Wedding Wednesday | Bridal Jewelry

Happy Wedding Wednesday friends! This week is trucking along and I can't wait until tomorrow, my parents and I are road tripping one last time to New Jersey to finish off any leftover wedding shopping that needs to get done. My main priority is to find some matching jewelry pieces for a few of my outfits.

Last week my mom and I went to a local shop to just browse and I ended up finding the perfect bridal jewelry set to match perfectly with my wedding outfit. I got so excited that as soon as we got home, I put my wedding top on and jewelry, I also did up my hair simply with some simple makeup. I was absolutely giddy with excitement with how it completed my look and I can't wait to put it all on again on my wedding day.

Here are some pretty inspirations for some other jewelry I will hopefully scoop up this weekend.

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Now it is your turn! We would love to have you link-up with your wedding tales, planning adventures and day-of memories.

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As always, we would love to have you linking up with us and sharing your wedding inspiration, stories and photos of your own! Just please remember to link back to either mine or Macy's blog in order to keep the Wedding Wednesday fun going around.

Highlighting & Contouring |Natural and Easy|

Hey lovebugs! I have been wanting to do a beauty post for some time and after experimenting with contouring and highlighting I decided why not. I really tried doing a vlog for you guys, but my mom kept interrupting me and I just felt awkward the whole time. Plus the lighting in my room was awful, so it just wasn't in the cards. I give hella credit to the beauty vloggers!

By no means am I an expert on this, I've just been binge watching a billion Youtube videos to gain different tips and tricks on how to master this. I also wanted an easy to follow routine that would look super natural for everyday wear.

So my usual makeup routine consists of moisturizer, eye cream, primer, foundation & concealer. After this I make sure to set my makeup with the Nars Light Reflecting Pressed Setting Powder.

 After setting my makeup, I warm up my face with the new product Honest Beauty Luminizing Powder in dusk reflection, this works great as a light bronzer with a tiny bit of shine to it. I love the texture of it and it's so buttery!

The brushes I use to set and contour is the Real Techniques Core Collection & Setting Brush. I love how high quality these brushes are with soft bristles that aren't harsh on your skin.

My biggest suggestion is to go to Sephora and get yourself the Highlight Lowlight Face Contour Duo by Sephora. This bad boy comes in 4 different shades. I was almost put off by some of the reviews with the comments saying the highlight color was too dark and the contour color was too orange. I honestly think it's based on your skin tone and undertones, I found that the medium worked great on me and like both colors for my skin tone.

I love how the highlight really makes my skin look more awake and refreshed. The contouring side really gives a soft sculpt which is just what I need for everyday. 

I topped my cheeks off with Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Radiant Magenta and to polish the look, I put on the Smashbox Be Legendary Matte Lipstick in Jam On It.

Do you contour or highlight? What products do you absolutely love, spill below!!

Weekending | Spring Cleaning Galore

Happy Monday friends! I hope all of you had a wonderful Easter Sunday celebrating with your loved ones. I didn't do a whole lot this weekend because it was entirely dedicated to spring cleaning! I woke up Saturday morning with excitement because the thought of cleaning and purging clothes has never felt so good. Between my sister and I, we filled 4 huge boxes of clothes to be donated to Goodwill and having my closet be a little lighter feels great.

The cleaning weekend didn't stop there, on Sunday my parents and I tackled the garage to make room for various wedding stuff that has taken over the basement. I feel like this weekend refreshed me and makes me excited for the next few months. 

The next step is to purge some of my nail polishes because god knows I'm a hoarder of those suckers and they can't all come to Houston with me. I'm happy with the progress I made, but I have such a long way to go with the cleaning/purging.

I also did the adult thing and filed my taxes this weekend. Woohoo, let's just say I would have been happier to see a bigger check making it's way to my bank account, but it was disappointing. But it's done and over with, until next year taxes!

Of course I caught up on more episodes of Gilmore Girls and started watching this new show called Crowded, it's a funny new sitcom and can't wait to catch more episodes! 

Linking up with Biana for weekending!

Friday Faves | The One Before Easter

Hey friends, TGIF!! This week has gone by fairly quickly, but I'm glad that it's Friday and it's a half day.  Let's get onto the faves...linking up with Amanda!

favorite trailer

I was so excited to finally see the trailer for the new Bridget Jones's movie. I really hope it's as good as the others were. Can we talk about how great Renee Zellweger looks too?!

favorite song

This song has been a favorite of mine for a few weeks now. Everytime I hear it I love it more and more. The video is of course strange lol.

favorite purchase

I'm trying really hard to up my beauty game and wanted to get more comfortable with highlighting and contouring. After trying out a few different brands, I found one that is so good guys! And even better it doesn't break the bank at only $20, plus it's super easy to use! I'll link the products I used before and give a little blurb on it below.

[Stila Sculpt & Shade Contour Duo]

This one was actually a great consistency, but the darker color was too dark orange for my liking, considering I got this in the light palette there was no going lighter on that shade. The cream consistency was easy to blend and a little went a long way.

[Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit]

Ok guys, I usually love Anastasia products, but this was a total dud. I should have read the reviews before purchasing, thank god for easy returns. I found out that I don't care for a powder when it comes to sculpting, cream is just easier to use. I read terrible reviews for the Anastasia Cream Contour palette, so I didn't bother.

[Kat Von D Shade + Light Contour Palette]

So I didn't technically buy this palette, but after reading about it on Meg's blog I wanted to see what the hype was about. Luckily, a Sephora MUA was free and put it on me. Although I really liked the different shade options, I just wasn't keen on a powder consistency. If this palette ever comes out in cream, I'll definitely be picking it up!

If you guys need any tips on how to do natural looking contouring, definitely check out Meg's video on highlighting & contouring.

favorite pins

Alright lovebugs, hope you have a fabulous Easter weekend!!

Wedding Wednesday | Perfect Bridal Gifts

Hey guys! Happy Wedding Wednesday!

I'm not gonna lie, even though I'm basically in the thick of wedding plans, I don't have much going on that worth dedicating a WW post on, so I thought I'd do something different. A lot of people post on the things they are getting for their bridal party, but not a whole lot post on what they, as a bride, would like as a gift. Not only can this be used to give your MOH/BM's a little hint, but most times your groom wants to get you something nice that you can open the day of the wedding, so what better way than to send your wish list! 

Here's what's on my wish list!

I got some lofty gifts I know, but a few of these will most definitely make it's way onto my Birthday/Christmas wish list later this year if I don't get it for the wedding ;)! What are some gifts that you would want as a bride?

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Now it is your turn! We would love to have you link-up with your wedding tales, planning adventures and day-of memories.

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As always, we would love to have you linking up with us and sharing your wedding inspiration, stories and photos of your own! Just please remember to link back to either mine or Macy's blog in order to keep the Wedding Wednesday fun going around.

Spring Goals | Being Accountable

Hey kit-kats! I've been mentally making a list of goals in my head and figured I'd put it on paper, so to speak. They aren't lofty goals because I don't like failure, so I'll keep them fairly basic. Do you set goals for yourself? What are some that you have set?

[one] Exercise.

So this one has already been working out good. I'm glad I have my sister to push me out of bed to get me to the gym on my days off because lord knows I would definitely choose sleep over gym 9 times out of 10. I am loving how I feel when I am working out and afterwards, so that's a good thing! 

[two] Drink more water.

I think it's hard to put a number value on this one. I've never really been a water drinker, I've definitely been trying, but it's hard to with my job. I have a water bottle at my desk, but when it's empty once, I usually don't have time to fill it up. I need to quit making excuses and just get better at this!

[three] Curb the spending.

I swear this is the hardest thing for me. I have a problem and knowing how I need to save for the wedding, honeymoon, future house, and a new car...it's becoming more apparent that I can't continue on spending the way I am. Now I really justify if and why I need something which has helped me put things back on more than one account.

[four] Clean!

I'm slowly in the process of moving my stuff to Houston via my fiance. Starting to do this is a daunting process, but I know this is the best time to purge stuff that I don't need slash don't wear anymore. This is gonna be more than therapeutic and I start the process with my mom next weekend. I'm hoping that the purging makes it possible to transport my things in just a few trips without paying a whole lot for baggage fees...fingers crossed! 

[five] Be more present.

It's crazy to think that in less than 4 months I'll have moved from everything that is home and familiar to me. I'm excited for the adventure, but with it sneaking up on me so quickly I'm realizing there are things I won't be around for anymore at home. Not only with my family, but with my friends who I'm so close with. I'm trying to schedule as many fun things as possible before my move. 

Ok, I think this is a solid place to stop. Hopefully putting it on the blog holds me accountable and helps me achieve these goals! 

Weekend Recappin'

Hey lovies! Another manic Monday, hoping this week is better than last! Honestly, I feel embarrassed about my weekend recap because a whole lot of nada happened...besides eating sushi which I did twice in the span of one weekend. No shame in my game!

I also painted my nails in this fun color I picked up at Ulta, it's Essie 'bachelorette bash'. It's a fun hot pink color and it's perfect for Spring!

I also picked up a Hello Beauty bag from Whole Foods for only $15, they're a limited time bag that was on sale for this weekend only {you may have seen my snaps of it, if not follow me on npat62}! I love that the bags are specially curated and made by human trafficking survivors. This bag is chalk full of some great goodies and I cannot wait to try them all. My favorite so far has to be the Burt's Bees Lipstick!

Of course lots of Netflix watching was on the docket so crossing shows off my list was an accomplishment. If you're in the market for a new show, I suggest Bates Motel, it's creepy and a thriller, but well written and keeps you on the edge of your seat! Now I just need to finish the last season of Gilmore Girls and I'll be on my way! 

Linking up with my girl B!

Friday Faves | Recappin' The Week

Happy Friday friends! I'm so so happy that it's finally Friday and the weekend. I have nothing more than to catch up with emails, blogging, to-do lists, and my Netflix list!

Linking up with my girl Amanda!

Just in the nick of time, I had my bracket filled out before the games started! I honestly don't know a whole lot about NCAA games, but I know who the good teams are and have the Tar Heels winning the whole thing. A's bracket looks similar and I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I asked him for advice, but made most decisions on my own. Do you follow the tournament? Who do you have winning?

Super Tuesday was this week in Illinois and of course I went out and did my civic duty #KeepTrumpOut was my main goal!

After I voted, I of course had Buffalo Wild Wings and it was delicious! I'm craving it again now looking at this delicious pictures.

Also, this happened this week. I don't regret it one bit either, deliciousness! #WeddingDietOnFleek

After having such a cruddy day on Wednesday, this patient mail brightened my day. One of the clinics favorite patient passed away a few weeks ago and his wife sent us this picture of him. He was such a sweet guy and we'll definitely miss him. Doesn't he look dapper in that picture?! 

(Of course I respected the privacy of him and his family by removing any personal information #IFollowHippa)

Also, how amazing is this battle on The Voice. It totally gave me chills watching, couldn't pick one that was better than the other, they both were amazing.

Alright, I babbled on enough. I hope all you lovebugs have a wonderful weekend!

Thursday Confessional

I haven't linked up to do a confession post in a long time and when I saw this last week, I knew I wanted to join in on the fun! Linking up with Jessica for Thursday confessions!

I confess...the time is seriously flying until my wedding and big move and I really want to slow down time and enjoy all the things that are no longer going to be constant.

I confess...I have so many things on my to-do list, it feels never-ending. I really need to cut down on my binge watching which means I should probably stop adding brand new shows on my list.

I confess...yesterday was such a cluster for me at work. My coworker was off and it felt like something was off in the universe because if something could go wrong, it did. I worked with the most annoying doctor on earth whose ego needs constant stroking and we had a full schedule. Let's just say I felt like I got hit by a truck at the end of the day.

I confess...my creative juices aren't really flowing much these days. I feel like I'm getting by by the skin of my teeth. I really want to get better organized and planned, but it's just hard guys. I'm hoping I get my act together soon.

I confess...I was so glad to have my Tuesdays & Thursdays off starting January, but my sister killed the buzz by making gym days mandatory those days. I know it's a necessary evil especially with the wedding coming up and the clear notation that I am not dieting, but I just don't like it.

I confess...I don't own a whole lot of green, so usually stick to the accessories. Hope I don't get pinched ;)!

I confess...I totally got rid of 2 people in that picture that I don't care to have in any of my pictures. Thanks iPhoto and your amazing blemish tool :)!!

I confess...my sister just bought a new Macbook Air and I'm so jealous. I love my little Pro, but new and shiny things are always much more exciting!! 

Wedding Wednesday | Bridal Shower Invitations

Happy Wedding Wednesday lovies!! We are in the 4 months away home stretch and I still can't believe how quickly time is flying!! I'm starting to get preparations for my big move to Texas, looking into jobs, etc...becoming so so real right now!!

I was so happy that this past weekend I was able to mail out the last of our wedding invitations, including all the international folks! Let's just say phew, that's a relief...now it's just time to play the RSVP game!

This past weekend we also got in the bridal shower invites and I'm so so happy with how they turned out! We ordered them through zazzle.com and I couldn't have been happier with the service we recieved. These shipped super fast and I had them less than a week after purchasing them. Plus they always have great sales running on their site, so we got 50% off the total purchase! The best perk was that you were able to personalize the invites for free with photos, I took advantage of this and added one of our engagement pictures on the back of the invite.

(I'm not getting paid to talk about them, I was just really happy with how the invites turned out)

It goes so perfectly with the rustic theme with the mason jars and wood-like background!! Less than 3 months until the bridal shower, can't wait to see how everything comes together in the end!

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Now it is your turn! We would love to have you link-up with your wedding tales, planning adventures and day-of memories.

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As always, we would love to have you linking up with us and sharing your wedding inspiration, stories and photos of your own! Just please remember to link back to either mine or Macy's blog in order to keep the Wedding Wednesday fun going around.