summer saldana youtube Archives - Page 4 of 8

a girlfriends guide to life, style and beauty

July 9, 2014

A girlfriends guide to life, style and beauty…

I’ve spent a lot, A LOT, of time thinking about where I want to go with my blog & YouTube over this last year.
Maybe too much actually, which is definitely not always a good thing, since it’s in those moments of overthinking that I find myself paralyzed and unable to tap into any kind of creativity.

Oh the woes of being a middle child.

But, when I really spend time thinking over this and praying on what I should do, I always come back to knowing that I definitely love sharing what I know to be true of me…and I remind myself what matters most is that I STAY true to me and my focus…despite the process.

I just want to live, learn, and enjoy this life I have been blessed with, and I definitely don’t want to do any of that alone.

I am that girl who when I find something I love in life, style and beauty, I immediately think of who I can tell or who else just has to know. I call my best friends, I text my sisters…I get to Facebooking or sharing an Instagram picture…I just never want to keep what I’m excited about to myself. {oversharer maybe?!? ha!}

And more than anything I just love connecting with other women, whether it’s through sharing our personal stories or by sharing our favorite shade of lipstick…I truly love it all.

So with all that said, I wanted to create a little video sharing my heart in all that I’m doing, and thank each of you from the depths of my heart for continuing on in this journey with me!

lots of love!
xo

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beauty hauls, weekly workouts, what we eat & smoothie recipes

June 23, 2014

Every Sunday from here on out, I am starting a new thing on my YouTube channel where I upload a vlog video from the week. My kids are growing so fast, and so much is happening in our life, that I don’t want to miss a thing. Plus, I love watching other people vlogs and getting little snapshots into their real life, and so I thought it would be fun to do something similar as well.

Some weeks may be more chit chat, some weeks more beauty, some more of what we’re eating and smoothie recipes, and some may have more of the kids & Jimmy than anything else. But each week I want to capture the essence of our life and interests so that we can always look back and see where we were at that time of our life.

I really hope you guys subscribe and join my family each week in all that do and love!

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hair tips: how to repair dry damaged hair

May 8, 2014

Struggling with how to repair dry damaged hair?

Been there, done that!

Over the years I have done A LOT to my hair, going from platinum blonde to dark and back to blonde…(and many colors in between)…and I think because of a few simple & easy hair habits, I’ve been able to maintain its health & integrity.

So today I thought I’d share those tricks, tips & habits of how to repair dry damaged hair with all of you!

And if you have anything to add, or products you die for, let us know in the comments below!

Thanks you guys so much for watching!
xo

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my latest vitacost haul ~ health & beauty

April 28, 2014

You guys are seriously missing out if you haven’t graced the pages of my online happy place, Vitacost. Honestly, this website has changed my life (and budget) in so many ways. It’s especially made it easier to shop healthier, find an unbelievable amount of natural and organic products (food, health & beauty!), and at so much less than I’d spend if I was shopping at my local Sprouts or Health Food Store. {I don’t work or get compensated in any way by Vitacost, by the way. This is my honest to goodness true obsession!}

So, here’s my latest haul from Vitacost (make sure to check out the others on my YouTube channel to get plenty of other ideas!), to hopefully inspire you to shop healthier on a budget!

Always first shop Vitacost through Ebates or Extrabux for extra cash back! I check both to see which is offering more cash back each time you order. I promise it’s worth it!
* Vitacost: (Get $10 when you sign up!)
* Ebates: (for $5 credit)
* Extrabux: (for $5 credit)

I always love to hear too, what you guys are using and loving when it comes to healthier products, so if you have something to recommend, leave a comment!

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yay or nay? what’s up with the products i’ve used up.

April 22, 2014

It’s time, once again, to go through my trash and share just what I thought of the products I was finally able to use up! Who knew going through my trash could be so much fun?

The things we do to help you all save (and spend) your money wisely. ha!

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anxiety sucks and this is my story.

April 3, 2014

As many of you know, a lot of my life I have struggled with anxiety. I’ve shared often here on my blog, but so many of you have asked me to make a video more in detail about what I’ve been through and how I’ve been able to manage it.

I literally have filmed this three different times over the last couple months, and each time I just never felt it was good enough to share so publicly. But this third time I realized that I would always find faults in sharing something so personal, and that I needed to just let go and put it up regardless of how I felt. So, if you have other questions for me that I might not have addressed this time, let me know and I’ll happily collect them all and do another video with all the Q&A’s soon.

I pray with all my heart that by sharing my anxiety story it provides some sort of insight and comfort for all of you who are struggling down this road as well. I want to encourage you to always remember that you are never alone in this, and if you trust and lean on the Lord, He will continually bring beauty from your pain. He promises. And it’s not in His nature to break His promise.

The verses that I mentioned encouraged me during those tough days, and continue to inspire me now:

You will keep in perfect peace
him whose mind is steadfast,
because he trusts in you.
Trust in the LORD forever,
for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.
Isaiah 26

The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.
Exodus 14:14

I lift up my eyes to the hills-
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip-
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD watches over you-
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm-
he will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
Psalm 121

He is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in
spirit.
Psalm 34:18

The Lord Your God is with you. He is mighty to save. He will take
great delight in you. He will quiet you with his love. He will rejoice
over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many
kinds, becuase you know that the testing of your faith develops
perserverance. Perserverance must finish it’s work so that you may be
mature and complete, not lacking anything.
James 1:2-4

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial because when he has
stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has
promised to those who love him.
James 1:12

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of
a sound mind.
2 Tim. 1:7

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me,
for in you my soul takes refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
until the disaster has passed.
I cry out to God Most High,
to God, who fulfills {his purpose} for me.

He sends from heaven and saves me,
rebuking those who hotly pursue me;
God sends his love and his faithfulness.
Psalm 57: 1-3

He who dwells in the shadow of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you will his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
not the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall by your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
If you make the Most High your dwelling–
even the Lord, who is my refuge–
then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
“Because SHE loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue HER;
I will protect HER, for SHE acknowledges my name.
SHE will call upon me, and I will answer HER;
I will be with HER in trouble,
I will deliver HER and honor HER.
With long life I will satisfy HER
and show Her my salvation.”
Psalm 91

May the God of HOPE fill you will all JOY and PEACE as you TRUST in
Him so you may overflow with HOPE by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13

The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares
for those who trust in Him.
Nahum 1:7

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what i loved & where i’ve been: world vision thoughts, beauty lifesavers & how to lose twitter followers

March 28, 2014

This week has been all about recovering from Jet Lag. For the first time ever in my life I experienced what it’s like to be tired and unable to keep my eyes open before 9pm at night. (Normally it’s a struggle to get to sleep before midnight!) Nearly every day felt painful, and every night was torture to try to stay awake until at least 10. But now that it’s Friday, I finally feel the life returning to my brain, and am ready to get up and get back to life again!

What I Loved…

Maybe we should stop entertaining our kids so much: We have always told our kids that it’s okay to be bored, because often our best and most creative ideas come during those times of our lives. And while I confess that we definitely started out as TV pusher parents (we were young & couldn’t afford a babysitter!), over the last two years we’ve slowly made some big changes in not creating constant busyness, and I can see now it’s definitely for the better. For all of us.

Scotts suicide reveals tragic side of city’s glitzy scene: The news of L’ren Scotts suicide has been heartbreakingly tragic, and as I read this article on the New York Post about the details of her life, I couldn’t help but reflect on how social media can contribute to this culture of presenting a life that isn’t exactly what it may seem behind closed doors. It breaks my heart that she struggled the way she did, and pains me to think that she felt there was no better way to solve all she was facing. But I pray her story somehow wakes us all up to stop living lives we weren’t meant to live. To stop comparing what we have and who we are to what we see being presented through the many “highlight reels” of other people’s lives we’re exposed to. There is such freedom in living honestly and authentically the life YOU were given to live.

The key to failure/How to lose twitter followers: I can’t for the life of me figure out the perfect balance to gaining and keeping followers. It seems to be such a delicate balance, and it’s continued to be one I can’t seem to find in my online life. Over the last few months though, I’ve started to let go of achieving some perfect formula, and instead simply striving to share what I feel represents me and my life/perspective as honestly as possible. It’s given me such a sense of freedom and contentment with what and how much I post, and that’s just fine with me. I absolutely love how Harris dissected this entire social conundrum, and I think Bill Cosby kinda sums it up well by saying, “I don’t know the secret to success, but the key to failure is to try and please everyone.” Amen.

Best kept secrets you don’t know about flying: {warning, this one has a few curse words} With all the traveling we’re doing this year, this article definitely piqued my interest. While I don’t know if they’re all 100% true, it was still a fun and fascinating read. If you have anything to add to this list, that you think I should know, please please leave a comment!

~ And finally, one thing I’ve been following this week but can’t say I loved, is this whole mess that has been made among Christians due to the World Vision decision on who they will and won’t hire. I purposefully and intentionally stayed away from certain types of blogs/bloggers knowing that it would just ache my heart even more than it already was. Especially since the little I saw happening on the posts, updates and articles I did come across literally began causing me to lose sleep. (which is why you won’t find any links to any of this here.) Mostly, if I had to pick an emotion, it’s anger. Anger that the Enemy is sitting back nice and content with this little hurricane that has been created. If we won’t turn from our Faith, then maybe a nice little distraction and a whole lot of division will do the job. And even better that we look spiteful and hateful and impulsive, and how perfect to create a platform for those ready to jump on the “And this is why I don’t believe…” bandwagon. What really got me was seeing all the comments scattered here and there saying, “What Jesus would have done…” and then what follows is a bunch of speculation that is obviously not rooted in any kind of theology or truth but instead personal experience and opinion. And while I wanted to share at least this much, I realize that perhaps now isn’t the best time to continue going much further into this, as emotions are still raw, and it could easily become a blog post of it’s own. But, what I encourage you to do if you’ve been following this or have been affected by this, (and am attempting to do myself), is to pray. Pray with all your heart, from the depths of your heart, for the Church and for the Christians and for every single person lost, angry, hurt, sad and confused by what is being put on display for all to see. Pray that truth is shared IN LOVE, and that in the end it’s the biblical heart and face of Jesus that all will have the opportunity to see.

Where I’ve Been…

Since I missed last Friday’s W.I.B. post, I have a bit of catching up to do. Between the articles above and the links below, I’m pretty certain you’ll not be without things to read/watch this weekend. Enjoy!

SheKnows Mommalogues:
~ Do you regularly use coupons? “I had enough free toothpaste!”
~ If you could choose a career for your kids, what would it be? “Doing what they love…”
~ Aging: Fight it or embrace it? “I can’t wait to get older…”
~ After a long day at work, I just want to: “Sneak away to my…”
~ What’s one thing you love to splurge on? “It’s so important that I put the cost in my vows…”
~ Tell us about the last time you cried. “My kids were…”
~Favorite day of the week “The day that doesn’t have a birthday party on it…”

Le Musings of Moi YouTube:
~ Beauty Lifesavers ~ Beauty Products you shouldn’t be living without!
~ London Vlog Part I: Buckingham Palace/Changing of the Guards & Tower of London
~ London Vlog Part II: Paris, Camden Market, British Museum, Westminster Abbey & St. Pauls Cathedral
~ And up later today will be my Primark Haul from London! I can’t begin to tell you guys how obsessed I am with that store and how it MUST one day make its way to the U.S.

Okay, so now your turn. What have you guys loved and where have you been these last two weeks???

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the london i loved: part II (paris, camden market, british museum, westminster abbey & st pauls cathedral)

March 27, 2014

Hindsight is always 20/20.

And looking back, I wished I had filmed more during our time in London & Paris, but traveling with women I didn’t know very well made me feel a little more than awkward every single time I pulled out my camera. Next time, remind me not to care…

Thankfully though, between my vlogging and my Instagram overload (who knew too many picture posting on IG would cause you to lose followers? isn’t that what IG is for???), I most definitely feel I was able to capture all that we got to experience and see. At the top of my memory list, and what I’d definitely suggest for future London visitors, was walking through Westminster Abbey doing the audio tour, climbing 600-something stairs (alone, ahhhhh!) to the top of St. Pauls Cathedral, the eclectic shopping of Camden Market, the quaint neighborhood (and shopping) in Notting Hill, and of course…the 4 floors of happiness that is also called Primark. Riding the tube was also a favorite and made me wish we had that kind of transportation here in SoCal as well. It’s a little bit of heaven for a road rager, traffic hater, people watcher like me.

That shared…here’s the last half of our time in the London I loved. Enjoy!

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the london i loved.

March 25, 2014

Last week we spent 7 days in London, Jimmy doing business while I explored my new most favorite city ever. I brought along my laptop with the intention of getting lost in my writing and work while sipping tea at a nearby British cafe. I had lofty dreams…fortunately reality didn’t cooperate.

Once we got there I realized my laptop charger didn’t fit the adaptor we had brought, and not a single Boots Drugstore I searched carried one that would work either. And so, as it would happen, not one time since arriving in London, did I ever open my laptop. Not for work. Not for writing. Not even for YouTube.

It was almost as though God was nudging me to simply stop for a minute and be present in my surroundings. Maybe it was God, maybe it was circumstances, but either way it only took a day for me to adjust to life without my “right arm” and quite quickly I became consumed with a tourists life rather than an online one.

I loved London. Loved with a capital L. Being blessed with blue skies and sunshine definitely made it easier, but the rich history and lovely british accents certainly didn’t hurt either. I did my best to vlog & take as many pictures as I could to share in the experience (check over on Instagram!), so over this next week I’ll be sharing bits & pieces here as well as on my YouTube Channel.

And now that I’m back to the humming sound of my overworked laptop running, I confess that I’m finding it a bit difficult to gain the speed at which I was attempting before I left. I find myself, once again, needing to collect my thoughts, regroup and remind myself of what I’m doing and why, then work to get my focus back.

In the meantime….I hope you enjoy the London I saw and loved….

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health, fitness & weight loss tips & tricks + what i eat in a day + body dysmorphia

March 11, 2014

There’s something about the time change that reminds me that the hibernation months are coming to an end, and the Spring/Summer fashion and trends are about begin. Which basically, in my mind, means it’s time to shed the winter layers…and I don’t necessarily mean in terms of fashion.

I was excited to make this video documenting what I’m doing myself to lose these last few-ish lbs, but I couldn’t jump right in without first sharing my journey through health, fitness, and my own real life struggles with weight and body dysmorphia. My 20’s were incredibly rough for so many reasons, but the hold that my body and weight had on my happiness, is one of my saddest memories of all.

And so…without going into more detail…here is a little about what I’ve walked through, what I’ve learned, and how Im going about making the last changes to getting healthy once and for all.

Side note: My sweet friend Abby from Color Swept Beauty and I did this fun collab to help inspire you guys to get in shape for the upcoming Spring & Summer months!!! We each took a different approach to sharing our tips & tricks, so go over and check her video & channel out next and be sure to subscribe!!!

Don’t forget to leave a comment sharing your own tips & tricks as well!!!
*Sorry for the bad lighting guys! I was trying to escape the noise of my kids! =)

Tracy Anderson Q&A Part 1
Tracy Anderson Q&A Part 2

As always thank you all so much for supporting me by liking, subscribing & continuing to watch!!! I love that we are in this together, building a fun & supportive community and friendship!!! xo

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