitter:   @LoriAnnBoyd