Putting it to the Test

Oh blog! I have not forgotten about you, I have just been quietly ignoring you in hopes that you would not notice.  I'm so sorry. It has been ridiculously busy! As the wedding season was beginning to peak, so did orders on my Etsy shop!  I'm so grateful to the many brides, bridesmaids and mothers of the brides I've had a chance to work with this year! Thank you for giving me an opportunity to be a part of your big day!

Now, I decided that if you want me to post more often, I have to open my blog up to more everyday things since all of my time dedicated to my Etsy shop is creating and fulfilling orders. Is that okay with you? Good. I thought you wouldn't mind.

So, I am currently overseas traveling.  This week has been Japan. I've been holding up to the humid weather thanks to a few magical products I decided to put to the test. One of the things I hate the most is sweating. As soon as I get hot, my face gets shiny and things start melting off my face.  So if I find makeup that withstands heat, humidity and moisture, their my products for life.  Here are a few that I've been using for the past couple of years that I LOVE.  I spent an entire day walking around in Nagoya yesterday and my makeup stayed in place for over 18 hours! If you're doing your own makeup on your wedding day, consider these!

1. Imju Fiberwig Mascara

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I use mascara everyday, but since makeup tends to melt off my face, by 10 am, I'd have smudges under my eyes.  This mascara solved the problem! The formula coats each lash and doesn't clump or smudge.  When you wash it off, it slides off your lashes with a little warm water.  No more panda eyes for me!  Some complain that their eyelashes don't hold a curl with this mascara, but I always (with whichever mascara I use) curl after my mascara has dried and it's always worked!

2. Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion

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After trying many different types of eyeshadow primer, this one has been the best.  I use the purple bottle which is the formula that dries clear. It hold anything I put onto my eyes all day long.

3. Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner

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I've tried all different types of liners - gel, liquid, pencil. None of it stays all day especially for someone with monolids like me!  Liners were alright, but I never got good at applying them evenly and cleanly...until I found this!  Not only does this liner stay on all day long, but it's super easy to apply.  

I don't have many beauty secrets, but I just gave you the only three beauty secrets I possess. :) Have any of your own beauty secrets or makeup tips to share? I'd love to hear them!

Creativity is a Flighty Thing

Creativity, at times, seems to come and go as it pleases. One week it's here, then the next week, it's gone!  Like writer's block, I get creativity block sometimes and sit with my fabric and beads and nothing comes out.  Then, sometimes, when I least expect it, inspiration hits and I sit down and things just seem to come into being!  That's me, right now, in the middle of my creativity spurt.  Here's my latest creation and a couple of custom items for brides that I've made.

Take a look at these items in my Etsy shop!

Giveaway Time

I'm sponsoring a giveaway on Broke Ass Bride!  Some of the lovely ladies who blog for the site are fellow Weddingbee bloggers and they graciously added me to their site.  Getting married or know someone who is getting married? Go check it out and win a bridal sash for your wedding dress!

http://www.thebrokeassbride.com/2011/03/march-23-wedding-giveaway-contest/

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If It Makes You Happy

Life has been so busy lately! Between work @ school and work @ Etsy, I have been swamped with things to do.  There have been other things going on too like finishing my students' report cards and pink slips.  There are good things to look forward to, but last Thursday, I needed a break. I had lost my voice from an intense week of preparation from Open House and state testing.  I was tired, my throat was sore and I just needed to do something relaxing. And what's more relaxing than shopping?

I just wanted to walk around, zone out and look at pretty things and see pretty things I did!  I loved them so much, I decided to adopt them and bring them home.

I don't know what I'm going to do with them yet, but I'm already planning a little party in pink, yellow, red, blue and white in my head for the next celebration!  I was so excited, I showed Chris the moment I got home. No, he wasn't excited as I was, but he pretended to be. :) Funny how two little tiered serving platters could make me so happy!

Fresh Cuts

Yes, some fresh cuts! Even though I have some open orders that I'm working on right now, I had to find some time to squeeze in my newest ideas. Use them as brooch pins or boutonnieres at the wedding for your groomsmen, groom, ushers, helpers or even as decor. You can pin them to your favorite clutch or bag. Best of all, they can be reused after the wedding! If I thought of this sooner, I would've given them to my helpers since we couldn't afford to buy them boutonnieres or corsage pins. Heck, I would've made one for every guest. 225 people you say? Yes, it's a lot of people, but knowing me, I would've done it. :)

Enjoy!

 Wear the ribbon to one side or pointing down.

Be All There

I came across this quote in college and I immediately identified with it. I'm the type of person who is always thinking ahead or thinking back and it's hard for me to enjoy the moment I'm in.  I wrote it on a post it and stuck it in a place I'd look at everyday -- my computer.  :)

When I was in high school, I was looking forward to college. When I was in college, I couldn't wait to graduate. When I graduated and began working, I wished I could go back to college.  As a teacher, I can't wait till the bell rings and I get to go home. In the morning, when I wake up, I can't wait to get to work so I can get started on teaching. As a bride, immersed in planning, I couldn't wait till I was done planning and just enjoying marriage.  Now that I'm happily married, I wish I could go back and plan another wedding!

Take road trips. Chris and I go on road trips a lot, especially to Vegas to see him family. The drive is only four hours from us, yet, I am impatient during the drive.  I don't enjoy the journey to the destination. I just want to arrive. But when I get there, I'm already thinking of the next destination!

I've been thinking about this lately. At work, I can't wait till report cards are done so I can start prepping for Open House. With my Etsy shop, I want to finish the administrative tasks so I can sit down and design. With marriage, I want to feel more financially secure so that we can start having kids. But, I miss out on so much along the way when I focus on the destination and don't enjoy the journey. This Jim Elliot quote popped back into my head as I thought about this and I'm doing my best to live this out everyday and to enjoy the journey.

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Valentine's Dessert for Those Who are Too Sick to Cook

Next to Christmas, Valentine's day might be #2 in my list of favorite holidays. I've always been a sucker for lace, doilies and hearts, even now as I approach my 30's.  However, this Valentine's day, I am sick. I think I caught a flu from my students because I've been knocked out for the past several days.  I also got my husband sick despite my efforts to NOT get him sick. Oops. Happy Valentine's Day dear!

We usually make prime rib for Valentine's day and eat in instead of dealing with the crowds. We are homebodies anyway so it makes sense for us.  But prime rib was way too involved for two sick people so we decided to make a super simple, but delicious tri tip recipe and lobster tail. We haven't made lobster tail before, but we figure it involves boiling which shouldn't be too difficult.  For dessert, I had to go simple too. So, I busted out a tried and true, super simple cake recipe my friends and I used in college.

I've never documented cooking before so there'll be a section where I pretty much forgot to take pictures. Please bear with me!

Ingredients:
-Yellow cake (you can make it from scratch, but since I was sick, I got a box of premade cake mix. Mine needed 3 eggs, 1 cup of water and 1/3 cup of oil)
-Fresh or frozen strawberries (defrosted)
-Sugar
-1 tub of cool whip

You'll need to mix the sugar and strawberries in a bowl a couple hours in advance and let it sit in the fridge. I didn't specify how much sugar because it'll depend on how sweet your berries are and how sweet you like your dessert.

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix up your amazingly easy yellow cake mix.
3. Lightly butter 2 round cake pans and dust them with flour so your cake pops out easily.

4. Check the back of your box to see how long you need to bake these puppies for. I like to pull them out a couple minutes early since they'll continue cooking a bit while they are cooling in the pans. Use the toothpick test to check if your cakes are done.

5. Let your cakes cool for 15-20 minutes before you pop them out.

6. To pop these out of the pan, I placed a flexible cutting mat on top of the pan and flipped my cake onto that. Then I placed my wooden cutting board on the other side of the cake and flipped it right side up.

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7. Trim the tops of both cakes so that it's relatively flat.  

8. Put one layer cake on your cake stand or plate.

9. Drain the juice from your strawberries. Take some of the strawberries and mix with 1/3 of the cool whip in a separate bowl.

10. Add a layer of of your strawberry/cool whip mixture onto the cake. If you like a lot of filling, then add more.  Sorry, I took so long trying to take a photo, my cool whip started to melt. No worries though, you'll firm it all up in the fridge.

11. Set your second layer of cake on top, bottom up!

12. Now frost your cake with the rest of your cool whip.

13. Put it back in the fridge for at least an hour to let the cool whip firm up.

14. Add some cute decorations and voila!

It's super homemade looking, I know, but for a girl who has the flu, I'm pretty happy. Okay, the tri tip is calling my name! Happy Valentine's Day!

Be Still My Heart - BHLDN is Here

Today was the launch of BHLDN, the wedding line at Anthropologie and it's full of wedding goodness!  It makes me miss wedding planning and wish that they launched this last year when I was getting married.

Everything has an Anthropologie feel to it. Soft, romantic, a hint of vintage charm. It lives up to wedding and Anthropologie prices too! Here are a few of my favorites looks! All photos are courtesy of BHLDN.com unless otherwise noted.

top left: sash

top left: brooch pin

top left: headband

There must be a lot of people taking a first gander though because the site was sluggish.  So much loveliness in one day! I hope you enjoy Valentine's Day!

My Newest Lovelies

For our wedding, we used traditional flowers which I loved. Orchids, peonies, sweet pea, it was heaven. But, one thing we didn't anticipate was the breakage.  All of our groomsmen, attendants and family members got corsages or boutonnieres made of hypericum berries and lovely green orchids. But, after a few hugs, our flowers started to not only wilt, but break. In fact, during our first look, when Chris and I hugged, the impact broke an entire petal off his orchid. Oopsies! I was just so excited to see him! Luckily, our florist had brought one extra boutonniere so we lucked out and changed out his broken one for  a new one. 

Here's us with boutonniere #2 of the day!

Well, why risk boutonniere breakage when you can have corsages, boutonnieres and brooch pins that will last a lifetime!  Enter...my newest lovelies!

These can be made in virtually any color and can be changed from wrist corsages to brooch pins.  Want more or less flowers? That can be done! Enjoy!

What's in a Name?

When the idea to begin an Etsy shop really began to take place in my brain, I started turning over phrases and names in my head. What was I going to name my shop?  Handmade something something? Blah Blah Lovlies? After a couple weeks, I became distracted by work and getting ready for Thanksgiving. Then, one day, it came to me, in the place where all great ideas are born. The bathroom. 

Lucky for you, I was actually showering when I thought of it. The name of my Etsy shop, When Love Happens, was inspired by two things.  While planning my wedding, I often had that "this is the one" feeling.  First with my fiance, Chris, then our venue, my dress and my wedding photographer. When love happened, another part of my wedding fell into place.  The second inspiration came from my love of crafting. I started crafting when I was really little. My Mom would make pillowcases and duvets with her sewing machine. I'd tag along with her to the fabric and craft stores. I remember walking down the aisle and looking at bolt after bolt of beautiful fabric, not with the intention of buying, but just noting personal favorites in my mind.  As I got older, my love for crafts didn't end and I began crafting cards, scrapbooking and even trying my hand in making clothes (that didn't go over too well, though). Then, when planning for my wedding and coveting overpriced bridal sashes and hair clips, I decided that I was crafty enough to make them on my own. And make them on my own, I did. 

My crafty creations were well-received by friends and family and I thought, "huh. I like to make these and I'm pretty good at it. It'd be kind of cool to do this for a living."  But since I had a day job, I was much too busy to let this become a full-fledged idea.  One day, however, I vocalized this to my then fiance and he said, "Why don't you?"  As time passed, he'd see me make a brooch, sash or hair clip and encouraged me again to pursue an Etsy shop. It wasn't until I fell in love and married my husband, that this idea really took root and manifested itself.

It's been a long road and I know there's still a long road ahead, but I'm excited at the prospect of creating lovely items for my clients and customers for their weddings and everyday life!