Skin that is Wedding Ready Part 2

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I have started a new face regiment to get my skin glowing by the wedding day.  Today, I want to share what I have been doing at night time.

1.  Garnier- Makeup Remover Wipes: These wipes have the same great smell as the Garnier- BB Cream so I was instantly drawn to them.  They do a great job of removing all makeup and do not leave your face feeling oily at all.

2.  Clarisonic with Philosophy- Purity: I am sure you have heard about the Clarisonic before, but if you haven't used one I highly suggest it!  It is like having a facial in the comfort of your own house.  The problem many people have is they use it WAY too much and end up with a rash on their face (I can vouch for this).  As I mentioned "it is like having a facial in the comfort of your own home,"  would you get a facial every day or twice a day?  Probably not it would leave your skin raw.  However, if I could afford it I would love to have one ONCE a week.  That is why I have limited myself with my normal skin type to using the Clarisonic only once a week.  I think you could probably get away with two times, but I am not pushing it.  I use the same Philosophy Purity wash with it because it is super gentle.  On the days I don't use the Clarisonic I just wash the old fashion way:)

3. Kiehl's -Ultra Facial Toner: I use this same toner in the evening to restore the ph balance and eliminate any leftover dirt.

4.  Orgins- GinZing Eye Cream I use this night time as well so when I wake up in the morning I look refreshed.

5. Josie Maran- Argan Oil: This little bottle of oil was introduced to me by one of my best friends, Judi, almost three years ago.  You can use it as a moisturizer, at night time or even on the ends of your hair.  It just puts moisture back into your skin and I love it.  It's not like you are really putting oil on your skin, it is as if you are just adding back what was missing from a hard day of work.  

6. Philosophy- Hope in a Jarr: This final step is my favorite.  It is a great night time cream because I feel it start working the second I put it on.  It makes my skin extremely soft and extra bright.

Ok so there you have it, my crazy skin plan for the next six and half months.  I know it is pretty extreme, but you can swap in and swap out other products that you already use.  I hope this helps you and if you have any questions please feel free to ask!

Skin that is Wedding Ready

With the wedding nearly six months away I have stepped up my game on many levels.  I have been working out about six days a week and have been trying to eat healthy.  I really haven't kicked it into full gear yet, but I do have a plan as the date slowly approaches.  I am pretty confident if I put in the work I will be happy with the way I look and feel come August.

Until recently, however, I never really thought about what I would be doing as far as skin care for the big day.  I have always had decent skin so besides for a few breakouts I never paid much attention to the products I used.  Don't get me wrong, I have always LOVED products (Judi don't have a heart attack I haven't been lying to you) I just would buy them use them for a few weeks and then completely ditch them.  After talking to another friend that is getting married after me she kind of turned a light on.  I want my skin to be bright and perfect for my wedding.  As a result I have spent the past few weeks (one of the projects I worked on while I was on my blog break) reading a researching and I have come up with a great regiment.  After about three weeks of commitment to my regiment and one facial, I am loving my skin more than I ever have.  I can really see myself continuing this plan after the wedding.  Today, I will start with what I have been doing in the morning.  Some of these products overlap, but I will be back tomorrow to share which I use at night along with a few other products.  Please feel free to let me know anything else you used in order to make yourself feel ready and confident for the biggest day of either yours or your friends life!!

1.  Philosophy- Purity: Gentle & refreshing face wash
2.  Kiehl's- Ultra Facial Toner: Do you know you every time you wash your face you are supposed to follow with a toner to restore the ph balance?
3.  Orgins- GinZing Eye Cream: I put it on the lids and under eyes and it has been eliminating the puffiness almost immediately
4.  Kiehl's- Powerful Wrinkle Reducing Cream: This is the most expensive product so I may switch it out after the wedding, but seriously does it work wonders.  I find my skin feeling tighter after using it for only 3 weeks.  I know I am years away from real wrinkles, but it is never to early to start preventing them.  I bought it with SPF because I plan on using it during the day, but if you want to use it at night you can also get it without.
5.  Garnier- BB Cream: Oh my do I love you BB cream.  I know it's the craze right now, but seriously this Garnier brand is the most amazing product ever and it is under $15.  My skin has changed dramatically ever since I started using this.  It provides the right amount of coverage without looking caked on and then while its working as a foundation all day it is also correcting my skin.  Oh, on top of it it smells fabulous.  I am obsessed.  The little pimples I used to get in my T-zone are gone.  GONE. GONE!!! Okay, you get it.  SO GO GET IT!  

Where the **** Have I Been?

So have you been wondering where I have been lately?  I am so sorry life got pretty hectic and on top of it I caught a horrible cold, so I needed to take a break from blogging, but I am back and ready to go!  The bright side is I was distracted by only good things (aside from the cold) and I am looking forward to sharing them with you.

For starters, we have decided to start looking to buy our own place!  I have seen so many places in the past few weeks, and this past weekend we put in our very first bid.  Unfortunately, we didn't get the place, but we know this just means it wasn't meant to be.  I am really excited to share this process with you as we make this major step in our life.

I have also had to tackle a good amount of wedding planning which only means we are getting closer to the big day!!

I will be back tomorrow with some bridesmaid insight, but for now here is a recap of my little blogging break:

This little one took very good care of me while I was sick.  She basically showed me the ropes of what you do when you stay home from work.

I spent some quality time with my adorable nephew.  I cannot believe he is almost one!!

I completed the Step Up!! I was so proud of me and Steph we finished in under 35 minutes!

I have started my wedding diet.  Yup, this mean I am swapping noodles out for spaghetti squash and quinoa. 

And last night I hosted a small viewing party.  Not the best shot of my spread since most of it was in the oven, but it will do!

Real Weddings: Jon and Jenny's Feature in D Weddings

You may remember when I posted about the beautiful wedding of my friends, Jenny and Jon, back in June.   I was so excited to find out their wedding has been featured in D Weddings (the premier Dallas wedding magazine) because my photos and descriptions really can't do a wedding THAT fabulous the justice it deserves.

So below are some of the highlights featured in D Weddings. All of the photos have been take by Stephen Karlisch and Steve Wrubel.  You can also view the full article here. 

Do you spot me in this picture?

Just thought these photos were so beautiful and I had to share!!

Step Up For Kids

Good Morning, my extremely loyal readers.

On Sunday, January 27th, 2013 I will participate in the 16th Annual Aon Step Up for Kids presented by KPMG.  I will climb 80 floors/1,643 steps for the kids and families at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago.

This event raises funds for K.I.D.S.S. for Kids, an affiliated organization of Lurie Children's, and a long time supporter of its Family Services Department.  Family Services provide patients with specialized support from Child Life specialists, art therapists, social workers, clergy, educational volunteers, and peer groups such as ParentWISE.

At this point I have raised $918.00 and I am driven to double that number.  It would mean the world to me if you could support our efforts by making a gift today.  All donations are tax-deductible and will be acknowledged by Lurie Children's Foundation with a receipt for tax purposes. And, best of all, it's for a great cause.

I would love any support you can give me whether that is a donation or joining my team.

Support Me or Join Me 

I would like to thank you in advance for helping make Chicago healthier for kids!

Our Wedding Website

Now that our Save the Dates went out (I will show you a pic once everyone receives them) I can finally share with you a project that has kept me pretty busy lately... creating our wedding website!

Having a wedding blog and all, I really wanted it to be different than the cookie cutter ones I have seen before.  I wanted to make it unique to our wedding and our personalities.  I shopped around and remembered a fellow blogger had talked about the website called Wix.   It allows you to completely design your own website and move around buttons, text and pictures without having to code it yourself.    Wix, enabled me to put my own spin on a wedding website.

Having a large wedding to some may not feel intimate, but to David and I, that could not be further from the truth.  We pride ourselves in the lifelong relationships we had before we met, as well as those we have built together.  We learned this from our parents, so as a result there may be some people at our wedding that don't know the ins and outs of our relationship together.  I want this website to be a place where those not that familiar with us as a couple can relate and know what we are about before they witness our marriage.

I worked hard to share our love story and include those that have been an integral part to our relationship.  I also am able to share a brief description about each of my bridesmaids and how important they truly are to me.  Of course, I also included all the information a guest would need to know about the actual wedding, but there are also some special surprises.

So without further ado here is our wedding website.. I hope you love it!! 

Real Weddings: Lisa and Adam's Wedding

I am sorry for taking forever to get this out, but I was really busy at work around the holidays, and then I went on vacation.  I figured I would just take the rest of the week off so I can get back to blogging relaxed and ready to go.  So today I am back with the recap of Adam and Lisa's wedding.  As you can tell from the pictures, it was really an exquisite event.  The food, the decor, the music, pretty much every single detail was as classy as it could get.  All of that really didn't matter though, because the love in the room made the entire evening.

Lisa and Adam have been dating since their freshman year of high school, so this was an evening that both families had been waiting for over a DECADE.  All of their friends and extended family couldn't have been more honored to be a part of the weekend and the bride and groom were glowing with love and happiness.

Look at our adorable robes Lisa got us!

Getting all glamorous!

Doing a little pre-wedding Zumba.. I think I had to tell the bride to stop so she didn't ruin her hair!!

Just enjoying ourselves during pictures.  The lower one makes me so happy.. I really love her so much.

And it begins.. talk about a winter wonderland!

Some cocktail hour favorites!!

The classic Fancy picture!!

Lisa getting serenaded  

First dance and the Horrah!

Enjoying our time on the dance floor!

Good friends make weddings even that much better

One of my favorite parts about this wedding was I really felt like I got to spend some quality time with the bride.

We love you so much Mr. & Mrs. Silver and we can't wait to celebrate many more milestones to come!