Brief Engagement update

So we've been engaged nearly a week and I'm getting overwhelmed with all the questions.  We have started the wedding planning fun.  We have asked our wedding party and have two appointments set up this weekend to look at venues.  We will be attending a bridal expo in April and will hopefully meet a lot of area vendors.  R had no idea of the costs of the different elements of a wedding so I've been doing some research for us to be able to plan our budget efficiently.  I can't wait to share our progress on our blog.

I wanted to share a couple of photos from a trip we took a couple weekends ago to Ocracoke Island on the Outer Banks.  We were there for a friend's weddings and enjoyed 4 days relaxing on the island. 

 Our ferry!

 The banks as the ferry pulled in the the bay.

Ocracoke Lighthouse in the distance.

Bathroom at Howards...I thought the Adirondack chair in the corner was a fun touch...that and they have a great selection of beers and I'd worked my way through the list at the point where bathroom pictures seemed like a good idea. 

I have so many more pictures including a great one of R and I standing at the lighthouse.  Those photos are on his camera but I will post them as soon as I learn how to get my precious pictures off his fancy camera.

Our Engagement

I'm engaged! 


R proposed on March 23rd (sorry y'all but family needed to find out first!)  We were having a glass of wine on our back porch before starting preparation for a casual barbequed dinner and suddenly he was down on one knee holding a ring in front of me!  I couldn't have been more surprised.  After a trip to a friend's house and many many phone calls we skipped the cooking all together and celebrated our engagement over sushi.  I was in shock so I can't remember all the sweet things he said but I'll never forget the way he looked at me when he asked me to marry him.  He chose a round solitaire for my ring...it looks beautiful and I love the sparkle!   The only picture I have of the ring is on my phone and isn't the best quality but I wanted to share it with my blog friends!

New Ulta Finds

I've been in a funk lately and I was hoping some new products would give some "oomph" to my routine.

 Essie Luxe Effects in Shine of the Times is a really neat polish.  I should preface this by saying I dislike glitter polish.  I usually buy opaque creamy shades.  This gem layered over any nail polish will give it a totally different look without the chunky glitter feel.  The tiny thin flecks of foil give the polish a wet look - I'm wearing it now actually over Essie Big Spender on the ring fingers only to try it out.  I can't wait to layer this over Essie Mint Candy Apple on our upcoming beach weekend.

 Butter London Wallis.  This is not a pretty shade in the bottle.  In fact, when I picked it up at Ulta - R made a very unsure face. I dislike glitter (see above) and I also dislike iridescent shades of polish normally.  This polish is a little of both...a very olive polish with fine gold sparkle.  It is probably the most unusual polish in my collection and I love it!

 Xen Tan Mousse Intense Weekly Self Tan.  Sally Beauty Supply no longer sells my beloved Tanwise Mousse so I had to find a substitute.  This product retails for $29...quite a bit more than my previous self tanner.  I've used this a couple of times and it is fairly foolproof, I use a pair of reuseable latex gloves from Sally to apply it and the product has a green tint so you can see where you apply it.  The scent is faintly vanilla and it dries quickly.  I didn't notice any bronzer deposit on my sheets or pajamas and the resulting color is a nice medium tan that lasts about 4 days.

I've picked up this Goody Modern Updo hair pin several times in Target, Ulta, Walmart, etc but couldn't convince myself to buy it.  I just didn't see how it could possibly work.  Last Friday I finally bought it and I can't believe how secure my hair twist is without hundreds of bobbi pins.  There are instructions on the box but I highly suggest searching youtube for a good tutorial (there are several).  I can use this from the side and from underneath my hair twist to create 2 different looks.  I have medium-thick hair and the longest layer falls at the top of my bra strap...this works for me.  One word of caution, don't pull the hair too tight at the base of the head when you insert the pin and twist it - this prevents the hairstyle from hurting your scalp.  I had to play with it several times to figure out the best way to use it and now it will probably by my "go-to" for bad hair days - I can make this look cute and professional in less than 10 minutes.

February Craziness and My Lack of Blogging

I fail at blogging...I'm new at pinterest...and I've been slightly more productive with twitter.  The month of February was a fast one for us.  R and I hosted a super bowl party, we celebrated our anniversary, he made a delicious Valentine dinner for us and I went out of town for a dear friend's bachelorette party.  It was a crazy month!  I have a few more photos but we have been taking a lot of pictures with the camera R received for Christmas and I haven't uploaded any of those photos.  Honestly we are both still learning how to use it.  Here are a few from the month that I had on my phone.

 R found this pretty flower tucked in a bush in our backyard on Super Bowl Sunday.

 Presents on the table for Valentine's Day / Anniversary.

 R woke me up one morning with a peppermint mocha and paper.  Such a sweet surprise!

 A special meal!

 My Valentine's Day flowers.

St Germain and Champage cocktail.

Dueling piano bar with a few lovely ladies on bachelorette weekend.