Post Wedding Chop

Lauren Conrad  //  Jennifer Aniston  //  Elizabeth Olsen  //  Kate Mara  //  Rosie Huntington-Whiteley // Gwyneth Paltrow  

Our Wedding:The Big Decisions

Before Nick and I began our wedding planning, I had us go through a little exercise to pick a few adjectives to describe what we wanted out of our wedding day so we could get on the same page. We both said very similar things but ended up narrowing it down to fun, relaxed, & simple-chic. While it seemed silly at the time, it became something we frequently referred back as it is VERY easy to get caught up in all the planning and lose grasp of your core wishes.  

I'm going to begin this mini-series with the decisions we made in the months leading up to our actual wedding day.

Simple, Semi-Homemade Wedding Favors

One of my friends had a basket of flip-flops at her wedding several years ago, an amazing idea which I locked it away in my memory for when it was my turn to walk down the aisle - given at that time I had just met the man I was going to later call my husband days before. :)

I knew I didn't want trinkets people felt obligated to take but would immediately through out at their next gas station stop. I didn't want to repackage candies. (No offense to anyone who has done this, because I have definitely enjoyed noshing on wedding favors before leaving for the night!) I wanted the favors to be affordable and functional; if they were able to be used time-and-time again afterwards and occasionally cause them to think "damn! that was a fun wedding", then it's a homerun! I love the idea of offering guests an alternative to those uncomfortable-but-are-so-cute-you-have-to-wear-them heels, it's a win-win for everyone - the women stay up on the dance floor longer and the men don't have to hear the complaints!

I picked up 65 pairs of flip-flops from Old Navy, enough for every female guest and a few extras in navy blue and silver (our wedding colors). I got a range of sizes from size 5 to size 11, with the most being 7's, 8's, and 9's. Yes, the inner math nerd in me had calculated a distribution table... and the penny-pincher me even waited until I could get an additional 20% off of that normal $2.50 "sale" price! Even though we had some left over, it was an equal distribution across all sizes so I would definitely recommend this distribution of sizes that I went with. I was even able to return all of the unused pairs!

I removed the ugly store tags and added on some homemade tags; all you need is some colored paper, a printer, and some circle punches (I used a 1" and a 1 1/4" from Stampin Up!), and ribbon. I used two large baskets to hold them and made a simple sign to let people know to grab a pair.

We didn't completely neglect the men and children. We had custom matchbooks and cigars near the outside bar. I designed a little sign (see below) to ask our guest to abide by our venue's request to have smoking away from the building; I couldn't resist sneaking the Baltimore Orioles bird into our reception. And we set up a 'kid's room' (since our wedding was in a historic manor, there were various smaller rooms off the ballroom), that we had a TV and Wii set up for them to play in between dancing.

I really enjoyed adding a bit of DIY element to our wedding and think it helped tie it all together. And in all honesty, I found crafting to be somewhat cathartic - a way to distract myself from stressing about other things. Just remember, don't over commit yourself to DIY projects. While yes, you could probably do it all yourself... it's important to know when to ask for help, pay for a professional, or take a little help from the store. The little touches really help personalize the event, but no one would know those things are missing except you if you don't end up getting to it. Happy crafting!

XoXo

Favorite Fall Lipsticks

With Sephora's Exclusive Holiday Shopping Event coming up (Nov 6 - 10), I figured I will do a little mini series of some recent purchases I've made over the last few months so you can pick them up at a discount! This first focus will be on lipsticks that I think are must haves for Fall.

(1) NARS Anita (2) UD Naked (3) Dior Swan #263 (4) NARS Audrey (5) UD Rush

Anita took my Audacious lipstick virginity - and every second blew my mind! The quality of these lipsticks truly are something to be raved about. Superb pigmentation + creamy satin/matte finish - the drying effect = luxurious lips. I really love how these wear throughout the day - they don't wear off patchy and leave that crusty Frazzled-Science-Teacher-look behind (no offense to those periodic table loving teachers out there!). This shade is the perfect every day shade for the modern girl in the non-Summer months (very work appropriate). There are definitely a wide range of shades in this line and I wanted to try one of the more bold colors too. While Audrey looks like a warm red-maroon in the tube, it has a berry pink undertone on my lips. It's a nice update to a classic red lip that makes it a bit more wearable, even in the daytime. 

Wedding Accessories

Apologies for taking the past 3 weeks off. Our wedding was on October 11th, we left for our honeymoon on October 17th for 9 days, and spent the days between at work. I plan to dedicate a few upcoming posts on recapping some of my DIY wedding projects and planning & design decisions that I believe contributed to being so relaxed and truly enjoy our wedding day.  Now onto the part that gets us girls all giddy...

After visiting a few bridal boutiques, I ended up finding my dress at David's Bridal (a later post will follow about the details of the dress). That's also where I found this grey Vera Wang sash that worked perfectly - I loved the softness of the tulle flowers and the hint of sparkle. The band itself gave a subtle separation between the fitted sweetheart bodice and the full tulle skirt - I loved how the contrasting grey highlighted my waist while giving the illusion of it being much slimmer and went well with our wedding colors (grey/navy/white)!

belt: Vera Wang at David's Bridal

I found my wedding jewelry at Macy's and my shoes at Nordstrom's Rack. I knew I wanted to wear my hair down (or mostly down) and the focus to be on the shape and movement of the dress, so I wanted my accessories to be simple and comfortable. I love the modern-vintage style of the jewelry, the crystals gave enough sparkle without looking gaudy.   

earrings: Carolee  bracelet: Carolee  shoes: Badgley Mischka

It was when I found my shoes that I can hands-down say was THE turning point from "anxious and a bit uncertain of all the design choices", to "excitement for the day to come when I got to put on my dress and see everything come together". I had pinned these exact same shoes on my Pinterest board with no intent of ever being able to afford them for myself but thought I could find a dupe. When I saw them sitting on the shelf in Nordstrom Rack at the very discounted price tag of $84, the clouds opened up and the angels started singing!!!

What makes them even more perfect is that I had already *thought* I found my wedding shoes already which I wore when getting my dress altered (these). Yes, they are VERY different than the Badgley's, it is incredibly difficult to find silver or white heels in stores that don't look like stripper heels. When I got home and discovered they were the exact same heel height, I was ecstatic!

I opted to skip out on a purse because I figured whenever I needed to retouch my makeup, I could escape to the Bridal Suite. So that's how I chose to style myself, I'll write more about my dress once I get some pictures.

XoXo, goodnight beauties.

Items mentioned in this post

Carolee Crystal Drop Earrings - silver - $45

Carolee Oval Stone Bracelet - silver - $75

Vera Wang Crystals & Organza Flowers Sash - sterling - $148  $39.99 on sale now  

Badgley Mischka Pettal Pumps - white satin - $255  $84 @ Nordstrom Rack 

Friday's Fab Five

Welcome back to my five favorites of the week!  Unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to post anything all week - work, meetings with our wedding vendors, and wedding projects have kept me very busy.

Spoiler alert: My next post will be about a few of my wedding projects...

Upper-left: Mugsy & Lucy  Upper-right: Formula X in Impeccable swatch  

Lower-left:  Slower Than a Herd of Turtles Tank  Lower-right: Buxom gloss, Formula X polish, Flowerbomb rollerball

The Short Version

1. My puppies! - they make me smile even on the bad days! :) 
2. Running in the morning! - natural stress reducer + fresh morning air + cardio = Bridal sanity
3. X Formula Nail Polish in Impeccable - one coat to a gorgeous summer-to-autumn transitional color
4. Flowerbomb fragrance by Viktor & Rolf - a beautiful sweet, floral, feminine fragrance 
5.  Full-on Lip Polish in Dolly by Buxom - the semi-shear mauvey-nude pigmented lipgloss

The Long Version

Like I said above, now that we are 3 weeks out from the wedding, I feel like this is the first week I have started to feel true wedding-anxiety. Every time my mind begins to wander and think about my "wedding to-do list" I start to feel a bit overwhelmed. This is where my first 2 favorites have been my zen! You have to be completely soul-less if your heart doesn't melt when you come home and your doggies just are SO incredibly happy to see you. The companionship and snuggles I get from my two little ones eases my anxiety. Mugsy is a 3 1/2 year old Shorkie (ShiTzu-Yorkie mix) and Lucy is a 1 year old Pomapoo (Pomeranian-Poodle mix).

On that same page, for the past 2 months I have committed myself to waking up (at 5AM!) and running in the mornings, typically 4-6 times per week. In no way am I a runner AT ALL, which is exactly why I wanted to try to force myself through the pain to like it. And I do! I started off at running 1 mile at ~11min. pace... and now I'm up to running 4.5 miles some days at a 9:30 min. pace. I feel more toned all over, I have more energy in the mornings (so much so I sometimes even SKIP coffee), and I'm more happy with myself. I still watch all the Real Runners pass by me, but I'm proud of myself for just getting out there and moving. If I can do it, ANYONE CAN!

Finally, onto the stuff you care about... I got this Flowerbomb rollerball in my 1st haul I posted here. I love this sweet but not fruity sweet, but more floral-sweet (not at all grandma-style) that is super feminine and addicting. Sample next time you are in Sephora and let me know what you think.

As will everyone else, I am looking forward to Fall. I think this nail color is a gorgeous mauve-y, neutral shade - it's called Impeccable. It looks much darker on the Sephora site, it looks very nice on my light skin tone - enough of a color but coordinates with my undertone. I find these Formula X polishes are so opaque they only require ONE COAT and they dry in ~5 minutes! LOVE IT! I find that over the past month that once I take it off, I reach for the same exact color and reapply - it's that good!

Disclaimer, I had NO idea that this was a supposed 'cult favorite' until I went to find the link for y'all. I don't know if that means I'm totally not-unique or if I'm perfectly on-trend (let's go with the latter). This Buxom gloss in Impeccable is a beautiful, sheer wash of warm, mauve-y, nude that is perfect to throw in your purse - you can wear it over any lipstick or on it's own. It looks glittery in the tube, but trust me when I say the little shimmers are so itsy-bitsy that they give a sexy pout to the lip (no flashback to the body-glitter-90's). Side note: you could get the so-called "special edition" version for the same price here, which I don't see any difference other than some minimal writing on the lid in cursive.

Have you tried any of the other Buxom glosses that you absolutely LOVE?! I'd love your recommendations! 

XoXo, Stay Calm (& beautiful)

Products mentioned in this post: 

Buxom Full-on Lip Polish - Dolly - $19
Formula X nail polish - Impeccable - $10.50
Viktor & Rolf's Flowerbomb rollerball - $29

Does every girl get that "special feeling"?

"Special feeling" eh?  Ah... I have sparked your interest now haven't I? Is she really going to be writing an entire post about orgasms?!  No worries, it is not about the Big O.  :)

Yesterday, I picked up my wedding dress from alterations and I left in tears.  I went by myself for the initial alteration and wanted to pick up the dress by myself too, with the intent on wanting it to be a surprise for everyone. I put the dress on and the alterations were exactly what I expected... it fit well, it's a really pretty dress, but something didn't feel right. I didn't get that "feeling" that they say everyone gets when they put on their wedding dress. 

It might be anxiety of the wedding being only 4 weeks away setting it. It might be my perfectionist ways showing face. It might be Hollywood and all the reality TV I watch causing me to have unrealistic expectations. I was expecting for a Cinderella-like Fairy Godmother transformation, maybe some glitter miraculously to begin falling around me, some mice in shirts to help me put on my shoes. There was no bibbity. No bobbity. Just boo (hoo)!

Thanks to my fabulous friends who I had over last night. They asked me to put my dress on after they heard about my concerns. And their words of support completely changed my entire perspective! I'm not saying that it's about what other people think, but sometimes it helps to get hear it from them to remind you why you chose the things you did in the first place.

My Tips for the Bride for the Final Fitting:

1. Bring some hair ties/pins & all of your bridal jewelry with you.  Of course you are supposed to take all your undergarments and shoes with you that you'll be wearing the day of , but it helps to be able to see the entire look. You'll find out now whether you want to swap out your earrings or change your hairstyle you had planned originally. Let your hair down, pull it half up, pull it all the way up, pull it to the side - see what silhouette looks best now that you see everything together. 
2. Only YOU are going to see the small things. While you are walking down the aisle, everyone is going to be looking at you and those clear buttons they had to add for the bustle will be completely invisible to anyone else. That back-fat you think is spilling over your dress is non-existent to others. That extra inch you wanted to lose in your waist is inconsequential to what kind of happiness you are going to experience on that day.
3. Take someone with you. It helps to have an extra set of eyes to make sure the alterations were done correctly. Even more importantly, it's nice to have someone there to tell you how beautiful you look. I am my own worst critic, so let someone give you positive feedback! You are beautiful! Let yourself feel beautiful! 
4. Smile! There is no better accessory than a big smile (CORNY... but true). Let yourself wear a big smile in those 360 degree mirrors, your body will immediately release natural mood-improving chemicals throughout your body. (Read more about the benefits of smiling here and here.)

Once your hair is done, your makeup is done, and you get the butterflies of it being your special day, you are going to feel amazing! I know that picking up my dress has made me feel like I am READY for this wedding to get here already! Best wishes to you on your day! 

XoXo, Feel Beautiful!

Homemade Thank You Cards

Last winter, I was feeling like I needed a new hobby. During good weather months, I keep busy running, playing rec league softball, volleyball, and football. So when I was invited to a Stampin' Up! "Stamp-a-Stack Party" by a coworker, I didn't know what to expect but I figured what the hell. The demonstrator walks you through how to create 20 handmade cards in 5 different styles. You get to test-drive some of the Stampin' Up! products and walk away with 20 greeting cards! She had lots of the pieces prepped to save time, as some also required more complicated techniques. It was so much fun! I was immediately hooked!

I purchased a basic set of Stampin' Up! products. My first few stamp sets were from the engagement, bridal shower, and wedding designs - being in my late-20s, everyone around me seems to be getting married and starting families, so it seemed like a good place to start. After becoming more comfortable in designing my own cards, I decided that I wanted to make all of the Thank You cards for our wedding. I had no idea what I signed myself up for! But it does offer a nice quiet "meditation-like" time to just slow down and enjoy the moments of these months leading up to the wedding.

I wanted to come up with 4 - 5 different styles that brought in our wedding colors (grey, white, and navy), had somewhat simple designs, yet had a little something special. Here are a few of the styles I came up with...

Upper-left: Smoky Slate / Polka Dot embossing  Upper-right: Night of Navy / Silver embossing 

Lower-left:  Night of Navy / Banner Punch  Lower-right: Smoky Slate / Thank You

I got into the groove and once I completed 25 cards pre-made, I slowed down thinking I had a good head start... until my bridal shower and I depleted my stash! Now with the wedding being only 7 weeks away (eek!), I need to drink some energy drinks and become a Hallmark Machine!

What I really like about Stampin' Up! products is that they are of really great quality, have really cute stamps, and they take the question out of color/pattern matching. I've bought some Martha Stewart punches from Michael's and they just don't make as clean as cuts. I'd encourage anyone who's into paper crafts to check them out online!

Share your personality with your friends and give them handmade cards - I can guarantee they will B'more Beautiful than any you can find in the store!

Leave me a comment below if you'd be interested in my recommendations for a good card-making starter-kit.