The holidays are upon us and one thing that always seems to stress everyone out is gift giving. It's not because we don't like to shop, it's because we never quite know what to get the ones we love. Today I wanted to focus on a gift guide for newly weds. I myself am a newly wed and this will be my first Christmas as a Mrs.

After the wedding is all said and done, we look around our homes and realize we will need some things Whether we didn't get everything we put on our wedding registry, or we simply didn't think about all of the practical things we would actually need.

The list is meant to be fun and useful. If you're shopping for a newly wed, or you're a newly wed yourself, I hope this list finds you well.


This list at first may look confusing, but let me explain why I chose all of these items.

• Measuring cups: For starters these are really festive and have really cute writing on them. We both enjoy cooking, so having measuring cups are really important and often forgotten as a gift idea.

• Mr. and Mrs. stemless wine glasses: These are just for fun. No one really NEEDS these but they are fun to break out on special occasions. 

• Fluffy bath robes: Have a romantic night at home and slip into a comfy plush bath robe. They are perfect for cold nights or when you just want to hang out on the couch all day together.

•  Canisters: I am actually really sad I didn't put these on my registry. We have so many different things we could use these for, both in the kitchen and out. Maybe Santa will get the hint. ;)

• Eye mask and ear plugs: Ladies (and gentlemen).. I don't know about you, but my hubby snores and loves to stay up reading his kindle. The honeymoon is over real fast when you aren't getting enough sleep. Black out those lights and noises early on. Your body will thank you.

• Cooking utensils: This bamboo set is beautiful. Having spatulas and slatted spoons are real essentials in the kitchen. You miss them when they are missing. 

• Kitchen scale: I cannot tell you how many recipes I have made that asked me to measure out something by weight. This is especially helpful when you are watching your portions. Get one. It's a game changer. 

• Point and shoot Camera: Yes I know, we all have cellphones with camera's, but it's fun to go on little adventures with your significant other and snap photos along the way. They are pretty compact and can fit easily into pockets. Capture all your moments together.

• Gift Cards: Sometimes people just enjoy purchasing their own gifts. Many people find this option a cop out gift, but really, sometimes this is really what someone wants. Besides you can use gift cards for so many things. I show you in this post. Check it out. 

• Weekend bag:  It's nice to have a bag to be wisked away for a weekend with. It's purpose is to hold clothes for each of you for 2 days. It really comes in handy if it's hard to get away often but you take many weekend trips through the year. 

What would you add to this list? Anything you really needed but didn't get and hoped for as a Christmas gift from loved ones? Share below!

To help forget the election results, I bring to you a fun post! I get to look back on all of my outfits through my wedding "season". I didn't realize until the other day that I wore LulaRoe for all of the events leading up to my big day. Today I am showing you how versatile LulaRoe is and how they have many pieces that are not only stylish, but also very comfortable.

I jumped on the LulaRoe wagon back in July and I currently own more than I want to admit. Everything I own, I wear regularly, so I don't feel guilty for my purchases.

For my bridal shower I wore my Amelia. A comfy dress with a zipper in the back. You can also turn this dress around and wear with the zipper in the front. I paired this with bride socks.. Nailed it!


For my bachelorette parry, I chose this flirty get up. I paired a salmon top with my lovely Cassie. A stretchy pencil skirt that works on any body shape. And let's not forget that pink tiara veil to bring it all together! (Yes I am holding a VERY large stein with water in it. Blame October fest!)


I felt very comfortable through all of my events. Are you a fan of LulaRoe? What are your favorite pieces?

Today is the day.. I get to share with you my most exciting day to date. My wedding day. If you have been following along in this series, you know what's gone on up until this point. If you haven't, I suggest you read my engagement story, and follow right on through until you get back to this post.
I'm going to jump right in... These are just a few of my favorite photos! Maybe I will do another post down the road with more detail..  Non professional photos first.. then the professional :)

Wedding Date: September 24, 2016
Wedding Ceremony: Private lake house on Cayuga Lake
Reception Venue: Knapp Winery
Photographer: Tom Mizzoni Photography and all my friends!

Morning mimosas!

The beautiful bouquets! All done DIY minus mine on top

Creeping on my guests..

The most beautiful background for a wedding ceremony!

We did! We're married!

I was IN LOVE with my centerpieces.

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.




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!

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!

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..