Finally!!!

Computer Woes
Well, I finally got Max (my laptop) fixed. Yay!!! I will be very careful with it from now on. These Macs are so expensive to get fixed. Un.be.lievable! I do love my Macbook Pro, but Apple makes it so very hard to afford to own one of these things. I was quoted repair cost of $550-$800 to replace the LCD and $800-$1000+ to replace the Logic Board. The sad part is that even if you just had one simple thing wrong with your laptop, you have to get the whole entire unit replaced because Apple doesn't sell replacement parts. I seriously think that Apple needs to check into changing their policy. No wonder the majority of computer owners decide to purchase Windows-based PCs. Apple makes it very hard to remain a loyal customer to them, especially in this economy. So, I will be starting a "New Computer Fund" to save up for a new computer in case I run into any more issues with this laptop. I'm also going to purchase an external hard drive to periodically back up my work in case I have computer failure again. LESSON LEARNED....again.

Now on to some fun stuff...Since I haven't been blogging in a while, I have a couple of outfits to share with you. I'll apologize for the photography now. Sorry. I really need to work on doing a better job of this. I have a tripod, but I always seem to be in a rush to take pictures. The two outfits I'm posting below is what I wore to church. One was on Mother's Day and the other one was just a regular Sunday.

I wore this dress to church on Mother's Day. I wanted to wear something with flowers in it. Normally, I'm a non-patterned sort of girl. Lots of solid pieces and not much color. However, lately when I've been out shopping, I've been picking more patterned tops and dresses and I've been staying away from solid browns & blacks.

So this dress is one (of many items) that I recently purchased from Ross. I chose it because it had a floral pattern on the bottom half and also because it had yellow colors in it. Yellow is my favorite color right now. So bright, sun-shiny and a happy color. I love yellow! It perks me up. I also liked the skinny belt that came with the dress. I chose not to wear a necklace since I had all of the floral print going on.

Note: I've begun to re-arrange clean my closet and I noticed that I also have a lot of taupe colors...especially pants suits. I guess that was one of my go-to safe colors when shopping before. I have more taupe pieces than I do black and brown. It's a little ridiculous. Really. It is. :) I think I will start a "Shop Smart Woman Atlanta" store and sell some of the clothes that I no longer need or want and clothes that are either too small or too big. I was supposed to be pulling these type items from my closet to give to charity and I didn't want to part with anything. :( I managed to give away a few things, but not nearly as much as I should have.

Dress: Ross Stores
Belt: Came with the dress
Shoes: Old (not sure where I got them)
Bracelet(Bangle): Burlington Coat Factory - $1



I found both of these pieces at Ross Stores. Yep, Ross has become my favorite place to shop as of late. If you go at the right time, you can find some very reasonably priced pieces.
At first, I didn't like the skirt as it hung on the rack because of the layers, but I decided to try it on and I loved the way it fit. I thought the layers were gonna be very bulky and look tacky, but I was pleasantly surprised.  The top, I also found at Ross. As you can see it has the color yellow in it so I snapped it up. It was a perfect match for my skirt.

Top: Ross - $10.99
Skirt: Ross - $13.99
Bracelet: Burlington Coat Factory - $1
Necklace: Burlington Coat Factory - $7.99
(earrings came with the necklace - not worn)
Belt: Borrowed from another dress purchased @ Ross
Shoes: not sure. purchased last year.

Close up of top and necklace

After church on Mother's Day Sunday, we went down to the Sweet Auburn Festival. It was held downtown Atlanta on Auburn Avenue. It was a fun time. We met a couple of food vendors that I would love to share with you all (later post) - Rumtastic Cakes and Time To Eat Kitchen.
Rumtastic Cakes is out of Atlanta. She had some of the best rum cakes we ever tasted.
Time To Eat Kitchen is based out of Birmingham, Alabama. The food looked delicious. I didn't eat any, but my niece & nephew did and they gave it 2 thumbs up. *Oh, I so wanted a bite of that sandwich!*

Well, thanks for reading the blog and being patient with me. I'm loving this bloggin' thang. LOL! If you don't have one, you should consider starting your own blog. It's a lot of fun and I'm learning so much from other bloggers and it's a great way to meet people.
If you like what you see & read, please follow me and refer this blog to others. Thanks!

Master Cleanse - I did it again!

Hi There!
Laptop news: I'm still in the process of seeing if I can get my laptop fixed. I'll know for sure tomorrow.

Well, I've been doing the Master Cleanse (or some of you may call it the Lemonade Diet) for the last 10 days. Today is actually Day 10 for me.  This cleanse consist of drinking a mixture of Grade B Maple Syrup, juice from Organic Lemons, Cayenne Pepper and Water. You're suppose to drink 10-12 cups of this lemonade every day for at least 10 days, then slowly break the cleanse over a 2 day period. While doing the cleanse, you are suppose to drink an herbal tea at night and do a salt water flush in the mornings then drink the lemonade throughout the day.
I did the cleanse for 2 reasons. 1-to fast and find clarity on some things that are going on in my life right now and 2-to rid my body of toxins (part of my healthy living lifestyle).

If you do the cleanse correctly, you may lose some weight. I did the cleanse last year and lost about 15lbs. This year I've only lost 3lbs so far. You can read about my experience/comparison by checking out my other blog, RawBodyFitness. Click Here.

I'll be posting more frequently whether I get my laptop back or not. So check back in the next day or so. Also, please sign up to 'follow' my blogs. I'd also appreciate any comments and I don't mind answering any questions you may have. -rena

Oh no, Not again!!!

Needless to say, my laptop is on the fritz again. :(  I have to get the LCD replaced.
Unfortunately it will cost about $800. Okay, so I think Apple is really tripping on these repair fees. I'm so fed up with the high expenses just to keep the thing running that I'm seriously thinking about switching back over to a Windows based computer system. I went to Best Buy tonight and checked out some All-in-Ones. They are sweet!

What I love about the All-in-Ones is that it is only 1 piece of equipment. The computer is built inside of the monitor and the monitor is huge. Love it! I won't have to deal with a bunch of cables and having to find extra storage space. The other thing I like about the Windows based all-n-ones is that they are CHEAPER...well some of you may prefer the terms LESS EXPENSIVE. LOL! The Gateway All-in-One that I saw tonight was $599. Yep, $200 cheaper than it would cost me to get my 5 year old Macbook Pro laptop fixed. Ugghhh!! Why does Apple have to make it so hard for us to use their products. Why are they so darn expensive?!?!

Anyway, due to the fact that my girl, Max, is not working...Max is what named my laptop...I will probably not be posting for a few days. I'm taking her to the Computer Doctor tomorrow. Wish me luck! I'm gonna try to find a company that will replace the monitor for less than half the price that Apple is charging and then I will begin saving up some money for a new computer. Geez!!!!

Hope every one had a HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY. I went to church and then down to the Sweet Auburn Street Festival. It was a very good day. I'll post more on the festival when I get the laptop fixed.
Thanks to my niece, Erica, for letting me borrow hers for a little while.

Deli Boy

Today's post is a Business Spotlight.

Meet Mike & Angela Bowman, owners of Deli Boy.

 “THE PLACE WHERE HUNGER ENDS”

Mike & Angela are good friends of mine. Mike & I went to school together growing up and I met his lovely wife here in Atlanta.
They are really good people so if you are ever in Gwinnett County, off of Sugar Loaf Pkwy, please stop in and give them your support.

Deli Boy is a delicatessen that recently opened up in Gwinnett County. To learn more about the delicious menu items and Mike & Angela, click on the Business Spotlight link.

Restaurant Review: Soul Vegetarian

As I stated before in a previous post, I recently lost over 25 pounds.
I didn't go on a "diet", I made a "lifestyle change". I changed my eating habits by eating healthier foods and began to exercise.

In order to maintain my weight loss, I try to eat out no more than 2 times per week and when I do eat out I try to select a restaurant that serves healthier food choices. I discovered the Soul Vegetarian restaurant while browsing online. I read the reviews and asked around about it. My friend, Vanessa, had been to the restaurant a long time ago so I invited her to lunch to check it out with me.

Soul Vegetarian Restaurant @ the West End location

The overall atmosphere in the restaurant was nice. They have a hot bar where you go down the line and choose from the items they have already prepared for the day. They also have a separate room with a small juice bar.  This restaurant prepares all of their foods without using any animal products.

When we first walked in the restaurant, it was a bit confusing. There were no greeters or waiters/waitresses to assist first-time customers. We arrived around 2pm and there was only one customer in line to get food from the hot bar. She quickly left and the place was empty. There was one man sitting at a table in the front of the restaurant. I think he might have worked there. He told us to just take a left turn and get in line. We made our way to the hot bar and all of the food was covered. The server just sort of stared at us as if we were supposed to know what was in the covered bins.
I tried explaining to her that it was our first time in the restaurant. (They apparently changed the format since Vanessa had last been in there.)  Still no assistance. I literally had to ask the server to uncover each bin so I could see the available food choices. It would have been nice to have a menu or something.

We both decided on Vegetable Plates. I had mac & cheese, collard greens, sweet potatoes and cornbread. I had read about how good the mac & cheese was in the online reviews so I definitely wanted to give that a try. 

Vanessa ordered the mac & cheese, collard greens, broccoli stir-fry and a salad.

We made our way through the line, paid for our food and sat down at a table and began to eat. Every thing was very tasty. The mac & cheese was my favorite. I really enjoyed it. It didn't taste like regular mac & cheese, but it was very delicious - creamy & cheesy. It lived up to the reviews that I had read online. Vanessa really liked the collard greens. She couldn't stop talking about how good they were. I heard sounds of "mmm, mmm" as she was eating. I have to admit, they were pretty tasty.

During lunch, I began to cough (I was getting over a cold). That's when I realized we didn't have anything to drink and no one bothered to ask us if we would like something. I finally had to get up from the table and walk over to the cashier and ask if I could get a glass of water. One of the servers finally brought over one glass of water. Then about 2 minutes later, the man working the juice bar brought over 2 more glasses of water. By this time I was getting a little annoyed.

Vanessa was kind enough to go to the juice bar and purchase me a bottle of fresh juice called Royal Ginger Root. She thought it would help my coughing...and it did! The juice was a little spicy from the ginger. It had very good flavors of ginger root, pineapple juice, lemon juice and also water.
Vanessa also purchase a slice of carrot cake for dessert. The cake was very moist, not too sweet and tasted just like a regular slice of carrot cake. I give the cake 2 thumbs up!

Overall, the food was extra good. The service...not so much (at least for a 1st timer). I'm sure I will have a better experience service-wise when I go back because then I will know exactly how things work.

Verdict: I will definitely visit this restaurant again.

Interview Attire

Since I have to start going on interviews very soon...like right now...I decided to find some appropriate interview attire. I had a couple of navy pant suits in my closet, but I didn't like the way any of them fit and as you know, if you look good...you feel good. So since I want to feel good when on interviews I knew I needed to shop for a dress or pants suit or something that fit perfectly.

A few weeks ago I went to Ross and there on the rack was this classic navy dress. I knew it was meant for me to purchase. It was in my size and just what I needed. See how the universe is aligning things to help me find a job. :)

Navy dress: Ross Stores - $39.99
Shoes: Macy's - a few years ago
Jewelry: Circle necklace - gift

The dress came belted with a navy belt. In the above photo, I wore the dress to church so I put on a pair of taupe slingback shoes and simple jewelry.
I think the next time I wear this dress (hopefully on an interview), I will pair it with cognac shoes and a cognac belt and maybe some bulkier pieces of jewelry.

It's been a long time (over 13 years) since I've been on an interview so I'm not exactly sure how to dress. I just figured I can't go wrong with this simple dress. I did pick up a pair of navy and black slacks from Macy's over the weekend so I can style them with a nice blouse to create a decent interview outfit.
I just plan to keep it simple, look decent and professional without bringing to much attention to my clothes. I want the focus to be on me and the skills I have to offer.


Question of the Day
Do you have any advice or interview tips you can share with me? Please leave them in the comments section. Thanks in advance!

Sunday Brunch

Oops! This post didn't go out yesterday and it's all my fault, but here it is...

Yesterday was a very beautiful and easy-breezy day. The weather was nice. 
I woke up about 30 minutes late so I had to rush to get ready for church.
After pulling a few suits out of the closet, nothing seemed to feel right to me.  Eventually I settled on the Anne Klein jean skirt (read about my fabulous Mall Score here) I purchased at Macy's for under $12 and a top that I also purchased from Macy's for less than $15 back in December of last year. Yes...I love shopping at Macy's! The outfit was nothing special. Just a simple skirt & top that I felt very comfortable in. I wore a pair of neutral colored slingback shoes that were sort of a cross between taupe and cognac colors.

Blouse by Sunny Leigh

Anne Klein Jean Skirt

I didn't get a chance to take pictures of me wearing the outfit because right after church, we headed over to O'Charley's Restaurant for brunch and then to a couple of malls to do a little shopping.
For brunch, I decided to have a meatless meal of waffles with strawberries, whipped cream & syrup and a side order of brunch fries. Every thing was tasty. 

As you can see, my waffles does not have a dollop of whipped cream on them...yet. I ate half of them before I noticed something was missing. Yep, they were that good and to be honest I really didn't need the whipped cream...they tasted better without it.

waffles after adding whipped cream

Waffles with Strawberries & Syrup

Side order of Brunch Fries

After eating brunch, we headed over to the mall to shop for Mother's Day gifts. I ended up buying 3 pairs of pants (black, navy, gray) for myself and a shirt for my BF at the Northlake Mall Macy's store. Then we headed over to Perimeter Mall. There, I purchased a cute khaki colored Alfani belted blouse ($15.49) and a Rachel Roy cardigan ($11.25) from Macy's.  All of that shopping and I still have to do more shopping because I didn't get my Mom anything. :)
I'm very pleased that I lost weight, but trying to rebuild my wardrobe is costly. :( I'm not so happy with that. Just a few more key pieces and I'll be set for a while...anyway. Well, at least I'm having a lot of fun shopping, right? I can't wait to style the clothes and accessories that I've been buying. I'm trying to step out of the box when it comes to fashion. Look for future post as I share with you "What I'm Wearing". I'll be incorporating all of the tips I've been learning about fashion from other bloggers. I'll even share a few of my favorite Fashion Bloggers with you. They are awesome! Hopefully I'll have a new job soon and I'll be able to wear all of my new clothes to a new job.

After attending church, eating brunch and shopping, I headed home and took a nice long nap.
I later watched tv and ate a salad for dinner. Yes, it was a nice, easy, breezy day.


Question of the day
How do you normally spend your Sundays?