Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Life Lately: Soccer, Sandals, Puppies and Dance Recitals

I am terribly behind with my life lately posts...and pretty much all my posts if I'm being honest. There's so much to tell you guys and not enough time to share it in. 

Tim and I went to his nephew's (and my soon to be nephew) final soccer game of the season. Is there anything cuter then seeing little ones play soccer? I love when they all chase after the ball.



He was so unbelievably thrilled getting a medal.


And his older brother was so proud of him! So sweet!



I've been getting a ton of use out of my Kiki Sandals from CocoBelle. You can buy them here  and if you have no idea who Kiki is you HAVE to check out TheBlondeAbroad- check her out on Facebook, Instagram or on her blog. She is an amazing human being and I am obsessed with her!


Tim and I also had a lovely date night at a restaurant in East Greenwich called The SafeHouse. I had a chicken lasagna sandwich and I thought it was great but the fries were even more delicious!


Tim had a short rib sandwich which he said was delicious as well.


The real star of the show was the macaroni and cheese we shared. Absolutely amazing!


If you are ever in East Greenwich definitely head there and check it out! We sat outside on the patio and I definitely want to go back and hang out there with friends for drinks sometime. There are couches and a fireplace so it would make the perfect place for a weekend night!


I was able to spend some time with my dad on fathers day but he always evades my camera. My nephew Kai however loves to sit for pictures (Briefly... he's pretty fast!)


He's such a good and happy boy!


I also attended the recital of my cousins a couple weekends back. Annabel is in numerous numbers and Cailean (unpictured) performed a hip hop routine and they both did great!

I hope you are all having a fabulous day!




Sunday, June 24, 2018

Engagement Gifts To Buy Your Besties

Have you ever been completely stumped with what to buy for your besties as an engagement gift? Well I'm here to do a little round up of gifts that I've been given for our engagement as well as gifts that I have seen that would be super sweet. 

Getting engaged is an exciting time and it's so nice to show the ones you love that you are excited for them! This guide will focus on gifts for the ladies but I'm sure there are plenty of places to find gifts for your engaged guy friends as well. 



One of the first gifts I received was a tote bag that says Bride on it. This one that my MOH Rachel gifted me is absolutely perfect since it's super simple and fits my taste. With a quick google search I noticed there are hundreds of different bags you can pick up for your girls! There are sequined ones, colorful ones, simple ones like mine- anything your heart desires! I do recommend a tote bag since there is plenty of information to carry around this time- I have my wedding planning binder inside mine along with miscellaneous papers I need to hold onto.

Another thoughtful gift Rachel gave me was the two tiny vials pictured above where sand will be held from my wedding day and from my honeymoon. Mine came from Painted By The Shore and I think they would make a fabulous gift for any brides who are getting married on the beach or honeymooning on the beach!


At the time of this post this mug is only $11 and how cute is it?! You can purchase it on Amazon and I think it would make such a sweet gift for any engaged girl in your life.



My friend Danielle sent me The Bride Box and it was such a sweet gift! There are many variations of it on their site so you can really customize it to your bestie. The one I received, The Bridal Beauty Box is a fun one for any girl who loves testing new beauty products. I have been testing out lip products and nail polish from this box and if you've been reading for any length of time you know that's one of my favorite activities!

Another really cute idea is a passport holder with your friends new name on it! Or simply "Mrs"
Many people plan to leave the country on their honeymoon and having a new passport holder is a simple way for them to have their new name or title on display! This one is from Zazzle and I love the fake marble look!

This adorable sun hat is from Kohl's  and every time I go into the store I want to buy it for myself....I might buy it soon... how nice would this be for a beach honeymoon?! We are going on a beach honeymoon next year and I will definitely be displaying my new title for all to see!


Have you seen these feyonce shirts?! I think they are so funny. If you do a quick google search you will find an abundance of shirts like this and ones spelled the traditional way as well. Either are adorable and nice way to encourage your bestie to show off her new ring!


Speaking of shirts I also think this one is great for any girl who is trying to get in her best shape before her wedding! You can find it at Bridal Party Tees along with hundreds of other shirts if working out isn't the brides thing!

I hope these ideas helped and remember that a gift is a sweet idea for a bride-to-be but not entirely necessary. Most brides just need besties around them who will listen to everything they are stressing about and going through during the wedding planning process and are thrilled to have you by their side!




Monday, June 18, 2018

Our Wedding: The Hunt For Bridal Shoes

Happy Monday friends!

I'm stopping by today with a wedding update! I know it's been a hot minute since I've shared anything wedding related with you guys! It's so hard to decide what to share before the wedding versus what to save sharing until afterwards....and I have a whole room full of wedding stuff to share with you guys! I need to take some pictures so I can share that stuff with you guys as well. So much to do! :)

Anyways, today we are talking about shoes-- specifically my wedding ceremony shoes. My plan is to wear a pair of heels for my ceremony and then change into sandals for the reception (because I plan on dancing ALL NIGHT LONG!). One of my ideas was to make my shoes my something blue and I wanted bright blue shoes. Well when you search bright blue heels there was one company that kept popping up over and over again- Badgley Mischka.

Since our ceremony will take place on a cement walkway I can definitely get away with wearing heels for that portion and I *think* I've found the perfect pair...






I will actually get these in the mail today so I'm hoping that they fit great, feel great and look amazing! I will keep you guys updated on whether or not I actually do love them once I try them out. I'm praying they work!

Now I'm on the hunt for wedding sandals...and a million other things! There are so many things to buy when you are having a wedding!

Have a great day!

Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Recent Household and Beauty Hauls

I have been on a strict less stuff kick for awhile now and have been busy working my way through my household and beauty products all year long. If you've been hanging out for awhile you've seen my empties posts and know I have been trying to finish up a ton of products. 

Well recently I finished every single one of my candles. Then I used up almost all of my hand soaps- seriously only 4 left in my stockpile...and those won't last long! I knew that I didn't want to pay full price for anything and I would be so mad at myself if I let myself completely run out of anything and had to pay full price for it. So when the Bath and Body Works semi-annual sale started I knew it was time to buy some items! 

In store I picked up quite a few items:


I picked up three hand soaps, five hand sanitizers and three candles. I let Tim help me pick out my items since he is using and smelling them too. He picked out the banana split milkshake candle and two of the hand sanitizers to bring to work with him. I'm excited to have all these new items and know that it will keep us from having to buy items at full price.


Well I didn't stop there....

I placed an online order for a TON of items so we would be well stocked for all seasons. (Yes, this means I purchased FOUR leaves candles....)

I picked up soaps, candles and refills for my air freshener. I also found some cute gifts for my bridesmaids.

While it may seem excessive I really hate paying full price for anything- so keeping my home well-stocked is important to me. I just need to work my way through old stuff before starting new stuff. Notice I didn't buy and lotions and shower gels? That's because I still have SO much to get through! I don't think I will need any of that for a few years honestly.

I also placed an order recently at Sephora.


I wanted to try the Clinque Moisture Surge since I have heard so many amazing things about it. In order to get to the $50 free shipping I also picked up the Clinque mascara that has been on my wishlist for awhile. Everything else pictured was free with my order- gotta love that!



Lastly, I placed my monthly order from Grove Collaborative.

I've discovered Basil is my absolute favorite Mrs Meyers scent so I picked up a dish soap, multi-surface cleaner and a candle in that scent. I also picked up the Caldrea room spray in sea salt neroli which smells amazing!

Stay tuned for reviews on all these items- you know they'll be in upcoming empties posts eventually! :)

Have a great day everybody!

Monday, June 11, 2018

Our Wedding: Suit Shopping

I just realized I never shared the photos from our suit shopping excursion! I am still getting a lot done with wedding planning it's just not as rapid fire as it was during the beginning of the process. Since we have all of our vendors selected and most of our stuff is picked out we are just slowly paying off our balances and purchasing smaller items.

It's also getting hard because there are certain things I don't want to share until after our wedding is over! I'm sure all brides understand that struggle!

One day a few months ago we headed to Newport to Jos A Bank and spoke to an amazing associate named Jack who helped us get everything situated for Tim's suit and the suits of all the groomsmen.


Tim had decided he wanted to wear gray and he was thinking a darker gray but we still had a lot to decide. He was thinking he wanted to buy his suit but wasn't sure what to do about his groomsmen. We went back and forth whether renting or buying would be a better solution. We really didn't want to burden the groomsmen with a huge cost but we also wanted to make sure they were spending their money wisely.


There were so many different ties! Since the bridesmaids are wearing blue we started looking at different ties and decided that one of the gifts we will give to the groomsmen will be ties they can keep.


There were a ton of options, plus we were trying to decide if Tim's tie should be different or the same as the other guys!


We ended up deciding that Tim will have a custom suit made for him. He can wear it in the future for other weddings and events so why not?! His suit will be a dark gray.


Similar to the color in the swatch above.


The groomsmen will be renting their suits. They will wear light gray suits with a white shirt and a tie we will provide (but similar to the coloring above). I am VERY against vests- I think they are so ugly and I hate when guys take off their jackets and just have the vest on I just don't think it's attractive at all so they will not be wearing vests for our wedding! (Perks of being the bride!)



Tim picked out a brown shoe which Jack said went nicely and we were all set!



Now Tim just needs to go fitted for his custom suit. He will be heading to get that done in the next month or so. Almost all of the groomsmen have gone to get fitted as well so we are pretty much all set!

Did your groom buy or rent his suit?

Wednesday, June 6, 2018

20 Pictures To Inspire You To Visit Southwick's Zoo

If you're a long time reader you will know that Tim and I love visiting zoos and aquariums! We are huge animal lovers and often when we go on vacation we make time to visit one or the other- or both!

On Sunday morning when we woke up and Tim said he wanted to go to the zoo I was all in! I was excited to bring my Canon Rebel T6 along so I could snap some pictures too. So here are 20 pictures to inspire you to visit Southwick's Zoo in Mendon MA.









The deer trail is very cool since it's so interactive. You are able to purchase food throughout the trail and deer constantly come to greet you.





Giraffes are definitely one of my favorite animals and I love seeing them.




They always have babies at Southwick's Zoo which is amazing! I am a huge fan of the baby monkeys in particular.



How colorful and gorgeous are these parakeets? 

You can buy a small popsicle sticks and the parakeets will come to you to eat. I don't think you necessarily need to purchase these but you will certainly get closer to the birds if you do! 


There's also a goat petting zoo and the goats are adorable.




The goats are super friendly and always come up to you even if you don't have food so you can certainly save that money in this exhibit. 
 


I also love sloths and Southwick's Zoo has several varieties! This sloth mom had a baby and was keeping them super close.


Lastly, the new restaurant in the zoo is great! Galliford's Restaurant and Tavern is open year round and is a newer restaurant. Tim and I thought the food was great and the atmosphere was awesome as well. It felt a little like being in Animal Kingdom at Disney World. I highly recommend it!