Links to Love

LOVE Ellen Page, and this quote

The Simple Chart on How to Get a Bikini Body that Every Woman Needs to See. Love love love!

Everything about this dress from ModCloth is so perfect, besides the price.

Love this song and new video from  aLl tIme LOw.

What each state Googles more than any other, interesting!

This photo set makes me want to go to a beach so much!

Can't wait for Neil Patrick Harris' book or Lena Dunham's book! 

Also, look at Lena's "About the Ather" page, so cute!

A few cheap alternatives to Birkenstocks if you're into the Jesus sandal trend: one, two, and three.

Tips on Succulents. I need this after killing so many last year!

These are so cute! And for an awesome cause!

The Perks of Being a Tall Flower! I'm not very tall but thought this was funny.

Only $5 for all of these beautiful hand-drawn elements here.

History of Women and Their Tattoos.

I'll have to get some of these stamps!

More celebrities reading mean tweets about themselves, love watching these.

And finally, a way to always have a rainbow in your life :)

I hope you all have a stupendous weekend!

As of Late...

I feel like every time I come here to blog it starts out as an apology for my lack of blogging, then my excuse of being busy planning a wedding. I definitely have been busy and overwhelmed, but I wanted to start this blog mainly to have things to look back at during important stages of my life, like this one. So I'm gonna use this post to play catchup and just talk about everything that's been going on as of late. Yesterday, despite waking up with a migraine, I spent a good portion of the day moving stuff from the rooms with laminate wood floors into the rooms with tiled floors. We are finally ripping up these awful, dark, shiny laminate floors we had put in a few years ago. It seemed like such a good idea at the time, they look like real wood, and anything seemed better than the purply-gray carpet that came with the house. But we were wrong! These floors have caused almost three years of stress and annoyance. They are almost impossible to keep looking clean. You see every single foot print, hair, speck of dust, even! And trying to clean them only left streaks and the appearance of hard water stains. We've tried water, vinegar, expensive floor cleaners, steam mops, professional cleaners, we even started using only purified water to clean with! It was getting way too obnoxious, so we finally decided we just need to give up on these and go back to regular ole carpet.  These floors were a good idea in theory, and they looked amazing in the example photo of them, but they're just too impossible. So I'm really excited to be back to somewhat low maintenance floors today! 

In other news, my sister and MOH planned a fun but low-key bachelorette party for me beginning of next month. I told her I didn't want anything crazy or too "bachelorette-y", so we're just going to get a nice dinner out with my bridesmaids and a few friends, then maybe drinks afterwards. I thought this would be perfect since I've never been the crazy party type, and the idea of simply food and friends was much more me! Just need to find a fun dress to wear that night!

All the wedding planning is pretty much done (thank the lawd!) and I've been trying to concentrate on writing some vows. I was super unsure about this idea at first, reading my own hand-written vows in front of 85 people, and a video camera sounds utterly terrifying to me! But Joe and I talked about it and decided it was important we say at least a few words from our own hearts that day, we even agreed to say them quietly without microphones, just to each other, so that makes it sound a little easier. I've always had extreme stage fright, plus I'll already be super nervous that day, but a few people have reminded me now that I'm only saying them to him, no one else, and to just pretend like it's only the two of us there. I hope I'm able to do that, I've been practicing in front of a mirror!

We went to the Court House yesterday to pick up our marriage license, which was surprisingly fun! Well maybe not fun, more like exciting to be making that huge, official step the in wedding planning process. 

This Saturday, Joe and I are driving down to Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix to pick up two of his friends from New York! They are going to stay with us until the wedding, and I'm so excited! I've only ever met one of Joe's friends from the East Coast, and I love being able to meet people he's known since before we were together. We live where I grew up, so he's met all my people and seen all my places, and I get really excited when I get to do a little of the same. Having them here will really feel like the official kick-start of wedding events, so I'm really excited for that!

So that's pretty much what's going on around here. Feels a lot more chaotic than it looks written down! Here's what the next month look like for us:

• Final haircut and color on Friday
• Pick up friends from the airport the 24th, plus last minute Phoenix shopping
• Pick up my dress on the 30th in Phoenix, plus my bridal hair trial
• Pick up more friends from airport the 6th
• Bachelorette party on the 7th
• More friends from the airport the 10th (lots of out-of-towners!)
• Spa day, rehearsal and rehearsal dinner on the 12th
• Wedding on the 13th!
• Honeymoon the 18-25th!

Crazy, but so exciting! I am loving this time in my life so much, and I'll take being busy then being bored any day! It is all going by so fast though, so I really want to remember to enjoy it and not let myself get stressed out! It's such a wonderful time that should be enjoyed!

Honeymoon Swoon

In exactly one month, Joe and I will be relaxing on the beach on Coronado Island in California for our honeymoon. I absolutely cannot wait! I've really loved planning a wedding, but lets face it, it does get really stressful. It seems like the last fifteen months have been mostly based around the wedding, so it'll be nice to be able to relax together (as husband and wife) and think about how it was all so worth it.

Since we'll be vacationing on a warm beachy island, I've been looking all over for fun pieces I could bring with me. I'm really loving all the loose, flowy dresses that are everywhere right now, they look so cute with chunky sandals, and so comfortable! I'm hoping to do a little shopping soon, so here are some things I would love to have on the honeymoon.

What are your beach/vacation necessities?

where to find:

blue dress // coral dress // swim suit // tote (kate spade, no longer available) // cross body // black sandals // beach blanket // flip flops // mrs. robe // pajamas // body lotion // surf spray // sun safety kit // under water camera // radio 

Orange You Glad

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5

This beautiful, pale orange color is one of my favorites for the season! I keep seeing it everywhere like in clothing, makeup, and even funky home things, like that awesome radio! Plus, I feel like it's flattering on my very pale skin tone, and probably every skin tone! In my opinion, a must-have color for Spring!

What do you think of this soft tangerine color?

More lovely hues here.

May 2014 BirchBox: Freewheeling

I received my second ever BirchBox in the mail on Saturday! I was really excited when I saw it in the mail because I had almost forgotten I had one coming! For April's box, I was stalking the tracking service and watching a ton of videos about what other people had gotten, but for this month's, I had no idea what to expect, so it was really exciting!

The first thing that I saw inside the box when I opened it was a little shampoo and conditioner set from the brand Beauty Protector. I was happy to be getting shampoo and conditioner samples because having pretty long hair, I'm constantly looking for really good hair products to try out. When you grow your hair long like I'm doing, the ends tend to get really dry and difficult to keep looking nice and smooth, and this stuff claims to keep hair shiny and soft, so I'm looking forward to trying to out and seeing if it works well!

The next thing I pulled out was an allover SPF called Supergoop. I've actually heard a lot of really good things about this brand but have never tried it out for myself. Sunscreen is really important to me and something I make sure to wear every single day. Not the most exciting thing ever, but definitely useful and good to have. Maybe I'll bring it with me on my honeymoon :)

The next item I received I thought was super random! I got a couple little packets of breath freshening things called Effervescent Breath Crystals. The instructions say to swish the crystals in your mouth with your saliva, then to swallow them. I've never heard of anything like these at all, but hey maybe they'll work really well and will come in handy!

I was so happy/relieved when I saw the last item I received because I thought I wasn't going to get any makeup samples! But I did, it's a cute little pink lip crayon called LAQA & Co. Sheer Lip Lube Pencil. I really like lip products like this one because they give your lips color while still being soft and not drying out your lips. Plus, it's a perfect, sheer color for spring and summer, I really like how it looks on! I might even buy the full size after I use up the sample!

The box also included an online coupon code to saturday.com for $25 off a $75 purchase, which I probably won't end up using. The stuff it super cute though, so maybe I'll find something I just have to have!

So all together, May's box was good but not amazing. I'm doing some research and wondering if I should find a better subscription box, or give BirchBox a couple more chances, any thought? I really am loving getting these in the mail as a fun surprise, but just wish it was more makeup-y type stuff rather than breath mints and things like that. I guess we'll see if next month's box changes my mind!

Do you receive any box subscriptions? What did you get in your box this month? Tell me below or link me to your blog post about it, I'd love to know!

Birks

If you pay any attention at all to social media or fashion magazines, you've noticed these sandals just about everywhere. I first noticed them a couple months ago while looking at sandals online at Urban Outfitters, and I recognized them at the shoes Joe's mom is always wearing. Over the next couple weeks I started to see them pop up on a lot of websites I usually shop at; Nordstrom, ModCloth, ShopBop. At first I really hated them, to me they just looked like Jesus/stoner sandals. And I thought that the "Hobo Chic" ala Mary-Kate Olsen had found its way out of the spotlight. But the more I saw photos of people wearing them (like I posted above) the weird shoes started to grow on me. Enough to even try on a pair at a shoe store while shopping in Phoenix about a month ago. Joe laughed, and I just thought, no way, can't do it! And forgot about them.

These darn shoes just won't leave me alone though! I keep seeing photos pop up on Instagram and Pinterest, and they grab my attention every time! Why do they look so cute on everyone else but I feel so awkward in them! I keep adding them to my shopping cart online then removing them, it's so weird, I don't think I've ever gone back and forward so many times on a clothing item! I really want to buy a pair to bring on my honeymoon, since apparently they're super comfy, I'll just have to ignore Joe making fun of me!

So what do you think of this huge trend, love it or hate it?

418 days down, 38 days to go

We are just over a month away from the big day, and it's all really starting to sink in! Almost everything I'm doing lately is wedding related, and it's felt at times like we'll never finish everything in time! But we're checking things off the list one by one, feeling a little more relieved every time we do. It's hard not to feel overwhelmed at times, but just the thought of that day and how wonderful it will be makes me feel so much better. 

It's seriously so insane to me that fourteen months have already passed since we got engaged, and now we only have one left until we're married! So many people told me the time would just fly by, and I can't believe how completely true that is! 

Now we're putting the finishing touches on our wedding, and really soaking up these last few weeks of being an engaged couple, of planning our wedding, and feeling the most intense butterflies we'll probably ever feel. Despite the stress and nervousness, being engaged has been some of the best months I've ever had, and I feel so ready to soon start this new chapter in my life: being a wife.