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.