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

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