How sweet it is!

 You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming.

~Alan, age 10

So today on the news I heard like eighty people trying to predict what the menu would be for the royal wedding and WHAM inspiration for today's blog. Apparently at the royal wedding they are serving boiled fish, quail, starling pie (whatever the heck that is) and of course the ever sophisticated pig in a blanquette.... wow. Well none of that is really striking my fancy and honestly it really just sounds expensive, so as usual I have some fun, cost effective ideas to better suit your personality.... and they are waaaaay cuter than boiled fish... ew.

1. The Cupcake Bar
- Holy cupcake batman! This is such an amazing idea! HOW DOES EVERY WEDDING NOT HAVE THIS!!!! I love this idea because it is hands-on and pretty cheap. You could totally do this all by your self. I mean how hard is to bake some naked cupcakes and then pour some sprinkles in a bowl.... I also really like this because you can personalize everything to match your theme or personality. Having a underwater themed wedding? Throw out some swedish fish. Marrying a nerd? Smarties are the way to go! THIS IS THE BEST IDEA EVER!!!!!!

2. The Chocolate Fountain
- These are pretty common but I love them. Again this is a super cheap option. You can rent the fountain and then you just cut up some different stuff and let people dip. My favorite dippers are strawberries, bananas, and meringue puffs. YUM! Also another fun little thing you can do is use white chocolate and then food coloring to match your wedding colors. Let's not kid, there is a pink chocolate fountain in my future for sure!

3. The Mac & Cheese Shooter
- Who doesn't love mac and cheese? This is so perfect because it can please a wide variety of people. Little kids will like it plain and the grown-ups can jazz up their mac with toppings like bread crumbs, bacon bits, tomatoes, and a billion other things. This can even be dressed up to fit into a more formal wedding. Instead of regular elbow shaped pasta try the little spirals or instead of little bowls dish up the mac and cheese in little martini glasses!

4. The Candy Bar
- I know, lots of different types of bars, but I don't really care cause they are so darn cute! This is very versatile and cost efficient. You can buy they candy in bulk and its dirt cheap. You don't need servers because you are just putting it in bowls. Also this can double as a party favor. Put little to go bags on the table and your guests can scoop up some candy and take it with them as a favor!!!

5. The Pancake on a Stick
-I'm not sure why, but put anything on a stick and I pretty much think its adorable... something about all that portability.... These would be absolutely perfect for a morning wedding when you are serving a brunch type meal after. Pancakes are cheap because there isn't much too them but people are just gonna gush about cute they are!

6. The Milk and Cookie Shooter
- These are cute and comforting all at the same time. On your wedding day everything is gonna stress you out. every. little. thing. So why not have something at your reception that is just straight up comforting. These shooters are way cute and if you wanted you could mix it up with different types of cookies. I personally would just stick chocolate chip because I think it would be beneficial to keep something simple on a day when everything else is soo complicated. I want one of these. Like now.


I hope these ideas gave everyone some inspiration, whether it be idea for your wedding... or just what to eat for dinner!

Love, Laughter and God's Blessings
Lauren

A Symbol of Love

 "One of you should know how to write a check. Because, even if you have tons of love, there is still going to be a lot of bills"
~Ava, age 8

Hope everyone is having a great Tuesday! Today I want to discuss another thing about weddings. I have been to like a jillion weddings and the ones that always make an impression are the ones that have some type of releasal at the end. Ya know like butterflies or doves or something. So in this blog I thought I would give you my opinions about which ones I think are the most beautiful and then some tips to make sure you are being safe and environmentally responsable.

 

1. Dove Release

- Doves are a very important symbol in the christian religions, one that is seen many times in biblical texts. Doves are gorgeous and majestic and so ridiculously romantic. However there are several things you need to take into account if you are going to do a dove release. You need to make sure that the doves you pick are properly trained for homing. In other words you want to make sure that when you release the doves they know how to fly back to their roost. So on a cruise... dove release...not ideal....

2. Butterfly Release

- A butterfly is also powerful christian symbol but I also think it is a good symbol for marriage. The whole going into the cacoon and turning into something beautiful, pretty romantic. However it can be very tricky to orchestrate. Butterflies do not home like doves so when you let them go you just sorta let them go... It's important to research what sort of butterflies can live in the climate in the certain season you are releasing in. Otherwise you are sending them to their deaths. Also you might want to check out the area you are releasing in before hand. A bunch of crows that live in a tree near by eating your butterflies as you release them might spoil your mood a bit.

3. Balloon release
- Ok I know what you are thinking, AH BALLOONS GET IN THE OCEAN AND KILL SEALS AND WHALES AND STUFF. But dont worry I did my research and thankfully that is soo not how it goes down. Apparently when you release a balloon, as long as it isn't carrying too much weight, it goes up to five miles above the ground and then shatters into a billion little pieces... seriously I'm not making it up. One important fact though, is that you need to make sure the balloons are 100% latex. Latex is completely biodegradeable, in other words completely safe. You will not hurt the environment with a balloon release. It is recommended, however, that you limit the amount of balloons released tied together to 10. It can cause a hazard to airplanes if you release like 100 balloons tied together.

Well that is my take on wedding releases. I don't know if they will release anything at the royal wedding but I do think they are royally romantic and I most def see one in my wedding future.

Love, Laughter and God's Blessings
Lauren

HATily ever after

"I enjoy hats. And when one has filthy hair, that is a good accessory."

~ Julia Roberts

I think hats are a great fashion piece. They have a long and strong history, and while I personally think that hats are always in fashion, they have recently been brought back into the forefront of fashion by the highly popular Kare Middleton. So since this week I'm doing wedding themed blogs I decided to discuss an aspect of wedding I feel that is sadly neglected and that hats could totally fix. The leaving outfit! You know the outfit that you go to the airport in or leave your reception in. I know we all want to stay in that glorious wedding gown as long as possible but just wear it on your anniversary or something. I think it is very important to have an outfit to wear as you are leaving the reception and going on to your next stop. I mean its one more opportunity to look absolutely fabulous... why pass it up?!?

In my head I have always seen myself leaving my reception running under the rice or bubbles or whatever in a fabulous hat with a veil and all that jazz. It's probably because my mom wore a hat and I have seen it in pictures. For whatever reason it has always been an unshakable idea in my head. And with the royal wedding coming soon, and it being mandatory to wear a hat to the big day I think its the prefect time to explore the world of hats. Here are my top five favorite types of hats to wear with a simple outfit to make sure you look elegant whether spectating or fleeing!

 

1. The Wide Brim

- This is a classic shape for a hat. I like wide brims, but i like them with only simple adornments. Sometimes people have a tendency to think that the more stuff you put on them the more rich and fashionable you look. I think you eventually you just look like you are wearing a craft closet on your head. A simple bow will do you. This hat can go with a wide variety of outfits but try to keep whatever it is form fitting. With all that size and shape on your head if you wear something with a lot of volume on the bottom you will just end up looking spacious and not elegant.

2. The Pillbox with a Veil

- The pillbox hat is a style that always reminds me of the 40's and 50's and small little white gloves. Its such a feminine little accessory and I adore it. I feel like for a wedding it really needs a veil. If veils are not your thing you could certainly wear it without it. But let me tell you when I get married I need everyone to know I am the bride and the veil helps me accomplish that. Plus I think short veils like this are super flirty and intriguing. ( credit for picture "The pillbox photo was me (Katie Greiner) taken by Christa Taylor in Portland, Oregon, and is by Unveiled Designs - MUAH Caprice Hammon")

3. The Fascinator

- The fascinator has become widely popular lately all thanks to Kate Middleton. She has rocked the fascinator at several different appearances and I say keep it coming. They are perfect for people like me who have slightly bigger heads and have a hard time finding hats that fit. Fascinators come in a wide variety of shapes sizes and colors. they are the perfect thing to add some sparkle to an outfit. I sorta want to wear one like everyday....

4. The Cloche

- This hat is originally from the 20's but it is making a resurgence. I think this hat is suited for a more subdued personality. But just because there are no feathers doesn't mean that this hat is any less elegant or alluring. I do however think this hat is more suited to the winter months or maybe if its in a jewel tone the spring. In the summer it may look a little silly. I can see this hat paired with a tailored skirt suit in a cool color. Tres chic!

5. The Fedora

- This hat is a little more casual yet still elegant and interesting. Floral is really in right now and I really like the idea of a floral or some other pattern instead of boring old straw or felt or whatever else. This is for your wedding, we cant have hum drum we must have fabulous!!!! I like the fedora and it goes well with a ponytail. Which if you had a really elegant hair style for your ceremony a pony tail will be a welcome comfort.

OK those are my top picks for hats. And while I picked these for after a wedding, these can be options for a multitude of other occasions. I think hats are magnificent are seriously neglected. So go find a hat and put it on!

Love, Laughter and God's Blessings

Lauren

going to the chapel and we're gonna get maaaaarried

You should never kiss a girl unless you have enough bucks to buy her a big ring and her own VCR, 'cause she'll want to have videos of the wedding

~Jim age 10

 OK so as I am sure pretty much all of you know, the royal wedding is less than a week away. I am completely obsessed. For one, its like a fairy tale come true with the prince and the tiara and the royalty and blah blah blah. and second I'm obsessed with weddings in general. I have a huge scrap book full with all sorts of clippings and plans and samples from peoples weddings and just a bunch of other ridiculous memorabilia. Sooo needless to say this royal wedding is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. So until this blessed event, my blogs are all going to be wedding themed. I am pretty jazzed.

Today I want to talk engagement rings. I have sort of a weird opinion on the whole thing, so I sorta want to preface it with an apology because I feel like some people will be offended with what I'm about to say if they already have a ring on their finger. My opinions regarding engagements rings are my personal opinions and I only project them onto my own lifestyle. I do not expect people to agree and I think any ring that comes from the heart is lovely.... I am just a little critical when it comes to my personalized styling. so here we go

I do not like traditional diamond solitaire engagement rings. I think they are cliche and plain and we are all brainwashed into wanting them. Seriously. Look into the history and the dealings of the company DeBeers and you too will see. I mean look at all our stupid sayings: "diamonds are forever" "diamonds are a girls best friend" and so on and so forth. So basically I'm against diamond engagement rings in general. I feel like there are much more beautiful options that can be tailored to match your personality. Plus people are much more likely to remember your ring if it's different. And remember different doesn't have to mean quirky, it can still mean elegant. So let's explore some options that are anti-diamond solitaire. 

 

1. The Opal.

- I love opals. I think they are so gorgeous. This one is pretty subdued in fire but you can get them in many different colors. I think they are so elegant. This has diamonds surrounding it ,but if you wanted, you could pick a colored gem stone to go around it to pull out other colors from the fire. I love this one. It just feels very classy and elegant and sort of Victorian. Ugh its just really really beautiful.

 2. The Pearl.

- Ok I know these two rings look really similar but I just happened to pick two rings that are pretty matte in their coloring. Pearls can also have a lot more color to them. I love pearls. I try to wear pearls as often as possible. If somethings has like faux pearls sewn on it I will buy it. No question. But I love the idea of a pearl engagement ring because it has color and dimension and an interesting shape. I just think it is very romantic. It makes me think of like deep sea expeditions to find the perfect thing to give your bride... ok so yea that went a little far but you get what I mean.

3. The Sapphire

- This one is my absolute favorite... pretty much because it is pink. This is a sapphire. Traditionally sapphires are thought of as blue but I absolutely love the pink color they come in. This is what I want to wear on my finger no doubt about it. I feel like it matches my personality and it's just so dang pretty.

4. The Ruby

- The ruby is a classic gem stone. Many celebs and royalty have chosen rubies as their engagement ring stone of choice. Jessica Simpson rocked the ruby engagement ring. I like this stone and feel like it would go really well with a pale skin tone. Red is such a classic romantic color. The ruby is ideal for an engagement ring.

 5. The Amethyst

- I like this one because purple is the color of royalty and that is quite fitting for this week! Purple is such a pretty color and it looks good on so many skin tones. I don't actually there is a skin tone it doesn't go well with. The stone just looks so rich and luxurious. Its a decadent stone but it still seems to have a depth to it. It's extravagant without being too flashy which I think makes it a good fit for lots of people!

I totally get it that some people just genuinely like diamonds and I think that's awesome. But I think everyone should know you don't have to limit your choices to diamonds. In fact diamond engagement rings are a pretty recent trend. If you look back in history you will see back in the old days, for example the Victorian period where I should have been born, diamonds were not even popular. To sum it all up, there are many different options that can help you express yourself and also keep your costs down.

I hope everybody has a great week!!!!

Love, Laughter and God's Blessings

Lauren

Gotta be smart to catch those z's

Once you wake up and smell the coffee, it's hard to go back to sleep.
~Fran Drescher

So last night after a crazy turn of events I managed to spill a whole glass of water over my ihome which started blaring Mexican radio and needless to say all my designs for a restful night of sleep were over. Even more unfortunate for me is the fact that I fall asleep to the sounds of either a "long soothing rain" or the ocean. But alas, without my ihome I can no longer here these noises that lull me to sleep each night, so I been laying here for about an hour without sleeping. I am guessing I am not the only person out there that cannot sleep so I thought I would explore some tricks I will be using shortly after finishing this blog to get my beauty sleep.

- Aromatherapy. There are lots of skeptics out there about how true the effects of aromatherapy are. However for me I really do think it works. There are a couple of scents I feel like relax me and help me sleep. My favorite candle right now is from glade. The scent is called angel whispers and it has sort of a flowery smell that is really light. I feel like its just really unobtrusive and relaxing and it does help me sleep. I also did some research that confirmed what I already thought. Lavender is also supposed to really help you sleep. According to the Sense of Smell institute lavender not only helps you to fall asleep but it also helps you to get better more restful sleep. Sounds good to me!

- Light training. What I mean by light training is to make sure that you turn of all most if not all light at least 30 min before you want to go to bed. Small lights are OK but the basic idea is that you are in a dim room without direct light on you. The reason this works (disclaimer: I am a psychology major so I do have a background in this but I have watered down the science a little into a more easily digestible form) is because a gland in your brain called the pineal gland secretes a hormone called melatonin when its time for you to get sleepy. Melatonin is counteracted by light meaning that even if you are really tired and it is really late, if your body detects a lot of light it will mess up your rhythms and tell your body its not time to sleep yet.

-Melatonin. I am not a doctor nor can I prescribe medicine but I can tell you that taking an over the counter melatonin supplement can really help me when I get in a bad sleep funk. You can buy melatonin at you local drug store in the vitamin section. I trust this supplement because it is the same as the hormone already secreted by your body so it is not habit forming all though they do suggest you don't take it for more than two weeks continuously because you can build an immunity to it. I use melatonin when I get into a weird sleeping schedule that I want to break, like after a big test or something.

-Stop worrying! It is nearly impossible to sleep when you are just sitting there in the dark worrying about something or another. Find something that works for you to clear your mind. For me i say a little prayer then read a couple chapters in a book. I know some of my friends meditate or do some exercises. whatever it is that works for you, just get your mind off whatever is bothering you. There is plenty of time to stress tomorrow.

OK it is now time for me to take my own advice and get some well deserved beauty sleep!

Love, Laughter and God's Blessings

Lauren

pucker up!

"Keep smiling, because life is a beautiful thing and there's so much to smile about." 

~ Marilyn Monroe

Today is kind of a gloomy day and I think of the best things to do to cheer yourself up on a gloomy day is to smile. Soo I thought I would devote today's blog on how to get your best smile!

I think that the most important aspect of a perfect smile is the lips. Some people think that teeth are more important but even crooked teeth can make a glam smile. There are plenty of celebs out there rockin the crooked teeth.... no body is rockin bad lips. So I thought I would share my tips on how to get a perfect pucker!!!!!!!

- One of the most important aspects to having a perfect pucker is to get smooth lips. There are two parts to smooth lips. First to exfoliate then to moisturize. There are a billion different products out there that you can buy that will exfoliate your lips but I'm always looking for an at-home cheap alternative and there is a great one for this!

A do-it-yourself sugar scrub is a cheap easy alternative to store bought products. To make the sugar scrub all you need is about a tablespoon of plain white granulated sugar. To the sugar add small increments of honey until you get a nice paste. Rub this onto your lips in little circles and then wash off. Make sure you don't scrub too hard because you can irritate your lips. puffy red irritated lips are not cute either.....

After you exfoliate you need to follow up with a moisturizer. It is very tempting to turn to one of the cooling or smell good balms you buy at the store but in reality these products can really dry out your skin. I had some trouble with my lips a couple of months ago and when I asked my doctor he warned me against all balms and instructed me to use a product that I thought was pretty random but now I swear by. VASELINE. I have little jars of the stuff everywhere. It is the perfect moisturizer because it seals all the moisture in without trying to insert any sort of chemical into your lips. Also it's dirt cheap and super easy to find.


- another important part of perfect pucker is color. I am a big fan of gloss. I don't really like lipstick just because it really drys out my lips and I feel like sometimes the pigment can be a little overwhelming on my particular face. I therefore am addicted to glosses of all kinds. One in particular I am loving right now is by Covergirl. Its called CoverGirl WetSlicks AmazeMint in Red Riot. This is one of the prettiest colors of gloss I have ever seen. The red lip is really in for spring and its also a really classic look but sometimes I feel like I look like a clown when I wear a bright red lip. This red is perfect because it slightly translucent so the pigmentation is a little less overwhelming but it does still pop. Plus as an added bonus this gloss had crest peppermint oil in it so that while you wear it, it is also freshening your breath!

-A little trick that I like to improve your smile is to play up your cupids bow. Your cupids bow is the little dip in the middle of your top lip. If you accent your Cupid's bow you can make your lips look much fuller. The way to do this is outline your Cupid's bow with a highlighter so that it reflects light and draws attention. There are lots of different things you can use, but my personal favorite is a gold eyeliner. Simply trace along your lip line with the eyeliner pencil (liquid will work too) not going too far past your Cupid's bow. Then blend the line in a little with your ring finger and voila!


I hope these tips can help everyone get the glam grin they deserve! Lets all smile the clouds away!

Love, Laughter, and God's Blessings
Lauren

I believe in manicures. I believe in overdressing. I believe in primping at leisure and wearing lipstick. I believe in pink. I believe happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day, and... I believe in miracles.
~Audrey Hepburn

I love Audrey Hepburn! I have a picture of her over my bed so that every morning when I wake up and start getting ready I can look at her and remember to behave myself with the elegance and poise that she so flawlessly exudes. Her quote, while being slightly corny and cliche, is a perfect mantra for my life. Everyday I aspire to live my life by her beliefs.

I have an amazing group of family and friends and I love my life. I believe you get back what you put out into the world. I chose to put out pink, dresses, and smiles and I have gotten back joy. While it may be slightly self absorbed I think that maybe people could read about my philosophies and habits and perhaps it could add some joy to their life. This blog will be about my life. To me that means make up tips, accessory features, book reviews, fashion ideas, and other ways to put out more fabulous to get more fabulous back. If this isnt your cup of tea then I wouldn't stick around, but if it is, tune in and enjoy!

Happy tip of the day: Try putting something that is beautiful or inspiring in your line of vision when you first wake up in the morning. It will chase away the early morning blues and give you something to feel happy about for the rest of the day.

Love and Laughter and God's Blessings,

Lauren