Wedding Invitations....Part 1

Let’s talk Wedding Invitations!

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I went right back to my go to for these….Wedding Paper Divas.  They are a division of one of my favorite printing companies, TinyPrints. 

They have SOOOOO many options.  For reals though.

As I did with the Save the Dates, I narrowed them down to a small number….25 favorites.  Small right?  From there I ordered 8 free samples so I could really see what they looked like in person. Some of these had matching save the dates I’d already seen, but some were new looks.   

Here is a look at what I received in the mail in a cute little folder:

These are a few I really liked:

Here

Here

Here

Here

Here

Here

 

Here

Obviously, I was thinking of some of these in custom colors, closer to the green, white or gold colors of our wedding.  I love that Wedding Paper Divas really lets you completely customize your invitations.  You can change pretty much everything!

What are your thoughts? Which are your favorites?

 

Why I've Been So Busy

Oh my goodness you guys…..my life has been crazy lately!

As you know, I’m planning a wedding within a pretty darn short time period (4 months eek).  I have two months to go and I think I am doing pretty good. I wasn’t feeling very stressed out until a few weeks ago when I decided to do something that I only realize now wasn’t my brightest idea.

I decided to put my condo on the market.

I thought hey, as a vacation rental in Arizona it’s always empty in the summertime.  I figured it would be a perfect time for a realtor to show it anytime they wanted without disturbing any guests.

I emailed my realtor and asked her thoughts on it. Was it a good time?  Would I get a good price on it? That was on May 31^st.  18 days later, we had decided on a price, taken pictures and officially listed it for sale. We thought we would list it for a few months in the summer and if we needed to, we’d take it back off the market again in the fall when it got busy again. I thought for sure that’s what I’d be doing.

One day later, I had a signed contract on it.  Silly me. 

I was absolutely shocked.  I got two solid offers on the first day, have had people still viewing it up until a few days ago and even have TWO signed backup offers on it.  Its nuts!  

Closing is scheduled for July 18^th, which is just around the corner. I've been through inspections and appraisals and I'm just waiting on the final word for everything to go through.

Along with selling my condo, C and started also looking for a house.  I wasn’t planning on doing that until a little while later either, but since we had to move all of the furniture out of the condo last weekend, it’s in storage for a hefty price.  I rather not pay that for months on end.  

We’ve spent hours looking at listings online, driving by places and have probably been inside maybe 20 different homes.  We have only found one we loved, which we put an offer on, but we lost it.  I mean, this house was on the market for almost 5 months and didn’t have an offer until us.  The weekend we put one in, so did someone else, and theirs was better.

Oh well, it clearly wasn’t meant to be.

Finding a house we love has been tough and disheartening though.  Majority of the homes in the areas we are looking (Scottsdale, Phoenix and Tempe) are quite old.  Many have been upgraded inside which is great, but the outsides need work or there isn’t a garage, which is major for us. Thankfully, we both have almost the same taste in what we are looking for, so there are no issues there.

I know we will find one someday, it just won’t be as quick as we wanted to. 

So yeah, I’ve been ridiculously busy because I’ve been wedding planning, selling a house and trying to buy a new one!  I will try to keep up on my blogging schedule, but if you don’t hear from me for a bit, I guarantee I am busy doing one of those three things!

Oh and just for giggles....here is a photo of C in one of the houses we looked at.  Older homes with short showers are a real issue with us!  (Don't tell him I shared this pic hehe)

Boxy Charm Review - June

Boxy Charm time!

This box is $21.00 a month with free shipping and is a “beauty box subscription that surprises you each month with the best beauty products from popular and chic brands. Each box contains full size and luxury size beauty samples from preferred well-known brands.” They aim to cover a whole look from makeup to nails, which I really like. 

Well, this box was perfect timing….the theme was “Bridal Beauty!”  What’s funny is, I got THREE separate boxes from them for some reason.  I shared the wealth with one of my bridesmaids who is also getting married soon.  Can’t complain about that!

So here it is….the June Boxy Charm!  

          1)      Tarte Cheek Stain –  .5 oz. (FULL SIZE)

           Ok, this right here covers the cost of the box and more!  It’s a fantastic brand and the product 

           is great too.  It’s supposed to last 12 hours, which I’m not totally sure of, but I am going   

           to give it a try!

Full Size: $30.00My Value: $30.00

           2)      Tarina Tarantino Eye Dream HyperLiner in “Cute Robot”– .04 oz.  (FULL SIZE)

I am not sure what is with the fancy “Eye Dream HyperLiner” title, but this is just a navy blue eye liner haha. It seems very nice, but alas, I am not an eye liner user!

Full Size: $15.00 My Value: $15.00

3)   Tarina Tarantino Eye Dream HyperLight – .13 oz.  (FULL SIZE)

Again with the odd name….this is actually an under eye brightener. The tube looks pretty easy to use and I think this will be a great product as well. I am really excited to try it!

Full Size: $22.00 My Value: $22.00

4)   STRANGEBEAUTIFUL Nail Polish in “Something Blue” & “You Gold Girl” –  .05 each (FULL SIZE)

Well this is both a hit and a miss for me!  I love the concept of the blue and gold…..but I would never ever wear blue nail polish! I barely like color on my nails, I know I would hate seeing such an odd color like that.  The gold color however is beautiful! I will definitely be using this.  It’s just a hint of color, which I love. Plus, I am obsessed with everything gold right now!

Full Size: $18.00 My Value: $18.00

5)   Revlon Bold Lacquer Mascara – .24 oz. (FULL SIZE)

Apparently this is a new product that just came out, which I find very neat. It has “high shine black fibers” to provide the “ultimate black, bold definition for volume and length to the ‘nth’ degree.”  I can’t wait to try it!

Full Size: $7.99 My Value: $7.99

Final Cost: $21.00

Final Value: $92.99

I have to say, this is probably the best box I have ever received from BoxyCharm!  I love almost everything and I find them all quite useful.  I love that they included a popular, high end brand like Tarte as well. 

Last month I said I had hopes that these boxes would get better and I was right, they knocked it out of the park this time!

If you’d like to get Boxy Charm, you can sign up here!

(Also, I swear I’m not a review blog….I just like sharing these fun things! I have not been compensated for this review.)

Bridal Shower Time!

A couple of weekends ago my bridesmaids threw a bridal shower for me!

I honestly was a little nervous for this. I haven’t had a party thrown for me since I was 8 and I was really dreading opening presents in front of everyone.  I know that’s probably odd, but I just really don’t like attention on me.  

I was also really nervous that no one would show up except for my bridesmaids and my mom.  Boy was I wrong, only a few girls of my list of 20+ weren’t able to make it! I know, weird issue again, but its just how I think sometimes!

The week before the shower, my mom and I went shopping for a dress for me to wear.  I knew I wanted something white, but that’s all I had in mind.  We searched for hours and I just didn’t find anything I liked. On the way out of our last store we walked by the register and I glanced at a dress I saw that was hanging there on hold.  It was beautiful and so me.  I asked the woman and she said it was no longer on hold because it was past the time period.  It was the only one in the store….and it fit perfectly! It was a long flowy white chiffon dress and the top was very similar to my wedding dress!  It was a little fancy for the shower, but I didn’t care, I loved it!

With my momma in my beautiful new dress!

Anywho, my girls did a great job! The piggybacked on the “Love Birds” theme of the wedding but used pretty pastel yellows, pinks and teals. It was really beautiful!  

My bridesmaids!

Sitting down to open presents while everyone stared at me wasn’t too terrible….but I’m not sure I ever looked up or looked anyone in the eye!  I just kept doing my thing and saying thank you a million times!

I seriously can’t wait to marry C and having a bridal shower made it that much more real!

Only 60 more days to go….I can’t believe it!

Lip Factory Review - June

Happy 4^th of July!  Today I’ve got a Lip Factory review for you! 

Lip Factory is a monthly beauty box that is $22 a month (S&H included) and comes with 5-7 products each time.  The box aims to give you a “full face” of makeup, but its main focus is on…lips of course!  This is one of my favorites, and though more expensive than ipsy, they always send full sized products which is great!

This month’s there was no theme.  The enclosure card only said “Next Month is Our Anniversary Month” which I hope means good things!  Maybe it will be a super awesome box?  A girl can dream!

Without further ado, here is the June Lip Factory box!  

 

           1)     Model Co. Shine Ultra Lip Gloss in “Marshmallow” – .17 oz. (FULL SIZE)

I really do like these lip glosses, but this color is not for me. I’m not much of a bubble gum pink kind of girl.  I think the mirror on the side of tube is seriously genius.  I wish more companies did that!

Full Size: $16.00 My Value: $16.00

           2)    Model Co. Eye Liner in “Black” – .04 oz. (FULL SIZE)

I have one of these already.  As you know, I don’t use pencil liners at all, but I have actually used this one a few times. I does glide on very nicely, which I like.  The sharpener in the cap is nice, but the cap on my specific pen is too loose and falls off all the time, which is quite annoying.

Full Size: $18.00 My Value: $18.00

           3)    Girlactik Beauty Eyeshadow in “Lush”– .88 oz (FULL SIZE)

This is a fairly large single eye shadow which is nice. The color is really pretty and seems to have a bit of sheen to it which I love.  Not sure on that price point though. I mean geez, I could go get 2 MAC shadows for that price!

Full Size: $19.00 My Value: $19.00

          4)    29 Cosmetics Lip Pencil in “Woody Cab” – .038 oz. (FULL SIZE)

           Womp womp.  I’m not a fan of this at all.  The color is just terrible.  It looks just like it 

           sounds, like an almost brown super dark red.  Who wears lipstick that color?   

           Obviously not me! Again though, that’s a ridiculous price!

          Full Size: $23.00 My Value: $23.00

           5)    Palladio Nail Sunscreen – .5 oz. (FULL SIZE)

            Well if you are wondering what nail sunscreen is, here is the description “Worried 

            about that shade of polish changing in the summer sun? Problem solved. Once your 

            color choice has fully dried, top it off with Palladio’s Sunscreen UV Topcoat.”  Sounds 

            interesting right?  I guess I don’t use enough nail polish to know if this has any value 

            or not! Does you nail polish change color that much?

Full Size: $6.00 My Value: $6.00

6)  Befine Lip Serum – .34 oz. (FULL SIZE)

Ooo I love me some lip serums.  Since I have thyroid issues, my lips are often very dry.  I have been trying many different lip products to remedy that.  Could this be the one?! This has beet root extract and chamomile, which sounds like nothing I’ve used before. I’m excited to try it!

Full Size: $10.00 My Value: $10.00

Final Cost: $22.00

Final Value: $92.00

Wow, what a great box this month!  The value is fantastic and I don’t hate everything in it!  Yes, the colors of a few of the things aren’t for me, but they are still pretty good. Even without the lip gloss and the Lip pencil (which, why didn’t they match these?) the box value is still at $53 which is decent.

What do you think?

If you’d like to sign up…..use my referral number? Pretty please?  It’s 385223.

(Also, I swear I’m not a review blog….I just like sharing these fun things! I have not been compensated for this review.)

Pretty Little Beauty Swap Sign Ups

It's Pretty Little Beauty Swap time again!  
 
Personally I am really excited for this round since I missed out on the last one due to a non-responsive partner.  That being said, I am so excited to announce that the sign up process has begun! 

Yes we completely understand that today you are all probably busy getting ready for the 4th of July celebrations, but remember that this signup will be open until July 11th!  I know that I love beauty products and the idea of sharing them with others makes me oh so happy. Each round everyone seems to be loving their new friends and also loved what they received! If you are curious to see what others received last round check out this post!

Do you love getting beauty boxes?  Or maybe just trying new beauty products in general?

What about making new friends or receiving packages in the mail full of goodies? Want to meet another Beauty Loving Blogger?

If any of these things sounds awesome to you, then the Pretty Little Beauty Swap is for you!

Hosted by Justine from Sleepy Single Girl , and Chelsee from Southern Beauty Guide The Pretty Little Beauty Swap is a bi-monthly swap between ladies who love makeup and meeting new friends!

Every other month, ladies will be paired up with another woman that they will have a chance to get to know and then get to send each other a gift of beauty products.

Swap boxes can be filled with beauty samples from past boxes that just weren’t your thing or purchased items you just know your partner will love!

Signups for this swap will be July 2nd -11th. Partners will be announced by July 14th. You will have a month to get to know your partner and then packages must be sent by August 15th.

At the end of the month we will all link up to share what we’ve received!! Who’s in for some new pretty little beauty products and some even better new friends?

*All of the rules listed below are mandatory. If you can’t complete them, 

you won’t be able to participate in future swaps.*

Rules:

1) We would love for you to follow the hosts: Southern Beauty Guide  & Sleepy Single Girl 

2) Email your partner within 72 hours of receiving your match. If you haven’t heard from your partner after

3 days are up, please let us know and we will pair you up with someone else!

3) Spend the month getting to know your partner. Learn her makeup likes and dislikes and colors she tends to use or steer clear of.

4) Each box should be a minimum of $15. If you’d like to spend more, great! I am sure your partner will love you for it. You can include items you’ve received in past beauty boxes or even go out and purchase things you know your partner will love.

5) Please include at least 2 full size items. No one wants to receive a bunch of itty bitty lotion samples!

6) Items must be new, unless you’ve discussed with your partner beforehand and she is comfortable accepting gently used items that you have tried and didn’t like.

7) Ship your packages by August 15th. Make sure to get a tracking number so we can confirm you sent a package if it gets lost.

8) Once you receive your package, create a reveal post and link up with us on August 22nd.

The most important rule of them all…..Have fun!

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP!