Are you serious.......

Another to add to the collection of shoes that make me want to do things I shouldn't to get them. They may be a little to much for you but I can't get enough.

Zippers?!!!! I mean come on Zippers!!!! I LOVE IT!

- Another random thought....

You may not know this.....

but on many days after reading some (even all) of your posts I am so inspired to keep going on some of my toughest days as a mommy! I think that is what i love most about the "world" of blogging. The comraderie, the laughs and even when we cry reading some of the posts. Amidst all of that there is a sense of community among us no matter what we are going through.

I have been so inspired lately that I have decided to start dedicating posts to some of you "Awww...inspiring" moms out there! It will be my version of momspiration. Each mom will be asked a short list of questions( anywhere from 3 -5 ) revolving around how they keep themselves sane and live to tell us about it. Everything from daily routines, caring for our hubbies and most importantly how they "try" to meet the mark of caring for themselves during the exciting routine of cooking, cleaning and loving their families.

I will be posting about several of the moms I find inspiring and if you would like to nominate a mom blogger you know that is "Awwww....Inspiring" and will give us all a little hope for getting it right when tomorrow comes, drop me a line in the comment box (or e-mail me: candacejcs@gmail.com) with the following:

- Her Name

- A link to her blog and

- What you find most inspiring about her (regardless of circumstance)

I think it will be great for helping us all adjust our perspective -of life as we know it- and it will give us some incentive to better ourselves and set examples of our children to follow. It's just another way to see that we are taking care of ourselves and one another.

- Just a thought....

Drumroll please........

And the winner is...... Jackie! Congratulations Jackie! I am sure that your gift certificate will be used well. Especially with three little ones lol!

I suspect you will try to take advantage while you have your "Time Out". For those of you that don't know, the movement has begun! Jackie did a recent post on a fabulous idea that Theta Mom came up with. If finding time just for you everyday is too much to ask then why not resolve to 1 hour per week just for you? I LOVE IT!

No matter how much time we have to ourselves or not, we are WORTH it! Stop by Theta Mom's place and sign up and be sure to come back and tell me about. I might even start a challenge of my own, who knows? I think we are finally beginning to understand how important we are.

- How about that for a thought?

I'm.....

backkkkkkk!!!!! I know it's been a lil' bit lovelies, I have been EXTREMELY busy around these parts. I joined a womens group with my church and I've been a social butterfly this past week. Baby Showers, New Births and running from place to place with my little cookie. Nothing short of the usual as a mom.

You know how it is....Anyhoo, all of the hustle and bustle has me missing New York! I miss the crowded trains, and the fast buses and the attitudes - no scratch that - I just miss my home away from home. ALL of my family is still up there. Do you know how hard it is to make friends around here? I still can't understand why you can live next to someone for 10 Years and not know who they are. I mean come on! Sorry for the rant there. Don't get me wrong, sun and palm trees, sand and the waters edge is nice but every single day... I think not. ESPECIALLY with this heat and humidity - it's forced me to wear my hair curly all the time. I'm tired of watching the makeup roll off of my face, the sweat POUR off my brow and cabin fever cause it's "TOO HOT" to go outside. Ok enough of this complain' business let's look at the fun stuff!

I have been just about coveting and dreaming of being in New York this fall wearing some of the seasons latest fashions. Sleek cardigans and sexy boots and beautiful wool coats. *sigh* Anyhoo I will make the best of it - At least I 'll get to send my family pictures of us on Christmas day at the beach LOL! But in the meantime I will continue to dream about all of the loveliness that's just about to begin come September and October. Here's some of my latest "Fall" inspiration:

Fall..ing forward by For the love of Fashion featuring MINT JODI ARNOLD

Catty Sophisticate by For the love of Fashion featuring Coach bags

City Slicker Chic by For the love of Fashion featuring Jimmy Choo boots

Well just to indulge & "care" for myself - cause that's what this blog is about - I am off to search for the perfect pair of boots to take with me on my next trip to New York - Hopefully this fall for my daughter's birthday! I will be sure to post about the fabulousness soon to come.

Speaking of fabulous.... What are you doing to make YOU feel fabulous today? Hopefully it's making some time - amidst the madness yes- to relax and enjoy you.

- Just a thought.....

P.S. I'll post some update pics on my progress with my organization challenge next time I'm on, and if you haven't already be sure to check out this post for my FIRST giveaway! The winner is to be announced in just a few days!

I don't even know.....

how I managed to forget to post about the madness going on in my house!!!

Good morning lovelies! I hope the face of God is shining on you like the sun is shining on me here in South Florida! As i was saying.... I don't know how I managed to forget to post about my organization efforts aka the madness goin' on in my house. Last week I posted about Melinda's Organization challenge that I joined in order to get my act together on my home front.

Melinda.... challenge it was indeed! I cleaned areas I was afraid to look at, enough dust to start a wind storm in my house and more toys than one little girl had time to play with.

But, when all was said and done my baby finally had a room and a clean place to call her own. I'm not as sentimental as most but certainly I feel like crying right now. It is hands down one of the best things I have set out to do (and actually accomplished) in a long time. Thank you Melinda & to all you other ladies taking it one space at a time... you go girls! Even the hubs has been inspired! He's been cleaning out all of his equipment and plans to sell it with all of the other treasures found in our cluttered closets.

Here are some of the pics from our first victory:

You can actually see the floor!!!!!

No more boxes, No more clutter just pure freedom! Melinda, You are a genius - thank you for cluing us in on your secret plot to deliver us from our clutter!

I'm free ya'll I'm free..... for now that is. Here are the nasty pics of our next designated spot:

Here's to getting our acts together...together!

- Just a thought...... Oh, LOL, you thought I forgot to ask huh? What are you gonna do for you?

It's .......

FRIDAY!!!!! Thank you God! Time to enjoy a relaxing weekend or so I hope...

OK Lovelies, you know that among others I am a HUGE advocate for moms and stressing the importance of caring for ourselves. Well what kind of advocate would I be if I didn't give you the tools necessary to motivate you to care for yourself?

Well, enough said! I was approached by Ecostore USA to review some products and review I did! I tried two of their products - the Baby Moisturizer and Vanilla Soap. Now I must admit that I am a PRODUCT JUNKIE - yes I am in therapy for it, especially when it comes to my hair. However, that does not apply when it comes to my daughter. I like most moms when they were pregnant ran to the shelves stocked with Johnson & Johnson and Aveeno only to find that my daughter is extremely sensitive to those conventional products. I had fallen in love with the idea of her smelling like that baby lotion and the baby shampoo but when I used it I noticed an immediate rash or irritations that just wouldn't quit.

You can imagine my frustration with trying to find just the right products out there and trial periods of dealing with rashes and irritations. Any mom out there know what I'm talking about? Anyhoo, I was left with very few products to choose from to care for my cookie's delicate skin. Sooooooo....you can imagine how leary I was to try this new baby moisturizer on her. I was concerned but the fact that the majority of the product was plant based helped to ease some of my concerns. Usually, I won't settle for things that aren't organic but after reading the ingredient list I wasn't alarmed so I stepped out on faith and tried it. To my surprise, after I bathed her and put it on her there were no immediate bumps or rashes and even better.... she woke up the next morning and wasn't scratching! Hallelujah!

I give them my seal of approval cause if it doesn't irritate her it's good in my book. I also tried the vanilla soap (on me- Leia's too sensitive for scented stuff) which was interesting to say the least. It didn't have an overwhelming scent of vanilla instead it was very lightly scented (good for those with sensitive sniffers) I thought it was cool but the hubs didn't particularly like it. He likes the sweet smelling stuff- so it won't become a staple for me to use but I thought it worked well for me.

With that said, I am doing My First Giveaway! You know how important it is to take care of yourself so why not do it with better quality products? You know you want to win!!! The winner will receive a $25.00 Gift Certificate to use for any product you desire from Ecostore Usa and body & baby care isn't the limit of their scope of products. They have household cleaners, hair care products and more.

In order to be entered to win, you have to :

1. Be a follower of my blog ;) - shameless plug!

2. Leave a comment with your best tip for helping moms to care for themselves

3. Sign up for the No Nasty Chemicals Newsletter on the Ecostore USA Blog

4. Follow Ecostore Usa on their Twitter or Facebook Page

The winner will be announced on Friday August 21.

Simple huh? A little incentive for you to Remember not to Forget to take care of yourself!

From the forgotten mom herself!

- Just a thought...

Are you....

KIDDING ME????

I saw these bad boys in an e-mail newsletter today from Style.com and almost fell out of my computer chair.....Gorgeous!

Balenciaga, I love you!!!!

Yes I posted about shoes only today - They were just too fly to pass up. I know you've come across a pair that made you think of doing illegal things to get them.

Now you know you are NOT the only one LOL! Enjoy Lovelies!

- Just a thought...

It never works out....

the way we plan it to.

Hello lovelies! I hope your weekend was as fun filled and action packed as mine was. It was down right crazy to be more exact. The hubs & I went to his high school reunion, a birthday party, church and even found time to spend together before 12:00 am Sunday night. I am exhausted but in a good way then again not so good cause even though the fun weekend is over the reality of a moms work during the week never is.

I had planned to post about my organization efforts on Friday, finish a few sewing projects by today and clean my house while finding time to be out playing with my child but as my hubby says if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Indeed I am failing right now as we speak. Isn't life crazy when you're not organized??? As much as I know that to be true I STILL don't organize and plan accordingly. Know what I'm talking about???? I know you do.

Anyhoo, I stopped by melinda's place - (Parenting Confessions blog) last week and noticed she posted a challenge to help us moms get our acts together and our homes organized. Now I don't know about you but obviously I need some help around these parts. So that said I immediately signed up and should you struggle like me with organization I would encourage you to join too. There is nothing like signing up to get your act together with a friend - and Melinda you are a friend, thanks for what you are doing! Take some time to drop by her blog and check it out - you won't be disappointed.

Back to what I was saying though, I had quite a few plans including opening my Etsy shop on Saturday. Didn't happen cause I didn't plan accordingly. Isn't it discouraging and amazing that we can think for even a moment that we've got it all "under control"? I wanna know who sold me that lie cause I'm gonna choke 'em! God is definitely the only in control and here is the proof that I need help - this is a pic of my daughter's closet. We have been living in our place for over nine months now.

When we first moved in i was very sick and could barely clean but now I am doing MUCH better and no longer have that excuse. Every room was set & decorated but my daughters. Her room has since become a catch all including her closet. Yes to my shame I show these pictures. I already made the hubs enlist as well - a girl shouldn't have to do everything by herself - but that's a whole nother' post though lol - My "plan" is to have it neat and organized come Thursday afternoon so I am free to post about the next area to organize on Friday morning.

The operative word there is PLAN cause like I said I love to be organized i just can't be committed enough to do it. Those boxes are filled with millions - no exaggerating- of papers and clothes and etc. There' s more hiding you just can't see them. I don't even want to look at them. Hope I find some me time in the midst of all this. What do you have "planned" this week?

Hopefully if you're neat and organized it's some time for you.

- Just a thought...