Resolutions Shmesolutions

Statistics state that only 8% of people are successful in achieving their new year's resolution. What the eff people?! The top ten resolutions include losing weight, becoming organized, spending less mullah and saving more, enjoying life to the fullest, staying fit and healthy, learn something exciting, quit smoking, help others achieve their dreams, fall in love, and hang with the fam more.
I'm all about making positive lifestyle changes and doing what ever it is that you really want to be doing in life. The question I have for you is why wait until January 1st to declare and make these said changes? I mean do you really have to wait until the first day of the year to do something about your jeans not zipping and/or buttoning? I know for me I hit that sad sad realization after eating a few too many slices of pepperoni pizza with ranch dressing and my jeans wouldn't button and/or zip the VERY NEXT DAY.

 

Whether it's January 1st or May 27th, You've decided to set a resolution. Hip hip hooray! How are you going to reach it? In order for resolutions to actually stick I think people should be realistic, plan out the journey, and set mini-goals. Want to lose those 10 lbs? (don't we all?)... Use these 3 tips to help in getting yourself to your goal.

1. It's time to start getting really specific my friend. Set the dates of which you want to reach your 3 lb weight loss, your 5 lb weight loss, etc.. etc.. Plan out the changes you are going to make to reach those goals. Are you going to skip out on Friday night cocktails with the girls or switch your morning vanilla latte with extra whipped cream for green tea? Mini-changes like this will totally help to switch from bad behaviors to good behaviors.

2. Pay attention and track your progress. Be like the greats: Mark Twain, Tolstoy, and Carrie Bradshaw and put the pen to the paper. Write as much down as you can. Self monitoring your journey will help you stay on track.

3. Get public with your decision for change. I'm not talking about those annoying daily Facebook status updates of "It's 6AM and I'm heading to the gym to get my run on" or the photo of your lunch of salmon, broccoli, and dessert of vitamins. But I do think it's crucial to get the word out to your close friends and family. Moral support and encouragement from your tightest allies can help lead you to victory.

If you are among the 45% making a declaration for a change come January 1st, then peace be with you my friend. Good luck and enjoy the journey! I wish you success! Feel free to comment below and tell me about your experience.

Another purchase from ZHovak

When shopping for Christmas presents for my besties, I just had to include some goodies from one of my favorite online shops, ZHovak. If you missed my first post praising the awesomeness that is ZHovak, fear not, you can catch that little ditty here: here.
Honestly, this shop has some of the cutest accessories around (next to mine of course)- Only Kidding- No but seriously! I just had to swoop some up. And not to worry, I didn't forget to apply the "one for you, one for me" rule. Check em out!

 

 

 Prayer Beads Tassel necklace $24 each

Hamsa Evil Eye necklace $9

 

 

AND ZHovak included a FREE matching Hamsa bracelet.

Such a sweet bonus! I'm not the only one lucky enough to be able to experience the generosity. Currently EVERYTHING in their shop is 50% OFF. Just use coupon code: XMAS99 and get your shop on!

 

Wishing you and yours the Merriest of Christmases

 

 

Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
From now on your troubles will be out of sight.

Wishing you all the very best and brightest that Christmas has to bring from StarrJoy16.

 

XOXO

FA LALALALA LALALA FU

If you saw the tutorial for the D.I.Y. HO HO HO banner then you should know that I wasn't entirely satisfied with the overall glitter factor. So I bring to you a re-do of the D.I.Y. Ho Ho Ho banner... only this time it's a Fa La La La La banner and a lot more sparkly! You're welcome :)

 

First I gathered some friends and alcohol.

 

Next I stenciled out my letters:

 

Then I began to cut out my letters

(Side note: When I was doing this:)

 

I thought my friends were doing this:

 

When they were in fact doing this:

 

Probably because of too much of this:

 

 

All of the above combined produced this:

 

Moral of the story:

Everything IS better with Glitter!

 

*For complete instructions on my D.I.Y. Holiday banner visit the original post

 

Happy Holidays

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mint Leopard LOVE phone case - My latest obsession

I was browsing the fabulous Instagram and I came across a cluster of cute pictures of phone cases. Side note: I recently stepped into the 21st century and updated my phone. Seriously, I went from having a Zack Morris cell phone to a Galaxy S3 (Keep in mind this update was riiiight before the S4 came out) So I felt kind of cool and hip as the younger kids would say. Haha.
So naturally I thought "Self: I need to get me one of these nifty phone cases!" So I did and I'm sooo glad. Jessica Young from Rosalie handmade totally hooked it up! Most of her cases are available for IPhones but luckily she made a custom order for my S3. With so many cute and adorable choices, I had a hard time picking one but settled on this little ditty:

The case is so affordable at only $14.99. The shipping and delivery was super fast. The customer service was fantastic! I couldn't be happier with my selection. It's so me, in fact, my friends and family thought that I designed and made the case for myself! I'm in love with my love phone case. So if you need a little more Love in your life. Check out Rosalie handmade :)

D.I.Y. Ho Ho Ho banner

Tis the season to get your decoration on. Here's a good one for the kids. Super easy and of course involves glitter. 

 

You'll need the following:

- Cardstock

- Scissors

- Spray Glue and Glitter

OR

- Glitter acrylic paint

-Paintbrush

- Tape

- Hot glue gun

- Twine

 

Print out your letters of choice on Cardstock. Unfortunately I don't have a Ho Ho Ho template, I just googled 'Stencil letters for print' and had no trouble finding letters.

 

Once you have your letters, cut them out:

 

 

If using glitter (which I recommend because it will make your banner waaay more sparkly),

spray your letters with spray glue and then sprinkle away.

If using glitter paint, spray glue not necessary, paint away:

 

 

 

Once letters are dry, it's time to bust out the big guns. Hot glue guns that is.

Make sure to lay your letters out backwards so your sign will read the correct way. There's nothing worse than getting the letters all bippity boppity backwards, no fairy godmother can undo that damage. And your banner will only look good with the use of a mirror.

 

 

Use tape to place your letters straight as well as equal distance apart:

 

 

 

Hot glue your letters to your twine:

 

 

Carefully remove tape and abracadabra:

 

Unless you missed my 10 things I'm totally and seriously grateful for post, you should very well know that I am a huge fan and supporter of all things glitter. So I feel the need to offer my sincerest apologies for the severe lack of glitter in this post. I was a bit disappointed with the glitter paint. I never thought I'd be let down via glitter. You live and you learn.

 

Still a fun holiday project that I highly recommend (obviously with more glitter).

Happy ho ho holidays, friends!

 

 

 

Baby, It's cold outside! Part 2 of the holiday collection

As promised, here is part two of the holiday collection from StarrJoy16. With only two weeks left to get your shop on, you really shouldn't waste any more time! The inspiration is clear as day, A SNOW day to be exact. I'm a lover of snow days.. or rather the idea of snowfall, being from southern California and all, my snow flurries have been limited to say the least. Wishful thinking on my part I suppose. Did you catch part one  of my holiday collection? If you're still searching for cute, festive home decor and or stocking stuffers, Check out the latest, and get your snowflake on!

 

Baby, It's cold outside acrylic canvas painting $20.00

 

 

Gold snowflake jewelry box and Gold snowflake necklace $8.00 each

 

Let it snow acrylic canvas painting $20.00

 

                                                Of course there is plenty more where that came from! Be sure to check out my shop www.etsy.com/shop/StarrJoy16 for more :) Happy shopping and Happy Holidays!

Purple Chandelier from Exhart

You should know by now that on one hand I love all things purple. On the other hand I love all things sparkly. Put your two hands together, my friend, and you've got gold (well, actually you have purple and sparkly)... which leads to this gorgeous purple chandelier that I recently received as a gift.

 

 

Sparkly, shimmery, and beautiful from every angle!

 

 

The fabulous Shavon Valdez works for the company Exhart. 

 She said that this bedazzled beauty of a chandelier "screamed my name" so she just had to gift it to me! Such a lucky gal, I am. I just had to share my good fortune with you all. Unfortunately her company only sells wholesale, so you can't purchase directly from them. Buuut, the good news is that their items are sold through HSN, Zulily, GardenFun.com and a ton of other places, so you can still get one of your own! Sparkle on, my friends!

 

 

A trip to Lowe's and a Christmas tree

My Home girl, Amanda and I went on a little trip to Lowe's. She wanted to get a new dishwasher. I enjoy shopping of any kind while holding a measuring tape, so obviously I went along for the ride. As soon as we entered the fabulous "Never stop improving" store, we became entranced by all things Merry and Christmas.
The first item that struck our fancy (admittedly mine more than hers) was the "Creepy Santa" doormat that she spotted. I screamed with delight "That's not creepy Santa, that's uncle Si!" much to the dismay of several people around me, but I was excited about this joyous gem.

 

(How does anyone not love uncle Si?!)

 

We followed the bright lights past the stockings and Reindeer...

 

 

....and wound up looking at the fake Christmas trees. Which was good but not as good as the real Christmas trees....

 

 

 

 

Which I just had to hug.

 

After comparing several trees and putting them through a tree-off, we had chosen.

Now on to decorate!

 

Lights, wine, ornaments, ribbon and beads, oh my!

 

Check out this dazzling beauty!

Tada!

 

 

Disclaimer: Although stunning and brilliant, Christmas trees cannot in fact wash dishes.

 

 

The moral of the story: If you go in to Lowe's for a dishwasher, don't be surprised if you come out with a Christmas tree! (Especially if you're shopping with me).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

e.l.f. Lip Stain Review

My girl friend, Amanda and I were cruising Tar-J for wine (what else) for one of our girl's nights in spent watching Grey's Anatomy.... Yes, we STILL watch that show.
Anyway, while we were browsing the aisles, we found ourselves wandering upon the makeup section. I came across e.l.f. cosmetics and literally squealed with delight. I have been hearing so many things about this brand. We were both in shock that most of the items up for grabs retailed for around a buck. That's right, $1.00 - $2.00. So I did what any normal girl would do, I loaded up! One of the items I grabbed was the e.l.f. lip stain. The stain promises beautiful precision color that lasts for hours with this pigment rich lip stain marker. The pen-like tip lets you draw on color easily for a streak & smudge free professional look. Infused with nourishing Vitamin E to hydrate and moisturize lips.

The results were subtle but oh so pretty! I love love love this product! I think it's safe to say I'm addicted. It's super easy to use, with it's thick, marker like applicator. I found the color to be flattering (since it brings out the own hues in your natural lip pigment). I also found it to be long lasting. The color didn't fade for hours! I added some clear lip gloss for shine and voila! A pretty in pink pout! Color me pretty impressed! All of this for only $2.00 a pop. You just can't beat that folks!

 

I think it's safe to say that e.l.f. cosmetics has found a fan in me. Have you tried their products yet? Available at your local drugstore.

oh deer! part one of the holiday collection

Now that the turkey has been stuffed and we have stuffed ourselves with said turkey. Thanksgiving is now over. You know what that means, right? It's time to shop, bitches! So string up the lights, Get the carols a playin, and bust out the laptops for some online shopping! It's time to get festive! If you're looking for additional holiday decor and or the cutest stocking stuffers, look no further my friend. I bring to you part one of the holiday collection from StarrJoy16  Be a deer and check it out!

                             Pink deer and flowers acrylic canvas painting available for $25.00

Deer Jewelry boxes $8.00 each

 

Deer necklaces $8.00 each

 

What can I say? I adore me some deer. Hope you are loving part one of my holiday collection. Stay tuned for part two coming to you very soon! If of course you can't wait to see what I have in store for you (haha pun not intended) you can always check out the shop for the latest!  www.etsy.com/shop/StarrJoy16

 

 

Black Friday SALE! Use coupon code: THANKS35 for 35% off your entire purchase now through Saturday, November 30th 2013

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving filled with good food, good alcohol, good music, and good times surrounded by your loved ones! Cheers from StarrJoy16! xoxo

10 things I'm totally and seriously grateful for

In honor of Thanksgiving I thought I would share with you some of the top things in my life that I'm oh so grateful and thankful for. Besides my obvious family and friends who are like the BEST things a girl could ask for. Totally goes without saying. So without further ado, here are the top ten things in my life that I truly appreciate (in no particular order).

1. My dog Gidget:
She's friggin' cute and totally awesome. She loves food and loves to cuddle. Plus she barks at potential male suitors that she doesn't approve of. (It's always a red flag when your dog doesn't like your dude). This being said, she also barks at the pizza delivery man...until she realizes that he's bringing us food, then, in her eyes, he's alright.

 

2. The Goo Goo Dolls:
Yup, I'm a 90's alternative music lovin' whore. I go totally goo goo gaga for these dolls. The lyrics and voice of Johnny Rzeznik and the boys make me swoon. Seriously talented and overlooked poets here. One of my all time favorite songs is "Name" from the album "A boy named goo". Bonus points for my name actually being in the song "name". Coincidence? I think not. Besides being crazy talented, Johnny Rzeznik is simply hot, I just want to curl up and take a nap inside of the butt dimple on his chin.

 

 

3. Ripped jeans and the "Boyfriend" look
Thank you Fashion Gods for making it totally acceptable and appropriate for me to go out of the house looking like a homeless little boy. Sometimes a girl wants to get her hobo on and throw on some ripped jeans and a baggy sweater to cover her bloat and be done with it. If it's good enough for Britney, it's good enough for me!

 

 

4. McDonald's coffee
I'm lovin' it. Seriously. I'm addicted to coffee. Correction, I'm addicted to McDonald's coffee. It's really quite delicious. I'm a fan of the Vanilla Iced Coffee. It's cheaper than Starbucks and Coffee Bean and I don't even have to leave my car to get it. Score. Oh McDonald's Coffee, you had me at "Can I take your order?" Why, yes, yes you can!

 

5. Tabloids:
Nothing makes me appreciate my own life more than tabloids. I mean can you imagine what it's like for said Kardashian of the week to be plastered all over the headlines with whatever drama is happening or not happening that week? She's pregnant, The wedding is off, Her new man, She's such a fatty, She has a zit!... yada yada yada. I enjoy a ridiculously ridiculous tale as much as the next girl. Plus it's always good to see the fashion choices of these bitches while dealing with the trauma that is currently going on (or not going on). I'm just sayin' where there's smoke there's fire and I think we the public deserve to know what brand of deodorant these celebrities are using as a reminder to us not to sweat the small stuff in life.

 

6. Vanilla candles
They smell like heaven in a dish. A vanilla scented room is like icing on the cake for me- without the calories.

7. Redken hair products
Some of you may not know this but, I'm not a natural blonde. Whaaaat?! Shocker right? I know I know... Ok pick your chin up off of the floor. I have spent over a decade bleaching, frying, straightening, curling, and chemically torturing my hair to make it oh so pretty. I've used many a products in my day but Redken is always my go to. It's essential for making sure my hair doesn't fall out. Without it, I swear my hair would be more damaged than that little baby giraffe Taylor Swift.

 

8. Glitter
It sparkles. It shines. It jazzes up just about anything. Really, throw some glitter on a vase and your friends will be like "Wow that's amazing!". Put some in your lotion and watch people become attracted to the awesomeness that is your skin. It simply makes me happy. Actually, we could all use more glitter in our lives.

 

9. Etsy
It's my crack. I love the community of handmade artists. It's an amazing platform for the many talented people out there doing and creating what they love. Need a photograph of a rotten apple or a crochet owl chewing bubblegum? Guarantee you'll find just what you're looking for on Etsy. Honestly, there's nothing better than seeing someone put their heart and soul into what they do and being able to purchase it for yourself.

 

10. Duck Dynasty
I'm a sucker for a manly beard and a good laugh. Plus the wisdom of uncle Si should be taught in schools.

These are just some of the things that I truly appreciate and that make my life just a little bit fuller. It's important to appreciate the good always, not just on the day of Turkeys. Happy Thanksgiving all. What are some of the things that you are thankful for?

How to host a Girl's Night In

My girlfriend Amanda decided to throw together a little girl's night in. Except it wasn't just ANY girl's night in, it was probably the most thoughtful and the most unique girl's night EVER! Amanda always being the hostess with the mostess created one exceptional night for the fortunate ladies lucky enough to be in attendance of the festivities. Take a few cues from the fabulous Amanda to host your own unforgettable girl's night in:

 

Step 1. Decorate

Create a fun environment for your guests to feel welcomed. Set the tone with festive flowers, plenty of seating, appealing glassware, and complimentary accessories like aprons (we'll get to that part later).

 

 

 

Step 2. Music

Pump up the jams and get the 90's music ablastin. Britney Spears and Michael Jackson should always be in attendance to any event that I'm involved in.

 

Step 3. Food and Beverage (aka Adult Beverages aka Booze)

Have plenty of options such as chips and dip, sandwich wraps, cookies, candy galore, and what ever your heart desires. If the alcohol is flowing correctly (aka overflowing) you will want your guests to have something to munch on.

 

Step 4. Entertainment

Activities such as drinking games and or drunken baking are a must. There is a fabulous drinking game "shoots and ladders" that requires taking shots and is waaay more fun than I remember the old school board game being. Bonus, it's also guaranteed to get you good and tipsy for some jolly baking!

 

 

 

 

 Step 5. Party favors

What's a party without a goodie bag? Amanda put together these awesome gift bags that were the perfect touch of delightfulness. Along with the adorable aprons she gifted us, she filled a matching polka dot bag with treats. Such items included a girly gem of a wine cap in case we ever decide not to finish a bottle of wine, face blotting papers so as not to blind others with our rays of shininess, a cute flower oven mitt for our own protection, and insanely cute panties. (The perks of having a girlfriend who works for a lingerie company).

 

 

All in all I'd say our girl's night in was nothing short of a success. Follow these simple steps for creating your own memorable and fun girl's night in.

 

 

 

 

 

Lastly and most importantly is the company you keep and the special people that you surround yourself with. The food, music, and baking is important but no girl's night in can be complete without the amazing group of girls who partake and relish in it with you. Cheers to having the best girlfriends ever!