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HELLO JULY

Hi Aspirers!

Today is July 1st! Yes I said it, July 1st. Can you believe it? This year is flying by. July is one of my favorite months of the year because it’s my BIRTHDAY MONTH!! Seeing your next birthday is a blessing that we sometimes take for granted. Let’s take the time and make everyday a blessing. I wanted to celebrate my birthday a little different this year but I’ll still be accepting gifts of course. This July I want to point out all things I’m grateful for and things I’m able to do.

For the next 31 days of July I will point out at least 1 thing that I’m grateful for. I’ll be posting either on my blog or Instagram. Make sure to follow me on Instagram @_cocorenee if you haven’t already. If you want to share what you’re grateful for this July make sure to #GRATEFULFORJULY on all your social media! Can’t wait to see your posts!

Sincerely, Courtney Renee

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SavagexFenty REVIEWS

Hey Aspirers guess who received the lingerie line by Rihanna! I did! With all the hype of this new line I had to get my hands on it because I love anything by Rihanna. Who doesn’t love Rihanna?! I decided to not only make one review video but TWO! In the videos you’ll find out the quality of products, how everything fit me, and is it worth your money. Check out the videos and let me know what you think.

Sincerely, Courtney Renee

Shoe Trends for Spring 2018

Hey Aspirers! If you follow me on all my social media the one thing you should know about me by now is my love shoes because I post a lot on my Instagram story (@_cocorenee) and Snapchat (@bajancoco). Recently I came across Purcado a shoe search engine where you can search, compare, and SAVE! Let me tell you I love balling on a budget. Why pay more when you don’t need to!

With all the new fashion trends you’ll need to know what shoes to wear and where to buy them. You can’t have an amazing outfit without rocking something amazing on your feet too! As you will see these shoe trends have been around for awhile but recently they’ll caught the eye of a much larger demographic. Everyone wants to add these to their wardrobe. Here are some of the shoes trends you’ll see for the Spring and where you find them without breaking the bank.

1. Dad Shoes isn’t just for your dad and F8FB4D5D-B8C7-4B67-94C1-F18F3C5F95FEgrandad anymore. So no more “what are those” jokes to your dad when you two are wearing the same shoes now. These go to shoes for dads made it into the closet for almost everyone this spring. One brand that have become really popular again are New Balances and they aren’t being worn to just go running anymore they are now considered fashionable. Wearing theses are a great way to dress down a outfit or you can them to “look” like you’re athletic.

(Image: New Balance Women’s Fresh Foam Arishi Running Sneak, Macy’s starting price $29.98)

ABDE8C9A-6B06-42DA-A31B-D8229CAE4EAA2. Western Boots have been around longer than anyone can remember. When we think of western style our first thought is country but not anymore! Western boots have been popping up in high fashion magazines, runways, and now in a lot of our fast fashion retailers. You’re not just seeing these shoes worn with daisy dukes and bell bottoms anymore. Designers have been using the western boot style for inspiration to make the western boot look not so western; so when you wear them you won’t feel like you’re about to step into the Wild West when your walking down the street.

(Images: Top – American Rag Dolly Cowboy Ankle Bootie, Macy’s starting at $34.73. Bottom – SOLE Eliza Boots, Soletrader $47.41.)

C9CB8388-719D-4E5F-B7A0-E85519EBCC7C3. Block Heels are EVERYWHERE! Take your basic sandal and elevate it with a
little square heel. The heel you can stand in for hours. This style isn’t only cute but it benefits those that need a little arch support. It’s great for those that can’t wear the higher heels but still want a little lift. Wear block heels with your dresses, skirts, shorts, and jeans. Switch that flat with this super trendy shoe.

(Image: City Classified Block Black Heeled Sandals, Tillys $22.99)

The shoes I’ve shown are just a few from Purcado website you have to go Purcado to check out more options. These are my favorite shoe trends for the Spring but which shoe trend are you loving that I didn’t mention? Out of these 3 trends which ones are your favorite? Which one are you wanting to step out of your comfort zone and buy? Let me know below. If you haven’t followed my blog yet don’t forget to hit the follow button.

Sincerely, Courtney Renee

So, What’s Purcado?

Shopping online isn’t always easy. Purcado can help make your shopping woes disappear. As a price-comparison tool, Purcado’s goal is to save the average shopper time and money when searching for shoes—and they’re committed to helping you find the best deal on shoes every single day. Use Purcado’s one-of-a-kind search engine to compare prices on thousands of shoes from 65+ retailers instantly. They’ve got all of your favorite brands—like Nike, Adidas, Steve Madden, Sam Edelman and more—at prices you’ll love.

If you paid full price for shoes, you paid too much. If you shop around and shop often, you’re sure to find the same shoes at a lower price. But you don’t have the time to hop from store to store—and they get that. Purcado takes the stress out of shoe shopping by saving you time and giving you peace of mind that you scored the absolute best deal!

Not convinced? The average Purcado user saves up to 70% off retail price from all of the top brands. Why pay more for the same pair of shoes? Try Purcado out today and see why it’s the new way to shop!

 

 

2018 New Year, New Body

Hi Aspirers there is one thing I’m tired of and that is my weight. Guess what it’s time for a change! Yup I said it a change! When I was in college I lost about 40lbs but over time I’ve gain half of the weight back and I’m not loving it. I still fit in the same size because my weight gain was evently spread out. You know what it’s hard to lose it again. I would exercise and then stop for awhile, then start again and stop for awhile. It felt like a never ending cycle. Recently I figured out why, I was bored. I get bored so easily doing the same workouts. So I decided to create a random workout plan and hopefully it’ll challenge me to continue working out. I chose this workout method for it to be fun and random everyday that I worked out so I won’t get bored. Each time I pick a popsicle stick I won’t know the difficulty level until it’s picked. I’ll be pushing myself daily.

I’m sharing this with you all because I want you to hold me accountable and I would love for you to join in as well. Continue reading and find out my plan for a new body!!

Here’s what you’ll need:

Instructions:

1. Label all your ziplock bags. Label one bag REP or SETS, second bag EXERCISE, and the third bag TIME FRAME (how many seconds, minutes, or times). The markers I bought to write in the bag wasn’t working on the bags so I used paper and taped the labels on like so.

2. After you label your bags it’s time to label your popsicle sticks. For the REP or SETS popsicles I put 2, 3, 4, and 5 reps. You’ll know how many times you’ll have to repeat that one exercise.

3. For the EXERCISE sticks I put random exercises and something fun I decided to add (can you spot it lol). I’m planning on adding more don’t worry. Some of the other exercises that aren’t shown: knee crunches, planks, arm circles, flutter kicks, etc.

5. For the last bag TIME FRAME I wrote multiples of 5s and I wrote up to 50. The reason why I was specific on the time length because it’s based on how long you were planning to workout. Say if you chose to workout for an hour and you randomly selected sit-ups and 50. You then can decide if you want to do sit-ups for 50 seconds, 50 times, or 50 minutes of sit-ups. If you want a good variety of your workout doing the same thing might not be the best thing.

After you labeled your bags and your popsicle sticks it’s time to workout!

My plan is to workout 2-3 days a week for an hour. Once my strength builds up I want to add more difficult exercises so I can continue to progress. If you are trying this method you could create ziplock bags with warm up and cool down options. Make this method your own. I don’t have a personal trainer so I have to do something that’ll work.

Stay tune for updates on my progress and I’m planning on showing you a snippet of my workout. If you decide to do this method or something similar comment down below.

Sincerely, Courtney Renee

Shop Local: Liberation Threads

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This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend an event at Liberation Threads which is a fair trade and American made boutique in Durham, North Carolina. At this particular event Rebecca the owner wanted to highlight Nepal this month and give her customers 30% off of all Nepal made products.

Opening a fair trade and American made boutique was dream of Rebecca’s for awhile and her and her husband came together to make Rebecca’s dream a reality. Liberation Threads has only been open for about two months and from what I saw and overheard at the event I can see Liberation Threads customer base isn’t going anywhere but up. Rebecca wanted to make the products affordable for her customers with the price point going no higher than $200. Everything that was displayed in the store had a feeling of reason and purpose.

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One piece that stood out to me was a t-shirt saying “Be you”. I took that simple messaged and relayed it to my life and my future goals because for you to get where you want to go you have to be yourself. While talking to Rebecca she’s soft spoken but her responses came across so clear and you can hear the passion she has for Liberation Threads from the product knowledge to greeting her customers that comes into the boutique. I’m excited to see what the future brings from Rebecca and Liberation Threads. If you’re ever in Durham, North Carolina go check out Liberation Threads at 405 E Chapel Hill St Durham, NC 27701 United States . In early February Liberation Threads will be launching their e-commerce site. In the meantime check them out on their Instagram @liberationthreads. 

I hope you enjoyed this month’s Shop Local feature and if you want to be feature as a local shop or featured in general feel free to contact me. In the meantime check out the additional pictures I took at Liberation Threads down below.

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Sincerely, Courtney Renee

Shop Local! Violets in Raleigh, NC

Hi Aspirers!

I know most of you all do not live around my area but I wanted to share with you all a local shop I came across recently called Violets. What I loved most about Violets is that they show pride in their community by having vendors in the surrounding area.


A great way to give back to the community is shopping local. I know I’m guilty of this for shopping big franchises that focus on their personal gains verses helping the community. Some reasons people shop franchises more:

  1. Accessible because those franchises are everywhere even online
  2. Popular brand
  3. More affordable

To shop local you have to be willing to go out into the community and find these places. When shopping local there is a greater chance you can’t order some products  when they run out because they work with smaller vendors that send out certain number of stock. At the same time with limit selection could equal:

  1. Better quality because it’s not massed marketed
  2. Less of a chance everyone on the street will be wearing your shirt ( one of a kind pieces)

Just because it isn’t a popular brand doesn’t mean you can’t rock it at work, a party, or the grocery store.

Also, shopping local can mean increase in price because it cost more to make products domestically. To me when I see a tag that is made in my country even my state, I take so much pride in that. People can be so money hungry to get products made internationally because it’s cheap to make and produce but when it get to your state or country they spike up the price way more than it’s worth. When you shop locally and you see a t-shirt costing $45-$50 and we think OMG that’s so expensive but you’ll spend $300 on a purse. That makes no since. A lot of people want a product just for the name and to be seen wearing that brand. I’m not telling you to stop shopping at franchises, I’m asking you to spend your money locally too. We see those local shop owners everyday when you are going out, going to shopping, or running errands. Support them because they are helping to support the community you are living in.

When you are out and about and you see a random store just pop in because you might be surprise of what’s behind that door.

To visit Violets in Raleigh, NC they are located at 8480 Honeycutt Rd, Raleigh, NC 27615 in the Lafayette Village. If you live in Cary, NC they are located at 302 Colonades Way, Suite 211, Cary, NC 27518 in Waverly Place. Check out their website here to get more information on their products.

I hoped you enjoyed reading about Violets Boutique and reasons why you should consider shopping locally. Don’t forget to like and share this post.

Sincerely, Courtney Renee

 

Spotlight Interview: Truth. Life. Revolution Clothing

  

Recently I had a chance to do an interview with a street wear clothing company called Truth. Life. Revolution or TLR for short. TLR headquarters is in Winston Salem, North Carolina. This clothing company is giving Winston Salem a taste of something new and showing people fashion can come from anywhere, not just in New York, Paris, and Milan. The members of TLR are innovative, creative, and striving to create a revolution of street fashion. On April 18th, 2015 TLR will be hosting their first fashion show with another clothing company Dupp & Swat in Winston Salem, North Carolina called #MadeInWinston. Below are the few questions I asked to get a better understanding of who TLR really is! Hope you all enjoy! 

Q. What made you all decide to start a clothing line? 

A. It all started back in 2008 we came together on the campus of University of North Carolina at Charlotte. We wanted something to call their own. We spent so much money on buying other people’s clothes why don’t we make our own. 

Q. Since TLR is a clothing line do any of you have a fashion background? 

A. No, none of us have a fashion degree but I (Deante) have taken a couple sewing classes.

Q. Who inspires you?  

A. The media but mostly we inspire each other! We are all so different and we each bring something different to the table. 

Q. How did you all come up with the name Truth. Life. Revolution.?  

A. One day we were all chilling in the dorm on campus throwing out some names and someone said Truth, life, and revolution and we just all agreed. We share the same message and we want to spread the word of we are who we are.

Q. What should the audience expect at the #MadeInWinston fashion show? 

A. Something fresh and new for the city of Winston Salem. We are giving people a something different.  

Q. My last question is what are your plans on expanding your brand out of Winston Salem? 

A. Right now we are working from the inside out. Our plan is to get a representative from state to state that is willing to spread our message. Our focus is to start small and build from there. 

I see great things coming from TLR. They came together as friends in college and moved forward to create a company together. They are staying true to who they are while evolving to better themselves and wanting to create a movement not only for themselves but others as well. The name Truth. Life. Revolution fits them well. 

I hope you enjoyed reading about Truth. Life. Revolution. Keep an eye out for them and follow them on social media. 

Instagram and Twitter: TLR4ever

Facebook: Truth Life Revolution

Website: http://www.tlrevolution.com

If you are in Winston Salem, North Carolina or the surrounding area you have to check out their fashion show on April 18th, 2015. You do not want to miss this event. Tickets are only $10!!!! Hope to see you there. 

Click on the link below to purchase your tickets.

#MadeInWinston Fashion Show

  

Sincerely, Courtney Renee

Fashion in Greensboro

It’s finally here Fashion Week in Greensboro, NC!!

Have you purchased your tickets? Have you picked out a cute outfit for the event?
Is your phone and camera charged so you can take a lot of pictures of your night?

I hope you answered YES to all those questions but if not tickets are still available. Check out the flyer I uploaded for details. For your outfit of choice “show out” because this is Greensboro’s 1st fashion week! I know you don’t leave the house without your phone.

The line up for tonight’s show September 5th will be local designers.

The line up for Saturday’s show September 6th will be:
Ivy & Leo
Cache’
Guess
Rare Denim and Lounge
David’s Bridal
BCBGMAXAZIA
Altar’d State

The models, makeup artists, designers, volunteers, etc are ready and all we are missing is YOU! Get your tickets you’ll be disappointed you missed it.

Keep checking for pictures of from the event.

Sincerely, Courtney Renee

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