Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Living Room Christmas Decor 2018

Happy Wednesday loves!

I want to share my super simple Christmas decor with you today. Originally Tim and I made an offer on a house and our potential closing date was December 20th so I didn't want to put up too many decorations in case we had to pack up and move. Unfortunately another offer was accepted so it doesn't look like we are going anywhere right away. I am enjoying the minimal decor though because it keeps things simple and makes it so I don't have to go crazy dusting!


Our tv stand is where I always hang our stockings which I purchased at Kohl's a few years ago. Last time I was at Kohl's I did see these though! The snowflake lights are from Ikea from years ago and the little angel was given to me as a gift when I was younger.


My new addition this year is this reindeer stuffed animal! He is so cute and was a Kohl's find.


Our Christmas tree is the same as last year but we picked up a new tree topper from Walmart and placed it in a different location then we have the previous years.


On my bookshelf I have Kermit and my teddy bear which are both gifts from years ago.  My newest additions are the little trees from the Target dollar spot, such a great find!


My Santa sign came from Kohl's last year and my little Let it Snow bear is super old!



Lastly I have a Let It Snow pillow from the Target dollar spot from a few years ago and my other two pillows were bought at At Home this year.

What decor items did you pick up this year?

Monday, November 26, 2018

Thanksgiving Weekend 2018

Going back to work is always super hard after such a nice long weekend!

We had a great one around here where we had a nice mix of relaxing and events to attend.

Let's recap, shall we?


On Wednesday night we started our four day weekend by going to see Crimes of Grindelwald! I was so excited to see this and it definitely did not disappoint although now I have a million more questions for JK Rowling if I ever do meet her.


Tim loved it too even though he's not quite as HP obsessed as I am!

On Thursday we celebrated Thanksgiving with my family.


This year we celebrated a little differently and went to Venice restaurant for our Thanksgiving meal and then headed back to my parents house for dessert.


It was a lot of fun to catch up with members of my family I don't see as often and Kai kept it interesting as always.


Kai ended up jumping up onto the counter (all four paws) not because he wanted food but there was a moving puppy stuffed animal that he had to have.

It was a great first Thanksgiving as a married couple!

On Friday I shared my trip to the DMV as well as some of my Black Friday shopping. We ended up going out later on and getting some deals at the mall. Old Navy was 50% off everything and Bath and Body Works was buy 3 get 3 free for everything in the store.


On Saturday we celebrated Thanksgiving with Tim's side of the family. It was a nice time and it's always cute to watch Tim play with his nephews!




As for Sunday?  A lot of lounging around and watching football happened here!

I can't believe it's less then a month until Christmas! I'll be sharing my living room decor on the blog soon!

Have a great day loves!

Friday, November 23, 2018

Black Friday Shopping!

Hey loves! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday with your loved ones! Ours was very nice and we have round two tomorrow with the other side of the family.

Today I went out for Black Friday...


to the DMV. Yes, that is the line for the DMV. I had to officially change my name there and thought no one would be heading there on Black Friday. Boy was I wrong as I stood outside for 45 minutes in 15 degree weather behind 50 other people who got there before I did. Good news is they were super efficient and I was out of there within a half hour once the doors opened!

I managed to get a few Black Friday deals but I honestly try to avoid the stores as much as possible so I'll share the deals I took advantage of that are still going on so you can take advantage too!


Pictured above are all my freebies from CVS! I walked away with more money in ECBs then I spent to get all these items. Definitely check out the CVS flyer for everything you can get for free because this isn't all you are able to get! I love shopping at CVS!

I also placed an order on American Eagle where everything is 40% off and free shipping! I picked up two new pairs of jeans, a bra, pajama pants, and 10 pairs of underwear for $135!

I love picking up my Erin Condren planner for the new year every Black Friday and today was no exception. My LifePlanner would normally be priced at $60. They are all 30% off today and I had a $25 coupon code from the order I placed last year (yay for never expiring coupons) so I was able to pick up my new planner for only $24 including shipping!

Tim and I made a quick trip to Walmart this morning where he picked up a couple of video games for $25 and $35, which was a great deal for him. I found the Kodak Wireless Printer  for only $49! I picked that up as well as a refill pack for $13 since this is normally a $100 product.

Later I plan on heading to Stop and Shop where I hear if you spend $100 on gift cards you get $20 towards groceries printed on your receipt! I will be taking advantage of that since I buy so many gift cards for family members!

There are a ton of deals out there today, go take advantage and if you can do it from home!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Our Wedding: Gifts For My Parents

For our parents gifts Tim and I split up the responsibility. I dealt with items for my parents and he did his, this way we were able to pick out gifts geared towards them and it felt a little more personal.

I relied heavily on Amazon for my dads gifts. Are dads just notoriously difficult to shop for?! Most of the father of the bride gifts weren't really relevant. My dad never wears ties, he doesn't need cuff links or a cloth hankie, and he doesn't really need anything in particular. So I opted for a little funny and a little sweet.

First up, a money clip.

From Amazon, this money clip is on the funny side and I know he uses a money clip now so it's something he could potentially use. 

 Next up is also from Amazon:



I thought this t-shirt was also pretty funny and also probably accurate since he was forced to run around doing my errands the morning of the wedding. 

The last item that I targeted towards my dad but figured both my parents could use was a frame from Amazon:



In here I put an old picture of my dad and I but figured they can change the picture to one of the three of us on my wedding day if they want.

For both my parents (and I also printed one for Tim's parents as well) was this print off of Amazon:


Obviously the names and date are changed on ours and it says Mom & Dad instead of Mother & Father. I bought frames from Kohl's to put them in and got them in a 5x7. I thought this was nice and sentimental for our parents.

The first thing for my mom came from Yankee Candle.


I made her a personalized Macintosh candle which you can see above. I love this picture of us from when I was little and thought it fit in nicely since I was giving my dad a frame with an old picture of us in it.

At Marshalls I had found a mother of the bride mug:


This mug was found at the same time as Rachel's MOH mug and I thought it was a nice thing to get my mom that she could use in the future.

What did you give your parents for wedding gifts?

Monday, November 19, 2018

Life Lately: A Month of Marriage

Hey loves!

Today I'm going to share some pictures that are non-wedding related. Since tomorrow is one month since the wedding I want to update you on what we've been up to since then. I'll pick back up with wedding posts soon because there is still SO much to share but I really want to share the professional photos with you once they come in.

My to-do list length is only rivaled by my blog to-do list...so much to write!

Anyways here's what we've been up to over the last month:

I have been so lucky to get to have lunch with this little one on occasion!


She got the chance to ride Rhody the Ram at URI and clearly was pleased with herself!

Tim and I also attended the Trunk or Treat that Brittni's family started hosting each year. This year the rain put a damper on the trunk part of it but they still held the party! We weren't planning on decorating a trunk since it was the weekend after our wedding so we weren't disappointed about that aspect. It's so cute to see all the little ones in their costumes.


Parker was cruising around in her walker!


Emma kept enjoying poking Tim with her horn. Little troublemaker.




We spent some time at the rock painting table since that's what Emma seemed to enjoy the most.



Then Tim worked on his muscles by holding Emma and Bella up so they could draw on the white board.

At work they threw me a surprise wedding party!



It was so sweet and unexpected!


Tim turned 30! We celebrated by going to BJs Brewhouse with Derek, Ally and Shawn. Then we went to Richards Pub to continue the celebrations.



I love this guy and glad he's old like me now!


On Election Day I had the whole day off so first I voted...


Then I headed to social security to officially change my name! (Man that is a LONG process...still not done)


We also got to meet Ryan (our friend Jenna's little boy!) He was born back in the summer but we hadn't been able to meet him yet. It was so nice to visit with Jenna and Chris while we soaked up some baby time.

On Veteran's Day while Tim worked I went to play with the babies!



Parker and I bonded while I pushed her on the swing!



Then we played in Emma's room for a little bit until I had to leave. Such a fun day!

Now I'm off to try to get some things checked off my to-do list! What did you do this month?!

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Our Wedding: The Bridal Party

Do you all have the most incredible group of friends and family that are incredibly supportive and always there for you?

If you don't, find some ASAP because this crew was AMAZING!

Not only did we each have seven people who stand by our sides but we had five adorable children who were part of our day.



Tim chose his cousin (and best friend) Derek as his best man. He included his dad as a groomsman and his two brothers. He had two of his best friends Shawn and Fred and also included my brother.

I chose my best friend Rachel as my matron of honor. I had Brittni my other best friend lined up next, followed by Kristin who I have been friends with since high school. Megan and Laura were my roommates in college, Tim's sister Brittany was next and then Ally who is a newer friend but also Derek's girlfriend, so I see her quite often!


Could we have found cuter kids anywhere? I highly doubt it!

Kason and Callan are Tim's (and now mine!) nephews and are the sweetest. They really took care of the little girls and had the best time in the photobooth!

Tilly is the daughter of Rachel and Ant and Emma and Parker are the daughters of Brittni and Stephen. All three of them were perfect and SO entertaining. We are so lucky to have friends who produce such adorable children and allow us to be their aunt and uncle.

We truly had the most amazing bridal party and could not be luckier to have celebrated with all of them!

<3

Monday, November 12, 2018

Our Wedding: The Dress

Today I'm sharing pictures that haven't been shared yet on the blog and I only shared with Tim the other day!

These pictures are from when I first went to try on my dress! I had picked my dress during an appointment with my mom and Rachel but this is when my mom and I went back to Alexandra's in Fall River and I had my accessories appointment. 

I tried on the dress that they would alter to me and picked my hair piece and my earrings.



I was pretty sure I wanted my hair half up and curled so I did a little something so I could see what it would be like. Immediately my consultant picked my hair piece and I was obsessed. It was perfect and I knew I had to have it.

The earrings were a little tougher but we eventually found a pair that I loved.



I love the dress I chose. I love how simple it is but the belt gives it sparkle. I love that it's strapless and so comfortable. I love that it had a train but wasn't anything too intense. I loved everything about it.


If you are looking for a dress I would definitely head to Alexandras in Fall River MA. They have every dress imaginable and take the time to let you try on them all! I (mostly) had the best experiences there. Everyone from my initial consultant to my seamstress (Megan) was wonderful. There was one employee I found a little rude but besides here everyone was great!

I highly recommend them if you aren't sure what you really want. They helped me find the dress I always wanted and kept it within my budget!

What is your dream wedding dress?

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Our Wedding: First Touch

This is a moment I'll have to revisit later because I only have one picture to show you today. 

Years ago while reading Peanut Butter Fingers I read about the authors wedding.  Julie shared a moment that was so special and private for her and her husband. She called it "Behind The Door" and I was obsessed with this moment because it felt like the perfect way to connect with your future husband but not see him before the right moment. 

I always dreamed about doing this and once our photographer Carissa asked us if we were doing a first look I told her no but I really wanted to do a " behind the door" shot. She called it a "first touch" and I knew that yes that's exactly what I wanted.

I wanted to hold Tim's hand and tell him how much I love him. I wanted to know he was there and feeling nervous too but so excited to meet me at the end of the aisle.

That's exactly what we got.


Now this is the only picture I have, taken by one of my bridesmaids. I could barely see Tim and he couldn't see me at all. I held his hand as Carissa took pictures of us and we told each other how excited we were and how we'd see each other soon.

When the professional pictures come in I will share more because I'm sure they will make this moment look complete. It was perfect and I am SO glad we chose to do this!

Monday, November 5, 2018

Our Wedding: The Reception

Happy Monday!

Today we are chatting about our wedding reception! It's hard to believe this was over two weeks ago.


Our reception went by in a blur but we had the best night! The room looked gorgeous and I can't believe that my vision came to life!


Our first dance was to Dance With Me by Phillip Phillips which Tim picked and it was so sweet. However dancing while everyone watches you is one of the most awkward things in the world.



We had a small cake made so we could cut it but served cupcakes and s'mores tarts at a dessert table to our guests.  I still can't get over how much fun these simple little things were. We had the best time feeding each other cake and laughing as Tim cut a huge piece to feed me.


The babies were the hit of the wedding and Emma's dance moves were priceless as she twirled and galloped around the dance floor.


So many of my friends were there and it was great to see them all, I just wish we had more time to socialize!



 We tired to get around and talk to every single person but it was such a whirlwind!



As we listened and laughed to the speeches of my dad, my matron of honor and Tim's best man we knew we were so lucky to have all of them there with us!



I am so thankful these moments were captured because they truly emulate the pure joy we felt on this day!

I can't wait to share more pictures with you as we receive them. It was truly the most magical, perfect day.