Engagement Pics...Part Two

 I thought I would share some more pictures today. Some of these show our more silly side, which I love!

 

Winning!

Well guys, it happened, C and the Rattlers won their last playoff game and are now headed to the Arena Bowl.....for the third straight year!

The team in the other division that had a better record than us also won......so it looks like I am headed to Cleveland next week!

A fan captured our kiss after the game.....way blurry though!

 It's not like I have a wedding or anything two weeks after that :/  Oh man, I don't think I could stack anything else on my plate right now! 

It's ok though.  I love that the team gets the chance to play for the title again, I would follow C anywhere to watch him play!

Starbox Review - July

Starbox time!  

If you don’t remember, Starbox is a monthly beauty box that is $15 a month (plus a few dollars S&H) and comes with 3-4 FULL SIZED products each time.  No tiny lotion samples!

The website says the makeup line is comparable to MAC, Chanel, Sephora and other department store lines.  It also says that the value of each monthly box ranges from $35.00 to $99.00.

I am only one or two months away from cancelling this box.  I just don’t love it as much as I used to, so it’s on probation right now. I will likely wait to make up my mind until after their quarterly gift, which I believe comes next month.

The theme of this box is “Nylon Pink” which I know nothing about. After some googling, I found out that they are the only Asian-American all girl rock band in the US.  So…..they are picking my make up this month?

Here it is….the July Starbox!  

       
           1)     Starlooks Eye Pencil in “Blue Chill” -  .08 oz  (FULL SIZE)

I guess if I wore eye liner pencils this would be a decent item. The blue color is pretty. It’s not too crazy bright, but you can tell it is definitely a blue. Alas, I don’t use eyeliner pencils though.

Full Size: $12.00 My Value: $12.00

           2)    Starlooks Eye Shadow in “Traffic Yellow”– .11 oz. (FULL SIZE)

            I’m sorry but what?  How many people would ever use yellow shadow that often?   

            Traffic Yellow sounds so far from appealing to me.  I definitely won’t be using this.   

            It’s not even a pretty gold tone, its dirty yellow. Boo.

           Full Size: $12.00 My Value: $12.00

           3)    Starlooks Tender Gloss in “Pooh Bear”  – .13 oz. (FULL SIZE)

When I read the name of this lipstick I was instantly afraid to open it.  I KNEW I wouldn’t like it.  I mean, Pooh is yellow and the only other color to him is his bright red shirt.  Imagine my surprise when the lipstick was neither of those, but still ugly.  Only certain people can get away with electric orange lips and I am not one of them.  Another fail.

            Full Size: $13.00 My Value: $13.00

           4)    Starlooks Lip Pencil in “Tipsy”  – .08 oz. (FULL SIZE)

I think this is the only thing in the box that a normal makeup user might wear.  It’s just a pinkish nude lip pencil, nothing new.  Too bad I don’t use lip pencils either!

           Full Size: $13.00 My Value: $13.00

Final Cost: $17.58

Final Value: $45.00

Whelp, this whole box was a waste of $17.58 for me.  What a bummer. The idea was fun, but the company didn’t even come close to playing it safe. I am pretty sure majority of their subscribers aren’t ones to wear makeup like this.

Funny thing, last month I said I thought this box was running out of original things, it just seemed to be the same old boring stuff.  Guess I got what I asked for right?!?  Haha oh man.

What do you think?

If you’d like to try Starbox 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.)

Wedding DIY

Ok I know I am pretty late for Wedding Wednesday, but hey! It's still Wednesday. That's a win for me right?

Obviously I have been super busy lately, but I thought I'd share with you some of the DIY things we are doing for the wedding. These are 100 percent just ideas and thoughts of how things will look, but definitely not the final product! Very rough drafts guys!

First,  I worked with my mom's friend who is a florist and we came up with an idea for our centerpieces.  I love the birdcage look and found some awesome deals at Michaels on them.  We worked together to decide how to fill them with flowers (babys breath, hydrangea and garden roses), so this is an idea of what we came up with. Each table will have several mercury votives and candles as well.

For the aisles at the ceremony, I just wanted big chunks of baby's breath. I love the look of it and wanted a lot of it.  We came up with something like this to put on every other chair.  My dress is tulle (eeek!) so this ties in nicely with that.

Next, we have decided to do a popcorn table for our guests as something fun.  We will have large baskets of popcorn as well as several baskets filled with additions like M&Ms, marshmallows and peanuts. I also ordered 10 different kinds of popcorn seasonings!  We decided to open this up during the cocktail hour, so people could munch while they waited.  Bonus, it saves us $1,500 since we don't have to buy appetizers for everyone!

The DIY in it all are the 4 stands for some of the smaller baskets.  I put C to work and I think what he created came out wonderful!

They will be gold...and yes that is Bachelorette Andi crying in the background!

 Next, it was my dream to have those lovely sparkly tablecloths that I've seen on pinterest, so I decided to make it happen.   The fabric is not cheap ($12+ per yard) and it's not easy to find (I've seen it at stores in the LA Fashion district and on one place online) but I was successful.  I'm going able to make two full length tablecloths for our sweetheart table and our cake table for less than the price it will cost me to purchase one from etsy! Win! 

My (sideways) color samples...

 Here is a sneak peek of what it will look like:

Finally, instead of buying a fancy garter or two from etsy ($25+), I decided to see what I could do on my own.  This week I set to work with some ribbon, fabric and a glue gun and this is what I came up with.  The green is a nod to Michigan State for C and I plan to add tiny a MSU charm as well!

I know these aren't the greatest photos, but I wanted to give you guys a look into what is going on behind the scenes!  Soon I will let you know about some of the items we opted to purchase instead of make :)

It's Ours!

Well you guys, its all final.....the house is ours!!!!

We got our keys on Thursday and started moving some of our stuff in over the weekend. We are going to take the process slowly because C is still playing and we don't want to overextend him. He needs his rest.


Its nice to be able to take a few weeks to move in and get everything set up, but I also just want it to all be done right now! I want to be living there already :) 

Speaking of C, the Rattlers won their first playoff game last night!  Woo hoo!  It was a really tough game and his team won with an interception in the last 5 seconds, but hey, a win is a win!  Their next playoff game is this Sunday evening.  If you've ever wanted to watch him in action, the game will be on ESPN 2!

C's got the white sleeves :)

How was your weekend??

Lip Factory Review - July

It’s time for a Lip Factory review!

To me, this box is like Ispy, but with more full sized products. 5-7 full sized products to be exact! If you have the money ($22), this is a good one to spring for! They aim for a “full face” of makeup, but their main focus is…lips of course!   This box comes a little later in the month too which I like because it really spaces out the awesome mail that I get!

This month’s box was centered on their two year anniversary.  Happy Birthday Lip Factory!  

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

            1)     Beauty Addicts Lips Gloss in “Motivate Lilac & Express Ginger” – .18 oz. each (FULL SIZE)

I actually kind of like both of these colors!  The tubes are a little small, but perfect for traveling or attending events when I only bring a small purse or clutch.  The insert in the box suggests mixing them to create another color as well…sounds fun!

Full Size: $17.00 each My Value: $34.00

            2)    Eco-Lips Eco-Tints Tinted Lip Balm in “Rose Quartz” – .15 oz. (FULL  SIZE)

I am really excited about this. I am constantly trying to find a good chapstick and a tinted one would be just awesome.  The color looks perfect for me!

Full Size: $4.50 My Value: $4.50

            3)    Palladio Shadow and Liner Crayon in “Champagne”– .07 oz (FULL SIZE)

As you know, I don’t really use liners but I am very tempted to use this one.  I know that lining the inside of your eyes with a white can really make them pop.  I am going to have to try it!

Full Size: $6.00 My Value: $6.00

            4)    Pari Beauty Eye Shadow in “ES 18” – .07 oz. (FULL SIZE)

             I feel so blah about this.  Yeah it’s a shadow, but it’s such a general shade.  There is 

             nothing exciting about it.  There’s a color like it on almost every palette I own.   

             Also, I know this is silly but the company can’t even name their shadows? It’s just a  

             number?  Boring.

Full Size: $11.00 My Value: $11.00

            5)    Palladio Brow Fix – .04 oz. (FULL SIZE)

             I guess this is cool?   I just recently started using a brow product, so I will definitely  

             be giving this one a try.  Since I have bangs, my brows aren’t very visible, so it is 

             definitely not an everyday type of product for me.  Just something for when I decide 

             to pin them back!

Full Size: $6.00 My Value: $6.00

6)  OFRA Lip Liner in “Glacier Pink” – .04 oz. (FULL SIZE)

Yet another pink lip liner…..yay!  Apparently these are the new red lipstick!  I have received several in the last month or two.  Maybe I should hop on the bandwagon?

Full Size: $13.00 My Value: $13.00

7)  J.Cat Beauty Wonder Lip Paint in “Blabberwocky” – .33 oz. (FULL SIZE)

This product wasn’t even listed on the insert telling me about all the products in the box, which I find interesting. I guess maybe they threw it in there at the last minute?  Fine with me!  I have the “real” lip tar at home in a terrible color (it came in a gift set) so I am curious to try this kind in a color that suits me!

Full Size: $4.99 My Value: $4.99

Final Cost: $22.00

Final Value: $79.49

Lip Factory did it again!  I am really happy with this box this month.  They did pretty darn good for an anniversary box, I mean 7 full size products?!?  I love almost everything and they are even in colors I would wear, which is a big bonus!

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.)

 

It's Time.....

To share some of our engagement pictures!

The photographer we chose, Kym Ventola of Ventola Photography is seriously amazing.  Many years ago when I did bridal modeling I worked with Kym and ended up with my pictures in a magazine.  I have loved her ever since :)  Her style is amazing, so natural and carefree. I love how she works with lighting as well. 

Without further ado...here are some of our favorites!

So what are your thoughts? Do you love them as much as I do?