Hand model Ombre Pink manicure with k initial ring and an emerald cut sapphire

Pink Ombre Manicure

Published on July 10, 2020July 9, 2020 by Keri ElaineLeave a comment

Hello beautiful people and happy Friday!

Since we are in the middle of summer, I thought it would be so nice to do a bright summer manicure. I decided to go with pink since I had five varying nail polish colors in the pink color palette. If you only have two colors in the same color palette don’t be afraid to mix a couple drops of the darker nail polish with one of the lighter to get an in-between color on a sheet of paper. Then repeat this with two drops of the lighter color and one drop of the darker to get a variety of shades in the same color palette. I did this to tone down the dark mauve shade of my middle finger so it could look more cohesive with the other shades. Today’s look is a pink ombre dream of my own creation.

I used Essie-Poppy Art Pink (*similar) on my pinky nail, Essie – Let It Glow* on my ring finger, Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear – Mauve Over* on my middle finger, Nicole by OPI – Great Minds Pink Alike pointer finger, and Essie – Berried Treasures* thumb.

* This is an affiliate link and I will receive a commission from your purchase, it does not change the price of your sales, it simply pays me a percentage for recommending this product to you.😃

I must say there is something about having a fun manicure that makes you smile. I found myself writing a post, responding to an emailing, or texting a friend back and noticing my colorful nails. I never would have had the guts to wear this to my corporate office especially since I would not want to risk streaking documents with nail polish. Yay work from home perks!

I hope this post can inspire you to add a little bit of fun to your day. It really is about the small moments of gratitude right now. Would you ever wear an ombre manicure?

Hamilton | How to Leave a Legacy

Published on July 6, 2020July 6, 2020 by Keri Elaine6 Comments

Hamilton came out this weekend on Disney+ and every theatre kid in America rejoiced! Hamilton is about the founding fathers of America through a non-white cast. It’s one of the few musicals that rap so everyone can get into it.

The main thing that I got from Hamilton was his desire to leave a legacy. We all want to leave our mark on the world, but Hamilton seemed desperate to leave his mark no matter what the cost. Spoiler alert through his constant drive to write various political essays, talk of funding the national debt and to assume state debts and make other huge changes to our nation he lost his wife and son as a consequence of his own selfish choices.

The question I pose is how do you leave a legacy, without harming others in the process?

Some of the most powerful people in our history have betrayed and stepped on other people to get where they are. Think about Facebook for example. Mark Zuckerberg stole the idea from three fellow students he went to Harvard with and they later sued him and won. (To the tune of 65 million dollars). People still respect Facebook and Zuckerberg is worth over 80 billion dollars. He was also called into court when Facebook was involved in the misuse of information during the political election. Currently, he is the sixth richest man in the world according to the New York Post and he is suing Native Hawaiians so he can build a mansion.

Jeff Bezos who is worth more than 166 billion dollars can’t seem to pay his Amazon employees better and it took strikes for him to provide them with the proper safety gear during the pandemic. Bezos made it a point to undercut his third-party sellers by using their data to find the best-selling products. Then Amazon would take this knowledge to buy/produce the products for cheaper forcing the third part sellers out of business.

Now I know there are great people out there who genuinely want to help others, for example, nurses and doctors doing the best they can to help people through this awful virus. The fitness trainers who are helping people lose weight the right way to gain back their health and strength through virtual training. These people are all leaving a legacy, but not at the level Hamilton was aiming for. He was thinking about a global scale like Albert Einstein, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., Stan Lee, or Prince. People who have been mourned worldwide. People whose contributions to society have helped propel us forward made us stronger, made us feel less alone in this big world.

Three people that left a legacy without harming others are Jesus, Nikola Tesla, and Stephen Hawking. Now I know that’s not a sentence you expected to read but hear me out. Throughout the teachings of the Bible, we hear various stories of Jesus healing others, loving people who were outcast, providing food for the masses, and even teaching others to walk by faith. The people who hated him and persecuted him felt threatened by his popularity and ability to heal others. He was a rebel in his time, but he did not harm other people. Nikola Tesla, who created the first AC motor, created meters, electrical oscillators, improved lights, made the Tesla coils and various other patented projects. He was a brilliant man and contributed greatly to our society while sadly running out of money before finishing his work. Stephen Hawking, who contributed to our knowledge of physics and black holes. He pushed the boundaries of theoretical physics and did not let his disease slow down his contributions to the physics world.

Have you seen Hamilton? Can you think of people who have left a positive legacy?

How to Maintain a Positive Mindset

Published on July 3, 2020July 3, 2020 by Keri ElaineLeave a comment

How to Maintain a Positive Mindset

Hello beautiful people!

I was watching the Bold Type last night, which I highly recommend, they do a great job of talking about various issues and the 20-something young professional perspective. Anyway! The show is about a women’s magazine in New York City and Jacqueline acts as the main mentor to the women of Scarlett. At one-point Sutton mentions to Jacqueline, that she felt left behind when her friends were climbing the corporate latter and gaining more responsibility in their chosen career fields and she was still an assistant. She felt like she was idling while everyone else was moving forward.

So many people right now feel like they are idling because of the pandemic. Trying to work various part-time jobs, or side hustles while applying for full-time work only to be turned down. Fighting with the unemployment websites that are crashing because of too many people are applying for help and the system is antiquated. Other people are forced to move home because new contracts and deals ended early. I even know one person that finally booked coveted Broadway lead roles just before the pandemic only to have Broadway shut down for obvious reasons. This season of life has been hard on everyone, but that’s the one positive we are all in this together. While some people are incredibly overworked, I’m talking 13 hours a day now fulfilling three positions for half the money while other people cannot seem to get a foot in the door. It’s a truly crazy time and we all need to be gentler with ourselves. Do not feel the need to compare your journey to other peoples.

Jacqueline replied to Sutton that “You were an assistant longer than you wanted to be, but you were never idling you were preparing for your moment. So when the time is right, you would soar.” This made me smile. It is so easy to get discouraged when you are not where you want to be, haven’t achieved the goals you set out for yourself when you were 16, or haven’t bought the house, met the right person, etc. However, it’s all about perspective every job I’ve ever had taught me some skill I’ve parlayed into my next job. For every awful co-worker or toxic acting coach, I’ve encountered taught me to appreciate the kind people I’ve meet even more. It taught me to notice personality traits and to avoid people who I get a terrible vibe from. You know the gut feeling you get when you don’t trust someone listen to it, no matter how many people rave about how great that person is. I’m always polite to those people, but never share any personal details or look to them for guidance. I reserved that for people that were more like Jaqueline, confident, tough but fair, compassionate, and willing to help you grow into the person you are meant to be. Everyone has their own timeline. I’m going to say that again EVERYONE HAS THEIR OWN TIMELINE. God’s timing is perfect, and we all need to learn to have faith, walk one step at a time towards our goals. In the end, we will end up even further than we thought possible and with all the life skills, and wisdom needed. Are there any tv quotes that made you reflect on things lately?

The Perfect Summer Dress

Published on June 29, 2020 by Keri Elaine4 Comments

Happy Monday beautiful people! I hope you got some time for yourself this weekend. I hope you have been able to gain some happiness in our new normal.

I bought this dress back in February when I was out exploring different cities in Atlanta. When I moved here I knew Atlanta was made up of various cities but I did not realize how much each on has a completely different vibe. So I was over in Downtown Decatur which can only be described as a quaint small-town vibe. There was a patch of restaurants, stores, and a hotel surrounding the Dekalb County Courthouse. The restaurants vary from southern comfort food and pub food to an ice cream parlor and cupcake shop. There is even a mom and pop bookstore called Little Shop of Stories I highly recommend checking out. Anyway, I looked up and saw this huge mural of a Native American man and stubbled upon the shop Squash Blossom Boutique.

The Squash Blossom Boutique is owned by a beautiful Black woman named Lisa! That is where I spotted this amazing dress. The interior of this store is the bohemian dream. The dressing rooms are so fun! You walk up and its a door that has a curtain covering the window part of the door. So you can try stuff on and pull the curtain back from the top half to model what you are trying on for your friends or the sales associate. I tried on this beautiful Free people dress, but unfortunately, my boobs did not completely fit lol. So back to the sales rack it went. I did fall in love with this BBDokota yellow floral eyelet dress. This is the perfect spring and summer wedding dress. I also thought it would be cute to wear on my next girl’s trip at the time (before we all knew the virus would change our lives).

Pink floral dress, eclectic dressing room, curly hair — The dressing room with a curtain, so you can peak out and model your outfits.

Instead, I decided to wear it in the park, since my appreciation for green space has grown exponentially during this time. I wanted an excuse to dress up in more than just a work outfit! Have you all found any cute new places to check out in your neighborhood?

5 Ways to Stay Motivated!

Published on June 26, 2020 by Keri Elaine2 Comments

How to stay motivated!

Hello beautiful people! How are you? Now that the weather is warming up and people are starting to move around, I thought it would be great to talk about staying motivated on your goals!

5 Ways to Stay Motivated

Find like-minded friends. One major perk of this quarantine is we have all become more resourceful. You do not need to physically sit in meetings to get goals accomplished. Two of my friends joined selling groups on Facebook to sell products and have been making money. I took Shonda Rimes Masterclass after reading two books on writing screenplays and joined a group of female writers. It has been great to check in weekly and hold one another accountable for our goals. We met on Zoom once a month for 3 hours and go over each person’s goals, one another’s script notes, and protentional film-related interest. By having a deadline and people to hold you accountable, you are more likely to get your goals accomplished instead of delaying them.
Schedule your time. Think back to high school you had to be in class from 8:00am to 3:30pm. Then dance class (or whatever fun activity your parents paid for or pushed you to do) from 4:00pm-6:00pm, dinner at home at 6:30pm, homework from whatever time dinner ended till midnight. Then you woke up and did it all again. This quarantine has given a lot of us the time to make our own routines, find a schedule that works for us. Schedule time to meal prep a few items so all you have to do is microwave them and go. Schedule time an hour to work on a passion project every day. Do you have a business you want to start? Dedicate time to researching it, reaching out to people you know whose brains you want to pick, see if there are articles from a magazine or newspaper in that industry to give you more insight.
Know your why. Why do you want to do this? Is it because you want to retire in 10 years instead of working for someone else until you die? Is it because you want more time to focus on your parents since they are getting older? Is it because you want to be there to want your kids grow up? Knowing why you want to accomplish your goals will motivate you to keep pushing forward even in the scary times.
Feel the fear and do it anyway. Sometimes we get excited about a new beginning then we immediately start to panic. Do not play the what-if game. You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take, it’s better to try and learn what not to do next time then to spend the next 10 years wondering what would have happened if you hadn’t let fear get in your way.
Do not let other people’s insecurities overcome you. We all have relatives, friends, and significant others who mean well but are incredibly negative. The minute you mention working out, starting a healthier lifestyle, wanting to start a business, or looking for a new job. They cut you off and start belittling your choices. Do not be afraid to work on your project and potentially launch it before telling them. You have to limit the number of people you give the power to speak into your life. If they want to stay at the job they complain about every day, not making the best food choices that’s fine, but that does not mean you need to apologize or stop trying to better yourself. Honestly, after a while, these people will come around when they see how much happier you are and ask you for tips on how to improve their life. Just keep your head down and focus on your why.

Your mental health is so important. How do you stay motivated to accomplish your goals?

Recharge with a Visit to a Waterfall

Published on June 22, 2020June 22, 2020 by Keri Elaine2 Comments

This weekend was the first time I’ve been swimming since September. I know what you’re thinking. You could get a gym membership and swim during the winter. You could do the polar bear challenge! While these are great solutions to a first world problem, I’ve always enjoyed the feeling of the sun on my face or back as I’ve swum laps in the pool. The joy of looking up and seeing the trees or stars during a late-night swim. Since Georgia has been one of the guinea pig first states to open I’ve waited a while to go out and swim. I realized what I’ve missed about it is the joy you see on everyone’s faces. When you’re in the water you can’t be on your cell phone, you can help but laugh and splash other people. The color blue has been proven to be calming to the mind. It creates a sense of soothing, just like green spaces can improve mood and prevent depression.

Swimming has always been my favorite way to clear my head or figure out how I want to play a difficult character. Since the pool at my complex is still closed, I looked for parks with waterfalls. I found this beautiful one that use to be a mill. The area surrounding it is so pretty and makes you feel like you’ve been transported back to an old cowboy town.

Now I will warn you that like many places in Georgia you have to climb down some rocks to get to this spot. One side was basically like climbing a ladder on the other side you could physically walk down, then climb across some rocks to a smaller private waterfall. I was stunned by the sheer beauty of it all. This spot is maybe thirty minutes from Atlanta. There were a good amount of people at the waterfall. Most people were sun tanning on the bank and racing one another to the waterfall. You could hear the people laughing and splashing around. I was just thankful to hear the tranquil sound of rushing water and be thankful for the simple things. I left feeling energized and calm. There is something so beautiful about spending quality time in nature. Have you discovered any beautiful waterfalls? Where is your favorite place to clear your mind and recharge?

10 Ways to Practice Gratitude

Published on June 19, 2020June 19, 2020 by Keri ElaineLeave a comment

10 Ways to Practice Gratitude

Happy Friday! Happy Juneteenth!

I hope you all move through this weekend with a joyful heart remembering to have fun.

Tell someone you care about what you love about them and how you appreciate them – This could be your best friend, your grandma or your mom. You never know when you could make someone else’s day. It also just feels good to give someone else a compliment.
Make a playlist – Make a Spotify playlist that full of music that makes you want to dance and laugh.
Look on the Brightside – There is usually a way to make a negative situation positive. You didn’t get the job you wanted that sucks, but you can take this time to learn new skills and potentially right a cover letter for an even better job. This past week my voice-over lesson with my favorite coach had to be canceled twice due to unfortunate circumstances. This gave me more time to practice the technique she mentioned from our last session and develop three separate characters instead of one. Something I would not have had the time for otherwise.
Read daily devotionals- It was so easy to get in a negative headspace during this time, so I subscribed to two daily devotionals. One from my favorite church and one from a random women’s site I found. These can often provide a sense of peace and remind you that you are not alone.
Make a new routine – Try waking up earlier by 15 minutes. Take a few minutes to stretch and ten minutes to journal.
Journal – if you are feeling sad, negative, anxious, write it down in a journal. Use I am statements. I am so frustrated. I am scared about getting sick. I am scared about losing my home. Then after you’ve written that multiple times tear the pages. Then write down three things you love about yourself until you fill half a page. I am a great friend. I am smart. I am lovable. This way you can release your valid negative feels and end on a positive note.
Watch funny videos – Sometimes you just need a good belly laugh. Watch videos on YouTube or Tick Tok. For some reason no matter how pissed I am this video and song always make me laugh. Probably because it’s complete nonsense.
Pray – Pray for yourself, family, friends, people who are alone. There is always someone you can pray for we all are works in progress trying to heal from something.
Go outside – Put your phone down and genuinely enjoy the beauty of nature. There is scientific evidence that green space improves mood. Which is probably one of the many reasons even in New York City has Central Park to keep everyone sane.
Watch college graduation speeches– This about it, motivational speakers are brought in for graduation to inspire hope and empower grads for the future why not you.

How to Pivot and Job Search

Published on June 15, 2020 by Keri Elaine2 Comments

Happy Monday, everyone!

My friend and I spent yesterday talking about LinkedIn and all the various job websites out there. How it’s fun to see the various careers our friends ended up in. She mentioned how like many people she is unhappy with her job. At a time where everyone will tell you to be thankful you have work, I pointed out that she still deserves to be content with her place of work. We spend over 2000 hours a year at our jobs, not counting overtime, early morning meetings for training, and other unknowns. You need to at the very least find a company whose values align with yours, has potential for growth (into a new position so you do not feel stagnant), is paying you your worth.

Check out the LinkedIn Jobs tab for the jobs that are open to you. You can see how your resume compares to the qualifications they are asking for. However, do not feel discouraged if you don’t fit all 10 or 12 of the criteria. There is always room for growth and training and as this article points out, most women only apply for jobs they 100 percent fit whereas men apply for jobs they only fit 60 percent of. Be confident! You can learn and adapt to your new role. Most of the jobs here are legitimate and link to the company page where you can fill out the application and add your cover letter. There is a rise in job scams so beware!
If you are curious about a different career search in LinkedIn and see what skills, you need to apply. You never know, planning the company holiday party, heading up a project, and reaching out to new candidates at your previous job can translate into Project Management, client coordinator, and Event Planning.
Don’t be afraid to reach out to people you know. If there is someone working in your dream industry don’t be afraid to shoot them a message. Be polite, say hi, mention you’ve been cheering them on from the sidelines, and would love to hear more about their industry. We all love to toot our own horn, and this is the perfect opportunity for them to impart their wisdom.
Take classes, certifications, or go back to school if you have too. There are so many programs online that can teach you marketing, coding, voice acting, and various other skills right now. If you are interested in something there is no harm in reaching out to see if there is an introductory or discounted first class. Many online classes are certified through universities now and offer a free one-hour introductory class or a 50 dollars one.
Research, research, research.
Know that you may take a pay cut now since you are starting in a different industry, but there is always room to negotiate at your one-year review. Document what you have done to add value to the company throughout the year and any courses you took to become an expert.

Have you been considering a new career path after the pandemic?

What is Your Definition of Success?

Published on June 8, 2020June 9, 2020 by Keri Elaine3 Comments

I found an old journal from 6th grade this weekend. It was from my English class, back when we had to start the first ten minutes of class copying the prompt on the chalkboard into our journals then writing a paragraph or so about the prompt. I absolutely hated writing at the time. Partially, because I loved an in-person debate more, partially because I never felt people correctly understood what I was saying when I wrote. The second journal entry asked what is your definition of success? Back then my response was to own multiple homes in various parts of the world, to make Forbes list of successful people, to have millions in the bank, be married, have kids, and be on various television shows.

As I’ve gotten older my definition of success has shifted I still want to be on various television shows and in movies that will probably never change – but I also think having free time is the ultimate success. We trade so much of our time for money to provide for ourselves, our families, get the next big thing, or show off. I think the true definition of success is having enough money to live comfortably, own your home, be able to work on passion projects like volunteering for charities you love, spend quality time with your kids while they grow up, having a loving respectful marriage where you both share the household work.

Over the years I’ve worked with so many “successful” people who were the angriest, most ungrateful, paranoid people on the planet. The kind of people that see others as stepping stones to their goals, unfortunately, every time they reach their next goal they are still unhappy. They think by making the next 10 million dollar deal for the company they will be fulfilled and get a pretty decent slice of the pie. Unfortunately, their idea of success keeps getting bigger and bigger. Three houses throughout the country, another midlife crisis car, frequent vacations to other parts of the world, a private school for all of their kids, college funds, and trust funds. All of these things are wonderful but can wear on one person when they are expected to keep bringing in more income every year to keep up with the family’s spending. (Lifestyle creep is real!) One of them admitted that he doesn’t consider himself successful because his friend has a net worth that’s 5 times the amount of his. They say comparison is the thief of joy and they would be right.

I think when we focus more on what makes us happy and excited, why we do what we do to make a living then we can appreciate our success. Instead of thinking of all the family members, or friends you want to impress think about what you really want to do. Where do you really want to spend your time and money?

What is your definition of success?

Fitness light green tank black Lululemon leggings nature

Gratitude for Change

Published on June 5, 2020June 5, 2020 by Keri Elaine2 Comments

As we go into this weekend I want everyone to think about gratitude. I want us to think of the things we are grateful for, the positive changes that are going to come out of this the hope we all felt when former President Obama spoke out this week. It reminded me of a simpler time, a time of hope, joy, and change. It reminded me of the excitement we all felt the night a brilliant, well-spoken, charismatic, black man from the southside of Chicago was elected President of the United States. I thought we were so far from our ugly racist history, but years of body cam and cell phone video have proved otherwise. We can and will make this country a better place by voting out problematic members of our government and educating our citizens. We can make this country safe for black people because there are so many people who are willing to listen and change. I am filled in with gratitude at the various people on social media, text, and phone calls that have asked for resources to learn more and be better. To stop sticking their heads in the sand and getting involved in preventing more senseless violence from striking the black community and disgracing our country.

This week I am grateful that we should not have to continue to live in fear of racism, or being shot in our homes due to a police error, oppression at work, financial oppression, and last but certainly not least no one should fear that their son will get shot walking home with his hood on and skittles in his pocket. I don’t know why, but Trayvon Martin’s story is still the one that cuts me to the core to this day. So much potential, light, and joy taken from this world. The fact that he will forever be a 17-year-old boy, not a man. We will never know what great things he could have accomplished. I know so many amazing black men that could have been him. I hope and pray that no other man, child, or mother has to feel the devastation of burying her child due to racism and police brutality. To the good cops who are protecting and serving the community and holding their fellow cops to the same standard, I am thankful for you. The only way we can grow, heal, and change is by working from the inside out.

I am grateful for how beautiful the weather has been.

I am grateful for the love that has been shared on social media this week.

I am grateful for everyone who is voting to make a change.

I am grateful for everyone who has taken the time to check on their friends and family.

I am grateful for everyone who has read someones story of injustice this week and been touched by the pain they felt.

I am grateful for everyone who listened to their friends completely and asked how do we help.

I am grateful for everyone who asked for resources to teach themselves and their children to be better.

I am grateful for the people that have let go of toxic beliefs and family members.

I am grateful for my fabulous LGBTQ friends who have supported the Black Lives Matter campaign this month and Pride. I love you all so much more than you ever know.

I am grateful for the celebrities speaking out against violence.