This is Halloween


Can anyone guess what I was for Halloween? I was channeling my inner Blair Waldorf. I had a lot of fun with this outfit. I have these glorious mustard yellow leggings I have wanted to wear, but couldn't decide what to wear them with.

If you remember the show, Gossip Girl, you will remember Blair's wardrobe. Lots of primary bold colors mixed with a very professional feel. I mixed the mustard yellow leggings with a grey pencil skirt, a blue blouse and pulled the outfit together with a fall plaid coat and Blair's signature headband.



I attended Wizarding Weekend and took the opportunity to dress up. Not everyone was dressed as a witch or wizard, plus I felt like I could also just pass for a muggle. I had a great time and the weather was actually to warm for the coat, but I was in costume, so I grin and bared it!


What did you dress up as?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!


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Finding Peace in Taking a Day Off

If you're like me, you don't take much time for yourself. You throw yourself into whatever is right in front of you and you never look back. You lay in bed at night wondering where your day went and why you didn't get anything done, yet you're exhausted.

This seems to be a pretty common pattern in my house lately. I forget what it's like to find peace in my day. I forget that there is no shame is having a day for me. Finding peace in my heart and soul.

This week I took a sick day from work. I woke up feeling so worn down and exhausted, I knew it was my body telling me, it was time to slow down. It was time to find some peace in my day. I put all work aside and had a wonderful peaceful day.

I spent my morning in my brand new bed. A bed I am so grateful for. A wedding gift me and R gave ourselves from the gracious gifts from our guests (you did hear I got married right?!). I snuggled with my two cats, Rick and Grace. I fixed my cup of tea just like I do when I visit my mom. I lounged on the couch binge watching Gilmore Girls (Did anyone else squeal for joy when the new trailer came out!?). I stayed in my pajamas and didn't care about how my hair looked.

I found so much peace in doing things that were familiar to me. It made for a very nice and relaxing day. It reminded me that taking a sick day wasn't a bad thing.  It was necessary.

Are you afraid of taking sick days? What brings you peace?

Once again I am linking up with Alyssa from Alyssa Goes Bang!

alyssagoesbang



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A Wedding Story: Preparations & The Rehearsal

I always wanted a fall wedding. I wanted the fall backdrop with all the trees in transition. There is so much symbolism in the changing of the leaves. So much beauty and growth. Exactly what a marriage is. When me and R picked a date, we specifically looked for venues who could host us at the end of September or early October.

Our wishes were fulfilled just one month after we got engaged when Knapp Winery had a date that fit perfectly into that Fall vision. September 24th, 2016 would be our wedding date. A day of magic and love.

The Barrel Room where the reception would be held

I wasn't that bride who planned her wedding when she was 10, so I was pretty lax on my planning. If I were to tell you that this wedding was planned on a whim, you probably wouldn't believe me. My guests didn't.

Let me explain.

All of my bridesmaids were scattered around, one being all the way across the country in California. We had no real opportunity to get together and plan. My best friend/adopted sister (ya know we adopted each other as sisters along the way in life) was able to meet me one night at David's Bridal so we could pick out some dresses.

I had no clue what I wanted, nor did I really know what colors I wanted. We found a few dresses that would work for all the girls in the wedding and we had at it. I had fallen in love with the color Portobello on the website. With my good luck and all, there we no dresses in the building in that color.


So I went with it. Why not? You only live once right? We picked out a dress style and I told all the girls to order it in Portobello. I also loved the color Sangria. So I asked that all the girls order shoes in that color.

I never saw the dress in the color or the shoes in real life until 2 weeks before the wedding at my bachelorette party. I had moments of panic after all the girls ordered their dresses and shoes, doubting my choices. Once I saw everything together, I fell in love. The colors were beautiful on the girls. It complimented everyone's skin tone beautifully.

Fast forward to 5 days before the wedding where I had my very first sort of melt down. I planned to have paper flowers made for everyone. It was the coolest thing ever. They wouldn't die and were a good gift for my girls. I had a message 7 days before the wedding saying the flowers were being shipped on Monday. I was so pumped. Fast forward to Monday, when at 2pm I receive a message telling me my flowers were not done and would not be sent to me.

I was crushed. The order for the flowers was placed in July. It was now September 19 and after being told they would be shipped, I was now being told they were not done. The Etsy shop I was dealing with magically disappeared and I have not received a refund.

I ran around like a crazy person trying to make a plan. I had friends calling places for me, helping me find a solution. Thankfully a friend gave me a number of a local farm who cut fresh flowers in buckets for a really reasonable cost. I called, told them what colors I was after and it was done. Mystery flowers were set to be picked up on Friday afternoon.

I went to a local florist with high recommendations. They were able to make me a bouquet along with bouts and wristlets for the men and parents. We had a plan.

My centerpiece creation! They glowed either purple or white. Better photos at the wedding, I promise.

Thursday night me and R stayed up late putting together last minute centerpieces and baking cookies for our favors. We had to have everything done for the venue so it could be delivered by 6pm on Friday.

Mystery flowers! Gorgeous!

Friday arrived. I left the house early for a massage and a few errands. My parents arrived around noon and me and my mom were off to fetch the mystery flowers. R and my dad went to pick up a van to shuttle everyone around. By the time all the errands were run, we were off to the rehearsal.



It was all fun and games until I realized I needed to walk in 4 inch heals in gravel. I practiced at the rehearsal in my actual wedding shoes, just to be sure I could do it.


The weather was pretty dreary, but I accepted it, as we had the most beautiful wedding day weather. You will get to see that in next week's post. Also you can see my dad wore the brightest shirt he could find. No way you could lose him.. or could we?

We went out to dinner afterwards and had a lovely meal with everyone. We finished up and everyone was heading out. My dad was no where to be found. My mom was wandering aimlessly looking for him. She peeked back into the restaurant and there was my dad sitting at the bar. He doesn't drink. He comes walking out with 2 coffee mugs. He is obsessed with diner/restaurant coffee mugs. He had to purchase himself one of course.



We headed back to the lake house, where me and the girls went straight into bouquet making. All the girls got to create their own flower arrangement. What first looked like a chore, turned into a really fun night. All the girls had fun creating their masterpieces. Each one unique to them. What was once a disaster, turned into a really fun night. I recommend all brides do this with their bridal party.

Come back next week for the big day! I am so excited to share my wedding photos with you all! Everything came together beautifully and I had the best day ever!



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Halloween Fashions Featuring Skulls

Today I am doing something a little different. I am going to showcase some fashion for your viewing pleasure. Since Halloween is my favorite holiday, I figured I would show off a few ways I would dress the week leading up to Halloween. I am going to show you two looks involving wearing skulls. Now I know some people are not a huge fan, so I went one for the girl who doesn't mind wearing black, and one for the gal who adores her pinks.

The first look incorporates a black sweater dress with some fun Halloween leggings. I added the skull accent with a scarf and finishing off the look with some ankle boots and a red lip. This is a look I would wear to the office for Halloween.


The black sweater dress was found brand new on Thred Up. If you aren't using Thred Up you are missing some great deals. I have provided my referral link. You get $10 when you sign up with my link! The scarf was a find at the local thrift shop.


These leggings are my new favorites! They are from the LulaRoe Halloween capsule. They are a fun addition to any dress or tunic this time of year.



The next look is a little more for the girly girl who isn't much for black. I paired a salmon pink top which was thrifted and a pair of fun skull leggings from the LulaRow Halloween capsule.
The outfit is tied together with some bright magenta socks and ankle boots.



I had a blast putting together these outfits and shooting my first photoshoot for this blog. The weather has been pretty dreary here in NY the last few days, so I was happy to get a dry day to model these outfits while it was still Fall looking outside. Notice my porch is a little decorated for fall.. those flowers were parking markers from our wedding! I thought it was fun to attach them to the porch for a festive look.

Stay tuned for some more fun outfits coming your way! I am thinking about doing something weekly because, why not?!

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Weekly Wins Vol. 01

Jenn over at Optimization, Actually started doing a "weekly wins" post and because one of the books I just read encouraged to start focusing on all the good every week rather than the negatives, I decided to follow suit and do the same. Wow that was one heck of a run on sentence. I apologize.

So every weekend I am going to attend to write about what really rocked my week. wish me luck..

Vacation


Me and R finally got around to taking a mini honeymoon just to clear our heads from the whirlwind that was our wedding and life all mixed in . We visited Alexandria Bay in the Thousand Islands. We got there just in time for the last day of the Boldt Castle. We were in the glorious off season where it was pretty quiet. I really recommend visiting places on off season, as you get the place to yourself. I am going to be posting more about that in another post. Stay tuned!

Health


  • I am finally seeing some progress with my skin. It has cleared up quite a bit in the acne department and it' starting to get a nice glow back. I am so happy to see progress. Now I need to keep myself going with the system I have so my skin will keep glowing.

  • This coming week I am jumping back on the healthier lifestyle bandwagon and getting my butt back to the gym. I really think it is a seasonal sport for me.. I can't bare to spend my time in the gym during the nice weather.

Personal


  • This has been the year of reading self help books and I have to say, I have really enjoyed most of them. I never was an avid reader and when I did read it wasn't non-fiction of any sorts. I have read quite a few non-fiction this year and I have several more I want to squeeze in before the year is over.

  • I am finally back to playing with my makeup. I know this sounds silly, but it's a real win for me. I spoke about this earlier in the week when I posted about my passions coming back to life.

Blog


  • I spent most of the week/weekend working on a new series I am bringing to the blog this week. It is something the really gets me excited and I can't wait to get it posted.

  • I cleaned up my blog post section as well as my email account and it is much tidier and easier to navigate now. Super big win!

Well there it is, my weekly wins! I hope you'll join me this week for some new content!



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The back and forth game

Browsing the "draft" section of my "posts" tab on blogger can be quite an adventure. I have started and stopped so many thoughts. Some because I worried what people would think. Some because I got a few sentences banged out and then had no where else to go. Ever have one of those days? Thought you had miles to write only to hit a road block right away.

I have been blogging for 2 and a half years at this point and it still surprises me to see how quickly the motivation and inspiration can come and go. Some days I have what feels like a million ideas all at once and I can't get them all out fast enough, and other days I sit there staring at the screen with literally nothing at all.

Today I want to say screw all the doubts and worries. Screw writers block. I want to write what I am passionate about. I want to write those posts that may make some people feel uncomfortable. Not because it's inappropriate, but because sometimes these subjects need talking about. Today I am also using this as a way to join in with Alyssa over at Alyssa Goes Bang's Back to Blogging Non-Challenge.

So here are the posts I want to hit "publish" on but have be too scared to do up until now:

Fashion posts: Yes I do enjoy clothes and makeup. I do enjoy mixing styles and patterns and putting it all together. I have even been told I am good at these things. Expect to see something more regular soon.

Mental health posts: Yes I know. We go round and round with these ideas, but no one seems to write about them regularly. I am working on something now that I am hoping will open the door a little wider.

Travel posts: I am not so much scared to write about travel as much as I am scared to take more trips. I grew up military and traveled a lot. Now that I am an adult, my wanderlust has grown fiercely and I want to find my wings and get back out there.

What posts are you holding off on hitting "publish"?

alyssagoesbang


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Wedding Wednesday: Bachelorette Party

I was looking back at some of my photos from my bachelorette party and it really made me smile. My bridesmaids and closest friends gathered and we had a lovely time at the Radisson Station I'm Scranton, Pa.


I am originally from PA so we naturally had the party there. The hotel was beautiful and we got upgraded to the Hospitality Suite which was ah-maz-ing!


We spent the evening eating takeout, doing facials getting dressed up and dancing the night away. We found a Sublime cover band and the contact high was immediate if you get my drift.

We ended up in a bar where there was an Octoberfest competition where we all held large glasses of water until we couldn't.

I will admit I didn't hold it very long before my arm felt like it was going to fall off. We danced a lot and it was my heaven on earth.


I really enjoyed the tame evening with some of my favorite people.

Come back next week as I share some of my favorite wedding photos!

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Passions. (And a few throw back photos...)

I was looking back at some photos from a few years ago (a couple I'm sharing here now), and one thing that stood out most to me was that I was wearing makeup. That may seem like an odd thing to say, but I used to wear it all the time.

Look! Makeup!
 Another thing you may not know about me is I was all set to go to school in NYC for make up artistry and then I was in a pretty bad car accident. It put that plan on hold pretty indefinitely.


At the time I wasn't about to let my injuries kill my dreams, so I self taught myself. I spent several hours a day watching tutorials, reading books, and practicing techniques.


From there I learned, I applied myself, and I felt successful. Then life changed. I moved. I went through some hard stuff and makeup just wasn't a priority. Once a passion, became a chore.


I left life come between me and my passion. I let toxic relationships suck the life out of me until I broke. I put aside my needs for others. I landed in a dark place where my passions not longer mattered.

That's NEVER okay.

I needed a reminder. I needed something to tell me that I'm allowed to have th ose passions back. I started to unload the toxic. I started to remind myself that I'm a beautiful, strong woman who deserves happiness.


Lately I've started to reach for those makeup brushes again. There are photos of me wearing makeup.

I smile when I see myself in the mirror again. I look alive and happy. Letting go of all that built up stress from others has given me back something I love.

Me over the weekend in makeup!
You can do this too. Just let it go and let those passions back in now. You deserve that smile.
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Wedding Wednesday: My Bridal Shower

Wedding planning was never my favorite thing. I didn't have tons and tons of pins on my pinterest boards. I just kind of winged it. So when the parts that came around that didn't require anything from me, i.e. Bridal Shower and Bachelorette Party, I was in heaven.

Today I am going to recap my Bridal Shower. The shower was the first week of August, and a hot day to say the least. It was held back in my hometown in Pennsylvania in a beautiful church hall.

My friends and family put on a beautiful shower with homemade food and games. I'lllet the photos do the talking. Photo credit goes to my lovely friend Kellie!














There you have it. My cute Bridal Shower. There was great food, great laughs, and great friends. Okay there may of also been some lingerie and chocolate syrup..

Don't forget to catch my recap up to the shower here, and come back next week, same place, same time for a recap of my Bachelorette party which may or may not include a Sublime cover band and a contact high..

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Fall Bucket List 2016

Now that it's FINALLY starting to feel like Fall around here (I swear the Powers That Be were listening when I prayed every night for Fall weather on my wedding day 2 weeks ago (It was perfect by the way.) I figured I would make a real bucket list of things I want to do this time around.


I always seem to write down everything I want to do and forget and then it ends up Winter and I'm like.. "wow I sure dropped the ball on those fun ideas". So let's not let that happen again this year.
  • Attend a college football game - I have only attended high school football games at this point and since my hubby enjoys his college ball, and has gotten me into it, I really want to go to one.
  • Star gaze: Fall is the time of year where we get crisp skies. Perfect time to check out the sky and the stars. The next meteor showers are the Orionids which peak on the night of October 21st.
  • Apple picking: I went for the first time 2 years ago and I loved it. For some reason we did not make it last year, but I am making sure it happens this Fall! 
  • Fall photos: Me and R just got married, and I want to start doing regular photos. I will be doing them myself, so this will be cost effective and fun all at the same time. 
  • Hike: Summer is fun to hike, but it gets REALLY hot. Fall is one of my favorite times to hike. You get exercise AND get to take in the Fall scenery without suffering from heat stroke. 
  •  Eat all the Fall foods: I love comfort food. I can't wait to make all the soups and chilis. Also pumpkin and apple everything makes my little heart flutter. Maybe I'll share some of my recipes this time around. Also Cider. That is all. 
  • Halloween: No list is complete in my book without Halloween being mentioned. It has always been my favorite holiday. I can't wait to get out all my decor and plan a costume of sorts. I am planning to attend my local Wizarding Weekend. So many great things come from Halloween! 
So much magic there. I'm makes me super nostalgic.

What's on your list?

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