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!

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.

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..

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?