Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Wedding Link Up: The Afterparty!!

We're on the home stretch of wedding fotos galore!! Onto the reception!





J and I didn't see eachother until I walked down the aisle...so our group pics were captured after we said our I Do's! Here's just a few....













The joining if two families!




Onto the speeches! Loved 'em all. We had all if our bridal party say a few words, not just MOH and Best Man.















All the kiddos!




















J and I love us some dancin'!



My brother and I! I have this one framed!!!



All my TriDelta sistah's















My favorite.........



Now head on over to Hello!Happinessand view Natasha's beautiful evening!

Monday, March 26, 2012

Kiss & Makeup Monday



KissandMakeup





I want to start this K&MM post with a shout out to Laura over at Under the Suburban Sun for plugging this link up party on her blog last week!  I hope some of her followers are checking out Kiss & Makeup Monday...and hopefully a few of you decide to link up and pass your makeup tips along.  The land of drugstore makeup products is ENDLESS, so why not help a blog sistah out by linking up with your FAVES and ummm, NOT SO faves.
Lord knows I've had a few NOT SO faves as of late in my reviews of the Hard Candy line at Walmart.  True testament to the fact that good packaging and cute product names DOES NOT correlate with product quality.  Sorry, Hard Candy.  But your products sucked butt.
Thanks to my beautiful friend, Erin.  I decided to switch gears this week to Almay products.  And let me tell you, what a WORLD of freakin' difference!
I am NOT too shy to admit that I have terrible bags under my eyes.  I have always been self conscious so therefore have searched high and low & spent lots of money along the way, in my search for a good concealer.  I am happy to say that I think I may have found a keeper, at least for awhile.
 
Check out Almay's Wake Up (Bitch!) Concealer.  There's really no bitch in the product name, but thought a Bitch! with an exclamation point might help wake us ALL up this Monday morning.



Product Pros:  The brush applicator tip (see below)

Pros Continued: The light cooling sensation upon application and the durability



Product Cons:  The lack of shade options & the fact that it takes a couple coats to conceal well
Here are some before & afters:




Overall I would give the product a 7 out of 10


What concealers do you gals dig these days?


Got some suggestions?  Join my link party......cuz there ain't no party like a makeup party!  Feel free to link up with general makeup tips or product reviews, whichever you prefer! And come back next week to hear my thoughts on.....










Sunday, March 25, 2012

Clandestine Bloggers

I was visiting the other day with my amazingly wonderful (while extremely blunt and direct) mother, about this here blog.

She's always been one I can truly count on to put me in my place when needed, sroke my ego when I'm needing a little pick me up and lastly, she can give a solid critique when it comes to writing.  She is a fabulous writer and always has been.

I reached out to her as I wanted some guidance on the direction I need to take with my little creation here in blog land, Newly.....Everything. 

She had a great point with her response, "....It would be nice sometimes if you would write about your viewpoint on things...or what you are going through....what it is like to be your age.  It seems to me that bloggers are reaching out and telling what their life is like.  People that read blogs may enjoy hearing what your life is like....to see they are ok, too. You know?"

Yes, mother.  I know.  And she's right again.

So, I'm going to work harder on being more open about myself, who I am as a person and the different adventures I am embarking on.  I chose the word adventure because I truly feel that everything we do in life should be looked at as an adventure. 

This new little blog here has been an adventure and continues to be so week after week.  I love checking out the stats & seeing how many people are taking a look at my little corner of the blog universe.  It's amazing watching it grow week by week. 

In closing I'd like to bring up one of the main things I've learned so far.  Because aren't all of us bloggers learning as we go along here in cyberspace?

What I've learned is that there are two kinds of people here in blog land.  Clandestine Bloggers & Bloggers.  The clandestine crew skims over the blogs of their choosing week after week, really liking the blogger and enjoying following their posts.  As time goes on they begin to feel as if they know the person however never leaving a trace of their existence.  I used to be like that.  I have followed some blogs for over a year...while never leaving ONE comment.  I was kind of a creeper.  I'll admit it.

Now that I've become a blogger myself, I now realize how important it is to drop my fellow bloggers a comment every now and again.  To shed that clandestine skin and let them know that someone out there is reading and someone out there thinks they're pretty cool....


Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Wedding Week Link Up: Part Two, The Rehearsal Dinner






Im always down for a good party...especially a link up party! Here goes part two!
Have I ever mentioned that I love wine....almost as much as I love my husband. So, it only makes sense that we hosted our Rehearsal Dinner at a winery.
J & I were married in an adorable little town in Excelsior Springs, Missouri at a rustic old 1940-esque resort called The Elms.
I loved the fact that it was only an hour or so outside Kansas City however it gave the guests the treat of a weekend "getaway."
We had such a blast the year we took to plan as we were able to take day trips to Excelsior with our families and bridal party to show them the plans we had made.
One of my favorite spots in Excelsior was an adorable little winery on main street called Willow Spring Mercantile.
I fell in LOVE the minute I walked in the little brick building and just knew it was the perfect, intimate setting we were looking for.  And believe me, I enjoyed PLENTY of bottles of wine there the year leading up to the wedding.  I mean, we had to keep them in business & I think we did our share. 
My advice to planning brides when picking the spot:  If it feels right, then it's right.  Book immediately!
Listen ladies, you've spent endless hours agonizing over every last wedding detail, what color of ties for the groomsmen, and tasted WAY too many wedding cakes.  Don't do it to yourself on this one.
If it feels good and you fall in love with the setting, just go with it!
Keep it simple. 
We did have to do a little seating arrangement as the place was tight. What I did was picked out about 12 celebrity couples (famous....and infamous.  Bill Clinton & Monica Lewinsky.  Yes please..ha!)
Each centerpiece included a photo of a famous couple.  The kids table was Woody & Jesse.  LOVE me some Toy Story! 
Then I printed out about five copies of each and gave them to the people who would be sitting at the coinciding table.  When they walked into the winery, they found the table that had their couple as the centerpiece and there ya have it.  Simple, cheap and hilarious.
For the invites I busted out a little DIY job.  I used our engagement photos and a cute poem I found on the internet.  Just plugged in some personal touches and here ya have it!

Jon popped the question and Anne said yes
All the planning is over from  the decor to the dress
Only one thing remains for this day to be great
Practice makes Perfect
April 22nd is the date
We'll practice out the ceremony
And iron out the kinks


Then it's off to the Mercantile Winery


For some dinner and some drinks


Please join the Bride & Groom to be
At 6:00 for a rehearsal
The Elms Resort









Now onto some pics!



My handsome groom!



The adorable kiddos!




My nephew


Flower girl, Addy



Ahhhhhmazing friends!!!!!



My beautiful Mom!







Back at the resort for the after party!







Last photo of the night, My beautiful bridesmaids!!!!! We love us some Natty Light. Don't judge.

The night turned out amazing! All you need is a venue that pulls on those heart strings and wonderful friends and family to fill that perfect place with love!

The Anatomy of a Lima Bean Wreath: Part Two

And I'm back for part two of how my Lima Bean wreath came to be. I posted a few before & after fotos on Facebook and a few gals seemed to be into the idea, so I thought I'd do a little write up.

A couple months ago I came across this ahhhmazingly creative gal & her blog, All Things Thrifty! I mean who doesn't love pointers on how to save a buck now & then?! This girl does!

Supplies Needed:

Styrofoam wreath from Michael's or Hobby Lobby (with 40% off coupon, under $10)

Indoor/Outdoor ribbon from the Walmart craft section, color of YOUR choice $5

Depending on your door color, you may or may NOT want to spray paint. I decided to go with a rich glossy brown as our door color was too similar to the color of the beans
Krylon spray paint in glossy brown $4

One (i made the mistake of buying two) bag of the large lima beans from Walmart $3

Don't forget a hot glue gun & approx 10 sticks of glue!!!

Total: Less than $20!

Here are some photos to give you a visual play by play.




Getting all prepped in my cute 'lil craft room




The trick is to start with a heavy slant with the beads













I lurve me some Krylon!




Cut a nice LONG piece of ribbon




And there she is!




Feel free to leave me comments with any and all questions!

Tootles and Happy Tuesday!