November Favorites

Spoiler, I already posted my actual Black Friday blog this month. I wanted to give everyone plenty of time to actually plan on what products they wanted instead of waiting until the day of and taking the chance that things were sold out. However, because I love sharing products that have been great for me each month, I’m still sharing my favorites this month, and who knows maybe some of these will be on sale too.

Under Cabinet Lights
Full discloser (as always around here) the battery life on these guys is pretty short BUT they are rechargeable and come with a cord to plug in. These are so fun and cool. They come with a remote to control them and they have a ton of different lighting options and colors. These can also be used anywhere and are totally wireless. We’ve actually only used 4 of the 6 but I’m sure we’ll use the other 2 eventually.

Stationary Bike
Thank you Jesus that my husband brought this into our marriage LOL without this bike I probably wouldn’t have made it through quarantine without gaining a bunch of weight. It’s a great price, really high quality and is perfect for storing in smaller spaces if need be. This is one that I would HIGHLY recommend.

Amazon Tank Tops
For the first time in my life I learned this year to finally listen to my mother and layer my clothing this fall. These tank tops are thin enough to wear in warmer weather but also comfy and perfect for wearing under tops. My favorite way to style them has been under flannels with some cute ripped jeans and sneakers.

Slippers
I may have talked about these before but they are worth mentioning over and over. These are SO comfy and such a great price. The reviews had me kind of nervous about how they would fit but they have been perfect. I have what I consider a “normal” width foot, meaning it’s not wide and definitely not narrow, but they still fit comfortably. I got my true size and they still have a little room for me, which I’m fine with. These would make a great addition to stocking stuffers or Christmas gifts.

Salt Rock
I know this one is probably a little sketchy for some people and to be totally honest it’s not something I’ve had this major life changing experience with but at the very least I love the way it looks on one of our couch end tables and if there’s even the slightest chance that it’s cleaning the air for us, I’m willing to try it. My mom and I actually did a “Salt Cave Experience” in Virginia when we visited and I will say that I think both of us absolutely loved it. Look up “Salt Cave” in your city and check out the benefits.

No Bend Hair Clips
These have been a thing for a while now but I just got on the trend train. This is one of the few trends that I actually have found to be worth it. These hair clips are advertised as being able to put your hair back while doing your makeup and after you’ve done your hair and you don’t want to have creases in it from hair clips or bobby-pins or anything like that. Honestly it’s just because they are so cheap for an 8 pack, I purchased them and have actually ended up loving them. I even gave some to a girlfriend for her birthday!

Bondi Boost Hair Products
I got the shampoo and conditioner for my mom and myself a couple months ago. I typically try things for about a month or more before recommending anything. These are definitely my go-to shampoo and conditioner from now on. They are salon quality but with all natural products. My hair has grown a good amount since using them and the most noticeable difference in the FEEL of my hair. I can tell that these are all natural and don’t have any gross residue left on my hair. I have naturally curly, frizzy hair and even my frizz level seems to have decreased with these products. I do have to note that they recommend using them 2 or 3 times a week for the best results (I only wash my hair when absolutely necessary) and they have a pretty strong peppermint smell since that’s a main ingredient. I don’t love or hate the smell.

Name Necklace
okay okay this is actually something I’ve had for a couple of years now, but only recently found it mixed in with about a million of my other necklaces. I’m not sure why but I just love the idea of giving these as gifts. It’s literally the most personalized gift (lol) and it’s really easy to stack it with other necklaces. I always get compliments on it and people always ask me where it’s from.

Thick Leggings
My sweet dad actually bought these for me a while back and I have loved them. They are so cozy and warm and a really nice, thick material. They come in a few different colors as well and have POCKETS!! All my ladies know how big of a deal that is. These are hands down some of my favorite leggings. THANKS DAD!

Cold Brew Box
Sounds weird right? Allow me to explain. Java House Coffee is some of the best quality coffee I’ve found and trust me, I’ve spent some time and money looking over the years. The best part is that they have a ton of different types of at home coffee options. This one is a box of coffee that fits right in your fridge and comes with a spout. Just stick your cup under it and pour to your heart’s content. Even better? It’s prime eligible on amazon!!

Like I said, hopefully some of these are on sale today too, but if not they are still really great products that I have loved!! I can’t believe that next month is the end of 2020 and hopefully all of it’s craziness. Blessings to you all my friends and I know I’m looking forward to the beautiful month of December and all the love and joy it brings.

XOXO,
Camille

How to spend a girls weekend in Yadkin Valley

Something a little different from me this week. A travel guide!! I spent last weekend in Yadkin Valley NC with my two best gal pals for their birthdays. Here are the activities we enjoyed and some recommendations for visiting this absolutely gorgeous small town. We all have decided to go back in the near future.

Where to Stay

We actually stayed in one of the local hotels The Fairfield Inn but I would highly recommend booking early enough to be able to stay in one the cabins locally.

The hotel was perfect though, plenty of space, very clean and close to everything. They have an amazing free breakfast each morning and the most kind staff members. If you’re hoping to have a more authentic Yadkin experience, here are the Cabins that come the most highly recommended:

Maggy’s Place Complete package and located right downtown, maggy’s is one of the most popular local spots to spend a quite weekend. It’s super adorable too and right within walking distance of so many fun things.

Ridenour Ranch I was heartbroken that this one was not available for us to stay in. It’s got everything you can dream of and it’s a fully functional FARM, complete with alpacas, who I’ve heard will come visit you while you drink your morning coffee on the patio (swoon). This one is great for those with children too.

Epic Mill & Falls As the name suggests, this place has their own waterfall on the property! Not quite as close to all the downtown action, but an incredible place to stay for a few days to get away from the busy downtown life. This is another place I had my heart set on but they just book up so quickly!

Where to Eat

Southern on Main
Ignore the low quality photos and trust that this food was amazing. The brussel sprouts appetizer was to DIE for and the courses we had were amazing. They also have one of the best classic margaritas I’ve ever tasted. This place is an absolute MUST. I would highly suggest that you make reservations because the wait can get long pretty quickly.

Talia Coffee
One of my girls actually spotted this place while we were driving past. It was right beside our hotel and was a drive thru only. Little did we know it was going to be our new most favorite coffee spot in all the land. This is a MUST if you’re going to be staying in the area. They have some of the best flavors and the two ladies that worked there were full of southern charm and very helpful when we asked questions. They even have Macadamia Nut Milk, so that’s certainly a must try!

Angry Troll Brewing
Great atmosphere, excellent drinks and even better food. This place is right downtown and was a 10/10 for everything, even a really great staff. I ordered the BBQ chicken nachos that everyone seemed to have a bite of. A few others had burgers which I heard were also a must try. This is another place you want to get to quickly because the wait list fills up fast!

Activities

Elkin Vine Line
I cannot express to you enough how awesome this was. Long story short, you choose which vineyards you’d like to visit for the day and Elkin Vine Line will pick you up and drop you off at the vineyards. We paid the extra fee and were also picked up and dropped off from our hotel and dinner but either way this service is AMAZING. Part of the reason is that the people that work there are extra kind, extra helpful and are just wonderful. They made our experience in Elkin extra special, especially since it was both of my girls birthday celebrations.

Shopping
There is ton’s of shopping to do within this entire Yadkin Valley area, made up of about four small towns. Above is a list specifically for Elkin, where we stayed but honestly there’s so much to take in you can probably narrow it down like we did and stick to one town. Our favorite was the General Store, that holds a ton of super cute, small town items and trinkets that are perfect for gift giving or just to tell a cool story. The general store was actually one of the stops for us on the Vine Line, to get lunch and I highly recommend you grabbing one of the fresh made sandwiches.

NC Hiking Trails
We didn’t actually make it to our planned hike because of the weather but if you’re into the outdoors and love a good walking trail, Elkin has access to some of the best trails there are. One of them includes the Mountains to Sea trail that everyone in the area loves. The entrance is super convenient and located right downtown where you can park for free and pick which trail entrance you’d like.

That’s all the recommendations that I have for just a short weekend trip, but I highly recommend you grabbing some girlfriends (or guys, no discrimination here) and taking a trip to this perfectly sweet southern town. You’ll feel like you’ve been transported to another place like but turns out you’re just right here in good ole NC.

Let me know if you’ve ever been here. What places do you recommend for a girls trip??

XOXO,
Camille

How to make fair compromises in relationships for both of you

Spoiler alert, marriage is all about communication and compromise. Our society has made the word compromise seem like a bad thing, when in reality it can be incredibly healthy in all relationships. The key here is learning how to navigate compromise appropriately and fairly. Compromise is at it’s heart what is fair for all individuals involved but often we find ourselves getting the short end of the stick or hurting someone that we care about by either not setting appropriate boundaries or by having an ego and unwilling to compromise. So where to begin when learning how to make fair compromises?

Be honest and real with yourself first

One of the key’s to healthy relationships is being real with yourself first. You’re only going to continuously hurt others if you’re not capable of noticing your weaknesses and areas you need growth or knowing yourself well enough to be real. In the case of making a compromise on something, you’ll have to first come to the realization that you can’t be selfish and second know what is a non-negotiable for you. Ask yourself things like:

  1. What am I willing or not willing to do or let go of?
  2. Am I stating clearly what I’m asking for?
  3. Am I being selfish or being open to someone else’s needs?
  4. Have I put myself in their shoes and considered the issue from their perspective?
  5. Have I prayed about this issue?
  6. Am I being emotional or rational? (If you’re like me, this is a super hard one, I’m always emotional)

Active listening

When having conversations and especially conversations that are important, you have to practice active listening. This means actually hearing what the other person is saying. You have to put aside your own interests for the sake of actually hearing what someone else has to say and being able to engage in a conversation with them. A good definition of active listening is: “This is where you make a conscious effort to hear not only the words that another person is saying but, more importantly, the complete message being communicated.” It’s way easier said than done, but putting aside your own agenda and your own argument to actually hear and understand another person is a MAJOR benefit to a conversation. Sometimes you may even find that you’re actually in agreement with another person.

Come to the table with ideas

I once had a church leader tell me that they never wanted me to come to them with a problem that I had not already tried to solve myself. He said to always come to him with at least one option to resolve the issue before I came to him just to complain. Not only was this excellent leadership on his part, but also an excellent way to teach me (and others on our team) how to think for ourselves and problem solve on our own.

This works perfectly for making compromises and moving forward with a problem in your relationship too. If you come to the “table” with some ideas on exactly what you want in order to resolve the issue, more often than not you’re going to find a resolve way faster and more effectively. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a conflict with a loved one or close friend and when I gave them some ideas on how to fix our issue, it was almost instantly fixed and we could move on.

Make sure to keep in mind that these are just ideas, and the person you’re sharing them with may have ideas of their own. It’s important to be collaborative here and not just stick to your guns on your OWN thoughts. A relationship is about working together, and in many cases you’ll have to ease off of some things even if you think it’s the perfect answer.

Always be prayerful

You didn’t think we were leaving God out of this did you?? This should be the first one for sure, but I wanted to end here so this would be fresh in your mind. You must PRAY PRAY PRAY. Depending on the severity of the argument, issue or problem between you and a friend or loved one you’ll find that you have to pray harder or more specifically. Sometimes when we’re upset, our mental clarity just seems to disappear. It’s important to start with asking God to clear your mind first.

You first have to trust that God already knows the resolution here and you have to be willing to put your pride aside to ask that HIS will be done, and not your own. Truth is friend, that may end up being the opposite of what you’d like to happen, but you must know that God knows best. These are some of the hardest prayers you will ever pray, but absolutely some of the most important. Always remember that God loves you and has nothing but your best interest in mind and that He will never do anything to harm you. Compromising in relationships can be an incredible blessing and from personal experience I can testify that when I let God have total control, I have never even once regretted the outcome.

That’s all I have for you today friend. I pray that whatever relationship this applies to in your life that you will walk in boldness and knowing that God has your ultimate best outcome ahead of you. Relationships are so necessary to our overall well being but Lord knows they are some of the most challenging aspects of life. I pray today you’ll find peace in any tough situation or conversation and that you’ll grown stronger from any lesson learned.

XOXO,
Camille

Black Friday Deals

For the sake of making sure you have plenty of time to get all the great deals, I’m posting my Black Friday blog a little early. Here are some of my favorite items that have been on sale each and every year on Black Friday. Go ahead and add them to your cart so you can hit send asap on Black Friday.

Ninja Coffee Bar
Nick and I absolutely love our coffee bar. This one comes with a million options and including a built in frother. It’s a bit pricey normally but on Black Friday you’ll find this one on a great deal!

Artificial Christmas Tree
Don’t we all need a good fake Christmas tree? Don’t get me wrong, I love a real tree for what is represents and of course the amazing smell, I’m just more fond of not having to worry about watering it all the time or cleaning up needles from the floor constantly. So artificial is usually the way I go. Good quality tree’s can get pricey as well, but not today!!

Over the Knee Boots
Here’s another item that I absolutely loveee having multiple colors and styles of but never want to pay what retailers are asking for them. I usually wait until Black Friday to update my shoes and all of the options in the link above are amazing!

Air Fryer
I cannot say enough how much we love this thing! Nicks parent’s actually got this for us last Christmas and we’ve used it non-stop from the day we opened it. We’ve made some the best chicken wings, burgers, fish, blooming onions and even used the dehydrate function to dry herbs and make our own chicken jerky. I recommend this to literally everyone I speak to.

Instapot
Repeat everything above, but think more soups, chilis, pasta dishes that are all super easy to make and very fast.

Fitbit Versa
Fitbit updates their watches almost as frequently as a new iPhone comes out, which we all know is pretty annoying but here we are. I’ve gone through about 4 Fitbit generations at this point and this one has been my favorite so far. If you’re looking for something a little less busy as an iWatch but full of cool features, then this watch is for you. I also heavily rely on this to keep me motivated for working out, getting up throughout the day and even doing meditation and relaxation.

Bath & Body Works Hand Sanitizer
Can we all just say this is a given? I mean literally 2020’s “scent” is alcohol mixed with whatever fruity flavor you like (lol). However, these sanitizers have always been my favorite and I’ve always stocked up on Black Friday because the deals are always unmatched throughout the year. Hopefully this year they’ll have had time to stock up and they won’t run out too quickly.

Bath & Body Works Candles & Holders
I’m very much a seasonal candle person. I change out my candles pretty often and actually prefer to buy the 10oz candles so that I don’t tire out of one scent too quickly. I’ve recently purchased some of the scents above and this gorgeous holder that’s perfect for any season.

Holiday Dresses
I am the worst about not planning what I’m going to wear for all the Holiday parties until it’s too late and I’ve missed all the good deals. This year I’m changing that. I have basically every outfit planned with multiple options depending on the weather and what we actually end up doing. This link is what some of my favorite dresses are that are SURE to be on an amazing Black Friday sale (last year everything was 90% off).

Beauty Products
This link is all of my favorite beauty products that I stock up on every Black Friday. The IT Cosmetics Mascara is literally 2 for 1 and I only buy it once a year. It’s amazing and lasts the entire 6 months for one tube.

Outdoor Furniture and Decor
Until earlier this year I had no clue how expensive outdoor furniture was, and now I will only ever be ordering it when there are great sales. Fortunately we already had most of what we wanted/needed when we started sprucing up our yard but there are a few things that I’m also waiting for Black Friday to pick up. Black Friday is always a good time of the year to grab anything for the yard, especially because it’s typically off season.

HAPPY SHOPPING FRIENDS!!! Let me make clear, you don’t “need” any of this. I hate when influencers online make me almost feel bad about not getting the item they’re pushing. This post is only to benefit you if you’re looking for recommendations and all of these are totally my opinion and items that I’ve loved for a while or that I have my eye on myself.

Make sure you spend responsibly and have fun!!!

XOXO,
Camille

October Favorites

I’m sort of sad that this month is ending, October is my favorite month of all time. However, monthly favorites are probably my favorite blogs to write. I love sharing products that I’ve enjoyed with you all in hopes that you find things you love too!

Desktop/Laptop Riser
I obviously purchased this because working from home is a challenge on a laptop. We liked this one so much that we went back and purchased one for my husband as well!

Beanies
I found these super warm and cozy Carhartt beanies and they come in several really cute colors for fall. You’re probably going to want all of them eventually because they are all super cute. These are also unisex so you can buy one for the gals and guys in your life.

Just Peachy Eye Shadow Pallet
I’m such a stickler for wearing “summer” and “fall” traditional colors, all the way down to how I do my makeup. Every summer I’m hardcore “natural” makeup and every fall/winter I wear the browns, oranges and neutral tones. I just like having that clear difference in the seasons. This pallet one of my best friends bought me for a birthday and I found it last month and have had so much fun using it to make beautiful fall eye looks. PLUS is smells like peaches!! This is a must have 🙂

Pumpkin Spice Creamer
If you know me at all, you probably could have guessed that I’d have this on the list. I will say that it has to be the Coffee Mate kind to actually be good (I’m sure others are good too). This one has my absolute favorite taste. Some of the other brands leave a little weird aftertaste and this one is good all around. Also fun fact, if you use a milk frother with this for about 45 seconds it totally changes the flavor and it’s amaaazzingg (even my husband likes it and he’s not big on sweeter things).

Brown Booties
I got these on sale during the Nordstrom Anniversary sale but honestly now that I’ve worn them, I would buy them full price too. These are hands down some of the comfiest booties I’ve ever worn and are so stylish and go with almost anything. They have the perfect heel height and are chunky heel which makes them easier to walk in. I’ve already worn then a million times and absolutely love them.

Camel Teddy Bear Coat
These are popping up all over this year, but this one is an amazon fashion find! I’ve been living for all the deals I can snag from amazon instead of paying an arm and a leg for the same things. This one my bestie got for my birthday this year and thank GOD she did. This coat is SO cozy and warm I could sleep in it. It’s another staple for me this fall and winter.

Phone Stand
I wish I would have purchased one of these the first time I saw it. This has absolutely changed my life (dramatic I know). I keep this one on my desk at work (at home) and it keeps me from keeping my neck bent downwards all day and allows me to actually stay off of my phone more. It’s also great for Facetime or for recording videos because it’s adjustable and I can tilt it to the perfect height and have hands free! It’s also an excellent price for such high quality.

Spanx Leggings
I shared about these when I bought stuff from the Nordstrom sale but they are worth mentioning here as well. We recently went on a camping trip and I wore these every single day. They not only are spanx, which means they keep you held in all the right places, they also are very warm! For sure recommend you get a pair of these or something similar since these are little on the pricey side.

Jogger Sets
This is the comfiest and coziest jogger set ever. It’s more on the thin side which ironically lends itself to being better for layering. I’ve worn this set a bunch of different ways with a lot of different layers and it’s just so perfect.

Multi-Vitamin
We’ve been using these for a little over a month now and have really liked them. There’s a ton of health benefits of taking a multi-vitamin and to be real with you, with COVID still everywhere, we can all use the some extra health benefits. These are a good size compared to a lot of others I’ve had in the past. I do recommend taking them with food.

Graphic Tees
The link is to some of my absolute favorite graphic tee’s lately. I’ve done a lot of searching for the perfect oversized tee’s that don’t make you look too boxy but also are just comfy and perfect for layering in the fall months. Plus graphic tee’s never go out of style and can be worn a million different ways.

That’s a wrap for October Favorites! Tag me on Instagram in any goodies you purchase so I can hype you up 🙂 @cam_bam_

XOXO,
Camille