NewAddiction ?

So you guys may not know this but I am quite the sticker collector. I have tons of stickers that I have ordered online and just picked up in various stores but and every time I buy a set of stickers I stick one onto my laptop.

But other than that I don't collect much until now!

The other day while browsing through Walmart I decided to pick up something out of the easter section they have at Walmart right now and I have been addicted ever since.

What is my new addiction you ask?

SHOPKINS! 

I know I am a little bit late to the hype of shopkins but I have never really given them the time of day because they are so small but when I opened my surprise package a few days ago I fell in love! 

 

And when they look this cute how can you not fall in love with them. 

Shopkins are down my alley: cute, pastel, and tiny. plus they gave me a pink slice of cake on my first try uh yes!

So far I just have these two but I definitely intend to buy two more of the little easter eggs they have at Walmart tomorrow before I go into work so I will post my new buddies Either Sunday Or Monday! 

 

Let's Talk Serious:Bruno Mars

Hey Everyone so Last night I thought about how much fun we have on the blog but I don't feel I would be doing my part as a content provider if I didn't talk about things that are a bit serious as well. I was on facebook  when I came across this article discussing Bruno Mars and how he is a cultural appropriator and

So today marks the day, I will be putting some more important and discussion-worthy topics on the blog as well.

Now as an African American Woman and one with great pride at that, I take black culture extremely seriously and I know that cultural appropriation is a huge problem in my community.

Now let's talk about  the definition cultural appropriation

The act of taking or using things from a culture that is not your own, especially without showing that you understand or respect this culture:

Now let's get back to Bruno Mars, I personally am I pretty big fan of his music. I love how he brings the old school sounds of my childhood to the 2000's. I have never heard a song of his that didn't move my body or my soul and I think that's a pretty good thing.

Do I personally think Bruno Mars is a cultural appropriator? 

In all honesty, no, Mars is constantly thanking the greatest African Amerian artists in history including Baby Face, Teddy Riley, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis for being his inspiration. I feel that this is something that people do not understand when it comes to appropriation. Someone is inspired by a culture and appreciating it's music is not the same as seeing someones cultural and claiming it as your own. Bruno Mars is not saying Motown jazz and R&B are his cultures, he's saying this is the music I grew up on and this is what I want to create for my fans.

The more we accuse people who love our culture of stealing it the less interested they will become. We do not want our culture to be alien or taboo to others we just want it to be you know .. ours.

And I personally feel like as long as he is acknowledging the fact that African Americans are a source of inspiration for his music he is not stealing anything and portraying it as his own.
Do I feel that the fact that Bruno Mars is racially ambiguous plays a factor in his success? Maybe but I also think it has to with the feel-good, can do attitude his music presents making his music itself racially ambiguous allowing it to reach all different types of races and ethnicities

This is just my opinion, tell me what you guys think below in the comments?

Staionery Shopping Haul

So As I've told you guys before I LOVE SHOPPING!

Even if it's just picking up a few things here and there I am a sucker for little desk knick-knacks and cute decor for my little office space in my room or for any part of the house honestly. But when it comes to my desk  I am a total fanatic. I love Pastel Colors so I'm working with Pastel Pink blue, and purple on my desk so whenever I see something in those colors I have to nab it!

So today I wanted to show you guys some of the cute little stationery and desk accessories I bought this week for under $5

$5 or Less Shopping Haul! 

So This week I decided to go to some store that I hadn't been to in a while to take a look at some new things because honestly, I have been in Walmart so much lately I was growing tired of their selection. So today's finds are from TARGET, DOLLAR TREE & A.C MOORE 

First up, Target. Now it's been months since I've even set foot in Target just because it's further out than most of the other stores I go to on the regular basis and to be honest I was a little bit disappointed nothing caught in particular caught my eye and the things that did were not within my price point for the day.

However, in the dollar section, I Found a ton of cute things that I loved for $5 or less. Which actually made the trip worth it! 

These super cute binders!

The larger one was $3 and is all of the colors I am using in my office so I absolutely had to grab it! 

The smaller one was $5 it has a cloth front and back covering and I have been looking for a cute mini binder for a while and haven't been able to find one that I liked so I had to have it!

Another thing or things that caught my attention was all of these adorable little pens and pencils! 

Now I'm a little bit skeptical about buying pens from dollar sections because sometimes they can be for lack of a better word crappy. I was happily surprised by these pens not only are they super cute but they also write amazingly smooth which makes me regret not buying the whole rack (I might just go back and do that). I also love the pencils I love the colors and the designs are cute as well. 

 

Since I didn't find much at Target I was delighted when I realized there was a FREAKING DOLLAR TREE ACROSS THE STREET! So you know I had to pop in to see if there was anything worth buying and A few things. 

I recently found a new obsession with Candles and this tiny pink candle I found smells so amazing I was so glad I found it, the scent is Spring Berry and I haven't lit it yet but just by smelling it I can tell it's going to have a powerful scent.

But the prime jewels of this dollar tree trip were these gorgeous diamond pens that write super smooth, I literally picked up one in every color and I am so glad I did do you see how gorgeous they are?! 

But Other Than that I bought a bunch of stuff for the house that was needed and I am so glad I found out there is a dollar tree up there!

After I went to dollar tree I went into A.C Moore, It has been a while since I have neem up here as well and since I am a member I have like 50% off coupons just waiting to be used. ( I now have 2) 

  I originally went in here to find a new journal and some scrapbooking paper but I didn't want to buy them loose and their selection of paper was not only plain but WAY OVER my price point for the day

but I did find an awesome new journal and some pretty pink things in their dollar section including another journal, and some stickers I used to decorate them.

I  am so excited about all of my new items and cannot wait to start using them! 

Moki's Favorite Places to Shop both online & IRL!

I LOVE TO SHOP!

From a very young age, I loved to shop, my aunt Barbara (Barbosa to most of us)  would take me to the flea market once a week to check out the local deals and bring home some sweet merchandise without spending a lot of your sweet sweet money

So that's where and how I learned to bargain shop, I am always looking for not only the best deal but the best selection as well. I like to go into stores and see a lot of nice things, not just a few hidden gems here and there. 

So today I am going to share with you my Favorite places to shop as well as why they're my favorite and what kind of items you can find at each store! 

Favorite Places To Shop till I drop! 

Walmart!

 Walmart is like the holy grail of bargains. Walmart and I have a really special relationship when I first moved to Fayetteville I barely had anything I had a couple hundred bucks in my bank account and did not know much of Fayetteville and what stores were close to me, so when I found out Walmart was within walking distance I was super excited because up in NY  I was rarely ever able to get to a Walmart

Reasons I Love: I love Walmart because you can get everything you need you, your house and your fridge all in one place, Walmart is constantly bringing in new inventory and I love being able to go in there and see something new each time. 

Things I don't like: Customer Service is borderline terrible give or takes a few cashiers at my local Walmart, most people I encounter for help on the floor have no idea how to help me and I understand not knowing a certain department but at least direct me to someone who may be able to help me they're infamous for this line right here "Umm...I don't really know I just work here". What does that mean?! Thank God I know that store like the back of my hand now. 

Amazon

 Now I have to admit, I wasn't always a huge fan of Amazon. I didn't really start to love it until I started a free trial of Amazon Prime and Now I am in love. Being able to have things sent to me as quickly as 2-days free! UH YEAH SIGN ME UP! Plus if you decide you don't necessarily want/need these items in 2 days then you can pick standard shipping and get $5.99 credit for Prime Pantry!

Reasons I Love Prime Deals! Free 2-day shipping 

Things I don't like: There is not much that I don't like about Amazon, to be honest.For some items, the selection can be a little bit limited but other than that there's nothing I can think of if there is something you don't like about Amazon leave it down in the comments and if I think of anything I'll edit it here. 

  eBay!

eBay was is my first love when it comes to online shopping. Ever since middle school, I would buy things online and honestly I've never really been disappointed by them.  Their customer service impeccable so if you do have an issue with a seller or buyer you can ask them to step in and help. The reason they are third on the list is that the shipping times can sometimes be really long which for most items I don't mind like cheap phone cases or various other accessories. But for most things I don't  want to have to wait a month or two for things to get here

Reasons I Love: I love the variety and selection on eBay, you can literally find just about anything on there by the click of a search button. Great customer service, they will help you get money back for items you did not receive or broken items quickly and efficiently. 

Things I don't like Long wait times for some items.

Old Time Pottery!

 Now I felt a bit conflicted about adding this one to my list because I may be a little biased being that I work there but after very much thought I knew I had no idea that this store even existed before it came here to Fayetteville but let me tell you their prices along with their plentiful inventory makes it a great place to shop even better than  Walmart honestly but Walmart outranks them for me just because of the ease of just being able to grab everything in one place. 

OTP is a must visit place for home decor and essentials! 

Reasons I Love: The prices are ridiculously cheap! [ add on my associates discount and it's even cheaper] But even without the discount you'll see they are really inexpensive for good quality products

Things I don't like: Its one of those stores where it's like if you see it and love it and you can grab it grab it because it may not be here next time and once it's gone it's gone for the most part. 

But other than that I love this store! 

Monday Munchies

Good Morning everyone,

It's a cloudy day here in Fayetteville, and honestly, the weather has been pretty cruddy these past few days, the cold weather has got me in kind of a funk so I decided what better way to treat myself than with a sweet treat! today I want to share with you one of my new favorite places here in Fayetteville!

LOL BUBBLE TEA! 

This Place is absolutely amazing I love it because it reminds me of the bubble tea spots back home in New York. This shop is super cute and way better than I expected complete with J-pop music an old school video game and Tons of board games this place screams fun. 

Hubby and I decided to take a trip up there to beat the rainy day blues and it was totally worth it! 

We tried a Japanese style egg puff for the first time and it was absolutely delicious!

We decided on the white chocolate egg puff with matcha ice cream topped with strawberries, cheesecake bites, and Nutella! absolutely delicious!

So we also decided to splurge and get some crepes and bubble tea as well and I could not believe how delicious this all was. I promise you it tastes 10x better than it looks and it looks pretty dang good! 

Just when we thought we were done for the night we just couldn't bear to leave without trying the coveted Popcorn chicken and it was absolutely worth it! The chicken was hot and fresh and tasted phenomenal! 

So if you're ever in Fayetteville and want a snack or tasty treat I highly recommend you check them out!