Small Business Saturday - Curly Girl Beauty

Happy Saturday All!

This morning we have the very beautiful Santana from Curly Girl Beauty and one of our beloved A-List members as our feature! Her stuff is fabulous - I have her lip scrub and balm and it's wonderful!

Welcome Santana!! I'm so excited to have you join us this weekend!! Before we get onto all the fun business stuff, lets get to know you a little bit better, shall we? If you Could Travel Anywhere in the World Where Would it Be?
Europe,Mexico & Nigeria, Ive always wanted to go to Europe (pretty much all over) & Nigeria because that is where my Mr. family & he is from Lagos city actually. He was also primarily raised in England. Mexico to see where my family originated from.

Tell Us...What Inspired You To Open Up Your Store?
 I love Lip balms that was my first inspritaion, ever since I was a little girl I dreamed of having my own business when i was 14 I dreamed of having my own cosmetic company. I have been blogging at CurlyGirlBeauty.org for 3 years & I always knew since I started blogging I wanted to make CGB into a brand. This past year it came to a point where I said " I cant wait around for somebody to offer me a chance, Ill have to take it on my own & do it my way" .

What does having your shop mean for you?
 Well I have a goal/dream to have this become successful to where I can stay at home when I am married & work from home & take care of my family. I have always wanted this & I love being my own boss. This is a dream slowly coming to life for me, no longer is it just in my head, its becoming a reality. Of course the income doesn't hurt to help with the bills either.

What is your favorite product in your shop & why?
 Favorite product really? Well ... pauses... can I say everything? I only make & sell what I LOVE not just like.. I LOVE lip balms, body butters, bath teas & sugar lip scrubs.. Why not make them MY way & yummlicous. ( yes I made up that word) ;)

What inspires you to be creative?
 I just think of what I would love & also what I think other girls would love also.. I like simple, classic things... They are always on trend & you cant go wrong!

What Do You Love About the Small Business &/or Handmade Community?
 So far from what I have been experiencing its very supportive & friendly, of course there is always pros & cons. but what I love is the support & making new friends.

What Sets You Business Apart From You Competitors?
First off I would say from what I seen so far I'm different because I don't carry 50 billion different products which isn't a bad thing fro some. Also I no longer sell soap like many do. Of course all my products are handmade & Natural. My body butters are also Made To Order so they are fresh & made specifically for YOU. I don't think many are offering that.

Anything Else You Would Like To Tell Us?
 I feel like I have talked so much already! Just make sure you stop by the blog always, CurlyGirlBeauty.org, I write 4-5 days a week about different beauty related things.
     Also shop through the TSUAList because I always have a 10% off code :TSUA .

I cant wait to ship out your new fave yummylicous products!

SHOP II TWITTER  II BLOG  II GOOGLE+

*****

If you would like to be featured on an upcoming Saturday - we would love to have! Just fill out this form!

Take Him BAAACK!

Oh Boy.
Childhood.
A Story from it.
Hmmmmm....


Let's talk about how the summer of 1991 I went to the "North Pole" with my family. I told the Santa Claus there I wanted a little brother for Christmas. I was so sure that is what I wanted. So sure.

My mom ended up getting pregnant that year.
That Christmas we visited my grandparent's church and I climbed up on stage with the pastor and I told the whole church how "my mommy had a baby in her tummy and I was going to have a little brother." Cute, right? The whole congregation was oh-ing, awwing and laughing at my adorable self.

You know that saying "be careful what you wish for?"

Well, I got that little brother June of 1992.

A year later - the summer of 1993, we went back to the North Pole on our summer visit to my grandparents and I climbed back up on that Santa Claus' lap and told him that I wanted him to take my little brother back for Christmas. I didn't want him anymore.

Yep, well that Christmas wish didn't happen.
My brother stayed.
We had a love-hate relationship all through all childhood.
I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact I was bitter Santa wouldn't take the little monster back.

Speaking of Monsters - in Kindergarten I was on the phone with a little girl in my class, and she told me to call my brother a "monster."
Oh buddy.
My mother was less than thrilled I called my brother that and she also deemed that girl a trouble maker in that moment, and I'd be darned if she wasn't right. Total trouble maker. Sometimes moms just know.

I talked about other childhood memories here.

Capture.

My Favorite Photo(s) of myself.
Yikes.
I'm not a huge "photos of me" fan.
There I said it.

I thought about this and I decided to share a couple with you.
Photos that are from the biggest moments of my life.

Ready?

This photo, clearly from our wedding. Why? Because there is so much I would have changed about our wedding. The people in it, how elaborate it was - but I never would have changed the one that I married and this photo shows just a glimpse of the goofy happy Ryan makes me. Sure he drives me a little nutty sometimes, being fair I drive him just as nuts - but there is this happy that he makes me, in a way that no one ever else has.

These two. The one on the left is the day after I had A (exactly 6 months ago!) and it's the photo that captures so much. Well, both photos do - but this one...it captures this sweetness of deliverance into motherhood, a moment I yearned for so much.  The photo on the right was a week after I had her and you can feel how relaxed and in love with motherhood I am. Both of those feelings never went away. I don't think they ever do.

So there you have it - once again breaking the rules ;) - my favorite photos and why. 

Lot in Life.

For Today's Challenge the Topic is: Something Difficult in Your Lot In Life (your current circumstances) and What Are You Doing to Overcome it?

I suppose the biggest thing that I would say is our most difficult thing in our lot in life has been our home search. We have been searching for almost a year now for our home and the market is only getting smaller and rougher which isn't easy, and really results in a lot of let down and discouragement. We have been renting homes for the last 6.5 years and our hearts really yearn to have a place of our own, a place that we really call home. We hope we would have that by the time that A arrived last November, but that didn't happen - we got close but it didn't materialize.

It really hit home on Sunday when I was outside watering some new plants we planted for the home that we currently live in - rent - and it made me just a little bummed. It caught be off guard but I was bummed non-the-less. Why? Because this was the spring that we planned to have a home of our home, that we could take pride in. Not someone else's home that we take care of because we live here. We were supposed to be planting bulbs for plants we've always dreamed of having for our home. This was supposed to be the year, in our minds at least.

So, what we are doing about it?
Opening our minds and our hearts and letting God take the wheel.
It's beyond our control.
We are open to new opportunities and new possibilities.